Chapter 6 Part 4

By the time they reached the southern coast, it was late afternoon the next day. Instead of frozen seas, they were greeted by the rolling waves of a liquid ocean. Ships, large ships, much larger than those upon the ice, were clustered around the docks, each vessel was manned by scores of sailors.

Armegon, being in a fussy mood, insisted that he was not about to waste time allowing Avery and Ultrecht to argue about what constituted a fair fare. So, sending the others to arrange for room and board, he departed on a solo venture to book passage to the mainland. He found them later in the commons room of an upstanding joint called the "Blue Sunset Bar and Grill".

He joined them in a meal of fresh seafood and ale. "Well, I found a ride," Armegon announced.

"Really? So soon?" Ultrecht asked. "I do hope you didn't sign us on as labor to lower the price," he said. Armegon liked to worm his way out of work, but Ultrecht preferred to avoid it altogether.

"Not at all," Armegon said eying the meal on the table hungrily. He pulled up a stool and began to pick over the fish. "We actually have lower berth passage on a passenger craft. That means we won't have much in the way of privacy, but we won't be scrubbing decks either."

Ultrecht narrowed his eyes. "Did it occur to you that we have a young lady with us?"

Armegon glanced at Calista. She squirmed under his gaze. The thought of having to bathe and sleep with strangers, some probably male, disturbed her. "I suppose it didn't," he admitted. "I’m sorry, Cal."

"Maybe we can appeal to the captain to allow her to take care of her toilet and bath in private, for decency's sake," Avery suggested.

"There’s no need," Calista interrupted. It was true that she would rather have private quarters, but she was not going to go about demanding privileged treatment due to her gender. She was quite capable as her companions at roughing it. "I can stand it if you can," she announced. Avery looked at Ultrecht and shrugged.

"Okay," the ranger replied, "but if you change your mind, let us know." Calista vowed that she would show them her metal come what may. It was a vow she regretted the first time she attempted to relieve herself in a sliding bucket. The males simply would aim over the side of the ship, but she had to assume a very humiliating and vulnerable position on the ship's railing, or play a modified game of seated shuffleboard in order to get any comfort at all.

They had spent only two days at sea before she succumbed. Wracked by sea sickness and frustration, she had Armegon ask the captain for an upper berth cabin for her to stay in instead of the open dormitory bunks of the lower berth passengers. The captain had agreed, but at triple the price. Ultrecht took great pleasure in pointing out to Armegon that they could have all been in upper berth compartments for the price he had ultimately paid for the extra room. Armegon moped about for days afterward.

Avery fed Calista some herbs he had gotten from the ship's physician and her sea sickness subsided. By the end of the first week, she was in a well enough mood to enjoy the voyage. The sea air was warm and she learned that they had made excellent time in their southward run. They were expecting the first signs of land within the week.

Calista took time to talk to and occasionally flirt with the ship's crew. The first mate was a humongus creature almost three meters tall. It had the body of a large muscular man and the head of a bull right down to the horns and skin as black as midnight. Avery told her that where he was from such creatures were called minotaurs and were just a myth. He admitted to her that he had never expected to see one for real.

Though an imposing figure almost twice the height of Avery and herself, Calista upon speaking to him found him to be very civilized and quite charming. He told her that his people were from the deep south and called themselves Minotaans; although, there were those who called them minotaurs because they came from the island of Minota near the southern ice range.

He had traveled north to see the world. His culture believed that the males should work hard to care for about four wives and families. He admitted that many monogamous societies were a little repulsed by this and so his culture was generally isolated and visitors to Minota were rare. Calista was intrigued and expressed her desire to visit the place someday. The first mate was flattered and gently gave her a hug before returning to his duties.

The ship was called the Albatross II, and was a huge three masted vessel with many sails. The captain was a stocky man of average height who said very little to anyone except for the ship's officers. Calista had cheerfully attempted to speak to him one morning and had received an icy stare in reply.

Even Armegon had been snubbed one afternoon. In an attempt to question the captain about the type of creatures inhabiting the seas, he had simply been brushed aside as if he did not exist. Avery had to act quickly to keep the insulted mage from turning the captain of the ship into a jellyfish.

The whole episode had been missed by everyone except Calista and the first mate. "It would appear as if your chum with the long white hair is not used to being taken lightly," the huge minotaan had remarked.

"Armegon is considered a very powerful mage back home," Calista answered.

"Reputation will not get the captain's respect," the first mate told her.

"If the captain realized just how close," Ultrecht said pulling up beside them, "he came to losing both his life and his ship, he might consider respecting those he does not know."

"Really?" The minotaan seemed quite surprised. "The captain is very skilled at magic himself. He apprenticed as a warlock until he became of age. Then he heard the call of the sea and redirected his life. He still does magic on occasion if the situation calls for it. He is not a master, but he is formidable."

"Is he as powerful as the warlock that heads the Blackheart clan?"

The first mate looked questioningly at Ultrecht. "I am not very familiar with all the Blackhearts, but I have heard that the new head of that bunch is considered the most powerful warlock in the world."

Ultrecht nodded. That sounded like Quickdraw. "That mage," Ultrecht said pointing to Armegon, "is more powerful than any warlock in the world. The reason he’s traveling on the lower berth is because he’s also a stingy miser."

The first mate's eyes widened slightly. "Would you be by any chance traveling to free the son of a druid?"

Ultrecht immediately grew suspicious. Was this a coincidence? Sam's dilemma could be called imprisonment. Was this creature in with the enemy? If he had to fight there and then, then it could very well set their journey back a great deal. He hoped that the minotaan who had been so friendly was not an agent of Blackheart's.

Ultrecht debated with himself. Should he answer truthfully and get the situation out in the open, or lie and avoid the situation altogether. He decided that a lie would only make the minotaan more suspicious, so he decided to fish for more information. The first mate might know something useful. "The son of a druid?" he asked. "What interest do you have in the son of a druid."

The minotaan's bull face was very difficult to read. Ultrecht mused that that could probably come in handy at times. "Our culture is quite alien to the rest of the world," Ruk said distantly. "But one tradition that we do not hide is the fact that our males do not remain in place. We roam the world. What most people do not know is why we roam."

"When a young minotaan comes of age, he travels to visit the Southern Sage, an old woman in the great swamps of the south. She is said to be very wise and I can testify to the truth of it. I, like my fathers and brothers, was given a life's quest by her. I can not return to my home and settle down until I finish the quest. I may visit my home but I can not stay for more than a few days with each wife before the ancient drives of the quest urges me back into the world. In this way our people do their part to serve this world."

"Is it permitted by your culture to disclose the nature of your quest?" Ultrecht asked. "It is usually considered a matter of secrecy, but it is permitted to speak of it to those who are involved. Since you ask and since you may be involved, I will tell you."

The minotaan leaned closer. "My name is Serrinada of the line of Gern. You may call me Ruk, for that is the name I go by among men." He nodded to Armegon who was talking to Avery at the bow, "and elves," he added. "It is my charge to seek out a mage who raised the son of a druid. I was told that the boy was in danger and I was needed to free him. I was told that the mage would be powerful but unknown and traveling in seclusion with three companions one of which held a token that I would know."

"What kind of token," Calista asked now interested. She had gotten fond of Ruk during the voyage, and the prospect of him helping Sam was appealing.

Ruk smiled. "The simplest of things," he said. "It is almost silly, but I was told that one of the mage's companions would be carrying a dried out hickory limb."

Ultrecht and Calista stared at each other in sheer astonishment. Ruk did not miss the action. He became excited. "Tell me," he demanded, "one of you has such a token?"

Ultrecht reached out and grasped Ruk's forearm. It felt familiar--as if he had known the creature for a long time. "Patience, friend. Let’s not jump to conclusions." He turned to Calista. "Ask Avery and Armegon to join us, then go get your pack."

The girl bolted without comment. Ruk turned back to Ultrecht. "I must know," he said. "I have wandered for fifteen years in search of this mage." Soon Armegon and Avery arrived and Ultrecht recounted the story about the minotaan tradition as they waited for Calista to return.

The halfelves were equally surprised, and when Calista returned with her pack, Avery pulled forth the dried out hickory limb that he and Calista had planned to carve into a bow. Ruk took it and gently caressed it with his massive hands. "Yes," he sobbed. "This is the token I saw in the sage's looking glass." The huge minotaan gazed misty eyed at Armegon. "I was given one other clue to the identity of the mage I was to aid," he said.

"What was that," Armegon asked. Ruk spoke clearly firmly. He wanted his words clearly understood. "Devos convar telan bretha boral Ri-gatria?" The language was unfamiliar to Calista, and a questioning glance at Ultrecht and Avery revealed that they too did not understand the words.

Armegon, on the other hand, had long ago been blessed with a pair of tiny antenna atop his head; hidden by his long hair. Through the benefit of these antenna, he could understand any language spoken. "Yes, I understand the language of Ri-gatria," Armegon replied.

Ruk began to weep. The sight was moving as the giant minotaan bowed his head and shed tears in the setting sunlight. Even more amazingly, no one else but the four of them seemed to take notice. "That is the native tongue of Minota," Ruk said. "My search is over. He took Armegon's hand. "Master, take me as your servant until your mission is done," he implored.

Whether moved by the sincerity of the request, the mysteriousness of the quest, or the novel thought of having a creature like this as a traveling companion no one could say when Armegon patted the giant hand and agreed. It was a moving moment, and Calista felt her own eyes burning with tears.

They saw the western coastline on the eastern horizon two days later. Ruk told them that they would follow it for three more days then turn east and with the wind at their backs, would be in Pandara two days later.

The following week, Calista and the others got to know Ruk quite well. The minotaan informed his captain that he intended to depart from the ship's company when they reached port--news the captain did not take well, for Ruk was an excellent seaman.

Ruk began spending much of his spare time with them. Calista learned that he had three wives and twelve children with another two on the way. He told her that his oldest was an arrogant and undisciplined young male who would soon be making his own pilgrimage to the sage. He confided that his expectations for his son were not high.

They passed the balance of their sea voyage with much discussion. Ultrecht and Armegon retold the story of their journey to the Well of Time to Ruk and several other sailors who found interest in the tale. They showed their appreciation for the diversion with a polite round of applause and went on about their business obviously convinced that the tale was no more than fiction. Ruk, however believed the episode.

"How is it that the Well of Time could take your friends home?" he asked.

"Well, it is very difficult to explain unless you are familiar with dimensional structure, but I will try," Ultrecht began.

"Use the hourglass analogy," Armegon suggested from where he was sharpening his saber. Ultrecht nodded. "Imagine that time is like sand in an hourglass that is bottomless and has no limit to the amount of sand in the top. The future is in the top of the hourglass and the past is in the lower part. The future can come from any place. For example in the next minute, Armegon could walk to the front of the ship, to the back of the ship, he could just sit there, or he could get thrown overboard." With that Calista snickered and Armegon frowned.

Ultrecht went on. "But once that instant arrives, where he is is the present, and when that passes, there is one certain past. Like the sand approaching the neck of the hourglass, it can come from all sides or the middle, but when it enters the neck, there is only one place for it to be and then it passes into the bottom in a straight line, just as it was in the future and it can no longer be changed. Since this hourglass has no end to the bottom, the sand continues to fall forever and ever in the same form that the neck pressed it into. Time is like that. The future is unformed until it becomes the present. Then each second is given form by us and then it passes into the past as we leave it."

"That is where the Well of Time comes in," Armegon interrupted.

"Right," Ultrecht resumed ignoring the interruption and scowling at Armegon as if to say: This is my story. “Since each passing second can come from any direction, it seeps into the present like water seeping through the sides of a ship or an earthen dike. But once it has been given form, it all has to leave the present at the same instant and the Well of Time is where that happens."

"It is like the bilge pump on this ship," Armegon interrupted again because he could see that Ultrecht was talking over the minotaan's head. "The water that seeps into the bottom of the Albatross II enters from all areas of the ship below the waterline, but exits the ship from one place, the pump."

"Ah, I see," the black giant exclaimed in comprehension.

"Good," Ultrecht praised. "Now every world that has time in it has a Well of Time, and all the wells are connected. That is how our friends got home."

Throughout the week, several other tales were told and Ultrecht actually made something of a name for himself on board as a story teller. It helped pass the time. When the voyage came to an end, they sailed into a huge port where giant ships--some made of metal--were moored in rows upon rows of warfs.

Ruk explained that this was where Asille's navy was kept and that the armored ships were loaded with steel tipped balista's and fire throwing catapults. All of those ships were manned by expert crews. A squadron of those ships could single handily take on as many as five times its number of pirates or ordinary sailing vessels.

When they were docked and departed, Ruk disembarked with a huge pack that Calista believed could hold all their belongings combined. In his left hand, Ruk carried a monstrous double bladed battle-ax.