Only river pirates made a habit of sailing without lights, and Jess would ordinarily avoid the ships for that reason alone, but the great number of this convoy--which looked more and more like a fleet with each passing moment--put that concern from her mind.Only river pirates made a habit of sailing without lights, and Jess would ordinarily avoid the ships for that reason alone, but the great number of this convoy--which looked more and more like a fleet with each passing moment--put that concern from her mind. No river pirate band was large enough to put together the impressive flotilla materializing before her. Straining to move her craft to one side, to permit the flotilla bearing down on her easy passage, she strained with her elven night eyes to catch sight of some manner of flag or banner to identify the fleet's origin. Finally a banner fluttered into view from one of the lead ships, a small merchant vessel by the cut of its jib. The fleet belonged to the Dark Empire! More and more banners came into view; they were all imperial ships. Jess pricked up her sharp ears and heard the cry of "Small vessel to starboard!" She relaxed and Janesse pulled her pole from the water to rest. They had been sighted by a lookout, and, although the flotilla was running without lights, at least the helmsman would know they were there and not ram them. The danger was past. Suddenly, a large object dropped on to the punt, punching a hole in the bottom. Cursing several gods for the mishap, Jess dropped her pole and reached for the princess. It was doubtful she knew how to swim. "Hey!" she yelled. A rope was dropped down the side of the ship that drew alongside her stricken punt as the water lapped at her knees. She saw that the horses were swimming for the other shore. Janesse and Agnes were also swimming, following the horses. |