A west wind sped the two ships of the expedition out to sea at a better than expected speed. The coast of Malminar dwindled quickly and disappeared behind the horizon even before darkness fell. The following wind continued, if a bit weaker, after darkness fell.

Full dark found Rishmond on deck after the evening meal along with Tybour and the otter-man Wizard Teilmein. Teilmein had asked to see Rishmond perform some spells as he was curious to see for himself the strength and proficiency he'd heard about from the Wizard's Council but not seen himself.

"Can we start with some light spells, Rishmond?  Just to get started. How about a controlled light for an open area. Can you light up this part of the deck?" Teilmein gestured to the open area of the poop deck, free of anyone but the three of them.

"Of course," said Rishmond respectfully. A simple spell that would be easy to control. He gestured slightly and a sphere of light bloomed three meters above the deck, its light flooding down on the deck in a wide beam that illuminated the entire area, but stayed within the established confines.

"Very nice! And you seem to have no problems with control! Not many students your age would have that much control."

"Let's show him some colors, Rishmond," said Tybour. "How about blue..."

Rishmond shifted the color of the light from sunlight yellow to a bright blue.

"Now red..."

The light smoothly shifted to red, painting all three men in the color of blood.

"Green..."

Rishmond shifted the color to a bright grassy green. The smell of the spell to Rishmond was of pine wood burning cleanly, the shifting of color changed the taste from crisp, cold lettuce to crisp, cold cabbage and then the taste settled back to lettuce again.

"Spots of all the colors of the rainbow..." Tybour seemed intent on having Rishmond impress Teilmein.

"Impressive, young Rishmond! Very well done! Can you hold it against another Wizard attempting to extinguish it?"

"Yes, sir. Tybour taught me how."

"Very well.  I will start easy and move on until I extinguish it, are you ready?"

"Yes, sir."

Rishmond smelled and tasted the magic from Teilmein before he felt the slight easy pressure attempting to stop his spell, the smell of licorice and mud and the taste of salt and licorice, a taste Rishmond actually quite enjoyed. The pressure began to increase, very slowly. Rishmond had no trouble resisting the pressure, not directly fighting it, but sort of shunting it aside from the light so that the pressure moved sideways instead of reducing the size of the light until it snuffed out.

The pressure began to increase quicker now, ramping up until Rishmond had to actually add strength to the light spell to keep it from sliding away and going out. He pushed back against the otter-man's magic and the contest of magical strength began for real.

Long moments passed in silence with little outside indicators that anything was occuring at all until Teilmein raised one hand toward the ball of light hanging in the air and began to appear strained as he poured more and more magic into his spell to put out the light. Lotret began to spark in the air as the little Wizard drew on both free magic and the lode magic deep within Rit. Rishmond stood still and watched the otter-man. Teilmein was strong, but not near as strong as Tybour. Rishmond shot Tybour a questioning look. Should he let Teilmein win this contest? Tybour shook his head indicating that Rishmond was to do his utmost to prevent the light from going out.

The pressure increased against Rishmond's ball of light and Rishmond responded in kind, pushing back in equal measure. Several minutes passed and the pressure suddenly ceased as Teilmein let out a gasp and dropped his arm, he was panting now as if he'd run a long distance.

"Oh... My...," Teilmein said through his heavy breathing. "I guess the reports are true. And here you seem no more tired than if you were just... out for an evening walk."

"I apologize if I put you out, sir," said Rishmond. "I hope you didn't overexert yourself. Are you Ok?"

Teilmein leaned against the railing around the deck. "Yes, of course young man. This is not my first time testing a young Wizard and I have been tiring myself out from time to time for many years now. I was surprised by your strength given your age, but should have know a Wizard of your potential is being trained by one of Tybour's strength."

Teilmein paused for a minute and appeared to catch his breath. Rishmond was impressed at how quickly he recovered. His assessment of this mild seeming Wizard rose by several notches.

"So, tell me Tybour. How does his strength measure truely up to yours?

Tybour appeared uncomfortable for just a moment before answering. "To be honest, his strength in magic surpasses mine. As to how much will remain to be seen since he is still developing, but I would say he is going to be the strongest Wizard of this age. He learns fast and is easy to teach, for the most part."

Rishmond looked away from Tybour and Teilmein, slightly embarrassed at the praise. He transitioned the color of the light back to a warm yellow and lowered its intensity then he set it, like Tybour had taught him so he didn't have to concentrate on it but it would stay around for hours. He moved closer to Teilmein and sat cross legged on the deck to his right. The ship was passing smoothly through the water and the waves were minimal but as he sat the ship jolted a bit tossing the deck up and down. Teilmein grabbed onto the railing to keep himself from stumbling around before lowering himself to a cross-legged sitting position as well, close to the railing with one arm slung through the lower rung to keep himself steady.  Tybour sat with his knees pulled up to his chest and his arms wrapped around them, facing Teilmein.

"You know, this is my first time aboard a ship. I've never been to sea. I have traveled around Malminar a bit, all the way to Politan and Yamien as well as a tour of the arcadious processing facilities in the mountains west of Politan. Trips of curiosity and research, but this is my first voyage on the ocean. The movement of the ship takes some getting used to." He laughed a small laugh at himself. "Kind of odd for a beastman of the Otter clan, wouldn't you say Rishmond?"

Rishmond raised both eyebrows and looked at the Wizard, not entirely sure how to respond. "Sir, there are many who have never been aboard a ship and many who have never been far from home, so I would not call it odd at all."

"Ah, a diplomatic answer and a caring one." Teilmein smiled at Rishmond, an odd thing on his decidedly otter-like face. "I know your story, where you came from and the state of relations between beastmen and humans there. It was wrong of me to put you in a situation to respond to my feelings about what is odd for a beastman or not. I did not mean to make you uncomfortable."

"You did not, Wizard Teilmein. I just don't think it is odd at all. We are all made of what we are made of, our parents, our experiences, and we must accept all of that and live our lives according to the best way we know how, always striving to do our best for ourselves and those around us."

"Well, I am glad Beritrude's teachings are as well received by you as those given by Tybour here." Teilmein waved a hand at Tybour cutting off his protest. "Nothing against you Tybour, but you are not known as a sensitive, feeling kind of man, and that is Ok.  We all have our part to play."

"Now then, Rishmond, what else do you know? What other things has Tybour taught you that he probably should not have?"

Rishmond rushed to defend his friend, " Tybour would never teach me anything he's not supposed to. He's First Mage and an honorable man!"

"It's alright, Rishmond," said Tybour. "Teilmein is a friend and is aware, acutely," Tybour grinned at Teilmein, "that I sometimes play a little outside the rules. And while he isn't pleased, as long as I try to stick to the intent of the laws, then bending the rules a bit for a purpose is acceptable."

"Tybour is right. Sometimes bending some rules is acceptable, but the privilege should not be abused.  Just be cause you can get away with it, does not mean you should press your luck." Teilmein suddenly looked as if he'd just remembered something important.

"Ah. Rishmond. That reminds me to ask you about what I heard described as nothing less than the God's own luck. I know you have been made aware of your luck and its origins. Has your awareness of it changed it at all? Do you feel it when it happens or know when it is about to be... activated, for lack of a better word?"

"I know I am lucky, and I know now that it is due to my ability to use magic, but I am not aware of how, or when. I just know that generally things will work out, and even when something happens that seems unlucky at the time, like my being conscripted into the crew of the Dutchess' Teat, it will always end up being lucky somehow.  If I hadn't been conscripted, I would still be in Mott," he said the name of the city as if it were a distasteful thing and the very name left a bad taste in his mouth, "homeless, friendless and much worse off than I am now."

"I see. Well, as much as we have tried to keep the knowledge of your incredible magic luck under wraps, it appears that rumors still abound about it.  I suppose that is to be expected." Teilmein looked out into the blackness over the ocean, made that much more black by the continuing light overhead.

"So, what else have you learned? I ask because as a professor at the Queen's University, your continued education while on this expedition will fall to me. With," he held up one had to forestall any protests from Rishmond, "the help and cooperation of Tybour here and others. Swordsmanship and like skills will fall to Tybour, Haningway and Ueet. I believe Master Bantore also has some lessons in martial combat and survival for you. I will concentrate on your more cerbrial skills, all those things Beritrude and your teachers at the school were doing while you were home. I think you will find your days full for the trip, so do not worry that you will be bored at all." The smile on his face turned decidedly mischievous.

"Tell him what you know and can do, Rishmond. You needn't hold anything back, he is a friend and can be trusted with any of our secrets." Tybour's serious look removed any doubts from Rishmond's mind.

"Alright. I've learned much with Tybour and the school. I know the history of Malminar from when Queen Emberly Malminar found the cave with the Staff of Ceitus in it and created Malminar Castle to when acradious fruit was discovered and turned into the primary..."

Teilmein interrupted Rishmond with a wave of his hand. "No, no, sorry Rishmond. I didn't make myself clear, I apologize. I want to know what magic you know. What spells can you perform."

An odd thunk followed by a scrape and more thunks sounded from the direction of the ladder from the main deck to the poop deck. A few moments later the shiny hard form of Torg climbed to the deck and walked in his odd waddling, rolling manner toward Rishmond. The golem nodded somberly toward first Tybour and then toward Teilmein before settling to the deck in a seated position, arms out and slightly to the side, their long length allowing him to support himself against the rolling of the deck. He turned his head toward Rishmond as if he was already listening to Rishmond speak.

"I have learned and mastered all of the basic spells taught to advanced students when they are identified as candidates for the University. I can perform them all to Tybour's standard and from memory. I have also mastered all of the first year and second year University standard spells and can perform those to Tybour's standards as well and from memory. Tybour has taught me the seven protection spells taught to all Phoenix Company Wizards and I can perform them to Tybour's standards and beyond. I am most proud of my ability to extend all the protection spells to an area roughly 10 meters square, allowing me to protect a number of people besides myself from various dangers to include projectiles, fire, cold, corrosion and other dangers."

Rishmond paused for a moment at a sound from Torg, like the clearing of a throat. 

"You are indeed a worthy Wizard master. Even I am impressed."

Rishmond smiled at the golem and continued. "Tybour tells me it is rare to have, but I have the ability to smell and taste spells as they are cast, perhaps even a small moment before they are cast. Tybour tells me only a handful of Wizards today possess this skill."

The look on Tybour's face could be nothing other than pride, as if he'd made Rishmond himself.

"I also have a number of offensive spells, such as throwing things with great force, binding and the force blast."

"Tybour!" Teilmein exclaimed. "He's just a boy! Teaching him such magic is highly unusual! What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking the same thing the King and Elle were thinking, he's gonna need to know how to protect himself and likely sooner rather than later. You know his power is going to attract the wrong kind of attention and I would rather he know how and be able to protect himself than worry about his age. Elle knows and, though I can't say she approves, she didn't forbid it. The King also knows and agrees with me."

"Tybour has also begun to teach me to create a Wizard's portal, but I haven't mastered that yet." Rishmond thought this news would distract Teilmein from the offensive spells issue.

"Ok. I understand where you are Rishmond, there will be some more testing and then we will concentrate more on utility and defence and less on anything offencive. I agree that you need to know how to defend yourself, but some of the offensive spells can be very dangerous without the proper restraint. Tybour tells me you have great control, so maybe as we see exactly what you can do, we can revisit that as we spend more time together. This expedition is going to be fairly short, but lets see where we can get in the time we have. Are you game, young man?" Teilmein's tone was serious and sincere and Rishmond found himself liking the man.

"So, Rishmond, when does the exhaustion hit you? Has Tybour taken it that far and explained what that can do to you?" Teilmein took on the role of a teacher long in the profession and well versed in stubborn students and difficult subjects.

"Yes, sir," Rishmond responded automatically to the authority assumed by Teilmein. "I have encountered what Tybour tells me is the exhaustion three times since he began training me. We have not done that in school at all. The Honorable Wizard Ele Walsing did take me there once during evaluation. Tybour tells me that I have the same threshold he does for now. I gathered from Wizard Ele Walsing's reaction that my threshold was higher than she expected."

Teilmein looked over at Tybour as if for confirmation and Tybour nodded in affirmation with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

"Ok.  Good do know what we are working with. Tomorrow while we are safe at sea we will measure your limit again, I hope that will not be too much of an issue for you. The recovery period can be quite scary for a young Wizard. You will be well looked after by those here. Would you be up for that?"

"Yes, sir."

"Alright," said Teilmein as if a final conclusion had been drawn and he was ready to move on to something else. "Mister Torg, I understand that the method for the creation of something like yourself is lost to us after the Blessing, at least the construction of a golem is not know to any Wizard in Malminar. Can you enlighten us as to the method used to create you, or do you know of the location of manuscripts and arcane writings that could help us recover this lost technology?"

"Please, Wizard Teilmein, just Torg if you would. I would be happy to tell you everything I know about my construction and the construction of golems in general. I do not have any specific record of my own creation, but I do have general instructions and knowledge, and as to the location of a library of books that could help, I can provide the location of Denisisie's retreat located near to Retinor."

Both Teilmein and Tybour were suddenly very interested in what Torg was saying. 

"A retreat?"

"Near Retinor?"

The two of them talked over each other, each wanting all the information Torg could provide about Denisisie's retreat.

"What? How near Retinor?" Tybour asked over the top of Teilmein asking, "A library? A God's library?"

"Tell us about this library, Torg," said Tybour finally. "I assume this is on the island not far north of Retinor, the one we have made off limits due to the number of people killed there by the protections placed on it? The caves and tunnels below the island?"

"Yes, Wizard Tybour. This is where Denisisie spent much of her time and I with her and is the place I was left to look after. Before I was mysteriously deactivated and apparently swept into the sea for my eventual arrival where Wizard Rishmond and friends found me." Torg's delivery was flat and unemotional but caused Rishmond to search Tybour's face for signs of suspicion. "Denisisie kept her books there, a majority of them anyway, as well as her records and histories of the Gods. She has a workshop there, a lab of sorts where she designed ritual spells for the Gods as well as new spells, protections and delved into the theoretical aspects of magic."

"What a treasure trove of information that must be!" gushed Teilmein. "What we could learn there! Can we access it Torg? Can you get us into that library and would it be forbidden by Denisisie for us to read and use the books in this library?" Teilman was beyond excited. An entire library of a God, intact and accessible! "How wonderful!"

"No one will be able to access it until I get back to it and turn off the protections. When we find the Gods, we can inquire of Denisisie if she will allow some of you, or any of you, access to the library and its contents. To date only  Ris... I mean to date no mortal has accessed the library since the time you call the Blessing."

Tybour raised one eyebrow at Torg and then at Rishmond. "Only Rishmond? To date only Rishmond what, Torg?" Tybour stood and crossed his arms, his eyes fixed on Rishmond in an accusing manner.

"I am sorry. I did not want to offend anyone here. To date only Rishmond has proven worthy enough for me to admit to the inner sanctum and the library without further instruction from Denisisie. I did not want to imply that perhaps either of you were other than worthy. No tests have been administered as yet, so I cannot say. Please forgive me, Wizard Tybour, Wizard Teilmein."

Tybour eyed the golem, assessing the likelihood that an artificial being would lie to him. He seemed to think for a moment before turning back to Rishmond. "Rishmond, I would hate to think that my friendship with you means so little that you wouldn't trust me with something as important as where you actually found Torg. I know you, and I know your group of friends. I would not be surprised if you and Cantor got up to something like taking a boat to a forbidden island and risking your lives to explore it. I would be concerned, but not surprised. Would you care to tell me what actually happened?"

Rishmond looked up at Tybour, feeling very much at a disadvantage with him standing over him. He contemplated for just a moment on what to say, wanting to tell Tybour the truth but not wanting to betray his friends. Finally he made a decision. "We did go to the island and went to the library. We didn't mean to find Torg, and we didn't want to lie about it, but we didn't want to be grounded by our parents, or get into loads of trouble for going to the island..." Rishmond looked away from Tybour, careful to not look at Teilmein at all.

Rishmond spent the next hour telling the truth about how they found Torg and answering questions from Tybour and Teilmein. The storm began to roll in as they wrapped up their conversation.

"This stays between us for now," said Tybour as the waves continued to grow and the ship began to buck in a response. "No need for anyone else to know and there is nothing we can do about it for now. Eventually," and he once again speared Rishmond with a look, "Hal and Berti will be told. But that is for when we return. Finding the Gods and bringing them back to us will go a long way toward softening the blow of this news. When we return we will also be visiting this library to see what we can find there. For tonight, let's call it an evening and get some sleep. It looks like a storm is brewing and we should get below decks anyway. Tomorrow we start early on your continued training, Rishmond."

Torg headed to the stairs back to the main deck and began to descend before the rest of the, followed closely by Teilmein. At the head of the stairs Tybour placed a hand on Rishmond's shoulder and held him back for a moment. "I know why you did it, and I can't blame you. I think you did the right thing, but that is just between you and I. We will have to play this carefully when others like Ele find out. There will be questions. I recommend we tell everyone the deception was your idea and that you convinced the others to go along with you. That will put all the heat on you, but as the person Torg is bonded to, you will likely receive less in the way of repercussions. Square it with Cantor as soon as you can so she doesn't blow the story, and stick to the truth as much as you can for everything else."

Rishmond was pleased that his friend was not actually disappointed in him, that it was an act put on for Teilmein's sake. He reached back with his mind and found the flow keeping the light above brightly lit and terminated it. The sudden dark broken only by the dim lanterns hung fore and aft hung heavy as Rishmond descended the stairs. Lightning broke the dark of the clouds above in the near distance, the low rumble of the thunder took several seconds to reach the ship as a distant quiet sound.

Rishmond caught up with Torg as he made his way across the now rolling deck. The little golem seemed to have little issue with his footing as the deck heaved with the increasing storm waves. He overtook Torg and reached the low door to the interior of the ship, turned the handle and opened the door outward, stepping aside for Torg to enter the warm lit hall beyond. 

Rishmond pulled the door shut behind him, securing it with the large lever handle. The light was warm and golden, the brass lamps along the hall shown steady and bright, but not nearly as bright as the light Rishmond had produced outside. The small portholes along the outside wall of the hallway were ink black, interrupted only by the silver flash of distant lightning from the storm. Illiar leaned there against one wall, arms crossed under her breasts, an inscrutable look on her face. She tilted her head a bit to one side and both her ears twisted forward toward Rishmond. "Hey. You three plotting and scheming together? Finally done? I hope Tybour wasn't trying to talk you into doing something rash and dangerous, was he?" Her mouth turned up into an almost smile and her eyes softened. She pushed herself away from the wall with her hips, her arms uncrossing and swinging down to her sides. Rishmond couldn't help but note the fullness of her hips and the way her breasts bounced with the movement of her arms and body. She'd changed from the clothes she had worn earlier and looked much more relaxed and casual in a white shirt that left her arms bare and exposed quite a bit of her cleavage. Her dark red hair blended into the light covering of bright red fur across the top of her shoulders. Her arms were free of hair and her skin was sun kissed brown. Rishmond noted the scattering of freckles across her exposed chest. He forced his eyes from her skin and up to her face. She was smiling a full grin now, her prominent canines fully visible, Rishmond wondered at the bright white of her teeth. He felt the heat in his cheeks as he met her gold-brown eyes. She was incredibly beautiful. He forced himself out of his revery and smile back at her, doing everything he could to hide the effect she had on him. 

"We were discussing my on going training since I will be away from school.  Magical and mundane. As I am sure you know, to include your part in being my teacher for the mundane," he emphasised the word just a bit, "subjects. I am sure it will make you happy to be able to boss me about and show me how much more you know about things than I do."

"Oh, Rishy, you are always so cute when you are being defensive." She stepped up close to him and took his arm in her's. She turned and began to lead Rishmond down the narrow hall, forcing the two of them to have to walk very closely together. Rishmond was amazed to realise he was actually an inch or two taller than she. She always made him feel shorter somehow, like he just didn't measure up, but he was very aware at the moment that her perked up ears looked to just reach the top of his head in the reflection in one of the night-dark portholes. He instinctively crooked his arm up around hers and she put her free hand on his arm as well. It felt very intimate to Rishmond.

"So," Illiar began as they walked down the hall towards the door to Rishmond's cabin, "Cantor told me all about how you really came to find Torg." A few feet in front of them the little golem could obviously hear her as the sparks in his little obsidian brain went into overdrive and the flow of magic inside his body increased to a frantic pace. "Did you think you could keep that secret?"

Rishmond thought furiously. He had to be careful here. She was not above a ruse, but she and Cantor were great friends, and now that Cantor was to turn 17 in a few days, there was a definite chance something had come up in their conversations just like it had come up in Rishmond's with Tybour. "She did? What did she say?  There's nothing more to the story than what I have already told. We found him buried on the beach. Simple enough."

"Rishmond, you fooled some with your story, but not me. I can tell when you are lying you know." She didn't sound upset, it was like she expected Rishmond to stick to his lie but knew the truth. Maybe Cantor really did tell her. Well, as long as Illiar wasn't going to make a big scene about it, then Rishmond would gently deny and wait until he could speak to Cantor about. Illiar seemed content to let the subject go and she leaned into Rishmond a bit, tilting her head toward him and tickling his ear with the fine hair on hers. They both stopped walking and she seemed to be content to lean against him, her head resting on his shoulder with her gazing out of the dark porthole as if she could see the tossing waves outside. A huge swath of lightning cut through the clouds as they both watched in silence.

"Well, it appears we are at your door." She lifted her head from his shoulder and pulled herself away from Rishmond, turning to face him straight on. Rishmond's side was suddenly cold where she'd been resting against him just a moment ago. Rishmond felt his mood take a quick turn for the worse. "I will see you in the morning for lessons then. Looks like we will have a bit of a storm tonight, I hope it does not keep you from sleep, Rishy." She leaned in and rose to her tiptoes, pressing a a lingering kiss against his cheek. She turned quickly and headed further up the narrow hall. Rishmond watched her go, her footing firm against the rolling of the deck and he couldn't help but think that her hips rolled every bit as much as the deck. 

Rishmond fell asleep around the ten o'clock hour to the rocking of the ship in the storm, the sound of rain against the hull had just started as he drifted off. The storm continued to mount and waves grew as he slept.

The sound of thunder woke Rishmond around five in the morning. The waves crashed against the hull and the rain was a constant drumming against the deck above. Thunder was a constant roar punctuated by louder roars of closer strikes of lightning. Rishmond swung from his bunk and was promptly tossed around by the bucking of the ship on the waves. He gained his feet quickly and dressed, putting on wet weather gear over his utility clothes. He pulled on his boots and laced them then tied his pant legs around his ankles to keep the water out. It took him longer than it should have, but it had been a full turn and then some since he'd needed to respond to a storm on the ocean, and even back then shoes and boots had not been a part of the equipment he'd had.

He moved to the door of his little cabin, catching the rhythm of the waves and rocking of the ship as much as he could, bracing himself against the walls as he went out to the hall and turned toward the stern to make his way to the deck. Cantor was bracing herself in the open doorway of her cabin, holding the door open and hanging on to the door frame, feet wedged against either side of the entrance. "Put on your clothes, your wet proof gear and grab your float-vest, the poofy one that floats. Go to the dining area at the aft of the ship." He pointed toward the rear of the ship. "Get others to go with you. If you haven't been on a ship in a storm before and you don't know the duties and procedures, you'd just get in the way on deck."

"Ok," said Cantor. "Where are you going?"

"You know I was a sailor," said Rishmond smiling. "I can help out. I'll at least find out what the situation is and come back and let everyone know."

A particularly huge wave rocked the whole ship up, the deck tilting at an extreme angle that caused Cantor to fall back into her cabin and cause Rishmond to fall heavily into the wall, grabbing onto the door frame of her cabin. The deck fell back the other direction and more, propelling Rishmond past the cabin and down the hall toward the stern of the ship, he used the momentum to make his way quickly to the door to the deck above. 

Sea water and rain poured in through the door as he forced it open in rhythm to the rocking of the ship, stepping over the lintel and onto the soaked deck. As the ship rocked again with the ocean waves he pulled the door closed and secured it. He held onto the handle and twisted about to see what and who was on the deck. Shadowy shapes in the dark struggled on the wet deck to move with purpose to execute tasks that would save the ship from the violent storm. Waves crashed over the bow of the boat and hid many of the shapes from him for moments before the view cleared. Rishmond timed his rush to the nearest bitts and some rope tied there. He found a coil of rope not already in use and tied it about his waist while fighting the rocking of the waves. Once secure he moved off along the railing to find anyone in charge. He spotted a bright magical light behind and above him, someone had cast a light globe much like he'd done last night, it was only a couple of meters above the deck and its light was very focused on just a portion of the aft cockpit. Rishmond contemplated creating his own light, but more light over the deck would cause anyone working on deck to lose their night vision, so he decided against it and instead cast a minor spell that enhanced his own vision, allowing him to see further into the red light bands and upper blue bands of light.

Tybour's face suddenly appeared out of the gloom and spray, "Rishmond! Get back below deck! This storm is getting worse.  The crew can handle this, they're the best in the Malminar Navy and we won't be of much use to them up here!" Even yelling at the top of his lungs his words barely reached Rishmond. Tybour took hold of Rishmond's tether and Rishmond noticed that he was not tethered at all. He grabbed Tybour about the waist and pulled the slack of the rope to form a loop around him, tying him into the same tether. Together they moved back to the door to the cabins. 

Once they'd secured the door Tybour directed Rishmond to go along the starboard side of the cabins and get everyone dressed and into the dining room and then go there himself. Tybour then headed to the port side to do the same.

Rishmond ensured all the cabins were empty before stepping into the dining area behind the cabins. The large doors at the back of the room rattled with the wind and the movement of the ship despite them being secured by two large bolts dropped across them and a series of levers securing the doors within their frames. Someone had secured the wooden outer shutters sometime before the storm had taken full hold. The side portholes with their thick glass and round shape were secured and in no immediate danger of flying open. A small bit of water leaked into the room at the doors at the aft of the ship.

The continuous roar of thunder sounded like boulders rolling down a mountain side and the constant flashing of lightning lit the portholes on all sides. The rolling of the ship became more pronounced and changed direction often making is almost impossible for any of those gathered to stand. The few tables in the room were bolted to the floor and the chairs had been secured in their storage areas earlier in the evening. Rishmond instructed those gathered to sit around the tables and hold on to the legs, wrapping their legs around the sturdy thick legs if they could. Rishmond looked around and located Cantor and Illiar, both at the same table, holding hands beneath the table they held on to. Torg had secured himself to a side table against one wall, wedging himself in the gap between the wall and the side of the cabinet. 

Tybour appeared a few moments after Rishmond, ushering Teilmein, Ele Walsing and VanLief Aericksen before him. It appeared everyone that was staying in this section of the ship was present. Tybour supported himself on the wall and moved to the doors at the back of the room and checked them as best he could with the tossing of the ship. He then made his way to Rishmond and settled himself under the table, giving Rishmond a squeeze on one knee as he settled in and secured himself as much as he could.

They stayed like this for what seemed hours on end. The storm grew in strength and the ship fought against the waves, rising to what felt like impossible angles and then falling like they'd been dropped from a cliff, the hard stop at the bottom promised to be the last one before the ship would rise again, twisting and sliding in such a way that it felt the ship should surely burst apart like glass dropped on stone. Water now sloshed back and forth on the floor, the cold of it seeping into Rishmond's butt and legs. No one said much as they waited for the storm to pass and no one voiced their fear that they would soon find themselves at the bottom of the ocean, or floating in the waves of the storm as the ship they'd once been aboard slipped out of sight beneath the waves.

At long last the thunder and lightning slowed and eventually stopped, the waves grew smaller and then seemed to stop in comparison.

A few minutes passed before Bantore burst into the room, sliding to a stop and glancing around. "Illiar, are you OK? Rishmond?"

"Yes father." Illiar's voice was strong but sounded tired. "We're alive and unhurt. Cantor as well."

"Good. Thank the Gods. Tybour, you should come with me."

Rishmond followed Tybour and Bantore up to the deck. The sky was still grey overhead, but the day was bright with sunlight behind the low clouds and bright blue sky shown to the north. Rishmond noticed that the wind was almost non-existent. The deck was busy with sailors passing back and forth between the port and starboard rails. There appeared to be an effort to bring people onto the ship from the ocean below.

Rishmond was careful to stay out of the way but made his way to a vantage point next to the wheelhouse. He looked out at the gray ocean around them. A lot of wood and other things floated in the water around the stalled ship. The sails were still down and secured and the ship bobbed on the low waves going nowhere. Small row boats made their way around the ship and through the flotsam around the ship. Rishmond watched as one of the boats stopped and pulled a sailor out of the ocean. The woman appeared to be alive but very tired. Rishmond looked closer at the flotsam in the ocean and spotted several bodies face down in the water, unmoving. 

He counted at least 10 likely dead bodies floating nearby, and as he watched, other boats pulled a couple more living souls from the water. On the main deck below several people sat with blankets wrapped around them, being tended to by the medical staff. Were that many people swept overboard last night? And where did all the refuse in the water come from. 

He quickly scanned the horizon all around. The Porpoise was nowhere to be seen. Did something happen to that ship? They could have just been separated in the storm. Rishmond had a sinking feeling that it was much worse than just separation and some damage. He looked back down at the deck and spotted the 8 bodies lying fully wrapped in white sailcloth. A line of dead sailors. As he watched another body was laid next the those already wrapped and a couple of sailors began the process of wrapping the bodies in sailcloth like those already laid out on the deck. 

A tall red headed woman climbed over the starboard railing and on to the deck. Rishmond recognized her as the first mate of the Porpoise. She'd struck him as a very competent person when they'd met yesterday before the launch from Retinor, she would not have been just swept overboard. Her being rescued from the ocean seemed to confirm Rishmond's suspicions that something terrible had happened to the Porpoise. 

He heard voices from inside the wheelhouse and he took care to not be seen from within. A male voice he did not recognize said, "We watched the lights from the Porpoise sink beneath the waves and saw her going under in the flashes of lightning. No mistaking it sir. No idea what could have happened. She was as sturdy a ship as any built in Malminar." 

Another male voice that Rishmond recognized as the Captain of the Emberly's Pride answered, "Aye, we'll have to see if any of the survivors can give us a good accounting of what occurred. Something obviously went very wrong. First, let's get everyone out of the drink as we can and recover what bodies we can for a proper accounting and burial. Let's get survivors looked at by the doctor and get them warmed, fed and rested before we continue on our way. Wind's mostly gone for the moment so we'll put up just enough sail to keep us oriented. Once we get sorted and have all the boats back aboard, we'll look at getting back underway."

"Aye Cap'n. I'll pass the word and we'll keep the passengers below decks until we can inform them of what's happened. Any particular word you'd like me to give em?"

"Yes, tell 'em we're cleaning up and preparing to get back underway as quickly as we can. Inform them that the Porpoise went down in the storm. I don't think we should try and keep them in the dark about that."

Rishmond climbed back down the stairs to the main deck. He wasn't entirely sure what he felt yet. He knew a few of the soldiers, Wizards and sailors that had been aboard the Porpoise, but hadn't been close with any of them, still, the loss of a whole ship and much of the equipment they were to use to head overland to the Glittergreen mountains was not a good thing. And the loss of life was saddening, but it didn't seem to touch him yet, like it was waiting in the doorway to come in but hadn't made up its mine to come inside yet. Well, it was sure to happen at some point, might as well use this time as he could. 

Rishmond looked around for Tybour and found him standing with Haningway and Ele Walsing, talking to a short woman dressed all in green. Rishmond did not recognize her.

"Tybour," Rishmond said as he approached the group. "Anything I can do?  Can I help in anyway?"

"Rishmond. No, I don't think there is anything for you to do at the moment. The crew has it handled. The recovery should be nearing complete. It appears the Porpoise sank in the storm last night." Tybour sounded tired and maybe a little angry. "Actually, you're a darn fine healer, do you feel up to helping the ship's Doc out?  Maybe you can help some of the survivors we've pulled from the ocean? I think Doc had also mentioned a couple of injuries to sailors in the storm last night, broken bones maybe?" Tybour smiled tiredly at Rishmond, placing one hand on his shoulder.

"Of course. I'll do the best I can."

"Meet me back in the dining room in three hours, would you? I'll send someone to explain to the group there what has happened, but we should get together and replan now that we won't have some of the equipment and personnel we were planning on. We will also plan a nice service for those lost. I am sure Captain Wholden will be working on that as well, so we'll finalize then." Tybour sounded less tired, galvanized in the act of formulating and communicating a plan. "Go on then, Rishmond, see you in three hours." Tybour turned back to the little group he'd been talking to and began to issue orders to Haningway and the others. As Rishmond made his way across the deck to where the Doctor had been a few minutes earlier he heard Tybour call for VanLief.

The Doctor was still where Rishmond had last seen him, a cleared bit of the deck smeared with blood. A female Alteman lay there now a large piece of splintered wood sticking out from her abdomen. She was bleeding profusely and hissing and cursing, two strong sailors held her arms and two others sat on her strong tail, attempting to hold her still while the doctor tried to stop the bleeding. 

"Doctor, I'm here to help. I'm Rishmond and have pretty good healing magic. Can I assist?"

"I don't know what you could do here kid. It's gonna be hard to fix this one. Maybe you can work with my nurse and help with some of the bruised and battered. We've got this one. Doater! Kid wants to help!" The doctor didn't look up from what he was doing. The Alteman under his care twisted violently, blood spurted in an arc from her wound. "Damn it! Hold her still!" he yelled.

Rishmond stood still behind the doctor, looking over his shoulder as he knelt over his patient. He reached out with magic, pulling on the flow of magic within Rit as well as pulling a sizeable chunk of lotret from the air around him, the air was thick with it, thicker than Rishmond can ever remember experiencing it. He sent the lotret into the mind of the Alteman, calming her, sending her into a deep sleep where not even the pain of her wound could reach her. The flow of magic he used to form a block in her wound around the piece of wood stuck there, the vision of the extent of her wound superimposed in his mind over what his eyes saw. He found all the pieces of wood and moved them carefully out of the wound, keeping the blood back with the force of magic. He was barely aware of the doctor sitting back on his heels as the wood came free and the bleeding stopped in his patient.

Rishmond continued with his magic, stitching the wound together magically, a rough repair that would leave a hell of a scar, but with only a little bit of a loss of functionality to the muscle around the rather large wound. He let his awareness of her body continue up and down until he'd assessed her fully. She'd lost a lot of blood and she was still in danger or dieing. He remembered seeing an Alteman sailor nearby when he'd come over. He let the magic go, she'd stay asleep for several more minutes. "Doctor, she needs blood and she'll need some painkillers before she wakes. She should be asleep for another 10 to 15 minutes, but after that she will be in a lot of pain and that could send her into shock." Rishmond looked up and around for the Alteman sailor he'd spotted earlier. "You! You there!" He pointed at the sailor pulling on ropes nearby by, helping to haul one of the ship's dinghys back aboard. "Hey!  We need your help! Someone take his place! Yes, you! The Alteman."

The Alteman sailor continued to pull on the rope, aware of Rishmond calling to him but not understanding and not willing to leave his job just because some kid was yelling at him. Doater was the first to respond, catching on to Rishmond's purpose. He jumped up from where he knelt next to a man with a broken arm and rushed to where the Alteman was pulling on the rope. "Go!" Doater grabbed the rope from the man and pushed him toward Rishmond.

The Alteman slithered over to Rishmond, his eyes narrowed and darting about to take in the scene. "I don't know anything about medical and I don't know her. What help do you want from me?" His voice sounded confused and uncomfortable. 

"Not to worry, I just need some of your blood. Could you part with some to help save this woman's life? It won't hurt. You'll feel tired afterward, but you won't be any worse off for it. It will save this woman's life." Rishmond spoke calmly and clearly, doing his best to impart trust and convey confidence. 

"Blood?"

"Yes. I just need a little, about a pint. Like I said, it won't hurt you. You will feel tired and you may be weak for a day or two, but no more than a good bender might leave you for a day." Rishmond smiled slightly at the man.

"Oh. I don't drink sir." He looked at the doctor. "You want my blood?"

"Your blood could save this woman's life, yes." The doctor seemed to understand what Rishmond was trying to do now. "It'll be ok, but we need to do it now, this can't wait."

"Ok. I guess. What do you need me to do?" The sailor seemed to accept that some important people wanted something from him that he didn't really understand but he would comply because they seemed to know what they were about.

"Just lay down here," Rishmond gestured to the deck next the wounded woman. "I'll do the rest."

The Aleman laid his body down in the space made for him. Rishmond reached again into the flow of magic, forming a small, sharp, folded blade, like a tiny tube with a point, he guided it into a blood vein in one arm just above the elbow, carefully keeping the magic tube capped. He saw the blood flow into the small magic tube of air and he slowly extended the tube in a curved line over to the injured woman's arm, doing the same there and then he joined the two magical tubes of air filled with blood, placing just a bit force on the blood to cause it to flow from the donor's arm to the recipient's. He kept careful track of the amount of blood transferred and when the maximum amount had been reached, he gestured to the doctor as he cut off the flow from the Alteman male's arm, dismissing the tube there. The doctor stemmed the flow of blood and applied a bandage. Rishmond pushed the remaining bit of blood into the Alteman female's vein before dismissing the magic and bandaging the small puncture wound in her arm. 

"Sorry, son," the doctor said when Rishmond finished securing the bandage. "I didn't know what you could do. I had no idea."

"Its ok, doctor. How could you have known. Shall we take a look at the next patient?"

"Yes, of course." The doctor gestured to a sailor standing nearby, who turned and spoke to others and the next patient was brought forward. The next two hours of Rishmond's life consisted of a series of broken bones and small head wounds, nothing that needed too much magical skill. Between he and the doctor all of the injured were treated an moved below deck to rest and recover. The bones were simply knit and all those sailors and soldiers would return to their regular duties tomorrow. The Alteman woman was the worst of the injuries and it looked as if she would recover in a week or two.

Three hours passed and Rishmond made his way tiredly to the dining area at the rear of the ship. He hadn't slept more than a couple of hours last night and had expended a sizeable amount of energy using magic to heal several people. The smell of hot food and acradious brew caused him to hurry the last couple of meters to the dining room. A crowd was gathered there, several people standing around the few tables and in the open spaces. Rishmond made his way to the table of food and drink setup along one wall. He poured himself a large mug of the steaming hot acradious brew and dumped in three large spoons of sugar and topped the cup off with a generous amount of heavy cream. He barely stirred it before bringing it to his lips and sipping the very hot liquid. Just the creamy, slightly bitter taste of the drink was enough to reinvigorate him and he felt better immediately.

He filled a plate with some food and turned to find a place to eat in relative peace. The tables looked crowded. The doors to the small balcony outside were still secured but the outer shutters had been opened at some point and the sun, having burnt away the clouds from the storm finally, streamed into the room. Rishmond turned toward the starboard hall out of the dining room, intending to just head to his cabin and eat in there, maybe he'd go ahead and change out of the wet weather gear and sweaty clothes he still wore. He was stopped on his way across the room by VanLief Aericksen. "Impressive work today young Rishmond. You live up to your reputation. Tybour has told me you were level headed and handy in a crisis. Nice work."

"Thank you, sir." Praise from Wizard VanLief was high praise indeed. Everyone in Malminar knew of him and respected him. He was a storied Wizard and a great explorer, it was no mystery why Tybour had requested his presence on this expedition. 

"Tybour is over here and asked that I bring you over. There's a place for you to sit and to eat while we talk."

VanLief lead Rishmond to the far corner of the room where a small area had been set up around a low table. Several chairs sat close around the round table, low to the deck with tilted backs that did not look comfortable to sit up in, but more designed for leaning back in and relaxing. Tybour was there in the far chair, perched on the edge of the chair, one forearm on the table. His face was set in a determined look and his hair was tied back away from his face, definitely his working look. Haningway, Teilmein, Bantore and two other Wizards Rishmond did not know by name sat with him. Bantore and Haningway were the only ones who looked at all comfortable in the chairs. 

Tybour gestured Rishmond to one of the two empty chairs at the table. "Rishmond. I heard you did pretty great. Just as I knew you would. Good job. Come, sit, let us discuss what our next steps are. 

Rishmond sat and placed his plate on the table in front of him. He too perched on the edge of the sloping chair and held his steaming cup with both hands, breathing in the steam and sipping carefully but often from the liquid inside.

"Eat. You'll need your strength. This is not a fortuitous start to our expedition, but it will not deter us. We still have a job to do, and it is an important one. Finding the Gods is paramount."

Tybour waited a few moments while Rishmond took a couple more sips of his brew before setting it on the table and beginning to eat. "This is not common knowledge yet, but will get out soon enough and can be shared with those aboard without issue. The finding of Torg could not have come at a better time."

Tybour paused for a moment. "We have reports from among the Tribes of Uhl as well as agents within The Arrangement of Peace and some friends among the Ice Men of the Frozen North, that there is increased activity in the Demon Lands. Hordes of monsters and companies of Stonewolves with Trunbul riders gathering near the border. It appears the Demons maybe gathering armies to invade the Blessing again, a repeat of the Devil Wars of 100 turns ago." Tybour paused to let the information sink in. Rishmond looked around, gauging the reactions of the others. Obviously Haningway already knew as did ValLief apparently. the others were as shocked as Rishmond was.

"So far an increase in the number of devils has not been seen, so perhaps this is just the Demons growing restless and testing our reaction, but I think we would all rather not assume things. The Wizard's Council is preparing and has begun work with Kenit, Selioria, and the Tribes of Uhl to prepare for any invasion should one come. We've even sent envoys to The Arrangement of Peace, but to no avail so far. " Tybour shifted in his chair, attempting to find a more comfortable position on the edge of the hard chair. "A successful mission to find the Gods will make the Demon's actions a moot point, or at least that would be my guess."

"Where is our little friend Torg, anyway? Rishmond?"

Rishmond answered without thinking, "He's on the main deck, near the main mast, standing in the sun. He likes the sun, it makes him feel warm."

"Oh." Tybour seemed a bit surprised by the answer. "Did he follow you up there when you went to help out?"

"No," Rishmond said. "He decided to go after I went and once the sun came out. I guess I must have seen him there when I headed back down here. I was a bit out of it so.. I don't know, guess it just didn't register at the time." Rishmond tried to think back on his leaving the doctor and heading to the dining room.  He didn't remember seeing Torg on deck. He must be tired. 

"No matter. I don't think he can help here, but maybe we should ask him to stay in your cabin, Rishmond? Just to be safe?"

"Safe from what?" asked Rishmond a bit surprised and concerned at Tybour's suggestion. 

"I don't know, but you know I like to be prepared."

"I don't think he would like or appreciate being asked to stay in my cabin, not without me. He likes to interact with others and see what's going on." Rishmond didn't know why, but it was important to him that Torg be treated well, like a living person, not just some object to be ordered about without regard to his feelings. If he had feelings. That didn't matter, feelings or not, Torg was a person as far as he was concerned.

"Alright. Fair enough. Then let's try to keep him near you Rishmond so we know where he is and we can keep an eye on him, just in case there are designs on him. I'd hate to see him go overboard, I doubt he can swim and this is a deep ocean, we'd have no way of getting him back."

"I.. ok, Tybour. I will ask him to stay near me, within sight if that would make you feel better," he said it without ego or accusation, Tybour wouldn't ask this if he didn't think it was important. It would not be the first time Rishmond had witnessed Tybour's abundance of caution pay off in averting unseen issues.

The small group spent the next hour discussing the next steps for the expedition, unsurprising to any of them that the expedition would continue as planned with some small adjustments for the smaller number of people and less equipment. They would still sail to Swarve and then head overland to the Glittergreen mountains.

They group made plans to meet the next morning and speak to the first mate of the Porpoise to see if they could find out exactly what had happened to sink the ship. Meanwhile the rest of the day would be to prepare for the burials at sea set for sundown today.