Landfall
as Tam scribbled away on a piece of parchment. “Did you get that one there? And over there?” She asked, excitedly pointing out islands as they sailed by.
“Yes, ma’am,” Tam answered, exasperated. “But I need to get higher to get a better view.”
“Well, up the mast you go then, lad!” Captain Tinothe ordered.
Tam hurried to the mast ladder and clambered his way to the fighting top.
Captain Tinothe smirked.
“What?” Nera asked with a smile of her own. Though they knew they’d be engaging the enemy soon, they were all excited about seeing land.
The Sellena’s captain held out a finger to her and turned. “Aless, bring a bucket to young mister Tam in the top, would you?”
“Oh dear,” Aless said as she hustled away from her excited conversation with Orin.
“What is it?” Nera asked.
“If he thought the sway of the sea was bad down here …” Tin trailed off, his smirk twisting his mustache. “Let’s just hope his excitement keeps him distracted.”
When they left Kane Harbor in Tarrine, the crew was in such a rush, they hadn’t considered the need for someone with the ability to draw. Tam had the gift, so when Nera spotted Kelvurian land for the first time, she summoned the young man so he could start drawing. He was a guardian, of course, but being the only one who could draw at all, he was the closest thing to a cartographer the Sellena had.
Orin stepped close to Nera as they watched the islands drift by. “Hard to believe,” he said.
“It is,” she agreed, as one of the Talon Squadron scouts flew by. She’d sent two of them to the air right after getting Tam started on drawing the islands. They could scout ahead and get a good look to see what dangers might be awaiting them.
“Pernden would love this,” Orin said.
Nera laughed. “He’d rather be doing just about anything over his kingly responsibilities.”
Orin laughed, too. “That’s true.”
“But yes, he would love this,” she affirmed, her voice sounding far off. She missed him.
Orin interpreted her look and placed a comforting hand on her back before saying, “We’ll find Merrick and figure this whole thing out. We’ll be headed back to Tarrine and my brother in no time.”
Nera smiled appreciatively at him. “I can’t imagine what Ellaria’s feeling right now.”
“She’s tough. One of the toughest women I’ve ever met,” Orin mused. “Which is saying something since that puts her in league with women like you.”
Nera grinned. “She is. While she’s still got training to do, it was an easy choice to bring her into the Guard. Just because she’s tough doesn’t mean she isn’t also worried about her brother.”
“Of course,” Orin agreed. “But that’s why we’re here.”
“Yes,” Nera said, nodding thoughtfully. “Let’s not let her down.”
While the rest of the crew eagerly anticipated making landfall, Ralowyn battled tension in her stomach. She was worried. None of them had seen the Kelvurian ship. As amazing a feat as it was that the Sellena had gotten them across the Gant Sea, the elf didn’t think the ship could survive a fight with the Kelvurian ship.
Ralowyn made her way to a lower deck, looking for quiet. She wanted to meditate before they got themselves into another encounter. She would need to be at full strength if she was going to be of any use in whatever trouble they found themselves, especially if they ran into that witch.
When she reached the belowdecks, she found Coal packing his bag. The dwarf was double-checking the items he had packed.
“Coal,” she said softly.
The dwarf started and turned to her with wide eyes. He grabbed at his chest as though he were trying to keep his heart from leaping out. “Boehlen’s Beard … you scared me.”
“I am sorry,” she replied. She eyed the bag. “What are you doing?”
Coal looked at the bag in front of him and shook his head. “Preparing.”
“Preparing for what?” she asked, drawing closer.
Coal grabbed at his battle hammer and squeezed it tight in his hand. “I wasn’t ready when the sea serpent came.”
“What do you mean?”
“I wasn’t ready. I didn’t have my hammer, and we almost didn’t make it. Then what would have happened to Merrick? Who would have saved him?”
The dwarf sniffed and lowered his head even more.
Ralowyn knelt next to him. “I was afraid, too. I am still afraid.”
Coal met her gaze. He wiped his tears away with the cloth wrapping that covered his thick dwarf hands. “He’s out there somewhere. I know it. Since Ezel’s not here, I’ve got to find him. It’s up to me.”
A smile of compassion swept across the fair face of the elf. “The great thing about love is that it is bigger than one person. You have a big heart, Coal, and you love your friends with great ferocity. But you are not the only one who loves Merrick. Orin has sailed across the sea with us to find him. And I love Merrick in a way neither of you do.”
Coal nodded and pulled at his black beard. “I just don’t want to let him down.”
“You will not. Because we will find him together.”
As they sailed away from the multitude of islands and turned north to follow the coast of Kelvur, Orin watched one of the guardians land a griffin on the main deck to discuss something with Nera. Watching the guardians fly around over the sea gave Orin a strange feeling. He hadn’t flown on griffin-back in a long time. With everything that had happened and the difficulty in pairing griffins and guardians, he likely never would again.
It seemed as though he’d traded life in the sky for life on the sea with all the ships he’d been on recently. As Orin smelled the saltwater spray that misted from the bow of the Sellena, he wasn’t disappointed by the prospect.
Suddenly, a sailor raced to the bell and rang it. Here we go, Orin thought. He rolled his shoulders and twisted his neck, releasing tension. He ran to Nera as the other guardian flew off.
“What’s happening?” he asked.
“There’s some sort of town up the coast a little way,” she said quickly, moving toward the stairs. “Captain Tin has ordered all hands on deck for readiness.”
“Did they see the ship?”
Nera paused, revealing her hesitation to admit the answer. “No,” she said with a hint of disappointment. Not seeing the Kelvurian ship meant they might have to continue to other ports up the coast in their search.
When Nera disappeared belowdecks, Orin returned to the bow of the ship and gazed up the coast, hoping for a glimpse of the town. Coal and Ralowyn soon appeared by his side.
“What do you see?” Coal asked.
“Nothing yet,” Orin replied, unconsciously gripping the hilt of his sheathed sword. His other hand rested on the wooden railing, slick with sea spray.
“There is some sort of dock ahead,” Ralowyn said plainly.
The man and the dwarf looked at her, remembering her elf eyes were much keener than their own.
“And the ship?” Coal prodded.
“No ship,” she replied. “But there are people gathering on the dock.”
“A defense guard,” the dwarf growled.
Orin tensed.
“I do not think so,” the elf said as she brushed her silvery hair out of her face.
When the Sellena finally anchored out of range of potential land projectiles, the entire Talon Squadron, save for Tam, took flight. Orin watched as Nera and her group flew to the awaiting crowd, then as Nera and Shadowpaw flew lower and eventually landed. Orin couldn’t make out what the Kelvurians looked like from that distance.
Every nerve in Orin’s body tingled. A warm feeling bubbled inside him, and his skin prickled. He didn’t like seeing Nera land alone among the crowd, but the rest of Talon floated just above her. If they saw any danger, they’d swoop down to protect her in a heartbeat.
One of the other guardians dropped to the ground. Orin squinted as he strained to see what was going on. As quickly as the guardian had landed, he took to the sky again and flew directly toward the Sellena.
After a quick conversation with Captain Tinothe, a couple of sailors prepared the ship’s boat, and Orin, Coal, Ellaria, and Tam were loaded onto the boat. Tam appeared to be uncomfortable on the boat, but he sketched away, like he was trying to finish what he had been drawing before he was called down from the top.
Orin stared at the dock as the sailors rowed them toward the watching crowd. As they drew nearer, he caught a glimpse of a tall muscular person that looked to him like a turtle. He turned to Coal whose face revealed his own confusion. “Have you ever come across someone like that?” the man asked the dwarf.
“I have not,” Coal said slowly.
“What in Finlestia?”
As the sailors oared the water to bring them into the dock, Nera appeared through the crowd with another one of the turtle-like creatures.
“Orin, Coal, Ralowyn,” Nera said quickly. “This is Shorlis. He may be able to help us on our quest.”
The chelon recounted his tale about how he and his people were dragged into slavery for the geldrins and set to work in the mine for over a year. He told how his father gave them hope at night by telling the prisoners stories, how his father was killed for helping an orc and a man in a caged cart. He told how a dwarf child spurred their revolt into action, and how just a day prior they had taken over the camp and run off the geldrins. Many of the camp’s residents crowded around the room and in the doorway to listen to its retelling. The story had become an instant favorite of the people, everyone especially liking it because of their involvement.
When Shorlis finished, the group from Tarrine sat around the crowded command room in silence. He wasn’t sure what they were thinking. Do they believe all of my story? he wondered. Or are they dumbfounded?
Finally, after a long silence, Nera stepped forward. She hadn’t sat down during the entire retelling, and she’d paced the little space in the corner while she chewed on the information. “That had to be Merrick and Karnak.”
“Aye,” Coal said eagerly. “Which way did they go, lad?”
Shorlis adjusted himself in his seat and met the dwarf’s gaze. “They took the road northeast. I imagine they were taking the prisoners to Ventohl.”
“Ventohl?” Nera asked. “Where’s that?”
“It’s an old elvish city on the southern edge of the Crags. My father told me stories of what the city was like before the Crags erupted into flame. It was once a beautiful place. Now it’s a den of thieves and murderers.”
“The sorcerer is probably there too,” Coal exclaimed. “Let’s get on the road.”
The dwarf jumped up, taking his hammer in his hand and swinging his bag to his back.
“Coal,” Ralowyn said gently. “We must know more. This is a strange land to us.”
“But—”
“There’s a map in the other room,” Tenzo cut in. “It shows much more of Kelvur than the old ones we had in the Shoals.”
“I’d like to see that, Captain,” Tam said quickly, though it sounded as though he were asking her permission.
Nera nodded her consent.
“The path you travel is a dangerous one. Not only will you be going into one of the sorcerer’s dens, but the geldrins will likely be riding back here soon to retake this place,” Shorlis said gravely.
“Do your people need help to evacuate?” Nera asked.
“No. Most have no home to go back to. The geldrins didn’t leave much during their raids on our homes. But here, we could build a new home, together. The dock is just the start, but we could build a fishing community here.”
“So, you plan to fight the geldrins when they return?”
“We fought them before,” he said plainly.
He watched the woman as her face shifted. She seemed deep in thought when the dwarf jumped back into the conversation.
“Did he seem alright?” Coal asked quietly.
Shorlis looked to the dwarf. Coal seemed tough, maybe even a warrior. But for some reason, this dwarf was adamant about finding the man. “He seemed thin and dry.” He wasn’t sure if they were the proper descriptions, but they were the ones chelons used when suggesting one of their own looked unwell.
“Then we need to go now,” the dwarf said with finality.
Seeing the dwarf’s compassion and love for his friend, Shorlis remembered what his father had said, “They need your help.” The chelon balled his fists and squeezed as tightly as he could. The others argued about the best course of action, but the chelon heard none of it. The staff.
“I intend to go with you.”
The chelon’s words made the room go silent.
“But what about your people?” Nera asked. “What if the geldrins come back?”
“If the geldrins do come back, Tenzo will take care of the people here. No one knows this place better than us. The people know every crack and crevice—most of them we dug ourselves. They will defend it.” Shorlis hesitated for a moment. “And besides, I have a strange feeling that if I help you, the geldrins won’t come back.”
The woman eyed him. “What do you mean?”
“My father was the wisest chelon I’ve ever known, and I’m not saying that out of mere sonly devotion. He often knew things that seemed impossible for anyone to know. With his dying breath, he told me that your friends needed my help—or you do. I don’t know which. Either way, I know in my shell that I’m supposed to go with you.”
“Well, we’ll take all the help we can get,” the dwarf said. “You know Kelvur better than any of us.”
“That’s all well and good,” Orin said from the corner. “But what about the Sellena?”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Nera agreed. “When we do find Merrick and Karnak, we’re going to need a way home.”
“Right,” Orin said. “We need a port, and we can’t leave these people to die.”
Coal let out a sigh that sounded more like a disappointed growl.
Ralowyn placed a comforting hand on the dwarf’s shoulder and asked, “Shorlis, are there a lot of griffins in Kelvur?”
The chelon’s face scrunched at the seemingly random question. “Not here in the north. Most of them live far south of the Palisade.”
“Perhaps Coal and I can scout ahead. If the caged cart was as Shorlis described, it would have been heavy and should be easy to track. We can go quickly without being noticed. We wouldn’t draw attention like the guardians flying through the air on griffins,” the elf suggested to Nera.
The woman didn’t seem to like the idea, but before she could respond, Orin said, “I’ll go with them. I can protect them.”
Nera closed her eyes and let out her own frustrated sigh. Shorlis watched the woman. He did not envy her position. He wasn’t sure how someone could lead a group of warriors across the sea into unknown circumstances.
“Fine,” she agreed. “I’ll talk to Captain Tin. Perhaps some of his crew can help your people build a proper dock. And Talon Squadron will teach them how to fortify the town.”
“Very well,” Shorlis nodded his appreciation. “And I will go with you. But first, I need to go to the Shoals. There’s something there that we’re going to need.”