Mapmaker, p.36
Mapmaker, page 36
“Because she’s the head cook. Nothing in her training has really prepared her for anything beyond hospitality. I admire her pluck, but she’s going to have to learn weapons, navigation, the whole kit and caboodle. You and Esse already know those things.”
“Enesneth started as the cook, remember?” Tessa reminded Natty.
“No, Enesneth started as a Seeker/Guardian from the Library of Ellandaril. Fortunately, she also knew how to cook, and then Lona recruited her sister.”
Tessa folded her arms across her chest, which Natty had already learned was never a good sign. “Are you going to allow me to learn to fly or not, Captain?”
“I believe I said you could be in on the classes. Yes, I’ll teach you how to fly, Nin Mel. I just have to figure out some priorities and sequencing.” He started to get up and turned back and looked at her. “You knew how to fly when you used to babysit me. This must’ve been when you learned.”
“You mean you’re just figuring out that I was already your wife when I babysat you as a child and adolescent?” She grinned. “You’re pretty slow on the uptake there, Captain Clark.”
Natty chuckled. “I hadn’t really given it much thought until now. No wonder you were my favorite babysitter.” He wrapped his arms around her. “You do realize there’s a very logical reason that I don’t talk about my childhood, don’t you?”
Tessa grinned. “You’re afraid you’ll confuse yourself, right?”
“Exactly. I already have.”
“How’s it going?” Ciliren asked Tessa as she and Sinead worked on mapping mountains they were flying through.
“Really good,” Tessa replied. “She’s not as fast as Lona,” Tessa smiled at Sinead, “but she can do details every bit as well, in some cases a little better.” Ciliren looked over their shoulders.
“I should say so. That is really good, Sinead. Let it take you a little longer, because there is a richness to your art that doesn’t necessarily come out when it’s put down at a higher speed.”
“It looks like we’re coming out of the mountains,” Sinead pointed.
“After two-and-a-half days, it should make steering a lot easier.” Ciliren looked at Tessa questioningly. “Tess, if we’re headed south, why is it getting colder? At first, I thought it was the mountains, but that,” she nodded in the direction the ship was headed, “looks like snow.”
Over her shoulder, Tessa called to Enesneth, “as we clear the high mountains, take it down closer to the surface ahead. I’m not sure whether it’s a large glacier, a snowfield, or a salt plain.”
“We do have winter gear,” Ciliren observed. “Maybe Lianeth and I should start pulling it out of the storerooms.”
“Good idea,” Tessa agreed. “Because of the way Eldaria and the Aerielands sit, we tend to think of the colder temperatures being to the north, but maybe Gewellyn is in the southern hemisphere, so it would get colder the farther south we go from the equator.”
Nathaniel and Anders came down from the upper deck. “I think we’re going to have to break out the winter gear from storage,” he announced.
Tessa chuckled. “We were just talking about that, my love.” She pointed ahead. “Snow and ice or salt and sand?”
“I’m guessing snow. We’re going to need to make protective goggles for everybody.”
Tessa flipped her goggles on her hat down in front of her eyes. “I have dark lenses for these. It helps.” She studied the terrain ahead of them. “I’m pretty sure it’s snow, Natty. We need to have Mr. Senter start pumping steam into the heating system. The temperature keeps going down the farther south we get.”
“I will take care of it,” Natty assured the others. “Just as a bit of information: Until the system catches up, the galley will be the warmest room on the airship and, of course, the infirmary.”
Ciliren smiled. “Well, at least Lianeth and I will be comfortable at night. And no, we’re not sharing our beds with the rest of you.”
“Nothing warms you up like skin-to-skin contact,” Tessa teased. “It works for Natty and me.”
“Us too,” Enesneth chimed in.
“That’s exactly why the rest of you can’t sleep in the infirmary,” Ciliren smiled, but there was a hint of sadness in the smile.
“I’m sorry, Cil. I wasn’t thinking,” Tessa told her friend.
Ciliren shook her head. “It’s okay. I have pleasant memories, not just of Philipe, but of my other two husbands as well. Who knows? I may find yet a fourth one to outlive.”
“Ciliren?” Lianeth came up on the deck. “Is everything well?” The two healers had moved from mentor and mentoree into a sister-friendship as the voyage had progressed.
“I know, Lia. It’s fine, really,” Ciliren smiled at her best friend.
“I thought the New South Wilds is supposed to be desert,” Nathaniel glanced at Anders and then turned to the Prince.
“What is it, Anders?”
“It is supposed to be desert. And it isn’t supposed to be cold.” Anders picked up the binoculars and looked. “When did the snowfield start, Tessa?”
“As soon as we came out of the mountains, which struck me as strange because there was only snow on the upper peaks back there.”
“Captains, turn the ship around, now,” Anders directed.
“Why? What is it?” Natty asked.
“Because this isn’t a natural winter. This is magic, dark magic called Fimbul Winter. It will keep getting colder until the systems in the airship freeze up and we’ll crash. Get back to the mountains and find a safe place to land. We’ll figure out what to do from there.”
“Enesneth, take us back,” Natty commanded. “Okay, Anders. Why do you think it’s dark magic, and who is powerful enough to do this?”
Anders shook his head. “I only know one elf witch who can change the climate this way. And she’s the one I’m looking for.”
“Your mother?” Natty asked.
“My mother,” Anders confirmed. “Selavana Valrotka.”
“Lieutenant Bluehavens, belay that order to reverse course.” Natty went over to the intercom. “Mr. Senter?”
“Senter here, Captain.”
“Mr. Senter, do we still have the backup system for the wind props in place?”
“You mean the pedal contraptions? Aye, Captain, we do.”
“Mr. Senter, I want you to divert all the steam to keeping the interior of the vessel warm. Starting with myself, we will each take a one-hour shift on the pedal device. We will keep rotating on it until we are clear of the snowfield. In addition, you will deploy the wind sails so, hopefully, we can catch the downdrafts off the mountains.”
“Aye-aye, Captain. I will have it set back up by the time you get down here.”
“What do you want me to do?” Tessa asked.
“I want either Esse or Kip to take the second hour, then you take the third, then another one of the Bluehavens will take the fourth. The rest of the crew can volunteer from there.”
“Captain, I’m not very familiar with the device you’re talking about,” Thea explained, “but what if one of us, the protection detail, Sir, wants to do more than one hour?”
Nathaniel thought for a second. “For now, Lieutenant, let’s keep it at one-hour intervals. There is a clockwork spring within the mechanism that you are essentially winding up. By keeping it at a constant pressure it will give us higher speeds. By diverting the steam engine power to the heating system, hopefully we can stay comfortable enough to get across this thing.”
“Understood, Sir. Then Kara and I volunteer to take the fifth and sixth hours.”
Not to be outdone, Pipia and Orlal stepped forward. “Not so fast, Lieutenant. You need to give us Naval Rangers and the Krakara a chance at this gizmo, too.”
“Ahem,” the soldiers turned to find themselves facing Ciliren and Lianeth. “Actually, Lieutenant, you have what we might call a major problem. Lia and I claim the fifth and sixth shifts.”
“Understood, Major. I’ll work out a rotation for my team. Do you want the cook, or is she on our team?”
“We have teams?” The fiercely competitive Tessa asked. “If that’s the case, then Sinead is studying to become an aviator, an officer, so she’s definitely on our team. We will give you Prince Anders and Lord Sage as compensation, however.”
“Then I guess it’s a good thing that Ensign-Princess Lona is away, because you’d probably want her on your team.”
“She’s an Ensign, she’s an officer,” Tessa countered good-naturedly.
“Okay, ladies, enough. Lieutenant Shire will work out a schedule based on our discussion here,” Natty waved at his wife and the others, “so that everybody has a chance. We have no idea how wide this snowfield is but we’ll keep up the rotation until we’re on the other side. I’ll be down in the engine room.”
Five hours later, following a bath and nap, Nathaniel was back on the bridge, relieving Thea at the wheel. “How is it going?” he asked.
She nodded to the control panel. “If the gauges are to be believed, Sir, we’re making almost as good time with the pedal device as we would with the engines.” Natty tapped the speed gauge and then gave it a pleased expression.
“Good enough. Lieutenant, I relieve you.”
“Sir, I stand relieved.” She saluted him, and Natty returned the salute. “Will Captain Chart be joining you, sir?”
“Not right away. When she got off the pedals, she took a hot bath and immediately fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.”
“I think we’ll all be sleeping better as long as we have to keep this up. Have you and the mapmaker come up with any idea how long this will be?”
“Prince Anders says that the desert is a little over 700 miles wide. At this pace, we should reach the southern plains that he says are on the other end late tomorrow.”
“We have six officers, plus Mr. Kipling, who was alternating with his wife, Prince Anders, Lord Sage and eleven enlisted personnel, not counting Mr. Senter, who pointed out that he has to keep the thing running.”
“That’s correct.”
“So, every eighteen hours we will start over again until we’ve reached the other side.”
“That sounds good, Lieutenant. You might want to get some rest before you get on the pedals.”
“Yes sir, thank you.” She headed into the crew’s quarters.
About halfway into his shift, Natty smelled coffee, and the familiar hand rested on his. He looked down into Tessa’s beautiful eyes. “How are you feeling, Nin Mel?”
“Like I just pedaled an airship halfway across Gewellyn,” she replied as she handed him his coffee.
“According to Thea, it was only an eighteenth of the way across this desert,” Natty grinned.
“I really didn’t need to hear that, husband.” She leaned against him. “Are you doing okay?”
“I have the robust constitution of a Clark. I’m fine.” He kissed the top of her head. “If you want to get more rest, I’ll work part or all of your shift for you.”
“You’re a sweetheart, sweetheart,” she said. “I’ll compromise with you.”
“What did you have in mind?” Natty asked tentatively.
“I’ll stay with you for the last two hours of your shift if you’ll stay with me for the first two hours of mine, then you can get some rest and I’ll work with Sinead on navigation.”
“That sounds like a plan.”
“I thought it might,” Tessa said as she wrapped her arm around Nathaniel’s waist. “I love you, Natty Bumpo.”
“I love you, my Cora.”
Chapter thirty-nine
The First Place
“Natty, what’s that?” Tessa pointed to what appeared to be a gap in the snow cover.
“A clearing. Maybe we’re getting close to the end of this.” He put the binoculars to his eyes. “It’s an open area with some sort of stone in the center, the only thing I can see there.”
“Engine room,” Tessa said into the intercom.
“Senter here, go ahead Captain.”
“Can you see the clearing ahead of us through your viewing glass?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Slow the mainspring to full stop over that clearing, Mr. Senter.”
“Full stop, Aye, Captain.” The airship began to slow down.
“What are you doing, Tessa?” Natty asked.
“Honestly, my love? I’m not sure. Please, just follow my lead.” She spoke into the intercom again. “Maneuvering engines only, Mr. Senter. Bringing her in for a landing at the edge of the clearing.”
“Maneuvering fans are on steam drive now, Captain Chart.” Natty watched with pride as his wife brought the airship into precisely the point she had indicated. Kip and Salvo, one of the Krakara, jumped out to secure the vessel and then lowered the gangway. Tessa stepped out with her husband and Ciliren following.
“What’s going on?” Anders Wynfarin asked as he and Sage came up onto the deck.
“They found a clearing in the snowfield, and Captain Chart brought us in for a closer look. She and Captain Clark and the doctor are out there now,” Thea explained from her vantage point by the gunwale gate, her rifle ready for any threat.
“Stay here,” Anders told Sage.
“No way, brother.” The two elves made their way down the gangway.
“Take off your boots,” Tessa told the others as she kicked off her own footwear.
“What?” Sage asked.
“This is holy ground. Take off your boots.” The three men, who had been wearing boots, did as she directed. Ciliren, who was wearing tennis shoes from First Earth, quickly slipped them off. They approached the stone, Natty making the sign of a cross on his chest as he drew closer.
“There are letters of some sort carved on it, but I don’t know what they mean,” Tessa said as she pointed at the engraving on the head-high monument. Plainly visible were the figures, “יהושע 4:21.”
“I do,” Ciliren said softly from behind Tessa. “It’s Hebrew. It means, Yehoshua, or Joshua, Chapter 4, Verse 21 in the Hebrew Scriptures. You were right to tell us to take off our footwear, Tessa Chart, for this is indeed holy ground. Maybe, that’s why the snow that was created by dark magic appears to be 40 feet away in every direction.”
“Do you know that verse, Cil?” Tessa asked.
“I’m trying to remember it.”
“I know the verse,” Nathaniel told the two women. “Fiona taught it to me. ‘What mean these stones?’ Tessa, I do believe you’ve found your first Thin Place.”
“Why would Creator choose a place like this to draw closer to his people?” Sage asked as he looked past the clearing in the snow.
“Maybe,” Anders replied, “because this was not always a desert. This could have been something else centuries ago. Many deserts were.”
“Or,” Natty proposed, “this was a place where early believers could go in contemplation. Abilynn will tell you that in her time on First Earth, the first and second century believers, before they were even called Christians, often retreated to the desert to contemplate and meditate on their faith. Some of the great early writings of Christianity came from the ones they called the Desert Fathers back in those times.”
“That actually makes a lot of sense,” Anders agreed. He looked over Tessa’s shoulder as the mapmaker and Sinead worked together to map the place. She looked up at Sinead and something silently passed between the two. Sinead nodded, and Tessa turned to Nathaniel, Sage, Anders, and Ciliren.
“I want to stay here until night has fallen and the stars are in the sky, so I can take a sextant reading, but we’ve finished what we have to do for now.”
“I have to make dinner for everyone, so we might as well go back into the airship.” Sinead folded the wooden box shut that contained Lona’s colors. Her little sister had obligingly left them, promising to bring back Sinead’s own paints when she returned.
“What are you doing, Nin Mel?” Natty came up behind Tessa, who was standing barefoot at the top of the gangway. She looked up at him and smiled.
“Your mother told me how she always can tell what your father is thinking. They are that connected, and I do believe that you are showing some of those same tendencies, Nathaniel.” She took his hand. “Given the chance, I could sleep through a typhoon, but if I even stir in bed, you check up on me to make sure I’m okay.” She held up her sextant and compass. “I came up on deck to take a midnight reading.”
“You’re barefoot, Tessa,” Nathaniel observed. “You want to go back out there, don’t you?”
“I do. Is that okay?”
“Let me take off my shoes, and I’ll go with you,” her husband replied.
“Do me a favor, my love,” Tessa looked up at him. “Watch me from here but let me go by myself. You’ll still be able to see me.”
Natty nodded slowly. “Can I ask why?”
Tessa gave him a half-smile and looked up at her husband through her eyelashes. “I think you’ll just have to trust me on this. I don’t have a good answer to your question right now. I believe that I will have when I come back on board.”
“Okay,” Natty replied hesitantly. “As for trusting you, there is no one in the Nine Worlds I trust more than you, Nin Mel, not even Fiona, and you know how much I trust my little sister.”
Tessa laid her hands on Nathaniel’s upper arms, looking up at him. “I know, and your faith in me surprises me sometimes, but it also gives me tremendous strength. I love you. Thank you for being my husband, my life.” She kissed him hard and then turned and walked down the gangway in her bare feet.
Tessa marveled at the fact that, like the Juncture, the grassy area around the stone was substantially warmer than that outside of the circle. The grass was green, soft, and lush against her feet. She looked at the stone, which seemed to radiate a light of its own in her mind’s eye. Then a voice spoke, and Tessa Clark fell to her knees.
“What are you seeking, Tessa daughter of Tavis?”
“I seek, no, my Lord. We, my husband and I, seek the Thin Places, the places where Lordabove is closest to those he has created. We seek to draw closer.”
“Your husband watches from aboard the vessel,” the voice said. “Would you will for him to join you here?”
