“My brother,” said Livosha.
“Well?”
“Our boat is gone.”
“How, gone?”
“Look for yourself.”
“I am looking.”
“And?”
“Well, what you say is true. It is gone.”
“I am pleased that we agree.”
“As am I, only—”
“Well?”
“You perceive that this is an eventuality I had not anticipated.”
“So then, it will have an effect on our plans?”
“I think so. I had hoped to use the boat to leave with Eremit before the jailers discovered we were missing. But now—”
“No Eremit, no boat.”
“Exactly.”
Suddenly, there was a loud, deep peal, as of a large bell, that seemed to come from within the mountain.
“I believe,” said Kefaan, “that our absence has been discovered.”
“Then,” said Livosha, “they will find us.”
“That is not my preference,” said Kefaan.
“Nor mine, if truth be known.”
“And so?”
“We need time to think.”
“Oh, I am all in favor of thinking, and even more in favor of time.”
“Very good, then. Follow me.”
They followed her back up the side of the mountain where they had come down, retracing the steps they had just made, until they came to the hole.
“You wish to go back into the cell?” said Kefaan.
“More than that, back into the jail.”
“But, I fail to see how that will give us time.”
“Soon you will.”
“Very well.”
Upon entering the cell, Livosha walked directly through it and to the opposite cell. “Jerin,” she said.
“My lady?”
“Open the cell.”
“Yes my lady.”
As the door opened, Livosha received a curious look from a young woman of dark complexion like a Hawk, but blond hair, and features that made one think of the House of the Dragon. She rose and said, “What is this?”
“I am opening the door, madam, and then I am leaving. What you do is up to you.”
“Then, they are releasing us?”
“Not in the least. I am releasing you.”
“Ah. But, you are an Iorich.”
“That is true, but I am not with the jail.”
“So, then, you are releasing prisoners to create confusion to aid in the escape of some particular person you came to rescue?”
“You have understood exactly. The jailers are in confusion, and I wish to add to it.”
“Very well. But is there a way off the island?”
“As to that—”
“Well?”
“Not as of yet.”
“But then—”
“Come, I will make you a bargain. If I manage to escape—”
“Yes, if you manage to escape?”
“I will inform the nearest village that there are people who need rescuing, and, they being fishermen, who are always alert to anyone’s need for rescue under any circumstances, they will likely bring boats out here and so help free you.”
“So much the better. But what is my side of the bargain?”
“Take these keys and free everyone in this corridor, then, either continue to another corridor, or give the keys to someone else to continue the work. Come, what do you think of this bargain?”
“I accept with all my heart.”
“Then here are the keys. I am Livosha, and this is my brother, Kefaan.”
“I am called Kelsama.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Kelsama.”
“A pleasure indeed.”
“And now, farewell, we must be away.”
“Good fortune go with you.”
“And you as well.”
This done, Livosha, Kefaan, and Jerin returned to cell number eighty-one.
“Very good,” said Kefaan. “With any luck, that will keep the jailers busy. Only—”
“Well?”
“How are we to escape the island?”
In answer, Livosha pointed to first the desk, then the bed.
“What of them?” said Kefaan.
“They are constructed of polished neeora wood, which ought to both float, and be proof against the water. We will, therefore, construct a raft, and use the blanket as a sail.”
Kefaan looked doubtful, but said, “If you think it can work.”
Livosha shrugged. “We will soon know.”
“Very well. What must we do?”
“It is simple enough. We must remove the legs and drawers from the desk so it will fit through the tunnel, lay the desk on top of the bed frame. Then find another desk and do the same. The bed frame will hold our raft together, and two desks will provide enough deck area for the three of us.”
“Then I,” said Kefaan, “will find another desk, while you begin working on this one.”
“Very well, with this plan, I agree.”
It was harder than they had expected to remove the legs and the drawers from the desk, leaving only the surface, as the desk tended to fall to pieces from the strain. In the end, however, after having gone through six desks, they managed to achieve two completed ones. Then, Kefaan with one desk frame, Livosha with the other, and Jerin dragging the bed frame while holding the blanket, they made their way through the tunnel.
It was still fully dark, which surprised them, as it had seemed as if more time had passed. They were not, however, displeased by this, as the darkness would provide a certain degree of concealment.
They set the two desk-tops on the bed frame.
“It is not,” observed Kefaan, “too stable.”
“No,” said Livosha. “We shall have to use our clothing to tie it together. But first, let us get it into the water.”
They made their way carefully down the slope, as it wasn’t easy burdened as they were, and at last came to the water. Livosha waded out first with the bed frame, the others coming behind.
“Well,” said Livosha. “It has dissolved. Indeed, all of the wood has turned into small chips. I had not expected that.”
“And,” said Kefaan, “the desk-tops have fared the same.”
“This is distressing,” she said.
“And astonishing. For, you perceive, neeora floats.”
“So I had thought.”
“It is known, Livosha.”
“Indeed. No doubt the jailers have used a polish that somehow causes this effect, though how it could do so is a mystery to me.”
“Well, but we need a new plan now.”
“With this I agree. But there is a fortunate side.”
“Ah, well, if there is a fortunate side, so much the better. But, what is it?”
“If we had tied the desk-tops to the frame first, well, our clothing would now be wet.”
“That is true,” said Kefaan. “Yet I am scarcely consoled. What must we do now?”
“We must search the jail for something that will float, and hope the jailers or the other prisoners have not discovered it first.”
“Very well, then. But let us hurry. You perceive, the dawn is coming, and with light, we will be more easily found.”
“That is true.”
They made their way up the hill and, yet once more, back into the jail, through what had been Eremit’s cell, and into the corridor.
“Come, Jerin. Now you must lead. We must find our way once more to the barracks rooms; perhaps one of the tables there will not have been treated in the same way.”
Jerin nodded, and at once set off. She flawlessly guided them past a number of turnings. At several points, Livosha observed fresh blood stains on the wall and floor, and so was not surprised when they came upon the bodies of two prisoners and a jailer. She was relieved to see that neither of the prisoners was Kelsama.
The Teckla continued leading them through the maze and confusion with a skill that did her credit, which credit, naturally, reflected on Livosha, though this observation was not made explicit. They continued in this fashion until they reached what Livosha recognized as the very corridor they had followed to first arrive at the dining hall, at which time she checked to see that her sword was loose in its scabbard.
“Do you hear that?” asked Kefaan.
“It sounds as if there is fighting.”
“And no small degree of fighting. Even, perhaps, a pitched battle.”
“And coming, alas, from the very direction we wish to go.”
“And so,” said Kefaan, “what then?”
How Livosha would have answered this question we cannot know, as, at that moment, there appeared eight or nine jailers, all of them armed, who were either running from something or to something, but, in any case, advancing toward them at a good pace.
“There are a large number of them,” observed Kefaan. “And, you perceive, we have no convenient doorway to use to hold them off.”
“That is true,” said Livosha.
“And so?”
“I believe a retreat is in order, and, moreover—”
“Well?”
“A quick retreat.”
“You, then, suggest we run?”
“You have understood me exactly. Come, what do you think of this plan?”
“What I think of it, my dear sister, may be deduced by the fact that I am already putting it into action.”
“So much the better.”
They ran the opposite direction from which they had intended to go, seeing, on the way, several prisoners who appeared to be lost, and all of whom chose to avoid what gave every sign of being impending violence, the more easily understood as none of them were armed.
After some period, they found themselves at the base of the long winding stairway they had taken down, but which now, for reasons that ought to require no explanation, led up.
“Well now,” said Livosha. “Here is my plan.”
“Very good,” said Kefaan. “I am listening.”
“Let Jerin past, for it is our duty to protect her.”
“With this I agree.”
“We will then draw our weapons, and defend ourselves as we back up the stairs. I believe that, by moving and using our weapons in a defensive fashion, we should be able to make it to the top.”
“Well, and then?”
“Then, we will endeavor to go out the door and close it behind us.”
“Well, but if we close it, I think they can open it.”
“We will use your sword to wedge the door closed.”
“And then? For, you perceive, we still have no way off the island.”
“Then we will reflect. You perceive, we must first save ourselves from the most urgent threat before we turn our attention to the next, for if we fail in the first, there will be no need to consider the second.”
“You reason like an Athyra.”
“And so?”
“Very well. I accept this plan.”
Thus they began their long, slow, dangerous way backward up the stairs, defending themselves furiously. Livosha saw that the director himself was there with a look of ferocity, but she was no more able to reach him than he was to reach her. As they were only concerned with defending themselves, they were unable to inflict damage beyond, on Livosha’s part, a few insignificant nicks and cuts, but they managed to continue backward up the stair. Once or twice Livosha attempted to strike a blow that would send one of her opponents over the edge of the pit, but these opponents appeared unwilling to cooperate with this endeavor. Step by step they climbed, Kefaan against the wall, Livosha with nothing but emptiness to her side.
“My dear sister,” said Kefaan.
“Well?”
“I confess, my arm is growing tired. It seems we have been at this for some hours.”
“That is true. My arm grows tired as well. Yet, no doubt our enemies are experiencing something similar. Apropos, Jerin, how near the top are we? For if I should look myself, it might permit someone to strike me.”
“Close, my lady. Only twenty or twenty-five more steps.”
Kefaan grunted.
“Twenty steps, my brother? Can you do it?”
“I must,” he said.
Kefaan proved himself equal to the task, and they succeeded, though not without effort, in reaching the landing. Jerin, following the plan as it had been outlined by Livosha, rushed to the door, stepped outside, and held it open, with the intention of shutting it the instant they were through. Alas, this plan, good though it was in conception, failed in the execution. The jailers were too close on their heels, and instead of being able to shut the door, found themselves flung backward as their enemies piled through.
“Run,” suggested Livosha, which idea was accepted by the others without discussion or commentary. They rushed down the path until they reached the bottom, then, as one, they turned. The jailers stood at the top, preparing to follow them down.
“Jerin,” said Livosha.
“Yes, my lady?”
“Permit me to suggest that this is a good time to draw your knife.”
“My knife, my lady?”
“Exactly. For we are about to be attacked, and have nowhere to run save the dock, after which we stand to become tolerably wet, and moreover, have trouble breathing.”
“Yes, my lady, only—”
“Only?”
“If I draw my knife while they are charging us, as they seem about to do, is it not the case that I might cut one of them?”
“You perceive, Jerin, that is the entire idea.”
“Ah. I had not considered this circumstance. Very well.”
With this, she drew her knife, at which moment there came the sound of a voice calling from behind them.
“Your pardon, my friends, but did you wish for transport to the mainland?”
Livosha risked looking around, and saw the Orca fisherman from whom they had first borrowed the Carilia, and, moreover, he was standing in the Carilia as he spoke.
Above them, the jailers began to descend.
“My sister?” said Kefaan. “I believe we should accept his offer.”
“I nearly agree. Jerin, you first. Run. Kefaan, you after.”
“And you, Livosha?”
“I am behind you.”
“Well, and our enemies are behind you.”
“So they are, and yet, now Jerin is in the boat. Follow her, and push off.”
“And you?”
“I will jump.”
“Very well. I have pushed free of the dock.”
“I am jumping.”
“There, I have caught you.”
The fisherman, for his part, turned the rudder and pulled on the mainsail until he had snared the wind as if in a veritable net, from which the reader may deduce a certain expertise on his part, which deduction would be entirely correct, although, as we have established that he made his living on the sea, hardly surprising; the reader may have observed that we often gain great skill in matters upon which our livelihood depends, although, to judge by certain historians who have been placed, for unknown reasons, in prestigious positions, this is not always the case. Nevertheless, in the case of the Orca fisherman (whose name, alas, has not come down to us), the skill was not only great, it was, moreover, sufficient: the boat at once gathered way and took them out toward the open sea. Behind them, the jailers stood on the dock, shaking their fists; the director in particular seemed especially unhappy.
“But, how came you to be here?,” asked Livosha as she settled into the boat.
“In the simplest way,” replied the one who now could justly be considered their captain, as he was in charge of the vessel on which they were passengers. “This morning I looked, and the Carilia had returned.”
“But, how did you know we had not returned with it?”
“Ah, as to that.”
“Well?”
“All of us in the village have suddenly, since yester-day morning, lost our connection to the Empire.”
“Yes, as have we. But how did this circumstance lead you to conclude that we had not returned?”
“Because, starting yester-day morning, and continuing to all hours of the night, the entire village had gathered in the tavern to consider the matter.”
“Well, and?”
“In the first place, had you returned, well, it seemed likely you would have arrived there as well, at least to say the boat was undamaged.”
“Yes, I see that. But you said in the first place. Then, there is a second place?”
“Indeed there is, and a most convincing one.”
“Then I am anxious to learn it.”
“Here it is, then: While we were in the tavern engaged in our conversation, which, I assure you, became tolerably loud—”
“I do not doubt this. While you were there, you say?”
“A local merchant’s house was broken into.”
“Well, and?”
“What was taken was some food and a large cup and a fireplace poker.”
“So then?”
“It seemed the sort of things that might be taken by someone without money who contemplated a journey.”
“I cannot argue with your logic. Go on.”
“What if someone had been kept as a captive on the island, and had taken my boat as a means of escape, and feared there might be some pursuit, and so did not wish to be seen.”
“You reason like an Athyra. And then?”
“Well, but that would mean you were still on the island, but with no means to leave. So I came out to discover if this was the case, and had barely touched the dock before I saw you running from several persons who did not look like they had good intentions toward you.”
“Well, but, did it not occur to you that we might be lawbreakers, and they were attempting to arrest us?”
He shrugged. “Well, but if that is the case, is your money then no good?”
“Ah, you wish to be paid?”
“I shall return you to the shore, and if you choose to reward me, I will accept it.”
“I think you may depend upon a reward, and a sufficient reward to show you that we are not ingrates. Moreover—”
“Yes?”
“We are not, in fact, lawbreakers. Just the reverse.”
“So much the better.”
“In fact, there are many persons, perhaps hundreds, who have been held on that island illegally.”
“Shards! Is it true?”
“I give you my word. Can you, perhaps, enlist others to return to the island and help those who are trapped there? They cannot pay, at least at once, but it would be a kindness.”
“If the wind holds, and it smells as if it will, we shall be arriving on the mainland at nearly the time many of us will be returning with our catch. I will spread the word among them as they return, and no doubt many will be glad to assist, simply from kindness.”
“So much the better.”
“But, what of you?”
“Ah, well, you see. The individual who broke into the merchant’s home—”
“Yes?”
“He is the very friend whom we had set out to rescue.”
“And so?”
“And so, we will search for him.”
“I wish you all the best luck in this endeavor.”
Livosha turned around and looked. The island had already all but vanished in the boundless sea.