The Wanderers of the Water-Realm (9 page)

“The Hix,” Darryl enquired. “Who or what are they?”

“Arr … same race as them pair … we kill back there.” The old man grunted struggled to form his next sentence. “De… de … dea…” He paused and shook his head.

“I speak no Angle for many sun-cycles.” He explained and tried again with greater success.

“Dea … desert dwellers … the Hix … most hate water.” He paused again and washed down the last morsel of dried flesh with a draught of liquid from a small flask drawn from his pouch.

“My name is Thom!” He continued, “Thom Jak’ s! … I be wizard and healer … in valley called … Fruitful Stream … a settlement two darkenings march … from ‘City of Ancient Dead’ … where we kill Hix.”

He pointed towards Darryl and his twin sister. “Hetty … your mother … my mind friend … she ask me to protect and council you … we take this boat to my valley … there you live until you understand ways of Water-Realm.”

He looked at them sharply and touched his hooked nose.

“You much to do … much to learn!”

The ‘Bonny Barbara’continued its voyage down-river and the long abandoned port area was soon left well astern. The craft began passing through what appeared to have been the city’s residential suburbs, for the surviving structures were much smaller and less well preserved, with the vast majority being little more than heaps of debris. The mounds were invariability covered by a low growing red moss, which Thom called ‘Nulla’. He explained that the plant was the commonest form of none-sentient life in this part of the new reality. A fact that became self-evident, once the last remnants of the ‘City of the Ancient Dead’ were left far astern, for the Exit River began passing through a vast rolling plain where every inch of ground space was covered by the all pervading red plant.

The course of the river also became less predictable and the old wizard stationed himself in the bows of the narrowboat in order to give the crew ample warning whenever a rock or shoal-bank hove into view. He also gave the crewmembers adequate warning when it became time to anchor their craft in the middle of a quiet stretch of the river, in preparation for the onset of the inky-black Water-Realm night.

Darkness fell and the newcomers cooked an evening meal of salt beef and dumplings, before preparing to spend the night in the narrowboat’s tiny cabin. However, the old wizard spurned the comforts that the travellers offered to share with him and simply chewed upon another fragment of dried flesh before retiring to sleep upon the open deck.

Darryl stretched out upon his bunk, anxious to gain as much sleep as possible during the Water-Realm night. But sleep eluded him for a good hour and he spent the time pondering upon the responsibilities that were heaped upon his shoulders.

The Water-Realm, he knew, was a dangerous place in which to venture. The brutal clash with the Hix had dispelled any doubts that he might have harboured on that score. He also knew that he would have to exhibit firm leadership if they were to survive the dangers that undoubtedly lay ahead. Yet he was dreadfully inhibited by his complete lack of knowledge of the new reality and knowing that every decision he would be forced to make had the potential to bring complete disaster upon the little expedition.

“Three heads are better than one!” He mused, as he tossed in his blankets. “Whenever possible, everyone must be consulted on the best course of action.” Even so, he realized that survival for the group would often depend upon the split-second decisions that he would be forced to make when danger arrived without any prior warning. But that resided in the future, for their immediate security now rested in the hands of the little wizard who was sleeping soundly in the bows of the ‘Bonny Barbara.’

Dawn broke and the narrowboat continued its voyage down-river. The task of the navigator at the tiller, however, became ever more difficult as the current of the river gathered speed. Sharp rocks often jutted out from the banks and the course of the waterway frequently twisted and turned alarmingly, often catching the craft in dangerous back-eddies causing the vessel to pitch and roll almost uncontrollably.

The nature of the countryside, through which the Exit River ran also, began changing. The trackless moss covered plain began giving way to a vista of rolling hills and narrow valley’s often containing dense groves of trees. Streams sometimes flowed from these wooded glades and poured into the main river, greatly augmenting its flow.

The difficulties of river navigation gradually increased as the day wore on and none of the travellers were disappointed when Thom pointed towards the mouth of a sizeable tributary and told them to steer in its direction.

“That be the way … to ‘The Valley of the Fruitful Stream,” he said, “my home and now yours.”

A group of about forty young red-skinned men and women were standing near to the mouth of the stream, and, under the wizard’s direction, the three crewmembers prepared a long towrope, which they threw to the people waiting onshore. The shore party immediately grasped the line and began bow-hauling the ‘Bonny Barbara’ up what appeared to be a large navigable tributary of the main Exit River.

The bow-haulers’ uttered a low rhythmic dirge that helped them to keep up a steady pace as they executed their arduous task, and thanks to their efforts, the narrowboat made swift progress up the course of the stream.

By mid afternoon, the party entered a small valley that seemed to be enclosed on three sides by gently sloping hills. The nulla moss that covered the hillsides, was copper coloured and of a finer texture than the similar vegetation covering the plain outside the ‘City of the Ancient Dead.’

Groups of strange two-legged creatures, that bore a slight resemblance to kangaroos, could be seen grazing upon this new strain of nulla moss. Afew of the animals wandered down to the stream to drink and the newcomers quickly realized that the resemblance to the marsupials was purely superficial; for their heads and the upper portion of their long necks were covered with fine red scales and the lidless eyes, gleaming in their narrow heads, gave the creatures an almost reptilian appearance.

Also, their slender red-coloured bodies were supported upon legs and hips that were certainly bird-jointed and doubtless gave rise to their curious hopping gait, whilst their stumpy forelegs appeared to be only useful for giving support to their forequarters when they bent down to graze upon the bronze nulla moss.

Thom pointed towards the creatures. “Narr.” He said shortly. “We breed plenty narr in Fruitful Valley.” He waved his hand towards one of the animals whose body was covered with a thick red mat of wool. “Wool narr.” He explained, and drew a warm sleeping cloak from inside his travelling pouch. He ran his hand over the soft material. “Warm … light … keep you dry … if you sleep outside on ground … during rain-time.”

The wizard pointed towards another larger narr whose body was covered by a much thinner coat of red hair. “Meat narr … plenty wool and meat narr … here in valley … bronze nulla moss … here … good for grazing narr.”

Even as he spoke, a larger and more powerful example of the curious species emerged from behind a rock and the travellers were amazed to see that an adolescent girl was strapped to the creatures back and controlling the creature with apparent ease. The girl wielded a long whip and used it mercilessly to drive back a group of wool narr who were straying away from their fellows. She was obviously controlling her strange mount by the pressure of her knees, for in her left hand she carried a slender javelin with a wickedly barbed head that undoubtedly had the capacity to inflict a terrible wound. Moments later, two young boys, similarly mounted and armed, emerged from behind a hillock and silently observed the passage of the narrowboat.

The old wizard laughed at the perplexity of the newcomers.

“Riding narr swift … but what you call bird-jointed … riding narr too weak in the hips to support man-rider … so children herd domestic narr … children also watch for Hix.”

“Do those demons whom we met in the ruins also attack your people?”Darryl asked.

“No.” The old man replied. “Most Hix live in tribes … far away in GreatWesternWasteland … here just a few families live … in ruins like ‘City of Ancient Dead’… perhaps steal odd narr for food … if Hix become too bold… children kill with javelins.”

“Your children are able to kill those monsters?” Myra asked.

“Aye … but we also lose … maybe … one … two or even three children each time,” answered the wizard, with a look of sadness in his eyes. “Myself lose …one good son … most here loose same.”

The old man moved up into the bows of the craft, and, for a while was lost in his own thoughts and the newcomers were left in no doubt of having inadvertently stumbled upon one of the many painful facets of life in the Water-Realm.

The bow-haulers stuck doggedly to their task and the ‘Bonny Barbara’ continued to make good progress for the stream remained easily navigable for the narrowboat. As the day advanced, the bronze nulla-covered slopes began to recede and eventually gave way to a flat valley bottom. The land in the valley appeared to be extremely fertile, for every inch of soil was subdivided into small fields hedged with banks of nulla moss and the travellers were able to make out numerous homesteads, each one constructed from overlapping planks of rough hewn timber.

The Water-Realm night was almost upon them when the bow-haulers finally drew the narrowboat into a small flooded basin and the travellers were able to moor their craft alongside a stoutly built wharf. The sweating haulers then scattered to their various homesteads without waiting for a single word or gesture of thanks from the newcomers.

Thom pointed towards a substantial cottage standing in the centre of the settlement.

“My home,” He said. “You my guests … come … we eat … sleep.” The wizard, however, noticed the boatmaster’s reluctance to leave his craft unattended and laughed. “No worry … boat,” he said, “children always on guard.”

The night was dark as pitch by the time the travellers crossed thethresholdofthewizard’sdwellingandtheywereimmediately greeted by a plump elderly woman who was dressed in a simple shift-like garment, dyed a brilliant shade of green.

Thom introduced them to the woman.

“This Erda, my living mate,” he explained and seated them before a warm fire burning in an inglenook style fireplace, Erda then dipped a ladle into a cauldron hanging over the flames and served them with a thin soup that she distributed in small earthenware bowls.

“Eat slow!” The wizard advised. “Get used … Water-Realm food and water … take little to begin with … along with boat food … then you no get ill.”

The travellers consumed their food as instructed and then Erda led them to three self-contained sleeping cubicles occupying the far wall of the cottage. Each of the cubicles contained a simple wooden bedstead, with a base made from strips of leather. Blankets and pillows of soft narrs-wool were also provided in abundance and the newcomers were soon enjoying their first night of rest upon land, since escaping through the depths of the ‘Devils Hill’ tunnel.