Machine of Fire and Blood

SEVENTEEN

"Alright, this is as far as I can take you."

Calaithe looked around. The Floating Village was still just a dot on the horizon. They weren't even close.

"An ambassador is on their way to pick you up. It's part of their code. No outside boat is permitted entrance into the village," Blair explained.

Just as she said that, a small boat came into view. It was moving incredibly swiftly through the water. It looked magical as it glided along, barely breaking the surface of the water.

"Some say that the boats of the Floating Village are powered by magic," Kit murmured, noticing Calaithe's gaze.

"Is it?" Calaithe questioned.

Kit shrugged. "There was a time when I would have laughed at the idea, but after meeting Carrow and seeing Maia's powers? Who knows."

The small boat was quickly approaching. There was a short, stalky man sitting in stern on the boat. His skin was dark and sun baked. He had a bald head that was covered in intricate tattoos that depicted small ships with sails full of wind.

"Are you the group seeking entrance to the Lenkan Mountains?" the man shouted as his boat sailed up to theirs.

Carrow nodded. "We are."

The man let out a huff. "You shall climb aboard. I am to take you to Fleet. He will deem if you may pass."

The pulled his boat up so that it was flush with theirs, and then stretched out a hand.

"Well? C'mon then," he called up.

Carrow turned to Blair. "Thank you for your help. I hope to see you again soon, my friend."

Blair smiled and inclined her head slightly. With that Carrow leaned over the side of the boat, took ahold of the man's hand, and jumped down into his vessel. After saying their goodbyes to Blair, the rest of the group quickly followed. It was a tight squeeze with all of them on the smaller boat. Calaithe was practically sitting in Adithreel's lap. It was just big enough to sit cross legged on the floor, one person in front of the other. Each of them had to hold their weapons on their laps as well. The man from Peret eyed the weapons warily, but didn't comment on them as he turned the boat and began steering them toward the village.

As they village grew closer and closer, it became more and more clear that it was just how the stories had described it. The long bands of cloth blew gently in the breeze. There was one in every colour imaginable. The buildings themselves looked like they were simply rising up out of the water, like they were a part of the lake that had always been there. The buildings got closer together the further into the village they got. They were all made of wood and straw, and some of them looked like boat-house hybrids. People stood out on their porches, watching the boat as it passed, making its way toward the center of the village. Calaithe smiled up at some of them, but they simply just stared back.

The man turned the boat down a narrow passage way, and for a moment, Calaithe thought they were going to hit a dead end. Suddenly, though, the passageway opened up into a large pool, with a floating platform in the center of it. A man stood with several others on the platform. Calaithe frowned. The men standing on the platform looked a lot like guards. They stood with their arms crossed and frowns on their faces. The man in the center was standing with his hands behind his back and a big grin on his face. He was rugged, with a large unkempt beard and bushy eyebrows. Like the man steering the boat, however, all of them were bald.

"Welcome," the man from the platform called as they approached. "My name is Fleet. I am the leader of the Floating Village of Peret. Please, come aboard the platform."