by A. C. Cobble
“Let’s go get those spices, First Mate,” she said with a grin.
Crazy, aye, she admitted her first mate might be a little bit right about that, but it took a little crazy to make history. Not that she cared what they wrote down in the books. All that she cared about was that before her end, she would earn a fortune that would be legendary.
She held the spyglass back up to her eye and found their quarry again. Black Rodger would try to run, she suspected, but he couldn’t out sail her, and there was nowhere to hide. Not from Catherine Ainsley, Captain of the Cloud Serpent.
The Cartographer XXVII
His quill scratched across the parchment, dark ink outlining the coast, noting the rivers, the forests, and the mountains beyond. He filled in a rough approximation of Enhover’s Westlands settlement but left it rough. No one was interested in the layout of the lodging, meal halls, brothels, warehouses, or pubs of the place. Anyone perusing the map would want to know what was beyond, where the riches lay.
Oliver glanced at his notes and then back at the map he was drawing. The outlines on the blank page were slowly expanding the boundary between knowledge and fantasy. There were still seas of empty space, where only the wild stories of explorers gave any hint of what lay beyond, but week by week, he was filling in the gaps. He was defining this new land.
He grinned at a second map that sat on the corner of the desk, allegedly completed. It was copied from one of the Company’s. A partner of his had procured it from a Company man too far gone in his cups and passed it to Oliver so he could make a rough replica, and then they’d slipped it back into the Company man’s satchel before he recovered the next morning.
Oliver had quickly seen the Company’s map was hopelessly inaccurate, and using it would lead an expedition astray, if not into complete disaster. His hands had twitched, yearning to correct it, but he’d left the map as it was. He had no ill will toward the Company or the men who worked on her behalf, but he wasn’t going to give them any advantages that they hadn’t earned.
A knock sounded at the door, and Oliver granted permission to enter.
A man poked his head in. “Ey, Cartographer, you coming down to the pub?”
“I’ve got work to do and ale here, Robinson,” he replied.
“A ship from Enhover berthed two turns of the clock past,” said Robinson. “It had our man on it. He got the official charter, Cartographer. The Allied Westlands Company has been granted leave to begin exploration and commerce in the Westlands territory! The king himself signed the document. Anything we find out there is ours to claim. We’re going to be rich men, Cartographer, rich men!”
Smirking, Oliver laid down his quill. “Being a rich man isn’t what you think it is, Robinson.”
Robinson rolled his eyes. “Ey, you’ll be giving me your shares then, Cartographer?”
Oliver stood and stretched, cracking his back, realizing he had been sitting for too long. “I’m not doing this for the silver, but I’m not going to give it away, either. Not to you, at least.”
The other man laughed and leaned against the side of the doorway. “Come on then, mate. Let’s hoist an ale and toast the Allied Westlands Company. Second to the continent after the Company, but we’ll be the first over the Ridge, ey? We’ll be the first to see what this land truly has to offer.”
Oliver followed the buoyant Robinson out the door and down to the pub, weaving through the dirt streets of Enhover’s Westlands colony. He stepped carefully to avoid the large piles of waste left by the odd, flightless birds that people in the place rode instead of horses. He ignored the calls from the women hanging out the windows of the brothels. He looked up the muddy street, past the two-story buildings that lined it, over the wooden palisade that protected it. He looked at the expansive, virgin forest that stretched beyond, nearly as far as he could see, where it rose to the foothills of a sharp line of mountains. He looked at a world untamed by the hand of man.
The Ridge, as the Westlands colonists called the mountain range, rose like a wall between the known world and the unknown. The colonists believed it was raw wilderness beyond, but no one had been there, no one had mapped it.
Oliver had already been out in the forest, nearly to the foothills of that range. He’d strolled around the huge trunks of the trees, beneath a canopy that rose hundreds of yards into the sky. The darkness below that natural roof was filled with strange and wonderful beasts and flora not even the botanists could identify. It offered an escape from who he had been.
He could feel the bubble of life within that forest, small sparks and large ones. They burned in that dim light with an unrestrained vigor that he’d never felt in Enhover. As far as anyone knew, this land was untouched by man except for their small compound on the coast, but it wasn’t uninhabited.
The Westlands was filled with virulent life like no man had ever encountered. And there were spirits out there. Oliver had sensed them the moment he’d slid over the gunwale of the Cloud Serpent and snuck several leagues south to the colony, flitting in at night so that none knew the airship’s shadow had met these far shores, so that no one knew who he used to be.
He could feel the spirits, even from within the compound. He could reach out to them, commune in a sense. He’d felt beings questing, seeking an attuned mind, but he had not yet responded. He was savoring what he did not know, what he had yet to learn.
This place was a mystery to him, like his newfound abilities. He was eager to explore out there and within, but too often of late, when he gained knowledge, he wished that he had not. Living ignorant was better sometimes. It was almost time, though. Soon, he would lead a party for the Allied Westlands Company beyond the palisade, through the forest, over the ridge, and into the unknown. He would learn the wilderness and chart it. He would open himself to the wonders of this place.
He was no longer what he had been. No longer the son of the king, no longer a member of the Company, no longer the Duke of Northundon. He didn’t know what he would become. A merchant? Not like he had been, he hoped. A druid? Maybe, though he was still unsure what that meant. He could feel the spirits, could encourage them, but if there was more, he left it for the future. For now, he was merely the Cartographer, and he was content with that.
Robinson burst through the door of the pub, dragging Oliver behind him. He shouted at their partners in the corner and then back to the barkeep, demanding a fresh round of ales. The group was clustered around a thick scroll spread out on their table, the ends held down by half-empty mugs. Their charter, granting the Allied Westlands Company rights to explore and trade in the vast, unknown continent of the Westlands.
Oliver picked up the scroll, rolling it tight, ignoring the signature at the bottom. He stuffed it into his satchel, beside his quill, his ink, and his notebooks. It wouldn’t do for the burgeoning company’s legal authority to be so quickly stained with ale.
He slung his satchel and broadsword over the back of a chair and settled at the table, the ebullient joy of his partners infecting him with their excitement. He felt his lips curling into a grin.
“A toast!” cried Robinson, slapping Oliver on the shoulder and raising his mug. “A toast to the Allied Westlands Company! A toast to this brave crew! And a toast to our leader into the unknown, the Cartographer!”
Thanks for reading!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my book! There are plenty to choose from, so it means a lot you decided to spend your time with this story. If you enjoyed it, please tell a friend about it.
A few folks who helped drag this from messy draft to complete package: Shawn T King is responsible for the cover design and most of the graphics you see on my social media or website. Bob Kehl illustrated a digital painting and whipped up the line art for me. Soraya Corcoran created the maps — which was a bit crucial in this particular series. Nicole Zoltack is back yet again and my proof reader, and James Z is my lone beta reader. Without their help, this would be a very different experience.
Thank
you for checking out the book! You can find larger versions of the maps, series artwork, my newsletter, my blog, and information about my other books at accobble.com. I save the best stuff for Patreon, so if you’re a big fan, that’s where to go for exclusive, behind-the-scenes updates!
And be sure to watch for my next series, The King’s Ranger, which debuts September 1st! Click the link to pre-order!
Thanks again,
AC
Glossary
Members of the Crown:
Edward Wellesley - King of Enhover
Lilibet Wellesley – deceased, former wife of Edward & Queen of Enhover
Philip Wellesley – son of Edward & Lilibet, Prince of Enhover & Duke of Westundon
Lucinda Wellesley - wife of Philip, Princess of Enhover & Duchess of Westundon
Franklin Wellesley - son of Edward & Lilibet, Duke of Eastundon
John Wellesley - son of Edward & Lilibet, Duke of Southundon
Oliver “Duke” Wellesley - son of Edward & Lilibet, Duke of Northundon
William Wellesley - brother of Edward, unlanded earl & Prime Minister of Enhover
Lannia Wellesley - daughter of William & unlanded countess
Members of the Peerage (Council of Lords):
Josiah Child - widower & Baron of Eiremouth
Aria Child - daughter of Josiah, twin of Isabella
Isabella Child - daughter of Josiah, twin of Aria
Nathaniel Child - brother of Josiah & unlanded baron
Rafael Colston – unlanded marquess
Members of the Church:
Joshua Langdon - Cardinal of Enhover
Gabriel Yates - Bishop of Westundon
Thotham - priest & Knife of the Council
Samantha “Sam” - apprentice of Thotham
Members of the Ministry:
Richard Brach - Admiral of the Royal Marines
Brendan Ostrander - Commander of the Royal Marines in Archtan Atoll Colony
Herbert Shackles - Chief of Staff for Prince Philip Wellesley
Joff Gallen - Senior Inspector in Harwick
Patrick “Pat” McCready - Inspector in Harwick
Jonas - night watchman in Harwick
Walpole - minor bureaucrat in Westundon
Bryce – minor bureaucrat in Westundon
Winchester - valet to Oliver Wellesley
Members of the Company:
Randolph Raffles - member of the Company’s board of directors, Company representative in Westundon
Sebastian Dalyrimple - Earl of Derbycross & Governor of Archtan Atoll Colony
Hathia Dalyrimple - wife of Sebastian & Countess of Derbycross
Isisandra Dalyrimple - daughter of Sebastian & Hathia
Jain Towerson - Governor of Imbon Colony
Giles – senior factor (merchant) in Imbon Colony
John Haines - Captain of the airship Cloud Serpent
Catherine Ainsley - First Mate on the airship Cloud Serpent
Pettybone - Second Mate on the airship Cloud Serpent
Samuels - crew on the airship Cloud Serpent
Others:
Pierre De Bussy - Governor of Finavia’s colonies in the Vendatt Islands
Duvante - historian & author
Edwin Holmes – deceased, former pothecary in Harwick
Fielding - apothecary in Harwick
Jack - body man to Baron Nathaniel Child
Marcus - adept in the Feet of Seheht
Andrew – barman & owner of the Befuddled Sage
Madam Winrod – medicine woman
Artemis – leader of a group of pirates
Locations:
Nation of Enhover
Southundon - home to King Edward, Duke John & capital of Enhover / Southundon province
Westundon - home to Prince Philip, Duke Oliver & capital of Westundon province
Eastundon - home to Duke Franklin & capital of Eastundon province
Northundon - capital of Northundon province, destroyed in war
Middlebury - city in Eastundon province & major rail transit hub
Swinpool - city in Westundon province & cod fishing village
Harwick - city in Eastundon province & whaling village
United Territories – allied nations, tribute states to Enhover
Ivalla - home of the Church’s headquarters
Finavia – wealthy merchant nation
Rhensar – forested nation known for hedge mages and wood witches
Coldlands - subjugated and largely destroyed by war
Archtan Atoll - colony of the Company & famous for levitating islands
Archtan Town - location of Company House
Eyies – island in Archtan Atoll
Farawk – island near Artchtan Atoll
Imbon - colony of the Company
Westlands - largely unexplored & location of Company outpost
Southlands - largely unexplored & location of Company outpost
Darklands - largely unexplored, religious state known for worship of the underworld
