by Lyndon Hardy
"It is my training as a thaumaturge that provides the edge," Alodar said. "Without some measure of cunning, one cannot aspire to be a master."
"Yet sorcery is not learned by wit alone," Kelric warned. "It takes dedication as well." He paused and scratched his side. "Although I must admit, I find no fault with you there. You have labored hard and indeed are further along than I thought possible in such a time."
"The perseverance comes from alchemy," Alodar replied.
"And the precision with which you speak the charms?" Kelric continued in mild annoyance. "Do you have a craft for that as well?"
"Magic." Alodar laughed. "The rituals would not complete if not correctly performed."
Kelric shook his head and stroked his chin in thought. "The crafts have always been so separated," he muttered. "Perhaps there is some profit in intercourse between them."
"Regardless of that, my concentration is now totally on sorcery," Alodar said. "What next must I learn of the fundamental charms before I advance to ones more potent?"
"You have yet to show mastery of the simple illusions for dumb beasts without the fancy shortcuts," Kelric said. "And believe me, those must be second nature to you before you can profitably continue. You should rest and try again with the rodent tomorrow."
Alodar frowned and started to protest the delay but a last rumble of his stomach changed his mind. "You are right. I can tolerate no more, at least for today. I will go topside to clear my head."
Kelric nodded in agreement. "And I shall attend the queen in your absence," he called after Alodar. "Perhaps some lady of the court will lower her guard and let me look her in the eye."
Alodar slowly climbed the companionway to the main deck, pushing his thoughts of Kelric and sorcery aside. He pressed on the hatch and frowned as he had to shove with his shoulder to pry it open. With a forceful crash, it slammed shut as he let go. He reached for a line nearby to steady himself in the gusts that lashed the deck.
The motion of the barge as it plowed through the waves was even more apparent than it was below. High walls of spray rained over the bow. Ever so often the line between water and air seemed high above the tightly wrapped spars that tilted madly with the wind.
Alodar bowed his head and stomped purposefully to the rail amidship to join a solitary figure that was peering out over the churning sea.
"A bit rough today," Alodar greeted Grengor as he reached his side.
"Yes, that it is, master Alodar," Grengor replied drawing his hood closer about the wide face and stubble of beard that protruded from it. "Everyone below is packed together like fortune cards but no one complains. Not even the ones who must guard the sorcerer from the south. The discomfort is far less, they judge, than enduring the wet and cold up here."
Alodar nodded and looked out over the rail across the water. "I cannot see any of the fleet in these waves and spray," he said.
"Long ago, each has furled sail and shipped oars to ride out the storm. We will be leagues apart when it blows over."
"And no nearer Arcadia either I wager," Alodar said. "This wind from the south blows us farther from king Elsinor with each minute."
"Perhaps so, master," Grengor said, "but the same wind batters any enemy wargalleys out here as well."
Alodar grunted in reply and then both men lapsed into silence, drawing their cloaks about them and exposing little save then1 eyes to the lash of wind and wave. As they watched, the broad bow nosed down under the wall of water which broke over it, and spray bounded across the deck to strike Alodar in the face. He and Grengor retreated aft as the bow sluggishly rose and the wave rolled underneath.
The ship plunged over the back of the wave and met the overtopping crest of the next one low in the water, shuddering as the shower pounded the deck. This time both Grengor and Alodar were pelted where they stood. The ship began to right itself with agonizing slowness, barely coming up to level as the wave slid past.
Alodar turned to Grengor with a question in his eye. By his small experience, the barge at first had seemed a city afloat, but the tremble and groan as the ship steadied for the next pitch upward put in perspective how small they were in the fury of the storm. He arched his eyebrows in surprise as Grengor returned his glance. He expected to see the condescending smile of the experienced sailor, but saw instead a set jaw and eyes alive with concern.
The next wave hit the barge and a cascade of water skittered the length of the deck, spiraling past their boots and drenching their cloaks to their knees. Again the water tumbled off in giant falls to the side, but Alodar held his breath as he waited for the bowsprit finally to break through to clean air.
He looked all about the deck, expecting to see that only he, Grengor and the helmsman were insane enough to be about. He saw instead a head emerging from a hatchway near the forecastle. In a moment, another figure was on deck and Alodar wrinkled his brow in puzzlement. The wind and water howled as before, but no cloak protected the newcomer and his pole axe of shining steel. With a somewhat halting step, he lumbered past, not even acknowledging the small nod that Alodar threw his way.
"One of Feston's men, no doubt," Grengor said. "Too disdainful to return even the slightest courtesy to someone not of his faction."
"It is of no importance, Grengor," Alodar said as he stared at the figure retreating past them and climbing the ladder to the poop deck. "Such slights might have angered me greatly a year ago, but now I give them no thought."
Alodar watched the man finally reach the level of the poop deck and then point himself in the direction of the deckhouse. He took one slow step and then another. Just like the gait of the rat on which he had demonstrated the charm, Alodar thought. So totally entrapped that every motion had to be directed by the enchanter.
"Grengor," Alodar cried, suddenly breaking out of his slow reverie. "What duty did you say that Feston's men performed today?"
"Why, let me see." Grengor said. "The oarsmen yesterday and again on the morrow. It must be the sorcerer then that they watch today."
"Then follow me quickly," Alodar yelled, springing across the deck and then immediately stumbling as the roll of the ship caught him in midstride. "To the helmsman! I fear he needs our aid."
Alodar and Grengor raced to the ladder as the figure ahead of them entered the small enclosure on the deck above. With a strong pull on the railing, Alodar jumped up onto the deck, just in time to see the axehead plunge into the unprotected chest of the helmsman. A feeble cry of surprise and pain was swept away by the wind. The assailant flailed his blade again at the bloody form as it fell.
Alodar and Grengor burst into the house with swords drawn. With near simultaneous thrusts, they jabbed their blades forward and felt the parting of flesh and jarring contact with bone, Alodar drew his sword out with a wrench and stepped back in anticipation of a swinging axe-blade in reply. The figure paid them no attention. With a face undistorted by apprehension or pain, he swung his next blow at the wheel, oblivious of the blood gushing from the two fresh wounds in his sides.
The wheel exploded from its post in a shower of splinters and careened across the deck. Grengor thrust out again, his sword biting deeply into an arm as it swung past, but the guardsman took no notice. Alodar watched in amazement as the axe rose high overhead and crashed it down on the post, splitting it asunder.
"Enchantment, master Alodar," Grengor called out. "Somehow the sorcerer from the south has made him a slave. I can dispatch him in a few strokes more, but I fear his damage is done. Get quickly below and alarm the rowers to bend their oars. Without the helm, we cannot long stay pointed into the wind. And the patch that was placed over the hole ripped by the wargalley may not last long if we are wallowing in the troughs."
Alodar grasped what Grengor was saying. Without another word, he ran from the deckhouse to the ladder leading to midship. Another wave toppled over the bow and raced down the deck. As the water coursed by, he felt a slight lurch and then saw the runoff at his feet reverse direction and head for the port side.
With a backstraining pull, he flung the hatch cover aside and bolted downward to the first deck. He ran for midship where the passageway opened wide on either side to the benches of the rowers. As he sprinted along, he could feel a noticeable tilt to port as the ship responded to each wave.
Up ahead, before he reached the benches, he heard the sound of a disturbance and saw several heads pop from cabins along the way. He pulled himself up as he passed the last cabin, ready to shout the alarm. But the sound died in his throat as he saw the reason for the commotion. Two more guards with Feston's arm bands were hacking at the oars along the benches, ignoring the blows raining down to stop them.
Another wave rolled under the ship, and Alodar grabbed for support as the deck tipped dizzily to the side. Through a port, he saw the choppy horizon shoot past skyward and then slowly return as the barge almost righted itself.
Reversing direction, he sprinted the length of the ship. On a dead run, he barreled by the two guardsmen who stood with halberds at parade over a single entrance that led to cabins far aft. The men hesitated at Alodar's approach, not immediately dropping their weapons to block the way.
Alodar thundered past their indecision, yelling over his shoulder about an oversight as he passed. One turned to follow, then shrugged his shoulders and resumed his stance. Racing down the narrow passageway, Alodar pushed aside a curtain and exploded into a great cabin at the very stern of the ship. Only a few supporting posts interfered with a volume open from beam to beam, windowed on three sides with huge sheets of isinglass painted opaque by the bounding spray.
Vendora shrieked at Alodar's sudden entrance. Aeriel rose to her feet, eyes wide in surprise at the intrusion, Kelric sat numbly cross-legged before the two and responded not at all. "A full moon of pardons, my fair lady," Alodar gasped, "but I fear the ship is in great danger. We must sound a general alarm before it is too late."
"What is the peril, Alodar?" Aeriel asked as she picked up her cloak. "What besides the storm presents risk for the royal barge?"
"I am not a man of the sea," Alodar replied, "but we have lost our steerage and with the weakened hull we may founder."
"Then there is no time," Aeriel decided. "We must board the other vessels, those that can."
"The longboats are far smaller than the barge," Alodar said. "They could be easily swamped in the high waves. Our safety would be greater if we could get the great ship about."
"Then which is it?" Aeriel said. "If the hull does not hold, there may be little time to change our minds."
Alodar quickly thought of the enchanted guardsmen and the struggle amidst the oars. "If I were to decide, my choice would be for the longboats despite their meager size. But by no means can we provide for everyone aboard."
"Then we shall begin with the queen," Aeriel said waving her hand to the door.
Alodar nodded, grasped Vendora by the waist and began to push her down the corridor. Aeriel tugged Kelric to his feet and spun him to follow. The two guards turned questioning glances to the queen as she came to their station, but she waved them to silence as she passed.
The ship lurched violently as they reached the companionway to the main deck. Cabin doors along the corridor burst open in surprise. Vendora cried out as she reached for the railing and tumbled from her footing instead.
"What happens with the fair lady?" Feston shouted as he peered out of his doorway in the direction of the queen. Receiving no answer, he reached back inside his cabin and buckled on his sword to follow.
"Lord Feston races after the queen," a voice shouted from another of the open doorways. In an instant Basil and Duncan also scrambled forth.
Alodar pulled Vendora to her feet. As the ship righted, he pushed her up the ladder banging shins and ankles in his haste. They climbed but four rungs when the barge rolled again, this time heeling far over. Alodar grasped the rails with both hands and held Vendora against his chest as she fell backwards. Behind him he could hear Aeriel's frantic struggle with Kelric as their feet slid from under them and they grasped wildly for balance. Alodar gathered up his strength and, with one thrust, shoved the queen to the hatchway. Holding her firmly with one arm, he shouldered the hatch aside with the other and stepped into the fury of the quickening storm.
Grengor and the others of his band were there at the opening, extending arms to aid. He shoved Vendora forward and turned to pull Aeriel and Kelric up onto the deck. The wind now came at his side, stinging his cheek with the spray. The barge was wallowing in the troughs.
"The longboats," Alodar shouted. "We must get the fair lady safely over the side." He led Vendora across the heaving deck and the party streamed after. They climbed the ladders to the stern and ran to where the two boats were battened besides the wreckage of the deckhouse. Quickly, the canvas covering was ripped away. Alodar thrust Vendora and then Aeriel into one of the hulls as the barge lunged dizzily when another wave rolled underneath. Feston and the others exploded from the hatchway as Alodar's men cranked at the hoists and swung the boat over the side.
With great leaping strides, Feston bounded across the deck and up the ladder. He plunged into the marines, shouldering several aside, and jumped aboard next to the queen. "Followers of lord Feston," he bellowed above the wind, "assemble unto me and aid the fair lady."
The men scrambling on deck looked about hesitantly for a moment; then they shouted with alarm as they saw the activity at the stern. The boat began to lower, and they sloshed through the water, climbed up the ladders to the poop, and ran to the rail. A knot of men collected against the bulwark and, pushed from behind, Basil and Duncan tumbled aboard into the midst of Alodar's small crew. The barge listed heavily and several more sprang to the rail and jumped into the descending boat.
"Too many," Alodar shouted. "We will sink as surely as the barge. Cast off, cast off before more hurl aboard." Grengor and another of his men began to pay out rope more quickly and the sloop plunged away from the rolling deck.
"Followers of my banner," Feston shouted, "seize the second boat and after us."
"To my banner," Basil yelled as loud. "Prevent the others from taking what we must have, and then after me."
Alodar looked up to the deck as his own boat hit the waves. He could see the beginnings of a melee as the factions fought with drawn swords for possession of the other longboat. In the press of battle no one could focus his attention on the blocks, and the boat remained immobile on the deck. Alodar turned back to his own plight and quickly counted the men aboard. Of his own eight, he saw that all had made it safely. Vendora, Aeriel, Kelric, Feston, Basil and Duncan were accompanied by a tangle of six more men. Whose supporters they were, he could not tell.
"Man the oars," he commanded. "Get us clear of the barge before some wave dashes us back into her side. You there, make room for the queen. My fair lady, if you and lady Aeriel can move forward, you will find that the small shelter will protect two from the strength of this gale."
"I command the forces of the queen," Feston growled as he wriggled himself erect in the pile of men amidship. But before he could say more, a wave broke over them ending a deluge of water into the midst.
"The rest of you to the bailing," Alodar continued and several of the men about Feston began to look for buckets in the hatchway aft. Feston glowered at Alodar for a moment, and then a second wave washed over the rails. The men about him filled and dumped buckets furiously. When Basil thrust one into Feston's hands, he bent and started bailing with the rest.
Alodar turned to look back towards the barge and saw that the thrust of the wind had opened a wide gulf between them. The huge ship was crosswind. As she rolled, the leeward rail almost touched the waves.
"Grengor and you, Melab, in the rear," he shouted. "Let us assemble the mast and try to erect it now. If we are lucky and the wind slackens, we will be ready to hoist sail."
Alodar glanced about the boat. Except for Kelric still lying in a jumble, his face barely above water, every man was usefully employed. He shut out all thoughts of the
precariousness of their position and bent his mind to the task of raising the mast.
Weary with cold and fatigue, Alodar steadied one leg on top of the small shelter and held the glass from the meager stores to his eye. The wind was dying beneath a placid moon, and the sea was growing calm. All about the boat, men slumped in the disarray of sleep. Alodar leaned against the mast, now holding aloft a sail unfurled to catch the breeze that remained from the storm. How soothing it would feel to collapse among the tangle of limbs at his feet and let consciousness slide away as it had from the rest. But he dared not relinquish the grip. So long as he stayed awake, threatening, cajoling, and pushing himself harder than any, the random collection of men who had jumped from the barge would act enough in consort to save their lives.
Twice again Feston had balked at the continual bailing, but Alodar had stared him down. One of his marines and Duncan's retainers squabbled over what constituted a fair share of the load, and he had pushed between them before their inattention let the boom run free and rake across the rear deck with a vicious sweep.
They somehow had bailed enough to keep afloat, mended the sail at least thrice, and tumbled in rough water throughout. To relax now and let chance determine which of Feston's, Basil's or Duncan's followers awoke first might throw away all they had struggled for in the past four days.
With only half-open eyes, Alodar slowly scanned the sea. The clouds were all but swept away, but the sliver of moon did not provide enough light to see to the horizon. They must find land soon, and drifting about aimlessly the few hours till dawn was a waste they could ill afford.
Alodar grimaced and collapsed the glass. He stepped down into the jumble of sleeping forms and gingerly picked his way to where Kelric was curled up in the stern. The sorcerer shivered in his sleep. His breath gurgled and wheezed as it struggled in and out of his lungs. His flesh was pale and hung limply on his scrawny frame. The exposure had been hard for all of them, but on the old man it had taken the greatest toll.
