Child Of A Guardian And Of The Free (Book 3) (27 page)

‘
Good question.’ Kelian knew that their plans for taking the ship were risky at best, and he wondered if it might not be safer to see if they were taken ashore, and if so, attempt to escape once on solid ground. They had found no papers or maps indicating their course, and Penn had done an admirable job of ensuring his own thoughts were not public, nor were the thoughts of those who needed to know their course, which made everyone certain that Penn had at least one crewmember with the skills to hide the thoughts of others. To Kelian’s dismay, for the past weeks every time someone had crept above deck at night to attempt to ascertain their course by the position of the stars, they had found the sky overcast. On the occasions the night sky had cleared it was impossible to go up on deck to look at the sky, and now they had arrived at their destination and Kelian had absolutely no idea where they were. They only knew that most of the time they had been sailing east and sometimes south-east, but for the last part of the journey their course had gradually circled around until they were moving in a north-westerly direction.

‘
I think we should all try to sneak off the ship,’ said Borgulnay. ‘Callian, you said when you came aboard you confused them enough that they didn’t realize what was happening. Can you do it again?’

‘
I don’t know, probably not,’ Callian said honestly. ‘I had a lot of help from Tim and Araas, and apart from ourselves, we only had to get Kelian past unseen.’

‘
I wonder why they didn’t notice Kalinya,’ Gilgarry mused.

‘
Probably because of the level of confusion we caused,’ said Timbul. ‘But Callian’s right. It would be incredibly difficult to get this entire group off the ship unnoticed.’

‘
Part of our luck was due to there being almost no-one hanging around the docks where we left Tathra,’ Araas explained. ‘But there could be any number of people waiting for this ship to arrive. I don’t think we can take the risk.’

‘
So what do we do?’ asked Kelian, turning to Borgulnay.

‘
We get Callian, Tim and Araas to take only you and Kalinya ashore. Callian, with just Kelian and Kalinya to worry about, can you create enough distraction, or confusion, or whatever it is you do, to get Kelian and Kalinya away on a longboat?’

‘
On a longboat… That we can probably do,’ said Callian, looking somewhat relieved.

‘
Good. You go ashore now and when they come for the rest of us-’

‘
Someone’s coming!’ Araas interrupted and in a flash he, Callian, Timbul, Kelian and Kalinya disappeared into the adjoining cabin and fastened the door.

‘
Callian?’
Kelian thought cautiously.

‘
You want us to go ashore now?’

‘
Right now. We can-’ Kelian’s
thoughts broke as footsteps approached the cabin.

Chapter
30

Settlement

Dale slipped from the house
. He was now dressed entirely in clean black clothing, thanks to Cathaoir. Eibhear was waiting at the edge of the forest, and was similarly dressed. Dale was surprised to see the warrior wearing boots. He handed Dale a bow and a full quiver and a hunting knife in a belt sheath.

‘
Catho hasn’t lost any of his previous skill,’ Eibhear commented as Dale fastened the belt sheath around his waist. ‘He was an excellent weapons maker when he was in Nyinaku and those knives are some of the best I’ve ever seen.’

‘
I’m better with a bow,’ said Dale. He was a skilled bowman, but far from skilled with a knife. He hoped they could find the bay and obtain information without being accosted, as he had no desire to use either weapon unless absolutely necessary. ‘Are you taking only that knife?’

‘
Yes. I don’t want to give anyone the impression I came to make trouble.’

‘
And if we end up in trouble?’

‘
I’ll trust you to put a couple of arrows through anyone causing the trouble, and then we’ll run like a pack of ngurakin is chasing us.’

They set off through the trees, with Dale following in Eibhear
’s footsteps. He was pleased he’d had a good sleep. He never had difficulty sleeping but he was determined to be fully alert if he was to go walking into the territory of the free, regardless of whether Eibhear was at his side or not. He knew it would be a long walk. He hoped Cathaoir had overestimated the time it would take them to walk to the bay, but he knew that was unlikely. Jemicka might be starting to take on traits of the free, but she was still mostly human, and Cathaoir would be quite aware of human limitations.

It took exactly six hours. Dale was exhausted when they arrived. They had rested only twice and though
Dale was far fitter than he’d ever been in his life, Eibhear set a swift pace, and Dale was determined to keep up as he knew the warrior was moving slower than he would be without Dale. Twice they stopped briefly when Eibhear had an uncomfortable feeling that someone was following them, but he had not been able to confirm his suspicion so they continued doggedly towards the bay.

They reached the water an hour before dawn. Forest gave way to fields and then to scattered bush land with huts spaced between the trees, as was typical of the
free. As they passed by the huts, Dale kept his eyes down and trusted that Eibhear was guarding his thoughts, in the hope that no-one would notice he was human.

Their luck held. No-one approached them or even seemed to notice them as they entered an empty hut. The huts along the edge of the water were
normally occupied by fishing folk and there was a strong stench of rotten fish in the hut Dale chose to enter. He wrinkled his nose and gave a grunt.

‘
What about fish for dinner?’ Eibhear suggested with a grin, pointing to a pile of rotting fish guts which had been carelessly flung into a corner.

‘
Ugh!’ Dale wasn’t sure whether the smell offended him more than the fact that someone was foul enough to leave such a disgusting mess. ‘Who chose this hut?’ he mumbled.

Eibhear laughed under his breath. He picked up an old rag which was hanging over the window
sill and used it to scrape up the rotting heap, then he carried it several hundred paces away from the hut and dropped it over the edge of a low cliff into the sea. The sea was quite deep below the cliff and there was a flurry of activity as sharks showed their appreciation for the deposit. Eibhear made a mental note to stay out of the water. He hurried back to the hut.

‘
Ready?’ he asked.

‘
As ready as I’ll ever be,’ said Dale, feeling a bit nervous. Their plan was simply to find some locals and try to get an explanation for the hundreds of ships waiting patiently in the bay. Cathaoir and Jemicka had been able to give them a reasonably accurate description of where they were in comparison to Alkira, and Dale was increasingly hopeful for a means of return. The ships they had spoken of in the harbor seemed the best place to start. Some of the ships were of unknown design to Dale, but some were Tatharlian and several were Alkiran. Some had huge crossbows mounted along the sides of the vessels.

Dale wasn
’t looking forward to this part of their venture. He was to remain aloof which would allow him to keep his head down. He was becoming increasingly agitated and they hadn’t even left the hut. Eibhear turned to Dale with an expression both amused and worried.

‘
No offence Dale, but when it comes to safety you don’t have a good record, and you’re not making it easy for me to hide your extremely loud thoughts by imagining yourself captured and bleeding to death staked outside the village on a sharp stick. Perhaps you should wait in the hut whilst I go and see what I can find out. You could have a rest. Just imagine, you wouldn’t fall out of any trees, get splattered with poisonous blood, swim over any waterfalls...’

‘
Very funny,’ Dale said huffily through gritted teeth. ‘Let’s get going. You’re an insulting ignoramus, but I can’t let you go in there by yourself. And don’t think I’m underestimating the chance of having a stake shoved up my keister! It seems to be one of your people’s favorite pastimes. Maybe you haven’t noticed but your people seem prone to egregious-’ Dale broke off as Eibhear grabbed a handful of his hair and slammed his head against the wall. The point of Eibhear’s knife broke the skin on his throat. The warrior moved so fast Dale didn’t even have time to cry out. Eibhear fixed him with an infuriated glare.

‘
Don’t...think...I...hadn’t...noticed,’ he growled, and Dale flinched as an image of a woman, impaled on a stick outside a village in Nyinaku, flashed into his mind. She was beautiful, with slender limbs, long dark hair and almost black eyes. Eibhear withdrew the knife, his eyes still glowering. He let go of Dale and breathed out slowly. Dale slid down the wall until he was sitting on the ground, feeling lightheaded from the impact of his head hitting the stone wall. He closed his eyes, regretting his words with all his heart. For a second he wondered if the constant stress had finally driven him mad, that he would say something so insensitive and cruel when he knew with all his heart that Eibhear was as far removed as a warrior could be from the typical behavior of the fallen. He wondered who the woman had been, and if she had belonged to Eibhear in some way.

‘
Her name was Keely. She was Lias’ sister.’

‘
Why...?’ Dale didn’t quite know how to ask.

‘
Her return was senseless. There was no reason. Nandul just wanted someone to blame. Lias helped Mil, Elena and Immosey when they were captives in Nyinaku, so Nandul murdered his sister.’ Eibhear sighed heavily.

‘
I’m so sorry Eibhear. I truly am an idiot. Could smash me against the wall again and put me out of my misery?’

‘
It’s tempting.’

‘
But?’

‘
Can I murder you later Dale?’ Eibhear sounded weary. ‘Right now we just need to find out what all these ships are doing and then get out of this place. These little stone houses with the fireplace in the corner, it all reminds me a little too sharply of home.’

Dale rolled onto his knees
and stood up. Eibhear stared at him for a few seconds.

‘
On second thoughts, I can find out what I need to find out without you wandering around outside. And I can hide your thoughts from a fair distance. You’re not coming with me Dale.’

‘
Yes I am. I didn’t walk all night to sit here in a hut. I’m coming.’

‘
No. You’re not,’ Eibhear said with finality. ‘Could you, for once in your life do as you’re told and stay in this hut? Is that even remotely possible?’

‘
Fine,’ said Dale grumpily. He moved to the corner of the room furthest from where the rotten fish had been, and sat down against the wall. Even as Eibhear watched, his body relaxed and he started to snore.

‘
I should kick you hard to make sure you’re asleep,’ murmured Eibhear.

‘
No need,’ said Dale without opening his eyes. There was a pause and the snores restarted.

Eibhear slipped from the room as the sky began to lighten. He decided to go where he would expect to find a communal gathering point,
if this was a village in Nyinaku. His decision proved both good and bad. The gathering point was exactly where he expected it to be, but unfortunately there was not a single person in sight. He walked across the cleared circle to where a good sized fire burnt. It had been recently stoked. There were several wooden sitting benches placed under the surrounding trees, so he moved to the nearest and ran his hand across the wood. The temperature of the wood was warmer in several patches, indicating that the bench had been vacated very recently. Eibhear withdrew his hand and turned to look through the surrounding trees. The two closest huts had cloth window coverings. As Eibhear watched one of the coverings twitched slightly. He moved across the clearing so the dawning sun was at his side and he studied the earth. It was also exactly as he’d expected. The ground was a compacted accumulation of tracks. Judging by the number of huts he’d passed and the size of the communal area, Eibhear supposed the population of this village was at least that of Tarl, smaller than Morlee, but far larger than villages like Weema or Larnuk. The sun was rising quickly and the communal area should have been a hive of activity. He felt sure his presence was the cause of its abandonment, and suddenly he had no idea what to do. He reached out for Dale’s mind, wondering if Dale would know how he should proceed. Dale’s mind was comfortingly logical.

‘
What would you do if you were in Nyinaku? If this was a village you’d never been to, what would you be doing right now?’

‘
There would be people everywhere.’

‘
I wish you’d agreed to take a sword. I know you want to look harmless, but being practically unarmed might get you returned. Let’s say you go into a village and there are not people everywhere. What would you assume?’

‘
Either there are highly dangerous animals around and everyone’s taken cover, which would mean a bunch of warriors would appear shortly, fully armed, or I might assume something had happened to draw everyone away - an accidental returning maybe. There would be a gathering at dawn outside the village. It’s called a loeirhy. It’s a bit like a human wake, but not as cheerful.’

‘
I want you to act as if that’s what you expect has happened. What would you do if that’s what did happen?’

‘
I would be able to hear someone’s instructions on where to join everyone. Someone is nominated to keep their thoughts open at a time like that. And I’d remove my shirt and these boots in respect, and then I’d put loeirhy marks across my shoulders-’

‘
Explain.’

‘
Soil rubbed on the shoulders to indicate the burden we all bear, that one day we may all be returned.’

‘
Good. Do it. Take off your shirt and shoes, do the dirt thing, and then attempt to look like you’re trying to find out where the loeirhy is happening.’

Eibhear complied. He
gazed around as if he was trying to ascertain what had happened, and then he peeled off his shirt and dropped it on the sitting bench. He unlaced his boots and placed them neatly beside his shirt. He stood still with head slightly angled as though he was concentrating hard. A voice behind him spoke.

‘
No one was returned. Who are you?’ The man who spoke was of the fallen. His eyes were black and his thoughts silent.

Eibhear
hesitated, startled that the question had come in the common speech.

‘
Saldriquel addi neevwanch
?’ the man tried once again.

‘
I understand the common speech. My name is Eibhear.’

‘
Where are you from? What are you doing here?’

‘
I was passing and I saw the ships and I wondered where they go.’

‘
You’re not like us. You’re free.’

‘
I don’t understand.’ Eibhear tried to act casual.

‘
You’re free, aren’t you?’ The accusation was delivered angrily.

‘
Aren’t you also?’ asked Eibhear, looking confused.

‘
Not according to most. Apparently I’m more human than free.’

Eibhear raised one eyebrow.
‘I don’t know what the humans would say about that.’

‘
Why would I care what a human might say? It’s your people that have driven us from our own land, warrior.’

‘
You came from Nyinaku?’

‘
We came here a long time ago. We had no choice. It was leave or die. Die because we were born less than free; more human than free.’

‘
So you came here? Who brought you here?’

‘
We brought ourselves. And ever since, so many others have followed. Two more ships are coming and then we will have enough. We’re going home. And if Penn has done his work, we’ll have Tatharlia for our own as well. Things are changing.’