Shepherd's Quest: The Broken Key #1 (44 page)

They hadn’t gone down many steps before the sound of flowing water could be heard coming up from the bottom.

“It’s a river,” Bart stated after the sound grew clearer.

“Maybe it’s the same one that I heard when you were hauling me up from the pit trap?” asked Chad.

“Most likely,” agreed Riyan.

At the bottom of the steps they encountered a rickety old pier that had been built over the flowing water a very long time ago. The wooden planks were still together but they were not sure how well they would hold up under their weight.

“End of the trail,” announced Bart.

Riyan looked at the river in dismay. Then he had an idea. “Could we use the boat that was in the treasure room?”

Bart shook his head. “That thing must have weighed five hundred pounds,” he said.

“No way would we three be able to carry it down here.”

“Then what can we do?” he asked.

“Swim?” asked Chad. “The river’s not flowing all that fast.”

“You’ve got to be crazy,” Bart exclaimed. “Do you have any idea how cold that water is? Besides, we don’t know what to expect further down. There could be a waterfall for all we know.”

“I don’t think there would be one of those,” countered Riyan. “They never would have built a pier here and made this their escape route if there were.” He glanced at the pier itself and saw how the planks were still fairly connected. “Maybe we could make a raft out of this.”

“Yeah!” agreed Chad. “Float down on top of a few boards.” Riyan glanced at Bart. “What do you think? Worth a try?” Bart didn’t look all that enthused about the prospect of trusting his life to the rickety old pier. “I don’t know…” he said.

“Piece of cake,” Riyan said. He pointed to a section that was still fairly intact. “All we have to do is separate that section from the rest and off we go.”

“Just like that?” asked Bart skeptically.

“Just like that,” affirmed Riyan.

“I say we try it,” Chad joined in.

Bart glanced from one to the other and could tell their minds were made up. “Very well,” he said. He set the lantern down on the landing as they began trying to figure out the best way to do this.

The section they wanted to use was literally a third of the old wooden platform. In order to disengage it from the rest of the dock, they would have to either break it away or pry up a number of the planks connecting it to the rest.

Riyan set his pack on the stone landing. “I’ll go out and start separating it,” he told the other two. “Bart, you get your rope ready in case we need it to secure some of the planks together.”

Bart nodded and began readying the rope.

“Be careful,” Chad said to Riyan.

Riyan turned his head towards him and grinned. “Don’t worry. I don’t plan to be anything else.” Turning back, he gauged the planks of the pier before him. They looked sturdy enough to support him. Stepping out, he gingerly placed a foot on the first one.

There were nine planks between where he stood and the far side. Once there, he had to somehow separate the section they wanted from the rest. He lifted his other foot off the stone landing and moved it towards the second plank. When it rested on the second plank, his entire weight was now on the pier. Glancing down, he could see where the water ran beneath the planks beginning with the second one.

“Take it easy,” cautioned Bart.

Riyan glanced behind him and saw Bart and Chad standing together watching his progress. Bart had the rope coiled in his hand, waiting. Turning back to the matter at hand, he lifted his foot off the first plank and brought it forward to the third. As soon as he began putting his weight on the third plank, an audible cracking noise could be heard coming from the wood.

“Riyan!” Chad hollered as he heard the noise too.

Riyan lifted his foot off the third plank and held it in the air. He was beginning to think that this may not have been one of his better ideas. The fourth plank was a bit further than he was willing to stretch. Once he put his foot on it, he would be hard pressed in lifting it back off gently should it be unable to hold his weight too.

“I’m coming back,” he hollered to the other two.

“Good,” Bart said. “I never thought…”

Before he had the chance to finish his sentence, the second board cracked and gave way beneath him. Riyan fell forward into the boards, smashing through planks three through seven. He hit the river and the coldness of the water took his breath away as the current began dragging him from the pier. When his head cleared the surface, he gasped for air and turned to look in the direction of the lantern’s light.

“…the rope!” he heard Bart say as the rope flew through the air towards him. It hit the water several feet upstream from him and he began swimming furiously against the current to reach it. Inch by inch the rope floated towards him until he was able to grab onto it. “He’s got it!” he heard Bart say when his weight pulled the tension of the rope tight.

Crack!

“Get back!” Chad yelled.

Riyan looked towards them and saw the section of the pier they wanted to use began breaking away from the rest of it. Wood splintered and more cracking of planks was heard as the current began pulling it away from the landing. It didn’t take long for Riyan to realize that the current was bringing it straight toward him.

“Riyan!” Chad hollered when he realized his friend’s danger. “Get out of the way!” But Riyan had other plans. While Bart and Chad were hauling him in, he wound the rope around his left arm as many times as he could. Then, when the pier section came near, he snagged it with his right arm. The current continued dragging it downstream until it was on the other side of him, then came to an abrupt halt. The jolt almost pulled Riyan’s arm from its socket, but he refused to let it go.

Chad and Bart had stopped pulling him in when they saw him grab the section of the pier. “Keep going!” he yelled at them. “I’ve got it.”

“Hang on Riyan,” Chad yelled.

Then he began feeling the rope once again pulling against his arm as they drew him closer to the landing. Every time they hauled in the rope, pain coursed through his arms.

Between the river trying to drag the section of the pier away, and them pulling on the rope, he’s surprised that his arms were even still attached. A thought came to him that after this, he’ll have a better appreciation of how people feel when they’re being stretched on the rack.

It seemed an eternity before they managed to pull him back to the landing. When he came within arm’s reach, Chad grabbed his arm while Bart snagged the pier section.

Riyan was more than glad to let go and leave it to Bart.

Using the rope he had, Bart tied one end around a large brace that ran beneath the planks. Then once the rope was on and secure, he hauled the pier section as close to the landing as he could.

“Thanks,” Riyan said as his teeth chattered. “You have no idea how good it feels to be out of that water.”

“I think we’ll have a good idea when we ride this down the river,” said Bart indicating the pier section. “It’s riding right on the water and we’re going to get soaked.”

“Give me a minute to warm up some before we leave,” Riyan told them.

“You bet,” Chad said.

Bart continued to hold the rope and kept their ‘raft’ from floating away. He still wasn’t too enthused about trusting this raft with their lives, but was willing to give it a try.

Riyan sat there shivering a solid ten minutes before realizing that only a fire would warm him again. He stood up and came to where Bart still held the rope.

“Ready?” Bart asked.

“No time like the present,” he replied.

“Alright. Take off your packs and set them down here in front of me,” Bart told them.

When they had done that, he said, “I want you two to come here and grab hold of our raft. I’m going to use the rope to tie the packs together so we won’t lose them if things go wrong.”

As Chad leaned over towards the raft and grabbed hold, he asked, “What about the lantern?”

“We’ll have to hold that,” he said. “Can’t afford to let any water get in with the oil.” Once the other two had a good hold of their raft, he untied the rope from it and threaded the end through their pack straps. Then he tied them together tightly.

“Now, we have to get on,” he said. “I think Riyan showed us that this wood isn’t going to withstand a whole lot of weight. So we need to board it by crawling on our hands and knees to better distribute the weight.” He glanced to Chad. “You first. Once you’re out there, grab hold of that.” He pointed to a thick wooden piling up from the water to which the pier had originally been attached.

Chad began crawling out upon the boards of the raft and when the water hit him for the first time cried out, “It’s cold!”

“Didn’t I tell you it was cold?” asked Riyan. Once Chad had made it out and was lying spread out upon the planks to better distribute his weight, he reached out and took hold of the piling.

“Okay Riyan, you’re next,” Bart said as he grabbed the raft to steady it.

Riyan crawled out onto the boards next to Chad. When he was in position, Bart said,

“Here.” Turning around, he saw Bart handing him the three packs that were tied together.

He took them and placed them near the center of the raft next to him. Then he took the lantern and held it close.

“Chad,” Bart said, “hold it steady. I’m coming on.” When he let go, the raft began drifting away from the landing despite Chad’s best effort.

“Hurry up man,” Chad said as he began losing his grip.

Bart quickly scrambled aboard just as the current yanked the raft and pulled Chad’s hands off the piling.

Kevik still sat on the narrow ledge that he’s been sitting on now for over an hour. The rivulet that ran through the opening has soaked him pretty good. Though he was already cold with teeth chattering, he still hadn’t worked up the courage to enter the frigid water of the river.

How much longer could he afford to sit here? Every minute sapped that much more warmth and energy from his body. If he waited much longer, he won’t have the strength to keep his head above the water once he makes his move.

So he sat there cold, miserable, and alone. All the sadness at the loss of his master welled to the surface again. He put his head on his knees as the strong emotions got the best of him, and sobbed.

“Keep it away from the rocks!”

His head jerked up as he looked up the river to where the voice came from. A light could be seen drawing closer.

“Paddle man!” he heard Chad yell. “If it hits the rocks it’ll bust up!” With hope rekindled, he climbed to his feet just as the source of the light came into view. He saw the glow was from a lantern floating along the far side of the water. Three forms moved upon the water and it took him only a split second to recognize his former comrades. They looked to be riding some kind of raft.

“Riyan!” he yelled and began waving his arms.

The person in the center of the raft, who looked to be Bart, turned and saw him there on his precarious ledge. “Kevik!” Bart yelled. The other two turned to see him and his bobbing orb.

“Riyan!” Chad yelled, “The rocks!”

Kevik watched as Riyan turned onto his back and used his feet to keep the current from bashing the raft onto the rocky wall. His feet kicked out at the wall in an attempt to push the raft back into the river. Then Kevik saw Bart take something and begin twirling it over his head.

“Your goo spell!” Bart yelled as the object he had been twirling suddenly sailed towards him.

Kevik saw three packs that were tied together suddenly flying through the air in his direction. He quickly understood Bart’s plan and when they came close, covered them in the sticky goo.

Splat!

The goo coated packs struck the wall not two feet downstream from him and stuck.

Bart hung onto the rope as the current used the packs attached to the wall as a fulcrum.

When the rope grew taut in Bart’s hands, their raft was pulled from the far side of the river and began to draw close to the other.

“Riyan, Chad,” Bart hollered. “Get to the other side or we’re going to hit.” They saw the wall of the channel the river flowed through approaching and moved into position. Just as Riyan had done previously, they moved to the edge approaching the wall and laid on their backs. When the raft was about to hit, they extended their feet to act as shock absorbers. The current swept the raft to the wall but their feet provided enough cushioning to keep it from being smashed apart.

At that point the tension of the rope increased twofold and the rope was almost torn from Bart’s hand. He tried to pull the raft closer to Kevik, but the current was too strong.

He saw Kevik standing there, his annoying bobbing sphere dancing around him.

“You’re going to have to come to us!” he hollered. “I can’t hold this much longer.” Kevik realized that if he was to join them he would have to do it himself. So he put the pack across his back and made ready to enter the water. “Hurry!” he heard Bart grunt.

With one hand on the rope attached to the packs, and another holding his master’s staff, he entered the water.

Immediately, the current began pulling him downriver and he lost his balance. He gripped the rope with his one hand while his other tried to retain hold of the staff. At one point his head went under. When he broke the surface again, he heard Bart yelling, “…

the staff!”

“What?” he hollered back but then the water sucked him under once more. Still holding onto the rope and the staff he managed to get his head back above water.

“…go of the staff!” he heard when he broke the surface. Then he realized Bart was trying to say, ‘Let go of the staff’. But this was his master’s staff, given to him just before he died. How could he willingly let it go?

Then the water sucked him down a third time and it was all he could do to simply get back to the surface. That was when he realized that if he didn’t let go, he wouldn’t reach the raft. Against the pull of the current, he was going to need both hands on the rope.