asked him.
Aidan nodded in understanding.
“And why’d you go back to get your sergeant when he crossed the barrier?”
Aidan sighed. “Seems I make a poor leader.”
“I don’t see it that way,” Dexter said. Then he chuckled. “Then again, maybe I’m a lousy Captain.”
“Not to see and hear your crew,” Aidan said to him.
“Thanks,” he said. “Your soldiers thought the same of you.”
Aidan frowned. “What happened is a tragedy,” he said. “But it is one I understand. Life is cheap here, a few of us do our best to make it mean something and to help our men out.”
“To advance high in an Azmarian Lord’s favor a man must put aside his kin and his feelings; he must sell his soul. And even then, it is as easy as misjudging tomorrow’s weather to fall out of favor with the Lord in question,” Aidan explained. He let out a deep breath and shook his head.
“I understand what General Havamyr wanted now,” Aidan said and turned to share a haunted look with Dexter. “In unleashing this plague he will destroy his enemy. Once we are out of the way they will converge on their army, and once they are dead or destroyed, they will go toward Havamyr’s forces.”
“Seems like he might not have thought this through,” Dexter said, spotting a rather obvious flaw. Every bitten person would turn and swell the ranks of the living zombies.
Aidan shook his head. “They have been putting defensive works in for days now. I never understood why until now. Wizards, archers, and siege weapons will destroy these… things. Then, with no one left to defend against him, Havamyr will march in victorious.”
“You’re talking like you’re not a part of that army,” Dexter pointed out.
Aidan looked at him and smiled sadly. “With your airship broken, do you think any of us will survive this day?”
“This day? Yes,” Dexter said resolutely. “I won’t be speaking for tomorrow right yet, but I’m feeling good about it.”
“What plan do you have, Captain?” Aidan asked him.
Dexter smiled. “The way I see it, there’s less of them things now then there will be after we leave.”
“If we leave,” Aidan corrected.
Dexter waved his correction away. “Better if we kill them all now to keep whatever this thing is from spreading.”
“Just figuring on charging out there?”
Dexter chuckled. “It gets tricky,” he admitted. “With the air devils above us, we don’t dare cast off until we’re ready.”
“You’ve no plan yet?” Aidan asked him.
Dexter stared into the dark ruins and shrugged. “Not yet,” he admitted.
“Captain Silvercloud,” Aidan said, turning to face him. “I now know why you’re the perfect man for this sort of thing. You’re just crazy enough to try it!”
Dexter chuckled and clapped Aidan on the back. “When this is all over, we could use another good man on the ‘Hawk,” he offered.
Aidan stared at him, incredulous. He started laughing, softly at first, then louder and harder. Finally he shook his head and walked away with one hand to his stomach and the other wiping the tears from his eyes.
“Seems a bad time for laughter,” Bekka said to the first mate.
Jenna smiled and shrugged. “I can’t think of a better time for it,” she answered.
When Bekka looked up at her Jenna explained herself. “I don’t have the Captain’s knack for it, so I won’t try. But, when I spoke to him and told him of the fate that may be awaiting us, he rebuffed me. He told me we weren’t done fighting yet. He said… well, he gave me back my hope.”
“He turned you down?” Bekka asked with an understanding smile.
“Not because he wasn’t interested,” Jenna quickly replied.
“I should hope not,” the sorceress said. “A person would be a fool to pass up such an offer.”
Jenna stared at the bald half-elf. “Thank you,” she mumbled, still surprised at the compliment.
“He is special,” Bekka said, staring at Dexter’s back as he tossed some repaired lines up to Bailynn in the rigging for her to replace.
“Yes, he is,” Jenna agreed.
The night and the repairs wore on. Occasionally from below they heard some thrashing and the sound of something heavy thudding into the wall or barred door of the cargo hold, but mostly it was the noises that came from the living ghouls pressing against the invisible barrier from all sides. The main mast was repaired as best they could slightly past the midpoint of the night, and by the morning the other sails had been fixed as well.
Bekka was exhausted, but Dexter had a special project for her. Remembering something Kragor told him once, he figured if it worked in the solar wind, it should work with a wind made of air as well. He sent her off to work with scraps of cloth, some rope, and a crazy notion.
Xander practically stumbled around the deck, moving out of fear that if he stayed in one place too long he might pass out from sheer exhaustion. Jodyne plied him with strong teas to keep him awake and alert, but after a time they wore off and left him more drained than before.
Dexter approached him and asked how much longer he could hold it up.
“As long as I need to,” he replied.
Dexter nodded, understanding. “A little longer, I think,” he told the wizard. While Dexter would normally never admit to it, he knew they were outside the realm of normality now. He had to bolster the man’s ego and give him a little bit more to push for.
“Xander, we’d be in bad shape if it weren’t for you,” he admitted. He waved into the ruins without looking and said, “That’s a fate fit for no man, woman, nor child. Even an enemy deserves better. I won’t be saying it again, nor will I admit I done it this time… good job.”
Xander smiled and nodded, his pride blossoming. Even though he knew his accomplishments and his worth, it still felt good to know that Dexter appreciated what he had done.
With the sun brightening the eastern horizon, Dexter watched as a weary Bekka all but staggered across the deck towards him. “It’s done,” she said, stifling a yawn.
Dexter nodded and glanced to the sky. He could feel a faint touch of breeze coming from the west, and expected it would pick up as the sun warmed the air more. “My thanks, Bekka, I hope to say later that you’ve saved us all.”
“It would be nice to be saved,” she admitted.
Dexter laid his hand on her shoulder. “Head for the bridge. Just a little longer, I think. I’ll need to be here and we need Rosh’s strength to help us with the sails when we make our run.”
Bekka nodded. Even though her head still ached from being forcibly separated from the helm, she knew it only made sense to have her at it. She smiled at Dexter in spite of the nausea she felt and turned to head for the bridge again.
Dexter glanced to the east and then around the deck of the ship again. Aidan was helping to keep Xander awake and alert, walking with him and talking of whatever the wizard wanted, and sometimes things the wizard had no interest in. Occasionally they would look into the darkness and listen to the sounds of the shadowy figures moving beyond the circle of protection.
Dexter nodded again, finalizing his decision, and moved to the side of the Voidhawk. He glanced over it and saw Rosh and Willa discussing something animatedly pertaining to the strut. There were a few additional ropes and pieces of wood attached to it, but nothing that showed any sign of helping it.
“There’s nothing more to be done, come aboard,” Dexter called down to them.
“We ain’t done yet,” Rosh snapped up at him angrily. Dexter stared at him, reminding himself of the short fuse they all had.
“This ain’t advice,” Dexter said back to him. “Get your tails on or get left to deal with them.”
Dexter pointed towards the circle beyond them. The sun was slipping over the edge of the horizon as he
