couldn’t be any closer as the light from the fire would ruin his night vision. Without it, it would be unlikely for him to see anyone coming down the river before it was too late.
Suddenly, a grumbling sound disturbed the quiet of the night. “Sorry,” apologized Chad. “I’m hungry.” It had been his stomach that made the noise.
“Aren’t we all,” agreed Riyan with a grin. In fact, it had been a day or longer since anyone had anything to eat. Their provisions had been kept in the saddlebags that were on the horses they lost. They still had their water bottles, but that was a poor substitute.
Remembering the map he had bought at the cartographer’s, Riyan pulled it out. “Now, where are we?” he asked. The others gathered around as he sought their location.
Hylith was easy enough to locate, and by following the river southward, they came to where it entered the canyon. The town of Tryn they just escaped from was not depicted.
According to the map, the river continued on a southeasterly heading until it was joined by another. At that point it turned southward where it was joined by yet another tributary. Riyan pointed to a spot a little before where the first river joined theirs. “I think we’re here,” he said.
“Probably,” agreed Bart. He then pointed to where the river canyon passed through a mountain range south of the second tributary. “If we left the river here,” he said, “we could cut through the mountains.”
“I don’t think that would be a good idea,” countered Chyfe.
Bart looked up at him and asked, “Why not?”
“I realize you’re a city boy and all,” Chyfe said, “so you might not realize the folly of what you’re suggesting.”
“And what folly is that?” Bart asked. He was bristling over being called a ‘city boy’, even though that was exactly what he was.
“First of all, we have no food,” he stated. “No blankets, no warm coats. Cutting through the mountains without sufficient gear would be a death sentence.” Beside him, Soth nodded agreement.
“We’re barely making it here in the lowlands as it is,” offered Chad from where he was huddled as close to the fire as he could without the risk of his clothing catching fire.
Bart gazed at Chad a moment then turned back to Chyfe. “And your other point?” he asked.
“Actually that was it,” said Chyfe. “That we’d succumb to the elements should we attempt to cross the mountains ill prepared.”
“So what do you propose we do then?” he asked.
Chyfe drew closer to the map and indicated a spot in the hills this side of the mountains. “Either we try to make our way out of the canyon before here,” he explained, “or we continue down the river past the mountains. With any luck, there’ll be a town close where we can acquire provisions.”
“That’s if we make it that far,” interjected Riyan. With all eyes turned to him, he added, “There’s still the matter of navigating the river. I can’t imagine it’s called the Wrath of Hennon for its scenic beauty.”
“True,” agreed Bart. He could see the wisdom in what Chyfe said and had already discarded his idea of crossing the mountains. “Then we should do it after the second tributary. If we make our way through the hills along the northern slope of the mountains, we might be able to slip through.” He trailed his finger along the northern flank of the mountains to the west of the river.
“Why go that way?” asked Soth.
“We still have to get the last segment of the key,” replied Bart. “I don’t like it, but we have to return to Hylith and continue our search.” He glanced to Riyan. “It’s all we have to go on.”
Riyan sighed and nodded. “You’re right,” he agreed.
“It’ll be dangerous,” stated Soth. “We won’t be able to simply walk in through the gates like last time.”
“True,” admitted Bart. “But what choice have we?”
Riyan looked again to the map. “There’s a town not far from the canyon if we leave before the mountains,” he said, pointing to it. “Once we resupply, we could head north along this road and be back near Hylith in no time.”
“Alright then, it’s settled” Bart said. “We make our way from the canyon after the second tributary.”
Another hour was spent discussing their plan, arguing over the merits of making for Hylith or not. When it came time for Soth to relieve his brother at watch, he took his position while Seth rejoined the others. Shortly after that, they turned in. Despite the fear gnawing at each of them that pursuit might appear on the river, none developed.
When dawn began brightening the morning sky, they made ready to return to the river. Tempers were a bit frayed as everyone was starving and tired. Between the bite of cold and the grumbling of their bellies, none had been able to sleep well.
As they were about to return to the water, an argument developed over who was to row. Both Bart and Seth felt it was the other’s turn. It almost came to blows before Riyan and Chad stepped in and volunteered. By the time sunlight hit the western rim of the canyon, they were underway. Kevik sat in the back with Bart who was using the oar as a rudder. Chad and the twins were crammed into the front.
“Still no sign of pursuit,” observed Kevik.
Chyfe glanced back at him and nodded. “Thank goodness,” he replied.
Soth had Riyan’s map open and was studying it. “We should reach where the first river comes in before too much longer,” he announced.
As they continued along, the walls of the canyon began growing closer together. Areas of beaches at the base of the canyon slowly disappeared until all that was left were sheer walls rising high above them. Then came the roar. Softly at first, the sound quickly grew louder with every stroke of the oar. Then, they saw where the canyon walls narrowed still further.
White foam shot into the air at the narrowest point as water crashed against the sides and over boulders in the water. The air past the bottleneck was filled with spray.
“Oh my god,” breathed Soth when he saw what was coming.
The water began to grow rough as the surface rippled with waves. Their boat rocked side to side as the waves grew more intense. They were being propelled by the river toward the bottleneck at an ever increasing speed. Chad and Riyan no longer needed to concern themselves with increasing their forward momentum. Rather, they began using their oars to steady their progress and keep from turning sideways.
Just before they were sucked into the opening, Seth saw the drop on the other side. “Hang on!” he shouted and then they were in the bottleneck.
Waves crashed into the sides of the boat, sending ice cold water and spray to drench its occupants. The boat started turning sideways and Bart yelled to Riyan and Chad, “Keep us straight!” Using his oar as well, he strove to keep them straight.
Riyan and Chad worked furiously to prevent their boat from turning out of line. Before they were able to get it straight with the river again, it felt as if the river dropped out from under them. The prow tipped down as they went over the drop. Ten feet they fell before hitting the bottom.
The jarring impact caused Kevik to lose his grip on the side of the boat and fell against the backs of Riyan and Chad. Bart grabbed him and pulled him back to his seat, just as a massive wave washed over them. Thoroughly soaking them all, it left several inches of water in the bottom of the boat.
Their boat was pushed one way then another as Riyan and Chad rowed with all their might to keep them in proper alignment with the river. A patchwork of hidden boulders beneath the waters created eddies and micro whirlpools of vicious power, all of which sought to drag their boat under.
As they were pulled pell-mell through the turbulent water, wave after wave crashed over them. At times it seemed they would be swamped only to level out once more and continue on.
Then, the canyon walls began to recede and the water calmed. “We made it!” exclaimed Chad with a whoop and cry.
“Don’t get too excited yet,” Chyfe turned around and said.
“Why?” Chad asked. Chyfe pointed to the river ahead of them where the first tributary joined with theirs. Chad’s face fell as he saw the churning water where the two rivers converged.
“Once we get through this,” Seth said, “it’s a ways before the next river converges.”
“Seth!” Bart hollered over the much reduced roar, “Relieve Riyan.” He then took the oar from Chad as he changed places with him. “You guys did well,” he told them as he took his seat and commenced paddling.
