Waterborne (Wanderlust 3)

Chapter Nineteen

The Danil River continued East for a few days, and then curved North. They passed numerous villages, but nothing as large as Danilaex or Balagada. The terrain wasn't ideal for larger settlements. They guided the Wanderlust through swampy flood lands and beside steep hills coated in thick jungle.

It seemed to happen quite suddenly. One moment they were in the middle of the jungle, and the next, the trees off the Wanderlust's port side disappeared, and they were looking at water. A bay so large, the other side might as well have not been there. Without the maps, Tanden would have thought they were looking at the open ocean.

The jungle had been beautiful, there was no doubt. But the salt air and the open water called to Tanden in a way trees never would.

"We made it through!" someone cheered, and then most of the crew was cheering along as well. Tanden let them have their moment of celebration, while scanning the deck for the people he needed to talk to.

"Soren!" Tanden saw him near Roan and Jerios. "Elorie!" She was closer, with Jale. "Come up!"

They joined him on the quarter deck. "I think we should anchor," Tanden said. "Take the afternoon off. We can let the lads swim, have a bonfire on the beach, maybe do some fishing. This deserves a celebration of some sort."

Soren nodded and opened his mouth, but Elorie spoke over him.

"That's fine, but anchor further out. The Alvan Bay has the highest tides I've ever seen. If we're too close to the shore we'll be beached when the tides go out."

Tanden eyed the sandy shoreline. "It's that much of a difference?"

"The river's carved out a deeper channel, so anchoring in its mouth would be a fine," Elorie said. "But if you're over the shoal, you risk ruining your ship."

"We're not going to risk it," Tanden said firmly. "We'll take her out further, and we can ferry people to shore with the Waterborne and rowboats. Let's get them working."

Soren nodded and began calling out the orders. Tanden left him to it, to seek out the rest of their friends.

When they were satisfied with the Wanderlust's location, they dropped anchor. Tanden hopped onto the bulwark. The crew gathered around.

"We made it!" Tanden shouted, and allowed a moment for cheers. "All the way through Alvara! And that feat deserves a celebration, wouldn't you all agree?" Another pause, giving the men a chance to cheer again. "Ladies and gentlemen," Tanden spoke over the last lingering shouts. "Tonight, we're going to go to shore, swim and light some fires, sing and drink and eat, but first, a few important tasks. We need fish—Roan will need volunteers to help. Rico will be taking some men into the jungle to look for edible plants and fruit. Jale welcomes anyone decent with a bow to go hunting with her. Jerios needs help gathering firewood. And Ivern is going to need help ferrying some of our own goods—yes, that means drinks—to the beach. I trust you all to offer your assistance to one of them. Let's get going, lads, so that by the time the sun is settling down for bed we'll be in the midst of a great celebration!"

He hopped down amid the cheers, fully trusting his men to make themselves useful. Soren had taken his usual place for the speech, standing just below Tanden's perch with his arms crossed. Tanden caught his arm and ushered him away from the group, into the little alcove made by the staircases to the quarter deck and the door to the captain's quarters.

"We have a decision to make," he said, dropping his voice to nearly a whisper. "We can go join the lads for the party, or we can take advantage of privacy for the first time in weeks."

"We can't avoid the party," Soren said. "But that doesn't mean we can't find some privacy, too."

"Hmm. By leaving them all stranded on the beach and coming back to the Wanderlust alone?"