Eehi The Surf Raider: Eehi Meets the Queen

Chapter Seven

        I woke with a start and launched upward. A tiny hand settled upon my chest. Then, a soft voice tried to soothe me. She told me to be still and to lie a little longer. I was able to rest knowing she was not dead. We were sure to have injuries but she was not dead.

Flashes of memory came back to me, "What was that thing?"

She sighed softly, "I think it was a Garthim, though, I have never actually seen one, it was as I have heard them described to be."

"A Garthim?"

"Yes, the Skeksis have found a way to turn creatures to their side and then use them as slaves."

"That sounds awful!"

"It is quite tragic."

"And they want to kill us? Or at least you?"

"Oh, I do not know. I assume they want us as Rian has suggested, to drain us of our essence."

"Why would they do that?"

"He says it gives the Skeksis more life."

        I sighed heavily. I did not want to speak anymore. I was beyond exhausted. At this moment I felt that if I never spoke another word aloud again, I would be so blessed.

"I am so sorry about your ship. I know it meant a great deal to you."

        I cringed. I did not want to remember the wreckage of my vessel. Tears threatened my composure, frightening me. I had not cried in many years! I was not going to give in to the sentiment now just because my vessel was gone. The vessel my father had worked endlessly on with me, teaching me everything he knew of sailing. A tear rolled down my cheek. I would rebuild the Orahu in his honor.

        She lay back down next to me and we rested for nearly a day until the hunger pains roused us. She showed me how the land Gelflings gathered food and how to find water in the plants just as I had shown her with the desert cacti. The berries and roots she offered were horrid! I was glad I did not have to eat them on a daily basis or I would starve. Though, the water here was much more plentiful. We could find small springs and plant life everywhere around us. Even the trees could supply us with water.

        At first the excitement of traveling on land was great. I had longed for the knowledge, but now, when I look back on it, it was a trial I certainly would not have wished upon myself. I cannot remember how many days we trudged through what she called The Dark Wood; I only know it seemed like many, agonizing years. My legs were not accustomed to all this walking, and I was used to telling time by the suns and where they were above me. It was dark here, even at full noon when the suns were at their highest point in the sky! The trees shaded everything below them, and then thick vines closed in the gaps their branches left until almost no light penetrated the soft, leaf covered flooring.

        Walking on this ground was unnerving, it shifted oddly and the leaves hid traps waiting for unsuspecting Gelflings to walk right into them. I tripped over countless tree roots, and nearly fell to my death when the leaves gave way to a sink hole. How I wished for my desert, and my ship. At least in the desert I knew how to navigate my way by the suns or the stars but we could see none of those here. Terh tried to assure me over and over that she knew where we were headed but everything looked the same to me as if we were making circles.

        Finally, I could smell the ashes of a fire, and hear the murmur of Gelfling voices. We were close she whispered. I had no sooner wondered why she had whispered when strange dressed creatures appeared all around us. They had sharp spears pointed at us and demanded to know who we were. They wore the most gastly wooden masks to hide their faces! Grasses and feathers protruded from around them to make the heads appear larger than they were. Each had a face painted on it, but in much larger proportions and many had grimacing expressions, and sharp teeth.