James Wyatt - In the Claws of the Tiger

“Something’s trying to capsize us,” Janik said. “We’ll do better to keep low in the boat.”

“We’ll do best if we stop the thing before it dumps us overboard,” Dania shot back, scrambling toward the port side, where they could hear the banging.

The boat rolled again and Janik slid to port. Dania leaped to the side of the boat in one big step, and at that instant a huge sea devil appeared over the side of the launch. Two muscular arms reached toward Dania, the webbed hands tipped with sharp claws easily capable of tearing through armor and flesh. Two more arms clutched the side of the boat, lifting the sahuagin up over the gunwale. It swung a foot into the boat and pulled its entire bulk over the side, throwing itself at Dania.

Dania and her attacker fell backward hard, landing against the opposite side of the boat. Janik barely managed to dodge out of their way, stabbing at the sea devil as it barreled past him with Dania caught in its four arms. He managed only a glancing blow against the thing’s tough scales. He was relieved to find that he had recovered the strength in his grip, thanks to Dania’s healing touch.

Dania was having trouble bringing her longsword to bear against the creature as it raked at her with all six limbs-its feet bore vicious claws as well. Janik moved in to distract it, looking for weak spots in its scaly hide, finally planting his blade where one of its lower arms met the thick torso. Janik drove his blade between the creature’s ribs. It howled in rage and pain and dropped Dania from its grasp, wheeling to face Janik.

“Prepare to meet the teeth of Shargon,” the creature spat in its own language.

“I have seen the Devourer’s teeth before,” Janik replied in the same tongue, “and always they have closed on empty water.” This was another of the ritualized exchanges that characterized sahuagin conversation, but Janik reflected on the truth of the boast even as he aimed his blade for another blow.

The sea devil was clearly surprised to hear the proper response from a human mouth, and it dropped its guard just for an instant. That instant was all Janik needed to plunge his blade into the creature’s eye. At the same moment, Dania’s sword came down hard on the sahuagin’s skull, and as Janik pulled his sword free, he felt it scrape against Dania’s blade. He shuddered as a wave of disgust washed over him, and he frowned at the sea devil as it fell toward him. He tried to step out of its path, but lost his footing in the wildly rocking boat and landed hard on his seat. The sahuagin’s gory head landed in his lap with a wet splat.

“Dania, will you get this thing off me?” he said sickly.

“You never would have made it on the front lines, my friend,” Dania said as she sheathed her sword and bent down to grab one of the sea devil’s legs.

“Yes, we’ve established that many times over the past fifteen years,” Janik replied. “Ugh, look at this. It spilled its brains all over me.”

Dania smiled as she heaved the sahuagin overboard. “Why don’t you take a dip and rinse off?” The water churned with sharks swarming in to feed on the bloody corpse.

Janik gingerly got to his feet and noted with some satisfaction that the sailors at the oars wore looks of disgust like his own. Lyrandar Dayspring now loomed nearby, and he saw sailors on the deck above, lowering ropes to hoist the launch back aboard.

“Dania,” he said softly as the men on the launch tied the boat to the ropes dropped from above.

“What?”

“I’m sorry for the things I said at dinner. I was needlessly harsh.”

“I let my temper get the better of me as well,” Dania said.

“Just like old times, eh?” Janik said with a smile.

“No, Janik, and it never will be.” Dania looked up at the ship, not returning Janik’s smile. “Too much has happened.”

Back on the ship, Dania roamed the deck, checking on the wounded. Janik trailed behind her, offering words of encouragement to the sailors. Auftane had already cared for many sailors but a few were beyond any help. Among the dead, Janik spotted the first mate. He looked around for the captain and spotted him standing at the prow. Leaving Dania and Auftane to care for the wounded, he went to the captain.

The sparkling ring in the sky was reflected in the waves around them as a scintillating mosaic of light. The ship had resumed its course toward Xen’drik.

They stood in silence for a moment, then the captain glanced at Janik. “Glad to see you made it aboard,” he said quietly.

“Thank you,” Janik said, looking at the dark water ahead. “It was a devastating attack.”

“Yes,” Avaen replied, “but not unexpected. And thanks to you and your friends, our losses were far less than they might have been. I am grateful.”

“I noticed your first mate among them.”

“Eisha, yes.” The captain’s voice was flat. “She was a good first mate.”

“I …” Janik hesitated, unsure whether to press the point, but decided to forge ahead. “I get the sense she was more than that.”

“She was a good friend, too. And-” His voice broke, and he paused for a moment, wrestling his emotions back under control. “And we were lovers once. Like you and Dania, I suspect.”

“Yes, briefly. An ill-fated affair.” Janik scowled. “We should have just been friends.”

Avaen nodded slowly, staring blindly ahead.

They stared together into the night as the rest of the crew finished gathering the bodies of the fallen and tending the wounded, then finally returned to their posts or their bunks. The quiet of the ocean, filled only with the sounds of creaking ropes and splashing waves, settled around them again. Three moons set behind the western sea, and the eastern sky was beginning to brighten before Avaen finally clapped Janik on the shoulder and shuffled back to the wheelhouse to prepare for a day of sailing.

By the end of the week, they were in Shargon’s Teeth. Rocky islands jutted up from the waters all around them-very much like the sharp teeth of a shark, giving the area its name. Janik knew that the rocks that did not protrude from the water were the most dangerous, for they could tear a hole in the bottom of the ship before the pilot knew there was a danger.

This was where Shubdoolkra’s clan was supposed to appear and guide the ship through the treacherous waters. Janik had guessed that the earlier attack meant no guidance would come, but he took no comfort in being right on that score.

“Mathas told me you had secured sahuagin guides for the Teeth,” Captain Avaen said to Janik as the nearest islands loomed close.

“I had made arrangements for a clan to guide Hope’s Endeavor -the ship we were supposed to sail on. I left word for my contact about our change of plans, but I suppose it’s possible that he didn’t receive my message.”

“I think the attack at the start of our journey made that clear,” Avaen said, giving voice to Janik’s silent thoughts. “It doesn’t matter, though. House Lyrandar has good charts of the Straits of Shargon. They’re not perfect, and we won’t be able to sail at night, but we can get through. As long as we don’t suffer another attack like that.”

The earlier attack was nothing, Janik thought. We really don’t want to see them come in force.

“If the sahuagin do approach,” he said aloud, “I can try to negotiate with them. I have made the promise of tribute and I’m still prepared to keep that promise, despite the attack.”

“Very well. One way or another, we’ll get through the Teeth and safely to Stormreach. It might take a while.” The captain returned to the wheelhouse. Janik shortly felt the surge in speed that meant Avaen was back at the helm, using the power of his dragonmark to propel the ship.