Novels2Search

Book 1, Chapter 4

Acanthio was probably in the worst of the two positions as they flew towards land. While Eletheria got to look at what they were heading toward, he was faced with the floating debris they decided to avoid. Occasionally, there would be a hand waving from the water, and he had to stop himself from suggesting they turn around. At least it looked like a hand, it could be a wave moving some wood around. Each time he forced himself to not suggest they get closer and encouraged Ele to avoid any large items in the sea.

The flying was more like falling in little bursts. Ele would lift them up and then lower them. With his extra weight on one side, it pulled them a little forward. If she lifted them up higher, it gave them more time to drift downward, and a little more momentum was built up. They had started with something much faster but the act of turning was even more difficult. Also, Ele had expressed some concerns about the small amount of control, so they were reduced to little hops. Probably for the best, he had already filled today’s quota for falling from the sky.

The flight to the coast was slow going; Thio guessed several hours had passed. In the last stretch, Ele wasn’t lifting them as high as earlier. She had also stopped talking beyond simple acknowledgments, as her sweat started to soak into his clothing. When they dropped back into the water, they were close enough to the shore to swim the rest of the way. The water felt cold, and Thio shivered until his body got used to it again.

“I’m sorry I just cannot,” Ele said after she had deposited them into the sea.

“We are close enough to swim,” Thio replied while disengaging his arms from the pack straps. His left arm had gone numb a while ago, but he was still able to hold on. This was mostly due to the way he looped the pack straps around his arms so his grip could loosen while they flew without him falling. Slowly regaining feeling in his arm, he held onto the pack with one hand while trying to paddle to the shore.

Ele wasn’t providing much in the manner of propulsion Thio didn’t say anything. It seemed as if she was having difficulty even holding on and keeping herself afloat. Since he had spent the last few hours just hanging, his arms were tired, but the rest of him felt full of energy. The possible threat of some surviving sailors being in the water gave him a little extra incentive to keep moving. Soon he felt soft sand under his feet when they got to the shore. A little further and the water was only unto Thio’s waist. Ele didn’t seem conscious of the fact they could stand. Thio started to walk through the water dragging the pack behind him and Ele still hanging onto it.

“Windmistress, we are on land,” Thio said to break Ele from her rumination. She looked up at him and blinked several times before standing in the water. The waves gently hitting their waists as both of them paused for a moment, looking at each other. A cool breeze from the sea chilled them through their wet clothes. It was a long moment before Ele finally responded, breaking the silence.

“We should move away from the sea,” Ele said and then she turned and looked out into the sea. Her face was etched with worry as she looked back at Thio.

“I agree, Windmistress,” Thio responded, picked up the pack, and headed inland towards the line of trees that stood a little way off from the beach. Along the way, Thio picked up a few sticks lying in the sand. Thio paused for a moment and looked at the semi-dry twigs in his hands. Ele walked up to his side and looked at him.

“A fire to dry us out?” Ele asked as she looked at Thio and his handful of twigs.

“Perhaps a small fire for us to dry with, then we move deeper in to find a place to camp,” Thio replied, wondering how they would start the fire as he didn’t have any flint or steel. When he looked up and saw a little bit of hope on Ele’s face, he decided not to say anything about their lack of ability to start the fire. It would give him time to think about their options, and there was no need for both of them to be disappointed for the time being.

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To distract himself, Thio worked out their general position. He thought about what he knew of the area which was little. Their ship had left port in Ascalon the morning before. From there they were heading southwest before they got attacked this afternoon. If they followed the coastline they should be able to work their way back to a town.The Vol Mortem was on a scouting mission, so if they survived the attack, they would return to Ascalon in a day or two. While he wasn’t important enough to warrant a search party, Thio did not know if Eletheria was.

Thio struggled with if asking about how much quan one could use was insulting. While it may be insulting it could help inform him on how likely they will search for them. He glanced briefly at Eletheria while running through the possibilities in his head. If Eletheria was of noble blood she could be little in power of the quan but important socially. If she was important but lacked power they might search. If she was powerful and important, they would search. With that conclusion, he realized that was where he had started, still unsure if they should move or stay.

Thio realized he had stopped walking, and Ele was looking at him oddly. “If we follow the coastline northward it should take us to a port,” Thio said.

“What about the Vol Mortem?” Ele asked, looking back out towards the sea where they came in from.

“They should end up back in Ascalon. This was supposed to be a scouting mission,” Thio replied, trying to sound as confident as he could. “The airship probably covers 24 maybe 25 leagues in a day. We are perhaps a week or two walk from home. Shorter if we can find a village and bargain for transport.” He glanced at the broken pack on the ground between them.

“It will not work. Without wings to help stabilize and my…” Ele started to inform and Thio looked back up at her.

“I wasn’t thinking about flying, I was wondering if it could be used to provide heat.” Thio interrupted her then looked back down at the pack.

“I’m not sure; I know Quan can heat up things if enough is run through it.”

“You try with a coil of wire and I will try the old-fashioned method. One way or another, we will have a fire,” Thio said and went about looking for some sticks to rub together. He didn’t have to go far to find a few sticks that felt dry. Stumbling over a fallen branch while looking towards the sea, Thio reached down and felt the wood. The branch was dry, so he picked up one end and dragged it back to Ele.

Ele was already working on something to try to start a fire. She took some copper wire and removed it from the metal rods in the pack. Then, she wrapped it around a small stick and some bark she had found. Sitting cross-legged on the ground and the little bundle in front of her, she held an end of the copper wire in each hand. After some staring at the bundle, Thio could see sweat bead on her forehead. He wondered how tired she was.

Seeking not to interrupt her concentration Thio sat down across from her with his bundle of sticks. He pulled out a small knife he kept in his boot and started slicing shavings from the sticks. Soon a pile of wooden strips lay in front of him. Thinking he needed a place for the fire, he used his knife and boots to dig a hole to put the fire in when they got it started. Since he didn’t have any string, he took a stick of the length and thickness of his arm and then smoothed it with his knife.Once it was as smooth as it would get, he then pulled over a thick piece of bark that he had found. A moment later he was rubbing the stick between both hands to make it spin while it was applying pressure against the bark.

Some time passed as Thio focused on getting a spark or an ember from his stick and bark. When he paused to stretch and look up he realized that Ele had ceased her attempts and was now looking at him. Thio looked at the copper wire she held in her hands.

“How strong is the wire?” This asked, considering if it would work for a bow.

“It is not that strong, and heat will break it easily.” Ele replied. Thio could see hope leaving her as her shoulders hunched a little more and her cheeks lowered.

“Need something to make a bow with,” Thio said while looking around at the trees around them. The small vines and branches he doubted they would have the strength to hold up for this. A glance towards the direction of the sea was definitely a no also. His pants fit him, and he had ceased using a rope to hold them up.

“Here.” Ele interrupted his chain of thought and held the pack towards him. While there wasn’t any rope or string, the leather straps that secured the pack upon a person’s pack were perfect. The leather would hold up to the stress of the bow and grip the stick to ensure it moved.

“This will work,” Thio said as he took the pack and pulled his knife out to cut one of the straps. While he cut the strap Ele was already looking for a branch or something to make the bow out of.

They soon had a fire going soon. The warmth it provided quickly dried their clothes and gave them an immense amount of comfort. As much as Thio wanted to make it bigger, they kept it small and shielded by putting it in a small hole. Thio set an extra sticks a pace away from the fire. By the time their clothes were dry, the sun had begun to set. Thio hoped they were far enough behind the tree line that they would be safe. Once night fell, Thio placed a big branch over it to provide some fuel during the night. Thio briefly prayed to every god he could think of and drifted off to sleep.