again as the cannons continued to fire. Screams and shouts could be heard from beyond the room, but they tried their best to tune them out.
“Why don’t we talk about something to get our minds off all this,” he whispered to her, still holding her against him.
She retrieved her pillow and tucked it behind his lower back for support, accepting her place in his arms.
“ I’m afraid of the water. I don’t know about your world, but on Rain, most of our sea creatures are carnivores,” she replied, “And most of them are large enough to swallow a person whole.”
“Here there be dragons,” he said.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Sorry,” he muttered, “Being on an old ship and what you just said… it made me recall something on old maps in my world. In uncharted areas, the map makers would draw a dragon and insert the words ‘here there be dragons’.”
“And were there dragons there?” she asked, “Did you have dragons in the oceans on Earth?”
“No, never,” he chuckled, running his hand across her back, “It was just a phrase to scare the weary traveler away from uncharted areas. Dragons were mythical creatures where I came from.”
“They’re not mythical here,” she replied, “In Coranka, you can pay to see a hundred and twenty meter dragon locked in a giant aquarium. There have been sightings at sea of dragons measuring more than two hundred meters.”
“What do they look like?” he asked, startled by this thought.
“Long serpentine creatures with scaly flesh so thick that swords are useless. A single fang of this beast is as big as your arm,” she said, “Actually, maybe we shouldn’t talk about this stuff while the ship is shaking like it is.”
“Yeah, m aybe you’re right,” he said with a sigh, “When we reach port, how about we make a vow to never go to sea again?”
Nine
The ship continued to rock and tremble throughout the night under the attack of the enemy. Sleep came, but only in small bits and pieces. Eventually, Hawke awoke to find himself in silent darkness. Sky Listener’s lamp had apparently been snuffed at some point and without the benefit of windows; it was impossible to tell if morning had come. The ship was rocking steadily now, an effect of the rough seas most likely.
Kashuba was on the floor now and was using his thigh as a pillow . He slowly slid his leg out from beneath her and lowered her head to the pillow he placed on the floor. Using the wall as a guide in the darkness, he found his way to the door. He then opened the door, letting in a bright sliver of light.
Hawke slipped quickly into the corridor and closed the door behind him. He immediately discovered much to his shock that the ship had been torn open before him and now offered him a large view of the ocean. A salty spray of cool water found its way into the giant gash and across his lower legs. If anyone had been in that room last night, they would have certainly died from either the initial explosion or the flying shrapnel as the outside hull exploded inward.
A cool salty breeze stirred the scent of smoky charred wood, reminding him of just how real this world was and how real that raging sea was beyond the hull. He stared at the splintered beams, realizing just how close that blast had been to the room they were hiding in. It was a large enough blast to destroy not just the ship’s hull, but also a portion of the floor and the inner wall to the corridor. The fact that the charred wood didn’t extend further down the corridor was a testament to their firefighting skills.
Another mist of cool water chilled his bare feet. He walked down the hall, holding on to the walls as he attempted to move steadily across a swaying floor. He wasn’t accustomed to moving about in a ship at sea and that particular sea was proving to be very rough this morning. He navigated past two empty pails, then located the stairs.
He climbed the
“Why don’t we talk about something to get our minds off all this,” he whispered to her, still holding her against him.
She retrieved her pillow and tucked it behind his lower back for support, accepting her place in his arms.
“ I’m afraid of the water. I don’t know about your world, but on Rain, most of our sea creatures are carnivores,” she replied, “And most of them are large enough to swallow a person whole.”
“Here there be dragons,” he said.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Sorry,” he muttered, “Being on an old ship and what you just said… it made me recall something on old maps in my world. In uncharted areas, the map makers would draw a dragon and insert the words ‘here there be dragons’.”
“And were there dragons there?” she asked, “Did you have dragons in the oceans on Earth?”
“No, never,” he chuckled, running his hand across her back, “It was just a phrase to scare the weary traveler away from uncharted areas. Dragons were mythical creatures where I came from.”
“They’re not mythical here,” she replied, “In Coranka, you can pay to see a hundred and twenty meter dragon locked in a giant aquarium. There have been sightings at sea of dragons measuring more than two hundred meters.”
“What do they look like?” he asked, startled by this thought.
“Long serpentine creatures with scaly flesh so thick that swords are useless. A single fang of this beast is as big as your arm,” she said, “Actually, maybe we shouldn’t talk about this stuff while the ship is shaking like it is.”
“Yeah, m aybe you’re right,” he said with a sigh, “When we reach port, how about we make a vow to never go to sea again?”
Nine
The ship continued to rock and tremble throughout the night under the attack of the enemy. Sleep came, but only in small bits and pieces. Eventually, Hawke awoke to find himself in silent darkness. Sky Listener’s lamp had apparently been snuffed at some point and without the benefit of windows; it was impossible to tell if morning had come. The ship was rocking steadily now, an effect of the rough seas most likely.
Kashuba was on the floor now and was using his thigh as a pillow . He slowly slid his leg out from beneath her and lowered her head to the pillow he placed on the floor. Using the wall as a guide in the darkness, he found his way to the door. He then opened the door, letting in a bright sliver of light.
Hawke slipped quickly into the corridor and closed the door behind him. He immediately discovered much to his shock that the ship had been torn open before him and now offered him a large view of the ocean. A salty spray of cool water found its way into the giant gash and across his lower legs. If anyone had been in that room last night, they would have certainly died from either the initial explosion or the flying shrapnel as the outside hull exploded inward.
A cool salty breeze stirred the scent of smoky charred wood, reminding him of just how real this world was and how real that raging sea was beyond the hull. He stared at the splintered beams, realizing just how close that blast had been to the room they were hiding in. It was a large enough blast to destroy not just the ship’s hull, but also a portion of the floor and the inner wall to the corridor. The fact that the charred wood didn’t extend further down the corridor was a testament to their firefighting skills.
Another mist of cool water chilled his bare feet. He walked down the hall, holding on to the walls as he attempted to move steadily across a swaying floor. He wasn’t accustomed to moving about in a ship at sea and that particular sea was proving to be very rough this morning. He navigated past two empty pails, then located the stairs.
He climbed the
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