High on the deck, Ragnaros was casting with all his strength, an earthy-yellow protective barrier surrounding him as he struggled to stabilize the ship. When he suddenly saw Deren poke his head out of the cabin hatch, he nearly suffered a magical backlash from fright. "Get back inside! It's dangerous out here!" Unable to interrupt his spell, he could only shout hoarsely.
Deren was no fool. He immediately pulled himself back inside, leaving only his head out to observe the situation.
Seeing this, Ragnaros let out a long breath. He had not forgotten the promise he had made to his big sister—if anything happened to Deren, Onyxia would definitely make him "wish he were dead."
As Deren watched the towering waves, he sighed inwardly.
Why is my luck so "good"? I got kidnapped, and then ran straight into a once-in-a-century storm at sea—
After watching for a while, he realized that although the ship was rocking violently, it was temporarily in no danger of capsizing under the stabilizing effects of Ragnaros's earth magic.
At a time like this, it was actually a good chance to escape—while Ragnaros was fully focused on casting and unable to spare attention elsewhere, he could jump into the sea and perhaps use the chaos to get away.
Of course, the more likely outcome was that he would be swallowed by the waves and become food for the fish and shrimp below.
The thought flashed through his mind for only a second before he firmly crushed it.
Jumping into the sea in this howling wind and rain? That was not escaping. That was suicide.
After being tossed around for a while longer, Deren finally could not endure it any longer. His stomach churned violently, and cold sweat poured down his body—seasickness had finally come for him.