“Uhhh,” Joe grunted, staring at the hissing swells of rushing water. “We are going to try and cross this?”
The pair were standing beside the river’s edge, watching the swollen currents of the Andoo’ak River surge by. A decent-sized log cut through the frothing waves. In a matter of moments, the timber flew past the observing young men and vanished downstream.
“You thought we could swim through that?” Joe asked, pointing at the churning torrent of water.
“It’s not my fault! It wasn’t like this last time I was here,” Kaid exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. “Sometimes the streams are low this time of year.”
The Andoo’ak certainty wasn’t dry nor was it a small creek. The river was wide, at least two hundred yards to the far shore. Given how fast the current was moving it was impossible to even guess how deep it was. Joe looked at the bank by his feet and saw the water was up over the lower edge of the grass. The water wasn’t just running at its high point. It was exceptionally flooded.
“Has it rained a lot recently?” Joe asked.
“Now that you mention it, yeah. Think it rained almost every day for the two weeks before you showed up.” Kaid paused on that thought and then added with a snarky smirk, “Ghayle must a known you was coming and had a good sob over it.”
“Funny. Well, we are not getting across here. We need the widest section we can find. That should at least spread out the water and slow the current down. Which way, Kaid?”
“Upstream is the Varborth Bridge,” the gnome stated, nodding his chin to his left. “But that goes over a narrow spot in the river. Also, it is where the search parties will cross. I don’t think we got a choice. We gotta look for something downstream.”
“Downstream it is. Let’s run.”
The pair made a weaving path following the river. When they could, they ran along the riverbank. Occasionally, stands of trees forced them to find a path further inland to the east. Joe assumed it was east, given it was toward the direction the sun had risen from. For all he knew, Illuminaria might have a whole different naming convention for directions. The world clearly had different names for the months. He wondered how many months there were, only to be answered.
The Illuminaria calendar follows a twenty-eight-day lunar pattern. There are thirteen months each consisting of four seven-day weeks. There are two additional days that are not part of any month. Joyous is the name for the summer solstice every year. Lament occurs every four years on the winter solstice.
‘Hiya Hawking,’ Joe mentally greeted the mysterious being, as he jogged in Kaid’s trail. ‘What about the directions? How are they named?’
The four cardinal directions are designated with the terms you are familiar with; North, South, East, and West.
After doing a quick bit of math, Joe sent his thoughts toward Hawking again. ‘So, the months are completely different but the length of the year is identical to Earth and the directions are the same too. Same number of days of the week too. If I ever catch a break and get some downtime, you and I have to talk about why this world and Earth have so many things in common.’
We can do so now if you wish. Please note, you may have questions that I will not answer.
‘Now is not the best time, bud. Unless you are willing to tell me where the best place to get across this river is.’
Our conversation can wait until you are not preoccupied.
‘I thought that would be your answer. One of these days, I’m going to get you to slip up and reveal some extra info.’
Such an instance has already occurred, though it was not accidental.
‘Oh yeah. Ghayle …,” In that moment of recalling when Hawking had given him the name of the goddess, Joe made the mistake of not looking where his step was landing. The point of his right foot cracked into a stone, which sent him tumbling head over heels. Joe landed hard, jamming his shoulder. Worse yet he was pretty sure he had broken a few toes. Swearing loudly, Joe grabbed his foot and rocked on the ground before his healer instinct kicked in. He cast [Healing Touch] on his smashed digits and again on his jarred shoulder.
“Huh. Ain’t never heard those swears before,” Kaid said, standing over the groaning man. Joe tipped a baleful look upward but refrained from commenting. Blowing out a breath, he put his throbbing foot down and levered himself upright again. The heal had fixed the inflicted damage but his toes were still very tender. “Let’s take it slowly for a bit.”
“Or you could just watch where you going and we wouldn’t have to.”
“Don’t be a dick, Kaid.” Using his staff to ease the weight he put on his right foot, Joe limped past the gnome.
“I’ll go look ahead and see if I can find a good spot.”
The surprising consideration was not lost on Joe but at the moment he was more focused on his own painful carelessness. He nodded his head and continued to hobble along the river’s edge. Kaid dashed off. The pain receded more quickly than he expected, probably because Joe had repaired the actual damage. Ten minutes later, he approached Kaid who was waiting for him. By then, the foot was still a bit tender but he could walk normally on it again.
“How about this?” the little rogue asked, pointing at a wide section of the waterway.
The river was twice the width it had been when they first encountered it. There were ripples in areas, showing the flow was passing over rocks not far below the surface. The water was slower here but it was still moved along with a strong rolling current.
“You should be able to wade most of the way across,” Kaid said. “I’ll hang on to you. We’ll just have to swim the middle.”
“I don’t know, Kaid. That’s still an awful lot of water moving downstream quickly.”
“I don’t see another option. We are stuck up against the river. It’s a couple of days' walk in either direction. Upstream to the bridge or down to the port. I really don’t see us reaching either one without meeting a bunch of guys who want to slap chains on you. Unless your new medallion can jump us across, this is the best we got.”
Joe looked at the swollen river. It was far too wide, especially here. His maximum jumping distance was medium range, which for him was currently 280 feet. Joe had already asked Hawking about that number earlier and was told that medium range was 200 feet plus 20 feet for each point in the corresponding attribute. Since Joe had four points of vigor that made his max jump 280. It would take at least four jumps, with Kaid, to reach the far shore from a narrow point in the river.
“Nope. It’s too far.”
“Then in we go. Chop chop, big man.”
‘Don’t push it, Kaid.” Joe sighed. While this might be their best option, it still did not seem like a good one. “Ok, but I want to go on record saying I think this is a bad idea.”
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“So noted. Now get in there.”
Kaid climbed up Joe, perching himself on the top of the backpack. The young man stepped into the river and immediately began to feel the current’s pull on his calf. Since it was late summer, Joe was surprised at how much colder the water was than he was expecting. This surge must be coming right out of some nearby mountains. His skin puckered with goose pimples and the flesh began to get that chilled numb feeling. Thankfully, after that first big step down, he found there was a long stretch of submerged pebbly riverbed to cross. The water stayed at his knees for a dozen yards. Even then, Joe lost his balance several times as the current tried to drag a foot out from under him, especially his still sore right foot.
When he reached the point where the pebbles gave way to mud he almost went down again. He managed to jerk himself upright with the help of his staff. Between the slick footing and a gnome-adorned backpack, he would have fallen without it. His pants were wet from the splashes, leaving them clammily sticking to his legs.
“This is insane, Kaid. There is no way we can make this.”
“Don’t be such a quitter.”
“Well, your balls are not the ones being doused with ice water. Enjoy it while it lasts. I’m pretty sure you are going to be having the same experience very soon.”
Joe picked his way deeper into the river. He found that if he braced his feet against rocks and leaned back against the current he could make progress, and still maintain his footing. The water climbed up his legs. By the time he was waist deep, Joe knew they were going to be yanked downstream as soon as he misplaced a foot or trusted a loose rock. The toes on his feet were packed up tight into the front of his boots. On the left, it was not too bad but his right foot felt like it was in a vise. Joe was certain it was not a question of if they were going to be pulled off his feet, but when.
He pictured Mr. Tierney again saying ‘Work the problem.’ Joe knew he was not going to be able to creep all the way across the massive width of the Andoo’ak. He wedged his staff into a crevice in the rocks to brace himself for a minute and worked on coming up with a plan. The only way he could see them managing the trip with any control was with a life preserver, which they didn’t have. As he had that thought, he briefly pictured a kid wearing pool floats around their arms. Joe imagined a mental ‘ding’ sounding in his head.
“Kaid, empty out the waterskins.”
“Yuh. Ok, why?” asked the voice behind his head.
“Just do it! When they are empty blow as much air into them as you can and then cork them tightly. I need them to float with weight on them. How many do we have?”
“Three. Mine, yours, and the one Konren gave us.”
“Great. Use some of my bandages to make sure the corks can’t pop out. Give me two and you keep the last one just in case you fall off.”
A minute later, Joe pushed the air-filled bladders under each of his armpits. He had Kaid tie the straps tighter so they mostly stayed in place. The problem was his staff. If he held onto it, the waterskins flopped down his arm. He tried holding it horizontally across his stomach, allowing him to clamp his elbows to his side, but that left him without any good way to balance. Finally, he handed the weapon back to the gnome.
“Lash that to the outside of my pack,” he commanded, wedging his poor toes deeper into the rocks.
After a minute, he heard, “Done. Now what?”
“Ok, this is it, Kaid. We are going to be swept away any minute now. I’m barely able to keep my feet on the rocks. I’m not going to suggest going back. You’re right we are trapped. So how do you want to do this?”
“Do what?”
“We’re going downstream. Do you know a good way to ride the river?”
“How would I know? I swim in brooks. Nothing like this.”
“Then I’m going to make the call. Tie a rope from your pack to mine,” Joe ordered in a clipped voice. He had a decent footing but he could feel the river trying to pull them free. “Don’t want us getting separated but tying ourselves together seems dangerous. We can ditch the packs if we need to or keep them to stay connected.”
“That’s not a bad idea. If we do have to ditch the packs, tying them together might make them easier to find too. Give me a second.” While Kaid worked, Joe felt his legs start trembling. The strain and the cold were taking their toll. “Ok, it’s done. What next?”
“I am going to lift my legs in a second. I want you to hang onto my backpack like a kickboard. You are going to kick on an angle. Push us toward the middle of the river.”
“What’s a kickboard?”
“You know the thing you use when you are learning to swim? Never mind. Just have your feet upstream and push us that way,” Joe explained, quickly pointing towards the far shore. “I’m going to keep my focus forward to try to keep us from getting smeared into a rock.”
“That sounds bad. You’re a wuss.”
“Well, it's the only plan we’ve got. So hang on. Here we go.”
Wanting to control his descent into the river, Joe began to sit deeper into the water. As soon as the river’s surface reached the inflated skins under his arms, he lifted his feet. They slid quickly forward until suddenly jamming to a hard stop. Joe tipped face-first into the river. He tried to get his legs under him, but he could not find a good purchase for his feet. He kicked away loose rock after loose rock, holding his breath. He could feel Kaid pulling back, but the gnome was unable to pull him up out of the water. Finally, Joe hooked a heel onto a solid rock and pushed back and up. His head popped out of the water. He grabbed a huge gasp of air. Even as he did so, he could feel the current forcing him back down.
“IT’S THE STAFF,” Kaid shouted. “It’s caught on something.”
“DITCH IT!”
“Really? It’s your only ...”
“.... Get another! DITCH IT!” Joe yelled as the surging river inched his face toward the water once more.
The few seconds it took Kaid to cut the lashings felt like an eternity. The pair popped off the staff in an uncontrolled tumble. Joe tried to get his butt down and his feet forward, but with the awkwardly heavy pack and his arms limited by the floats, he was not strong enough. Thankfully Kaid understood what Joe wanted. He grabbed the upper shoulder strap of Joe’s pack and threw himself to one side as hard as his whopping forty-pound body could manage. It was enough. Joe’s pack spun him so he was sitting with his head up above the surface. It took a minute to find the right balance, but Joe finally found it.
“You still back there?” Joe asked.
“Yeah. You didn’t say it was this cold.”
“Would it have mattered?”
“Guess not. Fuck, it’s cold,” he replied with chattering teeth. “Should I start kicking?”
The gnome’s shivers worried the healer. The water was cold, but he didn’t think it was unbearably so. He wondered if Kaid’s tiny size would make him more susceptible to hypothermia. “Yeah. I’m ready. Kick hard. It will warm you up.”
Joe had to lean against Kaid’s push to keep their balance but, ever so slightly, they began to move away from the shore.
“Make sure you take breaks. I’m not sure if I can cast like this so we may not have [Efferous Endurance]. Don’t exhaust yourself.” He received a grunt for a reply. Joe found that he could use his arms and legs to steer them a little. When the first large rock rose out of the water ahead, Joe considered trying to stop against it and check on the little man. Their semi-insane strategy was working. He was leery of trying to make it any more complicated. Deciding he did not want to destroy the equilibrium they had achieved, Joe angled them away from the boulder.
They surfed downstream for a while until Joe noticed Kaid’s kicks were slowing down and becoming more erratic.
“Hey Kaid. Are you ok?”
“Hmmurph,” was the sluggish sound that reached Joe’s ear.
“Come on Kaid! Answer me!”
“Uhg huh yurshelf. Ssssstupid …”
Joe cranked his head around as much as he could without tipping them over. Kaid was still hanging on tightly to his pack but his eyes were mostly closed and his lips were blue. He would kick every now and then, but those efforts were becoming less frequent.
Joe was about to try and cast [Efferous Endurance] on the thief or [Heart Fire] on his backpack when something else caught his eye. He looked further upstream and saw they were not alone in the river. A large tree was following them. Its roots were on the far end; the top of the tree was facing in their direction. Some green leaves fluttered like tiny banners on the wreath of branches pointed downstream. Most of those branches had been snapped off on its journey so far. This meant instead of presenting twigs and greenery, those limbs were aiming a mass of sharp jagged spears at the pair.