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.That meant we were on an island, somewhere off the Sword Coast.That meant the pirates would have ships, boats, some means of reaching the mainland, near at hand.The beginnings of a plan formed in my mind.A desperate plan, true, but a plan nonetheless.I could not let this pirate kill me.After everything I’d been through, I would not be killed like an aging animal too old to serve its purpose.But for the moment, I had no choice but to give the pirate what he wanted, until the time was right to make my escape.CHAPTER ELEVEN“Sails on the horizon! South by southwest!” I called down from my perch in the crow’s nest.We had been at sea for seventeen days, harnessing a strong autumnal wind blowing from the south to push us up the Sword Coast at a good clip.Autumn was dragging on toward winter, and the ice floes and icebergs of the northern seas would soon begin creeping down toward Waterdeep.We had passed Memnon more than a tenday ago.We were but a few days from Baldur’s Gate, where we planned to make port and take in more supplies.I almost wished we’d never get there.I had been there twice before, both times ending worse than my worst nightmares.I had battled Asbeel there, had watched Perrault take a grievous wound defending me, and had abandoned him to die there.I would surely have died there myself, had I not found Sea Sprite.And back aboard her again, I felt like I had come home.After we departed Calimport, Deudermont assigned me the job of carrying his orders, the same job I had held before taking my sudden leave in Memnon.As the numbness in my left foot grew worse, it became more and more difficult to walk.In spite of the pain, I was willing to continue my duties without complaint, but Captain Deudermont would hear nothing of it.He said I had eyes as sharp as any on the ship, and could make better account of myself as lookout.“Sails on the horizon!” I called out again.The season was late, so we saw relatively few ships, and nearly all of those sailed from the north to Calimshan.“She’s tracing the horizon,” I called down.“Looks like she’s heading for land.”Odd, I thought.The coastline nearest us was Tyr, its purple hills meeting the sea at rocky and often sheer cliffs.There were few, if any, good berths due east of that ship’s position.We were faster than her, but her angle would bring her closer to us as she passed directly south of our due-north track.Her choice of path was curious, surely, but something else was amiss.I couldn’t quite place it.I watched her move ever so slowly across my field of vision, away from the darkening western horizon …The darkening western horizon.Darkening, in the early afternoon.Suddenly the ship was the least of my concerns.“Captain!” I yelled down to the deck below.“I need the captain!” A boy named Waillan, who had taken over my duties as deckhand, darted below deck and emerged a moment later with Captain Deudermont in tow.“What is it?” Deudermont called up.Even yelling, his voice sounded regal.“Ship south-southwest, moving due east,” I called down.“I think she’s damaged, looks to be listing.”Deudermont nodded.“Heading for Tyr, for repairs,” he said.“No sir, I don’t think she’s on course for any city.She’s just aiming for the nearest land.”“Any thoughts on why?”“I think she’s running from a storm,” I yelled, more loudly than I had planned.A hush fell over all the crew on deck.A storm so late in the season likely meant a tempest.A tempest could make a ship like ours disappear.“You think?” Deudermont said.“Look again and tell me if there is a storm or if there is not.”All work on deck halted.All eyes turned to look at me.I turned back to the horizon and peered out, squinting my eyes to cut through the glare of the high sun.And again I saw it: the western horizon growing dark, dimmed by the approaching thunderhead.The clouds would be visible in a matter of hours, I knew.And a few hours after that, we would be in the thick of it.“Storm,” I called down.“Huge, too.Covers the whole western horizon.”Deudermont nodded and looked me straight in the eye.Then he moved to the port stern to scan the horizon himself.I felt a twinge of bitterness that the captain hadn’t trusted my eyes.“Sails to full!” he called after only a moment.“Get all hands on deck! Tie down the cargo, close the portholes, and make the ship ready! We’ll run ’til we’re caught, then ride it out!” The crew leaped into action immediately.“Helm, set us bearing zero-four-zero.Head toward land until the coast is in sight.We’ll need the reference to reach the Gate in a storm.”“Aye,” called the helmsman, turning the wheel to the right.Though it was only a slight movement, up in the crow’s nest, I felt the boat tilt distinctly.I glanced out at the listing ship.“Wait! No!” I called down.But with all the hustle and bustle on deck, Deudermont could not hear me.Men climbed the rigging to open the sails [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]