Shepherd's Quest: The Broken Key #1 (48 page)

Above the raft were three bobbing spheres. Riyan had requested Kevik to supply more light so they could better keep an eye on what was coming ahead. They didn’t have paddles or oars so would need some warning if they should all of a sudden need to change their position on the river to avoid an obstacle.

As the river finished its curve, it began moving along a straighter channel. Not too far past the curve, Kevik noticed another landing on the inside bank of the river. “Another landing!” he hollered when he saw it.

“It might be the way out!” cried Bart.

They used their arms and legs in an attempt to gain the other side of the river but the current was too strong. Bart suggested they dismantle their raft and use the ropes and packs like they had done before. But they were moving far too quickly away from the landing for them to have it ready in time to use, so they decided against it. All they could do was float in the water, secure in their loops, while the landing disappeared behind them.

Floating along as they were was fairly comfortable actually. If they could ignore the coldness of the water it really wasn’t all that bad. They had the rope loops to keep them from sinking, while the door itself gave them something to hold onto.

Several minutes after the landing disappeared behind them, the current of the river felt as if it was picking up. Then from further ahead came the unmistakable sound of rapids. “This could get interesting,” commented Riyan.

“No matter what happens,” Bart said, “don’t let go of your loop.”

“Wasn’t planning on it,” Chad told him.

The surface of the water that had been so placid thus far began rocking them back and forth. They hung on as the river’s speed increased and they saw the approach of the rapids. Their little makeshift raft was soon being thrown about as the water crashed over the rocks. They would be plunged down one watery furrow, before a swell would raise them high only to be slammed back down again. Once when the wave slammed them down, they were jarred fiercely when the door landed on a rock that was protruding out of the water.

“We’re stuck,” hollered Kevin fearfully as they teetered there upon the tip of the stone.

“Rock it back and forth!” yelled Bart. Water kept crashing into them but failed to dislodge their raft. They shifted their weight from one side to the next as they attempted to dislodge their raft from the rock. Riyan and Chad were in good position to use their feet against the sides of the rock for leverage. Then suddenly, they were free and again being tossed by the water.

Their raft would turn round about as the water kept thrashing them. First Riyan’s side of the raft would be facing downstream, then it would be Kevik’s turn. Back and forth and roundabout they went as the water continued to crash over the rocks. They each kept a look ahead of them as best they could to avoid dangers.

“A rock!” said Bart.

Just ahead of them a large rock thrust its way out of the water, the river was crashing fiercely upon its side. Riyan was in perfect position to be rammed into it. He pointed to the left and yelled, “That way!” Using their feet and arms they worked the raft so that it only grazed the side of the rock. Riyan kicked out at it to keep his body from being crushed between it and the edge of the door.

“How much more of this is there?” yelled Chad.

From Bart’s position he could see ahead of them for as far as the spheres illuminated.

“Still a ways,” he replied. Then he saw where the river was about to go down a series of shallow falls. “Hold on!” he yelled.

Riyan looked over his shoulder and saw what was coming. “Oh my god,” he said then braced himself as the raft went over the first drop. It was only five feet, but when he hit, Riyan felt like he had fallen a hundred. Then the raft slammed painfully into his chest and pushed him even further under the water.

The blow to his chest seemed to stun his lungs for when he broke the surface, he couldn’t get a breath. Then his lungs eased up and after few anxious moments, could start drawing breaths again.

“Here comes another one!” Kevik yelled as they headed for the lip of the next fall.

Riyan panicked at the thought of another blow like the last one. But then he realized the raft had turned and he wouldn’t be directly beneath it when it hit this time. He gripped the loop holding him to the raft tightly as they went over the edge.

This one was a three tiered fall and by the time they reached the bottom, they were all bruised and battered. Kevik thought he may have broken his leg. At this point the river calmed down and began flowing normally once more.

“Everyone alright?” Riyan asked.

“No,” replied Kevik through gritted teeth. “My leg hit a rock during those last rapids.

I think it may be broken.”

Riyan turned to Chad and Bart. “We need to get him out of the water and look at it,” he told them. They nodded and began searching for a place where they could make landfall. A few minutes later, an area came into view that looked like it would do. The walls of the channel the water flowed through began to widen and a shelf of sorts appeared on their right. It was at least six inches higher than the surface of the water and wide enough for them to rest upon.

They paddled as best they could towards it. Kevik of course was dead weight due to his injury. When they drew close to the shelf, they found that the river was shallower here and they could touch the bottom. When they were next to the edge, Bart and Riyan helped Kevik out of his loop and up onto the shelf. Chad took charge of the raft and made sure it didn’t float away.

Setting Kevik on the shelf, Bart placed his hands on the suspected broken leg. He moved them gently up and down as he sought the break. After several minutes he looked to Kevik and said, “I don’t think it’s broken.”

“You sure?” he asked.

Bart nodded. “The bone feels fine,” he explained. “You probably just bruised it.”

“That’s a relief,” he said.

They decided to take a break there on the shelf to give them some time out of the water before continuing. Bart and Riyan helped Chad in pulling the raft up onto the shelf.

Once it was out of the water and resting on the ground, Kevik canceled his goo spell so Riyan could give him some of his healing potion. Not all of it, just enough to ease the pain.

Propping themselves against the back wall of the shelf, they rested for a short time.

While Riyan was resting he noticed how the shelf ran along the river past where the light from the spheres extended. “Wonder if we could walk the rest of the way?” he asked.

“Rest of the way to where?” asked Kevik.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Maybe this comes out at the lake or something.” Bart nodded, “Could definitely give it a try. If it doesn’t, we could always come back here to the raft.”

“I just wish we had a regular lantern or torch,” said Chad.

Riyan glanced at the bobbing spheres which have begun to grate on everyone’s nerves. “Me too,” he agreed.

After resting for a little longer to give the potion ample time to work on Kevik, they returned to their feet. They each took their pack and Bart coiled the rope before placing it in his. Then they began making their way along the shelf. The shelf continued to follow the river and at times would grow quite narrow as to be almost nonexistent. Other times it widened sufficiently so all four could walk abreast if they wished.

They had followed the shelf for twenty minutes before it ended at a rock formation that jutted out from the wall. In order to continue they would have to enter the river and work their way around the obstruction to the other side. Which after a quick confab they decided to do.

Riyan went first with Chad following right behind. Bart brought up the rear as they entered the water and edged out to move around the outcrop. Riyan maintained his balance against the current by holding on as best he could to the cracks and crevices in the face of the outcrop.

The worst part was when he began moving around the end of the outcrop. He almost lost his footing as the current was at its strongest there. But he managed to work his way around to the other side.

“The shelf continues on,” he hollered back to the others when he could see it.

“Good news,” he heard Bart reply.

One by one they made their way around the point of the outcrop. Riyan had remained out at the point to assist the others. It didn’t take long before they were once again back on the shelf and continuing on.

The underground channel they were walking through was quiet except for the occasional lapping of water against the sides. None of them felt much like talking, exhaustion resulting from all they’ve recently gone through had sapped their desire for conversation. And it was in this quiet that the warbling of a bird was suddenly heard.

Riyan came to a stop and asked, “Did you hear that?” Again the warbling echoed down the channel. “It’s a bird!” exclaimed Kevik.

“That means the way out can’t be too far away,” Bart said. “Can you tell where it’s coming from.”

They paused for a moment as each listened to the bird’s call. “It’s coming from up ahead,” Chad finally said.

“Then what are we waiting for?” Kevik said. “I for one am anxious to get out of here.”

Bart sighed. “So am I.”

With the possibility of escaping this underground world and returning to the outside before them, they hurried forward with renewed energy. Shortly, they began to smell flowers and other vegetation and then they were out. The river left the mouth of an underground cave and then worked its way down among the hills to the small lake off in the distance.

It was still night, the moon overhead shining bright. “Were we down there all day?” asked Chad.

“It would seem so,” replied Bart.

“No wonder I’m so tired,” yawned Riyan.

“But now is not the time to rest,” Bart told the others. “We still need to get out of goblin territory.”

“Are we finished in Algoth then?” asked Chad.

“We found what we came for,” replied Bart. “Now it’s time to go.” They couldn’t help but to turn their gaze southeastward towards the mountains that marked the boundary between goblin lands and that of humans. Hidden in the night, their mighty peaks were but a pale shadowy whisper against the backdrop of stars.

Riyan finally broke the quiet by saying, “It’s not getting any closer with us just standing here.” And with that they headed out.

Lights could be seen on the far side of the small lake where the underground river finally ended, indicating another of the goblin villages. Riyan, Chad, and Kevik began to move off through the hills when Bart suddenly stopped and grew thoughtful. Riyan was quick to notice his friend not following and came to a stop as well.

“What is it?” he asked. Chad and Kevik came to a stop and returned back to the other two.

“I was thinking that if we were to take a boat from yonder village,” he explained as he pointed off to the distant lights, “then we could reach the Marketplace all the quicker.”

“Seems a bit risky to me,” argued Chad.

Bart turned to him and said, “So is hoofing it on foot across goblin infested lands.

They know we’re here somewhere,” Then he sniffed and added, “From the smell of it the fire is still burning and it’s between us and the mountains.” The air did still smell of smoke. “They have ponies too,” Riyan said in support of Bart’s suggestion. “On horses we could outrun them, but not on foot.”

“And don’t forget,” chimed in Kevik, “even when the goblins were on foot the only reason they didn’t catch us was that we passed the totem and entered Algoth.” Chad could see they were in support of Bart’s plan. “Very well,” he agreed.

Bart nodded. “Okay. Let’s get down to the water’s edge and then Chad and Kevik, you two wait on the shore while Riyan and I go steal us a boat.”

“Me?” asked Riyan. He was nervous about entering into a goblin village. Visions of his death rolled through his mind.

“Yes you,” Bart said. “I need someone to watch my back and you’re the only one not weakened by recent injury.”

Riyan swallowed and nodded. “Alright,” he said. His voice revealed the nervousness that he was feeling.

Once they reached the lakeshore, Riyan and Bart had removed their packs and left them there with Chad and Kevik to await their return. Bart did put his lockpicks within his shirt. Riyan eyed him questioningly about that.

“My picks go where I go,” was the only answer he gave before they headed out.

Now, they stood behind the bole of a large tree at the edge of the goblin village. The buildings were similar in size and design to the ones Bart had seen in the settlement they had come across on their way to Algoth. The whole place looked peaceful with only a small portion of the windows having light.

“Looks like almost everyone is asleep,” Riyan whispered.

Bart nodded. Then he pointed further into the village toward the shore of the lake.

There they saw a dock to which a dozen or so boats were moored in the moonlight.

“Come on,” he said, “and be silent.”

Riyan followed as Bart moved quickly to the side of the nearest building. Its windows were dark and was situated closest to the water’s edge. Then after a brief pause to be sure they remained undetected, they repeated their dash to the next building. From building to building they repeated their mad dash as they drew ever closer to the dock and the boats secured there.

Suddenly, Bart placed an arm across Riyan’s chest and pressed him to the side of the building. A split second later, two goblin men emerged from the side of the building and began making their way toward the dock.

They were talking to themselves in their guttural language. One held a large net and the other two small boxes. From the looks of them Riyan guessed they were fishermen heading out for an early morning catch.

Bart and Riyan remained motionless against the building as the two goblins reached the dock and began removing the mooring lines from one of the boats. Other sounds began coming to them as the village started to stir and they could see where lights appeared in more of the windows. The village was waking up.