Jherek watched as the slave ship drew closer and closer.
The slaver's stern ballista crew swung the large weapon around. Even as they started locking the ballista down and getting ready to fire at Black Champion-a target scarcely more than seventy feet distant-a mass of writhing black tentacles suddenly sprouted from the deck.
The ballista crew turned and tried to flee, but the black tentacles whipped out blindly and wrapped the slavers up, snapping bones and squeezing the life from them. Their screams were lost in the rush of water and wind. The tentacles ripped the ballista from the deck and smashed it into a thousand pieces.
'Azla's mage,' Glawinn said.
Jherek nodded and watched as the slaver crew attacked the tentacles with harpoons and swords.
Twisting tongues of flame suddenly ignited in the slaver's amidships. For a moment, Jherek believed the vessel was afire, then the flame blossomed hotter and brighter and shot toward Black Champion.
'Fireball!' one of the pirates squalled. As a man, the boarding crew ducked under the huge mass of roiling flames.
The wizard's casting was slightly off, and the fireball sizzled as it touched the water beside the pirate ship, then exploded into a wall of flames that rushed across Black Champion's deck. Rigging and sailcloth caught fire. Only the water washing over the deck kept it from burning as well.
Arthoris stepped to the edge of the forecastle railing above and extended his hands to the heavens, the sleeves of his robes falling back down his skinny arms. He cried out in a language Jherek didn't understand, his tone at once commanding and beseeching.
Dark clouds spiraled into the sky above the ships, spreading out for miles in all directions. The wind lifted and came howling across the choppy ocean surface. Rigging creaked above, and lanyards that were cracked but not broken through now gave way. A heavy, stinging rain smacked into Black Champion and her crew.
The flames atop the rigging were quickly snuffed.
'Grappling crew!' Azla yelled above the roar of the storm. 'Ready on the line!'
The pirates surged forward to the railing again. Jherek stooped and picked up a grappling line, running the rough hemp through his hands. He measured back from the big, three-pronged hook and readied himself to cast.
A giant shape surged out of the water between the two ships. A webbed green foot with great claws slapped against the starboard railing. A huge head at least eight feet across, cut with a grim maw and gold-webbed spines along the back of its neck, followed the foot. Malevolent red eyes glared at the surprised crew. Another foot followed the first, and the great creature tried to drag itself aboard. The neck strained up from the dark green shell on its back.
'Dragon turtle!' a man screamed.
The grappling line crew surged back, breaking away from the deadly creature.
Pacys woke in black waters. Panicked, he struggled to get free of the ocean. He tried to find a way back to his own body.
Taleweaver.
The call wasn't from anything human. Pacys heard it in his mind, but the syllables were long and drawn out.
Do not be in such a hurry, the voice went on. There is much to learn.
Basso booming filled the water, stretching out into squeaks and squeals, turning again to a deep moaning sound like wind blowing over the neck of a bottle. The old bard listened to the sound carefully, drawn to its melodic nature.
Where am I? Pacys asked.
We call this the dreaming time.
Who are you?
Enemies of the Taker and his sahuagin.
What do you want with me?
We did not summon you. You came to us as it was foretold in our songs.
With surprise, Pacys realized that the booming squeals and squeaks were whale songs. Are you here with me?
In the only way that we can be.
I can't see you.
Open your mind, Taleweaver. All that we may tell you will be revealed.
Letting go the panic that vibrated inside him, Pacys immersed himself in the whale song. There weren't words or even tones especially. The sounds played upon the ear, but they touched the heart. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the black water was sapphire blue.
He peered below, seeing the pale white-gray of the ocean floor a hundred feet or more below. Above him, sunlight kissed the surface of the water and turned it to too-bright silver. He glanced away, trying to peer through the blue-gray cloud that settled in the water before him.
Where are you? the old bard asked.
I am here, the slow voice replied. Reach out and you will touch me.
Tentatively, Pacys stretched out his arm toward the gray-blue fog. Only instead of penetrating it as he'd expected, the fog felt rough and solid. With that single touch, the bard's perceptions changed.
A great whale floated in the water in front of him. The gray-blue color partially masked it in the water, and his closeness prevented him from seeing all of it even now. Pacys knew some of the great whales grew to be four hundred feet long. This one was so long its tail flukes disappeared in the distance.
Who are you? Pacys asked.
In your language, I am called Song Who Brings Bright Rains. My mother gave birth to me after a storm, when a rainbow stretched across the sky.
By looking up, then down, Pacys could make out the familiar wedge-shaped head of the massive cetacean. He knew this was a humpback whale. The bard trailed his fingers along the pebbly skin as he swam down the length of its body. He found the creature's eye only a little later.
The eye was dark and bigger around than Pacys was tall. Instinctively, the bard swam away from the eye, wondering if the creature could see him from this close.
I see you, Taleweaver, the whale boomed.
Jherek stared at the huge beast clinging to Black Champion's starboard side.
'It's not real, young warrior,' Glawinn said, starting forward.
Jherek wanted to reach out and hold the paladin back, even put a hand on his shoulder. 'Wait,' he said.
Glawinn turned on him, his beard wet with gleaming diamonds from the salt spray and the rain. 'Look at it. Look hard at it and you will know it's not real. It's just more magery, and a weak spell at best, not one that will hurt a man. Where is that thing's battle cry? Where is the sound of those claws rasping against the wood? How is it that the creature's weight doesn't tear the railing free?'
Pirates screamed at Glawinn to get back as the dragon turtle sighted him. The neck elongated and stretched forward. The mouth opened into a cavernous gullet that could swallow a man whole. The paladin stretched his arms out and smiled.
The dragon turtle struck, snapping its jaws closed over the paladin. Only instead of tearing flesh and breaking bone, the edged beak passed through the paladin. The illusion faded, leaving Glawinn standing untouched on the rolling deck.
'Magery,' Glawinn shouted. 'A child's trick meant to give them enough time to get away.'
Jherek lifted the grappling hook again and raced to the starboard railing. The slave ship had gained twenty feet in distance, too far to make the cast good.
'Boarding party,' Jherek shouted. 'Make ready.'
Snarling curses, the pirates gathered again and took up the grappling hooks. Black Champion came about at a crawl, the waterline no more than two feet below her deck. She moved forward slowly, overtaking the slave ship with flagging strength.
The distance closed as the pirate ship came abreast the slaver. The pirates jeered the slaver crew as they
