"Dead slow!" shouted the halfling. "Prepare for landing."
Captain
Ombert Stronghull's orders were relayed from aftcastle to main deck to the helm room in the forecastle.
Toward the aft of the main deck, young
Oma yr Raisa el Catahras crouched low in her violet gown with her arms around her knees. "Oh, I do not like the idea of landing," she said.
The seven-foot-tall, 300-pound frame of the half-orc
Nargroth Kilmander, in stark contrast, was half-hanging over the port railing, enjoying the rush of a controlled fall out of the sky. "I do not like the idea of
crashing;" he called back. "Landing is great!"
"You are not helping!"
"Lay down!" called the Captain.
Oma sprawled herself flat on the deck, not understanding the naval command.
"Lay down!" echoed Martin, a human sailor standing near the forecastle with a daisy tattoo on his bicep.
The 40-ton bulk of the
Frihet was now some twenty feet over the deep waters of the Shining Sea — now fifteen feet, now ten feet.
"All hands, brace for landing!" shouted
Ombert.
...now five feet.... The flying galleon struck the surface with a slap, as walls of ocean spray shot forth on both sides to collapse again in a sizzle. Beneath their feet, they felt the wood of the deck surge.
Tied up within a small pen in the center of the deck toward the stern, a dromedary camel and a white warhorse nuzzed and neighed.
Nargroth stroked the back of each of their necks. "Do not be afraid,
Kamila and
Cloud," he said soothingly.
"Helm down!" commanded the Captain, and his order was echoed once again. Suddenly, a cool breeze reached them, carrying with it the smell of salt water, as the atmospheric envelope surrounding them was dispelled.
"
Jayce's landing was more vigorous than yours have been," noted Hakam yn Hamdulah el Anachtyr, as he clutched to the aftcastle rail to the right of where the captain stood on a crate behind the wheel of the mundane helm.
"He did a fair job," said Solisar Keryth, who was standing next to the Calishite cleric. "Remember that the spelljammer travels much faster now," added the gold elf.
Ombert licked his finger and held it to the wind. "Of course! We are coming in against the wind...," he said. Then he called out, "Stand by to go about!"
Nargroth made the two large animals lie down, and then he and Martin rushed over to the main sail. Two other pairs of sailors rushed to the other sails. There were Gren and Niff to the bow and Loreene and Brad to the stern.
Jayce, looking as out-of-place as usual in his dark eye lenses, stepped out onto the main deck from one of the doors to the forecastle. "How did I do? Amazing piloting, eh?" He removed some flint from his pouch and prepared to light his pipe.
"Rougher than I would have preferred," answered Hakam.
"You almost made me puke, orcwit," said
Oma.
"Ready about?" shouted the captain.
"Aye, aye!" called back the six sailors in near unison.
Ombert spun the wheel counterclockwise, exhibiting more strength than one would expect from such a small humanoid. "Helm's a'lee."
"Lee ho!" called the six sailors in unison, as they yanked simultaneously on taught ropes.
Jayce ducked at just the right moment as the boom of the main mast swung overhead as he approached the aftcastle steps to join his friends.
The
Frihet was tacking into the wind, which was from the north. The three adventurers now looked to starboard to take in their destination, the great city of Calimport, the most populous city in the known world.
"I must admit that sailing under the power of the spelljamming helm is far simpler than under the power of Akadi," said
Ombert. "The wind is always behind us when we are aloft."
"I could cause it to come from the bow if you prefer a challenge," said
Jayce.
"The wall is indeed impressive," said Solisar. He was referring to the twenty-foot tall sea wall that surrounded the capital of Calimshan.
"In the stories of my people," Hakam said, as if quoting from memory, "the foundations of these walls were laid by marid and dao during the time of the reign of Calim."
"We know," said
Jayce. "You are talking to a bard and an historian, remember?"
"They are signalling us," said Solisar. A series of colored flags of various shapes had been run up a pole atop one of the towers of the wall.
"Yes, yes, I know what the wind speed is," mumbled
Ombert, as if someone had spoken to him. Then he called out, "Signal our answer!"
A spindly gnome at the forecastle was rapidly attaching flags to a rope. (
Ombert had hired him and several other sailors on at a town in Lantan, after Hakam and
Jayce had convinced the hin to captain their magical vessel, since the
Frihet was somewhat larger than the halfling-built
Daisy.) The gnome had a rather pointed nose, and the other sailors (at his request) called him "Gullbeak".
The flags were displayed, and they waited for the harbormaster to respond with a new set of flags.
"We are permitted entry into the port," said
Ombert.
"Then take us in, good captain," said
Jayce.
Under
Ombert's expert piloting, the
Frihet passed between the two guard towers at the gate of the great sea wall, which was thirty feet thick. It was an annoyingly slow process and required the efforts of many sailors.
"That is a good number of boats," said
Jayce. He was severely understating the view before them — literally half a thousand sailing vessels were within the sheltered harbor. The waters themselves were covered in debris, both floating trash and the tops of wreckage. Rising from the wooden docks at the shore was the great metropolis of Calimport, with stone and mud-brick buildings of every shape and size surrounded by tents and flags of all colors and punctuated by domes, arches, and minarets galore. Rivers of people could be seen in the streets leading down to the water.
"I dropped him off at the marina there," said Hakam, pointing to the left. He was referring to their wizard companion, Szordrin Dundragon.
"Aye, but the harbormaster is sending us to those larger docks on the other side," said
Ombert.
"Where did you tell him to meet us?" asked Solisar.
"At the marina," said Hakam.
"Well, it will not hurt us to step aground for a bit, will it?" asked
Jayce.
"The longer we tarry, the greater the chance that Yrevkethend breaks through to the refugees," said Hakam.
"I am just going to get a single drink with Loreene and Gren," said
Jayce.
"And with me," called up
Nargroth from the main deck.
"Fear not, good cleric; we are not going to visit a festhall!" continued
Jayce.
"Hey, maybe you aren't!" said Brad as he tied off a rope behind them.
Hakam still looked annoyed at the prospect of a long stop.
"Look, I have not been to the mainland in months; I am not going to stand on the ship while you search for a tiefling amongst all these people. Also, recall that I have sat on my hindquarters for the last eight hours and that magic chair is no Calishite floor pillow!"
So, once the ship was docked, a good number of the sailors headed into the taverns of Affar Drudach of Ylar Sabban, the Inn Sabban, while Hakam and Solisar struggled to push their way through the crowds west toward the marina. The streets had an overwhelming smell of seafood from all the fishmongers selling their wares.
"Watch your money pouch," warned Hakam, who was clearly uncomfortable with the throngs of people about.
"Is Memnon like this?" asked Solisar, referring to his friend's home.
"Not at all," said Hakam. "It is far less crowded. Also, I rarely go down to the street level; I walk the
drudach walls."
Solisar glanced to the right and noticed an elevated pathway with steps periodically leading up to it. Many of the buildings had entryways opening to this walkway rather than to the dusty ground below. They were approaching an archway in one of these
drudach walls and passed through.
"We have entered a new district or sector," explained Hakam.
They passed through another similar arch as they followed a winding road through the Dock Ward, passing countless bazaar tents and booths, inns and taverns, and sea-related guildhalls, until they reached the marina in Bayown Drudach of Jarûz Sabban and walked out onto the floating wooden platform.
Hakam was correct to assume that Szordrin would be waiting for them at the same spot where he had dropped him off months ago. The black-bearded wizard stood by a couple barrels, and his weasel familiar,
Ferry, was curled up and napping atop one of them.
"
Alae! said Solisar. "It is good to see you, Szordrin."
"Why do you have two barrels?" said Hakam.
"They are full of spices," said Szordrin. "Calishite spices are the rage on the Rock of Bral, remember? I have arranged for us to make a good profit from this."
"Black market spices, no doubt."
"Not at all! They were legitimately purchased from Pasha Halus!"
"Even so, we have no need for more cargo.
Captain Stronghull and I already arranged for a trade agreement with the Lantanna. The
Frihet is full of smokepowder and clockwork inventions, purchased from the sale of
The Daisy."
"So we are sailing a large explosive into wildspace now? It seems that spices are a safer route. I spent my own coin on these barrels up front; they are coming with us."
"Fine, but you are going to have to wait here for me to go get
Nargroth and another sailor; Solisar and I cannot carry those!"
"I shall be here waiting as before."
So Hakam and Solisar left the marina to find
Nargroth. As they walked away,
Ferry clicked and chirped at his master.
"Yes,
Ferry, I am well aware that Pasha Halus is the leader of the Loyal Order of Fishmongers,
not the Spicemonger Fellowship."
~~~~
"So, I poked me head in a place called the Copper Ante," said Brad. "Learned today that hin dames look just the same as human dames under their clothes."
"Why wouldn't they?" asked Loreene. "Hin are just miniature humans."
"Racist," stated Niff, who was himself a halfling.
"I expected them to have hairier feet!" explained Brad.
"Why would they have hairy feet?" asked Gren.
"Haven't you seen the captain's feet?"
"What I don't understand," said Martin, "is why did they need to be without clothes for you to notice their feet? As usual, you do not make any sense!"
"It's the style these days for ladyfolk to shave their feet," said Niff.
"Is it the style for menfolk these days to shave their heads?" asked Gren. (Niff was bald.) "And why are
your feet shaved?"
"Hey, look! It's our favorite trickster wizard, Szordrin," said Martin.
Hakam, Solisar, and Szordrin were coming across the gangplank. Behind them
Nargroth and a sailor named Guttar were carrying the two barrels over their heads as if they were baskets of laundry. (Guttar was a huge, muscular man who never spoke.) They carried the barrels to the cargo hold in the steerage deck.
"Let me show you what my kin did to enhance the ship," said Solisar, guiding Szordrin into the forecastle and past the open door to the small room where the magic helm sat. "First of all, it turns out that the helm that we had was a Netherese spelljamming helm, which was only a rumor among the scholars of spelljamming history. They were much slower than standard helms but had the added feature of causing a ship to hover for many hours, even when the helmsmen vacated the chair. You can see how this would be useful to a nation with many flying cities. The elves were delighted to have come across a real specimen and offered an even trade of a modern major helm for our Netherese helm, which they wanted to study and display in a museum."
The new helm had a more elegant look to it than their old helm. Solisar led Szordrin further on to the steps down to the lower deck and continued, "I agreed to the trade but also got them to agree to refurbish the ship and build separate cabins. As an example, here is our new wizards' laboratory."
The lower deck, which used to be a mostly open space, except for the first mate's cabin and the galley in the stern. Now had a narrow hallway leading aft with doors on each side. Solisar opened one on the left to reveal a small rectangular cabin with a desk, a shelf for books and scrolls, and an assortment of candles and writing implements.
"Across the hall here is our crew lounge." This room was a bit larger and had a table and chairs for eight.
About this same table, Hakam, Solisar, Szordrin,
Jayce, and
Oma later sat that evening, as above deck, the captain and his crew piloted the ship out of Calimport harbor.
"Mythlos arrived at the keep," Hakam explained to Szordrin, "but he found it destroyed, flattened to the ground by the blue dragon. Yrevkethend managed to track Rinald there. Rinald was able to evacuate a good number of the keep's inhabitants into the dwarven ruins below. They are all, including, Mythlos, now holding up there, but their supplies and food are running out. We have already stocked the ship with food for them."
"How long ago did this happen?" asked Szordrin.
"Near the beginning of the year."
"I suspect that this was motivated by the dracorage," said Solisar.
"It must be what caused her to violate her agreement with Sseth and the bronze dragons," said
Jayce.
"I have already notified the duchess of Tethyr," Hakam continued. "She was aware of the rage, but her armies are spread thin with other matters. Before we can head into wildspace, we need to rescue Mythlos and Rinald and any other refugees."
"It seems to me that Rinald should have offered himself to the dragon and spared the destruction and loss of life," said Szordrin. "He put his own family at severe risk."
"You never met Rinald," said
Jayce. "He was a good man and would certainly have sacrificed himself if it would have changed matters."
"In a manner of speaking, I did meet Rinald."
"A statue of Rinald does not count," said
Jayce.
"We will reach the Rock of Bral shortly enough, Szordrin," said Solisar. "The new helm is significantly faster. We will make up lost time."
"We have no deadline in any case," said Hakam. "Leokas is free from his geas; we are free from the ice devil Tosvin; our exile by
Samber is over; and Ilthian is back on her island."
"Presumably," said Solisar.
"The more time we give
Samber, the more powerful he will become," said Szordrin.
"Cassiera and Galadrel arrived safely at the High Forest before Mythlos left them," continued Hakam, ignoring Szordrin's protest.
"Cassiera was that snake woman who stowed away on
The Daisy, was she not?" asked
Oma. "She followed you into the mine before you all vanished, but who is Galadrel?"
"Galadrel is Leokas' mother," explained Solisar.
"She was his wolf, Stormshadow, in disguise this whole time," said Szordrin. "We only found out becuase we entered an anti-magic field in our travels."
"A werewolf?" she asked.
"A
lythari," corrected Solisar.
"And what about
Samber?" asked Szordrin. "He is, after all, the only reason all of us are together."
"I was just waiting my turn," said
Jayce. "Let me tell you what I have already shared with Hakam and Solisar.
"
Samber was born in the settlement of Dtakkar on the island of Suj about 50 years ago. His full name is
Samber Lamstrand. Both names are common Lantanna names. He staerted out with a typical story. Like many boys in Dtakkar, he took an apprenticeship in one of the clockwork toy factories. He also became a follower of Gond and became one of that church's temple boys.
"I found that
Samber learned magic from a young friend named Ronan who was an orphan and raised by gnomes. The boy was not Lantanna, and he was described as having silver hair and golden eyes."
"A half-gold half-silver elf, perhaps?" asked Solisar.
"No, he definitely was not an elf," continued
Jayce. "In any case, this boy who introduced
Samber to arcane magic and his whole gnomish family vanished one day, and no one knows where they went.
Samber, I am told, was not that bothered by it."
"He probably murdered them," said Szordrin.
"As a child?" said
Oma.
"If
Samber were a murderer, I believe that all of us would be dead by now," said Solisar.
"His sins are deeper than that," said Hakam.
"That is all I know of
Samber's childhood," said
Jayce. "Once he reached adulthood, he became a full clergy member of the Church of Gond. Those who knew him during that time claimed that he was one of their most promising priests. He mixed his arcane and divine magics to animate the toys that he created and became mildly famous for this in Dtakkar. This fame attracted the attention of a woman named Avilda SeKorc. He proposed, and the two were married after about a year of courting."
"And Avilda looks like Ilthian?" asked Szordrin.
"Yes,"
Jayce replied, "but she had red hair, green eyes, and pale freckled skin, like the average Lantanna maiden.
"
Samber and Avilda seemed to have had a happy marriage, at first, but they were unable to have children. This devestated both of them, and they tried a wide assortment of solutions, including herbs and the most bizarre gnomish contraptions, all without success.
"I spoke with Avilda directly, and she told me that she left
Samber because he 'loved his work more than me,' but the town gossip says differently. See, Avilda remarried and had four children with her new husband.
Samber is the one who is infertile. He knew this and tried his hardest to give his wife children. According to the elderly neighbors, Avilda left because
Samber began experimenting with creating a child using magic, which ended with disturbing results.
"The priests of Gond told me that Avilda's departure threw
Samber into a severe depression. Her remarriage drove him mad, and he disappeared. No one in Lantan has heard from or seen him since."
"When did he disappear again?" asked Solisar.
"About 35 years ago."
There was a knock on the door. It was
Nargroth. "Milady, the captain is calling to lay aloft. We have cleared the harbor; you are needed at the helm."
Oma rose to head to the spelljamming helm.
"Well, that is the story I have," said
Jayce. "Now I am off to bed. Wake me when we reach Belvin and Leokas."
