Little Adventurer
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I have seen the world, and it is beautiful. It is a wondrous place filled with wonder and mystery, and I will not let you destroy it.
—An ancient spell
***
“You know,” said Nettle, “that’s why they call me Nettle.”
“It is?” asked Tavi. She was sitting in front of him on the log, her feet dangling off the side, and he could see the top of her head. The sun was bright enough that she didn’t need to wear her hat, but she still had it slung over her shoulder.
“Well, that and the fact that I’m small,” she said. “But mostly it’s because I’m stubborn.”
“Are you?” Tavi asked.
She nodded. “Stubborn as a mule.”
Tavi grinned. “My mother used to say that about me.”
Nettle laughed. “Well, you know what they say: great minds think alike.”
He blinked at her. “What?”
“Nothing,” she said. “You’re just too cute to be real.”
“And you’re the cutest thing in the world,” he replied, smiling. He took her hand. “So. What do we do now?”
“Now?” she asked. “We wait.”
“Wait for what?”
“For something to happen,” she said. “There’s not much else we can do.”
“I don’t like waiting,” he said.
“Me neither,” she said. “But there’s nothing else we can do. And besides, I want to see the ocean. It’s so big, and blue, and it smells like fish.”
“That’s not a smell,” he said.
“It is,” she said. “It’s like the ocean itself. I bet it tastes like fish, too. Do you think they eat fish?”
“I don’t know,” Tavi said. “I’ve never tried.”
“What if they have some other food?” she asked. “Like they have different kinds of grass and trees in the Forest. What if they have a kind of food that tastes like fish? You should try it. I bet they’d be all right with you trying it, if you told them how you found it.”
“Maybe,” he said. “But I don’t want to tell them that.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s mine,” he said. “If I tell them, then I’m giving it away. I won’t do that. Not to anyone.”
She nodded. “I understand. I wouldn’t either.”
“I wonder where it came from,” he said. “The ocean.”
“What do you mean?” she asked. “How did it get there?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “But I want to find out.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “I just do.”
“Can we go down there?” she asked.
“No,” he said. “They’ll hear us. And they might shoot us. Or at least they might throw rocks.”
“We could swim,” she said. “But that would take a long time, and I don’t think I can swim very well yet.”
“I can swim,” he said. “I’ll teach you.”
“All right,” she said. “Then let’s do that.”
“Are you sure?” he asked. “You’re not scared of the water?”
“No,” she said. “I’m not. But I don’t know if I can swim very well. I think I might drown.”
“We’ll be fine,” he said. “Don’t worry.”
“Okay,” she said. “Let’s go.”
Tavi stood up, took her hand, and helped her to her feet. He glanced around. They were surrounded by a dense forest of tall trees. There was no sign of anything moving, but Tavi didn’t relax his vigilance. He had learned not to trust that.
“We need to make our way over there,” he said, pointing at the ocean. “There’s a place where the trees aren’t so thick.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Because if we can get into the open, we can see the water better,” he said. “And if we can see it better, we can see how far it is. Then we’ll know if we can swim to it or not.”
“I don’t like the idea of swimming,” she said. “It makes me feel like I’m going to drown.”
“We won’t be,” he said. “Trust me.”
She nodded. “All right.”
They set off through the forest, keeping an eye on their surroundings. The undergrowth was thick, and Tavi kept having to step over vines and branches that rose up to grab at him. He cursed and muttered in irritation as he tripped and stumbled, but he never lost his grip on Nettle’s hand.
She seemed to have no trouble navigating the terrain, though, and when they came to a small clearing, she took them through it and out the other side.
The world changed then. It was like coming out of a dark room into a bright one, like stepping from blackness into the light. The forest vanished, replaced by a wide-open field of grass, stretching away as far as Tavi could see.
Tents dotted the field, some of them still half-covered with awnings, and a few people moved among them, setting up for the day. There were a couple of carts nearby, too, and two men who looked like merchants—one was a tall man with a short beard, and the other was shorter, bald, and clean-shaven.
The men both wore robes of dull gray, and neither of them paid any attention to the pair as they passed.
“How do you know these people?” Nettle asked.
“They’re the ones who took me,” Tavi said. “They brought me here.”
“Are they nice?”
“No,” he said. “They’re not.”
“Why did they bring you here?”
“Because they think I’m a thief,” he said. “Or something like that.”
Nettle frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “It’s complicated.”
She shook her head. “You should have told me this before we got here. You should have told me what was going on.”
“I couldn’t,” he said. “They wouldn’t let me.”
“Then why are we here?” she demanded.
“Because I can’t leave until they decide to let me go,” he said. “And I think that if we try to run away, they’ll shoot us.”
“But why would they want to do that?” she asked.
“Because they’re madmen,” Tavi said. “Madmen with guns. They want to kill me because I don’t know how to be a slave.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“It’s complicated,” he said. “I’ll explain it all later. Let’s just get to the water. We need to see how far it is.”
He led her along the edge of the field, keeping to the trees as much as possible until they reached a small hill that rose up out of the grass. They climbed it and looked down into the open field. The water stretched away in a wide expanse of blue. It was so still that the reflection of the sun shone across it in a wide band of brilliant white.
“I can’t believe it,” Nettle said. “This is beautiful.”
“I know,” Tavi said. “I wish I could show you more of it.”
“Is there anything else?” she asked.
“There’s something else,” he said. “Do you trust me?”
She hesitated for a moment. “Yes.”
“Good,” he said. “Because I want to show you something.”
He reached into his pocket and drew out the tiny wooden figurine that had been left at the ruins of the Seabrook. He held it up in front of him, looking at it.
“What are you doing?” Nettle asked.
“I’m going to hide it,” he said. “If anyone looks, I want them to think I took it from you.”
“Why?”
“Because if they take it away from you, they might hurt you,” he said. “I don’t want that. Do you understand?”
Nettle nodded. “I understand.”
He put the figurine back into his pocket and let go of her hand. She glanced at him, and he raised his hands to show her that he was unarmed. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment, then reached out with his senses and tried to touch the ground.
He didn’t sense any kind of trap or barrier, but he couldn’t tell what lay beneath his feet. He opened his eyes again and looked around.
“What are you doing?” Nettle asked.
“I’m trying to find a way down,” he said. “The water’s too far away. I can’t get there.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve got to get closer,” he said. “So I can jump in.”
“You’re crazy,” she said.
“I know,” he said. “But I can’t leave you here. I have to try.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’ll explain later,” he said. “I just need to be careful. I don’t want anyone to see me.”
“Why?”
“Because they might shoot me,” he said. “Or hurt you. And I don’t want that.”
She stared at him for a moment. Then she said, “I think you’re crazy. But I like you anyway.”
“I’ll get down,” he said. “I promise. Just trust me.”
He closed his eyes and tried to sense the ground beneath his feet. He sensed nothing—no trap, no barrier, nothing. He opened his eyes and looked around. The ground was still and level, but there were trees all around him. He couldn’t see how they could help him. He started to turn to go, and then something occurred to him.
“Nettle,” he said. “Look down.”
She turned to look.
He took a deep breath and reached out with his senses again. He didn’t sense anything dangerous. He didn’t sense any trap or barrier. But he did sense something else. Something that had been there, but which he hadn’t noticed before.
“Do you feel that?” he asked.
She nodded. “What is it?”
“It’s a tree,” he said. “I think it might be a good place to start.”
He moved to the base of the nearest tree and slid down the trunk until he reached the ground. He looked around again. There were no other trees in sight. The sun shone down on the field, but he couldn’t see any other shade. It seemed safe enough.
“What are you doing?” Nettle asked.
“I’m going to climb up this tree,” he said. “And then I’ll figure out what I can do from there.”
“You’re crazy,” she said.
“I know,” he said. “But I’m not going to leave you here alone.”
“What if you fall?”
“I won’t,” he said. “I just need to climb up and get a better view.”
“How long will that take?”
“Not long,” he said. “Just a few minutes.”
“What if you get caught?”
“I won’t,” he said. “Trust me.”
“But—”
“Please,” he said. “I need you to trust me. I don’t want anyone to hurt you. If they do, I’ll come back for you. All right?”
She stared at him for a moment, then nodded.
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll stay here and wait for you.”
“Thanks,” he said.
He moved to the base of the tree and climbed up its trunk as quickly as he could. When he reached the top, he looked around. He couldn’t see the water, but he knew it was close by. He could hear the waves crashing against the rocks.
He took a deep breath and felt the wind blow against his face. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the air. It smelled of salt and seaweed. He opened his eyes and looked around again.
“I can’t see it,” he said. “I can’t see how far away it is.”
“It’s over there,” Nettle said.
He turned to look at her. She was standing on the ground below, her arms crossed in front of her. She looked up at him and smiled.
“I know how you feel,” she said. “I didn’t see it either.”
“How did you find it?” he asked.
“I got lucky,” she said. “I heard it, and I followed it.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have left you. I just needed to be sure I could get down.”
“You were right,” she said. “I think you were right about this tree. I think we should go up.”
“What do you mean?” he asked. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to climb up with you,” she said. “We’ll take turns watching each other’s backs.”
“Why?”
“Because if anything happens, we can help each other,” she said. “If there’s any trouble, we can call out to each other and get out of it together. Right?”
“Right,” he said.
She grinned at him and started to climb the tree.
The End