Jean Rabe - The Silver Stair

Men scurried here and there, tightening down everything, lashing water barrels together. The first mate tied himself to the wheel, and the sorcerer was near him, waggling his fingers and casting a spell at the ship's bow. The wind had blown back his cowl, revealing a startlingly white face and a shaven head. Lips the color of cinders were in constant motion, spilling out the phrases of the enchantment.

There was chaos everywhere. The sea was roiling like a pot of boiling soup, sending waves taller than the ship's mainmast crashing across the deck. The water was icy cold and immensely powerful, driving everyone in its path to his knees and threatening to pull the cog under the water's surface.

Through the cacophony, the creature heard a sea barbarian shout that a dragon had birthed the storm, and that the great beast would swallow any survivors.

"We'll all die!" It was the same barbarian who had whipped R'vagho that morning on deck.

"Aye, and you'll die even sooner if you don't help Gristen at the wheel!" The captain bellowed to be heard above the howling wind. The storm had revealed his dark face, which was surprisingly youthful.

R'vagho spotted the brute, who was motioning the creatures forward. A handful of sailors rushed toward them, fumbling at their waists for belaying pins and whips. The men hollered and gestured toward the hold, but the brute growled and defiantly shook his head.

No one was going back down there. Freedom was within the creatures' reach, even if it might be shortlived in this raging storm. R'vagho saw the brute raise his shaggy arms, flailing his thick chains in the face of the nearest sailor. The brute's followers were quick to copy the gesture, overcoming the barbarians before they could use their weapons.

Faintly through the rain and wind, the creature heard the snap of bones and the splash of human bodies being tossed overboard. He heard the captain shouting more orders as his crew tried to deal with the rebelling beasts and keep the ship intact.

Lightning flashed from the sky at the same time miniature bolts shot from the sorcerer's fingertips. The small bolts struck one of the creatures squarely in the chest, and he crumpled atop a barbarian he'd been trying to rend. More bolts flew into the pack, slaying another two of the rebels, and the sorcerer returned his attention to the bow.

The sails were down from the mainmast now, and the brute and another three creatures were there grabbing up lines and wrapping them around cornered barbarians. A pair of creatures picked up a water barrel and were using it as a shield against the bosun's mate. The man slashed at the barrel with his sword even as the creatures drove him back against the railing. Suddenly the ship rode a large crest and plunged downward. A wave washed across the bow, and all three were swept over the side.

R'vagho was doing his best to stay on his feet, but the erratic movement of the ship was making him nauseous and dizzy. He lurched toward the capstan, sliding clumsily across the water-slick deck and falling. He managed to wrap his long arms around the base of the capstan and took a deep breath. The ship climbed again, and this time it seemed to hang suspended in the air for several heartbeats before it fell with a deafening, bone-jarring crash. A wave thundered across the deck, sending several more creatures and barbarians into the sea.

R'vagho continued to hold tight and blinked furiously, trying to get the salt water out of his eyes so he could see what was going on. When the ship crested another wave and dropped again, a barbarian who was charging toward the creature slipped and fell. His sword flew from his grasp and clattered to the deck close to R'vagho as the man was washed overboard.

The creature awkwardly wrapped his clawed fingers around the small pommel and tried to shut out the confusion around him, tried desperately to ignore the bucking of the ship. The best he could manage was to fight off the nausea. When the unsettling wave in his stomach subsided, he jammed the blade's tip into a chain link just above his ankle. The link was rusty, and although he had tried unsuccessfully in the hold to pry it apart with his hands, maybe with this blade…

The storm continued to hammer mercilessly at the deck, and the waves threatened to sweep the creature overboard, but still he concentrated on the link of chain. The tip of the blade snapped, but he continued to pry at the link with the blunted sword. R'vagho gritted his teeth as he heard a loud snap and glanced up to see what had made the noise. The railing to his right snapped free, taking more of his fellows and some of the barbarians into the swirling sea with it.

He continued to work on the link and was finally rewarded when it snapped free from the manacle. The creature took another deep breath. The air was bitter. He smelled blood mixed with the overpowering scent of the saltwater.

He turned his attention to his other ankle and began to worry at a link there. The blade snapped again, leaving several inches of steel protruding from the hilt. He tried to be more careful now. There was still enough metal left to slip into the seam of the link. His big hands worked feverishly, and he grunted with satisfaction when the chain fell away, freeing his feet. The manacles remained, but he would deal with those later-if there was a later.

R'vagho peered over his shoulder. Beyond the creatures' forms, he spotted two sea barbarians. Unarmed, it appeared they were trying to surrender. R'vagho started to work on the chains affixed to his wrists. His frenzied fellow captives killed the men.

After what seemed like an eternity, a link separated from one manacle, then from the other. He dropped the broken weapon, scooped up a length of chain, and edged away from the capstan. Feet spread wide, knees bent, he braced himself as the ship crested a wave. As the bow rocked forward, he slid across the deck, heading toward the wheel. The first mate was still there, battered by the waves and looking oddly like a broken doll. The barbarian who'd whipped him this morning stood unsteadily nearby.

R'vagho raised his lips in a snarl as he lashed the chain about like a flail. It cracked hard into the face of this morning's tormentor, breaking his cheekbone with a sickening snap and sending the man to the deck. The creature lashed out at him again and again. Blood pooled about the man's unmoving form. Another wave crashed across the deck, washing the blood and the man away.

The first mate could not flee from the creature. His waist was firmly lashed to the center of the wheel, and his right hand was tied about the king's spoke. The remainder of his crewmen could not help him. The few remaining on deck were busy trying to fend off the brute and the other creatures. The captain was nowhere to be seen, nor was there any trace of his booming voice. The sorcerer was perched on the sterncastle above and behind the wheel, somehow surefooted in this gale, hands faintly glowing, face fixed on the bowsprit, trying to use his magical powers to keep the ship afloat.

R'vagho kept a nervous eye on the sorcerer and braced himself as the ship bucked beneath a huge wave. He felt himself flying forward. His arms thrashed about wildly, and he found something to grab on to-the wheel. He held tight until the water receded, then found himself staring right into the face of the first mate. The lightning was coming even faster now. The sharp cracks of thunder that followed reminded the creature of the crack of the barbarians' whips.

The first mate's steely eyes seemed to challenge R'vagho. He winced as a bolt of lightning struck near the ship, then again as another and another shot down from the turbulent sky. His gaze drifted up from the creature's fierce visage, and his eyes widened. R'vagho turned to see what the first mate was looking at.