Free Under Fallen Stars by Mel Odom

Men moved along the ramparts. The twilight dusk still showed a few yellow tendrils that looked like curdled eggs under the gathering black storm clouds. Ships cluttered the harbor, their masts naked of sailcloth.
    “What’s the matter with ye, swabbie?” Khlinat asked.
    Jherek shook his head, not knowing, but definitely aware of the crawling sensation moving along the back of his neck. Then, against the shadowed line of the river, he spotted ships. He guessed by the cut of their shape that they were the small cargo ships and cogs that plied the River Chionthar. Their sailcloth didn’t reflect the moonlight, colored black so they would be harder to see.
    “Do you see them?”
    “Aye,” the dwarf growled. “These old eyes may not be what they once was, but they see them ships right enough.” He hollered at the lamp boy. “Make haste, ye little vagabond, we’ve got to find a member of the watch.”
    The boy took the lead, saying, “They’re keeping ships in the harbor.” His quick steps left Khlinat behind.
    The dwarf glanced at Jherek and said, “Have a smart step there, swabbie. If’n the watch hasn’t spotted them scoundrels and thought about the chance of trouble, somebody needs to tell them.”
    Jherek nodded and ran after the lamp boy, catching him easily. The lantern jerked at the end of the pole, throwing shadows to race crazily around them and warning people ahead of them to step aside. The troubled feeling inside the young sailor increased, becoming a gnawing in the pit of his stomach.
    The lamp boy raced onto the next dock leading out into the harbor. Prowling cats scattered before him, yowling and hissing their displeasure.
    “There!” The youth flung a hand forward.
    Jherek spotted the black watch flag with its vertical red stripe in the stern of a converted cargo ship tied up at the dock. Warriors clothed in the black armor of the Baldur’s Gate Watch occupied the deck. A few of them had already noticed the black-sailed ships.
    “Halt!” a watchman cried, vaulting from the ship to the dock. His sword cleared leather with a sibilant whisk. The lamp boy’s light flickered over his nervous features.
    Jherek drew up at once, lifting his hands at his side, and said, “I mean no harm. I only came to tell you about the ships out on the river.”
    “We’ve already seen them,” the watch guard said. “They’ll be addressed before they’re allowed to put in.”
    As Jherek watched, two other watch ships unfurled their sails and skimmed out into the harbor like low-flying geese. Ship’s crew quickly passed out lanterns, lit them, and hung them from the ship to make it more visible. They drew shouted curses from a barge that was nearly swamped in their passing. Sword steel gleamed on the deck.
    The uneasy feeling grew stronger inside Jherek, but he controlled it as the two watch ships sailed on an interception course.
    “Cast away!” someone called from the ship in front of Jherek.
    The watch guard raced to the stern to the mooring cleats. He unwound the thick hawser ropes while another man unfastened the one holding the prow. Sailcloth cracked as it ran up the masts and filled with wind. The watch members threw themselves back at their ship and clambered aboard. The ship’s crew quickly passed out lanterns, lighting their ship.
    Jherek stood by and watched, feeling at a loss that he wasn’t able to join the coming battle. If it came to that, he amended. He felt his sword already in his hand, though, hard and sturdy.
    Khlinat thumped up beside him, his breath ragged from the effort. He carried two hand axes and scowled at the approaching line of ships. “Yonder blows an ill wind, I’ll wager.”
    Jherek didn’t disagree.
    “At least them’s good, honest pirates and not them scaled, blackhearted devils what’s got the taste for man flesh.”
    IV

4 Kythorn, the Year of the Gauntlet
    Glancing around the harbor, Jherek saw that most everyone nearby had spotted the black-sailed cargo ships.