Damien stood on the dock a few feet from Captain Velco and the archmage who were busy arguing about whether he could join the expedition. Their shouting almost drowned out the lapping of the waves. Since he’d left all his gear back at the capital, Damien had gone shopping and now he carried a new canvas bag filled with clothes and other goods, most importantly a supply of parchment and pencils so he could keep his master up to date on the whalers’ activities. Considering what he’d seen on his first voyage with the good captain he didn’t expect to have much reporting to do.

He stretched and yawned. Despite the early departure time he’d spent a late night chatting with Lane after a wonderful meal of fresh seafood. She’d been surprised by Captain Velco’s good manners as they went from shop to shop buying what the captain needed for his hunting trip.

He hadn’t put so much as a toe out of line and Lane seemed to think he meant what he said about opening up new hunting grounds. If he had ulterior motives he hid them well. Damien and Lane finally said goodnight around midnight. Lane kissed his cheek and slipped into her room. She was a good friend and unlike Karrie seemed to harbor no ambitions beyond being his friend.

“Damien!” The archmage waved him closer.

They must have settled their differences. He didn’t know why the captain bothered arguing. He either had to do what she said or be stuck in port. “Master?”

“Captain Velco has agreed to let you travel with him on his flagship. All you’ll have to do is stay out of everyone’s way. Clear?”

“Perfectly.” Turning to Velco, Damien said, “I appreciate you letting me travel with you, Captain. I won’t give you a moment’s trouble.”

“I’m sure you won’t. I booted my first mate to the common room so you’ll be staying in his cabin. Meals are served promptly so if you’re late you’ll have to do without. Any questions?”

“No, sir.”

“Good. Let’s board. I don’t want to miss the tide.”

Captain Velco showed Damien to a tiny, cramped cabin with nothing but a hammock and sea chest for furniture. He barely had room to turn around without bumping into one of the walls. It was going to be a long trip.

Damien put his gear in the trunk and sat cross-legged in front of it. With everyone busy this would be a good time to scout out the ship. He conjured a spy bug, linked it to a viewing rectangle, and sent it under the door and down the hall. Damien sent the bug into Velco’s room to have a second look around. It creeped and crawled over everything, but he found nothing interesting.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The bug flew down a level to the hold. Scores of barrels filled every square inch. Some were filled with fresh water, but most were empty. It didn’t take long for him to conclude the hold was a waste of time as well. The crew quarters came next, a jumbled space of hammocks and footlockers. Some of the sailors had letters from home tacked to the wall beside their hammocks, but nothing of interest to Damien.

The only place left to check was the sorcerer’s cabin and Damien didn’t know if he wanted to take that step yet. If she noticed his spy there’d be trouble, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. The bug flew to the opposite end of the ship where the sorcerer’s isolated cabin waited. Damien studied the closed door through the bug’s eyes. A barrier similar to the one he’d used at the border baron’s castle blocked anyone from going in. He could smash it easily enough, but didn’t dare, not yet.

The ship lurched and Damien let the bug vanish. He’d check the other ships before he took any drastic steps. Damien got to his feet and went up on the deck. Behind them the city was slowly shrinking. Standing alone in the front, her blue robe swirling in the breeze, was the female sorcerer that had tried to threaten them when Damien and his master first arrived.

Maybe he could talk his way into her cabin. He’d seldom met a sorcerer who’d pass up the chance to discuss their preferred techniques, and being from the Old Empire she had to be curious about how kingdom sorcerers wielded soul force. He certainly wondered about her style.

Damien started across the moving deck, stumbling every other stride. Annoyed, he finally flew over beside her. When he landed she looked at him with wide, seemingly vacant blue eyes. Damien chewed his lip and tried a smile. “We haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Damien.”

He held out his hand and her gaze shifted down to look at it. She reminded Damien of a sleepwalker. The lights were on, but nobody was home. Her whole body shuddered, she blinked, and stumbled back from him. “Where did you come from?”

He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “You looked right at me when I landed.”

“My body looked at you. My mind was otherwise occupied checking for obstacles in the water. What do you want?” She had gone from unaware to angry and Damien wasn’t sure which he liked better.

“I wanted to introduce myself. I figured we’d be traveling together for a while and it might be nice to have another sorcerer to talk to.”

“If I want to talk to another sorcerer I’ll fly over to one of the other ships and talk to my comrades.” She brushed past him and flew down to her cabin. The door slammed behind her a moment later.

He sighed. So much for talking his way in. Steps behind him heralded the captain’s arrival.

“Not very friendly, is she?” Velco said.

“No, not very.”

“Don’t take it personal.” The captain slapped him on the back. “Near as I can tell she don’t like anybody but her sister.”

“At least she likes someone. How far out are we going to sail?”

Velco tapped his chin. “Well past your island. I’d say we’ll be at least three weeks getting to where I plan to hunt. Here.”

Damien caught a fist-sized white lump. “What’s this?”

“Whale bone. Some of the sailors like to carve it. Thought you might like to give it a try, make the time go by faster.”

“Thanks.” Just what he needed, something to speed him along to a battle with the most powerful creature on the planet.