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|              A Trip To Dragon's Island 1.15: At Sea                |
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The sharp tingle of salt pinched his sensitive nose.  The world swayed
back and forth, and he gently bumped into the wall then rocked away
from it again.  He could hear water rush by the wall and under the
floor he lay on.  A small patch of warmth caressed his side, as he
rolled he felt the wood floor was warm near where he lay.  Drawn to
the warm wood, he positioned his body ontop of it.

His eye pounded with a dull pain and his body ached.  Opening his
right eye was out of the question, as sleep had all but glued it shut.
He tilted his head to his right paw and wiped out the sleeper.

Some fifteen feet from the wolf, Thanin leaned against the doorframe
at the top of the stairs leading from the room to the deck. His eyes
focused beyond the ship's railing; he was smoking his pipe.  Lost in
thought, the dwarf watched wave after wave roll under the ship's hull.

As he turned away from the sea's blue depths, his glance passed over
the wolf.  "So you're up now, eh boy?"

Brianna, who was sitting and leaning against the wall on the other
side of the cabin, looked up as Thanin spoke.

The wolf yawned confirmation, displaying his white teeth; his tongue
curled to the roof of his mouth.  He snapped his jaws back together
and cocked his head to regard the dwarf curiously.

The dwarf walked down the stairs and closed the distance between them
and crouched down, peering intensely into the wolf's eyes.  Something
about it seemed familiar.

"Still hurting, aren't you?"  Carefully, Thanin examined the wound
he'd seen earlier - it looked better, but he doubted it would heal for
a time.

Brianna leaned over so she could get a better view of what the dwarf
was doing.

The wolf wagged it's tail and licked Thanin's nose.  Brianna barely
squelched a giggle at the sight.

The door leading to a similar room opened softly and Adain entered,
carrying in his hands a little pot.  "What's up, friends?" He said as
he opened the recipient "This is one of my healing potions, I thought
that he would need it. Oh, and by the way, Valjean is saying that the
fog is getting worse by the moment." He smiled. "He is also muttering
some curious damnations and a long variety of blasphemies."

Adain sat himself next to the wolf and spilled a bit of the liquid
over the wound. The wolf yelped and jumped quickly out of the path of
the painful medicine.  Now on the other side of the room, he bristled
his fur and growled derisively.

Brianna looked pointedly at the wolf and said out loud, "Baby.  It's
only a little medicine."

"Hmmm, I know, my boy, but although it hurts it will heal your wound,
but not quickly. Anyway, it's effective, I promise you." He crossed
the room and began to pass his hand over the wolf's blonde hair.

Thanin looked around the room and puffed thoughtfully on his pipe,
noting that he hadn't seen Thwuck in some time.  "Anyone seen Thwuck?"

Adain nodded, as he said "Nope, I suppose that he is still in bed";)
He took the pot and, looking to Bri and Thanin answered "Well, what
d'you think?. Shall I go up and try to calm captain Valjean?"

"Probably a good idea," Thanin agreed.  "I'll come up with you Adain."

				   ****

Thwuck hadn't slept that well the first night on the boat. Even though
the crew had insisted that the sea was calm, he had the distinct
feeling that the ship was to be swallowed by the waves. Breakfast had
been a bad idea. He hadn't left the railing a the back of the boat
since.

His legs were uncharacteristicly shaky, and he gripped the solid iron
bars with all his remaining strength. His eyes were blind to the
flocks of seabirds picking food out of the ship's trailing waves. All
his attention was focussed inwards.

When Thwuck felt a soft touch on his shoulder, he whirled around,
instantly regretting the reflex. Nearly as quickly he turned back to
the railing, violent cramps straining his already empty stomach.

"Now, now," said a woman's voice. "If you wouldn't be so tense, this
trip would be a lot easier on you."  A young woman, obviously blind,
walked over to the railing by where Thwuck stood.  "You should learn
to relax more.  Breathe in the crisp, salt air and just relax..."  The
woman stood, holding the railing, facing the sea as if she could
almost see it.

Thwuck looked over to see a young woman, perhaps in her twenties, with
long brown hair worn in a single braid.  Her eyes were colored a
stunning icey light-blue.  He wondered if she had been blind since
birth.  She stood around 5'8" and wore a black cloak wrapped around
her sky blue dress. In spite of the walking stick in her left hand,
her stance was regal.

"Relax?" he muttered. "Haven't relaxed for months. Never since..."
His voice trailed away on the breeze.

The woman cocked her head in his direction, as if she was hearing the
rest of the sentence in spite of Thwuck's silence. She nodded, her
expression grave. "Just try it," she said gently. "Straighten your
shoulders, put your face in the wind, and focus on the horizon. Let
your body accept the rhythm of the sea. If you put your mind on
pleasent things, you'll find that your body can adjust more easily."

Thwuck looked at her with an expression of surprise and wariness. Then
he shrugged, and followed her advice. They stood side by side for a
few minutes, both taking in the great space ahead with their own
senses.  Slowly, some of the tension disappeared from Thwuck's
muscles.

"That's better," the woman said. Thwuck had no idea how she knew, but
she was right; he did feel better. Now that his mind wasn't
preoccupied with physical distress, he realized they hadn't introduced
himself yet. "Thank you for your kindness. I am Thwuck. And you are?"
He looked at her sideways, not yet convinced that he could let go of
the railing.

"I am called Altena." She paused for a second. "I have never heard a
name like Thwuck before. You must be from far away."

Thwuck grunted in agreement. "Further than I had ever expected. And seen
more than I care for." He cast a quick look at her blind eyes, hoping he
hadn't offended her with his words.

The little smile that appeared on her face made her look very beautiful.
"It is hard for me to imagine that someone could have 'seen enough'. But
I think that I know the meaning of the phrase." She took a deep breath
of the sea air. "Have you ever been on the sea before?" she asked.

"Thank the gods, no," Thwuck grumbled. "But I must say I'm impressed by
its size."

Altena suddenly became eager. "Could you describe to me what you see?"

This time it was Thwuck who smiled. It would be a small payment for her
earlier help. "Where shall I start," he said. "There is so much of it...
Just beyond the ship's railing, the sea is a dark grey, its surface
speckled with white froth. It moves up and down the ship's side,
throwing  little bits of plantlife and flotsam at it, that hold on
tenaciously until the next wave." He swallowed at the word wave, but
managed to suppress the feeling.

"In the west, the coastline has disappeared beyond the horizon, which in
itself is only a hazy shade of blue. The frothing sea just behind the
ship calms down into criss-crossing straight waves, and becomes a
lighter hue as it moves to the horizon. Birds of all kinds fly in the
ship's wake, the seagulls predominant with their sleek, white and grey
bodies. I do not know the names of all of them, some are just a handful
of brown and white feathers, whisking away in every direction, while
others are as elegant as peacocks, although less colorful. The small
ones fight over every speck of food they see, but there must be more
than enough for all."

"The sky is a light grey today, the clouds hanging so low that it seems
as if you can touch them. What's left of the sun is a golden smur in the
southeast, just to our left. We're sailing into an area of dense fog,
sharply outlined against the dark sea." Thuck frowns and says: "That's
funny. The birds seem to steer clear of the fog."

Altena waits for him to continue. When Thwuck remains silent, she says:
"Thank you for the picture. Maybe you can paint some more for me, with
your words, some other time."

Thwuck turns to her, saying: "I would gladly have continued now, but the
fog would make the telling dull. And my voice is still rusty. If you
have a little patience, I will most certainly oblige you with some
'painting' when I get more accustomed."

Altena made a little bow. "Well in that case, thank you for now, dear
Sir." "Your welcome, Milady." They both giggled at this. The two new
friends remained standing at the railing, as the ship was enveloped with
a cloak of white fog.


				   ****

Adain and Thanin quickly reached the main deck of the ship, a strong
gust of wind made both concentrate on their balance in order to
prevent them from falling to their kness, no doubt to the amusement of
the crew. The fog thickened extrordinarily, and a sailor was
positioned in front of the ship with a rope, testing the depth of the
water.  Every sound seemed strangely augmented within the fog.

They reached their way to the bridge where the Captain Valjean was
shouting at the helmsman.

"Greetings O'Captain," said Adain, trying to deviate the conversation
"What do you think?  Will the fog disperse in short?"

Valjean interupted himself in the middle of a acute observation about
the mother of the sailor and, upon looking at the pair in front of
him, drawled slowly, "The fog, elf? Oh, yes, the fog! D'you think that
I give a damn about this (beeeeeep) fog?"

"I beg your pardon, sir" said Adain, who did not like the manners of
the captain one bit.  "I don't know what caused you to be so rude, but
please remember that we are you passengers.  We're not guilty of this
*fog* nor any other delay you're suffering."

Valjean was shaking furiously by the time Adain ended his speech; his
was turning the shade of a ripe apple.  As the sailor tried to hide
himself behind the helm, Valjean growled, "You, elf.  Who d'you think
you are trying to teach me the labours of a Captain? Shut up
immediately or I..."

"SHIP AHEAD!!!" The voice of a sailor in the crow's nest broke the
Captain short and threw him into action.  He ran to the front of the
ship shouting, "THE FLAG, MEN; LOOK HIS FLAG; WHAT COLOUR IS IT?!"

"OH, BY SHEDRAT'S TEETH; BLACK FLAG, THEY ARE PIRATES....!!"        

Thanin's tanned face broke into a fierce scowl.  The trade routes of
his homeland had been plagued by roaming bandits such as these.  While
he had been alone during his travels, and thus able to avoid an
encounter, there would be no such option today.

The dwarf looked at Adain and realized they had yet to battle beside
one another.  He'd grown fond of the charismatic elf and hoped this
would not be last time they saw one another.  As he unsheathed his
falchion and slung his shield down off of his shoulder, Thanin took
note of the ease with which Adain carried himself.  He grinned
wickedly - the bandits would likely have more to worry about.

"C'mon elf.  Let's show these sea dogs what fighting's really about,"
he said gruffly.  "Brianna!  Thwuck!  We're about to be boarded!  Arm
yourselves!"  The dwarf had to yell to be heard above the commotion as
the ship's crew prepared for the ensuing encounter.

		    ------========0000000=======-------

Thwuck had heard the sailor's call and turned to Altena. "There
will be a fight. Better you go below deck." He offered her an arm,
although it was unclear who was balancing who, and they descended down
the stairs. Thanin's voice could just be heard over the din, and Thwuck
yelled "COMING THANIN!".

With Altena safe in her quarters, he went quickly to his room and
retrieved his weapons. The vicious mace and gleaming knives rekindled
his battle-frenzy. He was up the stairs in three steps, and joined his
friends eagerly.

		    ------========0000000=======-------

The wolf's ears perked in notice of the increased activity coming from the
deck of the ship: the sound of cart wheels rolling to the sides of the bow
and the clang of bolts as they locked into place.  Cannons!  They're
setting up the cannons?! he thought incredulously.  We can't be that far
out to sea already, can we?  His mind tried to recall the passage of time
and realized that his last memory was of passing into blackness at the
clearing in Pas du Mer; he had no way of telling how long he had slept, but
now was no time to ponder.

His ears perked once more to the call of his friends on deck.  He turned to
Brianna, his tail held still in alert, and barked.  He spoke to his
beastmaster friend, ==Brianna, it seems that we might be needed up top.==,
and bounded up the flight of stairs in two leaps.  His body disappearing in
the dense fog beyond the door leaving it swirl in contrails.

As if on que, the cannons began to fire.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
=  [Dragon]	Volume 01  Scene 15	  Copyright (c)    7 Jan, 1997  =
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
=  Adain	--  The Cheshire Cat	  --  cat@caronte.adi.uam.es    =
=  Thanin	--  Darren Robinson	  --  drobin02@uoguelph.ca	=
=  Brianna	--  Ann Straut-Esden	  --  tammar@iconn.net		=
=  Thwuck 	--  Mark Vanhommerig 	  --  mvan@oce.nl		=
=  Prytzouth	--  Chad C. Walstrom	  --  cwalstro@d.umn.edu	=
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