Valour

The Nomad rocked gently in the ocean swells as Alvin pulled in one last net full of fish. It was still early in the day and he had already caught more fish than he needed. He might even be able to finish up his latest ship this afternoon. The Sea Sprite was almost ready for her sea trials. All that remained was to paint the grinning dragon's head he had carved at the prow of the large ship. Alvin smiled. He knew who he could count on for that job.

As he secured the nets and moved to winch up the anchor he noticed the flashing shapes of two dolphins streak through the clear blue water. They swam into the surf, standing on their powerful tails to survey the shore.
Alvin recognised them as the pair that he had long ago dubbed "Jack and Jill" for their help retrieving a child's pail that had floated away on the waves. They usually showed up on "fish day" looking for a little play and maybe a handout.

Alvin whistled loudly. Jack and Jill swam over to the boat, poking their heads up out of the water, chattering back at Alvin. He stooped to pet their grinning grey snouts. "Sorry friends. No one to play with today."

Their high pitched chatter took on a hint of disappointment. "But I may be able to find you a fish or two for lunch," he added by way of consolation.

Jack and Jill did flips and tricks as Alvin fed them each a generous helping of fresh fish. Alvin knew that the Dolphins were likely much better at catching fish than he was, but they seemed to enjoy having the fish fed to them more than catching them on their own.

"That's enough," Alvin finally announced, laughing. "Don't want you two getting fat." Jill dived down into the water and, after a minute, came back up with a gift. The Dolphins would always "pay" for their fish with a gift of a shell, coloured rock or some trinket that they would find on the bottom. This time it appeared to be a fragment of an old tablet or some sort of broken amulet.

"Thank you for the present, friends." Alvin gave them each a last pet as he pocketed their gift.. The two dolphins chattered goodbye and swam off looking for other sport.

Alvin raised the anchor and turned his ship back towards his island home.

Rounding the headland he heard a sound like distant thunder and saw smoke billow low over some buildings on the east side of the island. Some kind of fire? As he approached the dock, an arrow thunked into the mainmast, narrowly missing his head. He ducked down behind the railing, peering at the figures on the dock. Orcs? How did orcs get on the dock? Where are the guards?

He scrambled low along the deck to the hold where he retrieved his enchanted heavy crossbow and a few bolts. Long ago, he had used this weapon as he hunted the great sea serpents. It should make short work of a few orcs. As he aimed his first bolt at a green orc, who was aiming a black bow back at him, he wondered vaguely what an orc would be doing with any bow, let alone a strange black one. Alvin's bolt caught the orc square in the chest, but rather than falling dead it vanished in a puff of smoke.

Never mind. He would clear the dock of the other orcs and then go help with that fire. He shifted to the next orc in line. A lord, dressed in what looked like golden armour. As he launched a bolt at the golden orc, a red coloured orc tossed some small package towards the Nomad. Whatever it was, it was going to miss him by a long way so Alvin kept his focus on the golden orc. The red orc's package skidded along the deck and dropped into the still open hold. As Alvin shot off his next bolt, an explosion ripped through the deck and smashed a hole in the hull.

Alvin was tossed into the sea and the Nomad rolled over as the water rushed through the broken hull. As his ship capsized, Alvin was snagged by the wreckage and dragged down, trapped beneath the waves. For long minutes, Alvin struggled to free himself, lungs burning for air. As the need to inhale became overpowering and a final panic hammered his control, he felt drawn into a black oblivion.

A misty greyness formed and grew, pushing back the dark abyss. Alvin heard a voice call out from of this fog. A woman's voice. Urging him to fight.

To reach out and take her hand. Alvin felt something touch him. He reached out grabbing desperately onto someone beside him. Powerful strokes pulled him free of his broken ship and pushed him up towards the light and desperately needed air. Breaking surface gasping, choking, Alvin was supported by two sleek, grey dolphins. It was Jack and Jill. They had pulled him from the wreckage. The dolphins had saved him.

As his vision cleared, Alvin caught a glimpse of a ranger pulling a child up the mainland shore across the channel. Anna? A wave blocked his view and when it had passed the figures were gone. Confused and dazed he allowed the dolphins to carry him near a docked ship. It was the Sea Sprite. His new ship. Gathering his remaining strength he grabbed a hanging ratline and pulled himself up on the deck where he lay gasping.

Alvin was roused by panicky shouts from the dock. A group of three warriors had been trying to fight their way down the dock to get back to the mainland, but were now trapped between the orcs in the town and a group of orcs coming toward the docks in a small boat. The warriors now had no way off the exposed dock. Alvin staggered to his feet and dropped the gangplank of the Sea Sprite, shouting for the warriors to get on board.

As the last one clambered on board, Alvin kicked the gangplank over the side and cut the lines holding the ship to the dock. A strong wind pushed the ship away from the pier as Alvin set the sails and gained way. Running strongly, close to the wind, the Sea Sprite picked up speed rapidly. Alvin turned the ship quickly, the warriors scrambling as the deck tilted sharply and the sails shifted. Running with the wind now, the big ship fairly skipped over the waves. Alvin steered directly for the orcs in the boat.

The bow of the Sea Sprite loomed high, crashing down to smash the smaller boat like matchwood. The orcs, with all of their equipment, sank like stones. The warriors let out a cheer.

Alvin dropped the anchor as the Sea Sprite slowed near the mainland shore.

He jumped over the side and scramble up the bank in the direction he had seen the ranger and the child go. One of the warriors followed behind.

They came upon the body of a ranger and several dead orcs. The bodies of other rangers could be seen up the path. Of the child there was no sign.

"I think that this is the ranger that rode through the town," said the warrior as he turned the body over.

"Tyler," whispered Alvin. He knew this ranger. Looking up towards the archers guild he could see the bodies of the other rangers and the orcs that they had taken with them.

"He was shouting for everyone to gather at the Ranger's guild hall, just before the orcs got his horse," explained the warrior. We were holed up at the smith shop. We tried to get to the guild hall, but there were just too many orcs, so we tried to get back to the mainland. We would have died on that dock it you hadn't come along."

"Did he have a child with him?" demanded Alvin.

"I don't know," admitted the warrior. "Things were a little confused. One thing is sure, though. The guild hall will not be a very safe place if those red orcs get close enough to use their bombs."

"That's true," agreed Alvin, thinking of what the orc bomb had done to Nomad. Maybe Anna was with the others at the guild hall. "We have to get back to the island. Get to the guild hall." Alvin started back towards his boat.

"Wait," the warrior grabbed Alvin's arm. "Even if we can get off the dock, there is no way we will be able to fight through to the guild hall. We should go to Britain. Bring back help."

Alvin looked back across the channel. "There isn't time for that," he said. "I'll take the Sea Sprite around to the west side of the island. Go in the back way." He shook off the warriors hand and started back to his ship. After a seconds hesitation, the warrior shrugged and followed.

Back on the Sea Sprite, Alvin explained his plan to the other warriors.

"You can either come with me or stay here on the mainland."

The warriors looked at each other for a moment. The leader went over and began to winch up the anchor. "Don't just stand there," he said. "Set the sails. Let's get going!"

Alvin steered the ship around the south end of the island and back up along the west coast stopping just behind the Ranger guild hall. Alvin led two of the warriors up to the back of the guild hall. Although there didn't seem to be any orcs back here, there was a lookout stationed at each window. A window was opened and Alvin and the others climbed through into a back room office.

Alvin looked at people huddled in the room, searching for his daughter. He knew several of these people. "Is there anyone else? Has anyone seen my daughter?" No one answered.

The ranger guild master came into the room, eyeing Alvin and the two warriors. "Did Tyler send you?" he demanded. "Where are the other rangers?"

"We came on my ship," said Alvin. "I'm sorry but Tyler is dead. The orcs on the mainland got him. The other rangers there are dead too."

The guild master's face went white. "All dead," he whispered.

"Are there any other people here?" demanded Alvin. "I must find my daughter."

The guild master shook himself, focusing. "No," he said. "This is all. Anyone else is either hiding or dead."

"I'm going to find my daughter," Alvin repeated as he pushed past the ranger.

"No," the guild master grabbed Alvin by the arm. "I have archers in the stable and the tavern. They are the only thing keeping the orcs off the guild hall. When they run out of arrows, we run out of time. We have to get these people out of here now. For that, we need your ship," he looked Alvin in the eye. "Besides, you wouldn't last five minutes out there alone."

"So where are the guards then?" asked Alvin pointedly.

"I don't know," admitted the ranger looking away. "But you won't do your daughter any good by getting yourself killed."

Alvin glared at the ranger for a minute and then turned away. "Lets get everyone aboard," was all he said.

The warriors took up positions to guard the short route from the back of the guild hall to the Sea Sprite. There was not enough room to take both the townspeople and the rangers in one trip. As Alvin lead the civilians to the ship everyone seemed calm. From the look in their eyes Alvin could see only a tired acceptance of whatever fate would befall them. Any panic had been burned out of these people.

Loaded down with people, the Sea Sprite was not so fast as before. The trip up to Yew seemed to take forever. In Yew, Alvin quickly got everyone off the ship and turned back to Skara Brae. As the ship sailed down the coast, past a headland, the rays of the setting sun illuminated the tops of eight marble columns far to the east. In the light these spires seemed to join the sea with the sky. The darkness with the light. The sunlight blinked hypnotically as the ship rose and fell on the waves. Alvin dozed as the ship sailed on.

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Alvin found himself alone on the Sea Sprite. Sailing through a heavy grey mist. Not a fog exactly. Although the there was no wind and the sails hung limp, the ship was moving quite rapidly. Oddly, Alvin felt no alarm at this high speed in poor visibility. After a time, he could make out an island ahead.

The ship was suddenly rocking gently at anchor next to the shoreline.

Alvin felt no surprise at this abrupt transition. He stepped onto the island and walked into the jungle. Through the mist he could see the shapes of animals and even giant serpents but they paid him no mind as he walked through the high grass. The grass seemed to part, leading in one direction so he walked that way. He came to a clearing. In the clearing was a shrine. An altar, before the shrine, held the image of a sword.

The shrine began to glow. Alvin watched with languid interest at a figure formed in the light. Hazy and indistinct at first but quickly growing clearer. The figure resolved to that of a woman, standing, dressed in grey robes. Her face was covered by a mask blacker than the darkest night. In her hand was an amulet. The eyes, behind the mask, were closed.

The woman's eyes opened abruptly, regarding Alvin, unblinking. Although her lips moved not at all, Alvin could hear her voice inside his head. A voice he had heard once before as he was drowning in the cold, cold sea. "Come," she said holding out her hand.

Suddenly they were no longer standing before that jungle shrine. They walked deep in some dark and dusty cavern. The very earth rose up and stalked the gloom. An obscene chitinous scratching could be heard as horrid shapes scurried about in the darkness. The only light came from the woman's ethereal glow. She held out her arm pointing.

Alvin turned to see a man bound hand and foot with chains as black as the mask on the woman's face. He wore strange garb and his head was bald except for a topknot of hair. The face seemed a frozen mask of despair.
Again, the woman spoke to Alvin's mind. "This Khan weeps that he has failed his people. This place twists their song and he can not find his way home. The very name of these caverns denies his honour and fills his soul. You hold the guide," the voice continued.

"Bring the song to him and find him here. At the place where the virtues join to touch the sky, restore the key and set him free." A single tear glistened in the corner of one eye. The eyes closed. "Remember…" came a final whisper. The earth rose up and the world began to shake...

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"What key? Where…?" sputtered Alvin as the warrior shook him awake.

"We're almost back to the island," said the warrior. "We though you needed some rest so we let you sleep."

Alvin became aware of a warmth at his side. He reached in his pocket and found the trinket that the dolphins had given him. It held an intense, but fading, heat that somehow did not burn. As if some power was slipping back into slumber after a great effort.

"There is the guild hall," shouted one of the warriors.

With a final puzzled look, Alvin slipped the strange artefact back into his pocket and concentrated on piloting his ship through the gathering gloom.

The rangers still held their guild hall and the guild master was visibly relived to hear that the townsfolk were safe in Yew. The outlying rangers quietly returned to the hall and then they all made their way towards the Sea Sprite. The returning rangers reported that the orcs seemed to be massing for a final attack on the hall.

Alvin raised the anchor and turned to the guild master. "My house is on the east side of the island near the alchemist shop. I'll get off there and you can take the ship back to Yew or to the mainland. Whatever you want. When I find my daughter, we'll use the moongate to get out."

"I can't let you do that. It's too dangerous to go back," said the guild master.

Alvin studied the watching rangers and then looked the guild master in the eye. "You think you have enough men here to stop me?" he asked simply. The guild master looked away. "Someone loan me a bow and some arrows ," requested Alvin.

Alvin watched from the bank as his ship moved silently off into the night.

Turning he examined the area towards the town. Many of the orcs had gone off to join in the assault on the now empty guild hall. He hoped that would occupy them for a while. He could see the remaining orcs silhouetted against the burning buildings and the moongate. They were just milling about as if unsure of what to do next. He tightened his grip on the bow that he prayed he wouldn't need and set off in the direction of his house.

As he passed the moongate an orc, a bit more alert than his fellows, spotted Alvin in the shadows and attacked. Several of his friends joined in. Alvin took cover behind a tree and began shooting arrows at the orcs. This was not good. He had not counted on actually getting into a fight tonight and now he was pinned down.
Suddenly, a lone man on horseback rode through the moongate behind the orcs. He wielded a wicked looking kryss. The orcs stopped and looked back.

Alvin looked too. The man's head was bald except for a long pony tail in back. His grey horse pawed the ground snorting, eager for battle. His face, highlighted by both the moongate's glow and the fires in the town, wore a demonic grin. He raised his weapon high over his head and let out a bloodcurdling war cry and charged the orcs.
Several orcs broke and ran. Alvin began shooting again and the remaining orcs hesitated, seeming unsure of who to attack first. That cost them dearly as the horseman was quickly in their midst cutting them down. The horse stepped to the side avoiding blows from the orcs and perfectly positioning his rider for a return strike. It was like some bizarre dance of death. With the man now in among the orcs, Alvin could no longer shoot his arrows. He turned and ran for his house.

The house was dark and deserted. Anna was not there. Alvin stood staring at an orc's arrow embedded in the doorway, tears of sorrow filling his eyes. He heard a sound behind him and turned, with weary resignation, expecting to see a host of orcs intent on his death. Instead, there was only the man on his horse. Bloodied and wounded now but, if anything, his grin was even wider. As if only the brink of death brought full life.

"Dem orgh bish fight good," he laughed pointing his thumb over his shoulder towards the orcs. Then he looked from the house to Alvin. "Yuh beh Anna-han father?" he asked.

As Alvin stared struggling to understand these strange words, something pressed at his mind. Something familiar that he must remember. He pushed the feeling aside. "Anna?" he choked out. "Do you know where Anna is? Is she all right?"

"Dsa," the man nodded. "Meh find her at shrine of sand place. Baga-han cry for father. Meh help find."

Sand place, desert? Shrine? Compassion? How could Anna have gotten half way across Britannia? "Where is she?" asked Alvin.

"She beh safe at tosgon," said the man. "Idugan Aigeran take care of her dere. Meh take yuh." The man reached down to help Alvin up on to the back of his grey horse.

The man made a small movement with his foot and the horse trotted off towards the moongate. They stepped through and came out into a cool morning mist among the giant trees of Yew. Instead of turning towards town, they rode south a short ways to a small clearing with some huts and other buildings.

Alvin looked back at the people in the clearing. Men and women dressed much like this strange rider. That half dreamed memory tugged at him again.

Something… He looked up suddenly at a familiar voice shouting, "Father. Father."

Alvin slid from the horse and Anna ploughed into him almost knocking him to the ground. She held him so tight he thought his ribs would crack.

"I thought the orcs had killed you," she cried, tears of joy filling her eyes.

Alvin didn't even try to hold back his own tears. "Ahhh, my little one.

After fighting the great sea snakes, a few orcs are hardly a problem.

Although they did manage to blow a hole in my poor boat." He held her closer. "But you are my treasure and I thought I had lost you."

Holding her father tightly with one hand, Anna reached out to scratch the silver grey ears of the horse. Looking up at the rider. "Thank you for saving my father," she said. "You've saved us both, Baga-Bars."

Alvin reached out his hand. "Thank you sir. I don't know how I will ever be able to repay your kindness."

The young Mongol looked down embarrassed.

Suddenly Alvin remembered his dream. "The Khan…?" he whispered.

The young man shook his head. "Meh bish beh real Khan. Da real Khan, him beh lost like da ghost. Weh try do best." His sadness was plain.

"No," said Alvin. "A dream. A spirit showed me a man dressed like you in a dream. The spirit called him 'Khan'."

The Mongol looked up, demanding. "Whare? Whare be dis man dat dressed like meh?"

"I saw him in a dream. I remember now."

The young Mongol turned pulling Alvin after him towards a cabin decorated with gruesome trophies. Shouting for the "Bugu."

"Bring da bugu-han Castile! Dis beh important! Get da tsereg!"

The other Mongols jumped to obey his commands and they all gathered at the cabin to hear of Alvin's dreams and plan their next move…




© 2001 Todd Bailey