Lorcan: Dragonquest

Chapter 22

Author's note: This is a rather philosophical chapter, in which Lorcan and Cokelli are exploring a very different world from the one they have left. The "fireside stories" will increase in number from this point onwards as Beso, Heshbon, and Henorm help Lorcan to make sense of it and to understand the history and culture of the people they are moving among. Some of the stories have had to be removed as the book was getting too long. They're in my companion piece, "Lorcan's Fireside Story Time."

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Two days later, the storm had passed and the captain deemed it safe to leave port. The passengers bound for Telgawa re-boarded the ship and it set off, picking its way between the jagged rocks and shoals between the islands and the coast. Lorcan stood leaning over the bulwark near the bow of the ship, admiring the skill of the captain as he guided the ship along its path. They stopped briefly at Batri, then their course curved into the great canal of Ishmi.

Lorcan stood on deck, trying to keep out of the way of disembarking passengers. He watched as new passengers came aboard and the goods from the ship's hold were transferred and replaced.

Beso Buzzo came up and stood beside him. "The twin cities of Korn and Kilma lie at either end of the canal. The canal was built by the Ancients, and leads into the Gulf of Hilae. Roads are almost unknown in the islands. They use boats and ships in place of horses and carts."

"Have you traded much around here?" asked Lorcan.

"No. The biggest city before Telgawa is Gakale. The other ports are too small, the people not rich enough to pay me well."

Lorcan laughed. "I suppose not. When will we arrive at Telgawa?"

"We must sail around the tip of the toe of Sidore's Slipper, then turn northwards into the Nigmenadaf Sea. After that, we reach Gakale, which lies between the Pillars of Shabit. We sail across the Sea of Dirama until we reach Telgawa. From there we go to Jal."

None of this made any sense to Lorcan, but he smiled and nodded as if it did.

***

The dry, scrubby landscape occasionally gave way to tilled soil as Edric and his party rode along the ill-maintained road. Some parts had been obliterated by land-slips and others looked as if a furious giant had torn them from their roots and cast them aside. In some places, parts of the road were halfway up the hills, obliging them to dismount, walk their horses down into the valleys, then rejoin the road when they could find it again. Eventually, after many days of tedious riding through the baking landscape up into the mountains and over to the other side, they arrived at the brow of a hill from which the road led straight down into a broad, green hinterland. In the far distance, they could make out the thin blue line of the sea.

Edric beheld a great long bridge of many arches that ran down from the hill into the valley below, then on into the region that stretched out before it. "The great bridge of many arches that spans the expanse between the mountains and the sea. Kenn has led us truly. Onward to Cherz, then to Telgawa!"

When they finally arrived at the outskirts of Cherz, Edric pulled out the box in which Kenn was housed and spoon-fed him some wine. "Which ship shall we take to get to Telgawa?"

Kenn's eyes rolled back in his head.

Edric winced. Kenn was not a pretty sight at any time but he was particularly disgusting when he rolled his eyes back in his stinking head on its stained cushion.

"Seek for a ship with a lightning bolt on its side," said the oracle. "It is swift, but the price is high."

"It would be better to find a ship that can take us to Telgawa without taking us for everything I have," snapped Edric.