Wielder's Rising Read Free Page A

long pointy front that would cut right through the water.  He watched as sailors on the ship hustled back and forth preparing the ship to sail.  He took a deep breath and led Pennon forward.
    He walked up the wooden plank carefully, trying not to think of the water swirling below on either side.  Once he was on the ship he didn’t feel much better despite its large size.  He glanced around at the sailors scrambling across the deck tightening ropes and preparing to shove off.  They all seemed perfectly at ease.  Traven wondered how someone could feel at ease when there wasn’t solid ground beneath his feet.  A sailor hurried towards him and Pennon.
    “Are you Traven?” the gruff man barked.
    “Yes, I am,” he replied.
    “I’ll be taking your horse below if you don’t mind.  We need to get him below and secure so we can push off.”  Traven thanked the sailor and handed him Pennon’s reins.  He glanced around the deck as Pennon was led away by the gruff sailor.  On the other side of the deck he could see Philosopher Studell excitedly looking out to sea.  Traven carefully walked over to join him.
    “Isn’t it a great day for sailing?” Professor Studell exclaimed when he stepped up beside him.  The philosopher was extremely excited to be going on the journey.  He had been ready almost from the moment he had first read the scroll. He had impatiently been waiting over the last few days while the preparations for the voyage were being finalized.
    “I guess it’s as good a day as any,” Traven replied.  “Does the boat always rock this much?”
    “This is nothing,” Studell answered.  “Wait until we get out on the open sea.  The waves are much higher away from the docks and out of the harbor.  That’s when sailing gets fun!”
    Traven steadied himself against the side of the ship and tried not to think about the boat rocking more than it already was.  Though he had been told they would only be on the ship for five or six days, he already knew it was going to feel much longer.  At least they would make it all the way up the coast in a mere fraction of the time that it would take traveling on land.  He thought he might even be able to beat the Royal Army to Candus if Studell found what they were looking for quickly enough.
    “Prepare to shove off!”
    He turned to see a large, scruffy man standing at the helm of the ship.  He had bushy red hair, a sunburned face, and a stance that said he was in charge.  The sailors instantly began to untie ropes and wind them.  Traven watched with a little regret as the ramp was pulled up and the boat lurched away from the dock.  It was too late to turn back now.
    “What’s wrong?” Studell asked with concern.  “Did we forget something?”  Traven realized how pitiful he must look and traded his frown for a smile.
    “Oh, it’s nothing,” he replied as he glanced at the open sea.
    Studell shrugged and turned back to stare out to sea as well.  The vessel slowly made its way through the other ships and out into the harbor away from the docks.  Traven took a few more deep breaths as the boat got further and further from land.  He didn’t understand how everyone else on ship didn’t seem to mind.  Finally the Arrow was past all of the other ships in the harbor and picking up speed as it headed out into the open ocean.
    He turned back and watched Calyn grow smaller and smaller.  When he had first seen the city with the ocean behind it, he had never dreamed that someday he would be sailing out of the city and onto the never-ending blue expanse beyond.  As they got further away, he noticed an increase in the swaying of the boat.  Studell had been right about the rocking, but Traven was happy to find that it didn’t bother him as much as he had thought it would.  Perhaps the rocking of the boat wouldn’t be too bad after all.
    “And we’re off and racing.”  Traven turned and saw the large, scruffy man who had been at the helm of the