Seafaring on Jord by Allan Joyal

Author:Allan Joyal [Joyal, Allan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-11-30T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21: Exploring the Coastline

Panalope and I spent the rest of the night standing next to the tiller and worrying about what might be out there. I watched all around, jumping at every splash we heard. The shadows never again flew over the decks, but we spotted them several times during the night.

When false dawn finally arrived the last of the shadows flew off towards the shoreline. I strained to see what was hiding in the darkness, but the shadow flowed through a small gap in the trees and vanished.

"Do we talk about it?" Panalope asked me as sunlight began to brighten the sky.

"We have to," I said. "The others need to know to watch for those creatures."

"What creatures?" Hadlor said.

"Not sure," I replied as I looked at the shoreline. We could see a dense forest that stopped where the rocks of the beach began. "All we ever saw were shadows. From what we saw they are a bit smaller than a person. It was almost like they were flying over the water and catching fish that came too close to the surface."

"Like I'd believe that," Culax said. "I never saw something like that and I was awake half the night."

"I did," Jessop said as he stood up and began walking towards the tiller. "They circled the ship once and then paced us on the starboard side."

"Why didn't I see them?" Culax asked.

"They are just a shadow in the air," I said. "Unless they pass in front of something, you can't see them in the dark sky."

"I first noticed them because one flew over a reflection of the moon I could see in the water off the port side," Panalope said. "But it seemed they weren't very interested in the ship."

"They did hang around it," I said. "But I don't know why."

"Our passage must have stirred up the fish," Ushcail said. "I've seen the passage of a galley disrupt a school of fish back in the Islands."

I looked over at the shoreline. It seemed like the trees were pulling away from the ocean. I ran over to the railing trying to get a closer look.

"What?" Hadlor said.

"Look at the forest and the shoreline. The trees came down almost to the water, but now we have an open area. But its not stone," I said. "I was trying to get a better look."

"We don't have a place to land," Ushcail said. "And with the current, we can't anchor and let you swim ashore."

"I could make it," Culax said.

"We couldn't keep Gypsy in one place. The current is strong enough that it could drag us or break the anchor line. There are no currents this strong in the islands so no one thought we’d need a strong anchor line," Ushcail said. "Let's watch and see if there are any inlets or large rivers we can pull into."

"I see nothing," Culax snarled. "But that clear area can't be natural. This coastline has been all trees since we left that harbor."

"Not all trees," I said as I watched the land pass.

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