The Chasm

“You saw a hogboon?” exclaimed Lloel, as Shellah and Jonas appraised them of the previous night’s visitor. “It came to the camp?”

“It had the head of a rotting ram!” Jonas gestured horns with his hands. “It warned us not to approach the mound of its master.”

After stowing the mast and sail, Shellah carefully arranged their gear in their boat. “It’s not too late to return. Hoarfast, Lloel’s home isle, is directly across the channel in the distance. Or we can sail back the way we came.”

“No,” said Nessah. “We made it this far. I’m not going to be scared off by some specter made of weeds and old sheep parts. This is why I’ve hired two, in theory, brave swordsmen. Lloel, dig into your books and see if there’s anything else useful before Shellah puts them away.”

Shellah kicked a bundle towards Lloel. “They’re in here. Be quick.” She picked up a peculiar double-ended oar. “Lloel will already know how to use one of these, so, you two, come over and watch me demonstrate. Nessah, I have gloves for you, you’ll want to put those on.” Shellah handed them each a paddle, then held her own in two hands. “You won’t need a death grip, but you will need both hands. Paddling strength comes from your belly, not your arms. And remember, no matter what happens, nose over belly, belly over the center of the boat. Sit up straight. These longer boats are very stable, and we’re carrying a lot of weight, which will further help with that. We’ll get plenty of gentle practice in the marsh first, so keep that in mind.” Shellah thought ahead to the arch and the chasm. “After that, though, just focus on what Lloel and I tell you. This is why we’re fore and aft. And always, nose over belly, belly over the center of the boat.”

Lloel shook his head, handing the satchel of books back to Shellah. “Nope, nothing interesting. I imagine we’ll get a closer look at the hogboon at the next camp.”

“Great,” said Jonas.

“This is our last chance to turn back,” offered Shellah as she stowed the last bag. “Otherwise we need to depart now, or we’ll lose the tide and it’s going to be a lot harder paddling.”

Nessah stretched her arms and paddle up into the air over her head. “Let’s go!”

Shellah and Jonas pushed the boat into the water. Lloel took his seat in the bow, then Jonas helped Nessah into the center of the craft. Shellah gave the stern one last shove before she hopped into the rear. “Everyone, sweep right, then left. Nessah, turn your paddle around, it’s backward. Let’s get into the marsh.”

As Shellah predicted, the waters in the marsh were placid. They kept to the broadest channel, and after a little coordination, were soon paddling smoothly through the tall sunlit grasses. Songs of seabird chatter greeted them. The occasional curious otter poked its head up from the water. Shellah reminded everyone to sip water from their skins. Before long, the grasses started to subside and they could see the choppy waters of the Shieling Sea and the midday sun reflecting off the black basalt cliffs of East Craddoch.

“Everyone, row hard, right side! Now!” Shellah shouted. “We’re heading into that crack!”

The boat lurched left towards the cliff face of West Craddoch, and a wave splashed them from the starboard side. Nessah squealed. Shellah braced her paddle back hard on the left and the long pointed bow turned into what looked to be a blinding bright square at the base of the dark cliff.

“Diun Arch!” exclaimed Lloel. The surf pushed them into the tunnel. Suddenly the waters below smoothed, lit an eerie turquoise blue from the light ahead. They all blinked as they paddled towards the sunshine. Soon they popped out into an eddy tucked between the enormous cliffs of the Craddochs and Auchundy Isle. The sea glowed around them, arcs of sunlight bouncing off the surrounding sheer basalt walls and illuminating blue moon jellies floating in the waters. They could hear strong surf echoing in the far distance. White seabirds cried as they soared from nests far overhead. They sat silent for a moment, stunned.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Those are Krita,” said Shellah, breaking the spell. “Keep your hoods up, they will poop on you.”

“Is now a good time to eat something?” asked Jonas, rubbing his hands. Nessah also placed her paddle down.

“Great idea,” agreed Shellah. “Let’s take a short break. We can’t linger, though. We won’t be able to navigate the chasm against the tide.”

After eating a quick lunch of scones and hard cheese, they resumed their course through the inlet along the tall algal-frosted black walls of East Craddoch. The swells increased in size, slow rolling hummocks of dark teal water dotted with jellies. Shellah pointed to a barely visible break in the cliffs to the east.

“See that big patch of sea foam there? That’s the base of the chasm. A very narrow channel between Auchundy and East Craddoch. If we’re lucky, the swell will just push us through. It will be barely wider than our boat in parts, and the sea will get a lot rougher towards the east end. Jonas and Nessah, keep your paddles up and rest until we tell you otherwise, Lloel and I will navigate.”

“And if I remember correctly,” said Lloel, “We won’t have much light either, even though it’s midday. But it’s straight, or nearly so. We just follow the light.”

“And the walls are so tall nobody will see or hear us from above, if any Reavers are up there and happen to be looking. As we exit, though, we’ll keep left as close to the Auchundy cliffs as safely possible, and row north as quickly as we can behind the sea stacks. It’s not going to be easy against the afternoon surf, but East Craddoch has a beach not far south from there known popular with the Reavers. We’ll need to be quick.”

The tidal current soon pushed them into the wooly sea foam mounded at the foot of chasm. Before long, the light inside dwindled to a fine white ribbon dancing on the water. The swells and foam slowly lifted and dropped them in the darkness. Nothing could be heard over the echoing crash of the surf. Paddling reflexively, Shellah depended on Lloel in the bow to spot and steer them around any obstacles in the water as he followed the light. On occasion dark passages yawned to either side, scented of seaweed and whatever else got trapped in there to rot. Shellah paddled past them, remembering old stories about how the Ferryman used those caves to usher his passengers into the afterworld. Everyone pulled up their hoods tightly against the spray which dripped from some unseen distance above. Eventually, their exit grew brighter, the afternoon breeze stirring the mist in the chasm. The increasing swell scraped the side of the canoe against the cliff wall.

Shellah reached forward and tapped Jonas on the shoulder. “Get ready!” She had to shout over the noise of the nearby waves. He poked Nessah in turn. “Paddle hard, right side!” She hoped she was heard as the rear swells bounced their vessel into the confused, oncoming eastern surf. Boulders and steep cliffs rose on either side. Blinded by the sun, she braced for the hard turn to guide them into the channel behind the first sea stack to the north. They battled the waves, rocks and current until behind one sea stack a small dark opening appeared. Before anyone could exclaim, Shellah used all of her strength to steer them into the little sea cave. A wave jostled them off the side of the cavern wall but soon they were within. The interior’s slimy red algae and whitish rocky bands gave the uncanny appearance of being within a sea monster’s gummy jaws.

“Ewwww,” said Jonas. “What the hell, Shellah?”

“Just a moment, it will all become clear,” she explained. She could see Lloel nod in agreement up front. The water grew shallow and they entered into a sheltered sandy beach nestled within the foot of the cliff. Shellah hopped out of the rear of the boat and pushed it onto the shore. She sighed in deep relief as the others stiffly exited, stretched, and rubbed their sore hands.

“We made it, everyone! Welcome to Auchundy’s Mouth. We’ll camp here for the night. If we’re quiet and don’t light any fires, nobody will know we’re here.”

“Except the hogboon,” clarified Jonas.

“Except the hogboon,” confirmed Shellah.