by Drew Wagar
Charis took the job of pushing her forward and the other priestesses fell in behind her as they walked swiftly down the corridor. Kiri felt Charis’ hand on her shoulder.
Choso’s mother will attempt to rile you, lie about you and blame you. Do not react to her. Concentrate on Nerina. Only she can save you …
The words did not need their accompanying sense of desperate importance to convince Kiri. She trembled as the chair jolted down the corridor, its wheels now clicking loudly on the bare stone floor as the carpet ended at a junction. Kiri was spun around to the right and pushed onwards. More light filtered in around her. This new corridor was even wider and taller. Kiri could make out windows far above, the orange light of Lacaille streaming in and being reflected in different directions by the cunningly aligned mirrors.
They left the temple via a pair of enormous dark panelled doors and crossed a courtyard decorated with exotic flowers, arriving at an impressive columned building. Kiri recognised it as the city hall.
Ahead another large double door was flanked on either side by two armed guards. Guards of the temple. Kiri had seen their like before, having been chased through the city streets by them on many occasions. Their decorative armour always slowed them down, they were easy to evade. The ruddy metal of their helmets, breastplates, shoulder and thigh guards was heavy and cumbersome. Both carried a staff, perhaps ten hands long in their right hands, made of bright shining metal. It was said that the staff never left them in their lives. Given as a weapon of honour on completion of their training it was their constant companion until the after came. The women of the temple guard were rightly feared by the onlies.
She swallowed as she was pushed closer to them. They didn’t move, but their stares bore straight into her. She could sense their anger like a wave of heat rolling towards her. One of them clenched and unclenched her fist around the ornamental staff she carried. Kiri saw her cheek twitch just above her jaw strap.
As they approached, the guards stepped forward, barring the way with their staffs crossed.
Save me …
‘We bring the accused for the Quisition,’ Charis said, coolly.
The guards stepped back smartly, turned and snapped to attention, facing each other. Charis gestured at the doors and they miraculously opened of their own accord.
CHAPTER FIVE
Off the coast of Amar
Round 2306, First Pass
‘Looks like he’s going to live.’
Meru heard voices and woke with a jolt. He coughed, spewing water, before being able to look up.
‘Who … where am I?’ he managed to croak.
‘We’ll be asking the questions.’
Meru looked up into the fierce grey eyes of a tall man. Meru took in the full grey beard, hair that streamed from a powerful brow and a weather beaten face. The man looked back at him intently. He was dressed in oilskins, typical of seafarers. On his left was a stocky woman dressed in grubby stained overalls marked with grease and what looked like burn marks. To his right a thin, almost skeletal man regarded him from under a wide brimmed hat, a long crooked nose the most immediately obvious feature.
‘Waste of time,’ the thin man ventured. ‘Don’t need no freebooters, shoulda left him to the squider.’
‘He’s young,’ the woman countered. ‘Might be useful. More useful than you anyways …’
‘Belay that,’ the tall man said, his voice deep and commanding. ‘Your name boy and be quick about it.’
Meru glanced about him. He was on the deck of the strange vessel that had somehow come to his rescue. He looked around in bewilderment. Above him the strange sails he’d seen were revealed to be thick strands of metal string worked back and forth into a complex net, held at a slight angle by a complex set of ropes and pulleys.
Why, what is all that for …?
‘Boy! Your name!’
Meru looked at the tall man and gulped.
‘Meru. Meru Farstone. I’m a timekeeper, late of the Bethany.’
The man frowned. ‘The Bethany out of Amar? Captain Turbeck?’
Meru shook his head. ‘Amar, yes sir, but Reyner was my captain.’
The tall man looked at the woman next to him with a faint smile.
‘He’s speaking the truth, in as much as that,’ she said. ‘I remember Reyner. Good man.’
‘Just as well,’ the tall man said, looking to Meru. ‘Otherwise I’d’ve gutted him already.’
Meru shifted backwards uneasily.
‘But since you’re here, you’d better be telling us your story. How comes you’re shipwrecked hereabouts, lad?’
Meru related how his ship had been caught in the maelstrom, how it had sunk and how he’d found himself the only survivor lost at sea.
‘I followed this flying creature, hoping it would lead me to land …’
‘Dach,’ the man said.
‘Dach?’
‘The flying creature. They’re called dachs.’
Meru looked around him again. ‘This ship … it’s …’
‘Yes?’ the man said, his eyes narrowing.
‘Well, it’s impossible!’ Meru burst out. ‘It’s metal! How does it move? Those sails, a flash like lightning, a spinning blade under the hull … and the speed. How can this be?’
The man straightened, a wide grin forming on his lips.
‘Didn’t miss nothing,’ the woman said. She was grinning too.
‘Timekeeper you say?’ the man asked.
Meru nodded eagerly. ‘An apprentice, but I get my articles soon, I’m ahead in my studies. I can already plot Mayura’s pass.’
‘Can you now. Smart then, eh?’
‘It’s not difficult when you understand the figurings.’
The man exchanged a look with the woman, who raised her eyebrows.
‘So young Meru,’ the man said. ‘Best be making introductions I feel.’ He held out his hand. ‘Coran Steele, Captain of the Mobilis.’
Meru took it and was hoisted to his feet by a firm grip from the strong arm. Coran gestured to the woman. ‘Melanie, ship’s engineer.’
‘Engineer?’ Meru mouthed the unfamiliar word.
‘You’ll see,’ the woman said with a friendly smile. ‘Call me Mel.’
‘And this is Fitch, ship’s carpenter and master at arms.’
The thin man didn’t smile or hold out his hand but regarded Meru with a wary eye. ‘You’d best be tellin’ him sooner or later. Sooner’d be best, I reckon.’
‘Telling me what?’ Meru asked.
‘Time enough for all that,’ Coran said. ‘First, let’s get you fixed for food, grog and lodgings. Rest first. Then we’ll talk.’
Meru was escorted below decks by Coran. He looked about him with curiosity. Not only was the hull of the ship constructed from metal, so was the interior. Decks, bulkheads and surprisingly thin structural beams were all a rusty brown for the most part, bolted together with rivets and fastenings as big as his thumbs. Here and there the interior was panelled with shadewood planks. The inside was lit by curious globes, festooned at regular intervals to the ceiling, casting a bright steady illumination within.
Can’t be fires, too steady, so how does that …
Meru caught sight of the captain grinning at his astonishment.
There seemed to be no one else about. This ship had to be three times the length of the Bethany, which had a crew of eight. It was a behemoth compared to any of the ships Meru had seen before. He’d only seen the three occupants so far and as for the ship’s strange motive power …
They came to a bulkhead with a metal door. It had a small round porthole with a strange spoked circular device below it. Coran spun it around and the door clicked open, gesturing for Meru to enter. Inside was a galley, with a series of metal tables and benches all bolted to the floor. Coran gestured for Meru to sit down. A plate of food was waiting with a cup and a knife. All were metal too.
Meru looked at them in surprise.
But metal is so precious … to make
ordinary utensils out of it …
‘Don’t stand on ceremony, lad. You must be famished. Fitch’s already got you some fare.’
‘Fitch is the cook too?’
‘Keep’s him busy.’
Meru nodded and began eating ravenously. He couldn’t help himself, stuffing it down as fast as he could. The food was fresh, fish and greens for the most part, with a cup of warmed chai. The aromas and the succulent textures goaded him on faster.
‘Enjoying that?’
Meru noticed Coran was looking at him with a grin.
‘It’s wonderful, thank you.’
‘You did us a favour distracting the squider, we might not have caught it otherwise. Enjoy it.’
Meru looked down at his plate and swallowed. Not fish then. Coran laughed.
‘So, how long were you out there?’ the captain finally asked after Meru had slowed his ravenous eating.
‘Two or three stretches I think,’ Meru answered. ‘It was sixth chime when we turned about and headed home. When the maelstrom overtook us …’
Meru stopped for a moment. The captain, all the men aboard the Bethany, all lost. He’d never see them again. Somehow he had survived. His hands trembled at the thought, his skin pale, a cold sweat on his brow.
‘Happens more than you’d think,’ Coran said. ‘Storms in the sunward churn the seas and send those whirlpools shadeward. You need more than sails to escape them.’
‘Like this ship?’
‘Aye lad. The Mobilis can run before a storm with ease.’
‘But how …’
‘Well, that’s what I’d be wanting to talk to you about.’
‘Fitch said …’
‘Aye, he did,’ Coran said and then paused. ‘You’re smart to be seeing the Mobilis is no ordinary vessel.’
‘That’s plain to see!’ Meru stopped chewing and listened intently.
Coran smiled and then dropped his voice, his friendly smile fading. ‘And it’s a secret too.’
Meru thought about that for a moment.
‘And I know your secret. Is that what you’re saying? You’re going to throw me overboard?’
Coran held up his hand and sat back as Meru’s voice rose in alarm.
‘We ain’t no murderers lad and we wouldn’t have rescued you just to chuck you in the brine now, would we?’
‘I guess not …’
‘Just trying to set our course away from prying eyes, if you get my drift.’
‘But the senate, the council. They should know. A ship like this …’
‘Exactly the sort of trouble I wish to avoid.’ Coran leaned forward, his face suddenly grim and serious.
‘The senate doesn’t know?’ Meru whispered.
‘Like I said, a secret,’ Coran replied. ‘Perhaps one day, but not yet. So here’s the deal, young Meru.’
Meru looked up and waited, trying to stop from shivering.
‘I can’t be taking you back to Amar, not for a long while,’ Coran said steadily. ‘Does that present a problem?’
Meru thought about it.
My parents won’t care, not after …
‘No. I need a few rounds experience as a timekeeper before I get my articles. I just need to serve on a ship. This is as good as any, better maybe, if you’ll take me.’
Coran frowned and leant back in his chair. ‘Got no family who’d be missing you?’
Meru shook his head. ‘None.’
Coran paused for a moment, giving Meru a hard stare. He then stuck out his lower lip. ‘Can’t promise we’ll be going near a port any time soon, leastways not a port you’ll know.’
‘Why? Where are you planning to go?’
‘I’ll be keeping that to myself for now. If you’re going to be shipping with us I need to see your work. The timekeepers aboard aren’t set. Mayura’s pass is due soon, that can be your first task.’
‘Aye, sir.’
‘No sirs, just Captain.’
Meru nodded.
‘So why can’t you go back to Amar? Aren’t you from …’
‘Oh I’m from Amar, born and bred. But the senate isn’t ready for the tale I have to tell, not yet. You’ll not be breathing a word about us to anyone.’ Coran’s voice grew stern. ‘You were just the plucky survivor of sad wreck. Clear?’
‘Clear.’ Meru swallowed.
What tale?
‘I’ll have your solemn word on that, lad.’ Coran’s gaze was fierce and direct.
Meru paused for a moment. ‘You have it. I’ll not break it.’
Coran nodded and held his hand out across the table. ‘In that case, welcome aboard the Mobilis, apprentice Meru.’
Meru took the hand, feeling the rough calloused skin of a man who’d been at sea for many rounds. The grip was firm and the shake went all the way up into his shoulder.
‘Just in case you’re wondering,’ Coran added. ‘If I find you do let slip, I’ll get Fitch to deal with you. Carpenters are good with knives. He’s not happy we picked you up and, truth to say, he’s got a point. We don’t need complications right now.’
‘Why? What are you hiding?’
Coran frowned. ‘You’re a one aren’t you? Ask no questions and you won’t have no more secrets to keep, eh? Eat up and then report to Mel, she’ll show you about. I’ll be setting a course home.’
I wonder where home is?
Coran nodded at Mel’s questioning look as he climbed up to the wheelhouse of the Mobilis.
‘He’s shady?’ she asked.
Coran nodded. ‘He’ll be fine. A little shocked I’m guessing, to be expected. Not easy losing your ship and your crew so young. First foundering I’d say.’
Mel nodded thoughtfully. ‘We … ah … persuading him to stay aboard?’
‘That was the thinking,’ Coran said. ‘But he says he has no family that’ll miss him.’
‘Really?’
‘Don’t believe a word of it,’ Coran replied. ‘Bad blood, running away or something like that would be my guess. We’ll find out sometime soon enough. Either way, he’s happy enough not to be going home. Just as well for him.’
‘You thinking of new recruits then, Captain? That wise?’
‘He’s got smarts and he’s old enough. Timekeepers are trained in figurings and writings. Could be just what we need.’ Coran shrugged. ‘Show him the workings, maybe he can figure it. Otherwise we’re never going to get anywhere. See how he takes to it.’
‘And if he doesn’t?’
Coran grinned. ‘Timekeepers are smart, don’t think it’s likely. He doesn’t want to go home neither. If he is a dunce, well … no one’s going to miss an apprentice now, are they? Specially when they’re already drowned.’
Meru emerged on to the deck of the Mobilis to see Coran standing at the low slung bridge, peering at a variety of strange metal instruments that surrounded the helm. Unlike the timeworn metal of the ship, this metal was yellow, bright and shining in Lacaille’s light. Behind him he could see Mel standing towards the stern of the vessel, levering aside a hatchway just forward of the aft mast. The ship was barely moving, the strange thrumming hardly audible, with no sign of the remarkable speed Meru had experienced before. Coran seemed occupied and Meru decided he’d give the enigmatic captain a wide berth for the time being.
He walked down the flanks of the ship towards the stern, marvelling at the thinness of the metal bulwarks and deck plating, his feet thumping. Above him the rear mast and its strange sails towered into the sky. As he passed underneath he could hear a faint crackling from the sail, like a group of nargs around a ripe sweetbud. Mel saw him approach and gave him a jaunty wave.
‘Feelin’ better now?’
‘Much,’ Meru replied, ducking under a series of metal ropes as he approached.
‘Don’t be touching those!’ Mel warned.
Meru carefully worked his way around the ropes, ducking down and then straightening up again as he got close to the hatch.
‘What are all these strings and ropes for?’ he
asked.
‘String? Wire, my lad. Wire.’
‘Wire? What’s wire?’
‘Questions, eh? Guessin’ the captain was right about you.’ Mel grinned at him. She was short and sturdy, with a round chubby face. Her arms were strong and muscular, her hands calloused and nails cracked. Smudged with grease, her face looked unappealing on first glance, but the broad friendly smile that dominated it pushed that aside immediately.
‘I promised I wouldn’t tell. He swore me to secrets.’
Mel nodded. ‘Since you’re stayin’ aboard, I guess I can explain. Ever seen the fire rocks of the eastern coast of Amar?’
Meru shook his head. ‘Never been, but I’ve heard of them. They say that blue fire jumps the rocks and lights up the sea.’
Mel smiled. ‘It’s truth indeed. But it’s not fire that folks see, it’s something else.’
Meru frowned. ‘But there’s talk of sparks and all. Is it lightning? They say it happens away from the storms.’
‘It’s akin to lightning,’ Mel said. ‘Best I can reckon is that there’s a power in the air. You can’t see it, but it’s there sure enough. Wherever there’s metal of the right type and right amount, there you’ll find it.’
‘Metal?’ Meru asked.
‘That’s why we have these cables you see.’ Mel gestured to the fine mesh sails, secured by the pulleys and cords. Meru could see that on each side the sails could be turned to the left and right by some kind of geared arrangement. ‘Sails of a type I’d say, but we’re not after the wind, we’re catching ‘tricity’.
‘Tricity?’ Meru frowned. ‘What’s tricity?’
‘Don’t rightly know in a precise way,’ Mel said with a shrug,’ But it’s a power beyond anything else in the world, that’s for sure.’
‘But if you don’t know how it works, how did you …’
‘Good question,’ Mel laughed. ‘It’s a mystery ain’t it! But that’s the captain’s story to tell. Now pay attention. First thing to be aware of is ‘tricity kills. You don’t respect it, you die. This here? This is called an accumulator …’
Coran looked aft down the long deck of his ship as it cruised gently alongside towards the cliffs of the Scattered Isles. The weather was calm, the sea as still as a millpond. He closed up the instruments and adjusted the course, gently pushing the regulator, a long brass lever close to the ship’s wheel, forward a notch.
