This is an excerpt from Tribe of the Snow Tiger, which I hope will be going live next month.  Sure everyone knows what that means.  I’ll probably be using Thursday to get volunteers for this release.  Thinking of making it a two-stage thing.  First, the ‘book is live’ post and then guest posts a week or two later.  Anyway, that’s Thursday’s Question 3 topic, so now off to the fun.

Sari by Jason Pedersen

The jungle is loud and active as the boats move along the winding river, the water repeatedly switching from rapids to an eerily calm flow. Birds call out with beautiful song and monkeys leap around the canopy, the animals rarely coming into full view. The lush trees are covered in wide leaves and twisting vines, many of the towering plants bare for the lower twenty feet of their trunk. Insects of all sizes flit through the air and along the water where hungry fish leap out to catch a meal, some of them getting swooped up in the claws of eagles. The treetops are very thin above the river’s first few miles, which gives the travelers more than enough light to see what lies ahead. Further into the region, the dense canopy covers the jungle in shadows. There is an occasional shaft of light where a fallen tree has left a gap, but the adventurers find themselves struggling to peer through the gloom.

Fizzle is reminded of the plants and animals that surrounded him when he lived in Visindor Forest, but the jungle feels much more primal and crowded. He is tempted to explore the shoreline until he catches sight of a spotted cat that is hungrily eyeing him. The predator remains in the shadows and follows the boats for several minutes before settling for an unsuspecting rodent that is the size of a small dog. The attack is so fast that Fizzle remains shivering on Delvin’s lap long after they lose sight of the cat, the warrior patting the drite on the head until he calms down. Both of them watch Sari who is lazily sprawled at the front of the boat with her fingers in the water. Several sharp-toothed fish and a few snakes have attempted to bite her, but they are repeatedly spun away by an eddy whenever they get within striking distance.

A roar of water gives the gypsy enough time to stop relaxing and turn to face the incoming rapids. While the other boats struggle with long poles, the champions gently coast around the rocks and logs. None of the busy prisoners notice since Sari has kept their vessel in the back where only the guides can watch the ship’s unnatural movements. It takes more of her energy to maintain their rear position than to avoid the danger as she uses the churning water to guide them to safety. In the hopes of avoiding suspicion, Delvin pretends to use the pole as he mimics what he sees the others doing. The act fails when he looks like he is pushing the boat to the right and Sari has it veer to the left. Feeling foolish, the warrior separates the pole into its original two parts and puts it back on the floor.

“Maybe I should put my armor on!” Delvin shouts over the rapids. A spray of water hits his face as they spin and a sudden wave tosses them over what the warrior swears is a scaly, long-tailed log. “That thing had teeth, but it wasn’t an alligator! I should be ready for a fight, so you can focus on steering.”

“Stick to your shield and sword, Cunningham,” Sari replies, her face covered in water. No longer feeling overheated by the muggy air, she revels in the cold river that sings to her naiad blood. “This trip is still going to be rough. One mistake and we end up in the water. Your chainmail will sink you to the bottom and I might not be able to save you. Just relax and rest those manly muscles for when we really need them.”

“My chainmail allows me to breathe and move underwater.”

“In that case do whatever you want and don’t mind my opinion.”

“Rock! Moving rock!” Fizzle excitedly shouts when a gray form rises out of the river ahead of the boats. “Go over! Go around! Fizzle not like it!”