future which are closed to me, as much as to other men, and nothing I could tell you would be enough, or what you should know, the future being mutable and subject to change. But do not worry about Saxon pirates ravaging Roman towns in Brandon Land, for that they will never do."
I believed him then, and now I know that what he said was true.
Well, we fought on, beating our way into storms and out of them, storms so tremendous that we took in seas over the bulwarks and learned what it was to struggle without ceasing, through a world all water, with a ship that would scarcely obey the helmsman, so sluggishly she rolled. We knew the worry of broken oars, of riven sails, of a crew more dead than alive from loss of sleep and the battering of the waves, but bailing like fiends to keep the water down so that the next great water mountain might not in its falling finish the work entirely and send us all to Neptune.
But Myrdhinn kept us courageous and still believing in him; when it seemed as though we were to sail till our beards were gray, we kept on striving to cross this mighty River of Ocean, though beginning to despair of ever reaching its farther bank.
FINALLY the winds ceased blowing and not even a tiny swell rippled the surface, so it was "out oars and row," which we did for a weary week, and nobody became disheartened; for Myrdhinn told us that Brandon had come to this place and passed through it without harm, though hindered by floating weed. So we knew ourselves to be in the proper track and took this for a good omen, till fog came down and for three days we saw neither sun nor star to guide us, and our shipman was like to go out of his mind with worry and fret about it.
So Myrdhinn looked into his private stores and brought up a little hollow iron fish, which he placed with care in a bucket of water, treating it as a very precious thing.
At once, it turned itself about, pointing with its nose to the south and marking the north with its tail, so intelligently that almost our shipman was afraid to look at it, not having much trust in Myrdhinn's good intentions, and, I think, disbelieving in any other lands save those he knew.
"Remark, worthy voyager," said Myrdhinn, "how the side fins point out the points of west and east, and be guided by them. And guard this little fish that it be not lost, for I prize it far more than its actual value would indicate, it having been given to me by a yellow-skinned wanderer who by its aid had guided himself across the broad plains of Scythia, to the island of Samothrace where we met.
"Also, fear not the days to come, since Brandon has written that beyond this Sea of Calms lies a fair island inhabited by a wise people, and among them we may expect to find shelter."
We rowed, the sun and stars returned, our food gave out entirely; we drank our bellies full and rowed again, stayed by that thin cheer, until one day the winds came and bore us on, and all of us fell on our knees and thanked our various gods (Christian and Pagan together); for there were now but very few still strong enough to move an oar.
I repeat, bring large stores of food, lest your men be in the state we now found ourselves, debating whether or no one of us poor hungry folk should die that the rest might eat. Myrdhinn saved us from that sin. In this broad watery desert he found us food!
I might mention here that in all our long journey we saw none of the sea monsters of which fables have so much to tell,
