Day 10
Evening

Corwin and Ansel readied themselves for the party that was being held in
Ansel and Khamorray's honor.  While one of the "honored" would be sleeping
through it, the other was nervously picking at his clothing.

"Relax, m'boy!  They aren't going to roast you."  Corwin grinned at the
youth.

Ansel smiled back, "No, I suppose not."

As they walked across to the dining hall, Ansel peppered Corwin with
questions about being joined to a seadragon.  Corwin related his joining
experience -- the feeling of drowning, and then suddenly being able to
breathe.  He told of the world beneath the waves -- the wonders he'd seen,
and the glory of "flying" through the ocean.  Ansel's eyes widened as he
listened, excited by the prospect of doing that with Khamorray

They came into the party and found an empty table close to the food and
drinks.  "I think that they are easier to care for than the land dragons,"
Corwin continued the discussion, "since you don't need to oil them.  I tried
it once with Sy and he hated it.  He just needs to return to the sea
periodically, and loves to roll in the soft sand of the beach.  Oh, and be
careful of those lines along his side... they can give off a nasty shock."

Ansel's eyes widened.  "Wow.  A shock?  How bad?"

"Well somewhere between an electric eel and a lightning bolt,"  Corwin
grinned.

"Did you get shocked?"  Ansel asked looking for signs on the man.

"No, not by Sy, thankfully I was warned.  But I've been shocked by an eel
and let me tell you..." Corwin launched into one of his least favorite
exploits, when he'd gone with some of his mates to shore for fresh water and
decided to swim over.

Corwin's sailor stories quickly drew a crowd around him -- mostly of
Dolfis's men -- and Gus.  Corwin recounted one escapade after another.

During a lull, Gus and Ansel got up to get some drinks.  Another sailor
began a tale in the meantime, which reminded Corwin of one of his
adventures.  It was one of his best, and one of the pirates pulled his
captain over to hear the yarn.

Corwin grinned, enjoying the company of the seamen.  The banter was
familiar, but left him feeling a bit "homesick" for the sea.  He would never
again travel among the company of men such as these.

"How are the repairs going, Captain?"  Corwin smiled cordially at the
pirate, as he quaffed some ale.

Dolfis frowned just a bit, "Well, Tara's only now given me leave to start
the repairs."  He eyed Corwin critically, then seemed to make a decision.
"It would be easier around here with a dragonrider t' help -- a rider with
knowledge of the sea."

Corwin's eyes lit up at the prospect of helping on the ship, "What exactly
would this rider be likely to do?"

"Could use someone helping to incline her - someone who knows what he's
doing.  My guess is you do."

"Well, I just might at that,"  Corwin grinned.

"My men and I'd appreciate it,"  Dolfis smiled in return, the men murmuring
encouragingly.  "Good!  Then it's agreed."

"Syngnath can help check the hull... he's my seadragon."  Corwin commented.

"I can help, too!" Ansel, who had just returned with Gus, piped up.

A few of the sailors laughed at that.  "You?  You're a dragonrider?"

Ansel's face colored slightly, but he turned to face the man that asked,
"Yes, I just joined to a seadragon -- and this party is for me!"

"Right you are, my boy!"  Corwin nodded seriously, thwapping him on the
back, "And having Khamorray go with Sy to check the hull will be good
practice for the little hatchling."

"So... how about telling us where you got those bruises and that black eye?"
Dolfis requested, in an attempt to lighten the mood, while glaring at his
men.

Corwin's hand went up to his eye and he laughed.  "Rescuing a damsel in
distress, of course...." and he launched into the account of the attack on
Elly, embellishing it so that Gus, could hardly recognize it as being the
same fight that he'd been in.

Gus peered at Corwin.  It was a hell of a story, but....  She waited until
he had finished - to a smattering of applause and grinned at him.  "Corwin,
I hate to ruin a good story, but....  Hell, if I'da hit him that many times,
my arm woulda fallen off."

Corwin threw back his head and laughed, "Boy, don't you know the rule about
storytellin'?  It's that truth and stories don't mix."

The sailors all roared with laughter at that. "Here," one of them handed
Corwin a brimming mug, "tell us another one."

Dolfis raised an eyebrow.  The boy had clearly been in some fight - though
it could hardly have anything like what Corwin had described.  He grinned
and urged Corwin on with more tales.

Gus chuckled and leaned forward, intent on Corwin's next daring escapade.

<SNIP from Dana's post "Full Moon Rising">
"And then," Corwin related the tale in hearty tones, "he held his bloodied
sword against the captain's throat...."  His voice trailed off as the trim
figure passed by.

"Get on with it, Corwin," Gus urged, with a grin at Elly.

Corwin cleared his throat, "Yeah, where was I?"  But his eyes followed the
diminutive form as she headed towards the beverages, while he abruptly
finished his tale, leaving his listeners clamoring for more.

On her return trip, brimming wineglasses in each hand, Elly's eyes caught
Corwin's across the table.

"Umm, can you excuse me?  I'm a bit parched."  Corwin cleared his throat
again and rose from the table.
<END SNIP>

Corwin heard Dolfis pick up the slack, as the men boisterously encouraged
him to tell one of his capers.

<Insert rest of Dana's post "Full Moon Rising" here>

Syngnath deposited Corwin and Elly back on the beach.  The moonlight was
still beautiful, yet its luster had seemed to have gone out of somewhat.
Elly scooped up her clothes just as Iris landed.  Waiving an apologetic
farewell, she mounted up and fled.

Corwin briefly thought of returning to the party, but it didn't have the
appeal that it had earlier.  Instead, he and Syngnath returned to the ocean
which they enjoyed.  However, his mind kept wandering back to the woman who
had   It was still fairly early when they returned to the barracks.

****
Day 11
Early Morning

Corwin woke early to hear the shower running.  Who could possibly be up that
early after the party?  Corwin stretched and felt the stiffness of the salt
on his body.  A shower wasn't a bad idea.

He strode over to the stalls and peeked his head in.  He could tell
immediately from the quick glance that it was Gus.  The boy's back was to
him and, along with an interesting tattoo of a dragon on the boy's left hip
and butt, he saw the scars that crisscrossed Gus's back.  They were worse
than he had thought from his first brief view.  He backed out quickly,
knowing how Gus feared exposure.

"Are you taking a shower, Corwin?  Or are you just going to stand there?"
G'ret called from across the room.

Corwin answered back, loudly, "Yah, G'ret, I was just heading IN TO SHOWER."
He could hear a rustling and scrambling in the stalls behind him.  "Did you
use up all the hot water in there, Gus?"

Gus nearly panicked at the sound of Corwin's voice, clearly at the doorway -
if not closer.

<Nice lookout!>   Gus scolded her dragon.

<Sorry.>  Loki replied contritely.

She whirled out of the water and grabbed the towel, drying hastily before
yanking the clothes on.  Wrapping her chest would have to wait.  Putting on
a falsely cheery front, she sang out.  "Come and see for yourself, you
lay-a-bed!"

Corwin grinned, knowing by that comment that Gus would be covered by then.
He walked into the shower, and turned on the hot water. "Yes, I can see...
that you left US some.  Come on in G'ret!"

Gus froze, realizing just how close she had come to being discovered.  Then
she caught the wink that Corwin gave her, and realized that he must have
seen G'ret coming and warned her in time.

Gus nodded at Corwin, acknowledging the debt.  'Hell,' Gus thought,  'Corwin
hadn't looked when he'd handed a towel to Elly after her shower -- maybe
Corwin was safe?'  She shook her head and headed out of the shower room and
out of the barracks.

****
Corwin enjoyed a quick breakfast and, with an anticipation that he hadn't
felt since coming to the warren, he headed down to the shore where the
Marquesa was anchored, just off shore.  The ship listed heavily, and Corwin
could see the damage that she had taken.  She once had been a beautiful
ship, and he ached as he examined her, even from afar.

The men were already at work, removing all the damaged material and hauling
it ashore.   A few of the men greeted Corwin, some calling inquiries as to
how his night had gone.  Corwin cheerfully joined in the work, relishing the
smells and feel of salt, oil, tar and rope.

Syngnath, who had been out earlier hunting some breakfast popped his head
out just beyond the breakers.  <*You seem happy this morning, my rider.*>
He called.

Corwin responded, <Yes, I enjoy this type of work.>

He looked out at the sea from the deck of the ship -- a familiar view, if
perhaps from an unfamiliar ship.  He suddenly realized that now that he and
Sy were joined, that this might become a rather unfamiliar view.  He would
never again go to sea on a ship -- and he would never have one of his own.

<*Now you are sad, my rider!  But I can take you anywhere that wooden thing
could take you... and certainly you can't think it is more beautiful than
I?*>  Sy swam past it snorting out steam at the sides of the ship --
frightening some of the men working on the hull.

<Haha!  Now, stop that Sy!  Of course you are the most incredible thing that
I could ever imagine -- and certainly much more beautiful than a ship --
it's just... it was my dream.  But you are right!  You and I can go anywhere
that a ship could have taken me, and more!  We can go beneath the sea and
explore all the places that I could never have imagined.>

"Hey, Corwin!  Do you think your dragon can take these ropes under the
keel?"  Griffin asked.

<Sy?  Would you mind if I throw you these ropes... can you run the line
under and up the other side?>

<*Of course not, my rider!  I would gladly help.  And maybe Khamorray can ta
ke one, too?*>

<Khamorray is out there with you?>

<*Yes, my rider.  I've been teaching him to chase down the best fish.   He
is quite fast for a little hatchling*>  Sy commented proudly.

Corwin then noticed Ansel among the younger men and boys who were scraping
the peeling paint and tar off the bulwarks.

Corwin turned to Griffen, "Not only Sy, but Khamorray, the other seadragon,
would love to help.  Tie a lifepreserver to the ends and toss them over!"

"They should be back soon with the main mast."  Griffen frowned,  "and I
really had hoped to have the ship dry docked and inclined before then."

Corwin nodded in understanding."At least you don't  have to replace the
mizzen, too."  He looked around at the deck, "The rigging has all been
cleared away, and it shouldn't take long to get that mast up -- not with
dragon's help."

"I can see that!"  Griffen replied as he noticed that the men were already
hauling the ropes up the sides.  Things moved quickly with the two
seadragons helping and soon the vessel was being towed to shore.

****
TAG KK and John

Respectfully submitted by:
Arlene Jacobs
AKA Corwin, rider of the seadragon Syngnath, of Jasra Warren.