The Weight-to-Oar Ratio

Jorton, the only town allowed in Trungen Forest and home of Lady Nimmo, is having its first secret meeting. Of course, since it's a secret, everyone knows about it. The Stumper Guard deployed to Lady Nimmo's house to prevent eavesdropping. They chased off teenagers from one side of Lady Nimmo's house to find their parents on the other side. When they escorted them away, dwarfs snuck to the back. Everyone pressed to know what the hush-hush was all about.

Inside Lady Nimmo's house, the messenger from Selwyn addressed the room containing Lady Nimmo, Jor, Oakaford, Flimlet, and the spirit of Trungen. "The King was clear that his message be kept secret. He made me swear."

"My stumpers are doing their best," Lady Nimmo said before an idea hit her. "Let's take this meeting to the art room. It's in the middle of the house, with no windows."

The art room wasn't conducive to a meeting but was secure from prying ears. Everyone stood along the walls except for Lady Nimmo, who sat in her sewing chair.

"I'm sorry for the tiny room," Lady Nimmo said.

"No trouble at all, my Lady," the messenger said.

"You have the floor."

The messenger straightened, "Yes, my Lady." He paused for dramatic effect. "A week ago, the Eye of Duran was stolen." The messenger paused again, presumably for another dramatic effect.

"And what is this Eye?"

"The Eye? Is it possible you know nothing about the Eye of Duran?"

"I assure you, it is."

"Yes. Excuse me, my Lady." He cleared his throat. "The Eye of Duran is a magic orb that monitors the borders of Selwyn." He continued his habit of pausing. "So, you can see why we must retrieve it."

"It is obvious, but what does the Eye have to do with me?"

"Our spies have discovered the location of the Eye on a small island in the Sea of Grindle. The King believes your magic ability could be used to recover it."

"It would be no challenge for Selwyn's navy," Jor said.

"You would think," the messenger answered. "However, the island is protected by fire-bolt dragons."

Flimlet whistled, "Ship destroyers."

"These are no ordinary thieves if they're in league with dragons," Jor said. "So, what is the King thinking?"

"We have a three-person underwater boat to sneak onto the island. Once there, she could covertly build an army of stumpers, then overwhelm the small fortress holding the orb."

The room was silent.

"It takes time to carve my stumpers. I would need dozens, or over a hundred, to do the job."

"The King understands it might take some time."

"How are we to remain concealed while I build this army?"

"There is a cave on the west side of the island. Our spies used it. It has a small entrance that leads to a large cave."

The meeting droned on and on, like most meetings do. There were motions made and seconded to go and not to go. Eventually, Lady Nimmo used her executive privilege as Duchess of Jorton to override all motions. She decided she would try. After some more boring minutes, they elected Jor and the spirit of Trungen to accompany her.

To maintain secrecy, they started a rumor that Lady Nimmo was invited to Selwyn to receive its highest civilian honor from the King. The three adventurers headed east, then circled west to Izen, the Selwyn port city on the Sea of Grindle. They were to rendezvous with Captain Wington on his ship, the White Tsunami.

If this were a high fantasy story, like Lord of the Rings, we would have followed the three as they traveled through intense lands full of peril. They would have fought monsters. They would have revealed more about their backstories. However, this is not a high fantasy story; it is a low fantasy story, so they walked for a few days, and nothing eventful happened. So, let's skip the boring part and jump onto Captain Wington's ship leaving port.

Captain Wington beamed proudly, "May I give you a tour of the White Tsunami?"

"Lead the way," Jor said.

"Did you know she's the pride of Selwyn's navy?" Captain Wington said. "Yes, she is the fastest and newest. She has 120 oar-power. Sixteen catapults. Three archer towers. One hundred archers. Do you think any ship would challenge us? Do you?"

"I'd think they'd be foolish, too," Lady Nimmo said.

"You think so? Well, you'd be correct."

The Captain took them to the underwater boat mounted above the stern. A crane held the wooden craft, which was made from a gigantic hollowed-out tree and polished to perfection. A large cork was wedged into the bow, and a turbine was built onto the stern. On top was a tube-like spyglass.

"There are three seats inside," the Captain beamed. "Each seat has a different job to do. The first seat handles the steering oar, the middle mans the vertical eyeglass, and the last spins the accelerator wheel attached to the turbine. That turbine is state-of-the-art technology. It will propel your little craft as fast as a boat with ten oar-power. Isn't that amazing?"

They were impressed. Lady Nimmo asked about the entrance.

"Well, you see, that contraption removes the cork to allow access." He pointed to an external press mounted to the ship. "Once seated, we will use a special mallet made for the giant cork and hammer it back in place."

"How will we exit?" Lady Nimmo asked.

"A special press is mounted to the ceiling of your boat. Unmount it, attach it to the three brackets in the bow, and crank away. The press plate will push the cork free."

"That is ingenious, but how will we hammer the cork back in place to return?"

"That will be tricky. We stashed two mallets into the floor, but unfortunately, someone will have to hammer it in place from the outside."

"Someone must be left behind! Why are we only now hearing about this?" Lady Nimmo turned red.

"I'm sure it was an oversight," the Captain said. He would have continued his pathetic line of excuses had he not been interrupted by archers shouting from the towers warning of approaching ships.

The Captain called for his spyglass. "That's impossible! They're gaining!"

A Hollywood-handsome man walked over while the Captain was spying on the oncoming ships. His hair was the envy of every woman – long, wavy, and black. He was tall and muscular. His white shirt was half unbuttoned, revealing just the right amount of chest hair. He smiled, showing the whitest teeth Lady Nimmo had ever seen.

"I'm Travis. You must be Lady Nimmo," he said, holding her hand and gently kissing it.

Jor cut in, "And I'm Jor, her father."

"Ahh, Travis, just the man I wanted to see," the Captain said as he handed Travis the spyglass. "Are they gaining on us?"

"I'd say they are."

"How is that possible? We have a 120 oar-powered ship."

"Oar-power is tricky. It depends on so many factors: the weight-to-oar ratio, the rowers' strength, and the ship's design." Travis studied the smaller ships. "The weight-to-oar ratio is probably at work here. Look. Those ships are much smaller and lighter, yet I count 80 oars."

"Well, no matter. They will be on us within a couple of hours," the Captain resolved to ensure the mission did not fail. "We will turn to face our predators. Let's see how they like our teeth."

"Yes, Captain!" Travis relayed the orders to the crew.

"Lady Nimmo," the Captain said. "After we fully turn, we will lower your craft into the water. We will fight to give you as much time as we can."

The three loaded into the tiny boat, and Travis hammered the cork back into place. He shouted as loud as he could, "Are you ready?" They shouted back in the affirmative. "Then, good luck!"

The crane lowered the underwater boat into the water. The craft's weight was proportioned perfectly to float underwater only a couple of feet; the vertical spyglass was all that could be seen. The White Tsunami and the underwater craft sailed in opposite directions.

"I hope everyone on the White Tsunami will be okay," Lady Nimmo said.

"I wonder who's on those ships," Jor said.

Trungen watched through the spyglass, "They're too far for me to be certain. But my guess is the shadow elves."

They carried out their assigned duties in silence, knowing the danger. If those ships got past the White Tsumami, they would be snagged like fish in a net. Jor spun the accelerator wheel faster, trusting Captain Wington would give them enough time to reach the island.

Lady Nimmo wondered if she could create an army of stumpers solely for fighting. Creating them for defense was one thing. She ignored her apprehension. Soon, her doubts would be answered. There was nothing that could be done now but steer.