Wielder's Rising Read Free Page B

ship walking towards them.  “Sorry I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself.  I’m Captain Willie of the Arrow, the fastest ship in the sea!”  Traven accepted the captain’s outstretched hand.
    “It’s good to meet you,” he replied.  “I’m Traven.”
    “Now that we have the formalities out of the way, I’ll let you know how this trip is going to work.  I normally don’t accept passengers on my ship, but I couldn’t refuse a request sent from the High King, may he live long and prosper.  So I ask that you stay out of the way of my sailors, and we’ll stay out of your way.  You’ll find a guest cabin at the bottom of the stairs to the left.  It is small but cozy.”  The large captain’s face broke into a smile as he mentioned the room.  “We’ll follow the coast north and should be in Jatz in four or five days depending on the wind.  We’ll dock there, unload our goods and restock our supplies.  We’ll then sail you to wherever you want on the coast of Faldor’s Watch.”  The captain paused for a second and then went on.  “What are you doing there anyway?  There’s nothing up there but sand and rocks.”
    “We are following a map to Faldor’s Keep,” Professor Studell declared as he slipped the ancient map out of one of his large pockets and waved it in front of the captain’s face.
    “Oh, you’re treasure hunters,” Captain Willie chuckled.  “With all due respect, I think you’d have better luck finding gold around the mines of Arcad than the barren deserts of Faldor’s Watch.”
    “We are not searching for gold, my good captain,” Studell fired back.  “And we are not treasure hunters.  We’re on a mission in search of knowledge and understanding.”
    “Whatever you say,” Captain Willie said with a shrug.  “We’ll have you there within a week, and then you can do whatever you want.  We’ll see if you have anything when we return to pick you up sixteen days after we drop you off.”  Traven could tell that the captain still thought they were foolish treasure hunters.
    “Thank you,” Studell said to the captain.  “Now if you will excuse us, we will retire to our quarters.”  Studell turned from the captain and beckoned to Traven.  “We have some important things to discuss.”  Traven followed the professor to the stairs and down below deck.  Behind him he could hear the scruffy captain chuckling to himself.
    At the base of the stairs there was a long narrow hall.  Studell opened the first door on the left.  Traven had to duck through the doorway to walk into the room.  Once he straightened back up inside, he decided it really wasn’t a room at all.  It appeared to be more of a closet.  Captain Willie’s comment and smile about the room being cozy now made sense.  There were two small bunks attached to the right wall for sleeping in and about three feet of space between the beds and the left wall.  The room made him feel claustrophobic.  His saddlebags were already in the back corner along with several bundles that he assumed must be the philosopher’s.
    “I can’t see anything in here,” Studell proclaimed.  Traven noticed a small lamp attached to the left wall and lit it.  “Much better, much better!”  Studell blinked and looked around the small room.  “It is quite small, isn’t it?”  Traven nodded in agreement.  “Oh well, we won’t be spending that much time down here anyway.  I enjoy being on the deck.  But for right now I think it best that we have some privacy while we discuss our plans.”
    Traven stepped to the side as Studell reached past him to shut the door.  Studell then sat down on the bottom bunk and motioned for him to sit next to him.  Traven sat down but had to remain leaning forward so he wouldn’t hit his head on the upper bunk.  Studell pulled the scroll back out from his pocket and began to open it.  Traven was excited to finally see what it looked like.  Studell had been studying it