Final Voyage of the Remora Page 17

  "Shawn has gone into the jungle," declared Garth. "I am going in after him."

  "Not alone, you aren't," Kalina said with determination. "Send Bitsy to look for Shawn while Karl gathers the others. If we must face those Rhodans, we will face them together."

  Karl immediately turned and ran into the forest to summon the others. Garth turned and stared at Kalina.

  "We have an understanding," Garth reminded her. "I feel this is necessary to save Shawn, and I think all of us going in is bound to alert the Rhodans. I must go alone."

  "We have made promises to each other," agreed Kalina, "but there are limits to foolishness. While the loss of Shawn would be grave, your death would end this expedition. If you insist on going in alone, I will exercise my right to also go in alone."

  "That is not fair," scowled Garth. "You would be endangering yourself merely to restrict me."

  "Would I?" retorted Kalina. "I may have a far greater chance of survival than you do. We know nothing about the Rhodans except that they kill whoever enters the Atule's Maze. They could be warriors or mages. We just don't know. You are the one who keeps stressing that we must know our enemies before battle. Heed your own advice, warrior."

  Garth sighed heavily and nodded his head. "You are right," he conceded as Max and Clint raced into the clearing, "but I will not abandon a Ranger to the Rhodans."

  "Nor will I," agreed Kalina, "but we will recover him intelligently, not by charging into the jungle. Send Bitsy to find him."

  Garth nodded and stuck his finger into his pocket to wake the fairy. A second later he yelped and pulled his finger back out.

  "She bit me!" he exclaimed.

  The little blue woman popped her head out of the pocket and glared at Garth. "There is a great difference between disturbing one's nap and trying to drill a hole through them," she scowled. "Be careful. Fairies are delicate."

  The Rangers tried to hide their laughter, but Kalina didn't. Garth blushed a brilliant red.

  "I am sorry, Bitsy," he apologized. "Shawn has entered the jungle, and I fear for his life. Can you find him?"

  The scowl immediately fell from Bitsy's face, only to be replaced with a look of great concern. She nodded her head and leaped into the sky.

  "Feisty little creature," Garth remarked as the fairy disappeared into the jungle.

  "She will find him," Kalina said soothingly as the elves entered the clearing and set their catch down on the ground. "Whether the Rhodans be creatures or mages, they will be hard pressed to notice a fairy."

  The Rangers and elves prepared for battle as Tedi and Natia returned from the forest with Karl. Moments later, Shawn Cowen walked out of the jungle with Bitsy on his shoulder. The Ranger was carrying an armful of plants, but his eyes were downcast as he approached the group.

  "You were told not to enter Atule's Maze," Garth barked sternly. "A Ranger should know better."

  "I didn't really enter the jungle," Shawn said defensively. "Atule's Maze does not really start for another league. What you see before you has well used trails. It can hardly be called a jungle."

  "You know better," glared Garth.

  "Aye," Shawn conceded as he laid the plants on the ground, "but look what I have found. I've got some fengel root, pit berries, wendalweed, hacklebush, flamorweed, and aranille."

  "Oh, wendalweed!" grinned Natia.

  "Don't you even think of going near it," Tedi warned his wife.

  Garth looked at Tedi questioningly.

  "It's a long story," chuckled Tedi. "Wendalweed is a drug that blocks your memories. It can also be poisonous if taken for long periods of time. Gypsies have been known to abuse the substance," he added as he glanced at Natia.

  Natia giggled as she recalled using the wendalweed to make Tedi forget his prior life so he would stay with the gypsies. It had been a dangerous gambit, and she had been severely scolded for using it, but time had erased the seriousness of her offense. Even Tedi chuckled in remembrance of the episode.

  "Aranille is an excellent agent for healing," commented Kalina. "I think the Rangers should carry some with them as they will have no mage to heal them."

  "I am familiar with hacklebush," stated Garth. "We used to call it stinkweed, but what are the others?"

  "Fengel root is a strong form of barrel weed," explained Kalina. "You must remember the time we feigned death in Tagaret? Fengel root does the same thing."

  "And the pit berries are to counter the effects of the fengel root?" asked Garth.

  "Precisely," nodded Kalina. "The only one I am not familiar with is flamorweed. What is it?"

  "It is quite rare in Alcea," answered Shawn. "I have only seen three such plants in all my travels. It contains a resin that is extremely flammable. It is an amazing aid if you need to start a fire and the wood is wet. You can coat the wet wood with the resin and then ignite it. By the time the resin is exhausted, the wood is burning fine. I was fortunate enough to find two such plants in there. Of course, I left one undisturbed, but this one will come in handy if the weather turns foul."

  "I am pleased with the plants you found," Garth said to Shawn, "but you will not make such a decision on your own again. Regardless of your definition as to where the jungle starts, your actions could have endangered this whole mission. Next time you should ask before you wander off."

  "I am sorry," apologized Shawn. "I truly had not intended to stray far, but you are correct. I will not make the same mistake again."

  "Good," Garth nodded in satisfaction. "Let's get the game dressed and the evening meal started. This will be our last night together."

  The group dispersed to prepare for the meal, but Lyron caught everyone's attention before they had gone far.

  "Who stole my rabbits?" he asked loudly.

  Everyone turned to face the elf, and Garth walked over to him.

  "What rabbits?" he asked.

  "I dropped four rabbits right here when we came into camp," answered Lyron. "Who took them?"

  "No one has been near your rabbits," answered Garth as he pointed to two other piles of rabbits. "We were all worried about Shawn. Are you sure your rabbits are not in the other piles?"

  "They are not in my pile," stated Gerant as he counted his rabbits.

  "Nor mine," responded Prince Rigal. "I would wager someone is playing a joke on you."

  "There were three piles of rabbits when I brought Tedi and Natia into the clearing," declared Karl. "None of us could have taken them. I was the last to join the group, and I do not play jokes with another man's game."

  Lyron's face darkened as he knelt where he had left his rabbits. He studied the ground and saw tracks leading into the forest.

  "Wolf!" exclaimed the elf. "Imagine the nerve of a wolf coming into our camp when we are all here."

  "We should secure all of our foodstuffs tonight," advised Karl. "A pack of hungry wolves can create a nasty disturbance in the middle of the night."

  "Well," shrugged Garth, "wolves have to eat, too. Let's secure the rest and get our own meal started."

  The Alceans spent the rest of the daylight hours preparing the game and eating. By the time the sun set, everyone was relaxing around the fire.

  "This is our last night together," Garth said softly. "It is important that we maintain communications over the next few months. Remember to allow time in your schedules for your fairies to report your progress. If any group runs into trouble and needs help, try to stall for time, but also remember that help may be very far away. Zara is a huge landmass, and help might not be possible at all times."

  "In others words," Max chuckled as he glanced at Shawn, "keep your nose out of places where danger is hiding."

  "That too," laughed Garth. "Has everyone decided their path from here?"

  "Prince Rigal and the elves will be traveling with us for a while," replied Clint McFarren. "We are going to head down to the Chute to see if it is practical to get to the Elfwoods that way. If it is, we will part company with them and take our mapping to the peaks of the
Barrier."

  "And if the Chute is impossible to cross?" asked Garth.

  "We will attempt to scale the mountains," answered Prince Rigal. "The Barrier has much taller mountains than the Boulders, but going over them is still preferable to hiking all the way up to Ramaldi Pass, although it might take us just as long."

  "I think your plan is sound," Garth said with a tone of approval. "With what little I know about the Dielderal, I find it difficult to believe that they would mix with humans in the cities."

  "I agree," stated Prince Rigal. "Elven cities are designed to resemble the forest as much as possible. Humans do not seem to care for the appearance of their cities. I would prefer the path that keeps us in isolation."

  "What about you four?" asked Karl.

  "We will raft down the River to Calusa," answered Garth. "There we hope to buy some horses and ride to the Ramaldi Pass. Our eventual destination is the city of Giza on the northern coast of the Sea of Tears. Several of the Snakes were from that city, and it seems a likely place to begin our investigation of the Zaran capabilities."

  "You will have seen a fair portion of Zara by the time you get there," Clint pointed out. "What happens after that?"

  "I don't know," admitted Garth. "That is why it is essential for all of us to keep contact with each other. While our goal is to determine the strengths of the Zaran army, I also want to find their weaknesses."

  "Then we have to get back to the Remora," interjected Tedi. "We are still a long way from home, and our knowledge will not help Alcea if we don't deliver it to them."

  "And within time to make it useful," added Kalina. "One of the most important pieces of information we need to discover is when this attack will occur."

  "Well," summarized Garth, "we have our work cut out for us. Prince Rigal, try to determine where the Dielderal come into all this. See if you can determine who the key people are and what will happen if they disappear somehow. Clint, map as much of this continent as you can. Verify what Haditha has shared with us, and fill in where her memory was lacking."

  Everyone nodded, and Garth ended the meeting. The Alceans went to sleep. The group was back up just before the dawn, and work on the raft was completed within a couple of hours. Four crude paddles were fashioned, and the raft was dragged into the river. The two couples said their farewells to the others, and the raft was pushed away from shore. As the river began to pull the raft downstream, a blur broke from the forest and raced along the riverbank. With a mighty leap the creature hurled its body off the riverbank and onto the small raft.

  "Smokey!" shouted Natia. "Where did you come from?"

  "Our wolf," laughed Tedi. "How did he manage to find us?"

  "He has been following us all the while," Kalina chuckled as she glanced at Garth. "I guess you can stop worrying about Haditha's mysterious accomplice."

  "So it would seem." Garth found himself laughing despite the dog's disobedience. "I thought I told you to stay on the ship?"

  "Since when has he listened to you?" taunted Kalina.

  "Since when has anyone listened to me," Garth shook his head as he bent down and roughed the dog's fur.

  * * *

  Squirt soared just over the surface of the water searching for a small fish. While the sailors willingly shared their food, the fairy didn't find it appetizing. Everything was salted, dried, smoked, or cooked, and Squirt wanted something fresh. While she had found berries on the large island, a small fish would be a delight, and Squirt knew that the water was full of them. What she hadn't considered properly was that there were also larger fish in the same waters, and some of them had no compunction about leaping out of the water for a tasty treat.

  Squirt had targeted a tiny fish just below the surface of the water. She lowered her body until the water was almost touching her tiny chest. Just as she was about to reach into the water and grab the fish, it darted to the right. The acrobatic fairy corrected instantly, and that saved her life. A giant fish leaped clear out of the water, its gaping jaws opened wide in anticipation of the tasty blue treat. Squirt caught sight of the large fish and shot skyward, her empty stomach immediately forgotten.

  The fairy's limbs quaked nervously as she hovered over the channel that flowed into the sea. Her eyes focused on the monster that was swimming just under the surface, and she vowed never to go fishing again. Squirt hovered until her quaking subsided and then she let out a huge sigh of relief as a final shudder wracked her small body. Satisfied that her body was under control, Squirt turned and started flying back to the Remora. Her eyes no longer tried to focus on the small fish under the surface of the water. Instead she took in her surroundings. So it was that she noticed a line of coconuts floating in the flow of the water like a column of soldiers marching off to war.

  The fairy found a certain amount of beauty in the floating coconuts, and she tried to picture them jumping out of a palm tree in such a fashion as to maintain a uniform distance between them. Squirt knew it was a nonsensical thought, but it pleased her nonetheless. As one of the coconuts passed under her, she noticed that it was horribly scarred. It took a moment for the scarring to register in her mind, and by that time the coconut was behind her. She immediately focused on the next coconut in line and noticed the same scarring pattern. She flew lower to examine it.

  Squirt's brow creased heavily as she stared at the coconut passing beneath her. Satisfied that she had examined it thoroughly, she darted forward to the next coconut in line. Having examined the next coconut, the blue fairy shot skyward. She soared over the big island and swooped down towards the deck. Seeing Captain Gomery standing near the stern rail, she landed on his shoulder. The captain started slightly, still not accustomed to having a fairy report to him.

  "You scared me, Squirt," chuckled Captain Gomery.

  "I do intend to scare you," Squirt whispered seriously, "but not with my flying. Come below."

  The fairy darted back into the air, and the captain turned with a puzzled expression. He saw the fairy dart through the hatchway and hurried to catch up. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, the fairy was hovering outside the door to the captain's quarters. Captain Gomery obligingly opened the door and let the fairy in before entering the room himself and closing the door.

  "You are acting rather strange today," frowned the captain. "Are you ill?"

  "I am not sick," answered the fairy, "but I bring news that will not please you. One of the crew is a traitor."

  "That is a serious charge," warned the captain. "You had better explain yourself."

  "I do not know the letters that the humans use as well as the other fairies," declared Squirt, "but I do know words that I have seen before. Someone is sending coconuts to the sea with words written on them."

  Captain Gomery's brow creased severely. "What are the words?' he asked.

  "Remora like it says on the stern of this ship," answered Squirt, "and Claw Key like it said on the chart that the Ranger had."

  "You are sure of this?" asked the captain.

  Squirt closed her eyes and an image began to form before the captain. It was an image of one of the coconuts.

  "I flew over a whole column of them," stated Squirt. "They are already on their way to the sea. There is traitor onboard this ship."

  "I must agree with you," conceded the captain. "We have been infiltrated. Can you get those coconuts out of the water?"

  "I can try," replied the fairy as she opened her eyes and dismissed the image. "What I cannot guarantee is that the coconuts that I have found are the first to be sent. Our position may already be known to the Zarans."

  "I understand," nodded Captain Gomery. "We will work together to do what makes the most sense. For now you must make sure that you remove all of the coconuts you can find, and do not let anyone else know about this."

  "It must be reported to Mikal when Bitsy next arrives," declared Squirt.

  "But no one else," agreed the captain.

  "What else can we do?" asked the fairy.

  "Se
veral things," answered Captain Gomery. "You will make a daily trip along the channel. Search for anything that might be used to send messages, but more importantly, keep a watch out for any Zaran ships. There is not a lot of water in this area, but if we have advanced warning of the enemy coming, we can plan either a retreat or a welcome for them."

  "That is only two things," Squirt pointed out.

  "You can also observe the crew members from above," smiled the captain. "You are far more likely to see our traitor perform his dirty deed than I am. I doubt he would be so bold as to throw messages into the water while I am watching."

  "I will find our traitor," promised the tiny woman, "but you will have to deal with him."

  Chapter 14

  Atule's Maze

  The Calusa River flowed swiftly, and the raft sped through the jungle at a hair-raising pace. Garth Shado and Tedi Markel had been taking turns at the tiller to ease the fatigue that came from trying to steer the raft past rapids and around the occasional boulders that dotted the stream. Garth had already been at the tiller for two hours when the sky began to darken.

  "Are you ready to be relieved?" Tedi asked as he noticed the strain in Garth's face.

  "More than that," Garth replied. "I'm thinking that steering this speeding raft during the daylight is hard enough as it is. I don't think we are safe running the river at night. We need to find a way to tie off before we lose light."

  "But you have been warned against setting foot in Atule's Maze," cautioned Tedi. "Are you suggesting that we risk it anyways?"

  "If we must," Garth nodded wearily, "but perhaps we can tie off without going ashore. If not, we will do what we must to survive. We will die in this fast-moving river if we collide with a rock during the night."

  Tedi nodded thoughtfully and stared at the blurring riverbank. He blinked his eyes and focused farther ahead of the raft, looking for anything that might slow the raft. The jungle had grown thicker as they progressed downstream, and huge ancient trees lined the riverbanks, their branches towering over the river and intertwining with those on the other bank to create an almost-solid canopy. Thick vines wrapped around the trunks of the trees and occasionally hung from the branches. The vines appeared sturdy enough to hold the raft fast if they could manage to get their hands on pieces of them and secure the other ends to one of the trees.