Free Shadowrun - Earthdawn - Mother Speaks by kubasik

used his legs to knock him down to the floor. Then other slaves swarmed over the sailor like waves crashing onto a rocky shore.

    I rushed toward the stairs, desperate to escape the man's screams. The sword still in my hand, I led J'role and a few other slaves up from our prison.

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    We worked our way along the corridors of the next deck up. No one stood in our way, nor seemed to be in any of the cabins. The ship shifted left, then right, and I had to place my hands against the cool gray walls to remain upright. I wondered for a moment if the stone airship was horribly damaged somehow. Were we plummeting to the ground?

    A rush of fierce wind and harsh rain met us as we approached the door to the main deck.
    It slammed open and shut over and over. A crack of lightning illuminated the downpour: a thousand drops of silver rain whirled in the air. The deck seemed empty.

    J'role came up beside me, placed one hand on my shoulder, the other hand on the hilt of the sword I carried. "My loved” he said, "unless you've practiced the use of this weapon since last we traveled, I'll take this, and you use magic." I felt annoyed, for I had the suspicion that whoever held the sword would lead, and it seemed that J'role was asking to lead out of habit. But it was true he would put the sword to better use. I gave him the weapon, then turned to the crowd of slaves behind us, signaling them with a raised hand to wait. Their eyes burned with intensity and a hunger for violence, but they kept their passions in check. J'role held the door open and the two of us stepped out onto the deck.

    The rain drenched us immediately. The wind pushed us to starboard, and we had to crouch to keep our balance. Lightning cracked through the sky and thundered terribly in our ears.

    The lightning illuminated eight Theran corpses fifteen feet ahead, their blood mixing with rainwater to stain the stone of the deck a light red. All had suffered improbable wounds to their limbs and chest. One woman's face had been crushed, leaving nothing but a smear of bone and torn flesh. Others had portions of their bodies scooped out. J'role signaled for a half-dozen of the slaves to follow us onto the deck. He pointed out the swords lying near the corpses, and the slaves hungrily picked among the dead.

    I looked off starboard and saw the other airship floating far away. The entire sky churned gray, and we rocked uselessly back and forth. It occurred to me that even if all our enemies were dead—the elemental creatures and the Theran sailors might have killed each other—we still might die on board a magical vessel we did not know how to use.

    But everyone was not dead. J'role tapped my shoulder, cocked his head to one side. I followed him around the ship's central castle. As we moved, working with great difficulty to keep from slipping on the rocking, rain soaked deck, I heard sounds. Cries of battle, cries of pain. And a horrible shrieking.

    With the other slaves following, we rounded the center castle, and saw a battle waged between a dozen Theran sailors and two of the elemental creatures. The things stood more than a dozen feet tall, with long, thin bodies. Their limbs were elongated as well, giving the sharp claws a long reach while their bodies remained safe. Their arms had suffered nicks and cuts and even a few long gashes. Deep blue liquid dripped from the wounds, but the strange blood felt up, floating high into the sky. The huge, curved mouths of the things seemed to be smiling.

    I noticed that they did not stand on the deck, but floated near it. Darting around the sailors, first they would attack from the rear, then from the top. The sailors twisted themselves around in confusion. One fell, his abdomen gouged by the creature's claws.

    And then one of the creatures spied us.

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    It smiled. I am certain it smiled.

    It rushed toward us, arms spread wide. J'role held up the sword, though I feared the weapon would be little help against the