"Tribe of the Aquene"

An original series by Darkness Tigerpaw
(c) Darkness Tigerpaw, all rights reserved.
Not to be used without permission under penalty of law.

Chapter 7, Page 032

Four drow, one dragon and one very seasick human sat in wooden chairs at a round table in the middle of a small room in the boat's lower hold. The oil lanterns that hung on a simple hook on the walls swayed with the rocking of the boat. Rareki was doing his best to hold his last meal down, but it seemed to want to come back up one way or another.

"I think I need some air," the human said as he quickly excused himself from the table and ran out the door, heading up the ladder. Shoving deckhands out of the way, he ran towards the nearest railing.

Looking out the only circular window high in the wall, A'arch noticed the horizontal rain outside. The wind blew at an incredible speed, flanking the boat's direction, shoving it around violently. He wouldn't have been surprised if Rareki toppled over the railing into the thrashing seas.

Faint sounds of Rareki heaving over the railing could be heard down in the hold, making Tai begin to hold her stomach.

"I wish I could say something to lighten the mood," A'arch said. Attempting to cheer up this eclectic group of saviors was its own job. They had been on the water for almost a week solid, eating the overly-salted meats and drinking the putrid rainwater caught in filthy barrels. Tai had fed on the few rats she had found deeper in the hold below, but they were becoming scarce. She worried that she had found them all and some of the young, muscular deckhands started to look appetizing.

Out of frustration, Tai asked "Tell me again, why I can't just teleport us all there? After all, I'm wearing the ring!"

In an angry tone, Lammina repeated the obvious answer to her. "Because we have no idea where we'll appear. We could materialize in the midst of the fire giants and be destroyed before we could get our bearings." The dragon seemed to be at her wits end. To her, the trip meant a week of sitting below deck under the protection of Glakta's guards. The anxiety of isolation was causing her emotional distress and she was ready to punch a hole in the side of the ship and jump out, but she was strong willed and remained calm. No one knew how close she was to breaking. The aquene needed constant movement, she needed to keep her mind occupied. In the bowels of this plain ship, the sounds of the crashing waves, the creaking of the timber and the squeak of the swinging lanterns was about to make her...

The sound of someone running down into the hold of the ship broke everyone's concentration. Rareki burst into the door, stopped and took a moment to catch his breath. All eyes were on the human could barely get out the words "We're dropping anchor. Land."

A'arch jumped up and headed for the door. "I'll be right back," he said as he ran up the ladder. Lammina turned her head to the side slightly to catch the footsteps of her drow reach the deck and begin talking with the captain.

Rareki sat down in his seat, attempting to slow his breathing.

Knowing exactly what she was doing, Ferelia grinned evilly and asked the human "I could really go for some salty roasted pork right now."

Rareki covered his mouth with his hand and ran out the door at top speed. Tai, Shi'n and Ferelia shared a giggle, but Lammina exhaled loudly, not happy with the prank. She was having a hard enough time trying to listen to A'arch above her through the storm without having a sickly human drown out everyone with his constant vomiting.

The wind kicked up and rain pelted the side of the boat. Constant flashes of lightning and the following claps of thunder overwhelmed Lammina's ability to hear what was being said. She sat back in her chair and attempted to relax, something that Lammina desperately needed to do. The hand of Shi'n gently touched the dragon's wrist as he asked "Do you think they're out there? Can you feel the presence of your family?"

Lammina had to think for a moment. She so desperately wanted to exclaim YES! but she honestly couldn't say that. She didn't have the memory of her kind, had no idea what their unique presence felt like, nor could she even say that she believed they still existed. She began to doubt.

Before she could answer, A'arch walked through the door of the small room, drenched. He used both hands to pull his long, white hair away from his eyes. "We anchor here."

Silence filled the room as the weary travelers had reached the point of no return. They had arrived at the island of fire giants.

"What would you have us do?" Ferelia asked.

"For now, we stay. A small crew will be rowing to the island to scout the best area for our landing. Until we're ready to leave, we stay put."

Lammina grumbled out of frustration. She stood from her chair and calmly asked "A'arch, walk me to the deck?"

The drow walked toward his dragon, took her hand in his and slowly walked up the ladder, arm in arm.

Upon reaching the deck, A'arch turned Lammina towards the bow and directly towards the island. "There is is," he said. "Can you see it?"

The dragon attempted to echolocate it, but no vibratory signal returned. It was still too far away. "No, I can't. Please describe it to me, dear."

As A'arch tightened his grip on his dragon, with great detail, he began to illustrate every aspect of it he could see. "It is a wide island and there is a small sandy beach area. It's difficult to see through the rain, but I can see gray volcanic rock beyond that. There is a single massive volcano in the center of it which is quite active. Fire and brimstone can be seen being expelled straight up into a dark cloud, some can be seen flowing slowly down its side. I know you can hear its low rumble as it erupts."

"Yes, I can." she answered immediately.

The two shared a moment of silence between them. They both worried that this was a suicide mission and doubted whether or not the aquene existed.

"What if?" Lammina asked.

Nodding, A'arch knew exactly what the dragon asked. "I know. We may not return and the aquene may not remain, if they were ever here at all." For the first time, they both doubted their own survival. If the aquene did exist here, they had a duty to save them.

As the two stared towards the island, lava shot into the dark sky before them as lightning flashed wildly in every direction around them. Neither one thought it was a good sign.

To be continued...