The Deepcombers

Chapter Thirty Eight

The cork was sealed with wax and stamped and added to the case. The last bottle was infused. Zed blew out the candle which meant the young masters were free to go explore and of course all Lon wanted to do was test the new mark he'd seen the night before.  The medico looked at Melcart to remind him of his special errand to return the shard. The rogue nodded and departed without fanfare. He probably just wanted to get it over with and put the episode behind him. Valari nodded quiet goodbyes and mumbled that she had laundry to fetch from the washerkin. Saeya looked to Lon and sniffed the air to remind him to attend his own hygiene. His clothes still smelled like the catacombs. The lad nodded and smiled but his thoughts were elsewhere.

The sea drover left the grotto and followed the flagstone promenade toward the river. The rocks were crowded and the locals were loud but he ignored the sunbathers and pretty maidens to proceed north on the riverwalk. He had a plan for this afternoon and that didn't include bathing, or doing laundry. Well maybe...

Lon's strategy was simple; he'd test his new sigil on the cows. But to accomplish this without any witnesses would be incredibly difficult. First it meant he had to escape the skal undetected, and that might not even be possible. He remembered how the river came in from Atar's Pond and how it made a small waterhole on this side of the walls before it poured down the hill. It'd be so much easier to escape by going south out that spout with the flow, but there was nowhere to hide in the cropland below. So, he journeyed upwards now to see if it was possible to swim out under the north battlements.

Lon wandered through the construction site and towards the monastery until he spied the waterfall to the west. The natural attraction always mesmerized him and held him spellbound for several seconds. Atar's Falls was a thin stream many times smaller than the spout that'd issued from the Pillars to the south but this was the same river. 

Instead of crossing the narrow bridge to the temple, Lon crouched in the muddy reeds on shore. He saw his reflection in the water again. His right eye was black and blue. Why did Melcart not look bruised at all? He rubbed his knuckles. He was sure he'd hit him but must have only struck his bony chin and forehead.

The monastery pond was the only thing between Lon and the north curtain wall. Atar's Creek was only twelve feet wide where it entered. Huge boulders had been laid into the defense-works. These stones were employed to shape the stream but also to shoulder the wall-bridge. They narrowed the flow which doubled its speed.

The white-haired lad contemplated the difficulty of swimming under the wall undetected. He could see a stone shelf under the bridge by which he could crawl through the bottleneck. He wouldn't have to swim against the impossible flow at the entrance. He could crawl along that lip and pass under the bridge undetected if he could just get there unnoticed. But this pond had a stiff current and so it would be hard to swim aggressively and remain unseen.

Escape was possible, but it would be challenging and require perfect timing. If only he could breathe underwater. This was a skill that several deepcombers had learned somehow and he remembered reading about their deep dives. He wondered how that worked.

Calbian bowfeigors lingered on the north battlements where they basked in the sight of the falls. They had their backs turned. The creek roared under their feet and Lon reckoned these guards were so struck by the scenery they probably never looked back at the placid pond behind them. Why would they? 

The key to swimming such a distance in stealth would be positioning. Here in the creek, deep water is fast water and so Lon knew his best chance was to cross quickly and swim-up the calmer side of the stream. He hoped to get right up close to the wall. Then he'd crawl under the barrier and swim away in Atar's Pond. He reckoned he could travel underwater for some distance and then surface for air where he wouldn't be noticed. That was the plan.