Mighty storm was raging outside of King Richard's cabin and the violent rocking of the ship was making him sick. He hated sailing since it always reminded him about his flight to mainland when members of the house of Lancaster were about to kill the Yorkists.
The sea had always been hostile at him and it made no difference on this time although he was not escaping from the Lancastrians.
Richard had agreed to visit personally some distant kingdoms which were allied with him and suddenly a great storm had laid its anger upon of them. It had been too late for them to turn back so had to face its rage. The sailors were shouting on the deck and sometimes their voices drowned under the roar of the thunder. Heavy rain was hammering the cabin's windows and for a moment Richard thought that it was about to break the glass.
He kneeled down on the floor and prayed God and all His saints to their aid.
- O Heavenly Father please lay your protective hand upon us and keep us save.
Then he heard that the lookout had spotted some land at the side of starboard but it couldn't be the eastern coast, they were still too far away. Richard prayed in his mind that the captain would change the course since the storm was not about to settle down.
He didn't care what land it might be but if it could offer a sanctuary to them he was more than willing to take it.
Soon he felt that the ship was turning and he thanked the captain for changing the course.
Eventually the raging storm left them alone and movement of the waves calmed down.
Richard stayed in his cabin for some time until he was sure that it was safe to go on to the deck.
The sky above of them was coal black and air was damp.
Men were still running up and down on the deck lighting up the lanterns now when the storm had faded away.
- I have never seen that island in any of my maps, said the captain when Richard joined him.
- What island could it be then?
- I have no idea your grace.
- Can we land on it?
- Let's hope so since the storm caused us plenty of damage.
Soon they reached sheltered bay of the island where it was safe to drop the anchor.
Some of the sailors took a small boat and they rowed to the beach after they had investigated some of their surroundings they gave a signal to the ship that it was safe to come.
Richard had never been happier to set his foot on solid ground.
Soon ratcheting campfire was on and its flames gave men the warmth they yearned for.
- Tomorrow we should investigate this island bit further if we could find something to repair the ship, captain suggested.
No one had anything against that and with this plan in their minds the men laid themselves to rest and soon they all fell asleep.
Richard woke up early on the next morning when the sound of marching men came into his dream.
He opened his eyes and saw a group of armed men marching towards of them.
Right away he was on his feet and shouted to his comrades to wake up since they were not alone anymore.
The men pulled out of their weapons and were ready to defend on themselves.
The captain of the guard to the soldiers to halt and he approached Richard. Richard didn't recognize the coloring of their uniforms or their flag, the ruler which these men were serving was totally stranger to him.
When the captain of the guard got closer to Richard his face grew pale. Quickly he made a deep bow and apologized the sudden disturbance.
- I'm truly sorry my noble lord that we appeared to you such dishonorably, he babbled.
Richard lowed down his sword and the other followed his example, it seemed that these soldiers were not about to harm them.
- Apology accepted my good man, could you please tell us where we are, Richard asked.
- You are at the island of Azrolion my lord. Please let us escort you to see your noble brother, I'm sure he'll be most pleased to see you at least.
This left Richard puzzled, what was the captain saying? A noble brother, who was he talking about? All of his brothers were long dead.
However he decided to follow the soldiers, they would surely show the way to the town where they could get help to repair their ship.