Flash Fiction # 512 -- The Long Way Home/12

 Andros took the papers and scanned the two sheets, showing an apparent ability to read. Rory suspected he had fallen in with a nest of spies. This had not been his plan, but Rory kept his face bland while he judged the idea of a running leap off the ship. How fast could he move away from the others who must be watching for some sign of trouble?

Andros's hand moved away from his blade. He handed the papers to Jamison, who passed them back to Rory. He carefully folded the papers, put them back in the spot in his boot, and pulled the thread as tight as possible. No one had said anything.

"Manti says you are also an Eket Priest," Andros said with a tilt of his head. "Isn't it unusual for a priest to do this work?"

"Yes," he replied and stood straighter. "But the need was obvious, and the Queen asked. Besides, I grew up clerking for my uncle, well-known for his ability to collect information. I was not known in the trade, but I knew it. And I knew names."

"And that is how you made contact with my people," Andros said with a nod. He frowned. "I would like to know who -- no, never mind.   You are a professional. Go now with Lintin. He'll see you to the drylands."

"Manti?"

"Go," he said. "Take what news you can to your father, and he'll pass it on to mine. I'm staying with the ship until I can get her free and head home again."

Rory thought they might have exchanged some special code. Jamison nodded, and Keltrina recovered their packs. They were going down the gangplank all too soon, and Rory realized it would be a long time before they had even that much comfort.

The ground was soggy, the plants caught at him, and he was less than enthralled with the insects and the snakes. The bird was too noisy, and the smaller animals were apt to leap from branch to branch and look as though they might fall on the humans. And it rained. And rained.

Lintin said nothing as he led the way. Neither did they. Keltrina was starting to wear down, though, by mid-afternoon. In truth, so was Rory.

An hour later, they reached an island that not only rose a few feet above the muck but even had a reasonably well-made building atop it. People had gathered on benches by a fire, sometimes laughing, though otherwise, they were quiet.

"We'll stay here for the night," Lintin said, almost the first words he'd spoken since he had led the three away from the boat. He glanced at the sky. "If it still rains tomorrow, we'll stay longer."

"I don't know if I should pray for rain or not," Jamison admitted. "But I am beyond thankful to see a roof for a while."

Lintin gave a nod of agreement. They were already up on dry land. Rory wanted to hurry, but the others must have felt weighed down by the mud they'd gathered. He did admit it was challenging to trudge up the last of the trail toward that inviting fire. Rory hadn't realized how chilled he felt until they began to slow down.

They didn't stop at the fire, although Lintin gave a few greetings to others. The three strangers with him drew stares that were not as accepting as Rory would have liked. Then he recalled that these people were pirates and hunted by two or three governments. The papers in his boot suddenly felt like a warrant for his death.

Lintin led them into the building and seemed to relax for the first time. He nodded toward several large chests against the wall.

"Find something you can wear and clean up. Someone will bring you warm water to the dressing rooms." He waved a hand toward two cloth-covered doors. "I need to check in with the Admiral and find out if there's any news from the inland."

Lintin turned and hurried away. Rory watched with trepidation, but that was just his way. Keltrina was already looking for clothing, and Jamison joined her. Rory wandered over and made a show of looking for clothing, but mostly he watched the furtive movements of people and listened to their whispers. There were no signs of trouble.

He waved to Jamison and Keltrina to clean up and change first. He searched diligently for something to wear and found a dark tunic, woolen breeches, and good socks. Of course, he wouldn't part with his boots, and the vest wouldn't be hard to clean up.

Jamison came out first and looked much better. Rory left him to guard and went into the tiny cubicle. Someone handed him warm, clean water, and he dumped the other down the drain. The small mirror showed a face he might not have recognized under the layer of mud. A couple leaves had taken up residence in his hair, and he might have been a walking tree.
Rory worked as fast as he could to clean up. He'd made nothing of the wound Kellic had given him during this mess. It hadn't bled much and didn't look infected. Rory found as much bruising as mud on his face and arms. The clothes were a complete loss. The boots had taken a beating, too, but they were intact.

Rory could hear Keltrina and Jamison talking, so he hurried. They'd provided a shaving blade, which he fully appreciated. His temple prized cleanliness and clean, shaved faces.

He hadn't felt so far from Eket until now. Why hadn't he gone off on his own? Maybe now was the time.

He pushed aside the curtain, and someone grabbed his arms and pinned them to his back.

"Rory Callen, as I live and breathe. Give me a reason not to gut you right now."

Flash Fiction #511 -- The Long Way Home/11

 Rory had slept through much of the day, but a little past noon, he awoke to find a cloudy sky and a lush delta spread out in greens and golds ahead of them. Waterbirds of all types yelled, scrambled, and flew as they neared.

"There is a path straight in," Mantinique noted with a nod toward the clearing that led into the mass of plants and mangrove stands.

"It is a trap, of course," Rory replied.

"Of course."

That didn't mean they were not going to go in by that path, but it seemed wise not to spring the trap without at least letting those watching -- and they were -- know we were aware of the problem.

We had other problems as well, though. We'd seen sails coming up behind us, and we didn't want to get caught by anyone from that area, whether locals or not. Jamison and Keltrina were too well known, and it wouldn't take long for Kellic to send hunters after them. Never mind an Eket priest who shouldn't be in the area.

"Head in," Rory said, pointing to a smaller opening. "Let's try to get out of sight, and I'll handle a breeze."

"Can I hire you?" Mantinique asked.

"You would have to pry me away from my queen," Rory replied with a grin. "That's not going to happen."

"I suppose it would make life too easy," he admitted. "I better wake up the others. It would be a shame if we ran into the pirates, and they missed it."

Rory made an amused sound as Manti hurried away. He was already starting to check the current breeze against the sails. The Tiffany had an engine but not much fuel -- and besides, it would be rather loud and noticeable. Rory knew they had little chance of sneaking through the delta, but they didn't have to alert those following them. His hope was to get them far enough into the growth that the mast would not be noticeable if they took down the sails. A few trees had found rooting spots in mounds closer to the land, and this little path seemed to head that way.

Jamison arrived. His clothing was wrinkled, and the stubble of what might become a beard showed on his face. He still looked half asleep as he stared at the rushes, cattails, and cypress trees.

Rory heard an odd sound and looked back at the rest of the small craft. Keltrina had begun pulling up rushes and tossed them up to Manti, who was placing them around the higher part of the deck. They moved quickly and with little sound.

"Did you get any sleep?" Jamison asked.

"Some. It was a quiet night out there, except for some big cat that did a bit of hunting. His presence pointed out there was nothing else to worry about, though. Should I go help them?"

"Keltrina needs to work off some anxiety," Jamison replied with a slight smile. "And besides, this is something she can do."

"I thought she'd managed to do quite a bit already," Rory replied with a quick glance around the area.

"I said the same thing," Jamison answered. He sounded pleased, and then his attitude changed just slightly. "Get Manti. We have company."

Rory didn't look. He stood, walked over as though to help out, and climbed up to where Manti frowned.

"Company."

"Well, about time," Manti said and scrambled down. "Keep at the work. We have real enemies out there looking for us."

That seemed an odd line. More trouble than the pirates? He looked at Jamison, who crossed to him and seemed equally perplexed.

Manti put down the gangplank.  An older man standing in the weeds hurried up and greeted the captain with a slap on the shoulder that became a mutual bear hug. He and Jamison ignored the soft-spoken meeting and went to work camouflaging the ship.

A few minutes later, the two men approached them and signaled Kiltrina down where she had taken over placing the covering. They gathered on the deck, the two men looking serious but not upset.

"Andro and his people will lead the three of you through the delta and to the inland trails. We don't want to go out by ship right now. The coast has a patrol of at least six ships, and we wouldn't get far, even if we dared head straight out to sea."

"What do you intend to do?" Jamison demanded.

"I'll be here with my friends, collecting more information for my father. You did realize that was a lot of my job, right?"

"I suspected it, but not your contact with the pirates."

"Not as surprised as I am to see you have a spy of your own. I told some of my people to work with him and see where it went. Kel has already told me he saved your life."

"He is not my spy," Jamison replied.

Andros's hand went to a wicked-looking long-bladed dagger. Rory wished Jami had said nothing, but it was perhaps wiser not to lie to these people.

"I work for Queen Calladona," Rory explained. Andros didn't look assured. "I have papers, if I may?"

Andros gave a tentative nod. Rory pulled off his left boot and unhooked a line of stitching near the top. He slid the paper out with some care and handed it to Jamison first, who looked it over with a nod and passed it on to Manti. Andros almost looked annoyed, but the papers passed correctly from Rory's hand to his friend's fingers and from there to Jamison's friend, and finally to the person only Mani knew. It was a rule in Rory's field that you never passed papers straight to a possibly hostile stranger. First, it put you both too close to each other. Second, it was assumed that someone would not poison a friend.

Flash Fiction # 510 -- The Long Way Home/10

 Jamison started to stand, grabbing at anything he could find to hold on. He took one quick look around and then dropped back to his knees by Rory.

"You decide," he ordered. "No, don't argue. You can understand better what you can do and which way will be safest."

"Safest," Rory said with a nod. "Toward the sea. If any of Kellic's people suspect an intentional breakout, they'll be waiting --"

Lightning hit the dock again, but they were already drifting past it. The light illuminated the area, and Rory fixed the area ahead in his mind, even knowing the half dozen craft would move in ways he could not guess.

"You're hurt!" Jamison grabbed at him.

"Careful." He winced at the touch on his arm. "Nothing serious. I was saying they'll be waiting for us to go upstream and likely have the guns manned on the castle grounds. We're going out to the sea. If you know the coast well, make a decision on north or south. If north, I'll say that we won't go far. Atria is in the midst of some special curse of their own, and we don't want to get caught up in that never-ending winter."

"South," Jamison decided. "Down toward the Arch River. It is about fifteen miles from here, with a wide delta. Difficult to navigate and the haunt of pirates, but we can get through that, right?"

Lightning hit a ship a few yards ahead of them.

"I'll take pirates over this," Rory admitted.

It took hours for them to get clear of the city. Rory feared that they could still be too close when the sun came up. Fortunately, the rush of the water from the storm kept the current strong, and heading downstream was definitely the better idea in this case. Other pieces of boats went with them, and at least one had a crew. They drifted past it, and Montinique shouted good luck to someone on board. That craft sat lower in the water and already had cargo on board.

The storm, which had blown up from the sea and pressed inward, was well behind them when they reached the waves. They found bits of boats here, and Rory suspected some of them must have foundered at sea as the storm raced for the shore.

By then, Jamison was taking care of Rory's two wounds, which had both been more annoying than serious. They moved well away from the shore, and Mantinique had come to speak with Rory.

"South, I agree." The Captain looked that way with a decisive nod. "I'm not so sure about the delta, but after last night I suppose pirates wouldn't be such a bad problem."

"Everything is a problem," Rory said. He looked toward the north but then shook his head. "We don't need more crazy weather, though. And we need to get out of this area. I would wish for the others to get away as well. Still, as the weather gets better, they may be all that keeps Kellic's people from coming after us by still blocking the river and getting in the way. We'll have to keep our eyes open for anyone from the army along the shore, but I think we can go out far enough to be well out of their range."

"It's not going to be easy sailing with just the four of us," Mantinique warned. "There's a reason the city is on the Baron River and not on the Arch. It's a treacherous River. I don't know how far upstream We'll be able to get. I'd rather not abandon the ship, but we may have to head out over the land."

"Or," Jamison added, "you could drop us off at some convenient spot along the shore and let us head inland, and you can go back and play at the idea that you just worked free and were coming back for your crew. I don't like that we left them behind, and not because we could use them now."

"They had orders to get out and scatter," Mantinique replied with a wave of his hand. "If they hear the ship is still in port, the crew will just show back up and say they got scared by the weather. They will make their way out of the city and head toward home if it's gone. I suspect they'll be home before we are."

"Dangerous for them," Jamison said with a worried shake of his head.

"Not as dangerous as sitting in port and waiting for Kellic to realize that we were from the area just south of your father's land. That's not your fault, you know. Even if you had never shown up for this little excursion, Kellic would still have been suspicious of us."

"Kellic is suspicious of everyone," Rory added. "He's not going to make a good King."

"That's something we can all agree on," Mantinique replied with a nod. He looked weary, which made Rory feel all the more tired. "Were still in the outflow of the river's current. We can still follow it for a few miles out into the sea, but we need to rig sails. Unless there's something you are specifically doing, Rory, like keeping the boat in one piece, I suggest you get some rest now. You won't want to enter the Arch in the state you're in now."

There was no use arguing it. Rory nodded and moved from bow to deck and laid in the sun. He slept. No one was likely to sneak up on them out here in the ocean. He didn't sense any magic nearby, and the few scudding clouds that raced across the sky were not harbingers of danger.

He slept, knowing there would be more trouble soon enough.

Flash Fiction #509 -- The Long Way Home/9

 Now there was a new part of the situation he had not considered. He realized Jamison had been ready to run if Kellic took over, and he should have considered the reason why. He had heard that there was an underground movement against the Prince, but that sort of thing was common in almost all capitals. This group had seemed benign since they made no demands and certainly never tried to assassinate the man.

Now Rory suspected they were too smart to do the usual things.

The wind came up with a sudden roar, and Rory could hear distant shouts on other ships. It seems likely that more than the ones that intend to go would be torn loose tonight, which would make a mess out of the dock while they tried to get away.

And that would be where he could do his most good. When the Captain came back up into the little room with them, the world outside had gotten dark and wet, and no one would see them unless they created light here, which they were not stupid enough to do.

"I can help us get out of the dock and keep the other ships away while we escape," Rory told him. "It will be easy, and I probably won't be able to hold back all the ships, but I think I can give us a better chance."

"It will not be easy for you or safe," Jamie replied. Rory was starting to get used to thinking that name. "But I don't say it isn't a good idea. I'll just go with you to make sure you don't fall into the water."

Rory didn't argue. He was already weak enough that this would be a challenging undertaking. Besides, Rory could glue Jamison more easily to the deck than Rory could keep himself there since his mind would be on other spells. Putting a spell on Jamison and linking himself to his companion would help. So he and Jamison went on out, already drenched and hit hard by the wind. Rory took tight hold of Jamison's arm and already ran a fine link of magic between them. He also ran a line between them and the deck that kept moving in odd directions. It made walking feel strange, but they didn't so much as slide towards the edge of the railing.

Soon they were at the bow of the boat. It wasn't a large craft, and that would help Rory keep some control. He could already see three other ships moving haphazardly away from the dock. None of them dared to use sails, and Rory wasn't even sure the masts were going to survive.

The storm grew worse almost immediately. Lightning flashed across the sky and then downward, hitting the dock itself with enough force to send wood flying. That tore several ships free, and there'd be no doubt that this exodus had been unplanned.

With any kind of luck, it would even look as though the ship had gone down in the deeper waters. Rory intended to make sure that did not happen, but if they did start to list, he was sure he could get all four of them to land.

Should he purposely sink the ship?

No, that was the sound of insanity in his head. Instead, he reached out the little magic and brushed the first of the ships out of the way. With the chaos out there, no one would notice a few ships moving in a strange direction.

Jamison kept tight hold of him, and they both knelt, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. Rory continued his work with a single-minded determination. He dared not watch the storm over which he wouldn't have much control even if he tried. It was hard work, but he reminded himself that he desperately wanted out of the city and away from all the doubts and mistakes he'd already made.

He'd failed his own people, but he would not fail Jamison and his wife.

The wind howled louder, and at that moment, lightning struck the ship just to the right of them. Parts of it exploded into the sky, and Rory did his best to knock those aside, but he could not get them all. Something hit him across the head, and another cut into his arm. Jamison cursed and must have been hit, though perhaps not as seriously as Rory. The blow to his head leaked warm blood running down his face, and he had trouble pulling back his scattered mind. Something was still embedded in his arm, and he'd lost his link to magic. When Jamison started to slide away, his panic brought back at least that spell. Rory drew the man back to him and planted them both on the deck. That was all he could manage.

Then he saw that the ship that had been hit was burning and floundering, but would not go under before it hit them. Not for the first time in the last few days, Rory silently asked Etek for more power than see them through this trouble. At least he knew his God was not xenophobic, and the fact that Jamison was not a believer was not going to be a problem.

They had to get out of this area and into the deeper center of the river. From there, it was either upriver or down, and Rory would decide when he saw what sat in the way. Upriver would be better for reaching Jamison's land, but he suspected trouble would be waiting along that path. Heading down the broad path of the river to the sea might be the wiser course but no less dangerous in other ways.

Nothing would be safe, and Rory would not make this decision for the rest of them.

"Find out which way we go," Rory ordered and nudged Jamison away.