The Servants of the Storm

by Jack Campbell

  Men and women appeared on the decks of barges and boats laid up for the night, attending to required chores at the start of their day. More and more of them caught sight of the apparent large drift of wood racing past much faster than the current could account for, pausing to stare and point.

  A string of four boats appeared in front of the Terror, one of the boats still moving into place to help form a waterborne skirmish line of sorts. Alain could see legionaries with crossbows and swords on the boats, looking up the river expectantly.

  None of them paid attention to the driftwood at first. They were clearly looking for something else. But Alain saw first one, then another, legionary point and call out. No one looked alarmed yet, just puzzled.

  As Banda steered the camouflaged Terror quickly between two of the boats, Alain saw an officer staring at the ship with an expression of dawning realization.

  “That is the boat we’re looking for!” the officer yelled loudly enough for Alain to hear.

  Several crossbow bolts chased the Terror down the river, but the two that hit only lodged in the driftwood camouflage.

  The first bridge had activity on the nearest river banks, but no boats had put out yet. The Terror raced between two of the piers without hindrance. Looking back, Alain saw Imperials on the bridge pointing at the Terror and yelling words impossible to hear at this distance even if the hatches had been open.

  He had never thought to wonder how fast words could travel without the aid of Mage spells or Mechanic far-talkers. Could descriptions of the Terror get ahead of the ship quickly enough for the next row of defenders to be ready?

  An answer loomed not far ahead. He could see another bridge, this one the closest to the Imperial dockyard. A war galley was underway, gliding out into the river, her crew at their battle stations. In the light of the rising sun the galley was a magnificent sight, long and lean, her low deck rising to fighting platforms on the bow and stern, two masts soaring skyward, and the banks of oars on each side moving like the graceful wings of a bird skimming the surface of the water. Near it were two boats that Alain recognized as dockyard patrols, pressed into service now on the river itself.

  He heard the clunk of a hatch opening and looked back to see Mari climbing out onto the aft deck, staying low to be as concealed as possible by the driftwood, one of the new rifles in her hands. Alain had pushed open the hatch above him and stuck his head out before he realized he was moving. “Mari, there is little power here for Mages. It will be hard to fight our way though.”

  She wedged herself into the wood before replying, her voice carrying against the wind of their movement. “You’re actually telling me to get back inside, aren’t you? Sorry, my Mage. All we need to do is discourage that galley long enough to get past it.”

  “What of the boats?”

  “I was hoping that you and Asha would handle them.”

  Alain scrambled out of his hatch, knowing that he would be at least partly visible to any watching Imperials. Asha came out of the aft hatch, her knife in her hand. They knelt side by side just behind the steering room while Mari took aim from behind them.

  The war galley’s oars flashed in the growing sunlight as they swept up and back, the bow of the warcraft turning in a graceful arc to head toward the path of the Terror. Either the Imperials had managed to pass word down this far already, or the commander of the galley had realized what the mass of driftwood really was.

  Mari began firing, not the slow repetition of the old rifles, but the rapid shots, one right after another, of one of Mechanic Alli’s new guns. Alain saw the officers and sailors on the quarterdeck of the war galley ducking for cover from the fusillade.

  The galley veered off course as those on the helm sought protection from the hail of bullets. The legionaries along the deck also crouched low, pointing and shouting to each other. They could see that only one person was firing, quickly and accurately, and they obviously were not happy to be facing such a weapon.

  But being legionaries, they would face that danger if so ordered.

  Mari paused to reload. The galley was swinging back onto course, legionaries forming a wall of shields to protect the helm from another barrage. She glared at the Imperial warship, then with a grimace of inner pain shifted her aim.

  As Mari fired rapidly again, Alain saw splinters flying from the hull of the galley near the places where the oars entered the ship. The places where the rowers would be sitting.

  The smooth rhythm of the oars on the side facing the Terror faltered as several rowers lost their stroke and banged into the oars nearest them, causing those oars to slam into others. The rowers on the near side of the galley fell into confusion, the thrust from the rowers on the other side causing the galley to spin. The crew of the forward ballista vainly tried to keep their aim as the galley’s bow swung past the Terror and on around.

  As the Terror tore away from the floundering galley, one of the patrol boats bore down on it. If Captain Banda veered to avoid it, he would get too close to the second patrol boat, so the Terror kept on.

  The patrol boat’s bow grated against the driftwood, two legionaries in the bow leaping onto the Terror as others moved up to also jump.

  They met Alain and Asha, waiting with knives in hand. Even the bravest legionary would quail at facing a Mage. These two, unable to retreat, tried to block the Mages’ knives, but the legionaries were tangled in the driftwood, unable to move to defend themselves.

  Alain killed one, Asha the other, with the swift, efficient blows they had been taught as acolytes. As they braced for the next pair, Mari went back to firing.

  The next two legionaries were hit and fell back into the boat. Alain leaned out and pushed it away, fending off a sword blow. A crossbow bolt thudded into the wood near him and another sighed over his head, but then the boat was behind them and losing ground fast as the Terror kept moving with a sustained speed that neither sail nor oars could match.

  Alain looked upward as the Terror passed between two piers of the bridge. Imperial citizens were crowding the walkway, watching the unfamiliar spectacle of a river battle on their doorsteps and drawn by what must have sounded to them like the firing of many Mechanic weapons.

  The Terror passed the third bridge before the Imperials could put together any defenses there. Ballistas on the walls of Palandur hurled shots at the Terror as it raced down river, but failed to hit their unfamiliar and fast-moving target.

  The way was not exactly clear, though. The alarm was for the moment behind them, but now they began to encounter shipping traffic putting into the channel, barges and boats moving slowly and steadily up the river or downstream at better speeds. Captain Banda steered the Terror through the obstacles, keeping to the center of the channel so that the ship could slip between the ships going down river on one side and those heading up on the other.

  Startled skippers moved their craft away from the path of the strangely animated pile of driftwood, not wanting to risk a collision with either the branches and trunks or with whatever was causing them to move along so swiftly. But barges and similar boats responded slowly even when alarmed. Captain Banda had to slow the Terror.

  “They are catching up,” Alain said, pointing just ahead. Legionaries were dismounting from lathered horses and yelling orders to barges on the water.

  “I don’t know how to get these barges out of our way!” Banda seethed. “They’re spending too long trying to figure out what we are before they clear the channel!”

  “Our illusion is the wrong one,” Alain said. “We must show them something that frightens them at first sight.” He pushed open the hatch again. “Asha, hold my legs when I stand.”

  Alain clambered out onto the top of the steering room and stood up, Asha coming up the ladder to take his place behind Banda. No one could see her hands gripping his ankles to keep him from losing his balance.

  Alain stood with legs slightly spread, folded his arms, let his cowl fall back, and gazed straight ahead.

  Those wa
tching saw a Mage standing erect on a frail raft of driftwood, the wood moving with unnatural speed down the river as if at the Mage’s command. An uncanny sight—a terrifying sight to those who knew Mages as dangerous and powerful, whose paths were not to be crossed or obstructed.

  Shouts sounded along the river, including at least one scream.

  Boats began to move more quickly out of the way, frantically racing for the river banks to leave a clear path, warning cries racing from boat to boat down the river.

  The legionaries who had been working to force boats and barges out into the river stood transfixed, staring at Alain as he moved past without any apparent effort.

  “A Mechanic boat,” Banda said with a laugh. “The Imperials are looking for a Mechanic boat, and here is a Mage riding on a pile of driftwood. Well done, Alain.”

  “The Imperials at the dockyard spoke of not taking action against Mages,” Alain said loudly enough so that Banda could hear. “If those orders are widespread, they will need approval to attack us. That will take time, even if the Empire invokes the aid of Mages who send messages or uses the Mechanic far-talkers.”

  “How long can you stand there?” Banda asked.

  “As long as I must,” Alain said. As much as he had been around Mechanics, he was still surprised by questions like that. Mage acolytes were trained to endure whatever physical trials they faced, so he and Asha would of course bear any strain that must be borne until either the need passed, or they collapsed.

  Alain put himself into a mental state in which he was barely aware of the passage of time and the growing strain on his body. He felt the hands holding his ankles change at times and knew that Mari had given Asha a rest break. At one point he saw a group of three Mages walking along the road next to the river. The Mages looked toward Alain as he passed them. They would be able to tell that he was not employing a spell to move, but having been taught that Mechanic toys were elaborate frauds, the Mages would not consider a Mechanic ship to be an explanation.

  He wondered if any of the three could create heat or cast lightning. Or if any of them might spot part of the Terror and make it temporarily go away, thereby causing water to flood the boat.

  But the Mages did nothing, simply watching until Alain could no longer see them. They would doubtless ask the first elders they encountered for an explanation of what they had seen, and would doubtless be told that they had not seen it, that the world illusion had confused them.

  The river ahead of them stayed clear, boats and barges clinging to the river banks as their crews stared anxiously.

  He could probably sit down. He would still be visible, and it would be much easier to maintain such a posture for the rest of the day.

  Alain sat down, crossing his legs in a meditation stance.

  Lost in a daze of mental disassociation and physical tiredness, he hardly noticed the sun setting in the west. “They can’t see you anymore,” Mari said from inside the steering room. “Get back inside.”

  It took considerable effort to unlock his stiff muscles, but Alain managed it. Mari was sitting in Banda’s place, steering the ship with intense concentration. “Captain Banda is getting a few hours’ sleep,” she said. “Hopefully I won’t run this thing aground. Have I told you today that you're a genius?"

  "Not that I remember," Alain said.

  She stole a glance his way. "Oh, you're exhausted. Yes, you're brilliant. Wake Asha to stand guard up here and you get some rest.”

  The night apparently passed uneventfully, though Alain was not sure if he would have awoken even if another battle had erupted nearby. Asha woke him at dawn. He ate quickly to give himself strength, then resumed his place seated on the top of the steering room.

  Captain Banda was back at the wheel. “None of the boats out there are getting underway. They’re leaving the river clear for us.”

  “That is a good thing,” Alain said.

  “Yes and no. It means that word of our coming must be spreading much faster than we’re moving. If the Imperials have managed to hear the news as quickly as these boat crews, we’ll face more trouble today.”

  No danger materialized until the afternoon, though, as the Terror came in view of another bridge across the river. “It’s the Mechanic railroad bridge,” Banda said. “Get everyone awake, fast.”

  Alain roused the others, then rejoined Banda and took up his seated position. Mechanic Dav and Asha had come out the aft ladder onto the deck and were waiting behind the steering room as the bridge drew closer. “They’ve got legionaries on the bridge!” Dav called. “There’s smoke there, too, and it’s not from a locomotive.”

  “Why would the legionaries have fires?” Banda wondered.

  Alain saw the first crossbow bolts flying their way, striking the water short of the Terror and sending up sporadic bursts of smoke as they landed in the river.

  “They’re firing flaming bolts!” Dav yelled. “That’s what the fires are for! Alain, get inside! They must have orders to shoot at us even if a Mage is with us!” Alain dropped inside the steering room as Dav knelt, aiming his rifle over the top of the steering room, and began firing back at the legionaries.

  Some of the legionaries fell, but the others kept firing. Alain heard bolts slamming into the driftwood and saw flames springing to life.

  Dav shifted his aim to the crew of a mobile ballista. The heavy bolt went wide, but the crew worked to reload.

  As the Terror raced past under the bridge, lit torches were thrown down by the Imperials. Most missed, but three caught.

  Alain pulled himself out of the steering room, uncaring of the crossbow bolts still being flung after them. Asha was already using her long knife to hack away at the driftwood, freeing sections that were aflame or smoldering and casting them into the river. Alain joined in, nearly losing his footing more than once as he struggled to break loose the flaming camouflage. The pieces had been strongly joined together, so the Mages were forced to hurl large sections of intertwined branches into the river. Mechanic Dav put down his rifle as the threat receded and began helping as well.

  By the time the fires were out, little remained of the protective driftwood. Alain, Asha, and Dav, tired out, dropped back into the Terror.

  “Well done,” Captain Banda said. “Get some rest, Dav, and you Mages work out a schedule to sleep and keep watch up here. I don’t think we’ll run into anything else today or tonight.”

  “Why not?” Dav asked, nursing a burned finger.

  “There aren’t any barriers like bridges between here and Landfall, and the Imperials have already learned that we can break through improvised defenses.” Banda shook his head, his voice grim. “The Imperials won’t waste time or resources trying to stop us before Landfall. Not when they can concentrate on stopping us at the mouth of the river. Get what rest you can and tell Mari to do the same. At the rate we’re going we’ll reach Landfall just before dawn, and we’re very likely going to face the fight of our lives.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “There’s a slight curve in the river up ahead,” Banda said. “When we round it, we’ll see the river mouth.” Outside the Terror, the world slumbered in the pre-dawn hush when the sky was darkest and every living thing slept deeply. But inside the ship, the three Mechanics and two Mages were as awake and alert as they could be after the strains of the past few days. Alain, recalling how Mage Guild elders spoke disdainfully about “weak” Mechanics, thought that many Mages would have had trouble keeping up with Mechanics Mari, Dav, and Banda since leaving Marandur. Watching Captain Banda stay awake by sheer willpower after three days with very little sleep, Alain believed that no Mage could have done better.

  “Nothing,” Mari said, looking around the outside from the aft hatch. “Landfall is quiet and dark. No defenses on the bridges we passed. No barriers.”

  “They’re waiting at the mouth,” Banda said. “And they will be waiting in strength.”

  The Terror rounded the curve in the river, coming into full view of the river mou
th.

  “Oh, blast,” Banda said in a weary whisper.

  A solid wall of ships stretched across the river mouth, several of them Imperial war galleys and the rest large merchant ships. The dark of night was banished here. Torches and lanterns flared all along the barrier showing every detail of the legionaries crowding the decks. Light glinted off of crossbows, swords, shields, and the great bolts loaded onto ballistas on the decks of the galleys. Alain could see more ballistas being moved into position on the river banks, ready to fire at anything approaching the barricade, and even more ships being moved into place to form a second wall behind the first.

  It was obvious that the Imperials were working to further strengthen the barrier, but it was already a formidable obstacle.

  “We can’t smash through that,” Banda said.

  “We cannot go between the front of one ship and the end of the next?” Alain asked.

  “That’s what I’d try to do if we could. The Imperials know that. See how they’re tying up the second row of ships so that they’re overlapping the bows and sterns of the ships in the first row? They haven’t nearly finished, and that could have given us a chance, but the first row of ships is already lashed together. See? The fact that we can see the lines from this far off means they used rope far too thick for us to have any hope of snapping those lines even if we hit them at full speed. Oh, we’ll do damage to the ships we hit, but we’ll be stopped—and once we’re stuck, the legionaries will swarm down on us from the decks of those ships, and it will be all over.”

  Alain gazed ahead, studying the barrier. At least the Imperial lights made it possible to see details. “There are two lines? I see two lines.”

  “Um…yes. Two lines fastening each ship to the next. As I said, they look thin from here, but each will be as big around as our arms.”

  “Only two. And I see no Mages on the decks of the ships. There is a chance,” Alain said, “if we go between two of the ships where another is not yet in place behind them. But it will require both Asha and myself casting spells at the same time.”