Erik choked, spewed water from his mouth and nose, then vomited. He turned over and struck his head against a large rock. Roo’s voice sounded in his ear. “Don’t! You’ll knock your wits out of your silly head again. Lie still!”
Erik hurt. His body felt like one large cramp and he had never felt so foul in his life. “You drank a lot of ocean,” said Biggo, nearby. “If I hadn’t been standing on the rock you swam into, I don’t know if we’d have found you to pull you out.”
“Thanks,” said Erik weakly. His ears rang, and his face ached, and his nose hurt, and generally he wasn’t certain he was glad to be alive.
Calis came and said, “Can you move?”
Erik stood, wobbly, and said, “Of course.” As much as he might like to sit for a while, he knew that the alternative to moving was being left behind.
Erik looked around. Then his eyes narrowed and he counted. Thirteen men stood on the rocks. Looking at faces, he turned to Biggo and said, “Luis?”
“Out there,” said Biggo, with an inclination of his head toward the river.
“Sweet gods,” said Erik. Thirty-two men had gone into the river, and only thirteen had made it across.
Sho Pi was nearby and he said, “Perhaps some of them are washed up at different places on the shore.”
Erik nodded. But he knew it was more likely they were swept out to sea or drowned in the river.
Erik saw they were out on the tip of the southern habor breakwater, a long finger of rocks built up to prevent tidal flow interfering with shipping in the harbor. Calis motioned and each man fell into line. They moved carefully along the heavy rocks piled high to form the breakwater. In the darkness the footing was dangerous. After about a half hour of moving slowly, they reached a flat road formed across the top of the stones. Nakor whispered, “They must pack dirt on it so they can bring more rocks out in wagons if they need to repair the breakwater after a storm.”
Calis nodded and motioned for silence. He pointed to a tiny light in the distance. There was a small building located a few hundred yards ahead, where the stone breakwater turned into a proper jetty. It was certain to be defended.
Glancing toward the harbor mouth, Erik felt his stomach contract. “Captain!” he whispered.
“I’ve seen,” came the answer.
Erik looked back and saw the others had followed his gaze and were now looking at the harbor. Three, ships had been sunk in the harbor mouth, to ensure no raiders from the invading fleet could enter the harbor; and, nestled like chicks against a mother hen, a flotilla of ships hugged the docks. But none of them looked to be of shallow enough draft to get past the hulks blocking the harbor.
The pair of guards in the watch building were vigilantly watching across the river, so they were taken without knowing that Calis had slipped up behind. Using only his hands, Calis quickly disabled both men and lowered them to the floor of the hut.
Motioning for the men to gather around, Calis said, “The orders are simple.
“We wait until the sounds of battle in the morning. The Emerald Queen may try to slip some small boats around the jetty, so there may be a few defenders heading this way, but most of the city’s army will be on the northern walls, protecting the landward side of the city. Then we move straight up this jetty, head off left toward the shipbuilders’ estuary, and fire everything in sight. If anyone tries to stop you, kill him.
“Then we head back to the main docks, steal a boat of as shallow draft as we can find, and try to get out of this mess. If you can’t get back to the harbor, try to get out of the city on the northeastern side, and make overland to the City of the Serpent River.” He glanced from face to face. “It’s every man for himself, lads. No one is to linger for a comrade. If no one gets back to Krondor, then this has all been for naught. If most of us are going to die, let’s make it worth something.”
Grim nods of agreement were the only reply he received. The men took what shelter they could around the small hut and waited.
Erik shivered. He dozed, but the throbbing in his head made sleep impossible. He couldn’t believe how tired he felt. And the throbbing in his nose drained him like no pain he had known before.
“It’s broken,” said Roo.
“What?” said Erik, turning and discovering his friend could be seen in the predawn gloom.
“Your nose. It’s a mess. Want me to reset it?”
Erik knew he should say no, but he simply nodded. Roo had been through enough street fights to know what he was doing. Roo put his hands on either side of Erik’s nose and, with a swift move, pushed the pieces into place.
The pain shot through Erik’s head like hot iron spices. His eyes watered and he thought he would faint; then suddenly the pain drained away. The throbbing that had bothered him all night lessened, and he felt as if his face might not fall off after all.
“Thanks,” he said, wiping away tears.