Major Thomas Thompson sat down when he finally made it to the beach. He stared at the water as he considered his next move. If he wanted to get to the Fount, he needed a boat.

How did he get one of those? The island containing Hermit Peak had very few trees as far as he could tell from his walk from the top of the mountain. He didn't see any docks with boats waiting for the chosen one. He didn't see anything left over from the taking of the Queen.

So he had a problem with no solution.

Could he swim to the next island in the chain? Did he want to try in the middle of the night? How much time did he have to mull over his problem?

Would the Queen's enemy recognize that he had been called to clear out the area around the Fount and try to stop him?

So he still had a lot of questions, and not that many answers.

He decided to walk around the island at beach level. Maybe there was something there he could use to get off the island and move on to the quest he had been given.

How had he been picked in the first place? How did they reach across to where he had been flying the experimental spacecraft and yank him here? How did he get back?

He paused when he found something that looked like boat dock sticking out into the water. He looked out into the ocean. He thought he saw a faint light in the distance. Was that some kind of boat?

Should he try to swim out there and ask for a lift?

He decided that he could try to swim out there and see if that light was attached to some kind of boat that he could use to start moving toward getting home.

He paused. It felt good to try to do some positive decision making. He didn't like feeling he was trapped. Once he was done with this, he could have some words with the queen about snatching up people from other universes for quests.

Thompson waded out in the water. It was warm to the touch. He figured that it took in a lot of sun during the daytime. He pulled himself away from the beach, kicking behind him as he headed for the floating light.

He felt a current pulling on him, but he swam across it toward the light. He grimaced that the moving water had pulled him away from his goal, but further out it stopped pushing against him. He orientated himself on the light and kept swimming. He reached the side of a wooden vessel rocking on the ocean. A chain dropped over the side to hold it in place with an anchor at the end of it.

The major inspected the boat. It seemed like it had seen a lot of years in the salt and wind. Would he be welcomed aboard, or forced to swim back to the island?

He hoped that he could talk peacefully with whomever was aboard. The last thing he wanted was a fight with some stranger.

He grabbed the chain. He didn't like the feel of it flaking in his hands. He pulled himself out of the water. He reached the wall around the top deck and pulled himself over it. He didn't see anyone on deck. He frowned. Maybe they were all below decks.

He needed to talk to someone before he raised anchor and sailed away from the spot. He had enough problems without being a pirate too.

He walked around as softly as he could. He didn't find anyone on the main deck. Maybe they were in safe waters and hadn't set a watch. He liked that for an explanation.

The helm stood on a platform that seemed to house a cabin. Thompson could barely make out a door in the light cast by the lit lantern next to the wheel. He knocked on the door.

The rattling of metal and grumbling answered his knock. Apparently the captain didn't want to be woken up in the middle of his beauty rest. He pulled the door open to glare at the stranger in front of him.

Thompson wondered how someone had stuffed a bear in pirate clothes and thought that was okay. The next thing on his mind was why that same someone had given the bear a cutlass that sparked in his hairy hands.

“Who are you?,” growled the bear.

“Thomas Thompson,” said the major. He stepped back to put some distance between him and the glinting blade. Some bears could run at thirty miles an hour. Could this one?

“What are you doing on my boat?,” said the bear. He advanced a couple of steps so he had a narrower distance to cross if Thompson flung himself over the side and back into the ocean.

“I saw your light, and wondered if you could give me a lift to civilization,” said Thompson.

“Why would I do something like that?,” said the bear.

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“I figured it would be out of the goodness of your heart,” said Thompson. He couldn't use the Queen as some kind of chip. He didn't know who was on which side at this point. Just saying he was trying to rescue the Queen might cause a charge.

He didn't think he could take on a bear with a sword without some kind of weapon in hand. His hand to hand training felt inadequate at the moment.

“Wrong answer,” said the bear. “I don't do anything out of the goodness of my heart.”

“Not one thing?,” asked Thompson.

“Not one,” said the bear. He advanced. The sword danced in the single light behind it.

Thompson heard footsteps. He backed up to the bow of the boat. A small crew of six men poured out on the deck. They were armed with swords and clubs.

They seemed shorter than normal too, but there wasn't enough light for details.

“It looks like we have us a stowaway that we can lock in chains and sell at the next port,” said the bear. “What do you think, men?”

A ragged “Aye!” filled the air as the crew advanced on Thompson.

“Remember we want him alive for selling,” said the bear. “That means no serious wounding. You hear me, Jenkins?”

“Aye,” said one of the crew at the end of the line.

Thompson decided that he would take that man out first if he could. He didn't want to count on the man obeying his captain in the middle of a fight.

“I don't want any trouble,” said Thompson. “I just need to get somewhere, and thought I could ask for a lift. I'll swim back to the island and wait for another boat to come along.”

“It's too late for that,” said the bear. He advanced to stand behind the line his crew formed in front of the major. “You're going along with us until we can dump you.”

“I don't think so,” said Thompson. He jumped over the railing and dropped into the water.

The major started swimming toward the island. He made out the bulk against the sky full of stars. He doubted the sailors would jump into the water after him.

He hit the cross current and rode it away from the boat as he swam toward the beach.

Hermit Peak was barren. There was no cover except for the little house on the top. How long did he have before they came after him? Could he ambush one and get a weapon to take on the rest?

Could he take on the bear if he had his own sword?

He knew that some famous old west people had killed grizzlys with a knife and some pluck. He doubted he had that much pluck.

He really wanted a pistol. That would change the odds in a hurry if all the crew had were swords.

He pulled himself out of the water and lay on the beach for a moment to catch his breath. His arms and shoulders hurt after the exertion. He tried to shrug it off as he climbed to his feet.

He looked around as he headed for the mountain sticking out of the ground. He looked out on the water. They knew he couldn't go anywhere. Would they come after him in the daylight?

He didn't feel like they would chase after him in the dark. They would wait for the sun so he was a clearer target for them to chase down.

He could make it up to the cabin at the top if he hurried. Then he could try to take them on one at a time with some kind of improvised weapon. He didn't remember any such weapon, but he hadn't been looking for one when he had decided to walk down to the beach.

Maybe the dwarf had left his axe behind when the Queen had been taken. That was something he could use until he found something better.

He found the steps carved in the rock. He started climbing. He looked at the ocean as he went. He saw the light every time he circled around the mountain. He spotted a pale blob on the water.

They had dropped a boat and were coming after him. He knew he couldn't run down to the beach and swim out to the boat. They would see him against the sand as he tried to circle around them.

He reached the outcropping where the fire still burned. He paused as he looked at it. Could he use that as a weapon?

How could he use it? The only things he could burn were his wet clothes.

He climbed up to the cabin. Maybe there was something there he could use as fuel. He didn't have much of a plan.

He walked into the cabin and looked around. He found a blanket on the floor beside the bed. Maybe he could use that to whip fire around on the crew to keep them at a distance.

He didn't think that would work in the slightest.

He needed a better plan than that.

He went back to the outcropping with the blanket around his shoulders. He looked down on all sides. He saw the moving lights of lanterns coming up to deal with him. Seven shapes were marked by the lanterns.

No one was on the boat if seven people were all of the crew.

If Thompson could get by the sailors, he could swim back out to the boat and lift anchor and sail away. He wasn't going to be able to go back down the stairs with them coming up two abreast.

He didn't think he could fight them all either. He didn't have a weapon other than the blanket on his shoulders and the small fire Spot had used to talk to him.

He walked out to the end of the outcropping. He could see the ocean below. If he jumped, he would hit the side of the mountain and bounce down to the beach.

The only way he could hit the water was with a glider. And he didn't have anything like that.

He went to the top of the stairs. If they were tired from the climb, maybe he could punch through their ranks and reach the beach before them and launch the dinghy to row back to the boat. Then he could lift anchor and sail away.

He grimaced at the choices before him. Nothing looked right, and he had no guarantee that he could take on the crew and get away before they chased him down.

Maybe jumping from the outcropping was the only viable way of getting around the crew and reaching the boat.

He didn't like that at all. He looked out at the horizon. If he wanted to get home, he had to get to the Fount. If he wanted to do that, he had to get past his enemies.

And if he wanted to do that, he had to jump, or fight his way through without any weapons of his own.

He looked down at the ocean again. He gathered the corners of the blanket in both hands. Was he seriously considering jumping to the water?

He went to the top of the stairs again. He saw the lanterns still climbing toward him. He took aim at the end of the outcropping. He checked his grips on the blanket. He ran to the end of the finger of rock sticking out of the mountain and jumped.