Chapter Twenty-eight
Cairn propelled the raft through the placid water, still amazed at how calm the night was. The breeze barely ruffled his clothing and the water they were sailing upon was as still as if it was a small pond. The full moon lit up the sky, glaring off of the water and illuminating the dark, flowing liquid to the point of transparency. Voluminous, gloomy clouds hung overhead, barely moving but still obscuring the light at times, casting shadows of blackness over the entire landscape, only to have the reflected light burst through once again, shocking them with its intensity. Cairn was cautious all the while, trusting Tomas’ intuition yet maintaining a vigilant watch nevertheless.
They had more than enough time to cross the lake, which would leave them at a point just south of Pardatha, situated on the other side of the narrow crest of the Thorndar mountains, just before the sun was due to rise. It would not take them more than another day’s travel to reach the outskirts of the city once the threat of the water was behind them. Lake Tamaran was usually a formidable obstacle and it had protected the southern approach to Pardatha for centuries. Cairn was not yet ready to accept that their journey across would not be fraught with danger and difficulty. He was calmer than before and he had time to contemplate what lay ahead, but he remained alert nonetheless.
Certainly, his new found friend would be an unexpected surprise to Baladar, but once they met one another he was convinced that he would see the same goodness and power in the young man that Cairn perceived. He knew without a doubt that Tomas was meant to be with him when he entered Pardatha.
“Do you see the shoreline ahead?” he asked the boy after an unusually bright streak of moonlight defined the coast before them.
“Yes, I do. Is that where we are headed?” he responded.
“If we land near that spot, we will be within a few hundred yards of the entrance to the pass. When the sun rises, we should have no difficulty finding it,” he commented.
A shrill sound pierced the silence of the evening, followed immediately by another and then another. The sky was splattered with shadows now, moving in circles above them, and the bright moonlight traced their images across the raft and across the water all around them. The Selgays were awake despite the darkness and they were aware of the travelers’ presence upon the lake. Calyx growled defensively to himself and crouched low in the corner of the raft. Tomas looked up with a calm and unconcerned air. Cairn’s skin prickled with fear and his mind quickly reviewed their options, few as they were.
“We must hurry. The birds are upon us!” he said as he urgently rowed the small craft ahead, the water being far too deep now to pole the transport forward. “It does not forebode well for us that they travel in a group. The Selgays are solitary hunters,” he worriedly reasoned. “What evil purpose could have united them now?” Cairn questioned grimly.
“They will not attack. They will only watch us until we are gone from their territory,” the boy remarked, so sure of himself.
Cairn drew some comfort from Tomas’ words, as they issued so confidently from his mouth.
“I hope you are correct, young man. I do not really know what we can do to defend ourselves if they should behave other than you predict,” Cairn replied cautiously. “Why are they roused at all with the sun still hours from the horizon? I was led to believe that they never flew during the evening hours, and never in a group!” he said, not expecting an answer.
“They are chaperoning us across,” the boy said with a strange certainty. “Did you not hear me before when I said that they feasted upon a battalion of Trolls just yesterday? Although they are ugly beasts and extremely dangerous, the Selgays do not serve the Dark Lord. They preserve the balance, they do not upset it. The Selgays will let us pass. They understand the necessity,” he concluded.
“I have studied all of my life. The masters have taught me much,” Cairn began. “But you have just made me realize something that no teacher was ever able to,” he said seriously. “I should know better than to assume that all predators dangerous to man are evil as well. They protect their own realm as we do ours. I just never thought that they could distinguish between one trespasser and the next,” he remarked, humbled by the boy’s simple statements.
“They are not unlike all the rest of the beasts. Unless they are forced, compelled by threat of starvation or pain, they perceive in their own way what endangers the well being of the planet. They feel things much as we do, they just cannot reason,” Tomas explained.
“Your wisdom is beyond your years, Tomas,” Cairn said with respect, his eyes never leaving the circling birds. “Ormachon has taught you well,” Cairn commented respectfully.
“He has been a great friend and I am grateful to him for much,” the boy said modestly. “Watch, Cairn. You will see. The birds will be our escort to the other shore,” he concluded, and he continued to calmly observe the great Selgays as they soared in swooping circles overhead, seemingly directing them with his focused stare as they flew.
Cairn followed their guidance, not being able to ascertain exactly where they were heading now as the clouds were continuously thickening overhead. He hoped and prayed that Tomas was correct about the big birds and that they were not leading them to a place nearer to their own homes only to save them the trouble of carrying them in their talons this entire distance.
They swerved and dipped above them, subtly changing course, heading all the time for the dark shoreline ahead. And Cairn cautiously steered the small raft, following closely behind. As the water grew shallow, he was once more able to touch the bottom with the flat sided pole he held. Sensing that their journey was drawing to an end, he thrust more vigorously into the black depths and the raft leapt forward.
Cairn pushed the long pole into the soft mud as they approached the other shore, and he directed the raft to a clearing on the rocky beach that he would have been hard pressed to find on his own in this darkness. Their journey across was as eventless as Tomas had predicted and Cairn was grateful for that. By now, the Thorndars towered above them, their sheer slopes extending in places straight down into the depths of the water, making their approach to the beach a difficult one to navigate. Calyx stood up and sniffed the air apprehensively, searching for danger ahead.
The great birds continued to circle the group, squawking and flapping their enormous wings until the wooden vehicle literally touched the shore, but leading them in all the while like a beacon of light. Then at once, as if their job was done and they were told they could leave, they circled the raft one final time, plunging so low that they nearly touched the tops of the travelers’ heads, and then flew to their protected eyries in the vertical rock face and disappeared.
Cairn saw that Tomas seemed to salute them as they passed by, raising his palm upward to the night sky. In their wake, the Selgays created a veritable maelstrom, their wings beating so hard and fast that the water churned and frothed, and they had to hold onto the floating structure in order to avoid being blown overboard.
Once ashore, Cairn jumped from the raft onto the tiny piece of soft, sandy ground, with Calyx at his heels. Tomas calmly surveyed the area around them and then he too stepped to the ground. Together, they pulled the raft onto the shore as far as they were able to, gathered their few belongings and started to walk toward the rocks ahead.
“If I am correct,” Cairn began, “the opening to the pass should be directly in front of us. The sandy beachhead is a dead giveaway to the location, but in the past, the Selgays made the approach during the day almost impossible. Few ventured here except in the dark of night, and finding this one spot without light has never been easy. The full moon helped me greatly tonight, as did the bird’s ‘permission’ and more important, their guidance.”
“I see the opening!” Tomas said animatedly, as he started to run to see if in fact he was correct.
At times he was much like a boy of fourteen and at others he seemed ageless. When he reached what appeared to be the entrance to the pass, he turned and called back, “I found it! Here, come over here. It’s narrow, but we will have no trouble walking through.”
The sun was just poking it’s head over the far horizon and casting an indirect light over everything. By the time Cairn reached the opening with Calyx close behind, Tomas had bounded between the high, rock walls, exhibiting a great deal more enthusiasm now for the final leg of the journey than he had previously.
“Wait for us!” Cairn shouted ahead, having lost sight of the boy around the first bend in the rock.
“Don’t worry. I am right in front of you. I won’t go far,” he replied, rushing along.
The scholar and the Moulant rushed forward, attempting to reach Tomas before he turned another bend. Suddenly, Calyx growled and the hair on his back rose in response. Directly in front of them, to his utter dismay, Cairn saw Tomas on the ground, and there was a creature somewhat larger than a Dwarf but smaller than a grown human, with a short black beard dirtying its face above its leather jerkin, standing over him menacingly, pointing a sharpened stone dagger at his throat.
“Don’t come any closer!” he said to Cairn, his green eyes darting back and forth between Tomas, Cairn and Calyx. “I do not want to hurt anyone. What are you doing here? No one ever comes here!” he exclaimed, staring at Calyx, his eyes wide with fear.
“Just put the knife down. We mean you no harm. I am Cairn of Thermaye. This is my friend Calyx and the one you are holding captive is Tomas,” he said pointing first to the big cat and then to the lad lying uncomfortably on the earth, as he moved very slowly forward.
Tomas seemed unafraid, but he remained still nonetheless.
“We are on our way to Pardatha. This is the only route I know through these cliffs. Please, leave the boy alone. We only wish to pass peacefully,” Cairn continued, his voice calm and soothing.
The creature seemed less nervous now that Cairn explained their presence, but he still held the blade much too close to Tomas’ throat for Cairn’s comfort.
Calyx growled a throaty growl from behind and the creature jumped, giving Tomas just enough time to roll out from under him and stand up. Before anyone could even take a single breath more, Calyx was atop the aggressor, pinning him down with his big paws, the dagger lying harmlessly now beside him.
To their great surprise, the little man began to cry uncontrollably saying, “Don’t hurt me please! I didn’t mean to scare you. I thought you were here to bring me back. They have been searching for me for days now, and I didn’t know who you were. Your friend is short like they are and I thought he was one of them.”
Cairn listened patiently to the frightened captive, when he realized that despite the beard, this was not a man but a young boy as well, and he was certainly a Dwarf, not a human or an Elf, which accounted for the beard at so young an age.
“Why are you here, sneaking up on innocent travelers? You are only a boy yourself,” Cairn asked, admonishing him.
“I’m Preston, and I’m a Dwarf, but my father does not think I’m short enough. No one thinks I’m short enough, and they tell me that I cannot be pure of blood. Everyone makes fun of me, so I ran away. I have been living here for three days now and you are the first people I have seen,” he said all in one breath.
Cairn motioned Calyx to back off a bit and he bent and picked up the knife lying at his side.
“How old are you, Preston?” Cairn asked.
“I am sixteen,” he answered proudly. “And I know they must be out looking for me. My father will be very angry by now. But, I do not want to go back! I want to see the world and to be with people who don’t tease me because I am too tall,” he said defiantly.
“Well, I cannot speak for your father, but if you were my son I would want you back home as soon as possible. I am sure that he is consumed with worry by now,” Cairn responded. “Where are you from, boy?” he asked.
“My full name is Preston Daggerfall, and my father is Brimgar Daggerfall of the Thorndar Daggerfalls. My home lies only a few hours from here, in the caves on the north side of the Scion cliffs. We have been living there for a hundred tiels,” he said, puffing out his chest.
“Well, Preston, I think you should go back home before you hurt someone, or someone hurts you. We have to be on our way and I am sorry, but we cannot spend any more time here talking,” Cairn replied. “I am afraid that I cannot give you your blade back just yet, but I promise you that I will leave it on the path ahead and you can pick it up after we are gone,” he said, as Tomas moved to his side.
“Do you want to come with us?” Tomas asked out of the blue, not bothering to consult with Cairn first.
The yellow-eyed scholar gazed at him stunned, not knowing what to say.
Tomas peered into Cairn’s eyes with a look that said,
Do not look so fearful, I know what I am doing
, and Cairn kept a tight lip.
“Would you let me?” the boy responded. “I won’t be any trouble, I promise,” he responded, eyes wide.
“Yes, we will let you. Besides, I would like to have someone around my age to travel with,” Tomas said honestly. “You are only just a bit older than I am,” he remarked.
Cairn looked at Preston and said, “Let me talk to my friend here, first, if you would,” and he put his arm around Tomas’ shoulder and turned him away from the young Dwarf, whispering in his ear. “This boy is a runaway. Tomas, you should have conferred with me before you invited him to join us. His father will be searching high and low for him,” Cairn said somewhat annoyed. “We cannot afford to have our progress impeded by a distraught father searching for his missing son,” Cairn commented.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking about those things. All I know is that he belongs with us. Some things are meant to be, and even though I should have talked to you first, I just felt that he should come with us to Pardatha. His father can just as easily find him there as here,” Tomas reasoned, perplexed by Cairn’s initial inability to understand this.
“I imagine you are correct about that at least. Dwarves have always been welcome in Pardatha, but what makes you think he should go with us?” Cairn asked, still unsure.