Chapter 11
“You look a tad queasy, sir wizard.”
Simon held on to the rusty railing and tried focusing on the horizon, the only thing that was holding steady.
“I've never cared for boats,” he said through gritted teeth. “Even large ones. And, no offense, but the smell of rotting fish isn't helping.”
The deck of the Defiant rolled slowly as large waves tipped the ship up and down. The weather wasn't exactly stormy, but the deep waters this far from land were never really calm.
“It's a ship, my dear wizard, not a boat,” Aeris reminded him pertly.
Easy for him to say, hovering above the rolling deck, Simon thought resentfully.
“Aye, that it is. Buck up, sir wizard. We'll probably be attacked soon. That should take your mind off of your stomach.”
The speaker, a tall, heavy-set woman wearing canvas trousers, a patched shirt tied at the waist and high leather boots with brass buckles, laughed at her own joke.
Simon gave her a sour look, which only made her laugh even more.
Deborah Martelli, born and raised in Verona, Italy, was the captain of the Defiant. The wizard found her heavy Italian accent to be quite lyrical. Plus she had an infectious laugh and he soon found himself joining in. It helped him to forget his queasiness, which was a blessing.
Captain Martelli had called Tamara at Nottinghill Castle for help via one of the mages on board and Tamara had called Simon. It had been a week since he'd met Galder and his daughters and the wizard was happy to volunteer his services. He'd forgotten about his lack of sea legs.
“You've been on a ship before?” Deborah asked when he'd arrived a few moments before.
He had Gated to the front section of the ship's deck and she had met him and the elementals there.
“Once,” Simon replied.
He looked around at the old cruise ship, now home to over a hundred people, and shook his head.
“But the ship I was on wasn't quite so...weathered.”
The captain grinned.
“You're being kind,” she said.
She slapped the railing that ran around the entire deck.
“Aye, she's seen a lot, has my Defiant, but she's a good strong girl nonetheless. Good bones. Her hull is intact and our mages move her when she needs to be moved.”
She motioned for Simon, Kronk and Aeris to follow her and began walking toward the stern of the ship. The wizard stayed close to the railing, just in case.
Kronk was looking in every direction, obviously fascinated.
“Ever been to sea?” Aeris asked him quietly.
Simon followed the captain but listened to the conversation behind him at the same time.
“Never. It is quite a unique feeling, this rocking sensation, isn't it?”
“I suppose so. You aren't afraid of falling overboard?” Aeris teased him.
“Of course not,” Kronk said dismissively. “I would sink to the bottom of the ocean, burrow beneath it and return home. It would not be a problem.”
Aeris made a sound of disgust and Simon held in his laughter. Kronk had won that round.
“Come along, sir wizard,” the captain called. “Walking slower won't help your delicate stomach.”
“I don't think I like sailors much,” Simon muttered.
Aeris gave him a sardonic look but held his tongue.
The Defiant had been small as cruise ships went. She could hold a maximum of a thousand passengers and several hundred crew. At one time she must have gleamed like a jewel on the ocean, but now her white paint was dingy and spots of rust were evident on every metallic surface.
When Simon had caught up with the captain, she had reached the rear of the ship and was standing next to a slight young man who was wearing an incredibly bright yellow robe. It was probably the most obnoxiously cheerful color that the wizard had ever seen and he could feel his eyes starting to water as the robe reflected the sunlight of midday.
“Ah, you made it,” Deborah said to Simon as he arrived.
He rolled his eyes and she winked at him to show that she was joking. He smiled in spite of his 'delicate stomach' and decided that he was going to like this sailor, at least.
“Allow me to introduce you to one of our resident mages. Barnaby, this is Simon O'Toole. Simon, may I present Barnaby Wilde.”
The mage turned and Simon was looking into mismatched eyes almost identical to his own; one blue and one brown. Both the wizard and the mage jumped a bit as they reacted to the coincidence.
“Wow, look at that,” Barnaby said. “You have my eyes.”
“Well, actually I have my eyes and you have yours, but I see what you mean,” Simon replied.
Both of them stared in silence for a minute and then burst out laughing.
“That was probably one of the dumbest things I've ever said,” Simon said as his laughter subsided.
Captain Martelli was looking at each of them in turn and appeared to be a little bemused.
“What's so funny?” she asked when they had calmed down.
“We both have mismatched eyes, Deb,” Barnaby told her. “What, you didn't notice?”
She shrugged.
“I don't judge others on their eye color, I judge them by their deeds. But I suppose that's interesting.”
She didn't sound interested and Simon almost started laughing again.
Instead he took a moment to actually look at the mage, beyond just his eyes.
Barnaby was quite small and slim. He couldn't have been much taller than five feet and Simon felt like a giant beside him. His shoulder-length hair was a yellowish blond and almost matched his robe, something that the wizard doubted was a coincidence. His blue and brown eyes were huge in his narrow face and his delicate features were almost feminine.
But it was Barnaby's voice that was a surprise. It was a mellow baritone that could have belonged to someone twice the mage's size. It was a bit disconcerting to hear it emanating from such a small person.
“Finished sizing me up?” the mage asked with a crooked smile.
“Oh jeez, sorry about that,” Simon answered. He knew that he must be turning red.
Barnaby only chuckled.
“Don't worry about it. It's the voice, isn't it? Yeah, I know. A high wind could probably blow me away and yet I sound like a wrestler. Go figure.”
“Barnaby, let's socialize later, shall we?” the captain said, suddenly all business. “Any sign of pursuit?”
“Not at the moment, but I'm keeping an eye out. We have scouts on watch, as well as Deadeye up top.”
The mage looked upward and Simon turned, following his gaze. He hadn't noticed it but there was a sort of tower rising from the center of the ship, crudely built of metal struts and bits of strapping. On top of it was a small circular platform and he could just see someone standing on it.
“Deadeye?”
“That's what we call her,” Deborah told him with a pleased smile. She was staring up at the lookout as well.
“Kristine's her real name. I've never met anyone with keener sight. She's excellent at spotting trouble a long way off, so we call on her when we need the best.”
Barnaby had turned to stare behind the ship again. He muttered something and made a motion with his hands. Simon could feel him working with magic and watched with interest.
“What's he doing?” he asked the captain quietly so he wouldn't disturb the mage.
“Moving the ship,” she replied in the same low voice. “Barnaby and the other mages are our only means of locomotion. Without their magic, this ship would be dead in the water. We're fortunate that such talented people chose to join up with us.”
“I'd love to hear the story of how all of this,” he waved at the ship as a whole, “came together in the first place. And how you came to be captain.”
“That part isn't very interesting,” she told him wryly. “I had my own tour boat in Camogli back before the dragons came. Was a good little business too. Made enough money for
the comforts; you know, wine, women and song. All of that.”
Simon smiled at her tone but his mood quickly became somber.
“And then the dragons came.”
“And then the dragons came,” she repeated with a nod. “And my lovely little boat along with that jewel of a town, Camogli, went up in flames. And I Changed from a frumpy, middle-aged sailor to this,” she looked down at her tall, muscular body, “amazon. I must admit that I don't mind this part. I was always fighting the battle of the bulge back in the old days, plus my breasts were...less than impressive. Now these babies...”
She patted her chest and Barnaby turned to look at her, rolling his eyes.
“Will you please stop admiring those things in public, captain? It's a rather vulgar habit, you know.”
Simon bit his lip to keep from laughing, while Deborah looked down her nose at the mage.
“I'll have you know that, unlike yourself, there are some people on board this ship who appreciate a nice pair of t...”
“Movement to starboard!” a woman shouted from the lookout tower.
Captain Martelli was suddenly all business.
“Where away?” she shouted as she ran toward the right side of the ship.
“Go after her,” Barnaby told Simon. “I have to stay here and keep the Defiant moving. It was nice to meet you.”
“Same here. I'm sure we'll talk again soon.”
Simon raced after the captain, Kronk and Aeris right behind him. He'd forgotten his queasiness entirely.
“Directly to starboard, captain,” the woman shouted. “A mile out and closing.”
Simon joined Deborah at the railing and she pointed out to sea. He looked in that direction and felt his jaw drop.
“What the hell is that?”
“That, sir wizard, is a turtle.”
He gasped and stared at what appeared to be a wall of water that was racing across the ocean toward them at break-neck speed.
“A turtle? Are you serious?”
“Do I look like I'm joking?”
The captain pulled a small gem out of her pocket and shook it. It began glowing a cool blue color and Simon looked at it with interest.
It was obviously magical but he had no idea what it was for. He soon found out.
“All hands!” Deborah shouted at the crystal. “Battle stations!”
Her voice was magnified and echoed loudly throughout the ship. It actually made the metal deck under Simon's feet vibrate.
Now there's a spell I've never seen before, he thought as he watched the captain slip the gem back into her pocket.
“Come along, wizard, and watch the show,” she said to him.
They ran forward toward the bow as the massive sea turtle, still barely visible as it plowed through the water, continued to swim toward them.
Dozens of people came boiling out of doors and hatches, spreading out across the deck. Simon saw two other magic-users, robes fluttering in the wind, race ahead of them toward a rather odd-looking machine.
The captain joined them and the wizard stayed back a few paces to that he wouldn't get in the way.
Deborah and the mages, a man and a woman, spoke quickly while a group of people worked on the strange contraption.
The machine was made of metal, dull iron and shiny steel, and basically looked like an enormous tube on wheels. It resembled a cannon but the tube was simply a metal framework, open and exposed. It was about fifteen feet long with six of those feet stretched out over the side of the ship.
Behind it was a pile of round, spiked balls, each about two feet in circumference. As Simon watched, two men wearing iron gauntlets picked up a projectile and eased it into the machine, grunting and cursing. The thing was obviously very heavy.
“I don't care which one of you takes the bloody shot,” the captain said, her voice rising above the babble of conversation around them. “Just fire the damned thing!”
Simon saw one of the mages, a striking young woman with streaming black hair and a blood-red robe, step toward the strange weapon and raise her hands. They burst into amazing silver flames and she laid them on the machine.
“It's ready,” she barked at the men behind the weapon. “Aim true and tell me when to fire.”
Deborah stepped closer to the mechanism and stared out at the attacking monster.
“To the left a bit,” she barked and the sailors swiveled the weapon, following her directions.
Simon realized that the cannon was attached to the deck with a round housing that allowed it to be turned to the left and right. He also noticed, amid the chaos, that there was another of the strange weapons further down the deck. The other mage had hurried toward it and was going through the same motions as the mage in red.
“That's got it,” the captain said loudly. “Fire away!”
“Firing!” the mage yelled and pulled her hands away from the cannon.
It blazed with the same silver flames that had engulfed her hands and then with an ear-splitting roar, the weapon fired the spiked ball.
It shot directly at the wall of water that was now only a hundred yards away. Simon could see a solid dark form in the center of the wave but he could only take the captain's word that it was some sort of monstrous turtle; he couldn't make out any details.
The ball shot true and smashed into the attacker with the force of a battering ram. A gout of red exploded at the point of impact and the wave collapsed with a huge splash.
There was no sign of the turtle, just a large red blotch that spread out across the rough surface of the water.
The crew cheered and Simon looked at Deborah to see her reaction. Surprisingly she was scowling and turned to impatiently motion for her men to reload the cannon.
“Why are you reloading?” he asked and nodded out to sea. “You hit it.”
“Aye, we hit it,” she snapped. “And we succeeded in surprising it, but that's about all we can do against something that size.”
She saw Simon's confusion and walked away from the men who were rearming the cannon, motioning for him to follow her.
“This has happened a few times before,” she said in a low voice, looking around to make sure no one overheard her.
“The sea turtles are the worst. We can kill or drive off the serpents and the great whales, but the turtles? I don't know. They're stubborn or something. Once they start to attack, they keep going until they are killed, or have killed whatever it is they are attacking.”
“I don't understand. You said you've gone through this before, right?”
“We have, but the creatures have always been small enough to handle. Phoenix, the mage wearing the red robe, was on watch last night. Our mages take turns using their magic to spy out the waters surrounding the Defiant. She spotted this beast heading straight for us and kept watching it all night, hoping that it would turn away or that we could evade it. It didn't and we haven't. It wants this ship, wizard. And unless we kill it, it is going to have it.”
“Damn. That's so weird. How big is it?”
“Over a hundred feet from nose to tail. If you do the math to figure out what it weighs, well...old Defiant here doesn't stand a chance against it.”
She looked around again and lowered her voice even more; not necessary really. Everyone on deck seemed to be speaking as loudly as possible.
“That's why I sent out a call for help to Tamara. And that's why you're here. We need you to help us kill it.”
“Me?”
Simon stepped back and stared at Deborah.
“What on Earth makes you think I can help?”
“You've killed dragons, haven't you? At least that's what Tamara tells me. Compared to that, what's one measly sea turtle?”
His expression must have reflected his disbelief and the captain laughed roughly and slapped him on the shoulder.
“So do whatever it is that you do, wizard, and help us. Please. Because if you don't, a lot of people are going to die today.”
She began to walk toward the
cannon, stopped and turned back.
“And don't bother talking about evacuation. The Defiant is our home and we're not leaving her. If we have to, we'll go down with our ship, I promise you that.”
“It's making another run, captain!” the lookout shouted.
“Right,” Deborah yelled back and trotted toward the cannon.
“Well, this is a lovely pickle, isn't it?”
“Yes. Thank you, Aeris. You're always so good at stating the obvious,” Simon said absently.
The elemental was floated to the right of the wizard, watching things with interest. Kronk was staying close as well, but kept quiet.
How the hell am I supposed to kill a giant sea turtle, he wondered silently. And why was the monster so intent on destroying the ship anyway? Did it consider it a threat? A rival? Was it horny? Or had the dark gods put the thought into the beast's head?
Well, the reasons didn't matter. It was attacking and it had to be stopped. But how?
“Mortis de Draconis,” Simon said firmly and held out his hand.
His staff appeared instantly and he felt some relief to have its reassuring weight in his hand again.
“Wise, master.”
“Thanks. But the staff needs to channel a spell and I'll be damned if I know what would work on a sea monster.”
He walked quickly back to the railing and looked out to sea, searching for the turtle.
“I don't see anything,” he said to Aeris. “Where is it?”
“Hang on a second,” the elemental said and shot straight up to take a look.
Simon squinted upward, watching him. Aeris spun in a circle and pointed in the same direction that the turtle had attacked from before, maybe a little to the north.
“It's coming back that way, but slower,” the elemental called down to him. “It's not pushing a wave in front of it.”
He descended until he hovered at head height again.
“It's almost like it's trying to be sneaky,” Aeris said. He seemed amused. “Imagine a beast that large thinking that it could sneak up on its prey. Ridiculous.”
“It may be silly,” Kronk said sternly, “but it is hardly a joke, Aeris. I think you are taking this whole thing too lightly.”
“Am I? Well, that's because I know our dear wizard will save the day. He always does, does he not?”
Tales from the New Earth: Volume Two Page 54