“I wanted to,” Blister sputtered, as she balanced herself on the rolling deck. “But Raph insisted on tagging along. I couldn’t talk him out of it, so I figured I’d better come, too. Someone has to watch out for him and keep him out of trouble.”
Dhamon groaned and strode toward the bow, away from the gathering.
Raph immediately spotted Shaon’s ankle bracelet. He shuffled closer for a better look, the half-dozen pouches tied to his waist clinking and rustling as he went.
“How come you wear bells?” the kender asked.
“Rig gave them to me. Gold from Karthay.”
“Why’s your hair so short?”
“So it won’t blow in my eyes.”
“Why—”
Jasper positioned himself between Shaon and Raph, his back to the kender. He was still careful to keep one hand on the railing to help his balance. “Where do you think you and Rig’ll go after you leave us in Palanthas?” he asked.
“We discussed it quite a bit last night. Rig didn’t sleep much. I think he was excited to have his own ship. It’s something he’s always wanted. We might take her up and around the Northern Wastes and eventually back to the Blood Sea of Istar. That area’s home for us.”
Blister nudged her way into the conversation, and Jasper sighed in resignation and strode away, lurching toward a collection of crates near the capstan. The dwarf sat on the lowest one and grabbed his head as the ship rose over another swell.
“I’ve been there,” she said. The kender was wearing an unusual pair of gloves this morning. They were green leather, and had small hooks on the thumbs.
Shaon glanced over her shoulder and stared dreamily at the water. “That’s where I met Rig Mer-Krel—on a big carrack on the Blood Sea. The ship I was sailing on hit a reef. We took on water too fast, and a lot of men were trapped below deck and drowned. Sharks had already taken more than half of the rest of the crew when the Sanguine Lady pulled alongside. Rig was second mate on the Lady. He fished me out of the water. Those of us who lived signed on.”
“That sounds exciting,” Raph said. “You two married?”
“No. Not yet, anyway. But he’s not looking elsewhere, so I’m satisfied.”
“Why’d you end up way over here? The Blood Sea’s practically a world away,” the kender prattled.
“Shaon!” Rig looked sternly at the foursome. “Enough chatter. It’s your turn at the wheel.”
Rig drew Shaon aside, while Groller took the helm. Blister spotted Dhamon at the bow and headed toward him. Left alone, Raph became curious about the water barrels at the ship’s stern.
Blister and Dhamon stood quietly for a long time, listening to the water breaking against the hull and the snapping of the sails. The sun was edging toward the horizon. It would set soon.
“You know, you never told me what brought you to the tomb, then to Schallsea,” said the kender, finally breaking the spell.
“No, I didn’t.”
“And you’re not going to, are you?”
Dhamon fixed his eyes on a large swordfish that arced above the water, then disappeared.
“You know, Mr. Grimwulf, if you’re not going to tell the truth—or tell anything, for that matter—you better learn how to lie. I don’t think you’re very good at it.”
“And I suppose you are?”
“I don’t know about the lying part. But I’m good at telling stories—most kender are. Let me give you a lesson. If someone, like me for instance, asks you why you came to the Tomb of the Last Heroes, and you didn’t want to tell them why you really did, you might tell them a story. You might say, ‘I came to the tomb because I heard the dwarves from Thorbardin brought the stones that were used in its construction. I’m a student of dwarven architecture, and with the dwarven kingdom being sealed, I figured the tomb was my best chance to get a look at a recent work.’ There’s a gram of truth in that—you did come to the tomb.”
“I see.”
“And if they ask where you originally came from, you can say ‘I came from Crossing, to the north of Solace. It’s a fine port town known for its spiced ale and famous shipwrights. You should visit it some time.’ That wouldn’t be a lie, exactly. You did land in Crossing before you came to Solace. You just came from somewhere else before that.”
“I see.”
“And if they ask you about your profession, whatever it really happens to be, you tell them—”
“Look at me! Everybody, look at me!” Raph’s high-pitched voice ended Blister’s lesson. The young kender instantly had everyone’s attention, save Groller’s. The half-ogre stood at the wheel, oblivious to the noise.
Raph was standing at the top of a pyramid of water barrels. There were five barrels on the first tier, lying on their sides and lashed together to keep them from rolling. There were four on the second tier, two on the third, and one on top. Raph balanced precariously on the top one.
Satisfied that he had an audience, the little kender leaned forward until his fingers touched the wood of the barrel, then he kicked off with his legs until he was standing on his hands. His sandaled feet waved at those on deck below. The ship rolled to the starboard to meet a wave, and Raph happily held his position. His pouches clinked in protest.
“This is fun!” he hollered.
“Raph! Get down from there. That’s dangerous!” Blister scolded. Her little feet pounded over the deck as she closed the distance to the water barrel pyramid. For a change, Dhamon was on her heels.
“You’re always so worried, Blister. Always too careful. You never have any fun. Look at this.” Raph tucked his right arm in toward his chest and was standing on one hand now. “I could be in a circus.”
“You could be in the sea, which is where I’ll toss you if you don’t get off of our water barrels!” Rig cursed.
Jasper, who’d moved up to the mariner’s side, scowled at the kender’s antics. Shaon, who stood by the dwarf, was amused but mainly by the sight of Rig’s cross expression.
The ship hit another swell, and the young kender dizzily swayed on his perch. A brief look of worry crossed his little face, and he put his other hand down to steady himself.
Shaon gasped and sucked on her lower lip. It suddenly wasn’t funny anymore. The ship lurched again, and Raph’s bag of spoons fell free—a few dozen steel and silver soupspoons and ladles—and went spinning toward the deck.
“Don’t worry. I’ve got perfect balance!” the kender bragged.
“Balance yourself off those barrels!” Rig commanded.
“Wonder what this rope is for?”
“It ties the barrels together. Leave it alone,” Rig spat. “And get down, now!”
But the big mariner’s words were a heartbeat too late. Raph maneuvered back to his feet and brought his hands down to the rope and tugged. A smile stretched wide across his cherubic face.
“No!” Blister screamed.
Dhamon rushed forward just as the pyramid of barrels groaned and the rope came free. The bottom tier spread, separating and rolling to port and starboard, and the tiers on top of them shifted and toppled forward.
Raph was a cloud of color and waving hands and feet. He tried to somersault forward, pushing off the falling top barrel and attempting to clear the collapsing pyramid. But the rope he’d untied was whipping about in the wind like an angry serpent. An end struck his face with a sharp snap! Surprised, the kender faltered in midair and landed hard on his back on the deck. The wind rushed from his lungs and he was momentarily stunned. Before he could rise, the topmost barrel slammed into his slight frame.
Raph’s eyes grew wide and he opened his mouth to scream. His words were drowned out by the crash of another barrel on top of him, and another.
Dhamon slipped on the spewed contents and fell to the deck. He looked up and instantly threw an arm in front of his face. Slats of wood went flying and struck his hand as another barrel broke. More water gushed across the rolling deck, but Dhamon scrambled forward.