Draconis

Chapter 28

Jlayn

"Well," said Jlayn, "it's a river."

A very large and fast moving river, measuring about six miles wide at this point by Jlayn's calculations.

"You're not wrong about that boss," said Sesha, perched on the bow next to him. "My question is, which way?"

"And what a good question it is too," Jlayn replied, grinning. "Truth be told, I don't know. The water is flowing to our starboard, which suggests that it might reach the sea, and there is every possibility of there being a settlement based at the bridge of river to sea. But then there could easily be further settlements inland." He raised his hands in an exaggerated shrug, "What would you choose?"

"Inland," Sesha replied without hesitation.

Jlayn cocked his head, "Interesting. Why so certain?"

"I'm not certain, it's just that we've come from the sea, and there were sea drakes, there should have been harpies, and all sorts of strange creatures. Maybe going inland will show us something new!"

She isn't afraid at the thought of new creatures, she's excited, Jlayn mused, smiling at her reaction. "Well, that's as good a reason as any," he replied, "inland it is!"

Sesha beamed at him as he ordered the course change. The ship rose until it caught a sea wind and began to be blown inland, following the course of the river. The landscape was jaw-dropping. The grand river snaked majestically into the distance, and, more interesting to Jlayn's eyes, was the abundance of wildlife, far more than they had seen so far in this world. Birds of every shape, size and colour cavorted and whirled beneath them. Some, reminiscent of seagulls (if seagulls were pink) flew up to investigate the new intruder and although every available gun was trained on them, they thankfully just cawed and cackled like any normal bird. On the water's edge Jlayn saw a herd of something akin to deer, except it had a much larger head, long, not wide, a thicker neck to accommodate it and a purple furred coat. The river itself teemed with fish, scales reflecting the overhead light, the birds darting below the water's surface to emerge with fish in beak or talons. Twice, something large breached the surface, scattering birds and blowing great gouts of water into the air. It could well have been a whale, but Jlayn had long since grown accustomed to the strange creatures in this land, acknowledging that if it was a whale then it would probably be pink and have two tails.

In all it seemed like a land of plenty. So why was there no trace of civilisation?

For half a day they followed the river, eyes drawn to the wonders below, with no sign of intelligent life. The river wound and meandered, growing incrementally narrower but certainly not less powerful. Jlayn let the ship drop down closer to the river, allowing the crew, and himself, to better enjoy the spectacle. The banks on either side of the river began to rise, becoming more severe and mountainous, then as the ship rounded a bend, the entire crew caught their breath in a gasp. Before them rose a majestic waterfall, thunderous and crashing, the sound a deafening roar. The torrent of water was difficult to comprehend, far bigger than any fall that Jlayn had ever seen. The water reflected the overhead sun into a dazzling array of colours, and the crew watched with wide eyed amazement.

Content to stay here a while and admire the scene Jlayn ordered the sails trimmed and sat back and began to draw, sketching the waterfall and the surrounding chasm. Looking at one of the walls, he cocked his head. That's odd, he thought. The walls of the chasm below were drenched with water and gleamed with light, but higher up they appeared dry. So why, he pondered, is there something glinting at me from the wall.

Quickly unclasping his eyeglass from the protective case hanging at his side he trained it where he had spied the light. As soon as he attempted it however, the light disappeared. He swept his eyeglass over the area but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. Just as he was putting the telescope away he spotted another light, but in a different location. Faster this time he snapped his scope up and sighted, eager to find out what was going on, and got one of the biggest shocks of his life. Someone was staring back at him through a crack in the wall, admiring the Draconis through a scope of some sort.