Dreamer: The Eighth Key book 1

Escape

Escape

Anmarite and a band of Bardridian soldiers stormed the Library in a tide of fire, coming for the remainder of the council. Plumes of smokes billowed into the atmosphere, blotting out much of the sun as the garden burned to the ground. Anything wooden caught and fed the flames, including the door barring Anmarite entry to the study hall. There had been absolutely no attempt at compromise. “Burn them out!”

It seemed to the sisters that Anmarite was unsure of how many still resided in Cree these days. It shouldn’t have come necessarily as a surprise to find nearly every building they came across empty. Common sense should have told her that if there was any sort of population left, they would all have hidden inside the most fortifiable part of the campus. Not to mention, the fewer people they came across, the better as far as staving off casualties went. From Eivni’s count, Anmarite’s force was nearly fifty strong and unnecessarily large. Forty-six of the strongest warriors Bardridor’s legions had to offer aimed to wipe Cree from existence.

Though the flames climbed high, pouring over the old tomes and paperwork strewn all over the floor, the scholars would do as they promised to keep Anmarite at bay. Icutaor and Icuyo were fantastic archers, among other things. Even Eivni had some skill with a slingshot. As the miscreants tore through the holes left by warfare, the Council waited at the ready for them. The women were afforded the time to have been able to climb out of the smoke to a thin, defendable platform at the top of the middlemost column in that room. It could only have been reached by way of the roof or by knowing how to scale the pillar. This was not going to make the witch happy.

Arrows and old chunks of the building flew into Anmarite and her soldiers bellow, felling the first four or five of the intruders before the council was met with return fire. Icuyo steadied her arrow carefully for the next wave to come. Her target was a larger man covered in tarnished armor who ran at the pillar as if he thought it would dislodge by sheer willpower. Their eyes met with a universally accepted challenge. I need to take care of this one. Her arrows were not bound to last, so she needed to find the best chance at making her mark.

 As he bent low in full charge, she saw it. There was an opening at the back of his neck where his helm and the rest of his armor disconnected. It was pulled open, wide enough to deal some damage. Down he went when her arrow lodged deep into his spine. “Icuyo! Get the woman!” Her sister urged as Anmarite honed in on them.

 Icutaor had almost used up her own store of arrows. Currently, she was giving cover to Eivni as the blond worked the latches of an old door to the roof loose, which had rusted shut over the years from un-use. Eivni could not dislodge it with just her body weight. No, she needed to break the hinges themselves, and she needed to do it quickly. That feat required pressure and Icutaor’s attention. Icuyo would have to make do alone.

 With the room filled with unforgiving smoke and her vision blurred, Icuyo had to rely more on her instincts. She could hardly see the exit or the witch she desperately needed to distract. Eivni began to choke as that polluted air filled her lungs. We have such little time to spare. The Bardridians may have been used to all this searing soot, but we sure as hell are not. I must not fail.

“Open the door. Hurry.” Icutaor urged, covering her nose with the sleeve of her robes and joined in trying to break the door in. Hopefully, with both of them at it, it would give.

Anmarite smirked at the archeress above. “Is this really all that the Goddess could offer in resilience to me? Pffft. Pathetic. Find the Keys and bring them to me.” She commanded her soldiers to disperse and search, her eyes glued to Icuyo. She advanced toward the pillar, only stopping when Icuyo’s waring whistled past her cheek so close that she could feel the wind from it. Her expression darkened. “I believe your time is up.” She said coldly, pointing towards the defiant three. A blast of dark energy shot forth from the tip of her finger like a lightless spark. The resounding explosion was like a bolt of lightning as it crashed into the pillar, shaking the room violently. The column cracked and started to crumble away. A charred mark was left in its wake.

Our only means of protection is coming down. This is my last chance… Icuyo shot at the woman again just as the pillar gave way completely. And Icuyo would have been buried in the dust had Icutaor and Eivni not gotten the door open. She was pulled to safety. But at what cost? She missed her mark.

In the dust and the smoke, Anmarite was unable to see the council members manage to slip out onto the roof at the very last minute. Nor would she discover that fact till much later. Eivni had the wonderful sense to close the door behind them as they fled. Icuyo was sure they were safe now. To put it frankly, giving chase was not going to be Anmarite’s first priority, to begin with. What mattered was Diraimeir and Thistale. But they were long gone by now.

                                                                                      *

The system under Cree would take Diraimeir and his friends to under the mouth of one of the many bays the isle offered. The path down here was much more charming then what Diramier could have fathomed. Above them, bioluminescent algae twinkled like soft green stars. It gave them enough light to tell that during high tide, this part of the cave rested fully under the water.  There were remaining tidal pools on the floor that held small sea creatures, which also created their own brand of light. Muscles grew large and purple in small clusters near deeper areas and tended to stick to the tops of stalagmites like hungry lamps.

“By my guess from the current dampness of the walls, we have two hours till the tide will make the way impassable. Now is the time to hurry, for the way out will be blocked by rising sea before too long. And I doubt everyone knows how to swim, let alone hold your breaths for long.” Braeyta hummed.

Sticking to the north side of the cave, they went up a few feet where they would be tasked to climb down into an opening in the bottom of a dugout. It was just big enough to crawl through. Keep in mind, not all the water drained away during this time of day. It just meant that they would not have to hold their breaths for longer than a quarter of a minute at any given time.

Diraimeir was the first to go through, the slippery rock caused him to skid and drop to the bottom, prompting Tathlyn to go to him and take the lead. It was a tight fit, but it was manageable so long as the Fai kept his chest pressed against the rock. On the other side, there was quite a climb in store.  He pulled Diraimeir through before they got a good look around.

An old ladder still rested against the shelf, but it had become so barnacled and waterlogged that it could no longer be used. Tathlyn climbed up the tube fairly quickly. It was about his height and had a few good footholds. From there, the floor smoothed out and became littered with colorful sand. As each of them crawled through, the Fai helped pull them up to the top.

 The last to come was Braeyta. Though the tide started to come in, he showed no fear. Diraimeir figured this was because Braeyta knew he would be able to pass higher into the cave before the whole place flooded. Right now, the rise was nothing but a trickle. By the time he found Tathlyn’s hand, the water had hardly filled half of the thin passage he just crawled up through.

“Don’t stop now. There is a ledge to follow to the shipway. There should be an old vessel left still to take.” Braeyta called.

“But… What about our horses?” Diraimeir asked, finally remembering that they hadn’t come alone. I did not want to leave them behind.

“I will look after them for you. They will be safe, I promise. You can get them after things settle. For now, though, you and the others must leave this island.” Braeyta encouraged, giving Diraimeir a hefty swat on his back to keep him from stopping. It didn’t hurt, nor was it ever meant to. It was the type of thing a good friend might have done, just with a lot more enthusiasm.

The very suggestion made his heart sink. Diraimeir knew fully well that there was no possible way they could go back for Ch’nuino or Saunun, and he wouldn’t bother to argue. It still didn’t make him feel any less guilty about leaving them behind. Miryd softened the blow as she slung her arm around his shoulders. “He is right, you know. They are safer here. Plus, there are lots of good things for them to eat on the island. Lots of shade to lounge in too.” She said as she pulled Thistale in on her other side and squeezed them both into her.

“Yeah. They must be sick of the sea by now.” Thistale added after Miryd nudged her with her elbow. “We will see them again.”

Behind them, Sumrian rolled his eyes. Diraimeir was far too soft. The kind that quickly became annoying. Blubbering over a horse or two while certain death could have been around the next corner like a child. “Suck it up, will you? We don’t have time for this.” He said, marching up behind the three. He placed his hands square on Diraimeir’s back and push him, with the two attached to him currently, along.

As always, Tathlyn said nothing. He just shook his head and followed behind them now that they could see where they were going. It was not too long of a walk to the surface now anyways. A draft could be felt, fresh and crisp, which suggested an opening in the rock towering high overhead. The tide tumbled over a twenty-foot cliff before them with each wave that brought it in, like a spillway after a flood.

This last little stretch of grotto provided light from the warm evening sun as well as the quick rise of the icy sea. It was best to stay clear of the water lest you wanted to be sucked in and swept away. For this reason, they clung to a slim ledge that had them inching across and out into the bay by a sliver of an opening in the rock. One at a time, each of them crossed slowly. There was only just enough room for half the width of the average-sized foot upon the ledge. This meant that they had to press their bodies against the damp walls and struggle to find anything to hold along it to get across. This way was dangerous, but it was the only feasible route. If Braeyta could do it, so can everyone else.

Thankfully, they all were able to cross with only one blunder. Thistale slipped just as she put her foot on the broader part of the platform everyone waited on. Sumrian was too far behind to swoop her up like the knight he thought he was. Her saving grace was the Fai that had come before. Tathlyn was quick to snatch her wrist and pull her up as quickly as he was able to without falling in himself. She yelped in fear. Tathlyn was glad that nothing was broken or anything like that. All she gained was some scrapes and a little scare.

Sumrian shoved Tathlyn out of the way to make sure she was well, nearly falling in the same way that she had. “Does it hurt?” He asked. Well, it was more like he demanded it of her rather than asked. “Let me carry you. You are bleeding…”

“It’s like a single drop of blood.” Thistle’s expression drooped, feeling incredibly embarrassed at the way Sumrian was acting. “Calm down. I do NOT need you to do that. I am perfectly fine. It doesn’t even sting.” She folded her arms before her, shooting Sumrian the side-eye. Tathlyn shook his head at them.

“Ok, it does sting a little, but that’s because I got saltwater in it. You’re making things awkward.” She murmured. Though that line echoed more than the others did. Sumrian looked a little wounded for it, her saying so was just what he needed to back off.

“Are you two finished?” Tathlyn prompted.

Thistale sighed softly in response, wrapping it up. “I appreciate your concern, Sumrian. I do. But you always take things too far.” She twisted his hair into her fingers as playfully as she could muster and flashed him a smile. “See? Right as rain.”

Sumrian had to look away from her as the others around them snickered. He really should have expected to see the stares that met him, but somehow, they took him aback. “What are you looking at?” He huffed with a slight sprinkle of venom in his words.

                                                                                      *

They emerged into a much larger cove that was simply covered by a full canopy of tangled trees and ivy, hiding away several old ships just as Braeyta said. Most of the larger ones were no longer sea-worthy, sporting holes in their sides like they had crashed into the rocks. They had been dragged in towards the land to wait for repairs that never came.

The rich smell of the rotting wood also concerned the scholar. They could not very well have taken any vessel they could fall through. No need to test out most of these decks. I can actually see exactly where the wood would break away if anyone were to step on it. Braeyta laughed a little bit. “Sorry about this. It’s been quite a few years since anyone really needed to use these.” He mentioned apologetically.

“So… What are we supposed to do?” Sumrian shot back. “This is not the time to be chuckling like an idiot.”

Braeyta burst out into another fit of mirth at that temper. “Now, now. I promised a ship, and I intend to keep my word. There is no need to act like a pompous git.” He said, motioning them to follow him to the west end of the thin pebbly beach. There, a small craft hardly large enough to carry them all rested on the sand. “You can take this. If you keep to the straights, you will be fine. Just do not use it in open waters. It’s far too small to handle the waves out there.” Sumrian was just about to open his trap to protest again when Braeyta put his hand up to stop him. “It will be perfect. The straights are shallow, and it’s a direct shot from this cove to Austieria’s shore, traveling northwest. There are many little islands in the straights, but I do not suggest you stop. Keep going, it won’t take you long.”

Tathlyn eyed the craft with some measure of distrust as he rubbed his chin. “And… Which landmass is Austieria then?”

“That’s easy. It’s the largest one in that direction.” He pointed. “Come and help bring the boat. I shall show you.” Braeyta picked up the bow end of the dingy, waving for everyone to grab a place. It wasn’t that heavy; it was just too cumbersome to get it down to the opening of the cove without fear of dropping it and potentially breaking their only way off the island by the hands of a single person.

From that tip of the land, they all could see what Braeyta meant. He pointed towards Austieria, maybe five miles out from where they were at the very most. “It’s the largest island in this part of the world. Certainly, in all of Sharn. Keep this sightline and go between the smaller isles. The Straights between only get about twenty or so feet at their deepest, so if you must, you can swim to guide the boat hence. You will come to a flat, muddy shore within half an hour. The tide is rising, so you might be able to ride all the way into the forest. If not, try to stick to the stones. The mud is thick, and it is filled with clay on this side of Austieria.

 Go through the forest and try, if you can, to avoid the larger cities. When the land starts to become rocky, you will be near Tenar. Take the long road that winds through the desert where you should find the camps of the nomadic people somewhere alongside it. They are the clans of Drannor, and they will give you aid should you ask for it. Till then, you must pass through unnoticed.” He explained. “And take this. The scrying stone is no longer safe upon Cree. May you return it at the journey’s end.”