must be at our very best, or risk losing many crewmen," Robillard remarked.
Deudermont, his eye back against his spyglass, did not disagree.
"One error, like the many we have been making of late, could cost many of our crew their lives," the wizard pressed on.
Deudermont lowered the glass and regarded his cryptic friend, then followed Robillard's reasoning, and his sidelong glance, to Wulfgar, who stood at the starboard rail amidships.
"He has been shown his errors," Deudermont reminded.
"Errors that he logically understood he was making even as he was making them," Robillard countered. "Our large friend is not controlled by reason when these affairs begin, but rather by emotion, by fear and by rage. You appeal to his rational mind when you explain the errors to him, and on that level, your words do get through. But once the battle is joined, that rational mind, that level of logical progression, is replaced by something more primal and apparently uncontrollable."
Deudermont listened carefully, if somewhat defensively. Still, despite his hopes to the opposite, he could not deny his wizard friend's reasoning. Neither could he ignore the implications for the rest of his crew should Wulfgar act irrationally, interrupting Robillard's progression of the battle. Badeen's ship, after all, carried two wizards and a healthy number of dangerous archers.
"We will win this fight by sailing circles around the lumbering craft," Robillard went on. "We will need to be quick and responsive, and strong on the turn."
Deudermont nodded, for indeed Sea Sprite had employed maneuverability as its main weapon against many larger ships, often putting a broadside along a pirate's stern for a devastating archer rake of the enemy decks. Robillard's words, then, seemed fairly obvious.
"Strong on the turn," the wizard reiterated, and Deudermont caught on to what the wizard was really saying.
"You wish me to assign Wulfgar to the rudder crew."
"I wish you to do that which is best for the safety of every man aboard Sea Sprite" Robillard answered. "We know how to defeat a, ship such as this one, Captain. I only ask that you allow us to do so in our practiced manner, without adding a dangerous variable to the mix. I am not going to deny that our Wulfgar is a mighty warrior, but unlike his friends who once sailed with us, he is unpredictable."
Robillard made to continue, but Deudermont stopped him with an upraised hand and a slight nod, an admission of defeat in this debate. Wulfgar had indeed acted dangerously in previous encounters, and doing that now, against this formidable pirate, could bring disaster.
Was Deudermont willing to risk that for the sake of a friend's ego?
He looked more closely at Wulfgar, the big man standing at the rail staring intently at their quarry, fists clenched, blue eyes blazing with inner fires.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Wulfgar reluctantly climbed down into the hold - even more so when he realized he actually preferred to be down there. He had watched the captain's approach, coming to him from Robillard, but still Wulfgar had been surprised when Deudermont instructed him to go down into the aft hold where the battle rudder crew worked. Normally, Sea Sprite's rudder worked off the wheel above, but when battle was joined the navigator at the wheel simply relayed his commands to the crew below, who more forcefully and reliably turned the ship as instructed.
Wulfgar had never worked the manual rudder before and hardly saw it as the optimal place to make use of his talents.
"Sour face," said Grimsley, the rudder crew chief. "Ye should be glad for bein' outta the way o' the wizards and bowmen."
Wulfgar hardly responded, just walked over and took up the heavy steering pole.
"He put ye down here for yer strength, I'm guessin'," Grimsley went on, and Wulfgar recognized that the grizzled old seaman was trying to spare his feelings.
The barbarian knew better. If Deudermont truly wanted to utilize his great strength in steering the ship, he would have put Wulfgar on the main tack lines above. Once, aboard the old Sea Sprite many years before, Wulfgar had brilliantly and mightily turned the ship, bringing her prow right out of the water, executing a seemingly impossible maneuver to win the day.
But now, it seemed, Deudermont would not even trust him at that task, would not allow him to even view the battle at all.
Wulfgar didn't like it - not one bit - but this was Deudermont's ship, he reminded himself. It was not his place to question the