Chapter 18: Crossing the River

Rawiri is fast asleep when I return to our to our makeshift tent. Cassandra welcomes me back with a smile and a kiss, before sliding down my body and wrapping her mouth around my now limp cock. She proceeds to lick my cock clean of Defina35’s and my juices. Without a fertile woman to trigger an erection, my cock remains useless for anything other than Cassandra’s plaything. Finally content that my cock is spotless, Cassandra snuggles against my shoulder and falls asleep. I lay awake for a while pondering the nature of personal relationships and the limitations of our sexual biology.

Neither Cassandra nor I get more than a few hours sleep. Rawiri wakes in the middle of the night demanding a feed. On impulse, I do something I’ve not done before, and sit next to Cassandra with my arm over her shoulder and watch while she feeds Rawiri. It brings on a strange sense of responsibility for the well being of Cassandra and Rawiri. For the first time I genuinely feel that we are a family.

The sound of thunder over the High Ridge far to the west of us wakes us early the next morning. It’s the signal for frantic activity. On Akenehi’s order, we quickly decamp and prepare to cross the river. A storm in the western high country would almost certainly mean that the river will rise before long. Makareta on the far bank has also realised the urgency for us to cross the river. She and her group cross back to the island to guide us across the second leg.

Fortunately we had agreed a plan last night and everyone knows what is expected of them. Needless to say those who are fully able take the brunt of the workload. We all cross to the island with relative ease, at which point the very young elves, along with Cassandra, Egbertha and the two babies are escorted to the far bank by Makareta and her group. In the meantime, half the equipment on the mules is unloaded and stacked on the island.

The pregnant Elf Maidens are helped across the river next, where they join Cassandra and the others. The third stage of the plan is probably the least predictable. The remaining five mules are lead into the slowly rising river with every able bodied elf and man guiding and cajoling them. Two mules prove cooperative and are soon on the other side. The other three refuse to be guided. One wanders off the shallow ledge and is swept into the deeper part of the river. Trying to rescue the mule would be dangerous, so we leave it to its fate. The other two mules won’t even enter the water.

“We are running out of time,” calls Makareta. “The river is rising. Grab your belongings and whatever else you can carry and get across the river.”

Although Akenehi is is our leader, she doesn’t countermand Makareta’s order. We quickly do as Makareta suggests and struggle across the river with little time to spare. As it is, we have had to abandon the two mules on the island along with about a third of the expedition’s food and equipment. Hopefully we may be able to retrieve some of it later.

Two of the adolescent elves are sent along the river bank to keep track of the mule that was swept into the river. Not only do we want to recover the mule, but also the equipment it was carrying. I can tell that Akenehi is also worried that a mule near the riverbank, dead or alive, may provide anybody following us with a pointer to where we are. I’m still sceptical about us being followed, but I’ve no evidence to disprove Akenehi’s concern.

Fortunately the storm doesn’t last long and the worst of the rain stays to the west of us. However, the river rises enough to make crossing to the island a hazardous venture. The low lying areas of the island are submerged, but the water doesn’t reach our stack of supplies. Unfortunately, left to their own devices, the mules on the island panic and leap into the water. The mules are promptly swept away. Their loads hinder their desperate attempts to reach safety. Akenehi dispatches Horowai and two adolescent elves along the river bank, to rescue them if they can.

The rest of us have no alternative but to wait. We need to recover our supplies from the island as soon as the river stops rising, and the two groups following the mules may need help if any of the mules reach our side of the river bank. I’m not sure what Akenehi will decide to do if the mules end up on the other bank, or get stranded where we can’t reach them.

By late afternoon the level of the river has dropped enough for Akenehi to order Seamus, Makareta, and I to test the crossing back to the island. Ropes are tied around our shoulders to haul us to safety should we lose our footing. Although the water is above waist high, the three of us don’t have too much difficulty in helping each other across. We collect a few items from the supplies that are light and portable, and pack them into the sacks each of us is carrying. We link two of the ropes that were around us into a single length and loop it over one of the lower branches of a suitable tree. Drew on the other bank mirrors our actions on his side of the river. We now have a high double rope loopline across the river, to which we attach the sacks. By pulling on one of the ropes, the sacks can be drawn across the river. The ropes sag under the weight of the sacks, but they remain clear of the water. The empty sacks are returned by reversing the process.

The heavier items need to be sent across one item at a time to avoid undue strain on the line. We are making good progress when one of the loads carrying an assortment of tools comes loose about halfway across, and threatens to tip everything into the river. Fortunately it is hanging over the shallower part of the river, so we could wade out and try to refasten the load. With only one safety rope left, Seamus volunteers to tackle the task alone. It’s a difficult manoeuvre which takes him nearly half an hour to complete. He helps guide the load until he and the load safely reaches the other bank. By now it is dusk and it would be risky trying to complete our job in the dark. The river is still too high to risk wading across without a safety rope. Rather than dismantle the rope line to recreate our safety ropes, Makareta and I tell the others that we will wait on the island overnight and complete the transportation in the morning. Fortunately the elves excellent hearing enables our message to be heard on the opposite bank.