The Marshal did not argue, and quickly began her climb. Seren followed, feeling the strength fully return to her injured leg as she put her weight on it. Gerith and Eraina helped her into the cargo bay, and she turned to help Tristam board behind her.
“Welcome back, Master Xain,” Dalan said coldly.
Seren jumped. She had not noticed Dalan d’Cannith standing in the shadows of the cargo bay. He was watching them all with an unpleasant expression.
“How was your evening?” he asked acidly.
“Productive,” Tristam answered, facing Dalan with all the confidence he could muster. “More productive than sitting in the airship, doing nothing.”
“I missed you, Dalan,” Zed said, climbing into the hold.
Dalan ignored Zed’s greeting, standing as he was with arms folded across his thick stomach.
Seren looked down to see Omax making his way up the ladder. The warforged was climbing slowly but surely. Seren thought she heard the wailing hum of the ship’s elemental grow suddenly in volume. Omax looked up suddenly.
“Look out!” the warforged cried.
A cacophonous explosion sent a shockwave through the hull, sending her tumbling back into the cargo bay.
The hum had not grown louder at all. The other ship had found them.
“Enemy ship off the port bow!” Pherris shouted, his voice echoing through the bronze tubes.
Seren crawled back to the edge of the bay doors, looking down at Omax helplessly. The warforged was now hugging the rope ladder with both arms and legs, struggling to hold on as the ship heaved dangerously. Sparks flew from his shoulder as a crossbow bolt grazed his armor.
“Draw up the ladder!” Arthen shouted.
“He’s too heavy,” Tristam said, tugging fruitlessly at the winch.
“Status report, crew!” Pherris demanded from above.
“Omax isn’t aboard yet,” Tristam shouted.
“Take off now,” Dalan said urgently.
Karia Naille banked heavily, pulling higher into the sky. Omax spun helplessly at the end of the ladder.
“Omax!” Tristam shouted. He fell to his knees beside the bay doors, tugging at the ropes. “Someone, help me!”
Gerith and Zed seized each side of the ladder, hauling it up with all their strength. Seren hauled on the ropes too, though she was so exhausted she feared she contributed little. Behind them, she heard Eraina’s voice rise in prayer. She felt her exhaustion begin to melt away, and strength surged through her arms. The rope came up, rung by rung. The air thinned as the ship pulled higher into the air. Wind whistled dangerously through the open bay doors. Another explosion resounded as the other ship belched lightning across the sky.
When Omax was only a dozen feet from the hold, the ship turned sharply. The left side of the ladder split with a sickly snap. Seren drew back in pain, the rope burning her fingers as it tore free. Almost immediately the remaining side of the rope began to fray and smoke. Omax looked up at them. The light in his blue eyes dimmed for a brief instant, and he bowed his head against his chest.
“Omax, no!” Tristam howled, hauling on the remaining rope with all his strength. Zed stood by him, trying desperately to at least anchor the slack before Omax dropped further away. Smoke hissed their gloves, but they held firm.
“We need to be away from here,” Pherris shouted from the helm. “Is everyone aboard?”
“Damn it, Dalan, do something!” Zed hissed.
Then Dalan was there, pulling the collar of his shirt aside to reveal the swirling tattoo on his right shoulder. Without a word, he called upon his dragonmark. There was no surge of magic, no fantastic display. He merely touched the broken ropes and the ladder was whole again.
“Keep pulling,” he said blandly.
Tristam nodded, hauling with all his strength as Zed, Gerith, and Seren did likewise. Omax crawled up through the hull and collapsed in the cargo bay with a metal clang. Gerith fell on the bay door levers, sealing the hull with a heavy thud.
“Aeven, we’re clear!” Gerith shouted.
The winds howled around Karia Naille, and the elemental ring screamed with burning energy. Seren was thrown back on the deck as a burst of speed surged through the airship.
The sounds of the pursuing ship faded into the distance.
CHAPTER 14
An uneasy silence had fallen over Karia Naille. The usual even hum of the ship’s elemental fire was now broken by a rattling stutter. The bluish-white fire that orbited the ship was streaked with red. Seren had climbed onto the wooden strut above the deck. It was a precarious position. The elemental ring radiated a fierce heat. Her body would have been soaked with sweat if not for the chill winds that howled over her. Her hair was tied back with a black silk kerchief to prevent it from blowing into the fire.
Seren carefully avoided thinking about what might happen if she fell. She leaned as close to the flame as she dared. The end of the wooden arm was singed black from one of the Cyran airship’s lightning blasts. The crystalline hook that secured the elemental to the airship was now webbed with tiny cracks.
“How is it?” Tristam asked. He stood directly below the hook, peering at it from all angles. The others looked up nervously with the exception of the captain, who was intent on the helm.
“It’s cracked pretty badly,” Seren said. Even as she spoke, the strut rocked, nearly shaking her off. She clung to it with arms and legs. A small shard of crystal splintered off the hook with a musical chime and disappeared on the wind.
“Khyber, the ring is coming loose,” Tristam swore. “Pherris, we need to land.”
The captain looked up at the ring fearfully. “If I put any more stress on the controls we’ll go down quick enough, tinker,” he said. “A steady course is all that’ll keep us alive now.”
“Well, good luck, everybody,” Gerith said, climbing on Blizzard’s back with a nervous grin. “If anybody wanted to pass on any last words, messages to loved ones, valuable possessions …”
Omax looked down at the halfling.
“Just trying to lighten the mood,” the halfling said. “Seriously, though. Good luck.
“Seren, try this,” Tristam said. He took a small bottle from one of his numerous pouches and tossed it up to her. She snatched it in one hand, looking at it curiously. It was a small, unlabeled black bottle with a long brush clamped to one side.
“It’s a bonding agent,” Tristam explained. “I use it for ship repairs. Just brush it on the hook!”
Seren nodded. She tried to remove the cap with her teeth, hugging the ship’s arm with one arm and both lags.
“Careful, Seren, it bonds in seconds,” Tristam said. “Don’t get any on yourself.”
She quickly took the bottle out of her mouth and decided instead to risk unscrewing it with both hands, clutching the strut with just her legs. The arm shuddered beneath her, nearly shaking her off again. Her heart hammered in her chest, but she held on. Quickly, she held the bottle out and dumped the contents over the hook. The liquid inside was thin and gooey, like syrup. She spread it over the cracks using the brush, or at least did for several seconds until the brush became firmly glued to the hook.
“The brush is stuck,” she said, looking down at Tristam.
“Then I guess it’s working,” Tristam said, his tone somewhat embarrassed. “I’m still working on that formula. As long as you spread it around consistently it should hold.”
Seren looked back at the hook. The glue had assumed a shiny, metallic sheen, coating the hairline cracks. The ship’s arm still shook, but a great deal less violently than before. Seren tossed the empty bottle over the side and rolled off the hook, hanging by one hand for a moment before dropping to the deck. Omax caught her easily and set her on her feet.
“Well done, Seren,” Dalan said, surprising her with his praise.
“Impressive climb,” Gerith added, looking up at the thin wooden arm in awe.