“Sylve managed to recapture one of the boats,” Tats said over his shoulder. “She’s the one who pulled me out of the water.”
“I remember when I thought she was too young and childish for an expedition like this,” Thymara observed, and she was surprised when Tats laughed aloud.
“Adversity brings out the best in us, I suppose.” They’d reached the first of the large trees. Thymara paused by it, resting her hand on it. It felt so good. It shivered in the passing current, but even so, it felt more solid than anything she had touched in hours. She longed to sink her claws in the bark and climb, but she was still tethered to Alise.
“There’s one with some lower branches just over there,” Tats told her.
“A good choice,” she agreed. Under the trees, the debris was packed more tightly. It still bobbed under her feet with every step she took, but it was easy to dance across it to the tree that Tats had indicated. As she became more confident of simple survival, a hundred other concerns tried to crowd to the forefront of her mind. She held her questions until they reached the tree Tats had indicated. Thymara climbed a short way up it, sank in claws, and then assisted Alise as Tats gave her a boost to start her up the trunk. The Bingtown woman did not climb well, but between the two of them, they managed to get her up the trunk and onto a stout, almost horizontal branch. It was wide enough for her to lie down on, but she sat cross-legged in the exact middle and crossed her arms.
“Are you cold?” Thymara asked her.
“No. This robe keeps me surprisingly warm. But my face and hands hurt from the river water.”
“I think my scales kept me from the worst of it,” Thymara said and then wondered that she had said it aloud.
The Bingtown woman nodded. “Then I envy you that. This Elderling robe seemed to protect me from the water. I don’t understand how. I got wet, but I dried very quickly. And where the gown touches me, I don’t feel any irritation from the water.”
Tats was the one to shrug. “Lots of Elderling stuff does things you wouldn’t think it could. Wind chimes that play tunes when the wind blows. Metal that lights up when you touch it. Jewels that smell like perfume and never lose their scent. It’s magical, that’s all.”
Thymara nodded and then asked, “How many of us are here?”
“Most of us,” he said. “Everyone has scratches or bruises. Kase got a nasty gash on his leg, but the water seemed to burn it closed. So I suppose there’s a mercy to that as we don’t have anything to use for bandaging. Ranculos got hit in the ribs with something. When he snorts, blood comes out of his nose, but he insists he’ll be fine if we leave him alone. Harrikin has asked that we do that. He says Ranculos doesn’t want any of us fussing over him. Boxter got hit in the face with something; his eyes are blackened, and he can barely see out of them. Tinder hurt his wing, and at first Nortel thought it was broken. But the swelling went down and now he can move it, so we’re thinking it’s just a bad sprain. Lots of injuries for everyone. But at least they’re here.”
Thymara just looked at him. “What else?” Alise demanded
He took a breath. “Alum’s missing. And Warken. Alum’s dragon keeps trumpeting for him, so we wonder if he is still alive somewhere. We’ve tried talking to Arbuc, but no one can make sense of him. It’s like trying to talk to a scared little child. He just keeps trumpeting and repeating that he wants Alum to come and take him out of the water. Warken’s red is silent; Baliper won’t speak to any of us. Veras, Jerd’s dragon, is also missing. Jerd hasn’t stopped weeping since she got here. She says she can’t ‘feel’ her dragon, so she thinks she drowned.”
“We saw Veras! She was alive and swimming strongly, but the current was carrying her downriver.”
“Well, I still think that’s good news. You should tell her.”
Something in his voice alerted Thymara that worse news was to come. She held her breath, waiting for it, but Alise asked immediately, “What about Tarman and Captain Leftrin?”
“Some of us saw the ship, right after the wave first hit. The water went over the top of him, but we saw him bob up again, with white water streaming out of his scuppers. So he was upright and afloat the last time we saw him, but that’s all we know. We haven’t seen anyone from the boat’s crews or any of the hunters, so we hope they were aboard and rode it out on Tarman.”
“If they did, they’ll come to find us. Captain Leftrin will come for us.” She spoke with such heartfelt confidence that Thymara almost felt sorry for her. If he didn’t come, she thought, Alise would be hard put to accept that she must rescue herself.
