he stood for a time at the windows running across the stem of the ship , looking out at the wind-tossed waves and listening to the slow creak of the tiller post running down through the center of the cabin to the rudder that probed the dark water beneath the stern.as he sat down to put on his boots , the door opened and durnik came in , brushing the ice pellets of the sleet squall chattering on the decks from the folds of his cloak .