“It’ll be a cold day in the nine hells before I permit another Shagornan Elf to crash my ship,” Havelock snarled and climbed out of his hammock. “Rock, Chip! Go up top and wait for me! The rest of you lot, save the ship!”
Heavy footfalls preceded the two stone golems emerging from the darkness. Their only facial features were squinted slits for eyes, a sharp nose, and a straight line for a mouth, all carved into the stone of a rough-hewn, oval-shaped head. Their bodies appeared to be large, sand-colored boulders fused together.
The one Havelock called Chip stood a few inches shorter than Rock, and the only difference My‑re could discern between the two. At least someone took charge. She had no idea what to do. While she preferred to stay below, it didn’t seem any safer here than above. The ship's port side had been peeled back by striking ground and caught in a vortex in the Storm Crags, deep in the Rirorni Empire. She could see the passing earth outside through the gaping hole. The ship continued to turn in circles.
Havelock reached the ramp leading up. The golems approached, he touched each, and a large, clear soap bubble encompassed them. Havelock threw the double doors open; a deluge of rain poured from the black sky above. They emerged above deck, and the water bounced off their bubbles. It didn’t seem they would pop easily. The Shagornan Elves followed. Havelock touched each, and a similar bubble formed around them.
“I’ll take an extra strength bubble please,” My‑re said in mirth, but deep down serious about the request.
“Are you joking? No, my dear. Unless you don’t like to breathe, you’ll need air to pass through the membrane,” Havelock said, chuckling and shaking his head in disbelief. He touched her shoulder.
A clear soap-like bubble surrounded My‑re’s body. Viewed through that, the world shimmered a little, and things seemed stretched a bit, but otherwise, they were normal. Also, the world outside seemed a bit muted, but she could still hear. Walking up the ramp, she expected it to pop due to its fragile nature, but it held as she entered the rain. The wind blew hard but went around her. She spotted Vomarian at the helm with two other elves, haggard looking, hair blowing wild, and soaking wet. They used the modified gladiator large shields as partial protection and umbrellas. Vomarian fought against the wheel. More elves stood agape, watching the encased elves rush to different parts of the ship unhampered by the storm raging around them.
“What in the nine hells? How did you get that surrounding you!” Vomarian bellowed through the sounds of the storm, gesturing to her.
“Havelock!” My‑re shouted, pointing to the approaching archmage.
When Havelock touched Vomarian and the other nearby exhausted-looking elves struggling at the wheel, a bubble surrounded and protected them from the elements.
“Thank you very much. You never said you could do that,” Vomarian snapped but muted due to the membrane.
“First, you are very welcome. Second, you didn’t ask,” Havelock replied.
Shaking his head, Vomarian inquired, “Can you do something about this storm?”
“Nope.”
“Can you add a bubble around the ship?”
“Even I have my limits, so you’ll need to break the ship from this spinning vortex you sailed us in.”
“I didn’t sail into it intentionally,” Vomarian snapped.
“I’m not blaming you. Rock and Chip can keep us off the ground for a time, but it’ll add undue strain on the wheel. You’ll need to get us out of this crag before the wheel breaks and crashes the ship. I won’t thank you for that,” Havelock said, motioning for his two stone golems to take the wheel. The two creatures managed to keep the Unsinkable III from descending further, but the ship continued to circle in the chasm.
“How much time before the wheel breaks?” Vomarian asked.
“Given the strength of my golems and the nature of the wood, which is quite strong, I must add. I’d say, given the strain already, factoring in wind velocity-”
“How much time?” Vomarian interrupted.
“Ten minutes. Fifteen tops,” Havelock said.
“What? We’d be lucky if this storm dissipates in a few hours,” My‑re said.
“Will these bubbles protect us if we crash,” Vomarian asked.
“Nope,” Havelock replied. “And I must say I’m a little hurt. Even asking that question implies you are not going to try and save the ship.”
“Of course I’m going to try and save the ship.”
“That’s the spirit,” Havelock exclaimed and continued, “I knew I made a good choice making you captain.”
For the next few minutes, My‑re watched the Unsinkable III circle. Wreckage from the ship outlined the tempest’s form. The golems held the massive wheel in place, Vomarian looked helpless like a leaf blowing in the wind, and Havelock acted like he didn’t have a care in the world.
“What can we do?” My‑re asked Vomarian.
“I don’t know. If the storm lost some strength, we could try and break free. There’s no telling when that would occur. At this point, we’ll need some massive luck factor to get out of this,” Vomarian said.
That didn’t sound good. Helpless, My‑re knew they were going to crash. Touching the bubble membrane, she agreed and doubted it would survive a direct impact. If they did somehow live, they’d be in the middle of the Rirorni Empire, surrounded by hostile natives and nature, with no transportation. She looked to Havelock, hoping he’d save the day by casting some massive spell at the last minute. However, a nervous sweat formed on his brow. She cursed to herself for whistling into the wind and being the possible cause of their current mess. No, that was stupid thinking. A very insane idea then jumped into her head. She found herself moving to the ship’s bow. The elements continued to battle against the vessel and her bubble. She then remembered what Vomarian said about ignorant sailor superstitions and their omens.
Cursing in Rathiri, translating to ‘procreating with oneself,’ My‑re pulled her shirt off over her head. She fully exposed herself to nature. There she stood in her modesty, despite a few nearby elves noticing. The following minutes passed slowly, like reading an hour-long Total Parry scum match, line-by-line.
“The storm is weakening!” a voice called out. “Look at the debris in the storm! A gap’s forming!”
It worked? My‑re shook her head in surprise and disbelief.
“We won’t catch it!” Vomarian shouted, then paused, “Rock and Chip on my signal. Turn her into the storm.”
“Hold on!”
“Full throttle now!”
The Unsinkable III lurched around hard. The wood wailed in vehement protest. My‑re and the crew latched onto the nearest solid objects. Anything not bolted down flew off the ship. The howling wind pushed relentlessly against their bubbles and threatened to break them. The vessel remained stationary, trying to proceed forward. It trembled from side to side. Cracks formed. The ship was breaking apart.
The gap approached. Like a boulder from a catapult, they were thrown from the vortex. The Unsinkable III flew rapidly through the air and into the sky. Looking over her shoulder, My‑re saw the edge of the Storm Crags behind them. The ship’s momentum slowed. It hovered for a moment, then began to fall. Rapidly!
My‑re’s stomach lurched into her chest. They were in free fall. She heard frantic, muffled shouting. There was nothing she could do but hang on. She closed her eyes and prayed to the gods of the plains to save them. She didn’t want to die.
The downward momentum reversed, and her upturned stomach launched into her nether regions. The Unsinkable III leveled off but still flew at a frightening pace.
“Brace for impact!” Vomarian shouted.
The ground rapidly approached.
My‑re glance to the aft section of the ship. Rock, Chip, Vomarian, and Havelock fought against the helm. She looked over the side. They were only a few feet off the ground but still traveling at a high rate of speed.
Like a stone skipping across a lake, the Unsinkable III hit the earth and bounced. Each time, they all flew into the air. The bubbles absorbed the shock. The ship struck the ground hard and stopped. My‑re flew forward. Like a game of children’s marbles, the entire crew bounced around the upper deck. All their bubbles popped as they came to rest.
Slowly pulling herself up, My‑re found some sore muscles she didn't even know existed. The ship had landed in an open plain of wildflowers and tall grass. It stretched endlessly. As the crew recovered, she noticed her shirt top, which, fortunately, was still within the bubble when it popped. She retrieved the garment and quickly dressed. Pulling her shirt down tight, she walked to the wheel with as much dignity as she could muster.
“Any landing you can walk away from,” Havelock commented, brushing his hands free of the situation.
“No truer words, but it’ll take a fortnight for repairs. She’ll still fly, won’t she?” Vomarian asked Havelock.
“Of course she will,” Havelock scoffed. “We’ll be back to using the mere dragons Koma, Kata, and Kuki, not to be confused with a cookie, to track down Araminth in no time. There’s just a gaping hole on the ship’s port side that should take priority so that none of the-”
A loud screeching came from the mere dragons below deck. They rushed to the port side of the ship. All three dragons darted from the broken hull and into the field of wildflowers.
“Koma, come back!” My‑re called out in panic.
The mere dragon called Koma stopped, turned its maroon-colored head toward her, and then back to the open field and its escaping companions. Another screech emanated from Kata, the largest of the three. Koma scampered off, and soon, all were lost in the Rirorni plains beyond.
My‑re sighed. Then, to her surprise, she heard Vomarian curse in Rathiri.