The Wanderers of the Water-Realm (12 page)

The boatmaster shook his head and laughed in disbelief, “A river that flows in both directions! I’ve seen some strange things since I took refuge here, but I cannot believe that any river can behave in such a bizarre manner!”

The wizard smiled.

“Not a river that follows the laws of nature perhaps, but many consider that the Life River was a product of the very same people who built the ‘City of the Ancient Dead.’Yet who under the five suns will ever know the full truth of it?” The old man topped up their tankards.

“Your boat, the ‘Bonny Barbara’was never built for service upon fast flowing rivers, for the craft is far too long and narrow on the beam to be of any use in choppy waters. However, your boat can be adapted for use on our Water-Realm rivers by having airtight outriggers fitted to the hull to widen its beam. Security would also be improved if the canvas sheets protecting the cargo hold of your boat was replaced with a deck made of stout Thoa planking with sealed hatches for access. Our village carpenter and his two assistants are perfectly capable of undertaking the task, but it will take a good twenty darkenings to complete. The work must begin immediately, for the season of rains will soon be upon us and you must reach Calar before the Exit River becomes a raging torrent.”

Thom emptied his tankard at a single gulp and slammed it down upon the top of the trestle with an air of finality.

“Let us sleep,” he said, “for there is much to do before the ‘Bonny Barbara’ rides the waters to Calar!”

The wizard’s household rose early on the morning after the feast, and preparations for the narrowboat’s departure began at once. The first task that Thom and the three travellers undertook was to carry out a complete examination of the ‘Bonny Barbara’ and to compile an inventory of the cargo that had been taken aboard the craft at Ashton-Under-Lyne, for delivery to Yorkshire. A single hour sufficed to carry out an examination of the narrowboat’s hull. Afterwards, George and Darryl drew back the heavy canvas sheets protecting the contents of the hold from the elements and they followed the old wizard down into the body of the craft.

Thom ran his hands over the long sections of worn-out railway line that had been destined for smelting in some Yorkshire furnace and nodded in approval.

“Good iron.” He muttered, “Very good iron. There is enough value in this metal to pay the carpenters fee and to keep you in provisions until you reach the city of Ptah, or even as far as the Southern Sea.”

The wizard ventured further into the depths of the narrowboat’s hold and he tripped over a pile of twisted metal sheets that been salvaged from the roof of some old parish church. He cast aside several lumps of lead and then he paused to stare intently at the remainder of the mangled sheets.

“Copper,” he cried excitedly, pulling out sheet after sheet of the material. “Enough to ransom a dozen chieftains if I be any judge!”

“Aye, there was a bit of copper amongst that scrap lead that we took aboard.” George observed. “But I didn’t think it had that much value.”

Thom waved them up into the light of day and took a tiny disc of copper from his pouch.

“This is how copper is utilised,” he said. “Copper is scarce and very precious in the Water-Realm, and discs, such as this, are the common means of exchange between people. We simple narr-herders have little need of it, but down in yonder hold you have a treasure worth thousands of these discs!”

He grasped the boatmasters hand. “This metal may prove to be your salvation,”

He said. “For you have easily enough wealth in that hold to bribe the Priests of the Ancient Lore and gain their assistance.”

The wizard paused for a moment in thought.

“My friends, the best way of protecting your wealth is to hide it away from the eyes of those who may wish to rob you. I suggest that we instruct the carpenters to seal this precious metal in a secret compartment in the bottom of the craft; let it lie there unseen, until you dock in the city of Ptah and make ready to approach those greedy priests!”

“Agood beginning,” mused the wizard, as he climbed out of the hold and brushed away the grime. And he quietly resolved to sacrifice a pair of fat narr to the goddess of ‘Fortunate Occurrences’ and to dedicate the offering in the name of his three young guests; for he knew the travellers would need all the celestial assistance they could muster, if they were to overcome the fearful trials that lay ahead.

The village carpenter and his assistants were soon hard at work on the ‘Bonny Barbara’ and day after day, the sound of hammers and saws echoed through the hamlet, whilst the travellers made the final preparations for their journey.

Myra, under the direction of the old wizard, packed all manner of herbs and charms into skin bags and stowed them in a small cabin erected by the carpenters in the bows, for the young wisewoman had complained about her lack of privacy and the gross overcrowding in the craft’s existing accommodation. She also began compiling her own grimoire, and the young wisewoman spent long hours recording all the wisdom and occult knowledge the old wizard was prepared to divulge. Indeed, she knew this to be necessary, for her newly acquired gift of fore-sightedness had left her in no doubt that her witch-skills would often be called upon to save her own life and that of her travelling companions.

Meanwhile, Darryl and the young boat hand completed their military training under the stern direction of the old mercenary. The pair became perfectly accustomed to running, stalking and fighting in the metal studded leather tunics and trousers, together with a stout iron helmet that served to protect most Water-Realm warriors during combat.

Darryl’s skill with the sword ‘Kingslayer’ became almost uncanny and the weapon’s razor sharp blade hissed through the air with frightening speed upon the occasions when Noor-Balsam ordered him to attack a row of stout practice targets. He also augmented his already considerable boxing skills, by receiving instruction in many of the unarmed combat methods that were in common use within the Water-Realm.

“What a Prince’s champion you would make!” The old soldier had remarked, in grudging praise after a particularly gruelling training session, “For I declare that few warriors could face you in single combat and survive the encounter.”

George also became skilled in weaponry and he developed into a deadly marksman with the longbow. However, he professed no great liking for either the sword or spear and he chose to wield a long handled war-axe, a weapon that promised to utilize the enormous bodily strength that he had developed under the old mercenary’s brutal regime of physical training.The young boat hand also retained the old meat-cleaver he found on the narrowboat. The implement cum weapon was now sharp and lovingly polished and could always be seen hanging from his belt.

One morning, as the modifications to the ‘Bonny Barbara’ were nearing completion, the old soldier appeared on the training ground and called out to the two boatmen who were practicing marksmanship with a pair of darters.

“Rest yourselves!” he cried. “Your training is now over and you are both ready to face the perils of your journey. Aye, and may the Gods receive the spirits of your enemies, for they will surely die swiftly beneath your steel.”

He paused. “I shall return to my clan-folk without further delay for my work here is completed. But first I will present you with gifts and give you your ‘War-names’that is my right as your tutor.”

Noor-Balsam unfastened a narr-skin bag, producing a small circular shield, made from hardened leather, with a razor sharp iron spike protruding from its central boss.

“This target is called ‘Gut-ripper’.” He said, handing the shield to the boatmaster.

“I carried it throughout the long wars against the Saxmen barbarians and six enemies have had their guts split upon yonder spike. I pray that it will serve you as well!”

He laid his hand upon the boatmaster’s shoulder. “I name you ‘Black Darryl,’ for no title that I can bestow, will fit you better than the name you have already won in your own reality.”

He turned to George and handed him a tiny dagger with an inch long flattened blade.

“Hide it in your stocking,” advised the old mercenary. “Use it to cut open the jugular vein of an unsuspecting guard, should you ever have the misfortune to be taken prisoner.”

Once again he paused and placed his hand upon the young man’s shoulder.

“Your War-name is ‘Twin-axe.’A name that celebrates the two weapons that you will wield in battle, the long handled skull-smasher that rests upon your shoulder and its deadly helper that forever hangs from your waist-belt.”

“Finally” He said. “I will give you the name of a man who dwells within Calar of the Mighty Walls, a man who will give you assistance, should the need arise. He is Ali son of Grom, a whore-master who can be found in the ‘Street of Women,’ beneath the sign of ‘The Crimson Nipple,’he is an old comrade from the wars who owes his life to my skill with the sword.”

Without saying another word, the old mercenary spun upon his heel and disappeared into the gathering mist.

Three darkenings later, the modifications to the ‘Bonny Barbara’ were completed to the satisfaction of the boatmaster and the old wizard. A further day was required to provision her and also to take onboard a hundred bales of pure narrs-wool, that Darryl had agreed to deliver to a trusted merchant in Calar; the fine wool that would be exchanged for the Thoa flour ensuring that the hospitable villagers would not go short of bread during the following cycle. Thom had also suggested to the travellers, that if they were stopped and questioned, during their voyage to Calar, that they would be well advised to claim to be Northland merchant’s who had business to transact upon the Exit River, for the Northlanders were as white-skinned as the three crewmembers of the narrowboat.