THE BOKKANERS OF THE NORTH (Wyrms of Pasandir #3)
THE BOKKANERS OF THE NORTH
Against all odds, Eskandar and his bunch of ragtag youngsters have managed to capture a powerful Qoori fourmaster warship, and used her cannons to blow up the pirate harbor of Brisa. Victory!
But his enemies won’t give the young wyrmcaller time to bask in the glory of a job well done, and soon the voice of Teodar in his head summons him north, where new and even more powerful pirates create havoc on the seas.
Two thousand miles north... that means finding a new base for his army of kids. Teodar sends them by airship to Smalkand, a deserted cave system on the coast of their own Pasandir Peaks. On arrival, Eskandar and his companions discover their new home harbors some surprises...
Once inside Smalkand Keep, and with his main force in the ships still days away, Eskandar and his small group find themselves under attack from Bokkaners and other minions of their ultimate nemesis, the lich lord.
New adventures in the mighty, snowcapped Peaks, at sea, and in the rich lands of the Hizmyran kingdom await our heroes in ‘The Bokkaners of the North’, the third book of Wyrms of Pasandir.
The Bokkaners of the North, Wyrms of Pasandir #3
Author: Paul E. Horsman
For Ages 13+
Editor: Kira Tregoning
Cover Design: Deranged Doctor Design
Publisher: Red Rune Books (2017)
Published as: print book, e-book
Pages: ca. 246
Price: $ 9.90 (print), $ 3.99 (e-book)
CHAPTER ONE: WE MUST GO NORTH
Six days after our victory at Brisa, I sat on Fort Jamril’s upper balcony, my chair tilted back, my feet upon the railing and my homemade straw hat deep over my eye, thinking of nothing much.
Lothi-Mo lay curled up in my lap, snoozing. Not long ago my wyrmling girl used to fit snugly inside my tunic, or perched on my shoulder with her tail wrapped around my neck. By now I realized she grew a lot faster than me, for she was the size of a twenty-pound tabby cat. I rubbed her neck absently; another few weeks and she’d have to sleep on the floor.
I closed my eyes and let the sun play over my bare chest. I wasn’t afraid of sunburn; my slate-gray skin wasn’t sensitive, as I basked in the warmth, the smells of sea and jungle, and the laughter of my friends coming up from the small beach beside the fort. The former street kids were happy, and with good reason.
Last week’s attack on the pirate town of Brisa had been a wild success. We’d captured the big ship now riding at anchor in the bay below, had freed her imprisoned crew of sailor trainees and used the ship’s cannons to shoot up the pirates’ harbor. It had been great fun.
I sipped my cold lemonade and sighed.
‘Eskandar, you blidiot! Stop wasting time!’ an angry voice exploded in my head. ‘Get off your lazy butt and move!’
I nearly spat lemonade over Lothi-Mo.
‘Teodar? What’s wrong?’
‘Everything!’ my holy friend snapped. ‘While pirates and madmen rampage through my monastery, you are basking in the sun like a lazy bum, frittering away invaluable time. Get up, gather your precious kids army and go north.’
‘What’s the sudden hurry?’ I said, trying to sit up and put my lemonade down without dislodging Lothi-Mo. ‘It’s only a week since our big victory at Brisa.’
‘That’s just it!’ His voice rose to a shout. ‘You got them into a tizzy with your big victory. They’re gathering their forces. They’re planning something, and-I-don’t-know-what!’
‘Who’s gathering what forces where?’ I said as reasonably as I could.
‘The Bokkaner pirates, that’s who,’ he said, not reasonable at all. ‘I saw them gathering someplace; with lots of ships. I don’t know where.’
‘You saw...’ ‘Then I understood what he meant. ‘You had a vision.’
‘Yes! It was a future-vision. I saw those ships going someplace outside my sighting. Now those pirate guys in the monastery keep staring up at my sanctum, nudging each other and laughing. They’re coming for me; I know it! You must go north.’
‘I want to go north,’ I said, and I did. We had discussed it, Kellani, Naudin and I. We agreed we were going, only not today. Not this week. ‘There’s one teeny problem; it is four thousand miles. We can’t sail back and forth over that distance; we need a base up there somewhere.’
‘Is that all?’ he shouted. ‘Mountain’s Holy Spittle, why didn’t you ask? You...’
‘Hush,’ Lothi-Mo said lazily, lifting her head a little. ‘Boys shouldn’t be loud.’
I goggled at the curled up wyrmling in my lap. Teodar and I mindspoke on a very private level and she had never shown she could follow us.
‘Yes. You are right,’ Teodar said. ‘Apologies, Lady Lothi-Mo. He sometimes infuriates me.’
‘Wyrm boys aren’t very clever,’ she said, with only a hint of her familiar chirp in her voice. ‘But he tries, so you be nice to him.’
‘When you two are finished, shall we go on?’ I said.
Teodar grunted. ‘Had you asked me, I’d have told you before. I have the place you want. A secure cave system with lots of rooms, fully furnished; a beautiful bay for your fine vessels, free treasures and no rent.’
‘It sounds too good to be true,’ I said. I wondered why he had never thought to tell me when we discussed the subject of bases in the north before. ‘Do we have to steal it from some nasty guys first?’
‘Of course not,’ he said, sounding peeved. ‘It is a deserted property. Ask that bottle-girl about Smalkand Keep.’
Bottle-girl? That was Jem, our spellbound ghost princess. ‘It’s in Nanstalgarod then?’ I said. ‘A desert ruin?’
‘No and no.’ He sighed in exasperation. ‘I’ll show you.’
I sat back, stroking Lothi-Mo, and waited until an image appeared in my mind of the western coastline as I’d seen it so many times from the old Tipred’s quarterdeck. There were the sheer cliffs of the Kell highland plateau, passing by with a speed not even a steamship could match, let alone my old sloop-of-war. Then I saw the craggy mountains of the Pasandir Peaks; endless snow-topped peaks scratching the clouds, with their sunward sides sparkling. It was so familiar I could feel the crunch of snow under my bare feet as I trudged across the high passes and I shivered in spite of the heat on my balcony.
‘The mountains of home,’ Lothi-Mo said wistfully. ‘Wanna go there.’
‘I’ve seen that stuff before,’ I said.
‘But you never looked,’ Teodar said. ‘Watch for a big red rock.’
Scowling, I peered at the image. ‘I don’t...’ There! A tall, red-stained rock protruded from the mountainside, clearly visible if you knew what to look for. ‘That bleeding stone, you mean?’
‘Yeah. Now look well.’
It was as if we sailed straight at the mountains, with our sails full of wind. Involuntarily I braced myself against an impact that didn’t come.
Teodar snorted. ‘Tricked you there, didn’t I? Watch.’
Darn, the red rock had concealed a crevice in the mountains!
‘Is that a passage?’ I asked, but already we shot into the opening, with looming cliffs on both sides. The sunlight disappeared, and I shivered. For several seconds we sailed on in near darkness before we emerged in a wide bay, sparkling in the sun.
‘Phew,’ I said. ‘You have a realistic imagination, bud.’
‘The caves are to the left, behind those tall firs,’ Teodar said primly. ‘Glad you like it.’
‘Ni-ice place,’ Lothi-Mo said. ‘It has a wyrm ledge. I really wanna go home.’
‘It’s Peak territory?’ I said. ‘That makes it ours. Great; I’d better get going.’
‘Yes, you’d better,’ Teodar said. ‘Go there; settle in. Not too long, mind you! Then go out and kill those pirates before they come knocking on my door. Remember you’re the big, hulking Defender of Bodrus, little brother.’ With that, he was gone.
I lowered my skinny five feet back in my chair and closed my eyes. North, I thought, calling up the images of the bay again.
‘North big place,’ Lothi-Mo said drowsily. ‘Many many pirates; good battles coming. Let’s go there.’
‘We will,’ I promised. ‘We’ll go looking for that pirate fleet and for their secret base, Angsthafn.’
‘We’ll find,’ she said. ‘Then we’ll fight.’
I drained my lemonade. ‘Off my lap, you lazy girl. If we’re leaving soon, I’m going for a swim while I can.’
Lothi-Mo uncoiled and sprang into the air. ‘Like that,’ she said. ‘The water is a good place.’
Before we came here, I hadn’t known wyrms could swim, but she moved through the sea as if she’d been born in it. She could hold her breath a lot longer than our kids, and she swam like an eel, slithering at great speed.
I picked up my broomstick from underneath my chair. ‘Race you down.’ I dove over the balustrade for the two hundred feet drop to the little inlet beside the fort.
Lothi-Mo won, of course; she always did. She’s too darned fast, that girl.
Six days after our victory at Brisa, I sat on Fort Jamril’s upper balcony, my chair tilted back, my feet upon the railing and my homemade straw hat deep over my eye, thinking of nothing much.
Lothi-Mo lay curled up in my lap, snoozing. Not long ago my wyrmling girl used to fit snugly inside my tunic, or perched on my shoulder with her tail wrapped around my neck. By now I realized she grew a lot faster than me, for she was the size of a twenty-pound tabby cat. I rubbed her neck absently; another few weeks and she’d have to sleep on the floor.
I closed my eyes and let the sun play over my bare chest. I wasn’t afraid of sunburn; my slate-gray skin wasn’t sensitive, as I basked in the warmth, the smells of sea and jungle, and the laughter of my friends coming up from the small beach beside the fort. The former street kids were happy, and with good reason.
Last week’s attack on the pirate town of Brisa had been a wild success. We’d captured the big ship now riding at anchor in the bay below, had freed her imprisoned crew of sailor trainees and used the ship’s cannons to shoot up the pirates’ harbor. It had been great fun.
I sipped my cold lemonade and sighed.
‘Eskandar, you blidiot! Stop wasting time!’ an angry voice exploded in my head. ‘Get off your lazy butt and move!’
I nearly spat lemonade over Lothi-Mo.
‘Teodar? What’s wrong?’
‘Everything!’ my holy friend snapped. ‘While pirates and madmen rampage through my monastery, you are basking in the sun like a lazy bum, frittering away invaluable time. Get up, gather your precious kids army and go north.’
‘What’s the sudden hurry?’ I said, trying to sit up and put my lemonade down without dislodging Lothi-Mo. ‘It’s only a week since our big victory at Brisa.’
‘That’s just it!’ His voice rose to a shout. ‘You got them into a tizzy with your big victory. They’re gathering their forces. They’re planning something, and-I-don’t-know-what!’
‘Who’s gathering what forces where?’ I said as reasonably as I could.
‘The Bokkaner pirates, that’s who,’ he said, not reasonable at all. ‘I saw them gathering someplace; with lots of ships. I don’t know where.’
‘You saw...’ ‘Then I understood what he meant. ‘You had a vision.’
‘Yes! It was a future-vision. I saw those ships going someplace outside my sighting. Now those pirate guys in the monastery keep staring up at my sanctum, nudging each other and laughing. They’re coming for me; I know it! You must go north.’
‘I want to go north,’ I said, and I did. We had discussed it, Kellani, Naudin and I. We agreed we were going, only not today. Not this week. ‘There’s one teeny problem; it is four thousand miles. We can’t sail back and forth over that distance; we need a base up there somewhere.’
‘Is that all?’ he shouted. ‘Mountain’s Holy Spittle, why didn’t you ask? You...’
‘Hush,’ Lothi-Mo said lazily, lifting her head a little. ‘Boys shouldn’t be loud.’
I goggled at the curled up wyrmling in my lap. Teodar and I mindspoke on a very private level and she had never shown she could follow us.
‘Yes. You are right,’ Teodar said. ‘Apologies, Lady Lothi-Mo. He sometimes infuriates me.’
‘Wyrm boys aren’t very clever,’ she said, with only a hint of her familiar chirp in her voice. ‘But he tries, so you be nice to him.’
‘When you two are finished, shall we go on?’ I said.
Teodar grunted. ‘Had you asked me, I’d have told you before. I have the place you want. A secure cave system with lots of rooms, fully furnished; a beautiful bay for your fine vessels, free treasures and no rent.’
‘It sounds too good to be true,’ I said. I wondered why he had never thought to tell me when we discussed the subject of bases in the north before. ‘Do we have to steal it from some nasty guys first?’
‘Of course not,’ he said, sounding peeved. ‘It is a deserted property. Ask that bottle-girl about Smalkand Keep.’
Bottle-girl? That was Jem, our spellbound ghost princess. ‘It’s in Nanstalgarod then?’ I said. ‘A desert ruin?’
‘No and no.’ He sighed in exasperation. ‘I’ll show you.’
I sat back, stroking Lothi-Mo, and waited until an image appeared in my mind of the western coastline as I’d seen it so many times from the old Tipred’s quarterdeck. There were the sheer cliffs of the Kell highland plateau, passing by with a speed not even a steamship could match, let alone my old sloop-of-war. Then I saw the craggy mountains of the Pasandir Peaks; endless snow-topped peaks scratching the clouds, with their sunward sides sparkling. It was so familiar I could feel the crunch of snow under my bare feet as I trudged across the high passes and I shivered in spite of the heat on my balcony.
‘The mountains of home,’ Lothi-Mo said wistfully. ‘Wanna go there.’
‘I’ve seen that stuff before,’ I said.
‘But you never looked,’ Teodar said. ‘Watch for a big red rock.’
Scowling, I peered at the image. ‘I don’t...’ There! A tall, red-stained rock protruded from the mountainside, clearly visible if you knew what to look for. ‘That bleeding stone, you mean?’
‘Yeah. Now look well.’
It was as if we sailed straight at the mountains, with our sails full of wind. Involuntarily I braced myself against an impact that didn’t come.
Teodar snorted. ‘Tricked you there, didn’t I? Watch.’
Darn, the red rock had concealed a crevice in the mountains!
‘Is that a passage?’ I asked, but already we shot into the opening, with looming cliffs on both sides. The sunlight disappeared, and I shivered. For several seconds we sailed on in near darkness before we emerged in a wide bay, sparkling in the sun.
‘Phew,’ I said. ‘You have a realistic imagination, bud.’
‘The caves are to the left, behind those tall firs,’ Teodar said primly. ‘Glad you like it.’
‘Ni-ice place,’ Lothi-Mo said. ‘It has a wyrm ledge. I really wanna go home.’
‘It’s Peak territory?’ I said. ‘That makes it ours. Great; I’d better get going.’
‘Yes, you’d better,’ Teodar said. ‘Go there; settle in. Not too long, mind you! Then go out and kill those pirates before they come knocking on my door. Remember you’re the big, hulking Defender of Bodrus, little brother.’ With that, he was gone.
I lowered my skinny five feet back in my chair and closed my eyes. North, I thought, calling up the images of the bay again.
‘North big place,’ Lothi-Mo said drowsily. ‘Many many pirates; good battles coming. Let’s go there.’
‘We will,’ I promised. ‘We’ll go looking for that pirate fleet and for their secret base, Angsthafn.’
‘We’ll find,’ she said. ‘Then we’ll fight.’
I drained my lemonade. ‘Off my lap, you lazy girl. If we’re leaving soon, I’m going for a swim while I can.’
Lothi-Mo uncoiled and sprang into the air. ‘Like that,’ she said. ‘The water is a good place.’
Before we came here, I hadn’t known wyrms could swim, but she moved through the sea as if she’d been born in it. She could hold her breath a lot longer than our kids, and she swam like an eel, slithering at great speed.
I picked up my broomstick from underneath my chair. ‘Race you down.’ I dove over the balustrade for the two hundred feet drop to the little inlet beside the fort.
Lothi-Mo won, of course; she always did. She’s too darned fast, that girl.
