"Thank you for the amusing diversion," the slaad said. "Regrettably, I cannot linger. I had hoped to kill you myself, but alas, we often do not get what we wish."
Before Cale could reply, Azriim projected to Riven, Kill the mindmage, Riven. Then we travel. . The connection was cut and Cale did not sense whatever last bit of information Azriim sent to Riven.
Magadon's mental scream caused Cale to clutch his head. A sympathetic stab of pain traveled through the psychic connection and doubled Cale over. He felt Magadon die and the mindlink terminated.
Smiling even as his body began to transform again, Azriim turned the dial on his teleportation rod with his thumb while pointing the iron wand at the forecastle.
"Farewell, priest," Azriim said.
Cale and Jak both dived for cover.
A tiny ball of fire shot from the wand, hit the forecastle, and blossomed into a globe of flames. The sheath of shadows around Cale kept the flames and heat from his flesh. When he looked up, he did not see the slaadi. They were gone. Jak's cloak was smoking but otherwise the little man appeared to have avoided the flames.
The forecastle was ablaze. The entire ship would soon be afire.
The crew stood stunned for a moment, clutching weapons, wearing snarls, watching their ship burn.
"They've burned the captain alive!" shouted a bald, tattooed giant of a man. "At 'em, lads!"
Cale and Jak stood and went shoulder to shoulder. The crew advanced warily. Cale could see their courage building. They would soon charge.
"We could return to the Plane of Shadow," Cale said out of the side of his mouth, though he figured he knew Jak's answer.
Jak shook his head. "We cannot leave the slaves, Cale. Let's finish this. I can take care of the fire."
Cale nodded, brandished Weaveshear, and awaited the advancing crew. Meanwhile, the little man hurriedly incanted a prayer. When he finished, the ship listed to one side, as though struck by a powerful wave. Cale barely kept his feet.
The crew exclaimed, several fell to the deck, and all looked around in alarm.
Cale looked out to sea, which appeared calm. What could-
A wave surged upward from the sea and crashed over the railing. To Cale's astonishment, and to the open-mouthed shock of the crew, it did not soak the deck but instead held the form of a churning pillar, about the size of an ogre. It moved rapidly over the deck with an awkward undulation until it stood before Jak and Cale. Sound emerged from it, like the crashing of surf, or the swirl of a whirlpool. The cadence suggested that the sounds were speech.
The crew froze in their boots.
Cale realized that he was looking at living water, an elemental. He had heard of priests summoning such creatures, but he had never known Jak to do so. The little man continued to surprise him.
"A servant of the sea-bitch!" one of the crew shouted.
"Quench the flames and begone," Jak ordered the elemental.
The elemental responded in its incomprehensible tongue, thinned, elongated, and stretched forth for the forecastle. Its body soaked the flames, steaming and sizzling and smoking. In three heartbeats the fire was quenched.
The living wave instantly dissipated, drenching Jak's and Cale's boots and those of the crew. The elemental had returned to its place of origin, leaving a watery trail behind.
"Nicely done," Cale said.
"We're at sea," Jak said. "I thought I should be prepared."
Unfortunately, the angry crew did not seem as impressed. With the fire extinguished, they charged full on, weapons bare.
Azriim, Dolgan, and Riven appeared on the maindeck of Dolphin's Coffer. Azriim had retaken the form he had used when he first set foot on Dolphin's Coffer back in Selgaunt.
Spherical glowglobes lit the deck. Crewmen lay sleeping in leather bags, hammocks, and among coils of rope. The ship was anchored, with sails furled, just off the coast of an island that was little more than an enormous mountain jutting from the sea-Traitor's Isle. A single spire sat on the rocky island, the tower in which a treacherous wizard long ago had been sealed.
Azriim smiled. Dolphin's Coffer was exactly where it was supposed to be.
The crewmen on nightwatch noticed their sudden appearance and shouted in alarm. The rest of the crew awakened, scrambled out of their deck beds, and grabbed for blades. Three of the crew who had been on watch near the side railing rushed forward with steel and teeth bare.
Azriim held up his hands-he still held his wand and teleportation rod-and called out, "We are expected by Captain Sertan."
The captain must have prepared his crew, or perhaps the sailors recognized Azriim from his previous visit-Captain Sertan had given him a tour of the ship a few days ago-for the three sailors halted their advance, though they continued to stare at Azriim and his cohorts menacingly. Riven answered with a sneer and a stare.
The seamen did not hold the assassin's gaze.
Azriim liked Riven more and more.
A call went out and Captain Sertan quickly appeared at the forecastle rail. Azriim attuned his vision to see dweomers and saw that his charm on the captain remained in effect.
"All is well, seajacks," the captain shouted to his crew. "These are the friends I spoke of."
The crewmen lowered their blades. Those who had been sleeping grumbled at their fellows for disturbing their slumber and curled back into their deckbags and hammocks. At least a few muttered about the ill fortune that accompanied having mages aboard.
The captain left off the railing, slid ably down the forecastle ladder to the maindeck, and walked toward Azriim. Azriim used his arm to hide the bloodstains on his shirt caused by the wound Cale had given him. His flesh continued to regenerate.
The captain wore a wool jacket, dark trousers, and high boots. A thick-bladed cutlass hung casually from his hip. The bags under his eyes were more pronounced than when Azriim had first met him. He probably had slept little.
When he reached them, Captain Sertan said, "Welcome aboard, goodsirs. I am pleased to see you. I was beginning to doubt that you would show."
Azriim gave him a courtly bow. As he did, he pocketed his wand and rod, at the same time drawing forth the wand with which he had previously enchanted the captain.
"I am a man of my word, Captain," he said.
"So I see. An honorable man who pays well is welcome on the Coffer. My ship is in your service, as we agreed. Where to?"
Azriim smiled and shook the hand on which he wore the magical glove. The movement and Azriim's will summoned the Sojourner's magical compass from its extra-dimensional space and it appeared in his hand.
The captain marveled, wide-eyed.
The needle within the gold-chased, transparent sphere bobbed for a moment before pointing steadily in one direction: west, out to sea.
"The helmsman should follow the indicator on this compass until it points straight down," Azriim said. "That's when we'll be disembarking."
The captain looked at the compass, then in the direction of the indicator. "Nothing lies in that direction but open sea for twenty leagues. There's nowhere to disembark."
Azriim put a friendly hand on the captain's shoulder. As he did, he surreptitiously touched the small wand in his hand to the captain's arm and thereby renewed the charm.
"That will be our problem, Captain Sertan. Your problem is simply to get us there."
The captain pursed his lips but Azriim's spell turned it quickly into a smile. "Well enough. But I'll ask you for the second half of our payment now."
Azriim could not help but smile. Sembians remained Sembians, even when enspelled.
"Of course, Captain. We're all friends here, after all."
Azriim withdrew three large rubies from a pouch at his belt and handed them to Sertan. The human eyed them, eyes glittering, and put them into his sash belt.