Sacrifice of Ericc Read online

The fury of the storm brought pain to all in its wake and would continue to do so until its own demise. No army could attack it, no fortress could defend against it, and no creature could outrun it. It was the lord of all storms with an unforgiving hand of pain and death. It reached out to smite all in its path.

  Waves struck the side of a ship, forcing it to lean steeply, as thunder roared from flashes of lightning striking the water nearby. It was a sturdy caravel vessel, but it was too far out to sea to make port and too slow to outrun the giant swells.

  A crew of over twenty members fought to save the ship, Sinecure. Sails had been tied down and goods had been stored. But this was not accomplished at the competency of the ship-hands, for they were still green to the ways of the water.

  It was the fiery captain who commanded critical life-saving orders. The Sinecure, its crew, and its passengers were all dependent on his abilities as he played a deadly game against the storm and sea.

  It wasn’t the first time he had saved these passengers. Stranded on one of the small Palm Islands for months, they were fortunate that he had spotted them. Then again, if the ship were hit any harder on the starboard side, their rescue may turn out to be their undoing. The captain had to turn the ship’s bow into the waves before they capsized.

  Avanda flung open the door and ran out onto the deck. The young lady’s hair whipped at her face as the wind drove the rain hard against her. “Ralph? Ralph?” she continued to yell, as the busy crew ignored her.

  “Ralph?” The captain asked as he fought to steer the ship. “Who’s Ralph?”

  Thorik Dain stood near the captain, carrying out his orders and relaying them to his crew. “Avanda’s lizard that she found on the island.”

  “Damn be it for the Fesh, get her below before she’s washed overboard,” the captain ordered.

  Thorik left the captain’s side and made his way down the steps to the main deck. He waited for a flash of lightning to see where she had gone. But when it struck, she was no longer where he had last seen her. Instead she was on the Sinecure’s bow, reaching for the pole which hung over the front of the ship.

  The thunderstorm released its worst at them. Lighting struck the water near enough to the ship to hear it at the same time it was seen, vibrating the ship with its mighty force.

  Avanda climbed out onto the ship’s bowsprit as the waves lashed out and pounding rain drove hard into her back. As if holding onto the ship’s front pole wasn’t hard enough, her legs kept getting wrapped up in the lowered forestay sails. One wrong move, tall wave, or strong gust of wind could easily knock her off the horizontal pole and send her to a watery grave. In spite of the severe danger, she continued to climb toward the end.

  Ralph had climbed out onto the bowsprit. It was normally a safe location for him, out from under the crew’s feet as he so often basked in the sun’s warmth. It was now the most dangerous place the lizard could be as he clung for his life.

  Defensive instincts kicked in, causing Ralph to spit out a gob of saliva onto the pole between him and Avanda. Even with the pole saturated with water, the deadly acid in the lizard’s spit began to sizzle away, eating through the wood.

  “Avanda, come back!” Thorik yelled as he reached the front of the ship.

  “Not without Ralph.” She yelled back over the noise of the howling wind and crashing waves.

  Thorik reached out and grabbed her ankle. “He’s not worth your life.”

  She attempted to scoot farther out, as her legs wrapped around the bowsprit. Laying her stomach on the pole, she pulled with her hands and pushed with her feet. “I took him from his island, so I’m responsible for him now.”

  Thorik pulled her back toward him. “He’s only a lizard!”

  “He’s part of our family!”

  In the pitch black of night, the captain turned the wheel hard, viewing what he could when lightning allowed. It was a small window of time to determine what was playing out. How far he had turned the ship and where was the next swell rising?

  Both questions were answered as lighting struck the crest of a towering wave as it approached. Illuminating the wave from within, it was clear that they would not survive.

  Avanda and Thorik saw the wave light up as well, just as the bowsprit broke off right in front of Avanda. The lizard’s acid attack on the pole had chewed its way through, and now it swung wildly in the air, hanging from the lines that connected it to the fore mast.

  Ralph clung tightly as the pole spun out of control, dangling over the water.

  The ship began its climb up the swell, leaning back as the bow lifted into the air.

  The bowsprit swung backward, nearly swatting Thorik and Avanda off the ship. Ralph leaped off the bowsprit and onto Avanda’s head, just as Thorik pulled her back onto the ship’s forecastle deck. Tumbling to the fore mast, they both watched the wave prepare to bear down on them.

  “Hold on!” the captain shouted to his crew, knowing full well that the ship had little chance against such a wave.

  Ralph scurried into one of Avanda’s pouches while Thorik held onto her with one arm and a secured rope with the other.

  Always on the offensive, Avanda grabbed for her purse of magic. Pulling out a handful of small crystals, she broke free from Thorik and dove for the deck’s railing, throwing them overboard and shouting words to activate her spell.

  The crystals hit the water and instantly turned it to ice. Spreading fast, a magical iceberg grew beneath it, lifting the ship.

  Water crashed from above as the top of the wave struck the ship. But instead of going through the wave and drowning, the ice had lifted them up and over.

  Avanda jumped away from the railing and back into Thorik’s arms. “It worked this time!” she yelled.

  The swell broke off chunks of the iceberg and turned them into flying debris, hurling them back toward the ship. Large ice fragments pelted the men on deck, knocking several off.

  One large shard pierced the hull and crashed into the upper deck’s bulkhead. Water spilled in from the wave as the crew tried to board it up and bail out the water.

  “I’m not sure your magic made things any better.” Thorik held her tight, protecting her from the storm’s wrath.

  But it had helped. The iceberg had grown large enough to allow them to ride out the storm. Nevertheless, they were unable to steer the vessel and were now completely at the mercy of the waves.

 

  Chapter 3

  Southwind

  Thorik’s Log: April 15th of the 650th year.

  In spite of our needed ship repairs, we traveled up the Stained River and docked at Rava’Kor, where Captain Mensley has heard word of Ericc’s capture. I leave my Runestones and logs of our trip here on the ship, for this may be my last opportunity to see them. The risk I take to find Ericc leads me into the city as well as into its prison.