The High King: A Tale of Alus (40 page)

"We're not gonna be able to avoid the storm, sir." Gerid looked at the dark clouds closing in on his small ship, the Trotter, and nodded to his helmsman. The wind gusted strongly causing the rigging to crack like

whips with its strength. They had already been forced to shorten the sails for fear of tearing the canvas as they tried to outrun the storm that he knew now that they could not.

"We're going to have to risk putting into the next island if we can reach it in time, Artes," was his reply.
The helmsman looked fearful and stated, "But the nearest island is known to be filled with pirates, sir. We were lucky to find no one at the first isle. I doubt that we can be as lucky a second time."
"Quardib had been reported as abandoned, Artes. I had only hoped that some may have remained rather than approaching the larger islands. I only want to get ashore to get information from them right now. Unfortunately, this storm kicked up so quickly that we're going to have to pray that we can reach Quardic." Gerid tried to smile at the other man to attempt to instill some confidence back into the helmsman. The smile was a weak attempt at best, however, so he tried again, "Look on the bright side, man. The pirates will have pulled their ships back to port as well so we should be able to put in without being attacked. That was more than I could promise when you volunteered."
Artes smiled weakly and nodded. Gerid ignored the man as he watched his small crew trying to keep the merchant ship ahead of the rolling storm. The Trotter had been made for the ocean, but it was still on the small side.
A strong blast of wind tore at him hard enough to make him adjust his feet or stagger. The ship listed to the right a moment with the cross wind, but his helmsman had the Trotter level again as they climbed the next twenty foot wave. It had become a rollercoaster ride over the past couple hours as the raging weather raced after the tiny ship and her crew.
Any ship would be considered tiny before the anger of Mother Nature and this was a day of great anger indeed.
Turning to look towards the dark clouds which were beginning to roll over them, a flash of lightning arced through the clouds only to be lost again in the swirling black masses. The sea behind them looked as if the night itself chased them as dark as the air had become.
"Land ho!" the cry came from the crow's nest.
Gerid looked up in surprise. "Good work, Jahkob, now get down from there before you get yourself killed. This mission is dangerous enough that you don't have to add any more to it."
The admiral shook his head. Artes and Jahkob were two of the nine men that he had allowed to join him aboard the Trotter. They were all half crazy, he knew, but they were good men. Gerid hated to think that any of them would be killed by pirates or the weather.
The giant stumbled as the deck shook from a wave collapsing against the hull. Catching himself, he quickly checked to see if they had lost anyone. The sea was getting worse and their leader was beginning to regret his decision to use the fetrii merchant ship. He wondered how much of a beating she could actually take. Unlike his larger warships, the fetrii's hull was somewhat weak. Only about half as thick as the typical warship's hull, the merchant would soon flounder from a breach if they didn't reach that island soon.
The commander saw Jahkob had reached the base of the mast he had climbed and strode carefully over to ask, "How far was it?"
"The island? Two miles maybe."
Gerid cast another wary look at the clouds climbing above his vessel. Almost as if in warning, the rain began to spatter down with the sound of a thousand little slaps. The rain was cold where it struck his skin. Jahkob was already moving to help Friggard, another of the sailors aboard, as he struggled to tie off a rope that had slipped free of its knot.
Artes looked at him as he returned to the wheel box. "Two miles, Artes. That's all we need to take of this weather to make the island."
With a worried look to the sky, the helmsman nodded acknowledgement. The man's face echoed Gerid's own. Could the Trotter last that long? Neither of them could know for sure, of course, but two miles wasn't that far and they were moving quickly enough thanks to winds generated from the threatening sky.
The rain drops changed from scattered fat droplets and suddenly struck like a solid wall. Like a waterfall plunging hundreds of feet to its lower level, the storm let them know that it was with them for real now. The drop from their wave into the trough between it and the next, nearly made him lose his stomach as the Trotter valiantly attempted to survive a forbidding sea. If the rain hadn't been enough, bits of hail began to strike the ship as well.
The men already wore slickers and hats to resist the rain. An occasional curse told that the protection was not perfect. Gerid felt the stings also, but they meant little to him as he kept close watch on his ship and crew. Waves were coming over the rails to swipe at legs and bodies now. The deck was slick enough and the added danger caused several of the men to lash ropes around their waists to prevent any chance of being swept into the raging water.
"Admiral!" It was only one word from Artes, but Gerid knew the man was having trouble.
He leaped to the man's aid. The two of them fought the wheel and tried to keep the ship headed for the island they knew to be nearby.
The clap of thunder seemed to halt time for a moment around the little vessel as rumble after rumble echoed upon the water. Gerid prayed that the lightning would stay in the sky rather than striking the struggling Trotter.
They needed to make it to the island desperately. The winds were getting too strong for the sails, even as shortened as they had made them, but they could be lowered no further. Any less sail and the Trotter would make no use of the winds and instead simply get swallowed up by the watery mountains around them. A loud crack signaled the tear of one of the sails and Gerid gritted his teeth and waited to see if more followed.
Nearly half an hour more had turned the world dark around the Trotter, and they still had not made it into sight of the shoreline of the island. Without being asked, Jahkob climbed the mast. Gerid shouted for the man to come back down, but his shout was lost to the wind. Anchoring the wheel with Artes, he waited worriedly for the man to stop his foolish challenging of the elements. The commander would have gone after the sailor, if not for his need at the helm.
Jahkob looked down and shouted something that none of them could hear. With animated hand gestures, the brave lookout let them know they had steered too far north. They were not past the island, but they would have missed her completely if not for the lookout's efforts.
More thunder erupted above them in the clouds. The rigging and masts seemed to brighten from within in answer. "Get down, Jahkob! Get down! The Trotter's building up a charge, man. Hurry!" the admiral shouted even though he knew the sailor could not hear him.
It didn't matter as he watched Jahkob sliding quickly down the lines. His hands seemed to strike sparks, but the sailor had sailed long enough to leave the danger as it began to manifest itself. The sailor was nearly to the deck when the night lit up blindingly. The crash of thunder followed instantaneously deafening the crew and Gerid as well.
With a bright line still emblazoned into his sight, Gerid could barely make out that the central mast had been reduced to less than half its stature. Canvas and ropes over the starboard side of the Trotter were still attached to large pieces of the mast. At least one man had been swept over the side, but Jahkob was not there yet. The man lay sprawled in a daze on the deck. He had fallen the last several feet to hit hard enough to nearly knock the man unconscious.
"Malek, take the wheel with Artes!" the giant ordered as he pulled the nearest man into the wheel box to take his place. Gerid then ran to the fallen sailor and searched for any others that needed help as he picked up the man under one arm. Turning back in the hopes of getting back to the helm, Gerid could see that two of his men were indeed missing.
There were no cries that he could hear in the chaos of the storm's winds and no bodies could be spied anywhere on deck. The admiral had to force himself to forget the brave sailors while he attempted to save the ones he still had.
Not more than three steps were taken when a wave crossed the Trotter's path to swat the ship in its way. A cracking sound as the hull shivered with the impact could be heard even above the winds. Gerid was thrown to one knee with the impact as well and started to struggle up when another wave swept across the bow of the ship. The Trotter tilted sending the two men sliding back towards the railing on the starboard again.
"Admiral!" the cry was faint. He couldn't even tell who's voice it had been. The message was received, however, when a new wave swept across the deck. The force of it nearly swept Gerid and his burden from the ship. If they hadn't been so close already, he would never have been able to catch his hand hold on the rail.
The giant struggled back to his feet as the Trotter continued to toss about like a leaf in the wind. The two men in the wheel box could barely hold the wheel steady enough to prevent from tipping. Gerid knew that he needed to reach the men and lend his strength to their efforts. He also needed to get Jahkob to the meager safety of the little box if he could. Another wave threatened his footing, but his strength was great enough to resist.
The man snorted at the thought of strength. Resistance to the elements, indeed. Fear crept into his heart as the wind and the waves continued to try and draw him into the depths. What was his strength in the face of this storm?
A new wave washed in from the far side of the Trotter. It was huge. The hull of the ship seemed nonexistent to the towering wall of water. It rolled almost unchecked over the deck. Gerid closed his eyes and gripped his handhold tightly. He knelt below the rail hoping to resist the elements once more.
The water hit him with incredible force. So strong was it that a mast shattered sending canvas and wood flying into the water. He heard a scream as one of the sailors went with the mast, his tether line following his wooden support with him still attached. The hull groaned and boards cracked. Water began to enter through weakened seams. The Trotter was in dire distress and worst of all, her captain was no longer aboard to try and save her.
The wall and rail had shattered as his shoulders had met first the wave and then the wall. The impact had sent Gerid and Jahkob literally through the side of the rail. With handhold still in hand, the men struck the water and were immediately sucked beneath the waves.
The water swirled and pulled. Gerid hoped that Jahkob would not drown before they reached the surface again. He held the man's nose and mouth closed against the water and kicked hard for where he hoped was the surface. Several long seconds and the giant was rewarded with a brief gasp of air. He released his hold on the unconscious man's mouth and hoped Jahkob would breath in the treasured breaths.
Another wave swept over them. Gerid clamped his hands over the other man's mouth and nose once again to prevent him taking on water. They were swept around effortlessly by the ocean's currents again. Again Gerid fought his way to the surface where they could breath.
Over and over the two men rose to the surface only to be swept below again. He lost track of how many times they had been tossed below only to come back up, before a piece of one of the Trotter's masts seemed to meet his outstretched hand. They broke the surface to find the six foot length almost on top of them. Gerid thanked the gods and draped Jahkob's unconscious form across the wood and held onto both man and log himself.
With the broken spire to keep them above water with less work, Gerid was finally able to use his strength to simply stay afloat. He was no longer struggling just to find air.
Kicking his legs slowly, the man began moving towards where he believed shore might be. Gerid had lost sight of it long ago, but he refused to give up and hoped that the gods would guide him as they had well before. The man tried not to think of the wrong turns they had sent him into also and thought of what he would leave behind if he failed. The man had too many commitments to fail here.
It was much later and even Gerid's great strength was starting to fail from lack of food and warmth. He had given up swimming much at all. When the weather subsided, maybe then the man would be able to find the island that Gerid knew they had almost been on top of when he had been swept overboard with Jahkob.
Resting his head against the rounded beam, Gerid soon began to struggle with the need to not fall asleep. He was exhausted and though the storm seemed to be lessening, there would be no time to sleep for quite some time.
The giant began to kick his legs again just to keep awake. It was tiring, but he hoped that the thought of the kicks would keep him awake enough to fight onwards. The sky was turning to just gray then and the rain seemed to have lessened perhaps. Gerid was wondering whether the crew had managed to make the island with the Trotter or if his crew had succumbed the same as he or even worse.
The water entering his mouth and nose brought him quickly awake again. He couldn't even remember finishing his thought before the startling lack of breath had awoken him. His hand still was tied to the mast as the survivor had made sure to do earlier. Checking for Jahkob, he found the man was still unconscious but breathing atop the broken mast. He would save at least one person, Gerid could still hope.
The rain had nearly disappeared, though the wind still had the waves mounting to nearly ten feet above them when it happened again. Sleep, darkness and then the water causing him to choke and reawaken. His eyes saw little, but he could have sworn that he felt a pair of arms helping him atop the wood beside Jahkob.
It must have been the sailor, he thought, even though the man seemed to still be unconscious. His foggy mind didn't bother to think about that as he fell back asleep in exhaustion.
The waves seemed lower again.

The feel of sand beneath his feet surprised Gerid. He was still half asleep, but he could feel an arm about his waist supporting him. Jahkob was before him still sleeping. Eyes half glazed over, Gerid noticed the woman beside him.

Her hair was green, he thought amusedly. The woman noted his attention and smiled a tight smile. Darkness swept over him once again, but only for a short time. The woman was helping him stand and even walk ashore. Dropping like a sack of sand, Gerid met the sand with a `whuff'. He rolled onto his back on his own and spied the half naked woman with the green hair Pulling Jahkob ashore to lay beside him.
With a last look at Gerid, the woman waved a hand and leaped back into the breaking waves. He could have sworn that her large sparkling eyes were entirely blue. As her hair had swept back with a shake of her head, he had even believed that her ears appeared pointed.
Dismissing those as probable illusions of his exhaustion, he didn't even bother to think about the sight of her legs changing into a single tail-like fin. Gerid hardly remembered the woman after his eyes closed to sleep once again, but in the years to come he would often wonder who it had been who had saved the two of them.