Chapter One Hundred and Sixty - You're Grounded, Young Lady

Chapter One Hundred and Sixty - You're Grounded, Young Lady

Chapter One Hundred and Sixty - You're Grounded, Young Lady

The sun was well on its way to setting by the time we finally slipped over the Darkwoods and began to cross a wide open field, one filled with a myriad of foot-tall stumps.

Get ready to drop the anchors! Clive called across the deck.

Steve and Gordon were already at the anchors on both sides, hands grabbing onto the levers that would loosen the mechanism holding them in place and let the iron weights fall to the ground below and hopefully grab onto something.

Awa! Awen called. Theres something over there!

I rushed over to her side of the ship and hung off the side to look out ahead. We were only a hundred or so meters away from the ground now, but we were still moving along at a decent pace.

I followed the direction Awen was pointing in and squinted.

Buildings out ahead! I shouted. Off to port!

Clive nodded. Aye! he replied.

I went back to hanging off the side of the ship, one hand holding my hat in place while my ears flopped back with the wind. The buildings out ahead werent anything impressive. A lot of long, low houses made of wood set in orderly rows, a couple of warehouses and one bigger building near the middle.

The machinery around it, and the presence of a large sawmill gave away their purpose. A lumber yard.

That explained all the cut-down trees, at least.

Drop the anchors! Clive said.

The engine roared, and the propeller started to spin in the opposite direction as usual.

The Beaver tilted strangely and pitched as we started to slow down.

With a great rattle, the anchors dropped, their chains jangling as they fell to the earth below.

Stow the sails! Clive said.

Every sail alongside the ship pulled in, taking away the Beavers great big wings that caught in the air.

I hopped over to one of those that needed to be manually stowed and started spinning its crank as quickly as I could.

Then, finally, with the snapping of ropes and the rumble of the engine, the Beaver came to a lurching stop. The anchors caught onto something and the ship wobbled about for a moment before settling.

A glance over the edge showed that we were only a couple of dozen meters from the ground now.

The engine sputtered and choked off as Clive cut the gas. It was surprisingly quiet when there was no wind whipping at us and no engine rumbling away in the background. Lets crank him down, Clive said.

Steve and Gordon got to work winding up the chains leading to the anchors, and the Beaver started to lower his way down to the ground below. I wiped the back of a hand across my brow, then grinned over to Awen. We made it, I said.

Ah, I guess so, she agreed. That was a bit... a lot stressful.

I gave her a quick hug, because that was the best way to reduce stress. No worries, were safe now, I said. Im going to go check on Clive and the others.

Doffing my hat, I brought it around with a flourish and pressed it over my chest as I bowed.

I think that maybe wearing such a feathery hat was making me a bit theatrical. Hello, I said. Im Captain Broccoli Bunch, of the Beaver Cleaver, I said. I hope we havent landed on your field?

The lumberjacks all looked over to each other. They were big guys, all of them well-muscled and looking quite tough. I probably seemed rather silly coming up to them with nothing while they had axes and such, but I wasnt there to fight.

They seemed to elect a leader among their group, an older man with shrewd eyes and a beard that was turning grey at the edges. He stepped up past the rest of them and came to a stop at the front of the group, the head of his axe thumping into the dirt.

Ahoy, he said. Pleasure to meet you, Captain Bunch. Im, Edmund, of the East Mattergrove Companys Woodland Harvesting Division.

That was a mouthful for a company name. I nodded to him and placed my hat back on with only a bit of wiggling to fit my ears back into their holes. Neat. I hope we arent bothering you by landing here?

Not really, he said. At least, not for now. If you plan to stay, thats another story.

I shook my head. No, nothing like that. We got caught in a bit of wind over the Darkwoods, I said. It dragged us over here. The ships pilot is really good though, and managed to land us safely. Were planning on heading to Needleford tomorrow morning.

Understanding flashed in his eyes, and he gestured to his friends who all seemed to calm down a bit more. The skies over the Darkwoods can be mighty dangerous, he said.

We sort of realized that, I said. It was my mistake that got us caught up in them, but it might be for the best in the end.

He nodded. Well, its one way to get to Needleford. Usually youd need to skirt near Port Royal then all along the Seven Points. Whered you hail from?

Fort Sylphrot, en route to the Bracklands, I said.

Edmund frowned at that. You went way off course then.

I smiled sheepishly. Oops?

He laughed once, a big barking thing, as rough as he looked. No matter. Most days Id say that you ought only keep a watch overnight. But weve been having troubles lately. Dryads in the woods have attacked our camp a few times. Weve... negotiated a sort of peace, but its cobweb-thin.

Dryads? I asked. Id only ever met one dryad. Oak had been nice. Especially his chin. How come theyre causing trouble? And if youre at peace with them, why is it so thin?

Edmund rubbed at his chin. Its a bit of a long story, I think. Just some nasty business thats blown up into nastier business. Now we have officials from the East Mattergrove Company here to sue for peace, but its not going so well.

Huh, thats unfortunate, I said. I met a dryad once, he was actually kind of nice.

He looked at me strangely. Nice? Never met creatures more tenacious and violent than those walking trees. Good warriors, some of them. Ill give them that. But nice isnt how Id describe them.

I shrugged. Maybe wed met different dryads, or maybe theyd met some under different circumstances.

If you want, captain, you could dine with the gentlefolk from the company. I'm sure theyd appreciate some company that aint as rough as us.

I glanced over to the Beaver and saw that Amaryllis had made her way down already. Surprisingly, Bastion was with her, and there was a rope ladder extending down the side all the way to the ground, with Awen climbing down rung-by-rung.

You know, that might be nice, I said. We have a bit of good food aboard. If you guys have a couple of good cooks we could make a big meal of it.

Edmunds eyebrows rose up. Ive never had bun food, but Ive heard good things about it. I wouldnt say no to a meal that isnt something we foraged here mixed with some oats.

I grinned up at the man. Then we can call it a little party. I love making new friends! And maybe you can tell me about your dryad problem. I havent spent all that much time around the tree folk, but I can maybe lend a hand.

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