'Get The Raven together. We need to talk. Make sure The Unknown is there and include yourself and Ren'erei. Captain's room. I'll be there in a moment.'
'No problem,' said Darrick.
Hirad carried on to the wheel deck, pulling himself up the ladder. Jevin nodded as he approached.
'An extraordinary display. They're majestic creatures,' said Jevin. 'We have an edge.'
'But it's slight and we'll lose it unless we push on now,' said
Hirad. 'This is the time to risk everything if you believe in what we're doing. Can you make this thing go faster?'
The skipper of the Ocean Elm noted the progress of the Calaian Sun with pleasure and saw more sail than was wise billow on her masts. Every face had been astern as the dragons attacked the Dordovan fleet. Every heart had beat double time with fear at the awesome, alien sights and sounds. Every eye had widened and hardly a breath had been drawn.
The skipper had heard there were dragons on Balaia, marooned after the Wesmen wars. And he knew they were linked in some way with The Raven. He had not considered his ship under threat and had passed that message around his crew but had not seen the necessity to extend his thoughts to the Black Wings and Dordovans on board. Watching their panic, hasty spell preparation and taut faces as they lined the deck had given him brief satisfaction. More stamina wasted, more nerves frayed. It could only be good.
He had never thought to see dragons and the sight of their extraordinary size and power had been breathtaking. The death of one and the obvious and possibly mortal wounding of the other two had been regrettable but their action had turned the tables. And now he could ensure that Ren, if it was her on the Sun as he assumed, would reach Herendeneth first.
She knew the channels well, and knew the route that had to be taken. What she didn't know was exactly where the Calaian Sun's draft would make passage impossible. The skipper would show her in the only way he thought likely to work.
The rain was just beginning to ease but the mountainous seas were unabating. He ordered a trimming of the sails to slow them just a little, sighted on the beacon that dominated the southern skies, prayed the Al-Drechar still lived, and patted his helmsman on the shoulder.
'Keep her steady, lad,' he said. 'Keep her steady.'
Chapter 34
There had been anxious moments through the night. The rest of the afternoon had passed under heavy clouds, strong winds and occasional sudden downpours mixed with the ever-present sounds of rolling thunder and lightning flashing in the storm fronts.
They were several hours ahead of the Dordovans as night fell and perhaps one behind the Ocean Elm and though any sensible captain would have ordered a dropping of the anchor as they entered the channel of the first islands of the Ornouth Archipelago, that was an option not open to Jevin.
The Elm was not slowing and Jevin could not afford to lose sight of the sleek, fast elven vessel. Neither could he let the chasing Dordovans catch them. And so his crew had a sleepless night, those not directly engaged in sailing the ship being on watch port, starboard, fore, and aft. Plumb lines were swung and dropped to give an indication of depth under the swell, which was subsiding as they reached relatively sheltered waters, and the lookouts kept up a constant commentary on conditions all around them.
Ren had stayed on the wheel deck throughout the night, advising Jevin on safe channels and calming his nerves as the ship sailed perilously close to rock walls to find the best depth, running in the wake of the Ocean Elm.
After the meeting had broken up and the mages had retired to bed to rest and maintain mana stamina levels, Hirad, The Unknown and Darrick had stayed in the Captain's room, mulling over defensive tactics and the strength of their forces. The remains of a meal lay on the table still and the three men picked at the scraps, washing it down with a light wine diluted with water.
The Unknown was preoccupied, his left leg stretched out in front of him, his hand constantly massaging the hip, a grimace on his face.
'I think it's time you told us how it really is,' said Hirad. 'We'll have to work it into our formation.'
'I want Aeb on my left,' said The Unknown. 'Aside from that, no special treatment, all right? We can't afford it.'
'You're not getting off that easily. Tell me how it feels.'
'Stiff and weak,' said The Unknown. 'I've had no time to build the muscle so what's there now is what Erienne patched up. It's locked up on me more than once and though Erienne says that'll pass, I don't have the freedom I need.' He chewed a lip. 'It's not going to be very easy to fight.'
'So?'
'So I'm not going to use the double-hander, I won't have the strength to brace it through any kind of swing. The elves have got some spare blades on board. Not exactly what I'm used to but what choice do we have? I'll use a dagger in my left hand, I suppose.' He shook his head. 'Sorry, Hirad. Looks like I'll be a bit of a liability.'
Hirad raised his eyebrows. Darrick couldn't stifle a laugh.
'Liability?' said the General. 'It may reduce you to the status of better-than-most rather than absolutely-everyone but that's about it.'
'Still, there's little we can do about that now,' said Hirad. 'Tell me, Unknown, what do you think are the biggest problems after what we've been hearing from Ren and Erienne?'
The Unknown blew out his cheeks. 'Well, they aren't going to all run up the path from the landing point, are they? Never mind the wards we think may be in place, they can fly and carry swordsmen short distances so we're going to have to expect attack from anywhere. If we can't block some of the potential entry points to this house, we stand to get swamped. Mind you, if we can't shield the house against a mage barrage, none of that will matter.'
'You think they'll do that?' asked Hirad.
'I would,' said Darrick. 'It doesn't risk any of their men and it could get them what they want quickly.'
'Anything we can do to stop that happening?' asked Hirad.
'Well that depends on how many Protectors you're prepared to risk outside the house,' said Darrick. T suspect that the Dordovans will expect us to be in a tight defensive formation wherever we are.
They know we only have one ship and that means there's a finite number that can be ranged against them.'
'Don't forget they have no idea what resistance to expect from the island itself,' said The Unknown.
'Agreed, but they'll realise soon enough that there is no meaningful force already there when they start to advance,' said Darrick. 'If we can hide Protectors outside of the house, they could attack mage groups while they're casting. The success of that will depend on the number of swordsmen they've brought and the risk they think we pose.'
'How many would you take from the house defence?' asked Hirad.
'Eight, no more. But it's so dependent on terrain. They must be invisible from above as well as at ground level. I just think it's something we should consider.' The General poured water into his goblet.
'Anything else?' Hirad was looking at The Unknown. T know we can't be certain of anything but we aren't going to have time to scratch our heads when we arrive.'
'We aren't blessed with many options,' said The Unknown. 'We shouldn't split our force unless we really have to but Darrick's idea could prove successful if we can guarantee surprise. So much depends on the health or otherwise of the Al-Drechar. We don't want The Raven's mages wasting their stamina on shielding the house but it could come to that. And if it does, we're going to have to think on our feet about how to keep the swordsmen out.'
The Unknown breathed heavily and stood up, wincing as he flexed his knee and hip.