The Coral Kingdom - Douglas Niles [99]
Yet even as he contemplated his great plan, with thousands of scrags and sahuagin effectively barring the sea east of Evermeet and the fast Manta floating just below the surface in the center of that great deployment, Sinioth's unease grew. They were resourceful, these humans… they had surprised him before.
More and more, he realized, the avatar of Talos should consider returning to his undersea monarchy. If the humans somehow passed his barrier of predatory sea warriors, he knew that he would finally meet them in the Coral Kingdom.
15
Embark to the Underdeep
"We'll be ready to sail as soon as the drydock fills with water," Brandon announced late in the afternoon of the day following the Helm of Zulae's arrival. "Knaff's rigged up the horizontal rudder, so the Princess is as good as new-maybe better."
Despite the fact that this was the culmination of all their endeavors, and Alicia had been eager to proceed all week, she found that the northman's announcement caused a melancholy reaction. Indeed, she was not alone. The longship's entire complement seemed to take the news like a dousing of ice water.
"We'll wait for first light, I presume," ventured Hanrald, standing beside Brigit. The sister knight looked around their grotto, and Alicia saw a trace of panic in her eyes, as if the elfwoman would suffer deeply upon their departure.
"Aye-and the tide, a few hours beyond. But we'll be well away from shore before noon," replied the captain. Even Brandon seemed to bite back a trace of wistfulness at the notion of leaving the idyllic elvenhome.
But of course there was no choice, nor really did Alicia welcome the thought of any further delay in her father's rescue. It was more that the sensations of the past eight days had been so pleasant, so relaxing, that the reality of a return to their quest seemed to loom like a many-headed hydra, threatening them with a dozen different fates, all of them bleak.
"Ready to get back to sea?" asked Keane, looking surprisingly undismayed by the prospect of sailing. "It should be-"
"No, I'm not ready!" Alicia snapped, annoyed that for once Keane should be prepared to embark on an adventure while she felt a deep reluctance. She looked at his pallid skin, at the circles under his eyes. "Where have you been all week, anyway?" she demanded, knowing full well that he had engrossed himself in tomes loaned to him by the command of the queen. Alicia's frustrations welled up and, as had so often happened during her childhood and adolescence, all of that anger focused on the convenient scapegoat of her familiar tutor. "We've been sailing the seas, living outside, and you're still pale!"
The magic-user turned away, hurt, and Alicia wondered why she had spoken to him so harshly. She felt little better after her outburst; her temper still smoldered with a low flame. Why does he let me do it? she wondered, wishing that for once the man would respond to her with anger of his own.
She threw herself into the frenzy of preparation and found release for her tension there. They had water barrels to fill, food to pack and load, and a final inventory, repair, sharpening, and polishing of weapons and armor to make.
"I'm not sure I relish a return to hardtack and stale bread," observed Brigit as they looked over their provisions, which had been unloaded when they beached the longship. Now they started to pass the heavy crates back into the hull.
Before dusk of that last night in the elvenhome, one of the great cargo canoes sailed into the grotto, propelled by its usual complement of elves. Trillhalla and Palentor stood in the bow, and as it neared the dock, the humans saw a wide variety of foodstuffs-melons of all sizes, large wheels of cheese, kegs of butter and honey-piled high in the center of the boat.
"A gift from Queen Amlaruil," announced Trillhalla, stepping lightly onto the dock. "Delicacies