A Kender and a Bottle of Otik's Wine
Tasslehoff's POV
On the swaying deck of The Maverick Mermaid in a fury of sea foam and flashing white lightning, I danced with death in the blood-red Istar Sea. Amidst the chaos of sailors running across the deck and sea water spilling onto the deck, I was calm…aside from an eerie feeling. This eerie feeling became more prominent as I noticed that we were heading into the Maelstrom.
Didn't the helmsman or sailors notice we were heading into the whirlpool? They were probably all so busy running around that they hadn't noticed. Well, I didn't mind an opportunity to see the Maelstrom up close, but I thought I'd better tell someone.
"Excuse me," I called to warn one of the sailors, waving my arms to get his attention. The swirling eddy was getting closer, and Tanis had reminded me multiple times that not everyone was as adventurous as me…
I approached a man on the rigging, but before I could open my mouth…
"Kender!" the sailor cried in alarm, his hands slipping on the ropes and he accidentally released his hold on the rigging. He was washed overboard by a large wayward wave. The small cargo ship delivering precious minotaur wine lurched under the attack of another onslaught of increasingly violent waves.
Did I mention the nasty weather?
"Excuse me, but we're going into that whirlpool!" I shouted shrilly above the stormy din. Winds buffeted my diminutive face and pried at my frozen, slick fingers clutching on a tied down rope.
Ignoring my loud warnings, the sailors scurried around the slick deck, following their captain's bellows as he wrestled with the helm. Both he and his first mate strained to control it. The small-for-a-cargo ship began to veer away from certain doom. The loose knot below my hands unraveled from its post, sending me flying into the air. Minotaur and human sailors alike cursed as the main sail sagged.
'Wow, this is interesting! What a view!' I thought, spitting my long, chocolate hair that was held back in a high ponytail out of my mouth. I could see everything for miles, despite the pounding sheets of rain. Waves raged, spilling over the deck and reducing the crew man by man. Ominous iron clouds flashed with lightning. The Maverick Mermaid began to head toward the Maelstrom with an air of resigned fate.
I gasped as an oily purple tentacle crept from the water and snatched a hapless minotaur before whipping back into the turbulent ocean. "The Creature!" several men screamed. More curses stung my ears akin to the rain pelting my face as cutlasses were drawn, duties abandoned.
Creature? Oh yes, I had heard of The Creature! During the Cataclysm, the Kingpriest's arrogance angered the gods, who sent their fury down upon Istar. As a result, Istar the Beautiful sunk below the bloody sea—the water has been red ever since—and The Creature was to guard the sunken metropolis. The job was like eternal guard duty. How terribly boring that must be…
"Let me down!" I shouted to the scurrying men below, waving their weapons at the tentacles. "Someone?"
A blind feeler knocked into the main sail. I yelled with surprise as the titanic foremast toppled backwards, colliding with a smaller mast. Landing in a coil of rope beneath the sail, my brown eyes witnessed the captain hack off the tip of a menacing appendage. Black blood spurted on deck and an angry growling sounded from under the scarlet water. I gasped as two tentacles far larger than the others shot toward the heavens and slammed down onto the ship. I ran to the wheel and held on as The Creature split The Maverick Mermaid in half.
I stared at the tooth-filled razors in the maw of The Creature. 'Oh wow, Flint will never believe this! Or Caramon!' I told myself.
"Foolish sailors, did you believe I would allow you to pass?" a voice deep comparable to the sea boomed.
"Not really," I piped up loudly. "The helmsman just got a little drunk, that's all."
The first mate, clutching onto a snapped mast, gave me a nasty glare. "It's your fault he got drunk, kender! It was your filthy wine!"
"Otik's wine is the best in Krynn! He laughed and said minotaur wine was the best so I told him to try some of Otik's-" But my explanation was interrupted when the first mate was snatched away by a quick kraken limb. The tentacle's brother wrapped around me. It was rubbery, slimy, and wet. My fingers searched through my numerous pouches—what is a kender without them?—and found a vial of dark yellow liquid resembling an ogre's boogers.
I now hung suspended over the terribly large orifice. I frowned as I uncorked the stopper. 'Where did I get this? Oh! That red robe in Palanthas, Mistress Jenna!'
"I'm sorry, but I have to tell my friends about this before I die. I'll come back and you can kill me then," I apologized to The Creature, tossing back the liquid. It tasted like really bad eggs. A tingling sensation broke out all over my body. I was falling…falling closer and closer to the maw…
And landed face-first in an open grave. "Ow!" I exclaimed, rubbing my face.
"What are you doing in there?" called an astonished voice six feet above.
I stood up and waved, brushing soot off my wet clothing. "Oh, hello! My name is Tasslehoff Burrfoot, but my friends call me Tas. Can you get me out of here please?"