"Thunder and spray, this won't do - one more wave athwart and she'll come apart right under us! Where in the Endless Dark is the Captain?" Scow reached out and grabbed a passing sailor by the arm.

"Stand to, lad! Where's Captain Fjord?!" Fjord had been the Peregrine's Second, directly subordinate to Tarq and a capable, if somewhat nervous, commander. For reasons only known to a select few, the First Mate had remained behind with Captain Vaelysia, so Fjord had been given command of the Peregrine for the return voyage.

The young man stammered and tried to pull away, but the Mattock's grip was iron-bound. He shook his head and pointed with his free hand.

"Overboard, sir! He and Lyhmes were -"

Scow didn't wait for him to finish. He let the man go and turned back to Triistan.

"C'mon, boy, stop standing there with your mouth a'hanging open like a bloody scupper!"

He grabbed Triistan by the collar and dragged him straight into the mob, bellowing above the storm as only the Mattock could. His roar and the presence of his huge frame knocking men and women aside soon brought them to order, and they began working together to ease the ketch overboard. Fortunately, that was the direction the ship was listing, so they did not have far to go when another wave struck them and the Mattock's prediction came true. With a horrifying cacophony of crashing and rending sounds, the Peregrine virtually exploded under and around her crew...

- From "Beyond the Burning Sea", Book One of the "Fate's Crucible" saga