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You accompany Captain Raker as he conducts a hasty tour of his ravaged ship to assess the extent of the battle damage, and you are both shocked when you discover that half his complement of crew have been killed or badly wounded. The few who can still stand count themselves lucky to have survived. Raker sets Paoll and some of the survivors to work repairing the gaping hole in the ship’s port beam that was made by the enemy’s ram, while the remainder tend to their wounded companions and clear away the debris that lies smouldering in heaps upon the bloodstained deck. Among the enemy dead you are saddened to discover the bodies of young Sergeant Dryan and nine of his men. Only three marines have survived the battle and stoically they set about wrapping the bodies of their fallen comrades in canvas and consigning them to the waves.

Having done what you can to help on deck, you decide to go below and make sure that Fernant and Oriah are safe. At the foot of the steps you discover a dead raider lying sprawled across the body of another man. You turn the corpse over with the toe of your boot and gasp when you see that the man lying beneath is Lord-lieutenant Fernant. The hilt of a Shadakine dagger protrudes from his chest and a smear of blood stains his lips. He is dead. Fearing the worst, you rush along the narrow corridor and throw open the door to Oriah’s cabin. You find her huddled below her bunk, sobbing quietly. You comfort her as best you can but she is overcome with grief; Fernant died whilst protecting her and she blames herself for his death and for the calamity which has befallen The Pride of Sommerlund. She tells you that the raiders came from Ghol-Tabras, the city ruled by her evil suitor. She is convinced that the reason they attacked the ship was to capture her.

At length you persuade Oriah to accompany you onto the rear deck for some fresh air. Here you are met by Captain Raker who informs you that the ship is listing and taking in water. The voyage to Bisutan cannot proceed until proper repairs have been carried out, and so he has set a course for the nearby port of Cape Kabar where he knows a trustworthy shipwright who can fix the damaged hull. While you talk with the captain, Oriah watches the surviving crewmen disposing of the enemy dead. You hear her gasp, and when you hurry to her side you see that she is pointing at the body of the warrior leader.

‘Did you know this man? Have you seen him somewhere before?’ you ask.

‘Yes,’ she replies tearfully. ‘He’s Dar-Isun. He was the brother of Sesketera, the man my father wishes me to marry.’

Turn to 104.