[Child of the 7th Age]

"Captain, look!" Galhardir pointed grimly towards the Corsair ship as the pirates began to reel in their line and haul the smaller of the Stones onto the deck. For an instant Marreth's ship halted as if its captain was uncertain whether to take his prize back to shore or continue on and try to seize the other Stone. Then, abruptly, the vessel turned and begin to bear down on them. Its path would bring it alongside the Spirit in a matter of only a few minutes.

Glancing anxiously towards the mast, Luindal signalled to the men who were working on the rigging. "We've got to get out of here and fast. Is the sail up and secure?"

Elwên's voice came back, "She's up, sir. The rigging has been repaired the best we could. But whether the lines are strong enough to hold, we can't know for sure."

"We've no choice," countered Luindal. "Go ahead and unfurl her." Then he shouted to the helmsman. "Get us out of here."

The Elves pulled at the lines trying to coax the sail to unfurl on the central mast. The storm had passed and the sea was once again silent. For a moment, the canvas lay limp and unmoving, waiting for a fresh breeze to come. The Corsair vessel continued to hold course as the distance between the two ships shrank. Then the wind picked up. There was a creak and a groan as the rigging pulled taut and the sail billowed to its fullest. Slowly, the great ship began to move.

Luindal glanced nervously at the groaning lines but the sail continued to hold true. "I've got her, Captain," the Elf at the helm cried out and the Spirit skimmed along the top of the waves, as if Ulmo's unseen hand pushed her gently from behind. Within a few moments, the ship had maneuvered out of the way of the Corsairs and had swung around to the west, positioning itself further from the sandbar.

Luindal's first thought was to make it into port and permanently repair the damaged mast. As much as he would have liked to confront Marreth and seize the other Stone, he was unlikely to have success in the shape they were in now. But just as Luindal was about to turn his ship about and race to the shore, Annû's voice rang out, laced with suspicion, "Sir, look again. The Corsairs have stopped dead in the water and they're signalling to us...." Annû grimaced and placed his palm about the hilt of his sword.