Richard Tuttle - Island of Darkness

“There is always a way,” grinned Mistake as she moved silently to the front window. “I hope you are agile. Find the middle of this rope for me.”

MistyTrail frowned with confusion as she took the rope and held the two loose ends together. She played the twin strands between her hands until she came to the middle. Mistake silently opened the shutters and reached for the center of the rope.

“Hold my legs,” she whispered to MistyTrail as she climbed out the window and stood on the sill facing the building.

MistyTrail wrapped her arms around Mistake’s legs while the thief reached for the peak of the roof. She looped the center of the rope over the peak. She then pulled just enough rope through the window to allow each strand to rest on different sides of the peak.

“You going to make us something to eat?” shouted the second story man as he stood at the window leaning out.

Mistake looked down and could just see a tuft of the man’s hair. She froze. A barely audible reply was heard from the first floor and then the man’s head returned inside the window. Mistake swallowed hard and batted MistyTrail’s hands away from her legs. She lowered herself through the window.

“Okay,” Mistake whispered, “I hope you have a good sense of balance. We are both going out the window to the small ledge that runs along the front of the building. I will go to one side, and you will go to the other. When we are in position, pull your end of the rope out of the window and let it drop down your side of the house. Make sure you don’t let the end fall where it can be seen from below.”

“Then what?” asked MistyTrail. “Is the rope tied to something?”

“No,” Mistake shook her head. “We will have to time this perfectly. We must counteract each other’s weight and movements.”

“That is crazy,” frowned MistyTrail. “Why risk falling when we can tie the rope to something?”

“Because they must not find the rope,” explained Mistake. “If there are soldiers watching for intruders, we don’t want an army chasing us. Let’s just get away from here before the boat arrives.”

MistyTrail frowned but nodded. She waited until Mistake had exited the window before stepping through it herself. She balanced on the narrow ledge and grabbed the slanted roof with one hand. She worked her way over to the eave and waited for Mistake to signal that it was time to pull the rope out. When the signal was given MistyTrail pulled gently on her strand of the rope. She pulled smoothly and coiled it under the hand that was holding onto the roof. In just a few minutes, she had the loose end of the rope in hand. She gently lowered the loose end down the side of the house and grabbed the rope on the roof until she felt Mistake pull it taut.

“Hey the window up top is already unshuttered,” said a loud voice from inside the house. “Must have been quite a wind from that storm. I am glad we decided to ride it out in the city.”

There was an unintelligible reply from the first floor, and the loud voice laughed. Mistake made an urgent hand motion to MistyTrail and started nodding her head exaggeratedly. When she nodded the third time, both women stepped off the ledge.

MistyTrail used her foot to keep her from slamming into the side of the house as she dangled on the rope. She smoothly lowered herself hand-over-hand until she reached the ground. She peaked around the front of the house and saw Mistake was also on the ground. She was pulling the rope over the roof, so MistyTrail let go.

MistyTrail crept past the front of the house while Mistake coiled the rope. A sail was visible in the distance, and she silently pointed it out to Mistake. Mistake nodded and pointed to the nearby jungle. Both women ran softly towards the jungle. Mistake led the way into the dense, wet foliage. As soon as the house was no longer visible, she stopped.

“Where in the world are we?” she asked with exasperation. “How will we ever find out if we have to avoid the local people?”

“I don’t know,” chuckled MistyTrail, “but I doubt that anyone would talk to you dressed like that anyway.”

Mistake looked down at her oversized red uniform and laughed. “I suppose you are right,” she chuckled, “but I would not be so quick to criticize. You haven’t seen yourself yet. Let’s get changed.”

“Let’s not until we get away from all these wet plants,” countered MistyTrail. “I would like to put my own clothes on dry. Which way do we go?”

“Towards the city,” answered Mistake. “It is probably the only place we can go to find out where we are and how to get home. I will lead.”

They walked through the jungle for a couple of hours before the vegetation began to thin. The ground vegetation began to give way to large trees, and eventually they found them selves in a mature forest.

“This is better,” MistyTrail said as she opened Mistake’s pack and withdrew their clothes. “What do we do with the uniforms?”

“I don’t know,” Mistake said as she dropped the coil of rope and stripped off her uniform. “If we leave them here, they will raise questions if they are found. I guess we should carry them with us for now.”

“That leg looks terrible,” frowned MistyTrail as she saw Mistake’s naked leg. “I thought you took care of it?”

“I wiped it clean as best I could,” declared Mistake. “What did you expect me to do with it?”

“Don’t you know any healing magic?” asked MistyTrail as she knelt in front of Mistake and examined the torn skin.

“Healing magic?” echoed Mistake. “Why would I? I am not a mage.”

“I bet you are and don’t know it,” responded MistyTrail as she cast a healing spell on the open wound. “You know how to use an air tunnel, and that is magic.”

“Do you think you could teach me?” brightened Mistake as she stared at her leg.

“Sure,” grinned MistyTrail. “I bet we could learn a lot from each other.”

Mistake looked down at her leg and grinned. The wound was closed. She ran her fingers over the red area of skin.

“That is magic that I could use,” she smiled as she put on her clothes. “Which way do we go from here?”

“I don’t know,” frowned MistyTrail. “I lost my sense of direction in the jungle. We should be able to find the mountains easily enough. If we climb up them a bit, maybe we will be able to see the city again.”

“I will lead,” offered Mistake. “As long as we are going uphill we should be fine. Sooner or later we will be high enough to see where we are.”

The forest was fairly dark, but occasionally the sunlight filtered through the leaves of the large trees. Mistake led the way until they came to a sizeable clearing. She gazed up at the angry sky and caught a glimpse of the high sun.

“Time for the midday meal,” she announced. “What food do we have left?”

“Not an awful lot,” frowned MistyTrail as she rummaged through her pack. “The bread was destroyed when it got wet. I have six pieces of dried meat. It should last us until we get to the city.”

“Let’s share one,” suggested Mistake. “I haven’t seen a single animal since entering this strange forest. Don’t you find that strange?”

“I have heard some birds,” agreed MistyTrail, “but it is strange not to see any other animals. Maybe the storm scattered them. In some ways this forest reminds me a bit of the Sakova. We will not starve in here. There is plenty to eat. You just have to know where to look. The bark of these trees is edible, although it is best if you boil it. There are plenty of mushrooms, and most of the insects are safe.”

“I think I would prefer a nice rabbit,” grimaced Mistake. “Let’s continue walking while it is light out.”

MistyTrail nodded and took over the lead. Several hours later she halted and held up her hand for silence. Mistake stopped abruptly, her pointy ears trying to detect what MistyTrail had heard. Suddenly, a large crack rent the air. Seconds later the ground trembled beneath their feet.