Anger flared in the High Mage's eyes. Mariona lifted her chin and stared him down, almost daring him to strike. At this moment of anger and loss and utter frustration, she would have welcomed the killing blow.
But Vhoori's face softened, and he came to her and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. 'You have not lost the stars. If only you would open your heart, you would experience their wonder again.'
The elf woman spun away from him and threw herself into a chair. Never had she felt so utterly defeated. 'All these years on this gods-forsaken rock, and for what? I will never leave-I'll be trapped on Sumbrar until I die!'
'This world is a wide place, Captain Leafbower. I have come to know you and your nature, and have heard from your former crew the reputation of your adventurous clan. You are not content to remain long in any one place. But the seas of Aber-toril, the scattered lands and ancient cultures, are not these things worth exploring? If you so desire, I will see that you have a ship and crew.'
A tendril of interest worked its way into Mariona's benumbed mind. It was not wildspace, but even so…
'I don't suppose you have decent maps and star charts,' she muttered.
Vhoori suppressed a smile. 'As to that, you may judge for yourself. My library is at your disposal. Star charts we have, but it may well be that you can greatly improve them. Certainly, you have an insight that no one on Evermeet can equal. Your work will guide elven ships for many centuries to come.' He paused, as if beset by sudden doubt. 'That is, if you can captain a ship upon the water. It is easier, I would think, to sail through the endless void than to deal with matters of tides and winds.'
The captain's eyes kindled. 'I was walking the deck of sea-going ships when you were still in nappies, and furthermore-'
She broke off suddenly, for the mage had dissolved into ringing laughter. Realizing that she was being teased-and more importantly, that he had deliberately reminded her of a time and a work that she had loved- Mariona gave him a grudging smile.
'Now that you mention it, I wouldn't mind sailing these waters myself!'
With these words, she caught up one of the many globes that showed a sea-scape and tossed it playfully to the mage. Vhoori caught it, glanced down. His eyes widened, and he returned his gaze to the image within.
'Well, indeed. It would seem that my gift to Darthoridan Craulnober was fortunately timed,' he murmured.
Curious, Mariona rose and came to look over Vhoori's shoulder into the globe. Within the magical sphere she saw the image of a ship, crystal-grown like an elven man-o-war. The sails, which glowed with multicolored light, hung slack, flapping helplessly in the gathering wind despite the efforts of the elven sailors who labored at the ropes. Another cluster of elves gathered at the stern, firing upon the enormous creature that nudged and prodded the boat out into an odd, unnatural band of turbulence. The creature, by all appearances a titanic turtle, was odd enough. But stranger still-at least to Mariona's eyes-was the invisible boundary that abruptly separated the calm sea from the storm.
'The dragon turtle wishes to destroy the ship,' Vhoori reasoned. He did not sound particularly displeased.
'Not so,' the captain said. 'Just look at the size of that thing! It could shatter a crystal hull with a few swats of its tail. And I'd be willing to bet my favorite dagger that this dragon has other weapons worth using.'
'Its breath,' Vhoori admitted. 'If the dragon turtle wished to do so, it could send a scalding cloud of steam over the ship that would certainly kill most of the crew.'
'And likely damage the ship, as well,' Mariona retorted. 'That's not its intent.'
'What, then?' the mage demanded, not liking the direction that her reasoning was taking.
The captain tapped the globe with one finger. 'Three ships,' she said, indicating three specks of heat and color in the distant seas. 'My guess is, these people want your ship. The dragon turtle is in alliance with them-or more likely, they're both answering to whoever sent this wizard weather.'
'This is no wizard's work,' Vhoori mused as he studied intently the storm raging within the globe. Already the ships that Mariona's sharp eyes had discerned were coming fully into sight. They were long and low, each bearing a single large, square sail. Vhoori had seen such ships before. They belonged to pirates from the north, primitive humans who lacked the sort of magic needed to create such a storm.
There was only one explanation for such a gale: It was the work of Umberlee herself. For whatever reason, the capricious goddess had made the raiders' purpose her own.
By her power, every bit of speed had been coaxed from the sturdy little ships. The sails were tightly curved and as full of wind as they could be without rending under the force. Even the masts seemed to be bent almost to the breaking point.
'Raiders, I'll warrant. They want to capture the elven ship unharmed,' Mariona said, answering Vhoori's question before he could put words to it. 'It will be easier for them to slip past Evermeet's defenses in an elven ship, to strike at other ships or even to raid coastal towns.'
'This we cannot allow,' Vhoori said. He raised his gaze to Mariona Leafbower's eyes, and saw grim determination reflected back as if from a mirror.
'You promised me a ship. I can sail those waters,' she said, nodding toward the globe and its image of wild seas.
'No doubt,' Vhoori responded. 'But we could never reach the elven ship in time to bring aid. At least, not by sea. Come.' He turned and strode quickly from the tower room.
The elf woman's brow furrowed with puzzlement. Then Vhoori's meaning came to her, and a fierce smile set flame to her eyes. She fell into step beside the mage. 'You said 'we.' You're coming in to battle?'
'This night Evermeet's first starwing ship will take its maiden flight,' the mage said. 'Who better to take the helm?'
The captain nodded. 'Good. You've got more power than any helmsman I've sailed with. But remember, I'm the captain and this battle is mine. Do you think you remember how to take orders?'
'That is not my strongest skill,' he said dryly. 'But yes, this battle is yours to fight-and mine to win.'
Mariona cast a sharp, sidelong glance at the mage. She did not care who got the credit for this victory. The prospect of walking again upon the deck of an airborne ship was enough for her. But there was an odd note in Vhoori's voice that she disliked and mistrusted. More was brewing than an eminent battle against a dragon turtle, a trio of human pirate ships, and an angry sea goddess-as if that wasn't enough!
To steady her nerves, Mariona brought to mind one of her favorite maxims: 'If it were easy, it wouldn't be worth doing,' she muttered. By that token, or so the elven captain strongly suspected, her night's work would be worthwhile indeed.
As Anarzee swam desperately toward her beloved's ship, a large, moon-cast shadow fell over her. Another followed swiftly. The Sea elf paused in her headlong race just long enough to glance up as the third ship swept past her.
Human ships. The Sea elf had seen such ships before, and knew well what manner of human sailed them.
'Pirates,' she murmured, sending a rift of bubbles floating up into the troubled sea.
The dragon turtle's part in this was now apparent. Since no human ship could pass unbidden through the magical barriers surrounding Evermeet, the pirates had made a bargain with the sea monster. Anarzee wondered what the humans had offered the dragon turtle in exchange for delivery of the elven ship. Treasure, most likely, for the promise of elves to devour was a hollow one-if that had been the dragon turtle's only purpose, the creature could surely have carried it out without the aid of human pirates.
Anarzee twisted in the water and swam upward with quick, powerful strokes. Her head broke the surface and she bobbed there in the turbulent waters as she took stock of the situation.
The elven warriors aboard Sea-Riven fought desperately against their gigantic foe. Magic was not a viable solution, not at such close range. Any spells powerful enough to hurt the creature would almost certainly destroy the ship, as well. Their arrows, even the huge ballista bolts, merely bounced off the dragon turtle's armor. Any vulnerable areas the creature possessed were hidden beneath the waves.
As if his thoughts echoed Anarzee's, Darthoridan vaulted over the rail of the ship and plunged down toward the monstrous turtle. In his hand was a long metal tube, from which protruded the barbed tip of a spear. A second spear was strapped to his back.
Anarzee caught her breath; Darthoridan's attack was a brave and desperate move. The turtle's shell was a mass of ridges and spikes, and Darthoridan might as well have been leaping headlong into a mass of braced and
