Tin Thoughts (The Downfall Saga Book 2) Page 20

  She came out a minute later with a bundle in her arms. They headed through the common room and back outside. They circled around the main building. They saw a building half the size of the inn with a large set of double doors on the front, and a faint light escaping from the small windows, which they assumed was the stables. They headed towards a small building, all by itself beside the lake, with no windows.

  Donovan pounded on the wooden door, and couldn’t help but wonder why they would spend the effort transporting wood this far underground. When there was no response, Donovan opened the door and looked inside.

  The inside of the room was barren. In the dim light filtering in from outside he could see a stone bench running the length of the wall, a small stove for heating the water, and an apparatus which he assumed was where the water came from. A square void was cut out of the stone floor in the center of the room, roughly the width of a door. He couldn’t see the bottom in the gloom, but assumed that you would stand inside while washing, and that there was a drain in the floor somewhere.

  “It’s empty,” said Donovan.

  Ravyn walked into the room, and summoned a ball of light which floating up to the ceiling in the center of the room. They walked over to look into the opening and saw that it was roughly waist deep. A dark rubber wedge was jammed into the floor at the bottom.

  She set her bundle onto the bench while Donovan went over to figure out how to get the water to flow. A large handle stuck out of the apparatus. He pumped it up and down several times before a spurt of water flowed out of an opening. He caught some of the icy water in his hand and wiped it across his face.

  “So, how do you want to do this?” asked Ravyn, taking off her heavy cloak.

  “What?” exclaimed Donovan. He could feel his cheeks starting to heat up.

  “I don’t see a bucket,” she said.

  “Right, the water. You’re going to want to heat up first.”

  “How about you focus on the pumping and I’ll make sure that things get hot?”

  He didn’t know how to respond, so he didn’t. He turned back to the handle, and began rhythmically moving it up and down. Ravyn walked over and stood beside him. He heard her take several deep breaths, before she held her hands out below the opening where the water was starting to come out.

  The water flowed out and hovered, in an ever expanding ball, above her hands.

  Donovan could feel the heat being added to the water. His face grew warm and he begun to sweat, but he continued pumping.

  She let the water build and heat for a minute, before a small stream started to flow out of the ball and splashed down into the opening in the floor. This continued until the opening was two-thirds full and Donovan stopped pumping the handle.

  Ravyn bent over and rested her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

  “Are you okay?” asked Donovan. He rested his hand on her back and was amazed by the amount of heat radiating off of her.

  “Just give me a minute.”

  Donovan led her over to the stone bench where she sat down. Donovan sat down beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She let her light dissolve, plunging the room into total darkness. They didn’t talk, but her heavy breathing echoed around the room.

  The door swung open and Kort stood in the doorway. A light appeared in front of his chest, drenching his face in elongated shadows.

  “What are you two doing in the dark?” he asked.

  “We ... are ... doing ... nothing,” panted Ravyn.

  “You’re awfully out of breath for someone who was doing nothing,” he said.

  “I was using my Gift to heat things up,” she said.

  “I wish you wouldn’t use it that way.”

  He began walking away.

  “I’ll go talk to him,” said Donovan.

  He closed the door behind himself and hurried after Kort.

  “What’s going on between you two?” asked Donovan as he caught up to Kort.

  “I could ask you the same thing?”

  “Stop.” He stepped in front of Kort and rested his hands on both of Kort’s shoulders. “Look at me.” Kort raised his light towards Donovan’s face. “Nothing is going on between me and Ravyn. We’re friends, just like you and me.”

  They stared into each other’s eyes before Kort finally relaxed, and took a step backwards.

  “Sorry, I shouldn’t have doubted you,” said Kort, clapping Donovan on the shoulder.

  “What’s going on with you?” asked Donovan. “We used to joke around all the time, but now you seem annoyed whenever I see you.”

  “I have a lot of things on my mind.”

  “Maybe I can help lighten the load.”

  “I doubt it.” Kort crossed his arms over his chest.

  “If you won’t talk to me, then who will you talk to?”

  “Fine.” Kort dropped his arms back to his sides. He let his light dissipate and his face was lost in shadows. “I walked in on them. They were on the floor of her room, wrapped around each other, sleeping together.”

  “Who?”

  “Ravyn and Caddaric.”

  Donovan patted his arm, and was surprised by how tense it was.

  “Have you talked to her about it?”

  “I’ll go talk to her right now.”

  He tried to push his way past Donovan and return to the bathhouse. Donovan clamped onto his arm and spun him around.

  “She wouldn’t appreciate you barging in on her while she’s washing. Besides, you wouldn’t want me to get in trouble for not guarding the door.”

  Donovan felt Kort flex his arm several times. He prepared himself in case a punch was thrown.

  “You’re right. There will be a better time later.”

  Kort abruptly shoved his way past Donovan, and headed around the inn towards the front door.

  Donovan walked back to the bathhouse and sat down in front of the door.

  “Are you okay in there?”

  “I’m fine.”

  He waited there until the door opened behind him, and he was engulfed in warm, humid air. He enjoyed the sensation for a moment before getting up.

  “Do you want a turn?” asked Ravyn.

  The ball of light hung in the air behind her head, casting her face in shadows, but he could see her drooping shoulders.

  “You’re tired. Maybe in the morning. Can we talk, in private?”

  They sat down on the bench inside the building. Donovan made sure to leave the door open, despite his request for privacy.

  “What happened between you and Kort?”

  “Nothing.”

  “I don’t believe that for a second. Things seemed to be going great between the two of you, and now you can barely look at each other.”

  Ravyn looked down at her lap.

  He let the silence hang in the air for a few moments before continuing.

  “I know you, and I know how important winning this competition is for you. We’ll have a better chance if the two of you can get along. I don’t know what happened between you two, but you need to talk to him, even apologize if necessary.”

  “Apologize! After what he did! He misses my birthday to spend the night with some girl, and then has the audacity to show up the next morning reeking of her perfume, and tell me that nothing happened between them!”

  “He adores you. Do you really think he’d do something with another woman?”

  “Typical boy. Defending your cheating, lying friend.”

  She stormed out of the building. Donovan sat in the darkness, gently banging the back of his head against the stone wall.

  When he headed back into the common room, he saw that they had pushed a few tables together, and were all in the middle of their meals. He sat down in an empty chair beside Brighid, and waved at Pax to bring him a plate.

  Pax set a plate down in front of him and left to get him a glass of water.

  He bent down to sniff the pungent aroma emanating from the plate. There were several poached e
ggs which were smaller than the ones he was used to, a couple of slices of what he thought might have come from a large mushroom, and a hunk of a dense type of bread.

  Sore and tired from days of travelling, they ate their food in silence, before heading off to bed.

  Donovan piled his belongings against the door, before he laid down, and fell asleep almost instantly.

  He awoke to a dark room. He stayed in bed for several minutes before remembering that there weren’t any windows in the room. He let out a groan as he forced himself out of the warm bed. He walked over to the door and tripped over his belongings on the floor. He stifled a yell as he banged his head against the wall.

  The blow to the head woke him up. Grumbling to himself, he tossed his stuff aside and yanked open the door. He made his way to the bathhouse. He vigorously pumped the handle and shoved his head into the icy stream of water. He stood up and shook his head, spraying water around the room.

  They left early that morning while their breakfasts were still settling in their stomachs. Osmont set a brisk pace and refused to let them stop for lunch.

  Everyone was grateful when they finally left the tunnels and emerged into the afternoon sun.

  They found themselves near the top of a steep slope, looking down at a bay which opened into the deep blue of the ocean.

  A large object was streaking through the bay towards the shore. It was partially submerged in the sea, white foam streaked away from its black sides, yet it made no sound. Donovan thought it must be a large sea serpent, but as he watched, he realized that its body moved rigidly through the water, with no sinuous tail snaking through the water behind it. It was longer than any ship he’d seen in the waters around Lornell, but had no masts protruding from its smooth sides.

  “What is that?” asked Donovan.

  “That’s how we’re getting to the island,” said Osmont.

  Chapter 23

  “Think of it as a giant screw burrowing through the water, except that since it’s water it gets pushed out behind us,” said Tuff.

  “What’s a screw?” whispered Kort to Donovan.

  “No idea,” said Donovan.

  “I still think that oars are safer,” said Osmont. “If one breaks, you can easily replace it. What happens if the giant screw breaks?”

  “Propeller,” said Tuff. “It propels us through the water, hence its name. We have a spare one down below. We attach a stand to the deck near the stern. Then we attach a block and tackle to lower the propeller into the water where we replace the damaged one.”

  “Who’d be crazy enough to get into the water with whatever beasts could be swimming beneath us right now?” asked Kort.

  “To get the gold, you risk a collapse,” said Tuff.

  “That means that you need to take risks if you want a reward,” said Osmont.

  “I figured as much,” said Donovan.

  Kort watched the grey shore shrinking in the distance, and then it started to sink into the sea.

  “What’s happening to the shore?” asked Kort. “Is the world sinking?”

  “Relax, it happens every time,” said Tuff. “Think of the world as a giant head.” He placed a finger from each hand on top of his shaved head. “As we move away from the land, the top of the head gets in the way.” He slowly moved his hands apart until his fingers were on opposite sides of his head. “Except the world is covered in water of course.”

  Kort didn’t understand how a hunk of metal could float at all, let alone the world looking like a shiny head, but he wasn’t going to question it. As long as the land was still there when they came back, he would be happy.

  “There’s a storm brewing ahead of us,” said Tuff. “Let’s head below before we submerge.”

  “Can I stay up here a little longer?” asked Donovan, his eyes focused on the water in their wake.

  “I’ll get you if you’re needed,” said Tuff, climbing through the opening and down the steep stairs, his heavy boots clanking with every step.

  Kort followed behind him. He kept his hands braced on the walls on either side, as he slowly made his way down the slippery steps.

  “What did you mean by submerge?” asked Kort.

  “We can sink completely under the water to avoid all but the worst storms.”

  “Doesn’t that attract unwanted attention from the creatures living in the ocean?” asked Osmont.

  “All the time, but don’t worry, they haven’t poked a hole in us yet.”

  Kort followed them down the narrow passageway towards the middle of the vessel. His head nearly scraped on the ceiling, and he found himself walking with a stoop to avoid the occasional light attached at head height. They paused outside of their cramped quarters.

  “This could be one of the most important developments in our lifetimes,” said Osmont. “I never though it possible to make an armored vessel that could float. It may finally be safe to explore the oceans.”

  “Think of what we could find,” said Tuff. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep you in mind if we make a serious run at the unknown. An old piece of leather like yourself can always be useful.”

  “That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said about me,” said Osmont. He moved forward and tried to grab Tuff in an exaggerated hug.

  Tuff ducked under the hug and scuttled away.

  “We can always chew on the leather if we get hungry,” he called over his shoulder.

  Kort found the rest of the team gathered in what passed for a common room. A small table filled most of the room, its base attached firmly to the floor, and benches ran around three walls of the room. To get out of the room you either needed everyone sitting on the bench between you and the door to leave the room first, or you had to crawl overtop of the table.

  “How’s everybody feeling?” asked Kort in an overly cheerful voice.

  Ravyn had her head resting on the table and didn’t looked up. Brighid stared at a spot on the wall opposite of her and looked like she was trying not to move. Finian glanced up at him, his hand clamped firmly over his mouth and hate filling his eyes.

  “I am enjoying the quiet,” said Caddaric. “No one has said anything to contradict me in over an hour.”

  “I was going to introduce myself to the Kernish team. Want to join me?”

  “It’s better than staying with this lot. It’s only a matter of time until one of them starts to erupt.”

  He looked around the room, but no one else seemed interested in walking around the vessel as it continued to gently sway from side to side.

  It took them several tries to find the right room, but they finally knocked on the door and a rather small dwarf answered it. Kort peered into the room over her head and he saw that all of the dwarves were small, most barely over three feet tall.

  The room was much larger than their own. The six dwarves were comfortably spread out and there was still room for a few more people.

  They were all dressed in plain, grey wool clothing. Kort would be the first to admit that he had little experience with dwarves, and he had trouble telling them apart, despite the different hair styles and old injuries that they displayed.

  “Is this our competition?” she asked, which was met by a series of giggles from within the room.

  “We were looking for ours,” said Kort, “but it appears that we’ll have to keep looking.”

  The giggles turned to full blown laughter.

  “I’m Syen. Come in and join us.”

  She reached out to shake their hands and Kort noticed a series of fine scars covering her forearm.

  “I’m Kort and this is—”

  “Prince Caddaric Kelvin.”

  “A prince?” said one of the dwarves from the back of the room. “Should we all stand up and bow?”

  “Please don’t or he’ll expect the rest of us to do it,” said Kort.

  “What did you have to do to earn such a lofty title?” asked the same dwarf.

  “I was born into it. My father is the king, as was his before him.” />
  “Was it difficult?”

  The dwarves silently held their breath for a moment before they all burst out laughing.

  Caddaric spun on his heels and disappeared down the passageway.

  “Was it something we said?” asked Syen.

  “Nothing that I wouldn’t have said myself,” said Kort, with a smile.

  Syen introduced him to everyone in the room.

  “This is Aplite. She’s our fearful leader.” Aplite had her hair done in a thick brown braid which fell down to the middle of her back. She had a flat nose which looked like it had been broken several times.

  “Don’t you mean fearless?”

  “I’d rather be a cowardly leader with brains, than a valiant leader too stupid to see the dangers around her,” said Aplite.

  “Here’s Gabbra.” Gabbra had prominent dimples and bushy hair which gave her the appearance of a small child.

  “Leherz and Perid.” They waved when she said their names, but didn’t shift their attention from some sort of a game played with a series of tiles that were spread out on top of a crate between them. Leherz had an ugly scar under his right eye and Perid was missing two fingers on his left hand.

  “And finally, this is Wehr.” Wehr wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a bone crunching hug. Kort couldn’t help but notice a musky aroma wafting off of her hair, and when she looked up at him, he saw that she had thick, almost purplish lips.

  “Hi, I’m Kort,” he said sheepishly. “I grew up on a farm. I ... uh ... have two brothers and a sister.”

  Wehr seemed interested in what it was like on a farm, and asked him many questions about it until Aplite finally interrupted.

  “While I’m sure that we’re all enjoying the discussion of the dung to weight ratio of the animals that Kort is familiar with, I’m sure that he has some questions of his own to ask.”

  “I don’t mean to offend any of you, so please tell me if I say the wrong thing. I know very little about your people.”

  “Let me stop you right there,” said Aplite. “There is no ‘our people’, just like there is no ‘your people.’ My parents are chefs. My upbringing in Slate was as similar to yours as it was to Perid growing up in the Swamplands.”