Sons of Ironstorm - Book 4: Griffon's Stand

Close Call

Built in the form of a giant teardrop, the island's main harbor bulge provided the moorage where Isile'vorudun's river war fleet sat at anchor. Here too were the buildings containing Dani'cheris' navy offices, training centers and supply posts. From them and the heavy stone wall built to protect the island's delta mud foundation from weather surging into the harbor from the west, were the great jetties, massive stone fingers that reached deep into the deep waters of the harbor to provide actual tie up points for the fleet.

Encapsulating the entire harbor was a thick stone wall nearly five lengths high that marched around its entire perimeter, complimented at strategic points by guard towers. The harbor mouth, the truncated tip of the tear drop that opened into the westward flowing waters of the river, was further guarded by twin fortresses sitting across from each other at the wall's western most ends. From these castles a lethal barrage could be launched against any ship attempting to enter the harbor, if it managed to get past the massive chain that could be winched into place between the castles to block the entrance. Escaped from Dani'cheris' dungeons by force of magic and a great deal of luck, as well as the opportune defection of her eldest daughter, these castles would be the last obstacle to be defeated before the company could truly be free.

Even as Lawrence and Mram'met raced the last few paces down to the northern most jetty where Dani'isis' escape ship, a slender muraan sloop, was moored, alarm bells began ringing in those fortresses and lights began to appear on their shadowy bulks.

"C'mon, c'mon!" Will waved the two males on from the sloop's stern with desperate swings of his arm, the heavy scent of estuarial water mixing with raw sewage to fill Lawrence's nostrils with a clammy and oily miasma, strengthening with each running stride towards the boat. By sea lanterns hung fore and aft, he could see the sloop's crew, muraan loyal to Dani'isis, frantically work to get the vessel ready for immediate departure, unfurling sails and winching anchors up out of the water.

It was by their warm light that he also caught sight of the narrow gangplank lifting from the jetty's stone deck to an access door opened in the sloop's gunwales. Making the gangplank his goal, Lawrence put his head down and charged hard for the narrow wooden ramp. Beside him, Mram'met did the same, having caught sight of the gangplank nearly at the same time. The two went step for step with each other, not breaking stride even when the sloop's mooring lines were cast off to splash heavily into the water, leaving the gangplank the only thing holding the sloop in place.

And that, not for long; as soon as the sails were pulled into place, the weak southeast breeze would be enough to pull the sloop away from the jetty and out into the harbour's heart waters. Then they were down off the final approach and pounding along the jetty deck towards the sloop. Several shades later they reached the foot of the gangplank, rasping softly as it was pulled along the deck by the sloop slowly pulling away from the jetty.

"You first," Lawrence curtly ordered, twisting around to take several black lightning forks on the sword and axe, the deflected blasts snarling as they ripped into the stone of the jetty deck. Running after the two fleeing mortals, the demon had reached the jetty's shore end and, its pale face hovering ghostlike above its black-sheathed body, it launched a desperate attack in a bid to stop the escape. Only reflex and Wielder senses warned of the black lightning's slashing approach, their substance hidden in the evening's deep gloom.

A second and a third attack were deflected before Lawrence, sensing the gangplank close to dropping into the water and thereby stranding him, hurled himself up the narrow wooden ramp. A surge of Wielder strength and speed allowed him to leap the final few paces, the big human clearing the ramp to drop face first onto the deck just as the gangplank dropped off the jetty and into the water with a splash, its near end flipping up and out of the access port before disappearing. Above him the sails, now fully unfurled, filled with a 'crack' of stretching canvas and the sloop jumped away from the jetty.