Darkwell by Douglas Niles

Author:Douglas Niles
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Kings and rulers, Fantasy fiction, Juvenile Fiction, Fantasy & Magic, Fiction, Fantasy, American, General, Forgotten realms (Imaginary place)
ISBN: 9780786935666
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Published: 2004-12-01T05:00:00+00:00

XI

Sun-Sign of Chauntea

The Starling bobbed and dipped in the choppy sea. Each crushing wave poured more water over the little boat's bow, and the hull was soon awash to knee-depth. Koll held the tiller against the strain of fatigue and cold, shivering uncontrollably. He tried to avoid looking at Gwen but could not tear his eyes from her miserable form.

She huddled in the bow, wrapped in the tattered shawl that was their only protective garment. She had bailed until her strength failed, and then she had collapsed. It had been hours since she had moved, and Koll wondered if she was dying.

The wind roared out of the north like a vengeful dragon, lashing first one side of the boat, then the other, as Koll tacked his way into the teeth of the wind.

By dawn of their second day at sea, he forced himself to face the truth: They would never make it to Norland. He had been a fool for even trying the voyage, and his foolishness would cost them both their lives. Why hadn't he taken her to Corwell? She, at least, with the blood of the Ffolk in her veins, would have been safe there.

He felt a sudden jolt against the hull and feared for a moment that he had struck a rock, but that was impossible. They were in the middle of the Sea of Moonshae, with no shoals for a hundred miles. Again the little boat lurched, and he heard the unmistakable scraping of stone against wood.

Suddenly the Starling heeled violently to the side, and he saw her frail timbers cave in under the force of a violent collision. Instinctively he lunged forward, grabbing Gwen as she rolled to the side, and then they both tumbled into the frothing sea.

His shoulder crashed against something hard and unforgiving, unmistakably stone, and then he found himself sprawled on a flat surface, holding the unconscious maiden to his chest. The water drained away around them, and he looked up in astonishment and awe to see four towering spires rising above him, looming on each of the points of the compass.

The wreck of the Starling was carried away by the rushing waves, but he remained in place, sitting upon a surface of flagstones. Too stunned to speak, he stared at the four high walls of a great castle that had somehow appeared around him.

It had risen from the sea! His boat, he realized, had smashed itself into the crenellated parapet of the castle wall, dumping them into the courtyard as it foundered. Now he sat upon the floor of the courtyard, looking at a few dozen fish that flopped helplessly as the rest of the water drained away.

Gwen opened her eyes and looked around in a daze. "Where are we?" she asked weakly. "Is this a dream? Are we dead?"

"We're not dead, and this is no dream. I don't know what this is or where we are, but this place has saved us!"

She sighed and leaned against him with a frail smile.

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