The Coral Kingdom - Douglas Niles [97]
The humans saw a larger than normal silver battle helmet with a full-face visor-so full, in fact, that it was even devoid of eyeholes! A sleek, ribbed fin jutted from the center of the object, sweeping from front to back like the dorsal fin of a fish. The sea elf nodded toward the Princess of Moonshae, with the proud female figurehead rising from the bow.
"Place this over the head of that carved figure," he explained, "and your ship will descend through the surface of the water. A pocket of air will remain over your crew, in the inverted shape of your hull."
"How does she move?" inquired the captain.
"The helm will propel her, although at much slower speeds than on the surface. You'll have to rig a second rudder to guide the ship up and down. Also, you must furl your sail before you submerge, or water pressure will tear it away quickly."
"Slower speeds, you say. How much slower?" asked the Prince of Gnarhelm.
"You'll make perhaps five knots."
"Does it have a time limit?" inquired Keane, staring in obvious fascination at the silver object.
"Indeed. It varies based upon the number of elves-I should say, people-in your crew. For a complement such as yours, I estimate that you will be comfortable for perhaps twelve underwater hours and capable of surviving for another twelve. Beyond that, though the mask will maintain the bubble around your ship, the air becomes stale and useless. Suffocation inevitably results."
Palentor looked them over, ready to challenge anyone to argue with him. None did. The picture he painted created a graphic image in the minds of all his listeners.
"When we're down there, then, we'd best pay attention to the time," Hanrald murmured dryly.
"I think we'll notice when the air starts to go bad!" Brigit affirmed.
The sister knight stood beside the earl, and it occurred to Alicia that they had been together a lot during the stay in Evermeet-at least, when Hanrald wasn't working with the men on the ship repairs.
Alicia's attention drifted to Keane, and she saw that the mage looked peaked, with dark circles under his eyes. He clutched several large tomes to his chest, as if he had been reading, and parted only reluctantly from his texts. Five days ago Trillhalla had brought him some books, and these he had perused ever since with obvious eagerness. Indeed, of all the men, he had been the only one who hadn't worked on the repairs. Instead, he spent his time reading in a secluded part of the grotto. Now, however, he listened carefully to the words of the sea elf.
"I-I feel I should warn you of something," Palentor said, as if he forced himself to speak despite great reluctance. "My scouts have reported a massing of the fishmen armies. Sahuagin and scrags, plus huge schools of sharks, which they use as their scouts, have collected just beyond the cyclone barrier."
The sea elf paused, and for a moment, Alicia wondered if he was preparing to launch a harangue against them for gathering the enemy to his shores. Instead, he spoke with real sincerity.
"We suspect that they await your departure. As I explained before, the cyclone belt is no barrier to undersea intrusion. They are not holding back an attack against us, for their numbers have been stable for several days and they have made no overt move toward the elvenhome. Instead, they screen the entire eastern coast of Evermeet."
"I suspected that might be the case," Keane noted. "Their pursuit was too diligent to break off on the suspicion of our destruction."
Trillhalla offered the next advice. "There may be a way to get you around that barrier," she said tentatively. "I'll have to talk to the queen."
"If not, we're helpless against them under the water, aren't we?" Alicia questioned. "After all, we can barely outrun them on the surface. They could easily catch us when we submerge."
"They can catch us, yes, but we're not exactly helpless," Keane continued. He raised the heavy books in his arms, as if the others might not have noticed them, then smiled at Trillhalla. "Thanks