Here Be Dragons: Three Adventure Novels by K.T. Tomb

Author:K.T. Tomb [Tomb, K.T.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Quests Unlimited Press
Published: 2015-01-22T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Something massive was moving to the northwest. At first Aineias thought it was a small island they had missed in the dusk, but then he saw it move. Up and down, the light refracted off the small waves that were created by whatever it was. He looked at Pyrrhus and grinned. Pyrrhus shook his head disparagingly. They watched it for a while and wondered what the exact nature of it was. Some of the men thought it was a whale; the more superstitious ones said they had found the tips of the temples of Atlantis. Those who spoke about Atlantis had never sailed farther than Sicily, much less to have crossed through the Pillars.

“Or maybe it’s Aineias’ monster,” remarked Daizus.

They all looked at him, then turned their eyes back on Aineias who was shuffling his feet.

“Master! Tell us, is it the Kraken?” one of the slaves asked him.

“Did you know the beast was real when you told us that story? Or was it just to scare us?” another demanded of him.

By now all the men were gathered around him and looking at him anxiously.

“Well?” they demanded.

The skipper finally looked up.

“It’s real, and we’re going to capture it.”

The men were stunned. They were silent, amazed and more than a little surprised. Most of them had shared Pyrrhus’ misgivings about finding Priteni, but this was taking it to another level of insanity.

“We’re going to capture it and then drag it back to the Tyrrhenian Sea, so it will prey on the Roman fleet. There is no way our Greek navies can fight those Roman ships. They are too many, but we can level the odds here.”

They remained silent. Some men shook their heads, others touched their charms.

“Whoever wants to leave, you can remain here and we’ll pick you up on the way back, if we live. Otherwise there is every chance you can find a ship to take you back to Syracuse.”

The silence continued. Nobody spoke, not in protest, not in an attempt to dissuade the skipper, nor in agreement. They just stood there. Suddenly, their silence was broken by a crash out at sea. They could see eyes in the object ahead of them now, peeking out just above the water. The beast had slammed down a tentacle as though it was demanding that they come and get him. And that is what they did.

They put to sea, every single one of them; not one remained on the beach. The Thracians took up the oars and the sailors began preparing the nets and harpoons. They had wondered about their cargo ever since Syracuse, but it now dawned on them that their skipper had planned this for a while.

They rowed as fast as they could and closed in on the thing with great speed. Then, it was gone. They had thought they were heading for the spot where they had seen it, but it was not there. Nervously they looked round, trying to see where the beast had gone. Pyrrhus looked nervously across the water, his otherwise steady hands were now trembling around the rudder.

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