Storm At Sea
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: AL, Heather
Date Posted: 20th January 2016
Series: Shipwrecked
Characters: Zathris, Thayde
Description: Their journey takes an unexpected detour.
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 3, day 20 of Turn 8
The rain pelted upon his head and stung his eyes as lightning flashed above them. As the wind whipped at the hapless creatures, the ship rocked to and fro so far that it was a wonder they didn't flip over completely. Mountainous waves crashed against wood which shuddered and sent some of even the most seasoned men sprawling across the deck . Hands tugged at ropes in attempt to secure the rigging which was continuously being tugged free by the lashing wind. Although the sky had hosted clouds, the storm had come over them so suddenly, that even though they'd scrambled to batten down the hatches, the crew had been caught. Now, they were tossed about, like dolls upon a child's ship in a tub. Zathris slipped, but managed to catch hold of a rope to keep from tumbling head over heels onto the deck.
As the ship jerked, tacking through the wind, Thayde heard, very faintly, the called warning about the boom, which was swinging across the ship, changing sides as they tried to cut through the roaring wind. Ducking just in time, he secured the rope of the main sail, which was useless in such a storm.
There was so much water on the deck of the ship that whenever it pitched to the side water went cascading off, taking with it anything that wasn't tied or bolted down. Soaked from head to toe, Thayde sought out the figure of the Lord Holder and carefully made his way to Zathris' side.
"That's all we can do up here!" He called over the howl of the storm. "We should get below deck!"
"The rigging's coming loose!" Zathris motioned toward a series of loops that were being tossed about, slowly coming free from their bonds. Another shudder ran through the vessel as a wave pounded once more against the side. "Help me secure it." Around them, other sailors attempted to do the same in a couple of other places. Without waiting for a response, Zathris aimed for the section he'd indicated to the dolphineer, wincing against the water that sliced against his face.
Thayde growled a little, pushing away from the railing as he trailed behind Zathris. "Do you see the size of the waves? We need to get below deck!" He jerked the loose ropes free, and then tied them with a jerk.
Despite his own Turns at at seafaring hold and his skills, Thayde was still faster than he. Zathris cursed his rustiness, then nodded and aimed for the door that led down into the bowels of the ship and, compared to above, relative safety. Just before they reached it, however, another mighty wave lashed against the boat, pouring water over and flooding the deck. The liquid monster wrapped itself around the men, thrust Thayde into Zathris, then carried the two overboard.
It all happened so quickly that one minute Thayde was trying to follow Zathris below deck and the next he was being plunged into the cold, writhing water. Instincts kicked in as he began to swim, surfacing with a cough as he spit out the water he'd taken in.
"Zathris?" Thayde called for the Lord Holder, treading water as he looked around for the other man in the dark, rolling sea.
For a moment, all that could be heard was the howl of the air as it rushed through combined with the roar of the thunder which clashed and clanged around them. Then, to his left, a sopping, blond head emerged. Zathris gulped for air, went back under, then finally surfaced and remained so. Immediately, he caught sight of the dolphineer and, with long strokes, attempted to aim for the other man. Pain sliced through his arm as something collided with him and he instinctively reached out only to grab onto a large piece of wood. Without letting go, Zathris kicked furiously to close the short, but angry distance between him and Thayde. "Grab on!"
While Thayde was not a rescue dolphineer, he'd had courses in it all the same, so he angled his body the way he had been taught to cut through the choppy water. Throwing both arms around the piece of wood, Thayde looked up at the ship as she pitched about in the darkness. There was no way anyone aboard the vessel would be able to hear them over the din of the storm, or probably see them in the blackness of the night.
Suddenly Thayde had a horrible realization, "Zathris! Get back, hurry!" They had to put distance between themselves and the ship. "She's going over!"
The Lord Holder didn't have to look back, didn't want to look back. With renewed effort, he pressed himself, pushing himself forward with renewed vigor, he took Thayde's warning to heart. Behind him, he could hear the whine of the ship as it began to keel over. If they didn't get far enough, they'd be dragged down with it.
The sound of the ship turning over in the water was a sound that Thayde knew would be imprinted in his memory forever. Intermingled with the groaning of the wood, were the cries and shouts of the sailors working onboard. The enormous wave that capsized the ship crashed down around them, pummeling their bodies and forcing them beneath the surface like a mighty hand.
Zathris' hands were torn away from the wood, splinters embedding themselves in the pads of his finger tips. The water continued to beat at them and coming back to the surface, he gasped for air, then managed to catch hold of more wood. Whether it was the same or a different piece, he could not say. "Thayde!" He called out, blinded by the sting of seawater, the world murky and dark.
Despite his Turns of swim training, Thayde found himself struggling to remain calm and keep his mind focused on the task at hand. He'd never been in the sea when she was so angry. It seemed that with all of her might the great water was trying to purge her system of the men that bobbed in her swirling depths.
When he surfaced it was with a great gasp as his lungs wheezed for air. He whipped his head about, hoping to spot some sort of land that he could swim for, but in the darkness of the storm he couldn't make out anything. The intermittent flashes of lightning would illuminate the water for a brief second, giving him a glimpse of the destruction the storm had caused. Where was Zathris?
He squinted against the rain that pelted him in the face, seeming to ricochet off the very water around him.
Thayde's heart caught as he thought he heard something. A voice maybe? Swimming in the direction of the sound, he realized it was a voice, a voice calling his name.
"Zathris?!"
The cacophony of the wind clashing with the rush of water, and the growl of thunder turned what might have been an echoing call into a short bark. Still, he could barely make the name above the clamor of the storm and turned into the direction of the voice. Blinking, he managed to press away the fog of alt and attempt to make out anything in the darkness. Lightning darted through the sky and among the undulating waves, he managed to catch the briefest glimpse of another person. His name was an undercurrent to the torrid noise, but Zathris honed in on it as best he could.
Although a strong swimmer, he realized that neither he nor Thayde would be able to remain above the surface for long without help. Despite the pain in his hands and shoulder, he clutched to the fence of wood he'd managed to catch on to. Wood floated. It would help them float.
A piece of rope snaked by, then darted away only to return as it was tied tightly to the debris. Zathris stretched further onto the wood and found where the rope encircled it several times. With a quick tug, he confirmed that it was thoroughly tangled and released it in order to focus on getting to the other man. The storm refused to cut any slack, battering at the two of them. More than once, Zathris lost sight of Thayde, but he called to the other man and heard the answering call, using that, the short bursts of human sound among nature's fury to guide him. Although it was only a few moments, hours seemed to have ticked by before Zathris managed to get close enough to the dolphineer and call out a second time, "Grab on!"
It felt as though it took Thayde's last ounce of energy to make the final swim to the pieces of wood that were lashed together, tangled in the rope that Zathris had found. His breathing was ragged, and he felt as though he had swallowed half of the ocean already. All they could do now was hold on and hope that when the storm blew itself out they could swim to safety.
"Some vacation this is." He managed to say over the noise.
Had their very lives not been in peril, Zathris would have joined the dolphineer in a hearty bout of laughter. As it was, he was far too busy focusing on staying afloat than worrying about having a sense of humour. "Save your strength." He called above the din and closed his eyes, hoping that no giant wave rose over them to send them to a watery grave.
Last updated on the January 26th 2016