“You’re going out to sea, you know,” said Em. “This is a strange boat you have. It doesn’t seem like it’s very good.”
“It’s the best we could do,” said Drystan, a hint of actual hurt crossing his face.
Kids. Their honesty could be brutal.
“Say,” said Rinka, seeing an opportunity. “Could you help us? I’ll bet you can swim way better than we can row.”
“Of course we could,” said Cordy. “But it’s gonna cost ya.”
“Cordy, don’t be mean. They seem nice, and they might be a little stupid.”
“I’m not being mean. You’re being mean. They can hear us, you know.”
“I didn’t say anything mean. I just called them stupid, and I mean, look at them—"
“Girls!” Rinka tried the authoritative voice Drystan had used, and to her surprise, it got their attention. “We need to get back to land, but we can’t climb the cliffs. Do you know a place we could go? Could you help us get there?”
“Oh, you want the river,” said Em. “There used to be land people there, but they all left on account of the pirates.”
Rinka looked at Drystan. She didn’t want to encounter the pirates again, but at this point, they had to take their chances. If they couldn’t find a way back onto the shore, they wouldn’t make it.
“Yes, the river,” she said. “Can you take us there?”
“One story each,” said Cordy. “That’s the price. We’ll take you to the river, but you have to tell us one story each about being on the land. And it better be a good story, too. Is that nice enough for ya, Em?”
Em nodded thoughtfully. “It’s a fair price.”
Drystan smiled at Rinka. “I think we can manage that,” he said. “I think my friend Rinka here would like to hear a story too.”
“Rinka? What kind of name is that?” asked Cordy.
“It’s an orc name,” said Rinka.
“An orc!” shouted Em. “I’ve never seen a real orc before. Where are your fangs? We saw a human boy with his dad once, and he said orcs have vicious fangs.”
Rinka opened her mouth a little, happy to oblige.
“Cool! Look, Cordy, fangs!”
The girls swam over closer to get a better look. “Rinka, tell us your story,” said Em. She grabbed onto the side of the boat and began to kick her tail.
“Hold on!” said Cordy. “I’m coming.”
Cordy swam under the boat—stopping to pull a silly face through the bottom at Rinka—and then grabbed onto the opposite side and started kicking.
The boat rocketed into motion once more. Their tails were incredibly effective: they were moving at least twice as fast as they had before, and the current seemed to have little impact.
Rinka searched through her memories for a story that would be interesting to girls who had spent their lives underwater.
“Have you heard of the city of Arcas Dyrne?” she asked them.
“Yes,” said Cordy automatically.
“No, you haven’t,” said Em.
“Yes, I have!”
“No, you haven’t.”
