Ridley finished tying himself onto the druid, who now shifted into the form of a shark. Armoth was also tying himself to the druid's fin. If Armoth was concerned, Ridley could not tell. The tidal wave was coming with an unholy haste, and Ridley knew it to be the work of the gods. He called out to Nero, who was standing idly on the prow of the ship, staring into the maw of the storm. Had Nero just given up? He didn't have time to ponder the thought, as the druid was now tugging him towards the crumpled port side of the bilander. He took in a breath of air as the shark dove into the sea, just as the wave began to lift the ship into it's wrathful arms. The druid dove deeper into the water, fighting the power of the storm. Ridley was weak after the battle with the Kraken, and as his vision began to fade he felt his ropes come loose. Armoth reached out to grab him, but the druid swam too swiftly and Ridley was already lost to the depths.
His armor was encumbering, and his wounds grievous. The weight of the water so immense. His lungs pleaded for air, and Ridley could respond only with a gulp of salty water. Darkness embraced Ridley as he sank down into the cold lonely sea. His life did not flash before his eyes. No fond memories came to ease the pain of passing.
Seagulls chirped and bickered amongst each other as they soared over the soft warm beach down below. It was only just dawn, and they were having a heated discussion on what they would be eating this morning. The tide was up, so no clams or tasty shellfish would be had. Many of the shallow water fish were still asleep in their tide pool homes, and would not be out for snacking until later that morning. There was also the odd human that had washed up ashore. He hadn't moved for a few hours, and many of the hungrier gulls were considering going closer. One gull in particular had just soared down and landed on the human's stomach. She began to peck at the man's hard outer shell; he seemed bony and lacked any real meat. She continued pecking, when suddenly the man's arm rose and battered the gull across the breast, and it flew away squawking in fright. The rest of the gulls scattered as Ridley began to stir.
Ridley was conscious, but far too weak to move. He lay there with his eyes closed as the salty water continued to lick his wounds. His lips felt cracked and tasted of salt and iron. He guessed that if his body were not already numb from Kraven's work, he might feel cuts burning all over. Despite the lack of pain, his muscles refused to obey command. How long he lay there without food or water he did not know. By noontime he found the strength to crawl up out of the water, but the fine sand squishing into his armor forced him to stop with discomfort. The intense beach sun did nothing to help, and within an hour it was necessary to continue his grueling crawl towards the forest that lay not far from the beach head. Finally, he propped himself up under the shade of some foreign tree and let sleep take him again.
The knight awoke to a young boy staring in his face. He grimaced at the child, who jumped back startled at Ridley's awakening. Ridley tried to speak, but his voice cracked with lack of use, and he could feel salt and sand crumbling in his parched throat. He fell over choking and gagging as days old salt water splattered from his lungs. The boy stepped forward and knelt next to Ridley, and pressed a waterskin to his mouth. Ridley gulped down the fresh water hastily, eventually snatching the bottle from the boy and forcefully emptying it. He had dranken so quickly that his stomach refused the majority of it, and he fell to the dirt again gargling. The boy lifted Ridley up against the tree again, despite his efforts to resist. Ridley took a minute to breath in the thick moist air, and when his body began to relax he spoke, "you, boy, where am I?"
The boy didn't respond with words, but he pointed at Ridley, and then pointed to the ground.
Ridley silently snarled at the boy, "I am here? No jokes, boy! What is the name of this place?"
Again the boy did not speak, but raised his shoulders in confusion. Ridley sighed, frustrated. He gave the boy a closer examination. He seemed around five years old, garbed in a pair of tattered pants and some sea shells braided into his long tangled mess of hair. His skin was a dark olive tan, a color that Ridley had seen rarely on foreign sailors. This boy must have been from a tribal fishing village. Assuming the boy did not know the name of his home, Ridley changed tactics. "What is your name, boy?"
The child gave a large grin, showing his missing two front teeth. He pointed to himself excitedly, exclaiming "Pa-chi!"
"Your name is Pa-chi? Then I am truly lost, that name is of the North Eastern tropics." The boy continued to give Ridley a large smile as he spoke, and again exclaimed "Pa-chi!"
"Yes, I know, Pa-chi. You will stop now."
The boy pointed at Ridley and tilted his head. Guessing that Pa-chi wanted to know his name, Ridley coughed out a quick answer, "Ridley."
"Rid-lee!" The boy yelled excitedly. He again pointed at himself, calling out his name, and then pointed to Ridley while yelling his. Pa-chi continued to do this for a minute while Ridley estimated where exactly he might be. Eventually overcome with annoyance, Ridley yelled, "stop!"
Pa-chi froze with wide eyes and a frown. The boy looked almost taken aback. Ridley gave a long heavy sigh, and winced as his ribs seared with pain. Pa-chi's expression changed to one of concern. Noticing the child's desire to help, Ridley played along. He spoke slowly, using many gestures to ensure he would be understood. "Pa-chi, I am wounded. I need help. Will you take me to your home?"
Pa-chi's face gleamed with excitement, and he nodded so aggressively Ridley thought his head might fly off. Ridley slowly forced himself to stand, bracing himself against the tree. As he tried to leave the support, his body cried in pain and he fell back into the plant. Pa-chi gestured to Ridley to wait, and he ran off into the woods. A few moments later, the boy returned with a large branch and handed it to Ridley, who snatched it ungratefully. With the support of the branch, Ridley was able to follow Pa-chi along the beach. This boy seems to have taken a liking to me. Good. He'll be useful to me when acquiring a ship.
As the two walked, Ridley smirked to himself. The gods had tried to kill him, and he had survived. This would be a blow to their pride, at least. The gods were not all powerful, and that was clear now.
No comments:
Post a Comment