Chapter 10
Sailing for Adventure

…

Smoke rose from a small hut sitting in the middle of a reeking bog. In this hut sat a woman, hunched over a crystal orb, staring at images from hundreds of miles away.

"The western sea lanes," she mumbled to herself as she observed a trio of ships sailing up the coast.

On the deck of one of these ships she saw a man with tousled black hair and striking green eyes trading blows with a quarter staff against some cat girl. A faint red aura hung around the man.

"He must have it," she said.

She observed the dark-haired youth for a time. He wasn't terrible good with the staff. The cat girl appeared to be instructing him as she lithely dodged around his clumsy attacks. Yet despite how many times he missed or how many times she didn't, he never stopped getting back up.

It was an admirable determination, adorable really, "He is rather cute," she mused, "pity."

With a dismissive gesture the crystal went dark then flew into her bag. Briskly walking to her door, she stuck her head out and gave a sharp whistle before ducking back in to pack.

Throwing everything of value into her bag she was just finishing up when she heard the first body breach the water. Others quickly followed and by the time she'd collected everything and strode out the door they were coming in rapid succession.

Bloated decaying corpses slowly trudged from the water and began to line up on the semi-solid ground. She'd have to wait till they were all out before she could get underway herself.

An undead army really was so cumbersome.

…

"Come on, keep your guard up. That's it."

Harry wasn't so sure it was but at least he didn't get hit again.

Telling Merle he knew how to fight with a stick had been a mistake. She had proved in the first two minutes he was wrong, and in the following hours that he should really learn to keep his mouth shut.

It was the third day of their voyage and after thrashing him for hours the first day while laughing like a goon she'd decided she would teach him to do it right. This involved hitting him a lot, yelling about his guard and laughing like a goon. Whether or not he was actually learning anything was open to debate, even though he was getting hit less. But that could just mean she was getting bored.

He couldn't feel too bad about his situation though. He'd been beaten before, this at least was for a purpose, and he wasn't the only person suffering either.

While Ron had ingratiated himself among the crew by being not especially good at cards, Hermione had discovered the joys of being seasick and was bent over the rail next to Merle's friend Sorsha.

He glanced inconspicuously in their direction and received a rap across on the hand for his effort.

"Gawk later, focus!"

"I wasn't gawking," he protested.

"Oh! You hear that Sorsha? He totally wasn't gawking at you."

"Aww." The tone of her voice and the sound of cloth shifting demanded his attention, look they cried, you know you want to.

The strike came the moment he averted his eyes, but he was ready for it this time. He countered, turned, then swept Merle's feet out from under her.

The cat-girl went down with an undignified 'yipe'. When she looked up, she found the end of Harry's staff inches from her nose.

"Ha!" he declared triumphantly.

His sense of triumph vanished when he saw her smirk, followed by his sense of gravity. A moment later he was lying on his back staring up at the main sail wondering what the heck had happened.

"Ha, ha!" Merle declared from her position next to him, "Thought ya had me huh?"

"Yep."

The cat girl giggled then nimbly flipped over on top of him, "Gonna have to do better than that," she teased, nuzzling noses.

A quick peck on the beak and she bounced up and pranced off. Harry decided he was in a good position for a little contemplating and proceeded to stare at the sky while he waited for 'things' to calm down.

"Have fun?" asked Sorsha.

"He's a surprisingly fast learner," said Merle, joining her flirtatious friend at the rail.

"Cute too," said Sorsha, leering at the oblivious druid.

"A ship full of burly men and he's the one you want."

"Are you accusing me of having bad taste?"

"No," the cat-girl chirped, "I bet he'd be fun. Could make a nice toy if nothing else."

"What'd make a nice toy?" the bushy-haired girl stared blearily at the two women, barely cognizant.

Merle smiled at the seasick bard, an impish hint to the crook of her lip, "I was just thinking this ship would make such a nice toy, ya know. The way it bounces along the waves, up and down and up and down."

"Up and down and up and… oh no."

Merle chuckled wickedly at the sounds of partially digested oatmeal being hurled overboard.

"Merle! That wasn't very nice," Sorsha chastised giggling.

Merle just gave her big-eyed, I'm just a sweet innocent kitty look, and Sorsha burst out laughing.

"You're terrible," said Sorsha, "find somewhere else to sleep tonight. I have an itch that needs scratching."

"It has been three days," Merle observed to herself and the tragically heaving bard.

…

The ship bobbed to and fro as ships are want to do causing Harry to brace against the wall as he left Ron to his latest game of cards. He wasn't really checking on Ron, he was checking on Francis whom Ron was meant to be watching.

It seemed silly to need to watch the plush badger, but they'd let him go the first day on board and later found him in the food stores. How he'd gotten in there was a mystery but since Hermione was heaving chunks off the starboard bow and Hedwig had decided she was a sea hawk and gone fishing, the task of supervising the plush badger was left to the two of them.

He was just coming to the cabin he shared with Ron when a head poked out a few doors down.

"Harry." Never had his name sounded so good.

"Uh, hi Sorsha," he said, pathetically stumbling over his own tongue.

"Harry, could you come here for a second."

"Um, I could," he hedged, not trusting himself to go near the extremely attractive woman without doing something stupid.

"It's just, this thing." A timid blush colored her cheeks, "I can't do it myself. It needs a big strong man to handle it."

Now it was true he had resisted the allure of full grown Veela at a distance, not to mention frequent exposure to a quarter Veela at close range. But that had never stopped him from finding them attractive, quite to the contrary, and he found Sorsha very attractive.

"I, I um…"

"Harry, please." The pout was probably overkill and the fluttering lashes nearly made his heart flutter out his chest.

"Okay," he said weakly, stumbling down the hall to where she stood waiting, "uh, what did you…" he started to ask, only to be grabbed by the shirt and dragged into the room.

…

"Alright, how many?"

"Uh, one," said Ron.

"Gimme two," said Merle.

"Two for the kitty," said deckhand dealing.

"Speaking of, surprised to see you down her after midday. Don't you usually 'catnap' after lunch?"

Merle blew him a raspberry for the catnap crack before turning back to her cards, "Sorsha needed it."

"What, she needed a nap?" Ron asked while the others at the table exchanged looks.

"Weeeeeeell, she's definitely 'using' the bed. But I don't think she's sleeping. Where's your friend Harry by the way?"

Ron opened his mouth then paused as several pieces of information fell into place, certain assumptions were made and the only answer that explained why everyone was snickering was reached.

"That bastard!" And the whole table erupted into laughter.

…

Silently a door cracked open and a stealthy form slipped out, closing it behind. Standing with his back to the door, Harry was at a loss. He'd just… and with a girl, for over an hour. It was something he'd never even dared to dream before. He wanted to shout, holler and whoop and brag to everyone he knew.

"Well hello."

Instead he jumped like a startled cat.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," the big man said, only chuckling a little.

"You didn't, I mean I didn't I, I was um…"

"Oh, I know," he said, "I could hear you all the way down the hall."

Hearing that Harry began to reconsider how much he wanted to brag and decided doing his best tomato impression might be more appropriate.

"Was she good?"

Nope, blow it up, just make the whole head explode.

The big man laughed at his mortification, but it wasn't derisive, "You young ones are such fun to tease," he said, "but, it's fortunate I caught you. I've been meaning to speak with you."

"Me? Why?"

"I like to know a bit about the people I may have to trust my life with." Reasonable. Harry thought, "I've already spoken to your friend Ron at length. Jovial fellow."

That was one way to describe him.

"And your bard, uh, well I'm sure she's very nice when she can remain upright."

Harry snickered, "She's actually been kinda cranky lately. I'm sure this isn't helping."

"She wouldn't be the first person who ever swore off boats," he said, "come, let us have a drink and talk. From what your friend said, yours is a most interesting story."

Harry flinched a little as he followed the man down the hall, "Ron does like to, embellish," he said.

"Don't we all."

Harry smiled at the man's easy humor. It was nice being able to talk to someone older without having to decipher riddles or be wary of their personal baggage. Was this what normal people were like?

Harry was wondering this when he came to the open door and stopped.

"Is something wrong?"

Yes, he wanted to say though he'd no idea why. He saw nothing beyond the door that suggested danger and yet there was something, he couldn't describe.

"Weird," he said aloud then shook his head, "sorry. Not sure what that was about."

Moving forward, a single foot crossed the threshold.

…

The storm arrived without warning shortly before evening, sky rumbling a rolling bass as lightning leapt through inky black clouds. The wind had risen to frightful speeds and rain poured in heavy blinding sheets, pelting the Black Gull mercilessly.

At the helm, Captain Flynn stood stoic against the relentless beat of the elements. It was looking bad, but he'd see it through. He'd never failed to deliver a ship to port and he wasn't about to let a little bad weather ruin that perfect record. He couldn't vouch for the other two, he couldn't even see them anymore, but his ship would get through.

"Captain!" a crewman shouted rushing to the helm, "Sails are secure sir."

"Good man. What of the crew?"

"We almost lost a couple, but we managed to haul'em in before the waves got'em."

"Good. Give'em a shot a rum and see their relieved, no sense giving the waves another crack at'em tonight."

"Aye cap'n. What about you cap'n?"

"I'll be fine," he said, "no sense in…"

"Cap'n?" the crewman asked when his captain abruptly cut off.

"By the gods!" the captain cursed.

The crewman turned to see what had his captain speaking in such a manner and nearly collapsed at the sight. A massive shape, visible even in the inky blackness between lightning flashes, moved with serpentine grace.

"Is that a…" he couldn't even bring himself to say it.

"It is," the captain assured him. "Get those guards up here now. I don't know what good they'll be against that but…"

Yeah, but, thought the crewman. It was about to be all their butt's.

…

Swimming, he was swimming in darkness. Pressure, weight, it was dragging him, down, down. Something was calling. He could feel it pulling, calling, beckoning.

Harry faded into muddled consciousness to a blurry indistinct world, "Where am I?"

"He's awake."

A shuffle of movement, then his glasses were slid over his face and the world clarified.

"Is that better?"

Sorsha hovered in his vision, staring down at him with concern. He tried to move and instantly regretting the action, flopping back down with a groan.

"What happened?"

"You ran afoul of my wards."

The big man appeared in his vision and placed a damp cloth over his forehead, "How do you feel?"

"Crummy," he grumbled, which made the big man laugh.

"This is no laughing matter," Sorsha chastised.

"If his sense of humor is still intact, he'll be fine." Harry smiled a little at the big man's assessment, "And better I'd imagine, without that malignant bit of spirit clinging to you."

"Spirit?" Say what now.

"Mm, yes, my wards are meant to protect against malevolent spirits. They detected the one clinging to you and fought to remove it. Its tether was weak, but it clung tenaciously, that's why you feel so awful. That battle was fought within your body."

"Wonderful," Harry groaned.

"You will be fine," he said. "Now that you are awake, I am confident of that."

Harry was glad to hear it, though it was a small balm to his aching everything. Fortunately, he hadn't long to dwell on it before Merle burst in and shouted, "Sea Dragon!"

The cabin was silent, until, "What's a sea dragon?" Harry asked.

"Death," the man said.

"Oh." Wonderful.

"What the hell is one of those things doing this close to shore," shouted Sorsha.

"Is that unusual?" Harry asked, understanding yet unable to feel the panic of the others.

"Sea dragons are deep sea creatures," said Merle, clinging to the doorframe for support, "Sorsha, the captain wants us all. Vargas, that means you too."

"I am ready," he said, sliding on his helmet with a metallic ding.

"That was fast."

The massive man stood in full shining plate armor. A sword gripped in one hand, a shield in the other, "Shall we?"

Harry grunted as he fought to sit up and Sorsha rushed to his side, "Harry no, you should rest."

"If we're all about to die, I'll do it on my feet," he said. "I can lie down after."

Vargas chuckled which only made Sorsha scowl. This too did nothing to detract from her beauty. Such a cute scowl.

The boat shook violently as they staggered through the hall. Out on deck a hurricane screamed, pelting the boards with fists of hail and sheet after sheet of frigid rain.

If not for its tremendous size it would have been impossible to even glimpse the sea dragon, but Harry did. In that moment he understood what the others were so afraid of. It towered over the ship, dwarfing the tallest mast, eyes glowing like a cat, and Harry had the strangest sense they were staring right at him.

The beast opened its mouth and fired a powerful concentrated blast of water. The group all ducked just in time, the blast taking out a chunk of the ship instead.

"HOLY SHIT!"

"We're all gonna die," Merle cried.

The sea dragon seemed to agree and lined up another shot. The blast came but they didn't die. Vargas stood at the head of the group, shield glowing with holy power, holding back the aqueous onslaught.

"Seems our funeral will be delayed," said Sorsha, flame sprouting from her hands and climbing to her elbows.

When the sea dragon stopped to take a breath Sorsha attacked, pelting it with exploding fireballs. They didn't do much. The rain made even magical fire ineffective and against something so massive, it was like an ant trying to wrestle an elephant.

"That's not working," shouted Merle. "What else we got?"

"I can tank one more of the water blasts but that's it," said Vargas.

"We're done. We're really done Harry… Harry?"

But Harry wasn't listening, not to the hysterical cat girl anyway. There was something on the wind. A voice? A presence. He was barely standing, maybe delusional, but he could feel It beckoning, calling to something deep and primal, elemental. It was coming.

"Harry? Harry?"

The druid looked to the frightened feline and placed his hand on her shoulder, "Merle, MOVE!"

He gave the cat girl a hard shove just before the sky lit up and a stream of lightning descended.

The other three were thrown back by the clap of thunder that exploded when the lightning swallowed Harry up. Even the sea dragon recoiled from the angry finger from the heavens that reached down to touch the young man from another world.

When the lightning withdrew, Harry remained, eyes glowing gold, a crackling aura of electricity surrounding him. The sea dragon observed the phenomenon for a moment then prepared to resume its attack.

Power surged from Harry's open hands before the beast could open its mouth. Volts untold coursed through the serpentine water dragon. Where fire had failed, lightning more than succeeded. The sea dragon screamed and flailed but it could not escape.

Reaching up to the sky when the serpent refused to just die already, Harry called power right out of the storm. Angry hands grabbed at the sea dragon with such elemental ferocity it only took a few seconds and the great serpent sank lifeless below the waves.

Stillness followed its departure, the eye of the storm allowing them a moments respite and a chance to collect themselves.

"Harry? Are you alright?" the cat girl asked the boy with the glowing eyes.

"I…" he said, before the glow faded and he crumpled to the deck.