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I left and returned to my quarters. I spent the rest of the night in reverie. The entire crew was summoned to the deck at sunrise. Even the sauhuagin and flying elf were there, standing with the rest of the crew. The diminutive captain stood on a box with the minotaur towering over him. Both studied the crew intently before the captain spoke.
"We are after the Silver Fish. She carries our pay, boys!"
The crew cheered. I, along with Sssrack and Jovin remained quiet however. The anticipation of battle did course through my veins. Other than training with the weapons master of my house, and the colossal first mate Garak, I had yet to wield my blades. The captain dismissed the crew to their stations and stepped off the box he was standing upon. Garak leaned down and opened the box, revealing a mass of purple fabric. Each crewman took a piece and tied it to their arms or legs or head. Curious, I asked Garen.
"Ease of identification. Hard to tell your friends from enemies in the thick of battle." He cocked his head a bit, and smirked. "Of course, there are some on this ship that don't need them."
I blinked, at first not understanding. Then I saw Jovin unfurl his wings and take to the air, purple fabric tied to a boot. "Ahh...I understand." Still, I took a strip and wrapped it around my arm.
Two days later found the Vagabond and her crew moving swiftly over the waves. I must admit that I had never experienced such an exhilarating feeling. From the riggings, I could see for miles in any direction. Of course, there was nothing to see. The captain seemed to know exactly where the Silver Fish would be. The word was passed to the crew to prepare. I did not understand, but made my way to the deck, armed myself and joined the boarding group to which I was assigned.
Time passed, and I could tell the crew was becoming agitated, at least the humans were. Humans, I quickly learned, were very short on patience. I assume it was due to their rather short lifespan. Suddenly, from the sky a boatswain's whistle pierced the air. I, along with the crew looked up. Perched on the top mast was Jovin, pointing out to sea. We looked, and there on the horizon was a silhouette of a ship. Falco quickly moved to the side of the ship and tapped on a metal bar that ran from the deck rail to beneath the surface of the water. A few moments later, Sssrack's head broke the surface and spoke in its watery tongue to the captain. He nodded then turned to the gnomes.
"Prepare for intercept, prep the crew, then set your protection spells." He ordered.
The two gnomish wizards nodded their ascent, then turned and moved quickly to a platform behind the wheel. They began casting in their own language. Almost instantly, a gust of wind came up and filled the sails. The ship lurched forward and quickly attained an incredible speed. Another casting and a wave of energy flowed over myself and the crew. I felt stronger, and more confident of the outcome. The two cast another spell, but I saw no immediate effect.
It became obvious that the Silver Fish was acutely aware of her peril. The ship immediately turned to run with the wind. She had a wizard, but not one capable of making their ship outrun ours. It was perhaps an hour before we could see the crew of the Fish, and they were in an obvious state of panic. Archers were on her rails, and occasionally an arrow would be fired towards us in an attempt to gauge distance.
The Vagabond's own archers moved up to stand along the side of the ship. As we closed the distance a fireball was launched from their wizard. It hurtled towards us and hit an invisible barrier, dissipating its energy. Another came, then another, each with the same result. When we were in range, Garak gave the order to loose arrows. A small black cloud leapt from the deck and flew through the air, coming down onto the smaller ship. Screams could be heard as the arrows pierced shields and bodies, pinning hapless sailors to the deck.
"PREPARE BORDERS!" Shouted the minotaur.
I gripped the hilts of my blades in anticipation as we drew alongside. Archers traded fire, more of theirs falling back than those of the Vagabond. As the two ships passed each other, the lead borders hurled grappling hooks towards the other ship. The ropes attached to those that caught hold were pulled tight, and the two ships were drawn together. The two ships came together with a grating sound, and we attacked. I leapt over the railing and landed on the deck of the Silver Fish. Immediately I was attacked by two sailors, wielding rusty blades. One dropped his blade and fled as I shoved my shortsword into the stomach of the other. As he dropped, I used one of my innate magical abilities and the fleeing sailor was lined in faerie fire. He screamed and jumped overboard. As I searched for another opponent, I heard screams coming from where the man had jumped. The cries of the man were cut of abruptly, and a moment later, Sssrack climbed over the railing, blood dripping from his massive maw and stiletto like claws.
The battle was a rout. Within moments, the remaining crew of the Silver Fish had been defeated. The captain of the ship surrendered his blade to Falco, and the remaining crew were put to sea in the life boats. A We collected our dead and returned to the Vagabond as a small portion of our own crew took control of the Silver Fish and started to sail away.
Such was the way of life on the open waters. We hunted, chased down, and looted ships. Over the months I tried to discern a pattern to the ships that Falco chose to attack, but my lack of knowledge of the surface worlds severely hampered that effort. I remained vigilant, however, and absorbed everything I could about life on the surface. When we docked, I spent much of my time on the Vagabond, as did Sssrack and Jovin. Falco assured me that in the safe havens the pirates of the seas called home that I and the others would be welcomed, but I chose to disbelieve that. Garak, on the other hand, had no problems going ashore. Instead, I remained in my quarters and read. I had amassed a rather extensive collection of books from the ships we looted. Most of what I read centered around magic, and magical anomalies. I had not forgotten what happened outside of Menzobarrenzan with the gnolls.
I used my growing knowledge of magic and watched the gnome wizards cast. I emulated their motions, and repeated their words, carefully notating them in my own books. A few times I successfully cast a spell. It was not unlike the clerical spells I had learned to cast in Arach-Tinilith. Only these were not granted to me by a fickle deity. While I did enjoy slaying my enemies with blades, it was clumsy and not very effective. My skills with the swords were decent, but if I were ever to take revenge on my house and Lolth, I was going to need more. I was going to need magic. I made my choice that night. I needed to leave the Vagabond.