Jean Rabe - The Day of the Tempest

“Ohmygoodness!” Blister sputtered. The kender squeezed between the refugees, poking and prodding with her elbows until she was next to Usha. “I thought the cook was burning breakfast! Hey, what’s Rig doing over there? And Groller? There’s Feril! And… Ulin!” The kender pushed the rest of her questions aside as she thrust her gloved hand into one of the many pouches at her waist and found her sling. She pulled it free and immediately set her aching fingers to finding stones and marbles. Within moments, she was pelting the Knights of Takhisis who were fighting the mariner.

“Faster!” called the elf, his voice rising as the wind whipped about him. A gust caught another wave Palin was summoning and the water rose higher and crashed across the deck.

“Again!” the elf shouted, and another wave was augmented by his enchantment.

Her bare feet slipping on the wet deck, Feril dashed toward Rig. Not only did the mariner have three knights to contend with, but a fourth was headed his way. The Kagonesti barely managed to keep her balance as she darted toward the fourth knight, shoving her shoulder into his side and knocking him down.

When the next wave struck the ship, Rig reached back and grabbed the rail to keep from being knocked over as two of the three knights he’d been fighting were washed over the side. Rig dropped prone as the remaining knight rushed forward, madly swinging. The blade passed harmlessly over the mariner’s head, and he rolled to the side to avoid another series of hurried thrusts. Rig retaliated by slashing upward with all of his remaining strength. The cutlass cleaved the knight’s wrist, sending his hand and his sword flying to the deck. The knight screamed and grabbed at his stump, and the mariner kicked the wounded man, sending him to the deck.

Rig paused to take a deep breath and glance around the deck, catching Feril’s gaze and smiling. Beyond her, an aging knight—a knight-officer by the look of his insignia—was rushing toward them. Rig sheathed his cutlass, and reached into the V neck of his tunic to retrieve two daggers. The knight saw Rig’s intent and turned, running instead toward the far rail, the water washing across the deck threatening his balance.

“Honor is for fools,” Rig muttered as he loosed the first dagger. It caught the man between the shoulder blades. He paused, and threw his second dagger at a knight who was closing on Ulin. The blade pierced the man’s throat, and he fell dead at the young sorcerer’s feet

Feril stepped back and held on as one of Palin’s waves, coaxed by a magical gust of wind, crashed over the starboard side and drenched her. There were few flames visible now, and most of the smoke had cleared. The Kagonesti took stock of the rest of her friends as the mariner slid beside her and put an arm around her shoulder, hugging her gently.

“A brisk morning exercise,” he said. “Nothing like it to keep your sword arm in shape.”

They spotted Fury and Groller, and Feril eased away from Rig and moved toward the pair. The wolf was trying futilely to shake the wetness from his coat. The half-ogre was driving his fist into the face of the last knight still standing. The knight refused to fall, until the half-ogre jammed his fist against the man’s sternum. The blow cracked the bone and the man collapsed.

Rig looked across to Flint’s Anvil , saw Palin, and grinned. “Interrupt your sleep?” Rig called, pointing at Palin’s attire.

Palin felt the red of embarrassment rise to his face. “I’m going to get dressed,” he told Usha. “Then we can talk about what happened here.” The sorcerer headed below deck, just as Jasper Fireforge was climbing up.

The dwarf yawned. “What’s all the noise? It’s impossible to get any rest on a ship.”

By the time Palin had dressed and returned to the deck, he found Jasper tending to the wounded. Rig was sitting against the Anvil ’s mainmast as Jasper applied a padded bandage that wrapped around the mariner’s waist. Groller surveyed the dwarf’s handiwork and then held still as Jasper poked and examined the half-ogre’s ribs. “You should wear armor,” Jasper grumbled, well aware the half-ogre couldn’t hear him.

“Seems Rig started it” Blister announced to Palin.

“Started it?” the mariner blurted. “They started it. I just helped finish it.”

Palin glared at the dark-skinned man. “What happened?”

“I was up early. Me and Groller were watching the knights. Seems their ship pulled in sometime after we did last night Your son joined us, said he couldn’t sleep. So we talked a bit. I wasn’t that interested in the schooner until I saw a few knights leading all those people from town toward the dock. Nice and early in the morning, when the rest of the town was still sleeping.”

“And?” Palin prompted.

“And I asked them what they were doing.” Rig stopped to gently adjust his bandage. “They wouldn’t say, but I figured they were capturing more people so the Blue could make spawn out of them.”

“So you attacked the knights?”

“Not exactly.” It was clear the mariner didn’t like Palin’s questioning. He rose, brushed by the sorcerer, and strode down the plank to the docks where Feril, Gilthanas, Usha, and Ulin were already talking to the former prisoners.

“Then what exactly?”

Rig didn’t answer. Palin sighed, then followed the mariner onto the crowded dock.

“Rig didn’t start the fight,” Ulin said as his father approached. “I did.”

“You?”

“Rig asked them to release the prisoners, and the knights threatened to add us to the lot instead. So I threatened to destroy their ship. They didn’t believe I could. Fools.”

Palin sighed.

“Remember the simple fire spell you taught me a few years ago? Well, I’ve been working on it, and I tested an improved version on their sails.”

“Of course, the knights were none too happy about it,” Rig added with a chuckle. “And when they started drawing their swords, I thought I’d oblige them.” He patted the pommel of his cutlass. “I only worked up a sweat on a couple of them.”

“Couldn’t you have woke us before things got out of hand?” Feril asked. “I could’ve helped. Maybe all those knights wouldn’t have had to die.”

“Well, things got out of hand a little too quickly for us to call anyone,” Ulin said. He grinned at his father.

“You were lucky,” Palin told his son. “The fire could have spread to Flint’s Anvil . One of you could have been killed if—” “But it didn’t,” Ulin cut in. “And we weren’t. And we managed to save a lot of people who were destined to become dragon food or spawn.”

“Let’s see to the last of our refugees and be on our way. We’re in a hurry and we haven’t any more time to waste on—” “You’re Palin Majere, the famous sorcerer!” A young man with an unruly shock of red hair stepped forward, nudging his way through the front rank of the freed prisoners. “Yes I am, but—”

“You’re one of the most powerful people on Krynn,” the youth continued. Behind him, the former prisoners began murmuring excitedly, pointing at Palin. The sorcerer blushed. “Palin Majere, he fought in the Chaos War,” a thickset woman tittered. “He slew Chaos.”

“That’s not true,” Palin cut in. “I only—” “Your father’s Caramon, one of the Heroes of the Lance,” her companion said.

“And don’t forget his mother, Tika!” the thickset woman added. “She was something in her day! Still is, I bet!”

“Palin studied at the side of Raistlin, the greatest sorcerer of Krynn!” another cut in. “They’re related, Palin and Raistlin. Cousins or something.” “My uncle, actually.”

“No, Palin’s the greatest sorcerer, not Raistlin. My father said there’d be no magic at all if it wasn’t for him. There’d be no Krynn if he hadn’t fought in the Abyss.”