Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe

by James M. Ward

  "Thank you, sir." The tired surgeon saluted and left.

  The steward offered Lieutenant Junior Grade Ivan Updean a tankard.

  "Water for me, please," Ivan asked the steward.

  Halcyon noticed the captain's glance at that request. The steward was giving the captain water as well.

  "Your report, Mr. Updean?" the captain asked.

  "At your order," Ivan said, "I took a squad of marines and ship's crew to the Maleen frigate the Cascade when she became lashed to our side. The Sanguine's broadside sheered away the frigate's rudder. The crew of the frigate was all Drusan sailors. I discovered their Maleen officers were trying to get them to continue the fight. Our size and their helpless condition decided the crew. They killed their Maleen officers and threw them overboard. They surrendered to us and I have repairs started on the rudder. We should be able to have a replacement before nightfall. There's no fight left in them. They seem more than willing to work for Arcania and it's them doing most of the repairs right now."

  "Excellent, good work, Mr. Updean," the captain said while rising and shaking Ivan's hand. "Major, how many of your marines should we send over on that prize?"

  "I'll send over ten good men with a warrant officer. We've seen lots of these types of defeated crews in the past. With the Maleen gone from the ship, they see Arcania capturing them as a chance at a new life. They won't be giving the prize crew any trouble," the major remarked.

  "Mr. Updean, you take command of the Cascade." The captain's news stunned Ivan. "I'll send over ten able seamen and Midshipwizards Grunseth and Argo, with Junior Lieutenant Fosentat. That should do you, don't you think?"

  "Aye, sir, thank you, sir," Updean said.

  Olden rose and shook Updean's hand.

  Updean saluted and left.

  "Major, now you can get to the surgeon and get that face of yours attended to," the captain ordered.

  "Sir, I would feel more comfortable finishing the work on the Migol, with your permission," the major asked.

  The captain spoke in an irritated tone. "You don't have my permission, sir. I've seen cuts like that kill a man bit by bit. Get yourself to our surgeon before he goes on the Migol and to the task of healing. You have good men serving under you; they can get the Migol set straight."

  The captain again rose and held out his hand to the major. There was no chance for the major to disagree. They shook hands.

  "Aye, aye, Captain." The major saluted and left.

  The steward handed the ship's carpenter a tankard of rum.

  The captain looked after the major's retreating form. "Damn firebrand. I'm glad I don't have an entire crew of that type. He's awesomely efficient in a fight, but has to be told to get out of the rain otherwise, gods protect him." The captain shook his head and made several notes in his log.

  An able seaman, the ship's carpenter had come with the captain when he took command of the Sanguine several years before. A favorite of Olden's, the much older man could speak to the captain in a different manner from everyone else.

  "You did well in this fight, Captain. I'll have most of the damage fixed by tomorrow." The carpenter's tone was more like that of a father to a son than a seaman to his captain. No one else on board would have the courage to critique the actions of the ship's captain.

  "Why, thank you, ship's carpenter. I try to keep the king's dragonship of the line in as good a condition as possible, considering the circumstances of my command." The captain's sarcasm made everyone on the quarterdeck smile.

  "The ship's sailmaker tells me he's ready to replace the two sails you lost. Three of the blast-tubes on this quarterdeck are total wrecks. I'll replace the carriage of the fourth one tomorrow. The hull punctures are healing nicely and the dragon's main body didn't take any damage, bless its cold, cold heart," the carpenter told his officer.

  At the mention of the dragon's heart the captain looked right at Halcyon.

  Halcyon looked over to the Migol to see that the starboard center section of the ship had taken brutal damage. The hull still smoked from fires started during the battle. It was going to take more than several days to repair all of that.

  "Carpenter, what do you think about replacing our lost tubes with Maleen tubes off the first-rater?" the captain asked.

  "I wouldn't do it. It's your ship and all, but those iron tubes the Maleen make can't be trusted if you ask me. I could go and look at the tubes on both ships to see if they have any captured Arcanian ones. Those would work for us," the carpenter suggested.

  "An excellent thought, do so straightaway," the captain ordered. Olden stood once more and shook the carpenter's hand.

  After the ship's carpenter finished reporting, it was Blithe's turn. The steward offered him a tankard of wine and Halcyon asked for water. When he received it, he boldly raised the tankard and said, "To your health, Captain."

  The captain waited until Halcyon was through drinking his water. "Thank you for the thought. I'm surprised to see you up here reporting, Mr. Blithe." The captain paused, waiting for Halcyon to speak.

  Standing ramrod-straight, Halcyon said, "Sir, First Officer Lieutenant Commander Wily was the saboteur. He was a Maleen shapechanger sent to Arcania to destroy dragonships. He tried again to destroy the heart during the battle. I fought him and Chief Fallow killed him. That's my report, sir." Blithe stood waiting for the captain to respond.

  "Durand, get Chief Fallow up here, now!" the captain ordered. There was a scowl on the captain's face.

  Olden threw his battle helm down on the table and leaned back in his chair, a perplexed look on his face. "You are just full of surprises, Mr. Blithe, and I'm finding most of them are not pleasant ones. I don't think in all my days in this man's navy I've ever seen an officer like you. I'll tell you one thing, young man. You will either rise to the top like your father or end up blasted to bits in some major combat. Deadly danger to both you and your ship's crew seems to shadow your every step in this man's navy."

  Halcyon stood there at attention, not knowing how to respond to the captain's words. "Yes, sir" was all he could utter.

  Chief Fallow came on the quarterdeck and saluted the captain.

  The captain saluted back.

  "Chief," the captain said, still leaning back in his chair and looking irritated, "this young midshipwizard is going to tell us an amazing tale for the second time in my hearing. I'm going to hear more about my first officer being the traitor on board my ship. When he's finished in more detail than I heard the first time," the captain said, emphasizing his last statement and looking straight at Halcyon, "you, Chief Fallow, will then report how you killed an Arcanian officer and I'd better hear important details from you on that court-martialing offense. Mr. Blithe, proceed in detail, if you please."

  Just then, Halcyon noticed that there were six marines behind the captain. He hadn't given them any thought before and the reason they might be stationed behind the captain. He now knew what that reason was.

  The steward handed the chief a tankard of rum and the chief drained it and asked for another. The steward filled it again without comment, but there was a disapproving look on his face.

  The captain's glare spurred Halcyon to start his report again.

  "Sir, I was at my post in the heart chamber. Per your command, whenever battle stations sounded my duty station was to be on the orlop deck and in the dragonship's heart chamber," Halcyon said.

  "Wait one moment." The captain shouted down to Durand again. "Durand, get Mr. Giantson and Miss Griffon up here on the double," the captain ordered. Olden held his hand up toward Halcyon, meaning him to stop until the other two officers appeared.

  Chief Fallow took a drink from his tankard of rum. He smiled and appeared totally relaxed. He grinned at the captain and Blithe, clearly not bothered at all by the captain's irritated glare.

  When Giantson and Andool arrived, the captain said, "I want you to hear what Mr. Blithe and then Chief Fallow have to say. Carry on, Mr. Blithe." The captain lowered his hand, waving i
t for Halcyon to continue.

  The added attention of the other officers didn't make Halcyon any less nervous. He drained the last of his tankard, ordered his thoughts for a heartbeat, and began.

  "I was at my post in the dragon heart chamber. Quite by accident, I discovered that if I touched the dragon's heart and the ice at the same time, I could see through the sea dragon's eyes in some sort of amazing magical happenstance. I watched the first shots fired from our bow chasers," the nervous Halcyon reported.

  "Really," Giantson interrupted.

  "Let him finish, Daton. I know you'll have a thousand questions and tests to do later, but for now let's get this story out," the captain ordered.

  "As I watched the first successful broadside strike the Migol, First Officer Wily entered the heart chamber."

  The captain stopped him again. Looking at his second officer, he said, "Andool, for the record I will be reporting that your new shells worked as expected. I just wanted to tell you that as the thought came into my mind."

  "Why, thank you, Captain, I was pleased with their service." She graciously smiled at the captain. "My report will reflect your thoughts as well." She looked back to Halcyon, forcing the midshipwizard to continue.

  "Before I knew who it was, I drew my weapon and faced him ready for the worst. Commander Wily had cast the Drusan shield about his body, but appeared otherwise normal in his battle gear. He ordered me to go up on deck and join the blast-tube crews in the action." Halcyon stopped for a moment, embarrassed by what he was about to say. "To be quite honest, I almost went. I stopped myself, remembering the first Article of War, and told him I had to stay at my post per your order, Captain."

  "Absolutely right and by the Articles, that last was well done," the captain exclaimed, looking more interested now than irritated. He was leaning forward on the table and drinking from his own water glass.

  Halcyon gulped several nervous breaths and reached out with his empty tankard for more water.

  He continued his tale. "I stood my ground and Mr. Wily became enraged. He began an amazing transformation into some type of hideous monster. I'd heard about shapechangers, to be sure, but the creature chilled me to the bone from the first second it revealed itself. I knew it was a shapechanger from its four eyes. It's the only creature I know of with four.

  "At first we fenced, but I was unable to land a telling blow. The Drusan magic kept my edge away from his hide. I couldn't strike it often, as the creature was more skilled than I with a blade. Officer Wily had completely transformed into a monster with four eyes, terrible fangs, and talons for hands. It kept politely talking to me, in Mr. Wily's tone of voice. His shredded clothes hung from its massive body. My magical attacks were nothing to it. The creature claimed to have destroyed five other Arcanian dragon warships.

  "When I tried calling for help from the marines on the other side of the hatches, it gestured and filled the chamber with an odd haze. Something like floating feathers filled the area."

  Officer Giantson shook his head, clearly knowing about the spell.

  Halcyon continued, "My calls for help were totally silenced. The monster started communicating with me in my mind. I don't have words for the terror this inspired in me. Its thoughts were evil and filled with a desire to destroy everything around it. To be very honest it was clearly toying with me. I caused it some pain as I lunged into its throat with my saber point. The shielding spell stopped my point from piercing, but I could feel through the telepathic link that I had badly bruised it.

  "The creature rushed me, knocked my saber out of my hand, and started draining the life out of me. It used some type of magic I've never encountered before. A gray glow touched me through its talons and all the strength left my body. I think I felt the life draining out of my body and into the shapechanger. That's when Chief Fallow took a hand. I never saw him enter the chamber, but thank the gods he did. We couldn't hear anything because of the strange silencing spell that filled the area. Chief Fallow is one of the true heroes of the encounter. His blast-pike somehow pierced the magic of the Drusan shield and struck at the heart of the monster. The chief killed the creature and saved my life and the life of the Sanguine, sir."

  Halcyon stood at attention, his story finished.

  "Chief, what do you have to add to Mr. Blithe's story?" the captain asked.

  "Captain, after the first officer bested me in the blast-pike drill, I became a tad irritated at the use of the Drusan shield, if you get my drift," said the chief. "I went to Lieutenant Commander Giantson and asked him how a poor non-magic-using sailor like me could overcome that sort of magic."

  Attempts to sound humble were completely lost on the captain. His irritated scowl came back to his face. Chief Fallow lost some of his relaxed slouch and stood straighter in front of his captain, continuing his report.

  "I don't like getting beat with my own weapon and that shield magic seemed a mite unfair. The commander was good enough to tell me that dipping my pike in tannin oil would allow the weapon to slip right past the magic as long as the oil wasn't rubbed off the pike in the course of a battle. I tipped my pike in the oil as the drums beat the call to battle stations. I had no idea I'd be using the weapon against Commander Wily.

  "I and a couple of the crew stationed ourselves in the liver chamber just to make sure nothing bad happened there."

  "That was an excellent thought, Chief, I should have ordered that myself," the captain remarked, the scowl gone again.

  The chief continued with his report. As the battle started, "I thought I would check the heart chamber to make sure our Mr. Blithe here was doing well at his post; even though I knew a good Lankshire officer like himself would be where he was ordered."

  Halcyon flushed at the praise Ashe sent his way. He stood a little straighter, now allowing himself to smile at the chief's kind words.

  "When I opened the hatch," the chief continued, "I saw the boy—I mean, Mr. Blithe—and a Maleen shapechanger in a death struggle. I shouted, trying to distract the monster from killing Mr. Blithe. I failed to distract the creature; words made no sound in the chamber. The shapechanger was holding the midshipwizard up off his feet. There was an evil sort of gray glow over the boy. I could tell there was still fight in him by the way he was struggling in that death grip, but he was getting weaker by the second. I couldn't see any other course of action. I rushed the creature and gave it the best part of my pike into its back. The oil allowed my weapon to slip past the magic shield. I ripped out its chest. I had a brother, he's long dead now, but he told me about fighting Maleen shapechangers when he served with the armies of the Toman before that country fell to the armies of the Maleen. He said you had to chop off a shapechanger's head or they just healed to do their mischief again in a few hours. I took its head and the creature turned into blue mush."

  The chief looked at Lieutenant Commander Giantson, clearly relishing his next statement. "You'll be happy to know, Commander Giantson, that I ordered the mess put in a barrel. I knew you'd want to take a look, but it smells pretty high."

  The chief came to attention. "That's all I have to say, sir."

  "You've both done your duty," the captain told them. "Amazing, simply amazing. Of course I believe both of you, but I have no idea how I'm going to tell the admiralty about all of this." There was a stunned look to the captain's face. "We still need to look into the affair. Giantson, I want you to make a report about that tannin oil. We face lots of enemies with Drusan shields. You will also need to inspect Wily's kit. Use the utmost caution as there might be hidden traps among his things."

  "Aye, sir," Giantson replied.

  "We're going to have to suggest to the admiralty that there needs to be a way to reveal these shapechangers. The service can't have their best men replaced by these monsters. Commander Giantson and Commander Griffon, you both draw up a report on possible ways to ferret out these monsters. Wily was with the crew for fourteen months. I thought he was brutal, but not a monster."

  "Aye, aye, Captain,"
they both said.

  "Mr. Blithe, Chief Fallow, well done, now get back to your duties," the captain ordered. He stood once more and shook both of their hands.

  "Aye, aye," Halcyon and Ashe said.

  As they left the quarterdeck, Chief Fallow remarked, "No fancy speeches from our captain, just straight to the matter. I like that in an officer. In addition, you never see an officer shake the hand of an enlisted man. That was a noble gesture on his part. You would do well to follow his example." The chief started going belowdecks. Halcyon put his hand on the chief's shoulder.

  "I will, Chief, and thanks for saving my life," Halcyon said.

  Ashe turned and put out his own hand, shaking Hal's, and said, "I save your life this time, you save mine next time. As you fight with your mates in battle after battle, you'll stop saying thank you. You're just doing what the navy pays you for, after all. You've looked certain death in the eyes, did your best, and survived. Not much will stop you after the experience you just had. I know your father's spirit watches and is proud of you and so am I." The chief went belowdecks.

  Halcyon turned to lean against the port railing. Looking at the captured Migol, he longed to serve as the captain of such a ship. He looked forward to getting back home and telling his first naval story to his brothers and uncles. After a few more moments, he mentally chided himself for daydreaming on the deck when there was work to do. For a heartbeat, he imagined his father's spirit smiling down on him. He stood straight and saluted into the noon sun, honoring his father and promising to carry the battle to more of the enemy. He'd helped with a small victory for Arcania and his family this day and was pleased with that. There would be more and larger victories if he had anything to say about it.

  Halcyon rang the four bells on the quarterdeck, announcing the best time in a seaman's day. Grog and meals were handed out at four bells everywhere on the ship. Today, hours after the battle, the captain had the men assemble on the upper decks for their grog. He stood on the quarterdeck with Second Officer Griffon and Lieutenant Commander Giantson and the rest of the dragonship's officers behind him.