Touch of Fate

Chapter 88: Decisions

Quick announcement/ message:

First of all, I sincerely thank you all for the suggestions. There were some really good ones that made deciding quite difficult.

I had originally only planned on choosing one name, but after seeing the comments, I figured 'what the heck' might as well give it a few.

As such, the dragon will be called Audra Delphine Tempestates. A bit of a mouthful, I know, but it not only meets the conditions set forth by the group (except for Brenden, poor guy), but it really rolls off the tongue as well.

So before I get into the latest chapter, I wanted to explain my selections.

I'm really a sucker for names that have double or hidden meanings, so Audra which translates directly into "Storm" in Lithuanian, and indirectly into "Noble Strength" in Old English was a great fit, Definitely a proud and noble name.

Delphine, which in Greek means a woman from Delphi, is therefore related to The Oracle of Delphi, and I feel that it would be well within Sera's character to name it after herself, even if she had no idea that she was doing so.

Tempest was the most on the nose of the suggestions, but it seemed like a good nod to the dragon's origins. I augmented it slightly to pay homage to the ancient roman goddess of storms. I hope you don't mind.

For those of you who gave a suggestion that I didn't end up using, please know that I had to spend a few hours mulling over this, and I'm still not a hundred percent on it.

Once again, thanks for the ideas.

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Looking again at the little dragon, Mike couldn't help but feel that it was a bit on the feminine side. Deciding to play the odds accordingly, he worked with Tal and Sera to put together an appropriate name, and after much discussion, and not a little fabrication on his part, the group came to a consensus.

"Audra Delphine Tempestates, huh? That's one pretentious name, but I suppose you can't call a Wyrm 'Fluffy' or something like that." Brenden commented once the discussion reached a conclusion. He seemed a little miffed that no one took his suggestion seriously.

"Nothing wrong. Name acceptable." Tal exclaimed with monotone indignation.

Sera also leapt to its defense, "That's right! Little Delphi here deserves a great name. One that conveys the full extent of her kind and noble spirit."

The force of her argument was somewhat compromised by the several bite marks on her hands, where she refused to learn her lesson.

"I'm still not completely convinced it is a 'her,' but worst case scenario, when the dragon grows up enough to understand such things, we can just blame it on Sera." Brenden returned with a slight grin.

"Hey!" The Oracle shouted, indignantly.

A knock on the door forestalled any further discussion. Mike quickly hide Audra inside of his cloak.

[I'm going to need to sew a pocket into this thing, or something.]

"Yes, what is it?" He asked once he had secured the dragon.

One of the 'sailors' opened the door, looking a bit terrified. He was dressed in ragged trousers and a vest. A bandana was tied on his head, and he had a gold hoop earring in one ear.

[Yep, definitely not pirates.] Mike thought to himself sarcastically.

"Uh..Sir Mage...Uh, the captain wanted me to inform.....uh....let you know...."

Sera grew impatient. "Spit it out, man! We don't have all day."

"Right! There are some suspicious sails on the horizon. The captain wanted me to let you know."

He shuffled in place after delivering his message.

"Was there anything else?" Mike asked.

"Ah, well...the captain was kind of keen on you going to check it out soon." He started waving his hands in the air in a placating gesture. "You know, if you are alright with it."

Mike sighed. "Please inform Captain Bont that we will be out shortly."

"Aye-aye, Sir Mage." He sketched an awkward salute, and hurried out the door as fast as he could.

[Now that I think about it, we haven't had the eponymous pirate attack yet. Its almost required when traveling by boat........why did I just think that?]

"Come on, lets go check this out. I have a bad feeling about this."

Mike led the way out onto the deck.

He walked over to the captain, who was standing near the port side. "What's the problem?"

"Arr, well there be a trio of sails to our southwest." The captain replied laconically while handing over the spyglass he'd been using.

[Did he just say Arr?]

Looking in the direction he indicated, he saw three dark grey triangular sails on the horizon. They seemed to be moving in formation, to some extent.

"What's troubling about that?" He asked.

"Well, they be Theldon sails. Could be they're traders from Theldholm traveling in a group for protection. Could be raiders from The Barren Isle. We'll know soon enough."

"How will we know?" Sera asked. She still looked a little queasy, but the last few days had done wonders on improving her sea legs.

"If they ignore us, they be traders. If they follow us they be raiders. Quite simple, miss." The captain replied with a grin.

Mike took a moment to move the sleeping Audra into a pocket. Luckily, she was both compact and light.

[I'm going to have to think of something when she gets bigger. If she turns out to be anything like that skeleton down in the lake, no pocket is going to suffice.]

The group proceeded to watch as the ships drew steadily nearer. When it became clear the Theldon ships were changing course in order to intercept them, it became clear where they stood.

"Tis raiders, then." The captain declared excitedly. He looked over at Mike. "Sir Mage, what ye want to do?"

"Why do you ask me? Don't you have a plan?" He replied, slightly confused.

"Oh, aye. We could lead them on a merry chase, and if we swing close to the Isle of Pyrthos, we might even succeed in escaping, but it'd be a close thing."

"So why don't we do that?"

"Well, here be the thing....." He looked a little embarrassed. "This ship may not be the most welcome in Bergell, or the Isle of Pyrthos in general, for that matter."

Giving the captain a blank look, Mike asked, "Why is that?"

"Ya see, there is a bit of a....misunderstanding. I be the subject of gross slander. Can ya believe that they accuse us of such terrible things as thievery?"

Speaking in a completely neutral tone, Mike asked, "And not piracy?"

"Nay, Sir Mage. We be the farthest thing from pirates. Me crew be filled with honest men of business. Ain't that right, men?"

A raucous cheer sounded from the surrounding 'honest men of business.' A cheer mixed with a fair amount of laughter.

Sighing again, he decided it wasn't worth trying to argue this point again. "Right, so what exactly are you trying to ask me?"

"It be like this, Sir Mage. We be stuck between two unfortunate outcomes. Either way would end poorly for all involved, so I ask, what do ya be willing to do to prevent it?" The captain replied. A dark, predatory glint shone in his eyes.

Mike was starting to get sick of being forced to violently solve problems. It had been little besides fighting and killing since he got to this world, and though he'd done little to prevent it, he was starting to get a little tired of it.

[I really need a break.]

He walked to the side of the gunwale and looked out at the ships. They were starting to get close, and he could barely make out the tiny figures of the crew. Summoning his mana, he started chanting. "I let thee fly free..."

Brenden reacted first, "Uh, Mike? What are you planning?"

He pushed as much mana into the spell as it could hold. The air around him seemed to shimmer with a mirage-like heat as a white-hot ball of flame started taking shape in his had. Even while concentrating, he noticed that Audra was stirring in his pocket, almost as if she found the magic distasteful.

"Mike? Are you sure you want to do this? Those are humanoids on that ship. Maybe we can find another way." Sera was looking deeply concerned. Although he wasn't aware of it, Mike's face had become coldly emotionless as he chanted the deadly words.

Captain Bont was looking between the two of them, uncertainty starting to creep into his expression.

"....fury, [Fireball]." For a second, he debated about simply destroying the ships. After all, he was sure that they wouldn't spare any of the people on board if they caught up.

[Why not? If they get away, they'll probably go on to kill other people. Really, I would be doing the world a favor.]

At the last second, he pang of reproof from somewhere deep in his consciousness. Something that screamed that these thoughts were wrong.

He thought he heard the faintest strains of unearthly music.

With an effort of will, he redirected the spell.

The beach ball sized sphere of flame shot out over the water. As it reached a point above the leading ship, it detonated.

A second sun briefly appeared in the sky, shining with a brilliance that was almost overpowering. Immediately afterwards a shockwave of heated air and sound washed over the ship, flattening everyone on board.

Even as far away as Mike and the others were, the sound and light were stunning, causing everyone on board to recoil.

The ocean around the ship started steaming in the superheated air, and Mike could see that the ship's rigging was now burning, evidently still too close to the explosion.

Gritting his teeth, he walked back to his cabin long enough to grab is spear, before returning to the side of the ship.

Sounding overawed, Captain Bont hesitantly asked, "Sir Mage? What be your plan? We should be free to continue, now. Only the insane would keep chasing us after that display."

"That would just push the problem off on someone else. So, I'm going to try for a more permanent solution." He tried flashing the others a reassuring smile, even though he was still a little unsettled that he'd come so close to committing mass murder.

He really needed that break.

With a blast of Air Magic, he threw himself forward, towards the leading ship.

With a cry of dismay, Sera had a sudden realization. "AH! Delphi!"

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