Cats and Rivers: Chapter Sixteen

CATS AND RIVERS


Chapter Sixteen

Waking up at dawn hadn't been much of a problem because, like Garadun's last trip to Elysium, the birds of Arborea decided to crank up the volume at first light and start tweeting their damned heads off. Shilling was able to sleep through it, but he wasn't.
    Cursing the entire lot of feathery gits, he pulled on his boots, unsealed the tent flap and crawled outside. Apart from the stupid birds there didn't seem to be anything else around. He took care of nature, went down to the river for a quick wash (he was glad to see the boat was right where he'd left it) and then came back and eradicated the fire pit as best he could, tossing the stones onto the beach and covering the ashes. You couldn't predict what the forest spirits might consider offensive. He put the gear in the boat and then crawled inside the tent to wake Shilling.
    His kitten yawned hugely, then gave a little mew and started purring. She always wanted attention first thing in the morning, and after several minutes of petting and stroking she was ready for breakfast. She got a small smoked fish from a sealed cask of them that the svartalves had included as part of their supplies. While she ate, Garadun put on his coat and weapons and folded up the tent. When she was done he washed her plate and put it in the boat along with the tent.
    Then he went and sat on the log and watched his kitten play and explore. After what seemed a very long time he checked his pocketwatch. It was seven-thirty.
    He got up and walked around. He stood by the river and watched it flow by. He played chase the string with his cat. He did a bit of exploring himself with Shilling at his side, and found a massive patch of raspberry and blackberry bushes overflowing with large berries. He got a clay pot from the boat and filled it. He washed the berries and put them with his other food supplies. He sat down again and played fetch with Shilling, tossing her toy mouse for her, which she happily kept bringing back.
    Garadun checked his pocketwatch again. It was eight-forty.
    He sat there for another five minutes.
    "Guess she ain't showing. Come on, sweetie."
    With his cat trotting alongside, he went and untied the rope fastened to the tree and tossed it in the boat. He gently put Shilling in next and then clambered aboard and hauled in the anchor. He hopped out, braced himself against the boat and shoved with all his might. It stuck at first, then slowly gave up its grip on the sand and slid fully into the water, floating free. Shilling was waiting for him by the gunwale as he half-jumped, half-dragged himself back aboard. He got one of the oars and shoved off for more clearance and then started paddling backwards into the river.
    "Wait! Wait! Wait for me! I'm coming!"
    Garadun turned and saw a small winged shape streaking out of the forest, over the beach and then buzz around the boat, shedding speed and fairy dust. Lilyglade came to a halt and landed neatly on the aft seat. She was wearing the same clothes from the night before. She had a leather bag slung across her shoulders, and hung from her slim hips was the smallest rapier he'd ever seen.
    "I'm so sorry I'm late."
    "You almost missed us," he said and resumed rowing. Shilling came and sat on the seat, looking at the faerie quizzically. "I waited and waited, but–"
    Lilyglade looked embarrassed. "I appreciate it."
    "No problem." When Garadun thought The Wanderer was out far enough he unfurled and rigged the sail. There was a nice breeze this morning and the sail filled wonderfully, the golden Yggdrasil emblem glinting in the morning light. He gave a little sigh and took his place by the till, turning the boat into the middle of the River Oceanus. Shilling settled on his lap, looking at the faerie.
    "Hello." Lilyglade slowly gave her hand to the kitten to sniff. She seemed fine, so the faerie tried stroking her head. Shilling relaxed and purred.
    "She likes you," Garadun told Lilyglade reassuringly.
    "Good, I like her too," she said with obvious relief. "Um, is there some place where I can put away my things?"
    Garadun gestured to the tented section. "Make yourself at home. Like I said, plenty of room. There's pillows and blankets and stuff."
    "Thank you." Lilyglade flitted inside and made up a little area for herself. When she came back Shilling was snoozing and Garadun was petting her softly. The faerie ran a hand through her hair and sat on the bench. She glanced up at her host and he seemed content. She kept silent, a bit unsure of everything.
    A little while later she looked up again and he looked down at almost the same time. He gave her a gentle smile, then put his gaze back on the river. Then the sky. Then the riverbank on the right, and the one on the left, and the tree lines, and on the river again. His eyes weren't furtive but he was alert and watching.
    "Sorry I'm so quiet," she found herself saying.
    "That's okay," he said, his body language calm and relaxed. "You don't have to talk if you don't want to."
    "I'm more a night person, you see. I'm normally asleep right now."
    "Go ahead. Shilling's napping, too."
    "You don't mind?"
    Garadun looked at her kindly. "Of course not. If you wanna sleep, sleep. You do as you will, Lilyglade. No rules here. No-one's gonna tell you to do anything."
    "All right. Thank you."
    "Sleep well."
    The faerie smiled and gave Shilling a pet, then went and crawled into her nest, made from a folded blanket and a pillow as big as she was. She snuggled down, folding her long gossamer wings, and closed her eyes. She didn't know why exactly, but she felt safe where she was. Something about her new acquaintance said he wouldn't let any harm come to her. She gave a soft sigh and soon fell asleep.

The day drifted by lazily, seeming to match the flow of the river. It was peaceful, the only sounds being the birds, occasional noises from other animals, and the wind and water. Shilling woke up when Garadun shifted in his seat, so he put her aside and quickly grabbed a folded blanket and put it on the bench to his left. She padded it for a bit, turned in place twice, then curled up and went back to sleep. Cats.
    The towering trees on either side of the River Oceanus cast broken shadows over the water, and in narrower parts of the river some of the longer branches of the trees reached out from the shore, creating a sort of tunnel through which the boat sailed. Garadun was unquestionably struck by the overwhelming beauty of the plane. In general he preferred it to Elysium which for him was a little too perfect and almost surreal. Things in Arborea might be on the excessive side of giant economy size, but they still seemed more natural, more like actual nature rather than a dream of nature.
    Shilling woke up around eleven and was ready for lunch. He gave her two of the smoked fish and had a stick of jerked meat and a piece of waybread for himself. They both drank water. Now fully awake, she sat by the gunwale and happily watched everything go by. She had a simple life and a good one. Garadun kept a fond eye on her while he sailed the boat and maintained a peery eye for any possible trouble.
    It was very late afternoon when Lilyglade sat up in bed, yawning and stretching, and it took her a few seconds to remember where she was. Garadun gave her a smile and a nod, so she joined him and Shilling, who was lounging on the folded blanket.
    "Sleep well?" he asked.
    "Very much," she said, stretching her arms above her head and fanning her wings. She looked around at completely unfamiliar woods. "Where are we?"
    "You're asking me?" he said, and chuckled. "This is your case, lady, not mine. All I know is that we're on the Oceanus and surrounded by trees."
    The faerie ran her fingers through her long, wild hair. "Any trouble?"
    "Not a thing."
    "Anything to eat? I'm starving."
    "See that pot over there? It's full of berries I picked this morning."
    Lilyglade flew over and made a gleeful sound when she saw all the blackberries and raspberries. She ate some right out of the pot, then gave Garadun an embarrassed smile. He told her where to find a bowl and she soon rejoined him with the bowl stacked high with large, sweet berries. As she sat there stuffing her face, she glanced up at her new travelling companion and felt, to her surprise, completely at ease. There was a straightforward acceptance about him. He took her at her word and for what she was, asking no questions and making no demands. It was refreshing.
    "May I have another bowlful?" Her mouth and fingers were stained red and purple. Garadun gave a small chuckle and nodded.
    "As much as you want. I picked them with you in mind," he said when she returned with the bowl piled high again. He took a raspberry and ate it. "Though I like 'em, too."
    Lilyglade blinked. "You picked them for me?"
    "Of course. I figured faerie, y'know? Berries and honey and all that," he explained, then frowned. "Or was I making presumptions?"
    "No, no, I love berries," she assured him. "I like other things too, but berries are great. These ones are nice and ripe. Thank you."
    "No problem."
    "Would Shilling like one?" she inquired, remembering her manners.
    "She likes pears." He took a blackberry and a raspberry and let his kitten sniff them. She gave each a little lick, then laid her head back down.
    "Guess not," he said and tossed them overboard. Lilyglade giggled.
    When she was done eating, she flew over the surface of the river beside the boat and washed her hands and face clean of berry juice. She was wiping water from her eyes when something grabbed her leg and yanked her sideways. A split second later she saw the head of a giant fish snapping at the air in front of her, and then it vanished with a splash. She looked down and saw Garadun holding her by the ankle.
    "Bastard nearly had you," he said, letting go and glaring back at the water. Lilyglade's eyes widened in sudden horror at the realisation of what had almost happened. She dropped into the bottom of the boat, shivering with fright.
    "I just about got eaten!" she wailed loudly, making Shilling jolt upright.
    "Not on my watch," said Garadun in a stern voice that made her look at him. For a moment there was a glow in his slim, yellow-red irises, and there was genuine anger beneath the surface. Not the usual strong emotion that was a by-product of Arborea itself, but a deeply held, red-hot grudge.
    "Your watch?" she said, still shaken by her brush with death.
    "Nobody gets eaten if I can help it," he told her. "I got eaten once, and never again. Not to me or my friends. No way, no how."
    "You got eaten?" she said in small voice.
    "When I was new to Sigil. I used to be human, from a Prime world. I'd been in the city about three months when I ran into this demon on the street. It attacked me, killed and ate me." He looked down, fear and anger on his face. Shilling mewed and sat on his lap, offering comfort. He stroked her gratefully.
    "I don't remember much of the attack and I don't want to, not ever. My friend Cera, she brought me back with a reincarnation spell." He looked up. "Never again. I'm never gonna get eaten again and no-one I care about is either. Not on my watch."
    It's not every day that someone saves your life. No-one had ever saved Lilyglade's before and she was hundreds of years old. She got up, shakily, and climbed up on the bench and sat beside her rescuer. She hugged his waist and he draped his arm over her shoulders and back, light and comforting.
    "Thank you for saving my life."
    "No problem. You gonna be okay?"
    Lilyglade nodded, and Shilling stepped over and rubbed her face against the faerie's, purring. That made her smile and she gave the kitten a loving squeeze.
    "You're the best friends a faerie could have."
    "Friends look out for each other," Garadun told her kindly. He looked to the shore. "But maybe that was our cue to call it a day. Make camp?"
    "Camp sounds nice," she said, nodding agreeably.
    Garadun began looking for a good landing sight and turned the boat toward the shore when he eventually spotted a stretch of riverbank to their right that had enough of a pebbly beach to moor the boat properly. Lilyglade actually waited until they'd struck gravel and sand before flying out of the boat. Garadun tossed the anchor in the water and then jumped out with rope in hand and tied the boat to a towering elm. He hauled on the boat and managed to drag it another couple feet onto the beach proper.
    "Do not wander off," he told Shilling and set her on the ground.
    "I'll watch her," Lilyglade told him.
    "Thanks."
    There was a sudden rumble and they looked up and saw the sky was clouding up, and fast. Dark grey clouds that looked like they'd be getting darker and uglier in a short amount of time. Arborea's unpredictable weather was making itself known. Garadun hurried into the boat, scrambling to get the tent and all the food and gear they would need. He found a spot fifty yards or so from the shoreline that was good for pitching a tent, and that was the first thing he did. As soon as it was up he put Shilling inside and told her to stay put. She sniffed the air and did as she was told. Lilyglade lent a hand with the lighter items, flying stuff from the boat to the tent as quickly as possible. The wind was picking up and could even be felt among the shelter of the trees.
    "How bad this gonna get?" Garadun asked.
    The faerie looked at the darkening sky. "Storms in Arborea can be very rough. Lots of rain, sometimes hail, high winds. Really dangerous without shelter."
    He hauled down the sail and tied it fast, then took down the tent in the aft area, not wanting it blown away. He secured his supplies as best he could and then jumped onto the beach. Raindrops hit his hand. He looked at his boat, sighing in frustration. Best case scenario was that everything was going to get soaking wet and there would be a lot of bailing out to do after the storm passed. Worst case was the lines breaking and the boat getting swept into the River Oceanus and never being seen again, lost or sunk.
    "Son of a bitch," he muttered.
    Lilyglade hovered beside him. "All we can do is hope for the best."
    "I know. I just wish I could take the boat with me."
    There was a loud snap and the end of the rope he'd tied to the bow suddenly flung itself away, almost whipping his face. Staring in shock, he saw the anchor rope retract itself with a vzzzzzzzt sound and the anchor was dragged out of the water and into the boat. The boat then gave a loud groan and, with the sound of wooden pieces hitting each other, the entire thing collapsed in on itself until the entire vessel was nothing more than a small wooden box sitting on the edge of the beach.
    "What the hell?" said Lilyglade, flabbergasted.
    "I'll be damned." Garadun knelt down and picked up the box. It was about twelve inches long, six wide and six deep. On the top was an image of Yggdrasil, the World Ash, intricately carved and inlaid with pyrite. On one side were carved the words wander unfurl and on the opposite wander furl, also inlaid with pyrite.
    Garadun started laughing. "You sneaky sods! You had to leave it as a surprise, didn't you? Oh, I'm so gonna get you back."
    "What is it, Garadun? What's going on?"
    "I'll tell you inside the tent," he said and hurried into the forest with the box tucked under his arm. He ushered the faerie in first, then crawled in backwards with his feet outside; where he removed his boots and banged them together to get off wet dirt before putting them in a corner. He tied off the entrance, sealing them inside. The bottom was made from the same material as the rest of the tent, only thicker and padded.
    The tent was meant to sleep two human-sized people, so thankfully it wasn't too cramped with their supplies, him, Lilyglade, and Shilling, who looked up when rain started striking the tent and the wind making the sides ripple. Garadun slipped off his duster and weapons, putting them aside, and took his everburning torch from his pocket and set it up to give them light. He propped himself up on his side, leaning on a pillow, and his kitten snuggled against him for security. They were now in a warm, dry little world all their own. Outside, the storm started kicking into high gear, but the forest around them was thankfully providing shelter. Garadun's chosen spot had been in the space between two great roots of a colossal oak. From the outside the tent was invisible, its elvish cloth blending flawlessly with its surroundings.
    Lilyglade looked at Garadun, eyeing the torch, his long duster and the engraved box that only moments ago had been a small sailing boat.
    "All right, I think it's time you explained a few things."
    Garadun chuckled. "It's a long story."
    Lilyglade smiled and held up her hands. "I'm not going anywhere."

                                                                          *****

Nobody went anywhere for some time. All through that first night and the next day the storm raged, finally losing most of its strength over the course of the day after that. Until then the winds buffeted the tent walls and the rain came down hard. And this was with the tent pitched next to the trunk of a titanic oak which stood amid a forest of other trees the same size providing shelter. Being stuck out in the open would have been disastrous. Shilling kept close to Garadun, the storm making her nervous.
    With nothing else to do but sit and wait it out, the new friends got to know each other, talking over games of cards or dice (the latter sometimes hard to do because Shilling had a tendency to jump in and start playing with the dice). The conversation was good, though it was mostly Garadun speaking of his adventures, about Ceraline and Laurewen and his other friends while Lilyglade listened and made comments and asked questions. She said very little of her past and he didn't pry.
    The faerie had spent her entire life in Arborea and was impressed with all the places he'd been to so far in such a short amount of time. She was very interested in seeing Sigil for herself – the City of Doors was famous across the planes – and she really wanted to visit the Sunken Treasure. It sounded like her kind of place, full of good times. She was also impressed with his collection of magic items. As for little Shilling, the faerie, like so many others, adored her. How could you not?
    For Garadun, his only real problem with the situation wasn't boredom or having to venture out of the tent into harsh weather when nature called. It was being confined in a small space with a woman he found extremely attractive. Travelling on the boat and hanging around the camp was fine. Being continuously cooped up in the tent with her was something else. Physically, Lilyglade was completely his type: willowy and exotic and beautiful. She was smart, friendly, they got on well and she didn't seem to care about him being tiefling. Had they been in the Outlands or another plane or even on a Prime world there wouldn't have been a problem, even with being confined together. Not including Laurewen (the exception that proved the rule) women simply didn't find him romantically or sexually appealing. He'd accepted this a long, long time ago. He was always the friend, never the boyfriend, and he presumed this to be the case with any woman he met. This included Lilyglade (even assuming the difference in size could be overcome). Since he knew she wouldn't like him that way, normally any possible ideas would be killed before they even started.
    The problem was Arborea, this plane that made emotions strong and passionate, from love and joy to hate and rage. His head knew what was what. His body and emotions, however, were being rebellious bastards getting outside support from Arborea. He was determined to crush the rebellion with all the forces he could muster. He focused on logic and constantly reminded himself of the realities of his life.
    The day after the storm had blown itself out Garadun emerged from the tent in the morning and had a good long stretch, working out the kinks and very thankful to finally be out and about. Shilling came out next and happily started exploring. Lilyglade flew up into the air, glad to be free of the tent. It hadn't been unpleasant by any means, but it was nice to be at liberty again.
    They spent part of the morning just walking and flying around, stretching their legs and wings. Breakfast was served cold because there was no dry wood for a fire, though nobody complained. Fresh air and sunshine more than made up for it. When they were ready to resume their journey Garadun packed up the tent and brought out the box which was his boat all folded up. He set it on the water and spoke what he presumed were the command words, wander unfurl. In a process very similar to that of Chameleon House, the enchanted box unfolded itself with astonishing speed, becoming a hull and seats and a mast and a sail dropping into place, and then just like that The Wanderer was sitting in the water, intact and ready to go. Talk about ridiculously convenient.
    Shilling miaowed in joy, climbing up her daddy to sit on his shoulder. He petted her and then set her down in the boat, where she scampered to the rear to sit on the bench by the till. Lilyglade flew over and dropped onto the seat beside her. Garadun shoved the vessel into deeper water and hauled himself aboard. He used an oar to paddle the boat back further into the river, and then sat down and turned the rudder as the sail filled with the wind. In moments they were sailing down the River Oceanus again.
    "Beautiful day," he observed.
    "I'll say," Lilyglade agreed as she petted Shilling.
    "I thought you were more a night kind of girl."
    "I am. But I slept enough during that storm. Nothing beats a starry night, but sunshine and a blue sky can be nice, too," she said, smiling.
    "Fair enough."
    The entire day went by without any trouble, not from the weather and not from any wild beasts, giant fish or monsters. Just lots of enjoyable sunshine, a refreshing breeze that helped the boat sail along at a decent pace and plenty of fantastic woodland scenery. The River Oceanus was deep and wide, and now and then it branched off into or was joined by smaller rivers and streams. Lilyglade would sometimes fly off to the nearby shores (keeping well above the river – she wasn't going to be another potential meal for a giant fish) to pick fruit and berries for everyone. She got some Arborean apples this way, which were large and extremely delicious, but otherwise stayed with her new friends. To an outsider in might have seemed a strange sight: a tiefling, a celestial kitten and a faerie sailing together. But for them it worked.
    While they sat at camp that night, a beautiful dryad made an appearance to complain about the fire Garadun had got going. Lilyglade intervened before he could say anything, telling the dryad to shut her yap and push off. Her friend was nothing but respectful of the forest, never used anything but deadwood, so what was she whining about? Not used to having a fellow fey defending a mortal, the dryad went into a magnificent sulk and disappeared back into the trees. Lilyglade resumed her seat, muttering about sap-headed twits. She liked a nice campfire, thank you so very much. Garadun laughed.

Many days went by in this easygoing manner, Garadun sailing The Wanderer along the River Oceanus as the river wound its way through the first layer of Arborea, with Shilling and Lilyglade at his side. The nature spirits, particularly the very powerful spirits that inhabited the rivers, glades, mountains, forests and even patches of sky had no real cause for complaint. Those planewalkers in the know spoke of how hostile they could be to visitors, but that was toward berks who didn't respect nature.
    There was always plenty of deadwood in the forest to make a fire, so there was never any need to chop new wood. They weren't leaving masses of garbage behind them, they weren't cutting down trees, they weren't setting huge fires, and they certainly weren't hunting and fishing for sport. The spirits had no objection to people taking game for food but they weren't even doing that. There were loads of fruits, berries, nuts and tubers such as wild potatoes to be found, and the supplies the svartalves had given Garadun included plenty of waybread and preserved meat.
    He neither worshiped nor served any Powers (wouldn't give them the time of day if it came to that) and Lilyglade was equally independent, so they had no concerns about being noticed by the buggers and having to appease them. The Olympians were easily the worst of the lot when it came to overblown, narcissistic, attention-seeking egos, but they were thankfully on the other side of Arborea, and Arvandor was, as it were, out of their jurisdiction. The Seldarine, the elven gods, involved themselves with their own people and not outsiders, so no worries on that score either.
    That was the key to travel through the plane as Garadun saw it: keep your head down, mind your own business and don't screw with the environment. Don't bring attention to yourself – whether from gods or nature spirits. And they were spending most of their time on the River Oceanus, which was sort of unclaimed neutral territory as far as river spirits were concerned, it being too great for any single one of them to claim. He wasn't a magic-user of any sort so he wasn't needing to make small sacrifices or offerings to the spirits or gods to get certain spells to work.
    As they ventured deeper and deeper into the seemingly endless forests of Arvandor, the trees grew ever thicker, including along the banks of the river where they were often so huge and stretched out so far that it was like sailing through a tunnel of shadow and dappled sunlight with a roof of branches and leaves. Long sections of the River Oceanus passed like this and they began seeing Arborea's sequoias, the mighty redwoods. These giant trees were the true titans of the forest. The oldest of them were easily six or seven hundred feet high and as much as sixty or seventy feet wide at the base. Lilyglade said they lived for many thousands of years, if not longer.
    There were occasional bouts of the plane's notorious and very harsh weather, and during these times the three companions would seek shelter deep among the trees, huddling in their elvish tent to wait for the squalls to pass. Most of these storms were simply the result of normal Arborean meteorological activity, but some were the result of Powers (usually the Olympians, worthless bastards to a man) losing their temper over some petty grievance and throwing a major wobbler.
    But now and then there was a gale that was truly nasty. Not because of its strength but because of its origin: the plane of Pandemonium. Evil winds sent by the Faerie Queen of Air and Darkness to carry her minions and unleash havoc on Arvandor.