'Don't even think about it,' Morif said, but Brother Vaughn was already moving, and before Morif could stop him, he'd thrown both globes back into the water.
Brother Vaughn hoped Morif didn't lose patience with him, and he wore an apology on his face for only an instant. Then he watched in fascination as the two globes cast slightly overlapping rings of light, and the first sailed down close to where the ancient shipwreck lay. The second soared beyond the dragon's eye and gave only the slightest glimpse of something else resting on the coils of the dragon.
'Do you think you can dive for those?' Morif asked Logan.
'I think so, sir. I just need a bit of time to breathe.'
'Simms, get your butt back to the docks. There're people waiting.' He turned back to the monk. 'With all due respect,
'Yes. Um. Yes, of course,' Brother Vaughn said, secretly hoping someone else would annoy Morif and take the focus off him. The barge was feeling rather small and more than a little crowded. A moment later, though, Logan disappeared under the water and moved into the light. First he went to the globe near the sunken ship, and Brother Vaughn nearly fell in as he leaned over to watch. Logan had the globe in one hand yet didn't start back up immediately. Instead, he glided along the side of the sunken ship and spent what seemed an eternity sifting through the wreckage. Brother Vaughn suddenly remembered to breathe, only then realizing that he'd been holding his breath as though he were underwater with the diver.
Even Morif rushed to see what it was that Logan brought back up. He handed the globe back to Brother Vaughn, and he seemed less enthusiastic about handing the object in his other hand over, but then he seemed to have a change of heart. 'Here,' he said.
Morif and Brother Vaughn both reached out at the same time, and it nearly sent Morif into the water. Brother Vaughn tried not to think about how that would've turned out but was distracted by the sight of a small, gold- trimmed box made of jade and wood inlay. The perfectly preserved artifact rested easily in Morif's hands. There seemed no apparent way of opening the box, and he handed it to Brother Vaughn.
'If that thing happens to entitle the bearer to wine, whiskey, and women, you'll give it back, right?' Logan asked.
'Deal,' Brother Vaughn said. 'Even if it's just two out of three.'
'Fair enough.'
Logan's dive for the second globe was as excruciatingly slow as the first, and it seemed he was having trouble dislodging the globe from where it had come to rest. Morif cast Brother Vaughn an accusatory glance, which Brother Vaughn did his best to pretend he didn't notice. After a few tense moments, Logan freed the globe and made his way slowly back to the surface.
'I don't know how you do that,' Brother Vaughn said, 'but it makes me breathe heavy just watching you.' Though Logan's ascent had provided no new detail of what else waited on the lake floor, Brother Vaughn was thrilled by what he had learned. 'Thank you all for your help! This is wonderful!'
Morif snatched both herald globes out of Brother Vaughn's hands. 'You'll get yours back when we get to shore.'
Chase shook his head. Before him stood Catrin in the craziest outfit he'd ever seen. She'd taken supple leather and created a tight but flexible body suit covered with straps, rings, and zippers. Her ears were covered, and over her eyes she wore clear lenses mounted in leather-wrapped iron rings, which were attached to a second pair of rings with flaps that tapered into a strap and buckle. 'You look like Strom attacked an otter.'
Catrin grinned back at him and turned around. Then she climbed up onto the saddle. Chase continued to shake his head as he watched her draw the straps and buckle herself to the saddle. The largest straps secured her at the waist, and other smaller straps formed an interplay. Cinching tight on one strap gave slack to another, and because of the clever design, Catrin could move around on the massive saddle while still being firmly tethered. It was brilliant and insane.
Hunching down as if she were in mid flight, Catrin moved her feet to an upper set of toeholds and wedged herself under the two massive shield flaps, which were lightly armored and apparently padded inside. 'You see,' came Catrin's muffled voice. 'There's enough room for me and a few things.'
'Even if we could make a thousand of these, we don't have a thousand dragons. We have one and we're not certain he'll fly again.'
'Don't you say that,' Catrin said, looking imposing despite her ridiculous garb. 'Kyrien could fly now if he wanted to, but
Chase let out a brief sigh, which was cut off by another sharp look from Catrin. How anyone could expect to be taken seriously with those goggles on was beyond him, yet somehow she pulled it off. The pair of knives holstered on each leg did help, he supposed. 'Yes. You're right. Let's not have that argument again. My point is that I don't think this saddle provides a solution to our immediate problems.'
'What's your solution?'
Chase searched for words, but he could find none that hadn't already been said by Catrin herself years before.
'Then don't look down your nose on what might be part of the solution.'
'Perhaps it will help to mollify the Arghast as well,' Chase admitted. 'They're quite unhappy that you've not taught them to fly yet.'
'Don't start with that either. How am I supposed to teach someone how to do something I don't know how to do?' Catrin asked in futility. 'At least not without a ship, that is,' she admitted. 'That doesn't change the fact that I haven't ridden a dragon. . yet.'
'The problem is this: If we take that saddle down there and put it on Kyrien, the people are going to expect you to fly. The Arghast will expect you to fly. And we both know it isn't even close to safe for Kyrien to fly with Reaver patrolling the skies and demons on the ground. What makes you think the ferals won't immediately gang up on Kyrien?'
'I don't intend to fly yet. There will come a time, yes, but not yet. For now we will just need to explain to everyone that it is simply a test to satisfy my curiosity and that we will not be flying.'
'You know how much turmoil this will cause.'
'I do and I cannot fix that. People are going to have to come to grips with the fact that the world has changed. We ourselves must either change or die. Deal with it.'
It was clear to Chase that he would not win this argument. The truth was that he partially agreed with her. Still, he did not look forward to the uproar it would cause. 'When?'
'Now.'
With little besides hard breads coming out of the kitchens, Durin did his best to avoid them altogether. Since Miss Mariss now refused to let anyone take more than one portion of food, no one could bring him food, and hunger eventually won out. If Sinjin were around, it wouldn't be so bad, but Brother Vaughn had sequestered him away with only Trinda for company. Durin felt for his friend; carrying water buckets wasn't nearly as bad. Trinda was the least happy person Durin had ever met, and she always managed to dampen his mood. When he took the family history into account, he worried even more about Sinjin's safety.
Worrying made Durin hungry. With a sigh, he made his way deeper into the hold, where the heat was nearly unbearable. Durin wondered how people managed to breathe the hot air for so long. It suffocated him. Strom's hammer rang an angry tone, and Durin stepped quickly by the smithy entrance. Taking his place in line, Durin waited, trying to be invisible. A line of guards approached; far more than usual, Durin noted with dismay. The guards would get fed first, and that meant a long wait and the chance that there would be nothing left by the time he got there. It had been happening more and more lately. Even with many in the hold cooking their own meals, the kitchens simply could not keep up with the demand for food-cooked or rationed. The stress it placed on Miss Mariss was obvious, and Durin felt guilty for hiding.
Just as he was considering asking Miss Mariss what he could do to help, though, the man next to him decided he didn't have time to wait for the guards, and he suddenly turned and left. Never one to miss anything in her kitchen, Miss Mariss immediately spotted Durin.
