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Palador - chapter 1
water that floats
"What was I thinking? This silverhewn cord will not hold my weight" My thoughts are not as simple as my plan was last night. The waves are constantly attempting to crush the base of the cliffs. I am hanging over 470 feet above the crashing surf by this slender thread and I just dropped my hat.
As I scurry down this rope, as the wind threatens to bounce me all the way down, I can't but think how soft my bed really is. But I am going to make it.
Silence was almost a reality, save the cry of the occasional seagrave as it floats past my height. That and the roar of the waves out against the rocks and below me. It'll be almost midnight soon, and thankfully everyone is in bed.
The rock has some handholds, almost. I reach my hand out to steady myself. I have climbed the walls of the castle a few times, often being faster than my instructor. But it was never under conditions like this. The rain is starting; I can feel it stinging the back of my neck and the pricks of each drop that hit my head.
But steadily, slowly I am making it down. I don't know how I thought this was a good way out; my room is far from the main gates, at the top of the second tower. I doubt anyone will be looking for me before daybreak in any case.
The flecks of white are actually quartz. I never knew that. I have lived here, mostly inside these walls or in the Citadel, for my entire life and I never knew that there is quartz in these rocks. But I am making progress in climbing downwards to the water below. I see the town off to the right – twelve leagues away - Wesport. The western most town on the Peninsula. It sits right up against the cliff, but the walls around Oest are high enough that I can see down into the town.
There are a few lights there, but I can't let myself wander. I need to get down to the base of the cliff. I know there are caves that I can hide in, and Neralyn used to tell me that there were fishermen from the mainland that come to fish along the west side of the peninsula. I've never seen them, but she used to swear they came.
The base of this castle is built straight up from the cliff - it's as if the cliff is part of the castle walls. No one has ever been able to scale these cliffs and attack the peninsula. No wonder the Citadel has been undisturbed for so many years.
There are some green capulins that grow on this cliff. As I climb downwards I see their flowers. Little spikes of white and red that stand as high as my fingers. They don't have a lot of foothold in this cliff though. It's solid and there aren't even birds that have nests here. But they smell nice. I know the townsfolk use these flowers to make perfume. Mother used to wear it, but I haven't smelled it on her for a while.
I know that the base of the cliff is close. As I put out my hand to grasp hold of the cliff, I feel salt encrustations on the rocks. The rain is making them slippery. I know it is not a great thing for me to climb down this straight cliff, but I will make it. The silverhewn cord is my lifeline.
"Oh finally. Here I am." The waves are not soft, but at least I am only a little bit wet as they crush the stone below me at the water's edge. Now I have to look for the caves. I have heard that there are caves, used in times past by pirates. That was before the peninsula was so well guarded. But the caves and hiding places are close to this end of the peninsula so I should find at least a small one soon.
“Oh perfect, there is the pack that I lowered earlier. Oh wait, what about my silverhewn cord? I don’t want to forget it. If I pull this twice and move to the left…”
With three quick steps he was at the far end of the little ledge. And at the same time he pulled the little control out of his pocket. After a momentary pause he pressed the two buttons which should have made his escape foolproof.
“Oh darn, it’s not coming down!” Then suddenly he heard a rustle above him. He ducked as the frayed end of the rope narrowly missed the opportunity to leave him with a nice welt on his head.
Pulling the rope back up and coiling it in his pack, he started his search for the caves. It was not easy, the rain was coming down heavier now. And the waves were lashing up at his position on the ledge, leaving pools of water that could hide a hole big enough to hide him in. At his left, he noticed an indentation in the rock face. He went closer and as he brushed away his soaked hair from his eyes, he saw the opening that was obviously going to be somewhat of a cave that would shelter him from the raging wind and incessant waves. The rain was still making it’s forays into the back of his shirt and he was getting wetter by the minute.
As he climbed into the cave he realized that he was blind. There was no light. He grabbed a torch from his pack and lit it with a match that was in the pouch at the bottom of the pack. He saw that it was bigger than he expected. It must have been 20 feet across as he passed the corner that kept him from the rain. It was suddenly so much quieter.
“Oh wow, this place is great. There’s a ledge that I can rest on, even use it as a bed. I hope my blankets are still dry.” As he rummaged through his pack he could tell that a corner of his blankets were wet, indeed they had come out of the pack when he coiled the cord inside.
Being exhausted from his climb down the cliff, he felt it was time to rest. “I’ll head out later when the wind and rain die down. Once that happens the second moon should be over the horizon and I should be able to find a way to the docks of Wesport where I can get my hands on a boat.”
With that next step figured out in his mind, he laid back against the dry part of his blankets and fell into a weary sleep.
The skiff clattered against the rocks, muffled by the rain and the roar of the waves.
“Hold tight men, we don’t have much time. The tide will be in soon and this cave will be underwater in a short while. We have to store these goods here until the next moon comes up tomorrow evening.” With that the two men charged with holding the vessel tight understood the urgency of their task. If they lost hold of the skiff they’d drown, even the cargo they were storing was in water tight packaging. Though the rain was now just an irritation, the rock was slippery as the waves were just beginning to enter the mouth of the cave. The wind had died down considerably, but the water level was much higher now.
“Jawn, we’ll take these in quick. Put them on the ledge and strap them in. No floating out with the tide for these precious beauties!” Horal yelled a quick command and began tossing the bales up from the bouncing skiff to him. Jawn rapidly set them inside the cave’s mouth. Horal jumped up and took his torch into the cave and lit it. The moon had given them enough light to navigate from their ship to the edge of the water, but it wasn’t enough to illuminate the cave itself.
Horal’s knife deftly jumped from his belt as his ears noted a sound that was not part of the cave. He was quieter as he rounded the mouth of the cave and entered the main rotunda. His knife reached up and with a rapid movement stilled the restless body on the ledge.
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