Unsolicited assistance in Chapter 4 of "Elven Bloodline".

The Sealing's journey to sea was delayed for two weeks, and its course turned south. Captain Dudmont explained that they had unfinished business at Baldur's Gate, one of the largest ports in Sword Bay, between Waterdeep and Port Carlin. No one openly questioned this explanation, but everyone felt that he was uneasy, even hesitant. They had never seen the calm captain ever show such a state of mind.

Four days after the Sea Spirit left Waterdeep, the captain regained his demeanor. At that time, the lookout of the Sea Spirit spotted a sailboat with a deck full of people. A clipper will generally carry forty to fifty people; And in order to have an overwhelming advantage in attacking other ships and bring the spoils back to shore quickly, a pirate ship will typically have three times the number of crews. Pirate ships do not carry cargo, they only carry pirates.

If Dudmont once appeared weak, he is now back to his former firmness. The Sea Spirit is sailing at full speed, Katie? Brill removed Tamari from her shoulder and climbed up to the lookout. Robira was instructed to stand at the stern of the ship and use her magic to speed up the Sea Spirit. But the strong sea breeze blowing from the northwest filled the sails of the Sea Spirit and the pirate ship, and the pursuit would undoubtedly be a long one. On the central deck, the ship's musicians play an uplifting tune. Trist jumped from the bow of the ship earlier than usual and stood beside Dudmont at the helm.

"If we capture it, where should we drag it?" Drow asked, this is a question that is often asked in the open sea. They're still closer to Waterdeep, farther away from Baldur's Gate. But now that the north wind is in season, it is obviously much more appropriate to sail south.

"Oulu." Dudmont replied without hesitation.

Trist was a little surprised. Oulu is a rocky island between Waterdeep and Baldur's Gate, completely exposed to strong winds, with a separate town with a small population, and it is difficult for the armed forces there to hold an entire shipload of pirates.

"Let the shipwrights there repair the ship?" Drow asked, skeptical. Dudmund nodded, the lines of his face hardening, "Ollu has received many favors from Waterdeep, and they are going to watch over this pirate ship until another ship from Waterdeep drags it away. I'll put Robira in touch with Waterdeep.

Trist stopped talking. The captain's words seemed very logical, but very wrong. Drow knew that this was not the Sealing's regular voyage. Dudmont never left captured ships and personnel for others to deal with. In the eternal world of rolling waves, time never seems to be an issue. The Sea Spirit usually cruises the seas, and if it finds a pirate ship, captures or sinks it, and returns to an ally's port. It's a long journey, but no one cares.

"Our business at Baldur's Gate must be very urgent." Drow glanced at the captain suspiciously.

For the first time since departure, Dudmund turned his head to stare at him, and did not say a word for a long time, "We are not going to Baldur's Gate. He finally admitted.

"Where are we going?" There was not a hint of surprise in Trist's voice.

The captain shook his head and looked away. The steering wheel was slightly adjusted so that the Sea Spirit was right behind the clipper.

Trist kept his mouth shut, he knew that Dudmund was already a great respect for him to admit that their destination was not Baldur's Gate. He also knew that the captain had full trust in him. Their immediate priority was the pirate ship. It still runs far ahead, and the square canopy almost disappears below the blue horizon.

"Mage, the wind is even stronger! If we don't have more wind, we won't be able to catch up with it before dusk. Dudmont shouted to Robilla without looking back, and the magician muttered and waved his hand at the captain.

Trist smiled at Dudmont, then walked forward, back onto the bow of the boat, and continued to enjoy the scent of the ocean and the splashing waves. The waves roared around the Sea Spirit, and he needed to think and prepare in this lonely environment.

They chased for three hours before the pirate ship came into view of Katie Brill, who reconfirmed the identity of the other pirate ship from the lookout. It was a long summer day, and the sun was still hanging in the western half of the day. The pursuers knew they had to stop each other before sunset, or they would take advantage of the darkness to escape. Robira can cast locking spells on a pirate ship, but the ship undoubtedly also has a mage or priest. Although it won't be as powerful as Robella, it's more than enough to eliminate the locking magic. Moreover, pirate ships never operate far from their secret harbors, and it is impossible for the Sea Spirit to chase them to their lair, where pirates will be helped by their allies.

Dudmont didn't seem to care much about this, they had lost their target in the past due to nightfall, so there was no guarantee that this would happen again. Regardless, there will always be criminals at sea who need to be pursued. But in the eyes of Trist who secretly looked at the captain, Dudmont had never shown such a careless look. Obviously, while Dudmont never spoke of the mysterious incident that took place in Waterdeep, it undoubtedly occupied some, if not all, of the captain's mind.

Drow gripped the sail's cable and sighed. Dudmont would speak to him these things as he saw fit.

The sea breeze weakened, and the Sea Spirit's pursuit gradually increased. It looks like there's nowhere to run from that pirate ship. The bards, who had gone their separate ways during the long and tedious pursuit, regrouped and began to play music. Trist knew that the pirates would soon hear the music here, and that the music would cross the waves and tell them that the end was coming.

Now, everything seems to be back to normal, and although the battle is imminent, the captain's expression relaxes. Trist tried to convince himself that Dudmont's calm was because he was sure they would capture the pirate ship. Everything will pass smoothly.

"There are big waves at the stern!" The shouts came, attracting everyone's attention. "What's that?" More than one voice sounded at the same time. Trist looked at Katie, who was using her binoculars to look behind the Sea Spirit, shaking her head in confusion.

Drow slipped over the railings and leaned out overboard, keeping a close eye on the unknown tracker. He saw a mountain of snowy waves, revealing what appeared to be the dorsal fin of a killer whale, but no whale in the world could swim so fast. Like everyone else on board, Trist immediately sensed that this was not a creature of nature.

"It's going to hit us!" Veran on the stern ballbow battery? Mason issued a warning. As he spoke, the strange tracker suddenly turned to the starboard side of the Sea Spirit and walked alongside the schooner.

Trist could tell that this was not a whale. Whatever it was, as it sped twenty yards from the Sea Spirit, the stirring wall of water slapped directly against the schooner's hull. Drow thinks he sees a body in the splash - a human body.

"That's a person!" Katie's voice came from above, confirming Trist's suspicions even more.

All the crew watched in disbelief as the man rushed past the Sea Spirit and chased after the clipper.

"A magician?" Dudmund asked Robella.

Robbila shrugged, and the others just shook their heads blankly. "The question is," said the magician at last, "which side is he?" Friend or foe?

Obviously, the people on the clipper also didn't know where the man in the water came from. Some of the pirates leaned against the railings and stared blankly at him, while more picked up crossbows. The corsair's catapult fired a cloud of burning asphalt at him, and the slow ball of fire could not catch up with the swift tracker, and he had no choice but to fall into the sea with a loud "hiss" sound. The tracker easily circled around the pirate ship, and the splash around him dissipated low, revealing his robed body and a large burden behind him. He stood at the tip of the waves, shaking his arms quickly and shouting loudly. He was too far away from the Sea Spirit for none of Trister to hear what he was shouting.

"He's casting a spell!" Katie warned from the lookout, "He's going to ......" She stopped talking abruptly and gave Trist a concerned look. Drow, far below, couldn't figure out what she meant, but he could tell that Katie was in some kind of confusion. She shook her head, as if to deny something.

The people on the deck of the Sea Spirit are trying to determine the current situation. They saw the pirates commotion in the face of the tracker, shouting and the sound of crossbow firing, but the man seemed unaffected.

Suddenly, a terrible flash of light forced people to close their eyes. A large, expanding white ball of light appeared behind the pirate ship. Red clouds of fire shot into the sky, and then filled into a thick fog, covering a large area around the ball of light, engulfing both the pirate ship and the caster. It wasn't until the Sea Spirit approached the edge of the fog that Dudmont slowly slowed down. He cursed in a low voice, and slowly cruised along the edge of the fog.

The crew was on standby behind the ship's side, and the ballistae and stern ballistae were loaded and ready to fire.

Under the blowing of the breeze, the dense fog began to drift and dissipate. A vague figure gradually appeared in front of everyone's eyes. With one hand on his cheek, he stood right in the middle of the horrific explosion.

"Impossible." Katie shouted to Trist.

In fact, Trist agrees that this is impossible. He noticed the bright red robe, embroidered with magical runes and bizarre graphics, which depicted the magician's strange postures when casting spells, and some of the contents that should have been written into the spellbook by the high-ranking magician. Trist also recognized the bald top and the baby face. The two dimples and the big blue eyes, as well as the long, straight brown hair, were tightly tied together behind the ears, as if standing on top of their heads.

"What is he?" Dudmont asked Drow.

"Not what," Trist corrected him, "but who." Drow chuckled and shook his head in disbelief.

"And who is he?" Dudmont tried to make his voice as stern as possible. Trist's happy laughter clearly affected him.

"A friend," Trist replied, looking up at Katie, "Harko of Saddleback?" Hubbell.

"Oh no." Robira snorted. Like all mages, Robira has long heard of the prestige of Saddle Town and the eccentric Hubbell family, the most dangerous and inexplicable mage family that has added a lot of luster to the multiverse.

In a matter of moments, most of the fog had dissipated, and Dudmund and his crew were no longer so nervous. It wasn't until the air was almost completely transparent that they saw the pirate ship again. It had run away far away. Dudmund was about to give the order to continue the pursuit, but he looked at the low red sun, calculated the distance between the two ships, and decided to stop there for the day.

Magician Hako? Hubbell's figure was now clearly visible, and he was standing a dozen yards from the bow of the Sealing's right side. Dudmund handed the steering wheel to a crew member, and walked to the side of the ship with Trist and Robella. Katie also came down from the mainmast and joined them.

Hako stood expressionlessly on the water, staring at where the pirate ship had vanished, rising and falling with the rolling waves. The blue and white splashes always wanted to eat at his toes, but the magic of the floating water kept them in vain.

Finally, Harko turned to face the Sea Spirit and looked at Trist and the others, "I didn't expect that," he shook his head, "Looks like I'm aiming." “

"That's good." Robella muttered.

"Are you going to get on the boat?" Dudmont asked the man. And the question, or rather the sudden realization that he was not on the deck, woke Hako from his trance.

"Oh yes! That's a great idea, glad I found you guys. “

He glanced at his feet, "I don't know how long my spell will last......^ As he spoke, his spell suddenly failed, and the magician was covered by the sea in the blink of an eye.

"I'm surprised......" said Katie, who was lying on the railing, nonchalantly. Dudmund told the crew to jump into the sea to catch the magician, and then looked at his friends in amazement, "He used such an unreliable spell to wander the open seas?" Here it is almost impossible for him to find us, or even any ships......"

"He's from the Hubbells." Robbila replied dryly.

"Hako? Hubbell. Katie emphasized.

Dudmund shook his head, but when he saw the smiling Trist, his mood finally felt a little lighter.