After drinking greedily from the water barrel and then eating the handful of oats and dried fruit Miro gave her, Amber fell down and was instantly asleep. Miro burned with curiosity as he lay down beside her, yet he knew he needed to let her rest.
The fronds that made their bed felt like soft linen and the rough canvas sack made a warm blanket. As Miro thought again about the strange things he'd seen, it started to rain, the heavy drops of water splattering against the canvas roof with a steady patter.
They'd survived their first day on the island. They were warm, and they were dry.
Miro fell asleep.
~
"LORD of the Sky," Miro breathed, as he looked at what Amber had brought, now revealed by the bright light of morning.
"I thought you'd want to see right away."
"So you brought it with you?"
Amber shrugged. "Time is marching on."
It was a map.
"I thought it was a removable panel, but then I found the drawing was part of the wall, engraved into the wood itself. The wood was weak, so I decided to bring the wall. The part with the map, that is."
"That's obviously where we are now." Miro pointed to the three islands. "Wherever Altura is, it's not on here."
"But now we know where these people came from," Amber said, "and most likely, where they are now."
Near the islands, further to the west, lines marked out a coastline, stretching along the height of the wall.
Amber had discovered a land mass on the other side of the Great Western Ocean. It wasn't just big, it was immense.
The map showed them a great continent to rival their own.
18
THE NEXT day Miro left Amber to rest while he searched the town and the huge ship again. He finally returned at the end of the day, convinced there was nothing new for them there.
Amber's search had uncovered little besides the map. That night, Miro and Amber compared what they'd seen, deciding that the town he'd found was the larger of the two, while Amber had probably explored a small fishing settlement. Yet the discovery she'd made was incredible.
"This new land is closer by far than Altura. Our best bet is to try to make it there. Amber, we still have a chance of finding these people, and finding a way home. Our main problem is we'd never survive the open sea in the longboat," Miro said. "So if there aren't any workable ships on this island, our only option is to try the next."
"What about the ship you found?"
"Too damaged," Miro said. "The bow was smashed up when the foremast collapsed, also the two of us would never be able to work a ship that big."
"How will we get out of here, then?" Amber asked.
"Well, we know these people knew about this poison, and we have a good idea where they are now. When they departed it was planned and intentional; they left nothing behind. We don't know why they left, but most important of all, stuck on this island we're not doing Tomas any good. We need to find a ship."
"What makes you think a ship will still be in any condition to travel?"
"The dry dock kept that huge ship in pretty good condition. A sailboat that's smaller, yet big enough to sail on open water, might be out there." Miro smiled without humour. "Unless you have a better idea?"
"How far do you make it to the next island?" Amber asked.
"Far enough that I think we should take everything with us," said Miro. "We can always build another shelter, but if something goes wrong and we can't come back, at least we'll have our provisions."
"When do we leave?"
Miro looked out at the lagoon. "We'll get the longboat ready at first light. Tomorrow we can row it around the headland and bring it to the closest part of this island to the next. We can then beach it and get another night's rest, before trying to make the crossing first thing the following morning."
That night, Miro and Amber slept for the last time in their shelter. They dismantled it at dawn, folding the square of canvas and pulling the six oars out of the ground.
After yet another breakfast of oats and dried fruit, they left the longboat unloaded and spent the next hour pushing it down to the water's edge, turning it around so it faced the water. Amber then sat in the boat while Miro handed her barrels to stow, followed by the oars and the square of canvas.
Miro had considered making the canvas into a sail, but with no keel they wouldn't be able to sail across the wind. He held the option in reserve, although he hoped that with both of them rowing, they wouldn't need to use it.
Amber jumped out of the boat and they both pushed at it until waves lapped against the wood, finally lifting up the bow as the water came underneath.
"Jump in," Miro said.
Amber climbed over the side and immediately fitted a pair of oars to the rowlocks. With the water nearly at Miro's waist, he gave one last heave and clambered aboard. They were away.
"Remember," Miro said, "today is about getting around the headland. We can worry about making the crossing tomorrow."