Chapter Eight in the Rise of the Shar

THE RISE OF THE SHAR

CHAPTER XIII

The next eleven days flew by. They were awakened early each morning to go running then spent approximately eight hours of group time working on their canoes a day. Not to mention the extra hours the group worked in the afternoon when everyone else was free to do as they pleased. Late in the evenings Razalon and the others would return to camp hot, sweaty, and exhausted. They would wash up and either discuss the next days work or go to bed early. Slowly, the outline of the canoe took shape. They transformed the branch-less tree into a burned log. Then the ashes were carved and chiseled away. The flat cut end became rounded and smooth. The log was shortened and the sides were also smoothed of the stomps where branches had once sprouted. Razalon and Ridiah spent most of their time hollowing it. They burned parts of the log several times to lessen the work.

Eventually, there was enough room for one person to sit inside, then two, three and finally four. Meanwhile Derek and Erwinia roped the two extra logs to either side of the rough canoe. Derek designed a rudder to help maneuver the craft while Erwinia carved four oars. There was no sign of the bird during the entire first week. Finally, the day before their departure arrived. Rain pounded the island as the kids trudged through the mud-slicked grass. They packed their tents and returned them to the staff. Generally, the students would sleep outside under the stars on the last day of camp but due to the pouring rain that showed no sign of letting up, the staff had decided to allow the students to sleep in the hallways.

Ridiah watched as a staff member handed out their herb sacks they had prepared over the summer. Each student had collected the herbs and had a large enough supply to last for many years into the future. Derek and Razalon were securing the lashings on the canoe while Ridiah and Erwinia collected the herb sacks. They had come down to the shore while the girls packed the tents. At the canoe, Razalon and Derek held their light stones while they thoroughly inspected their lashings. For rope they had used some vines that Razalon had discovered in the forest. Derek found a loose vine and tightened it around the canoe’s rudder.

“We should double check our lashing, just in case.” Razalon said when Derek had finished.
They looked over all the knots and found them secure. Razalon knew they would be. He was just trying to pass the time while they waited for the girls.
“Why don’t we go wait under the shelter of that tree?” Derek suggested, pointing at a large tree some twenty feet in front of the forest.

They walked under the low branches and leaned against the trunk.
“Here they come.” Derek whispered as the sound of approaching footsteps reached their ears. Razalon was about to leave the shelter when he realized that the footsteps were coming from the wrong direction. Whoever it was came from behind them, in the forest.
“Why would they come that way?” He asked Derek.
“Maybe they wanted to avoid as much of the rain as they could.”

Razalon peered out of the branches and saw a lone figure exiting the forest. The stranger was tall and wore a long cloak that was either black or very dark blue. Razalon knew at once that the figure was too tall to be either of the girls. He grabbed Derek’s arm to get his attention and put a finger to his lips to keep him quiet. The figure passed and headed to the boats. The tide was in and the sound of water splashing against the shore was all that could be heard.
The person stopped and looked at the canoes. Then he headed for their canoe, which rested, beside a large raft. He bent over and appeared to draw something from beneath his cloak. Razalon couldn’t see what it was. His first instinct was to use magic against this hooded person but a voice that sounded abnormally like his sisters’ said. “Don’t be a fool!” Instead, Razalon felt the ground with his hand for a rock. His hand closed around a smooth cold surface. Hardly daring to breathe, he crept forward.

A twig snapped beneath Razalon’s foot. He held his breath as the stranger straightened and looked around. His hood hid his face from view. Apparently satisfied that no one was watching, he moved to the boat alongside Razalon’s.
Razalon prepared to throw the rock but the sound of loud voices and people approaching made him turn. He saw a glow coming along the shore and knew that it was Ridiah’s light stone. Ridiah and Erwinia were walking toward them as though they didn’t have a care in the world. They appeared unaware of the strangers’ presence. Remembering the figure Razalon whirled around. The robed person was gone. Razalon searched the shore and the edge of the forest but there was no sign of the stranger.

Together, Derek and Razalon left the cover of the tree and walked out to meet the girls. Razalon was about to ask Ridiah how they had missed the stranger but a look from her silenced him and answered his question.
“Erwinia was right then I see,” Ridiah said loudly, “you have gone for a midnight stroll along the shore.”
Razalon’s mouth was slightly open, a confused look on his face.
“I tried to tell him it was a stupid idea but he wouldn’t listen to me.” Derek complained catching on.
“With all this rain, I’m afraid I’m soaked through.” Razalon said, hoping Ridiah would know that he was talking about waterproofing the boat.
“You should have known it was going rain, it’s to bad I couldn’t bring some water repellent.” Ridiah sighed.
“Well, I think it’s past time we went back now that we’ve found you.” Erwinia said.
“Let’s go.” Derek agreed.

“What was that all about?” Razalon asked on the way back to camp.
“I thought whoever that was might still be hanging around.” Ridiah replied.
“We still could have checked our boat.” Razalon said.
“Listen, whoever that figure was seems to be watching us, I think we know who it is, but they seemed to be unsure about which boat is ours.” Ridiah explained.
“Who is it then?” Razalon asked.
“You’re not saying that was the man we see often in the forest.” Derek pressed.
“Who else?” Erwinia asked.

The rain continued to pour the entire way back to camp and they were soaking wet when they reached the halls. Most of the students were already asleep along the right sides of the hallways. Flickering torchlight lit the corridors. The group had to go to the end of the main hall and around the corner to find enough room for them to put their stuff. There were no torches in this section.
They fell asleep quickly though Ridiah awoke briefly during the night when some students walked by.

“Wake up, you great oaf!” someone said as they nudged Ridiah.
She opened her eyes to see Razalon shaking her awake. He was laughing at her. Razalon never got up first. Embarrassed for sleeping in, Ridiah sat up. The corridor was still dark, except for a pair of light stones.
“What time is it?” Ridiah asked as she stood up and rubbed the tiredness from her eyes.
“About four o’clock.” Razalon answered.
“Hurry,” Derek said coming around the corner of the wall, “we’ve got about fifteen minutes to get to the shore! Everyone else has already gone down.”
“What?” Razalon and Ridiah asked in unison.

“I’ll tell you on the way!” Derek replied grabbing his herb bag and the pack of other items he would be allowed to take on the venture.
“Hey! Watch what you’re doing!” Ridiah shouted as Derek threw her herb back and hit Ridiah in the back of the head. She snatched it up and took off down the hall not stopping to see who was following behind. Razalon, Derek, and Erwinia sped after her. Razalon grasped his stone, increasing the light so they could see better. Ahead he saw Ridiah pull her own stone from her pocket as she left the building.

Ridiah ran as fast as she could, leaping over rocks and jumping off of ledges without hesitating. She could only see a few feet in front of her. The light danced wildly back and forth as she swung her arms. She had pulled it out of her pocket when she had left the light of the halls and hadn’t stopped to make the light brighter. The sound of heavy breathing told her that the others were close behind. The only way they could reach the shore in time would be to cut through the forest without making any mistakes. Ridiah veered left and heard Erwinia tell the others to follow. Razalon and Derek’s stones were outshining hers.

After nearly tripping over a tree root Ridiah focused on brightening her stone while she tried to figure out where she was. The strangest thing happened Ridiah looked at her hand and saw the stone burst into blinding light, then for a brief moment she was looking down from above the treetops and saw the light reach high into the sky. She also saw, in the distance, the boats and people along the shore. She heard Erwinia scream, blinded. The next instant Ridiah was back in the forest running down the hill. Her stone was still shining bright but was no longer blinding anyone. Ridiah paused to help Erwinia up. She had apparently tripped over a broken branch and flew into a large bush that broke her fall. As soon as she was on her feet they were running madly through the trees again.

“Do you even know where we’re going?” Erwinia asked as they ran.
“Of course, I know exactly how to get there too.” Ridiah answered.
Razalon and Derek, who had taken the lead when Ridiah helped Erwinia up, stopped to wait for the girls to catch up. Five minutes later, they ran into what Ridiah had thought was a clearing that would lead down to the shore, only to find a large hedge of thorn bushes blocking their way.
“What are we going to do?” Derek asked as they heard a staff member tell the students to put their stuff in their boats.
“We don’t have time to find another way around.” Erwinia pointed out.
“Everybody follow Razalon.” Ridiah said.

Razalon hesitated for a moment and took a deep breath then he walked straight at the wall of brambles Erwinia was about to say something when to her amazement Razalon lifted his hands and spread them wide, the brambles, obeying an unspoken command moved aside. Ridiah didn’t wait, she ran through the opening dragging a goggling Erwinia by the arm. Derek and Razalon brought up the rear.
They could see the other students all in their boats about to shove off shore. A staff member was handing folded pieces of paper to each group. He had just reached the boat on the left of theirs, when they finally reached the sandy beach. Ridiah noticed that all the boats were in the water even their own, which was empty. The staff member raised his hand with the paper in it for their boat to signal everyone to leave. Without hesitating Ridiah snatched the paper out of his fist and dove into the boat. Erwinia and Razalon followed, causing Ridiah to nearly toppled out. Derek shoved the boat a few paces then scrambled in.

“You two are freaking me out!” Erwinia teased, “first Ridiah blinds me and then Razalon causes a bunch branches to move aside.”
For over half an hour they rowed out of the bay until they noticed that everyone around them had stopped and was attempting to read something by the moonlight.
“Read that piece of paper, Ridiah.” Derek said.
Careful not to let it get splashed, Ridiah unfolded the leaf of parchment. She turned it over and found a map of the island and the surrounding areas. One island had a red circle around it. A piece of paper fell from the map with instructions on how to reach the island.

“What does it say?” Derek asked.
“I think it says we need to wait here or something.” Ridiah replied.
“Are you sure?” He asked.
“It says that we need to wait at the edge of the bay until sunrise. According to the paper, the current should pull us out and away from the island.” She said.
“What’s that written in the bold letters?” Derek asked.
“It’s just a warning telling us not to get stuck in the Devil’s current, you know where that leads.” Ridiah said impatiently.
“How did you make your stone light up like that?” Erwinia asked.
“I mean, my father said that light stones have a limit.”
“ I really don’t know how I did it. I wasn’t paying very close attention, I was trying to find the quickest way down.” She said.
“I think we should take turns staying awake.” Derek suggested.
“I’ll take first watch.” Ridiah offered, thinking that after all she had been the last one up so she got the most sleep.

Ridiah watched the moonlight dance on the waves as their canoe slowly glided forward along with several others. She hadn’t expected the wait. She thought that they would leave at once. Not sit in a boat waiting for the seaweed to grow. She looked deep into the water’s depth wondering what really lived in the ocean. She had heard tales of water creatures that lurked deep beneath the water’s surface. Some were of good creatures that lived long ago and were no longer seen, others, however, were of evil monsters that would occasionally attack small crafts. The later, she knew, were just tales to frighten the young and gullible.

She trailed her fingers on the water’s surface. So emerged in her own thoughts Ridiah failed to notice the ripples on the other side of the canoe, or the slick and shiny surface that made them.
It wasn’t until the thing made a small splash that Ridiah became aware of it. She whirled around fumbling for her stone. In her haste it slipped from her fingers and fell into the water with a small splash. She gasped as she watched the pale white rock sink out of sight. Then, to Ridiah’s surprise, she saw a dark form swimming down after it.

“I can’t believe I lost my light!” Ridiah muttered. She considered waking the others but decided that they would accuse her of sleeping on her watch.
Had she imagined the shadow of something following her stone or was it real. It seemed real enough. Certain fish liked shiny things after all. A small chirping noise made her turn to get hit in the head with something hard followed by a lot of water. Looking down she saw her stone sitting in her lap it had gone dark from the cold but started to glow faintly when she picked it up.
She saw a pair of eyes reflect the glow and was surprised to discover a dolphin looking at her eagerly. It swam up to the edge of the boat and nudged Ridiah’s hand gently. Ridiah had never seen a dolphin before but she’d recognize one anywhere from the descriptions her parents had given her.

The dolphin seemed very friendly and Ridiah found herself wishing it was day so she could go swimming with it. She patted the dolphin’s nose until two canoes glided close by with people talking loudly to each other. Startled, the dolphin dove under water and did not reappear. After another hour Ridiah awoke Razalon for his watch and tried to get some sleep. Two hours later the eastern edge of the horizon began to light up and turned gray half an hour later, the tip of the son came into view.
The sunlight blinded the kids in their boats, rafts and canoes. It looked beautiful at first but they were getting tired of squinting before long. Erwinia had to remind Razalon that they had a long way to go and they might as well get a good start.

Razalon and Derek took two of the oars and Ridiah read the instructions on the map while Erwinia steered with the rudder. They made good progress and before long the bay was out of sight as they traveled along the island. The canoe was cramped and rode a little low in the water, though they didn’t mind at first.
“How long do you think it will take us to reach the island?” Derek asked after an hour of paddling.
“We should be there in about six more hours.” Ridiah replied, checking their location on the map.
Ridiah and Erwinia switched places with Razalon and Derek. It wasn’t long before they realized just how hard paddling could be.
“I think it’s time for us to stop for breakfast.” Ridiah suggested, trying to find an excuse for a break.
“That sounds like a good idea.” Erwinia agreed quickly.
Razalon and Derek exchanged knowing glances but were too hungry to refuse.
“You know, this should be the most exciting thing we’ve done all summer.” Ridiah said as she pulled out a bag of sandwiches that they had been given for the journey along with a jug of water the day before.
“I mean, we have to stay on an island for two weeks surviving on our own and ever’thin.” She said, taking a huge bite from her sandwich.
The canoe drifted lazily as they ate, no one paying much attention to where they went.

They were just about finished with their breakfasts when Erwinia looked at the distant shore. She was in the middle of telling about her island when her eyes widened and she pointed to the island. The shoreline was further than it had been when they stopped. Even more surprising, however, was the alarming rate at which they were gliding through the water. “What’s happening?” Derek asked in surprise. Then his face paled as the seriousness of their situation dawned.
“The current.” He whispered. They knew which current they had unknowingly entered. The only current around that could travel at such a speed, the current that led to the jagged and deadly rocks.

“Row!” Razalon shouted grabbing his oar. Derek and Ridiah snatched up an oar apiece and Erwinia took the rudder. They turned the boat around and tried paddling against the current but they gained little ground, which they soon lost when they paused to rest.
“We need to go with the current and head further out to sea!” Razalon shouted, remembering what he had heard about currents generally being quite narrow. They turned the canoe back and angled the boat with the current and a little to their right, away from the island. As they came around a bend in the shore a strong wind blew into them, blowing them against the current. Erwinia let out a small scream and pointed ahead. On the edge of their vision they could just make out a line of white water hitting rocks that rose out of the sea like many barbed spikes. They paddled as hard as they could but the rocks drew slowly nearer.

Erwinia looked at Razalon and Ridiah eagerly. “You can do it.” She said over the wind, which had started blowing even harder as though determined to slow them down as much as possible. Razalon and Ridiah looked at each other confused. They turned a questioning look to Derek wondering if he knew what Erwinia was talking about only to find the same look on his face.
“Do what?” Ridiah asked frustrated.
“Use your magic to get us out of the current, it can’t be far to the edge now.”
“Erwinia’s right, you can get us out of here.” Derek said.
For a moment the stone medallions around the twin’s necks glowed warmly.

A particularly large gust of wind, this one directly from the island pushed them sideways precariously, as though urging them on.
Ridiah looked at the rocks, still a great distance in front of them. Her hand closed around the stone on her medallion. She looked at her brother and nodded determinedly. Suddenly she wasn’t looking at him at all, she was in the air again, she could see herself in the canoe with the others but she could also see the current. Her gaze, as though drawn of it’s own accord flew down the current she gasped as she circled the rocks and flew higher she circled the current. Instantly she was back in the canoe gasping for breath. She knew that all she had seen had taken place in a split second. Ridiah also knew that what she had seen was correct.

About four hundred paces in front of them the current widened, and became nearly four times as large as it was know. If they didn’t get out of its grasp soon there would be no hope of escaping the rocks deadly greeting. Ridiah had also seen just how close they were from the edge of the current.
“We need to get out of this current now.” She whispered, for a moment she lost hope. Razalon grabbed her hand and asked what they needed to do.
Through her mind to his she showed him what she had seen without realizing it.
Razalon gasped then they smiled at each other. Concentrating on the canoe they pushed. Derek and Erwinia grasped the sides to balance as the boat lurched to their right. They pushed again and again.

“Try to turn the boat sideways.” Razalon told Erwinia.
Silently she complied. They pushed again and the canoe lurched forward. Someone, a man, watching from the shore far off finally knew without a doubt that these were the kids that he’d been sent to look for all summer. For a while he’d guessed but hadn’t been sure until the previous night. Even then he had doubted who had made the light on the mountainside, being preoccupied with the students to see all that had happened. But he knew that he couldn’t let them escape again. They were nearly out when the wind that had previously been helping them changed directions, blowing them directly into the current. The twins had the feeling that they were between two forces fighting over control of the wind, which changed directions again, then yet again, one moment pushing them away from the current, the next pushing them toward its center.

“Now, Hurry!” Came an unspoken command. Without thinking the twins pushed the canoe as hard as they could with their magic and the wind changed to help with such a force that a small wave splashed over the front, soaking Derek. They broke free of the current and started paddling again. The wind made one last attempt to pull them back but it was to late. Silently they thanked their unknown helper. They paddled back the way they had come and Ridiah, consulting with the map to find their location, discovered that the current had led them in the right direction. They had passed the island but could see it not too far away. Rising steeply out of the water. Several hours later they cheered as the boat ground to a stop on the sandy shore. They found the best place to land the boat and pulled it on shore. They clambered out and trudged through the sand. All were exhausted and the sun was hot overhead. The group found a nice, shady standing of trees and they sat down on the cool grass to rest. It wasn’t long before they fell asleep.

Ridiah was the first to awaken. She stood and stretched looking around. The sun was low in the west and suddenly Ridiah remembered that they still had to make a shelter for the night. She nudged the others awake.
“We need to find a place to set up camp.”
They headed back to the canoe to see what they had brought. All that was inside, however, was their herb bags, a water jug, a change of clothes and their knives. Razalon sighed. They hadn’t been allowed to bring their bows with them because they were told that they should be able to make their own.

“Okay, let’s split up. Ridiah, you and Erwinia head up the beach while me and Derek head down.”
“This is a large island for not being inhabited.” Ridiah said. Looking to their left.
“I was told that these islands were preserved for survival use.” Derek said.
“It’s still pretty large.” Ridiah said, pulling out the map. “And look, it says that there may be more than one group on some of the larger islands.” She pointed out.
“Enough talking, let’s go before it gets dark.” Erwinia urged.
“I think we should look for a stream before we pick a spot to camp.” Ridiah suggested. Razalon nodded his agreement and started off down the shore with Derek close behind.

Ridiah and Erwinia walked along the shore looking for traces of spring water without any luck. The sun was sinking low in the west and the girls were hot and thirsty. Progress was slow as they were forced to go around large rocks or trudge through soaking sand that rose to their ankle. Vaguely, Ridiah wondered if Razalon was having better luck. They had agreed to meet back at the canoe at sundown. Erwinia groaned as she tripped in a particularly mucky section of shore making her fall face forward and get a mouthful of sand.
“Hmm, slightly salty and very crunchy, you should try some.” She said to Ridiah who took her hand and helped her up.

They were just about to turn around when Erwinia spotted another mound of rocks ahead, on the edge of the forest.
“I think we should climb those and see what’s on the other side.”
Ridiah led the way up the rocks and shaded her eyes against the setting sun. She could just make out another boat making it’s way slowly along the shore, looking for a good place to land.
“We’re not alone on this island.”
“I wonder how many other groups are here?” Erwinia said.
“Probably two, should we go and meet them?”
“I suppose.”

On her way back down the mound of boulders, Ridiah jumped onto a lower rock and her foot sloshed in some water. Ridiah looked down and saw that a stream came from under a big rock and ran into the sea.
“No wonder we didn’t hear it.” Ridiah muttered as another wave splashed ashore. This area of the island had several large rocks off shore that splashed loudly as the waves crashed into them, foaming white and sending droplets of water high into the air.
“Let’s go tell the boys.”
They set off at a run, deciding to meet the second group later. Now that they had found water they were able to run where the sand and grass met. They were refreshed after their drinks from the stream as well. Ridiah considered cutting across the island but decided against taking the risk. A quarter of an hour later they came around the last bend from where they had parked their boat. They could just see the front of it sticking out from a rock. Razalon and Derek were already there waiting.

“Did you find a stream?” Razalon asked as Ridiah and Erwinia came to a halt, gasping for air.
“Yes, did you?” Ridiah asked taking a couple of deep breaths.
“We found one, but it’s already been taken.” Derek replied.
“So, you saw someone too?” Erwinia asked, “That makes at least three groups on this island.”
“The stream we found is about two or three miles up the beach, so we may as well take the boat as far as we can.” Ridiah said.
They climbed back into the canoe and Derek shoved off. Ridiah directed them up shore. It wasn’t long before they saw the white water breaking over rocks ahead. It reminded them eerily of what had nearly happened just a few hours before.
Ridiah pointed out a spot to land the canoe in a break between the rocks.

Navigating to the small alcove was fairly difficult but they made it without incident. Derek and Razalon pulled the canoe on shore and hid it between some large boulders. Taking everything they had from the small craft, they climbed to the other side of the rocks until they were reunited with the stream and followed it into the heart of the island. Walking along the creek wasn’t easy. Plants grew right up to its bank and there were places where it was completely surrounded with thorny berry bushes. More than once the group had to backtrack to go around a blocked section.

Erwinia asked why Razalon didn’t just move them aside but he said that he was still worn out from their earlier adventure.
Ridiah caught his eye and nodded her approval. They had agreed not to cheat on this trip. One couldn’t rely on magic for everything.
“How far are we going?” Derek asked after fifteen minutes of climbing. The sun was setting in the west and the temperature was finally dropping.
“I think we should find where the spring originates, the water will be purest there.” Razalon replied, holding a rather large branch aside as Ridiah and Erwinia jumped across the stream. Derek was just about to make the jump when the branch slipped from Razalon’s grasp and slammed into Derek’s back. He was launched face forward into the stream.

“Thanks, I know we’re good friends and all that but you really don’t need to be a bridge for me.” Razalon said as he walked across Derek’s back and joined Ridiah and Erwinia who had collapsed from silent laughter.
“Look out!” Ridiah warned, raising her hand.
Razalon turned around in time to see Derek through a handful of mud at him. Derek’s eyes widened as the mud reversed direction and hit him on his already dirty face. Erwinia doubled over with laughter again.
“No fair!” Derek gasped as his next handful of mud hit him in the back of the neck. It wasn’t hard to tell that he was trying not to laugh as well.
“Let’s go.” Ridiah said. Razalon looked at Derek, concentrating hard. All the mud started to jump off of his clothes, arms, and face.
“Remember our deal?” Ridiah whispered to Razalon.
“Thanks.” Derek muttered. Erwinia stood up, holding a stitch in her side.

The sun was now gone over the edge of the sky, and the horizon and clouds turned an orange pink. Fifteen minutes later the stream narrowed until it bubbled from a hole in the ground. There was a small pool of water below the stream. They could tell that someone else had been there before.
“Shall we set up camp?” Ridiah asked, dropping her bag.
“We need to pick some of these reeds.” Razalon said, pointing at a large patch of plants grew along the pool. Each of them picked several and started weaving them together. Nearly an hour later, night had fallen and the moon was veiled behind the clouds. The group stopped to gather kindling and wood for a fire. Ridiah made a circle of rocks to burn in. A quarter of an hour later they had a cheerful blaze crackling. Ridiah was the fastest weaver and was already tying her first wall onto two of the trees that held her roof when Derek and Razalon were tying up their own roof.

The two tents were put up about ten paces apart. It had taken awhile for them to find two groups of trees that they could build their shelters on.
“I think I’ve had enough for tonight.” Derek said when he and Razalon were finished with their roof.
“Me too.” Razalon agreed, “Ridiah, put out the fire when you’re done, okay?”
“Sure thing.” She replied. Razalon and Derek lay down on the hard earth to go to sleep.