I had expected a smooth voyage from Zaban to Tyrman, considering that the trade route this cargo ship would normally take was well-protected and overseen by warships armed to the teeth. Pirates knew better than to harm the ships that used this route. Even if a crew were lucky enough to slip past patrols and take down a trading ship, pursuit would be swift and uncompromising. The lucky few pirates that could survive what a warship could do to their craft were taken prisoner and given hefty sentences. The security of international trade depended on these ships making it to their destination without delay or trouble. Economies could fail in weeks if the trade routes were disturbed. Piracy still existed outside of the trade routes, but I wasn’t concerned, as we were taking the heavily protected route. Or so I thought, at least. That was until we spotted the storm.

My first hint that something wasn’t right was the sound of a commotion above us on the decks. Men were running around more than earlier, and shouting back and forth. The general chaos and the wood blocked my ability to understand what each man said, so I made my way up the stairs and looked around. That was when I noticed the complete lack of wind around us. The ship was dead in the water. This wasn’t my first time on the water, or even experiencing the phenomenon of the calm before the storm. The water was smooth as glass as I hurried to the bulwark of the ship and looked out. Then I turned toward the left and saw the horizon. It was dark. A thick line covered enough of it that I had to actually turn to see both ends. And as I watched, I saw that it seemed to be growing in size. No, not growing, I thought. Getting closer. Fast.

“Unless you’ve got experience hauling on ropes, you need to be down below decks, lad!” The captain shouted. I turned and saw he was addressing me. “That’s a nasty storm ahead of us, as you can see. We’re gonna be lucky if we can dodge it.”

The men I’d heard running back and forth were settled in the rowing trenches, holding the handles of two dozen long bladed oars. They sat silently, waiting for an order and conserving their strength, grave expressions on their faces. Whether or not they made it out of the storm’s path in time would rely on these men, I thought. They looked strong, but it would be more luck than skill or endurance that would foretell the success of their mission. I glanced back at the horizon, noting once again that the storm was approaching rapidly. On a whim, I decided that I would do what I could to help. My experience on the ocean was more in the area of fishing than sailing, as I’d never operated a boat that didn’t have an engine. I’d experienced nasty storms two or three times and even had our small boat flipped once. But the boat, owned by my father, had been designed to flip back over even if completely submerged, so the only loss then had been our fish and gear. Here, the damage would be far worse. If we lost the ship in the storm, we’d all be dead.

“Tell me what to do, Captain!” I called back. I wasn’t comforted by the fact that I had to raise my voice, for the wind had begun to move again, only turning against us. The Captain noticed as well, and his face went a little paler.

“You know how to handle the ropes?” He bellowed, already taking a firm grip on the wheel that would turn the ship. I nodded, even though I wasn’t that experienced. Thankfully, enough time writing had taught me the names of each part of a sailing ship, at least, and I could follow the examples of the other sailors. “Then get on the main mast, and keep your ears open!”

I hurried over to the central mast at once and hovered by one of the thick ropes that controlled the rise and fall of the massive sheets that could capture the wind, propelling us. The entire structure could turn up to ninety degrees in either direction, letting the craft capture nearly any direction of wind and still move forward. Two other sailors moved to stand by the other ropes, so all three sheets were ready. I noticed that the two of them wore special thick belts that they used to hook themselves to the mast. They saw I didn’t have one, and pointed toward the bow, where the equipment could be found. I started to turn to run across and get one when the first wave hit us.

The Captain had been in the middle of a sharp turn to put the storm to our backs when that first wave hit. We had no movement, and a heavy ship, even without its cargo, couldn’t ride the motion early as easily as other craft could. It slammed into the hull of the ship with such frightening force I thought it would snap it in half. But the ship was strong. What wasn’t strong was my stance, and the shudder of that impact knocked my legs out from under me.

Dexterity Save: 14 (+4) = 18 [Success]

The ship tilted dangerously, sending several crates of provisions sliding across the open space. One of them nearly slammed into me, but I rolled out of the way just in time, pushing myself up on my hands and feet. One of the sailors, rocked by the impact but still maintaining his stance thanks to the belt, reached out one hand and grabbed my arm, hauling me back to the mast with one mighty tug. I seized hold of the thick rope once more and braced myself. Behind us and slightly above, I heard the Captain bellowing. The sound was a mix of outrage and panic.

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“Damn it all, who didn’t secure the damn crates! Get on it!”

There was a moment of general confusion as the sailors glanced at one another, seeing who would move first. I could understand their hesitation. They’d leave the safety of either the masts or the rowing trenches, and that wasn’t an appealing idea. Taking a deep breath, I let go of the rope I’d been holding and ran across to where the rest of the boxes were stacked. The deck underfoot was even more unstable than before, but I managed to stay on my feet, reaching the crates safely. I had no idea when the next wave would hit, but I didn’t dare glance up from my work to check on the storm’s position. I seized the thick weighted nets that would keep the crates and other provisions in place, and threw it out. Gogo appeared out of nowhere, catching the edge of the net and quickly tying it into place so it wouldn’t move.

“Good work,” they shouted, grabbing my forearm. We braced against another heavy wave. Thankfully, the captain had managed to complete his earlier turn, and we rode the motion a little more easily. Still, the ship tipped toward the bow at a heavy angle, giving us a steep incline. On the bright side, there were no flying crates to dodge. Once we righted a bit, Gogo and I returned to the mast.

“Why aren’t you wearing a belt?” They asked. “Do you know nothing about sailing?”

“There wasn’t time!” I shouted back. Around us, the storm winds were picking up. “There’s no time now! What about you?”

Gogo waved a dismissive hand. “I’ll be fine, even if I’m knocked overboard! Don’t try to catch me.”

I hesitated a moment, then decided to trust her. “Alright, but help me on this mast rope. I think the Captain’s going to try to run with the storm!”

“Any idiot could tell that!” Gogo said, grinning as we both untied the mast rope. Beside us, the other sailors had a firm grip on their ropes as well, their faces set in determined lines and their stances strong. Any second now, we’d have to bear the brunt of the work.”

“Michel, get ready on the oars!” the Captain said. “Fend us off the waves so we can get some speed! Arden, get ready to earn your pay!”

The head rower, who I took to be Michel, waved quickly to signal that he’d heard the Captain’s orders, then bellowed something I couldn’t hear to the rowers behind him. On the other side, his second-in-command did the same. The oars were locked into placed and held just shy of the water’s surface. I could see their muscles tightening, preparing to throw all their strength into moving the heavy ship forward. Behind the Captain, a new figure I hadn’t seen before vaulted over the railing that separated the Captain’s raised position from the rest of the ship. At first, I thought that was a near-suicidal action. But the stranger caught himself with a powerful gust of wind and slid along the length of the deck until he came level with us on the central mast. He came to a neat stop, looking completely at home on the unstable deck, and flashed us all a wide grin.

“Looks like we’re in for a bit of fun!” He said, nearly giddy as he glanced over his shoulder to see the storm. “Hope you all like a rough ride as much as I do!”

I couldn’t tell if he was serious or not. Was he so deranged that he enjoyed the uncertain chaos of a hurricane-level storm? Either way, I didn’t have time to consider it much longer. “I take it you’re Arden.”

“Arden Stormrider, at your service,” he said, his grin widening. “And no, that’s not a fake name. I’m known in all countries for my love of storm riding.”

A Wild Mage, I thought, an uncomfortable knot forming in my stomach. Could he also sense the Corruption inside me that those in Zaban had somehow sensed? If he could, he didn’t seem to care. His attention was focused entirely on the mast above us, ready for action. A strange sense of silence filled the air around us as the wind died. Just before it kicked back up again, we all heard the Captain’s voice bellow out clearly from the rear. “Here it comes, lads! Get those sticks moving!”

The rowers, led by Michel and his second, threw their weights onto the oars. Michel counted time, and almost at once, the hulking craft began to move forward. Under the efforts of twenty-four seasoned rowers, it began to pick up speed quickly. We actually experienced a light breeze on our faces with the speed they produced. Then the coming wave caught the rear of the ship, bringing the wind of the storm with it. If we hadn’t already been moving, I was prepared to bet we might have capsized. But we were already in motion, so we slipped backward onto the face of the wave, and the entire craft was shunted forward instead. It was an even more violent hit than the last one, but we rode the motion more easily, gravity forcing us onto the deck instead of sideways. My stomach plunged as we accelerated, and then the wave crashed over us. But it was a minor hit, barely even registering on the craft.

Now we were on the backend of the massive wave as it moved away from us. We were only a little slower than it, but as I saw it grow above us, I felt my heart skip several beats. It was taller than any building I’d ever seen in Ahya, and almost as tall as some buildings I’d seen on Earth. That explained the way my stomach had swooped, I thought because we’d traveled nearly two hundred feet in a sharp incline. Now we were falling, and I felt my stomach go in the opposite direction. It felt as though we were in freefall. Strangely, though he had no purchase with rope or belt, Arden was still on his feet. He was in a low crouch as if riding a giant surfboard, and he looked as though he was having the time of his life.

“Get those sheets down!” the Captain yelled. “Arden, give us a little help!

I grimaced as I began to pull on the rope, aided by Gogo beside me. Little by little, the sheet was coming undone as the knots slipped free. Hopefully, it would be in time.