NOVEL WEB Chapter 245: Boating
“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.”
Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A Milne
Our arrangement on the boat was swiftly switched. I made a far better steersman, and Namir, uncomfortable as he was on the water, still made a far better oarsman. We took our ease after an eventful night as we headed downriver toward the coast. We only needed the occasional paddle to push us along or out of the way of approaching rocks. For the most part, the river ran deep and cold, filled with fresh ice water from the plains of Endless Ice. It might be far away, but this winding route was the easiest route to the coast. We had only planned to slip out of sight of Drangavik before stowing away our canoe and returning to the air. Still, it was such a smooth ride that we had passed long out of sight of Dragnavik before we pulled alongside the bank and disembarked.
“I’m surprised you didn’t ask us to stop sooner,” I commented to Namir. “What with your aversion to water and all.” I grinned.
He shrugged, before explaining, “I have an aversion to drowning. With the water here, I could walk out of it at worst or simply run across.” He added, reminding me of the first time I had seen him face off against Arawn and race across the top of our lake to our inner island.
My smile slipped as I remembered home. As thrilling as our adventures had been, I missed my family and the familiarity and security of our home under the mountain.
Sensing my disquiet, Namir reassured me, “We will be home sooner than you think. I’m happy to run if you want to work on your projects.” Work worked better than most things at distracting me from our location and I was still enjoying the wonder of my new skill, the spatial vault.
“Thank you for the offer, but I’m enjoying the scenery,” I replied. I had been enjoying the river, and if we were not attempting to return home as swiftly as possible, I would have been happy to float down the river to the coast for the rest of the day. It was pretty relaxing and a fun change of pace. Any change can often be as good as a break. Flying along the river would be a lot swifter, but I would still be able to see the scenery and get a feel for Tramontana, or at least this part of it. Our stay in Drangavik had been far too short for my tastes.
“Very well,” Namir shrugged. “Just remember I’ll be a step away at all times but only able to help if you let me out before you need the help.” He reminded me that although I would be carrying him and he would be available to help whenever I needed it, he would not actually be able to help unless I had opened the spatial vault to let him out.
“What are you going to work on?” I asked as I opened the vault, and we stowed away the canoe together. Namir no longer carried the load alone, as with the huge increase in the size of my vessel, my stats were now displaying their worth with every extra pound of muscle I put on.
“I thought I might do a little bit of reading.” He answered, pointing out his corner of the spatial vault. He had collected a few items along our journey, along with a book or two. “I don’t usually have the opportunity to do so while travelling, and the only reason I picked up these books was because I knew that you would be able to keep them dry and protected. I might as well make the most of my free time.” He selected one off from his shelf and settled down to read. “I’ll be keeping an ear out, so just call if you need me.” He continued before burying himself in his book.
Unoffended by my casual dismissal, I left the vault and closed it until all that remained of the opening was the ruined entrance anchored on my gifted necklace. This was the true treasure of the north that I had received from Varvara. The ability to move the vault without sealing it completely was essential in keeping Namir aware of our surroundings and in keeping communication between the two of us open. With everything squared away, I was ready to take flight once more.
“Remember to keep low.” Namir’s voice emerged from the necklace just before I leapt into the sky.
“I haven’t forgotten,” I quickly answered. Although it was tempting to fly higher, keeping low should keep us out of sight of anyone we might encounter and prevent us from becoming a tempting target for any flying beasts scanning the skies.
A combination of air step and flight soon had me speeding through the sky along the river's course. The Ice fields flashed past as we sped to the west. The next town along the river was a couple of days away by boat, but at the speed we were going, we hoped to make it by lunchtime. It helped that we had left at first light.
Curving through the sky I followed the river that had carved its way through the landscape westward. I watched as arctic hares, wolves, and bears played out their lives below me, spotting some new animals in my flight: Ermine, Snowshoe rabbits and Artic fox, but each one was only a momentary flash on my senses before we had swiftly soared above them. The rabbits and hares flinched and ran frightened as our shadow sped overhead. Even the wolves and foxes paused or turned to watch our departure with only the bears continuing unaffected by our passing other than a passing glance as they noticed our presence. Time sped by along with the landscape when disaster nearly struck.
I was nearing the end of my mana and about to ask Namir to switch. Throughout my time hunting with the northern giants, I had grown better and better at having my senses fully deployed and running, and it was this practice that saved me from the sudden strike from above.
“Namir!” was all I had time to shout as a wild white Gryfalcon dove down from above. Switching from flight to Air step allowed me to stop suddenly and dodge back as it passed through the space I would have occupied, its cruel claws outstretched for where it had planned to hit me in my back. The apex predator flared its wings to pull out of the dive and turn back to attack me, standing still in the air as I watched it scream past and begin its turn. Unwilling to face it in the air, I dove for the ground as it completed its turn, using airstep to push downward as fast as I could. I threw myself downward. The reason for the rabbits and hares flinching clear as day seeing as we must have crossed into its hunting territory. Diving to the ground, I kept my lead and landed before it was dived on me again. The giant bird was undeterred by my escape and still keen to claim the meat on my bones. I missed the friendly Gyrfalcon from the Thorpe, Stamfar. This one was an uncontrolled menace.
“Heads up!” I shouted, and an entrance to my spatial vault flashed open above my head as I held the necklace upward in my palm.
The gyrfalcon disappeared into the space with a scream before crashing into the stone flagstones that paved it with a crunch. In its disorientated and bruised state, the cat that had been waiting for it quickly dispatched it.
“Proper planning and preparation prevent piss poor performance.” Namir smiled as I reorientated the vault’s entrance and joined him inside. We had thought through a couple of scenarios and how best to respond to them. This had been a nearly flawless execution, apart from the initial sudden surprise appearance of the threat. We had a few suggestions for the reverse of our travelling partnership, where I could surprise our attackers from within the vault while Namir faced off against them or defended us as we fled.
I exhaled in relief at the manoeuver's success. Sure, I could have attempted to defeat the beast on my own, but surprised as I was, there was no harm in using my ally to defeat our foe. The adrenaline left my body a little shaken after the short violent encounter. That had been close.
“Nevertheless, I think I would like to stretch my legs a little for the next leg,” he said as he took me in and headed out. “How much further?” he asked as he passed me, patting me on the shoulder in respect for the flawless execution of our agreed-upon plan for dealing with airborne threats.
“Should be there soon enough,” I nodded in thanks as I consulted my mental map of how far we had travelled and compared it to the copy the giants had given us my mind.
“I’ll leave you to it then,” Namir said from outside as he left me with the corpse of my attacker.
I collapsed the entrance and started processing the gyrfalcon. We would not be eating it. Birds of prey tended to taste foul, their internal organs toxic. Even in this world and with mana, they were unappetising. That did not mean that they could not be harvested for resources though. While we would not be eating its meat, we could still store it and use it as bait for other beasts, and their fine feathers were worth a pretty penny, but that was not all that I was after. It was no surprise that a bird of this size held a core within its chest and it was this that I was after.
Cutting into its chest, I opened the ribs to reveal the core nestled behind the sternum or, instead, what was called the keel or carina of the bird. The prominent keel was the secret behind its power. Able to anchor the larger muscles, it provided the gyrfalcon with greater power for its flight. The scintillating core joined the collection that glowed with inner lights created by the mana they absorbed over their lifetimes.
Not long after I had finished processing the beast, my name was called from outside. “Kai, we have a complication. Come outside in three.” Namir called into the vault.
I waited for three before expanding the exit giving Namir time to place it away from his body. I emerged to a new set of scenery. Drangasfjord stood on the horizon, but I quickly noticed what Namir had. A group of humans aboard a boat on the river were making their way to the town, too, and worse, they were between us and the city.
“I can make it to Drangasfjord for lunch if I cut across,” he pointed out the way the river looped and wound its way into the town. “But we have a choice to make. Either I head into the city alone, cutting straight across, or you accompany me on the run there. Alternatively, we get the boat out to follow on behind them. Regardless, we cannot go any further without being seen by the people on the barge, if not the town.”
“Pro and cons?” I asked.
“Hmm, pro’s to keeping you hidden away. Let me think . . .” he paused as if thinking before continuing sarcastically. “Well, for starters, we might just make it through the town without people attempting to rob us. Then, there is a possibility that, for once, giant beasts and monsters will not attack us or the town we live in. Not to mention the sheer social disruption you can cause simply by existing.”
“That is a little bit of an exaggeration,” I defended.
“Maybe, but not by much.” He contended.
“Cons?”
“If you appear once in town, they will ask where you came from, for starters. Sudden appearances rarely mean or end well for either party. Secondly, if your godly patron expects you to continue to leave statues in your wake, she will hardly be happy with you if you avoid handing them out. I have no desire to add a god to my list of enemies.”
Considering the cons, despite Namir’s wish for a quiet transition through the town, the answer was obvious, “So, boat or foot?” I asked.
“Seeing as we left Drangavik by boat, we should probably arrive on it at Drangasfjord.” He admitted.
“Boat it is, then,” I said as I pulled the canoe out of my vault and slid it into the river. “We should still get there in time for dinner,” I added, seeing as Namir seemed to think it was a shame he would not get there for lunch.