Chapter 38 - Ashore
"So, you didn't know I'd be coming back when you got the next token, Oddy?" Dean asked.
It was evening. The sun had gone below the horizon, but the sky still glowed with many tones of sunset. They were in the open boat, having taken down the awning to admire the view.
"We weren't even sure you would leave when you touched the token." Oddy explained.
"Well, Ambrose knew," Dean grunted, taking another pie from his backpack.
"You have to remember, Dean, that Ambrose could not tell Oddy things directly," Dev said. "Everything was hidden in riddles and round-about references."
"We're really glad to see you're all right, Dean," Lydia said. "Ambrose healed your spider bites?"
"Oh, yeah!" Dean grinned. "Hardly had to raise a finger, and the pain and the bite marks were gone. That was a bloody relief! They felt like they were burning me up from the inside. It was nice sleeping in a proper bed under a proper roof again."
"You big wuss, Dean," Jimmy laughed. "Making it sound as though you'd been lying on broken glass for a month. You had one night in a camp bed — in a tent!"
"Yeah, but it was great to get away from the smell of your farts, Jim," Dean quipped.
"Cheeky sod," Jimmy grumbled.
"What did Ambrose tell you while you were with him?" Oddy asked.
"Didn't see him much, mate," Dean said in a serious tone. "I think he was monitoring you guys and trying to give the Watcher a hard time almost twenty-four hours a day. I saw Harry Potter, though. He came to have a word with Ambrose, then he looked in on me. Told me to apologise again to you, Jimmy, and Shona. Y'know, for the whole flying rock mess. Turns out he's going on a vampire hunt, last I heard. Bloke called Rowle, an ex-Death Eater who's been running all the anti-Ministry stuff? Well, he's a vampire now — a daywalker like Professor Verdi. Geez, never thought I'd say that like it was no big deal!"
"Hmm. Turns out Ambrose is doing more for us than some people think," Oddy said to Lydia.
"I know, I know," she admitted.
"So, Lydia?" Shona asked. "How come those squid came to help?"
"It was Gerty," Lydia said. "You know, the giant squid from Hogwarts who I swim with?"
"How did a squid get from Hogwarts… to a different world?!" Corben asked, astounded.
"Bicycle?" Dean suggested.
"There is some suggestion that squid are trans-dimensional creatures," Oddy said. "Admittedly, the article was in an old copy of the Quibbler and there was little compelling evidence. Even so, I think it is more workable than Dean's theory."
"I meant," Lydia backpedalled, "that perhaps Gerty had contacted the giant squid in this world and asked them to help us."
They continued to catch up and to chatter until the last hints of the sun had gone and the sky was an extravaganza of stars. Aron left his tiller to come forward and speak to them.
"You might want to take the opportunity of some sleep," he advised. "We shall reach the further shore in the morning light. It may be some time before you find as good an opportunity as this."
"He's right," Lydia conceded. "Put the awning up and we'll all try to get some sleep."
They arranged themselves with more thought than the last time and could lie down in relative peace. They did not all fit under the canopy. A few of them lay in the bows, open to the stars. They had enough clothing to keep warm, but huddled together for an iota of comfort.
Freddie went to sit with Aron. They spoke little, but Freddie was happy to have someone to talk with who radiated wisdom and calm. These were two things he felt he lacked. Aron saw him differently. He admired the wisdom Freddie had in seeing goodness wherever he could. He also reminded Freddie that he had already dealt with danger and kept his head — both metaphorically and physically. Freddie decided after this that he would get some sleep after all.
"Will you come with us, Aron?" Freddie pleaded.
They had tied up to a landing stage not unlike the one they had left. The beach here was much longer, stretching out of view, and went further inland. There were no cliffs, but they could see mountains in the distance, part-veiled in shreds of cloud.
"I cannot, Master Freddie," Aron said. "I am a ferryman, nothing more nor less. All I can offer is advice."
He turned to Lydia. Aron was still in his boat; the Companions were on the landing stage. Lydia stepped closer.
"Miss Lydia," Aron addressed her. "You will meet someone, someone from your world. He will guide you as best he can. Be warned he has… difficulty with sorting between the various realities he can see. He means well, I believe, but you must learn to interpret what he says at times. As I have said before, you should be careful about those you choose to trust. Yet I think this wanderer may earn your trust, in time. Beyond that, I can give you no further advice."
"Thank you, Aron," Lydia said. "I hope we haven't caused you too much trouble. Travel well, ferryman."
Aron bowed his head, then turned to Freddie.
"Fredlington, your journey will be the longest," he said. "Fare thee well."
Freddie frowned, but before he could reply, Aron moved to the stern and returned to his tiller.
"May you all fare well!" Aron called as his boat pulled away from the pier. "You would benefit from faring to your right along the beach."
He waved once, then fixed his gaze on the horizon as they had seen him do so often. The boat glided through the waves.
They set off along the beach, as the ferryman had suggested. Inland from the beach were high dunes scattered with spiky grass and scrubby bushes. Walking up and down the dry sand of the dunes would have been hard work, they knew. So they walked on the beach close to the water's edge, where the sand was damp and firm.
The beach continued for many kilometres, broken at intervals by rocky headlands. At the beginning, they chattered between themselves but, as their walk went on, the chatter died down. They kept walking in near silence, looking at the scenery or contemplating the horrors they had faced. After trudging over sand and scrambling over rocks for hours, they stopped for lunch.
"I think there's one thing we've got to address before we go much further," Jimmy announced.
"What's that, Jimmy?" Lydia asked.
"Leadership," he said.
A start of surprise, even shock, ran round the seated group.
"Lydia's the leader," Oddy jumped in. "We've all agreed to that!"
"I know, Oddy," Jimmy assured him. "I've agreed to it too, and I think it's right. But we've got to act like we mean it. Lydia said we're not to use magic until she decides otherwise. We haven't all stuck to that. Sorry, Soph, but you know it's true."
"I know, I know," Sophie admitted. "But I get scared."
"But you've been through, like, loads of danger, Soph!" Freddie pointed out. "Like when Lydz was kidnapped and we saved her."
"Oh, aye," Xander observed. "The time when Xander hunted down the kidnappers and saved the day, then the two witches left Freddie behind."
"Haha!" Freddie laughed. "Sand witches! Sand and witches, get it? Like sandwiches."
He wagged his sandwich at them to underline the point. A slice of tomato fell into the dust.
"Yeah. Bit of focus maybe, Fredster?" Jimmy advised.
"I'm scared for my friends," Sophie explained.
"Jimmy, I'm not convinced Sophie has done anything wrong," Lydia said. "I don't want people slavishly following what I say. There could be times when decisions have to be made too quickly for everyone to wait for me to decide. Especially as we go further through the Anteworld and some of my magic gets harder. Ambrose wanted me to have companions, and he wanted me to have advisers.
"As Freddie told me: teams can do more than any single person because of the way their skills add up. Er… I may be paraphrasing a bit. The point is that people must be allowed some leeway. But you're right, Jimmy. We needed to have this conversation."
"I'll try not to make a habit of being first to use magic," Sophie said.
"What we need now is someone who can tell us where we go next," Lydia mused.
"Aron said there's a guy wandering around who will help us," Freddie said.
"What does he look like, this guy?" Corben asked.
"Well," came a voice they did not know, "many say he looks disreputable, like a ne'er-do-well or scallywag."