Now, I’d gone pretty fast in my life on Earth. Whether on a rollercoaster ride, in the passenger seat of a fast car, or cliff-diving, I’d experienced some incredible speeds. But nothing quite I’d seen in Ahya quite compared to the speed that the ship took on under the combined forces of the storm and Arden’s wind magic. The instant we’d cleared that first massive wave, the Wild Mage had gone into overdrive. Locking himself in place by making the boards of the deck fuse over his feet, he began whirling his arms, conjuring even more winds to match the power of the storm. They filled the large sails of the cargo ship with a snap and the force with which the ship jolted forward succeeded in knocking me off my feet for the second time that day. Luckily Gogo managed to catch me with her free hand and yanked me back into position. I put my back to the mast, facing toward the bow, and yanked the sail line tight again.
Under the combined effort of each person holding the sails open, the ship steadied itself, now hardly rocking under the influence of the turbulent water. If anything, it leaned forward slightly as the other natural forces around us tried, and failed, to check the speed of the ship. On the point of being overtaken by yet another wave, the ship began to actually move more quickly. We were quite literally moving faster than the storm, I thought wildly. That made me wonder just how powerful Arden was, as he was contributing just over half the wind force driving us all forward. Certainly more powerful than his relatively young appearance seemed to hint at.
Within a minute, we’d broken free of that first massive wave, first riding up its back then down its face. We were free of the worst of the storm. The main issue now was that without the powerful surging of the ocean beneath us, the ship began to vibrate rather menacingly with the impact against each smaller wave. It was much the same kind of skipping that modern boats did on Earth once they got up to speed. But those boats were usually made of metal or some other tough material, and so could stand up to that repeated vibrating. Even with my limited sailing experience, I knew that we couldn’t keep this up long. It became a little less pronounced once the Captain had us all work to turn the ship to port, and the cargo ship made a gentle gradual curve so that it was now running across the face of the storm. I thought that the torrent of wind and waves would catch up to us then, but somehow, we managed to stay just ahead of it.
The time passed in a hazy blur of worry and near-panic as we constantly flirted with the edge of the storm. We never became fully caught as we’d done before, but we came close many times. But Arden did his job better than I could have hoped, maintaining a powerful stream of air that pushed the ship right back into safety. Even after nearly three hours, he did not stop. At times, it was a challenge to maintain our grip on the sails against the power of his magic.
Finally, after the fourth hour, I noticed a slight change in the movement of the ship. Arden immediately stopped funneling wind into the sails and lowered his arms. Only when he stopped moving did he show signs of exhaustion. He collapsed against the deck, his chest heaving and his forehead beaded with sweat.
“Are you alright?” I asked him with some concern. I hadn’t seen a person collapse quite like that before.
He didn’t seem to have the energy to lift his head, but he grinned nonetheless. “I’m fine, don’t worry about me.”
“He gets like this after every storm,” one of the other sailors told me. He looked exhausted as well, but at least he could stand on his own two legs. “But without him, we’d suffer far worse.”
“That’s exactly what makes him worth the fee I pay,” the Captain said, coming down from where. “Michel! Put the rowers to bed. We’ll operate on half crew for now.”
At that pronouncement, the crew let out a gathered sigh of relief. In a matter of minutes, the most exhausted were stumbling their way below decks to get some hard-earned rest. The deck was practically a ghost town after that. Glancing at Gogo, I wondered what was on her mind. We could also turn in for some sleep, but I was still too wired to make relaxing particularly easy. Her normally superbly clean coat was coated in salt from the storm, and her hair was a tangled mess, sticking up in unnatural ways. I imagined that I looked just as bad. I’d never really cared about my appearance before, but I wasn’t interested in seeing my reflection anytime soon.
Before either of us could make a suggestion as to what to do next, we heard the captain let out a curse. Thinking that the storm had shifted direction somehow and was bearing down on us again, I looked around in alarm. But the sky was as clear as could be. At least apart from the far east, where the storm was still passing, well away from us. The crew that was still on deck also looked around, wondering what the problem was now. One of them called out. “What’s wrong, Captain?”
The man looked down at the crew, including Gogo and I in his reply. “We were pushed so far off-course by that storm that we’re no longer anywhere near the trading route.”
At first, the significance of that was lost on me. But I could see the worried looks that settled onto the face of the crew and hear the gloomy tone of their voices as they murmured to each other. Then it clicked, and I let out a low whistle. Gogo looked around at the sound in confusion. “Why is that such a bad thing?”
I shook my head in worry. “Well, if we’re still close to the route, it’s not all that bad.”
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
But I looked up and met the Captain’s eyes, receiving the shaking of his head. “It looks like we strayed too far from it.”
“What, does that mean we’re lost then?”
“Hardly,” I replied, moving to sit atop a crate. My legs were still shaking from the effort of holding onto those damned ropes during the storm. “We’re no longer under the protection of international trade laws.”
Gogo let out a quiet ‘ooh’ of understanding. “Pirates?”
“Among other things,” I said morosely, thinking of the many things I’d created to populate the oceans. If we were really too far to make getting back on route worth it, then we were in dangerous waters. Quite literally, I thought, with a snort. Pirates just might be the least threatening thing out here.”
“Oh, cheer up,” we heard Arden say from where he was still lying on the deck. “It’s not as though we’re near the nest of a leviathan.”
“How could you know that?” I asked. After all, the oceans were one of the least explored areas of the world. There were bound to be a few individuals who had charted the stretches of water that spread between the continents, but it wasn’t the type of knowledge that just anyone could get access to.
Arden finally pushed himself up into a sitting position, though his arms were still trembling. “I’ve spent almost my entire life on the seas. I was nearly a Warden but decided on the life of a sailor instead. I work with the trade ships to protect them during squall seasons.”
“Damn,” I muttered softly. “Have you ever seen a leviathan before?”
“I think I saw one once,” he said, his tone as casually as if he were remarking on seeing a cat rather than one of the most deadly monsters to exist on the open sea. “This isn’t the first time I’ve been off the trade route, not by a long shot.”
Gogo and I shared a concerned look at that, and Arden laughed. “Oh, relax. In this area of the ocean, pirates and rogue elementals are the worst we’ll get. And I can easily manage those.”
“Then why does he look so concerned?” I asked, jerking my head in the direction of the Captain. “He doesn’t seem as confident as you.”
“Oh, that? That’s hardly what he’s thinking of,” Arden replied with another laugh. “He’s pissed because now we’re off-schedule. Captain Colt’s a big believer of tightly maintained schedules. We’re probably a few days off the plan now.”
“Keep talking like that, and you’ll lose a day’s pay,” the Captain barked. I hadn’t thought that he could hear our conversation. But when I looked up, his mouth was twisted into a wry smirk.
“And you’ll lose a barrel of ale!” Arden called back quickly, looking unconcerned. “I know where you keep the good stuff!”
The captain’s face paled slightly, almost to the same degree as when he’d seen the storm. I couldn’t resist laughing myself when I saw his expression, and even Gogo let out a low chuckle. Arden finally stood, swaying uncertainly. He looked as though he was on the verge of passing out. Then I realized that he actually was. I slid off the crate and took a step forward to support him, but he waved me off. “Don’t worry about me, newcomer. I’ve been in a worse state before. I’m going below to wash up. You two should do the same.”
He walked off then, tracing a winding path as though he’d drank too much, but made it safely into the now open stairs that led to the sleeping quarters. That area had been sealed off during the storm to prevent the lower section from being flooded. Gogo and I spent a few more minutes staring out at the calm sea around us. I wondered if, like me, she was trying to rid herself of the lingering energy that the terrifying storm had whipped up. I could barely believe that we’d managed to get out, and we’d merely played along the edge. Could we have survived if we’d drifted into the heart and experienced it to the fullest? I shook my head, not wanting to think of that, then decided that I might as well wash up and get some rest. Gogo waved me off, saying she wanted a little more time to recover, and I made my way down.
-
Whether by sheer luck or because the Captain was exceptional at navigating a safe path even outside of the trade routes, we encountered no trouble for the rest of the voyage. In fact, the rest of the time passed quickly, in spite of the longer days. The ship cut through the calm ocean for the rest of the journey, and Gogo and I got used to sleeping on a constantly moving surface. In fact, I’d become so accustomed to it that I slept deeply each night. It was this deep sleep that made me not realize we were entering a port just a week after we escaped the storm. That was until the thudding sound of footsteps around me invaded my dreamless sleep, and I sat bolt upright.
“What’s going on?” I asked blearily, rubbing my eyes firmly as I glanced at all the crew walking quickly up to the deck. I couldn’t see Gogo anywhere, so I swung my legs off the bunk and stomped my way blearily up into the sunlight. I was tired enough that I hardly noticed the limited movement of the ship.
After I blinked my eyes rapidly to adjust to the bright light above, I saw that we were moored fast alongside a dock. A decent-sized city stretched out ahead of me, the many pillars of smoke emanating from chimneys showing that the city was alive and busy. It wasn’t Sheran, I thought slowly. At least, it didn’t look the way I’d imagined Sheran, the largest port city in the world. Which meant that it had to be either Murgan or Shiinor. I hurried down and collected my pack before finding Gogo near the bow of the ship. They were staring at the city with a sort of resigned interest, apparently torn between their natural curiosity and dislike of unnatural areas.
“I see what you mean now,” I said, coming up to stand beside them. “The city really does change you.”
He flashed me a grin, shaking his head sadly. “Not all cities are so bad, but this one doesn’t seem like a place I’ll enjoy for long.”
“That’s fine,” I assured him, turning at the sound of a wide plank slamming down onto the dock. “I’m sure we won’t be here long. We can go east to Milagre after we get a solid night’s rest. Not to mention a decent hot meal.”
He perked up at that, his eyes brightening. “A hot meal. Feels like I haven’t had one of those in months.”
“Barely two weeks,” I laughed, then tapped him on the shoulder with a fist. “Well, time to get going before the Captain throws us off. We’ll find a bathhouse and somewhere to spend the night.”