Page 12 (2/2)

The wizard nodded He knew that Deudermont did not want to turn to the north, where the as less predictable and the waters choppier and colder, but he understood that they had little choice at this point If they tried to dodge the storm to the south, they would wind up near the Nelanther, the Pirate Isles, a place the Sea Sprite, such a thorn in the side of the pirates, did not want to be

So, north they would go, around the storm, and around the Moonshaes That was the hope, anyway In looking at the wall of blackness, often creased by a shot of lightning, Robillard was not sure they could run fast enough

"Do go and fill our sails with your ical wind," Deudermont bade him, and the captain’s quiet tone showed that he obviously shared the wizard’s trepidation

Robillardhis legs under the rail so that he was facing the mainmast He held his left hand up toward the ust of wind Such a minor enchant, and so Robillard enacted it again and again, filling the sails, launching the Sea Sprite on a swift run

Not swift enough The black wall closed in on the her ride into rim choice lay before Deuder down in an atte the edge of the storm in a desperate attempt to slip off to the north of it

"Luck be with us," the captain decided, and he tried the run, keeping the sails full until, at last, the stor the finest ships ever built, crewed by a hand-picked group of expert sailors that now included terful

wizards, Drizzt, Catti-brie and Guenhwyvar, and she was captained by one of thethe Sword Coast Great indeed were the powers of the Sea Sprite when measured by the standards of ht of nature They tried to run, but like a skilled hunter, the storm closed in

Guide ropes snapped apart and the mast itself bent for the strain Robillard tried desperately to counter, so did Harkle Harpell, but even their coic could not save thethethat saved it was the snapping of the horizontal guide bea to splash into the churning sea Drizztthe panther to his side and then sending her over the rail in search of the sailor Guenhwyvar didn’t hesitate-they had done this before Roaring all the way, the cat splashed into the dark water and disappeared immediately

Rain and hail pelted them, as did the walls of waves that splashed over the bow Thunder boohtning sla into the tall masts

"I should have stopped the run sooner!" Deuderth, Drizzt, standing right beside him, could barely hear hi of the thunder

The drow shook his head The ship was nearly battened down, one below, and still the Sea Sprite was being tossed wildly "We are on the edges because of the run," the drow said firmly "If you had stopped earlier, ould be in the heart of the storm and surely doomed!"

Deuderist of what his dark elven friend was trying to communicate Grateful, he put a hand on Drizzt’s shoulder, but suddenly went flying away, slae wave nearly lay the Sea Sprite down on her side

Drizzt caught up to hiility allowing hi deck He helped the captain to his feet and the two struggled for the hatch

Deuder to survey the deck, to one below Only Robillard reainst the rail, cursing the stor wind The wizard noticed that Drizzt was looking at hi, reical power to save hiot into the craurine He had to hope that Guenhwyvar had found the sailor and had hier, the man would surely be drowned anyway "Go home, Guenhwyvar," he said to the statue

He wanted to call Guenhwyvar back almost immediately, to find out if the urine flew off into the darkness Drizzt scra to follow its course, but it was too cramped and too dark

In the blackness belowdecks, the terrified crew had no way of really knowing if this was the same storm that had battered them before If it was, then it had indeed intensified, for this time, the Sea Sprite was tossed about like a toy Water washed over them from every crack in the deck above, and only their frantic bailing, coordinated and disciplined despite the darkness and the terror, kept the ship afloat It went on forhours, but Drizzt’s estimate of the value of Deudere of the storm, not in its heart; no ship in all the Realms could have survived this storm in full

Then all went quiet, except for the occasional thunder boo badly to port, but she was up

Drizzt was the first on deck, Deudere was extensive, especially to the mainmast

"Can we repair her?" Drizzt asked

Deuder into port," he replied, not bothering to ht be five hundredthe onyx figurine Drizzt wasted no ti to the panther, and when the cat ca sailor

"There is a tale for your grandchildren," Deuder hi to keep up the morale of those near him The stricken sailor nodded sheepishly as two other crewmen helped him away

"So fine a friend," Deuder Guenhwyvar "The man was surely doomed"

Drizzt nodded and dropped a hand across Guenhwyvar’s muscled flank Never did he take the cat’s friendship for granted

Catti-brie watched the drow’s actions intently, understanding that saving the sailor was important to Drizzt for reasons beyond the drow’s altruistic demeanor Had the sailor drowned, that would have been one uilt laid across the shoulders of Drizzt Do’Urden, one er’s dark past

But that had not come to pass, and it seemed for a moment as if the Sea Sprite and all of her crew had survived That happy notion fell away aa sinant question "Where is Robillard?"

All eyes turned to regard the forward rail of the poop deck, to see that the rail had split apart in precisely the spot where Drizzt had last seen the wizard

Drizzt’s heart nearly failed hi the empty water

Deudermont didn’t seem so upset "The wizard has ways to escape the storm," the captain assured the others "It has happened before"

True enough, Drizzt and Catti-brie realized On several occasions Robillard had left the Sea Sprite by use of his uild in Waterdeep, even though the ship was sailing waters hundreds of miles removed from that city at the time

"He cannot drown," Deuder"

Both the friends see was of the Eleave the wizard th of a storht have been knocked unconscious, but more likely, he had been swept away froet clear of the stor before the ship ever did

Catti-brie continued her scan, and Drizzt joined her

Deuderure out hoas going to get the Sea Sprite into a safe port They had weathered the storht prove to be a te the captain’s e to the schooner, knew it too He erness until he was safely locked away Then he rubbed his hands together briskly, his s around to ensure that no one atching, Harkle opened a ical tome, one of the components he needed for his newest, and perhaps es were blank-all of the of fate Now the first few pages read as a journal of Harkle’s lad to see, of his continuing experiences with the ship To his absolute amazement, for he hadn’t dared look so extensively at the journal before, even the blind seer’s poe still, Harkle knew, for neither he nor any otherenchant the events!

This exceeded Harkle’s wildest expectations for the fog of fate He didn’t kno long this ht continue, but he understood that he had stu that needed a little boost The Sea Sprite was dead in the water, and so was the quest that had apparently befallen Drizzt and Catti-brie, and by association, Harkle Harkle wasn’t one to be patient, not now He waved his hand over the first of thesoftly He reached into a pouch and produced soly onto the first of the still-blank pages

Nothing happened

Harkle continued for nearly an hour, but when he e, still drifting aimlessly

Harkle rubbed the stubble on his unshaven face Apparently, the spell neededwater, tapping his foot i to the water elemental monster he had summoned to his aid He had sent the creature in search of the Sea Sprite, but that had been o

Finally, the azure blanket before the wizard rolled up and took on a roughly hu the creature in its oatery language if it had found the ship

It had, and so the wizard bade the elee arm It appeared watery, but was in truth much more substantial than any normal liquid When the wizard was comfortably in place, thewave