Princess of Amathar (29 page)

My scum-covered adversary was gone, but I knew approximately where it had entered the river. On the bank were a great many tracks. This was apparently both the point of egress and entrance. The water here was fast and deep. Before I could think too much about it, admittedly something that is usually not too much of a problem, I took a deep breath and dived in.

The water was not too cold, though the temperature was lower than the air had been. I swam deeper and deeper--the river was far less shallow than I had supposed. I reached a level at which my ears began to hurt. The water was muddy though well lit by the noon-day sun. It seemed to me that I was able to hold my breath longer than I had whenever swimming on my home planet. Perhaps this was due somehow to the gravitational conditions of Ecos, or perhaps it just seemed that way because of all the adrenaline pumping through my system. Still, I was just at the point when I thought that I would need to surface for a breath, when I noticed an opening in the rocky bed of the river. I swam down into the large hole and discovered a tunnel, which went downward some twenty feet and then turned. I realized that I didn't have enough air in my lungs to last much longer, so I returned to the surface and took several deep breaths. I then hyperventilated for ten or fifteen seconds to fill my blood with oxygen. Now I was as ready as I could be. I dived back to the bottom of the river only to find that I had been swept down stream. I tried to go against the current, but it would have been impossible even had I not been encumbered by equipment and clothing. In the end I was forced to swim to the shore and walk upstream to the place where I had jumped in and do it all again.

This time I went right to the bottom and into the submarine passage. At the bottom of the shaft, I gave myself a strong push off the wall and into the tunnel, and then swam for all I was worth. I didn't know how long that passage might be, for I suspected that the creatures that regularly used it, while air breathers, were able to remain submerged for a long time. It was certain that they were far better designed for life under the water than I was. It wasn't long before I was wishing that I had taken off my boots.

As luck would have it, the tunnel went only about fifty feet before it opened into a great subterranean chamber filled with air. The air was warm but seemingly fresh, so there must have been some ventilation from somewhere. I don't know how this could be possible, as a vent to the outside air should cause the water from the river to flood the chamber, but then I'm no engineer, and at the time I had other concerns on my mind.

If this had been a T.V. adventure show, I would have found a nice ledge beside the water, on which to lift myself out onto dry land. As it was, sharp, craggy rocks, jutting from the water's surface were the only exit from the water, and by the time I had cleared myself of them and landed in a patch of spongy mud on the other side, my hands had been scraped and cut into a bloody mess. I was now glad that I had not left my boots on the bank of the river when I had jumped in.

The sloppy ooze beyond the jagged rocks filled the rest of the chamber, and I realized as I was examining this, that I could see pretty well. Even though there was no artificial light, the sunlight streaming into the chamber through the channel of water from which I had emerged, provided substantial illumination. The chamber had two exits, neither of which I could use without getting myself completely covered in the disgusting muck, and since such was the case, it didn’t make much difference which of the two I chose. I took the left one.

I slopped along through the muddy passageway, constantly on guard against more of the frogmen. The slimy burrow was only about forty feet long, and opened into a large, roughly round room with no other exits. I turned around to retrace my steps just in time to find three more of the Bloobnoob sneaking up behind me. Again I made quick work of them, and I wondered that they were considered so dangerous, when I myself had now dispatched half a score. Back down the hallway I went, now completely covered with greenish black mud and blackish red gore. I turned to my left and headed down the remaining corridor. It was about twice as long as my first choice had been. The destination in this case was a smaller chamber, but I was rewarded by finding Noriandara Remontar. She was being held down upon her back in the center of the room by five of the amphibians, and they had their hands full too. Standing above the beautiful Amatharian was a sixth creature, which held a stone bowl about twelve inches in diameter above his head. I couldn’t tell what kind of sinister plan was intended by the fiends, but the entire scene was far too reminiscent of a ritual killing for my tastes. I launched myself across the room, throwing my shoulder into the creature with the bowl. Letting out a groan as all of his air left his body, the slimy thing fell to the ground, kicking about in the mud. The others let go of Noriandara Remontar to turn their attention to me. This was a major mistake on their part. By the time they had all faced me; their former captive had regained her feet, and planted her right fist into the spine of one frogman, and her left boot into the spine of another. When the others turned to see what was going on behind, I began lopping off their heads. Only one had time to even try to escape, and he got no more than a single step away before I cut him completely in two.

“Not the brightest things,” the Princess commented, reaching to retrieve her sword from my scabbard. Suddenly the chamber began to swim around, and I lost my footing. I fell into the mud and the blood on the chamber floor. I was folded over by a spasm of convulsive vomiting which lasted almost a minute. When I could open my eyes, I saw the Amatharian princess looking down at me as she sheathed her sword.

“Oh, I feel really sick,” I gasped.

“I’m not surprised,” replied the woman. “You are covered with Bloobnoob guts, and they are quite poisonous. Come on. We’ve got to get out of here.”

With strength that most casual observers would never have guessed she possessed, she pulled me to my feet, placed a shoulder under mine, and began leading me toward the entrance of the lair.

“You’ll feel better once this mess is washed off,” she said.

If there were any of our amphibious foes remaining, they chose to avoid us, and we reached the hole leading to the river passage without being molested. Unceremoniously, my companion pushed me into the water. As soon as the slimy bodily fluids began to wash off of me, I felt better. Dunking myself completely under, I washed my face, hair and hands.

“Those things poison everyone and everything they come in contact with,” said Noriandara Remontar.

“They must have only moved into this area a short time ago, or the land around the rivers and this small sea would be devoid of life.”

“Come on,” I called from the water. “Let’s get out of here and discuss it later.”

The Princess dropped into the water beside me, and silently indicated with a nod, that I should make the journey first down the water filled tunnel. Hyperventilating again for several seconds, I pushed off and swam down the submerged tube for all I was worth. Reaching the end, I shot toward the surface and filled my lungs with a gasp as I emerged. Shortly thereafter, the Princess lifted her head slowly from the current, giving every impression that she could have spent twice as long underwater without even trying. Swimming to the shore, we found ourselves only yards from the hilltop upon which we had spent a few quiet, restful moments.

“I would prefer to get out of Bloobnoob territory as soon as possible,” said the Amatharian.

“No argument from me.”

We set off, without too much worry. It was relatively easy to determine that we were not being followed. We trekked over green hills and through small wooded areas. We didn't stop until the Princess expressed her opinion that we were probably beyond the territory of the disgusting frog-men. Even so, I didn't let my guard down completely, for the memory of the previous rest was still fresh in my mind.

I let Noriandara Remontar sleep first. She had been through a great deal. Once she had slept a long while--I would imagine it was a good seven hours--I took my turn. I must admit that I didn't sleep entirely soundly. I woke up periodically and had to reassure myself that all was well. When I eventually got up though, I felt quite rested.

Once our rest period was over, we started again across the landscape.

"So what happened?" I asked her.

"The Bloobnoob appeared suddenly behind me," she replied, instinctively knowing what I was talking about. "I called out to wake you, but you didn't respond."

"I must have been tired."

Chapter Twenty Nine: The Wrecked Ship

Inland from the strange, silent sea, and away from the slimy amphibians, the landscape through which we walked might have seemed like something from a fairy tale. Though I had seen many temperate areas within Ecos, there was something completely unearthly about this locale. The grass was short and thick, resembling the front yard of a man whose lawn mower had been broken for a week or ten days. The trees, which were short but possessing thick, green foliage, seemed to be spaced evenly apart by design. And spaced periodically in clumps on the ground were patches of small white flowers. As we walked along--strolled might be a better word, since we were not moving at a very great rate of speed--the Princess would grab some of the flowers as we passed and weave them together. After a while, she had created a little white floral hat which she put on her head. This was the first whimsical thing which I had ever witnessed from her, and I watched her for a moment. She caught me looking at her and smiled self-consciously.

"I was very worried when I found your sword," I said.

"I would imagine," she replied enigmatically. "I should thank you for finding it for me." Something in her voice seemed strange. She was speaking a little softer than usual, and a bit higher as well. I looked at her carefully and it suddenly occurred to me that she was walking closer to my side than had been the case in the past. Her gait was more relaxed and she had a little swing in her step.

"You seem happier than usual," I said.

"I feel as though our return to Amathar is close at hand."

As we talked, we passed over a low rise and found sitting upon the other side, the remains of a crashed vehicle, which we hurried forward to examine. The wreck had once been a small air transport. From the looks of things, it had hit the surface with a great deal of speed and force. The metal frame had been twisted into a bizarre shape, and debris was spread over an area the size of a football field. The grim remains two crew members, and most everything else as well, were charred black. Still, it was possible to recognize some of the artifacts. This had once been an Amatharian shuttle. Both Noriandara Remontar and I began to scour the area, both for information about the vehicle or crew, and for anything which we could use. The first thing which I thought of was to look for the radio, but then I remembered that such devices were unknown among Amatharians.

"Look over here," said the Princess.

I walked to where she stood and she pointed out a small piece of the aircraft skin with Amatharian writing upon it. "This shuttle was from the Sun Battlecruiser 11."

"That is your brother's flagship," I said. "I wonder what this shuttle was doing way out here."

"I don't know," she replied. "At least this is an indicator that we are on the right path to Amathar."

“I had little doubt of that,” I replied. "There doesn't seem to be anything we can make use of here.”

"No," said the Princess, "and I fear that we won't be able to identify the body of the pilot."

"Once we have relayed the information of this crash site, hopefully his superiors can infer who the victim was."

"Let's get on our way."

Continuing on in silence, we crossed another ten miles before stopping to rest. I was beginning to get hungry. It had been a long time since the previous meal, but between the slimy creatures we had fought and the charred remains of the poor deceased shuttle pilot, I hadn't felt at all peckish. Unfortunately, by the time I decided I could eat again, there didn't seem to be any food available. Still, the rest was welcome.

When we continued on, after each taking a turn sleeping, I immediately noticed a change in the landscape. The almost idyllic park-like setting near the silent little sea gave way to more natural grassland. Unlike most of the grasslands I had been across in Ecos, or for that matter on Earth, this one had no large herds of grazing animals. It seemed to be generally devoid of animal life, though I did spot some large insect-like creatures flying high up in the air. I turned to comment upon this fact to Noriandara Remontar, and found her looking down at something on the ground near her feet.

"What have you got there?"

"It's a piece of debris," she replied. "It couldn't have come from the shuttle craft though. We are too far away. Unless... we just happen to have walked along its exact flight line."

"That doesn't seem very likely."

"Stand where you are!" a voice shouted from nearby.

Out from behind a nearby shrub came an Amatharian warrior, carrying a light pistol which was leveled in our general direction.

"Put your weapon down," said the Princess. "I am Homianne Kurar Ka Remiant Noriandara Remontar."

"Of course you are, Princess," replied the warrior. "I recognize you now, as well as Kurar Remiant Alexander Ashton. It is such a great pleasure to see you. I am Remiantar Kolbin Perrenios." I am not ashamed to say that I rushed forward and gave the fellow a great hug. It had been such a long time since I had seen any other person besides the Princess that I had almost given up hope of ever doing so. Kolbin Perrenios for his part, though he did not shy away from a friendly greeting to me, was far more interested in looking at the Princess. Not that I blamed him, she was incredibly beautiful, even having journeyed across the wilderness. She of course, remembered where she was better than either the swordsman or me.