Jerot was allowed to leave the witness circle. Epan wasn’t satisfied and wanted another witness. He looked at the group of us. I tried to imagine us as a stranger might see us. Both at the Pelican and at the Kettle of Fish I saw strangers and made judgments. Vlid and Roddy looked competent. Lina wasn’t involved in Jerot’s rescue. The dress Amapola made me was still flattering, but no longer looked new. I hadn’t taken the time to braid my hair in the chaos this morning, just putting it up with pins. I’m sure I looked easy to intimidate.
It didn’t surprise me that the Epan picked me.
Forewarned, I answered truthfully. Angrily, he questioned my motivation in accepting the job Merko offered. He ridiculed them accepting me as a cook. One of the men who had dinner at the Kettle of Fish the night before, the one I called Fat, interrupted saying, “She makes the best fish stew in Lagudia.”
The man I called Belly said, “If it weren’t for my cook’s pastries, I would hire her. One of the regulars told me her pork pie was better.”
“That’s hard to believe,” said Thin.
The clueless Councilor was unhappy about the light-hearted interruption and pressed me with angry questions about possible sexual relations with the pirates. I didn’t think the truth-teller would reveal himself to save my reputation, which made the clueless Councilor’s repeated questions unpleasant. How could I prove my innocence in this? Did it even matter? What if I had slept with a pirate to save my life? What would that make me guilty of?
“You are trying to tell me that you walked through a room full of pirates serving food every day and they didn’t put their hands on you?”
“Not more than once,” I said angrily.
He walked slowly up to me. I could smell alcohol on his breath and guessed he was going to assault me, but I didn’t back away. He grabbed my wrist with one hand and my breast with his other hand. I kneed him in the crotch, simultaneously jerking my wrist toward his thumb as my father taught me. My assailant bent over, but I worried he would knock me down if I enhanced it to make him fall. Out of the corner of my eye I saw an arm waving. It was Vlid, clearly remembering the fight on Goat Island. The motion of the arm was enough to allow me to use enhancing to jerk Epan back. He took a step to balance himself, but I unbalanced him. He fell, and, before he hit the ground, I realized I assaulted a Councilor.
Before I could even worry about the consequences of using enhancing, Daton said in a hard voice, “I move that Epan be stripped of his eligibility to serve on this panel for conduct unbecoming to a Councilor. As well as ordering a beating without a trial.”
“Second!” snapped another Councilor.
They were waiting for this. They weren’t surprised. It was a setup and I was bait.
Epan, also known as the clueless Councilor, at least to me, was kicked out. Apparently, the twenty-twenty-twenty rule had exceptions.
Very shortly after this, all of us were granted amnesty for whatever we did in relation to the pirates. We were told we had papers to sign as soon as they were drafted, but then we could leave and be free from any threat of arrest.
Daton pulled me aside for a whispered conversation. “My apologies, but we’ve been trying to get rid of Epan for months. I was hoping he would do something when you or your friends were questioned. He likes to bully people, particularly attractive women.”
“Is he usually drunk?” I asked, ignoring his flattery.
“No. We can thank Taltin for that.”
“Taltin?”
“The man with the big belly. The two of them downed a few shots of brandy this morning. Taltin did it on top of a big breakfast. Epan never eats breakfast.”
I didn’t realize breakfast was so important.
“Taltin poured the rest of the bottle into a tankard and gave it to Epan. It’s hard to resist brandy that good.”
“Thank you for explaining,” I said. I was still a bit angry, but I suppose Daton was being reasonable.
“There’s something else you should thank me for. The pirate problem will solve itself, at least as far as Fainting Goat Island.”
I asked him for an explanation.
“A large number of people know where the island is and that there is gold on it when the pirates aren’t there. Lagudia won’t have to send a mission to wipe out the pirates. Treasure hunters will do it for us.” Really? That was all it would take? I had trouble believing it was so simple.
Taltin came up to us, his big belly leading the way, and introduced himself. After a gracious apology, he asked if he could do anything for me.
“I’m expected at work in a couple of hours. I usually shop for the ingredients for the tavern’s meals, but bargaining takes time. I just want to go and get things done quickly. If you can allow me to leave immediately, I’ll come back tomorrow and sign whatever I need to sign.”
“You’re going to work after going through that questioning?” he asked.
I nodded. I couldn’t let being upset keep me from working.
“I’m certain we can help you,” Taltin said.
The Kettle of Fish was never so busy. My boss was astonished to see me with two of Taltin’s servants bringing a bounty of food along with a huge pot and extra bowls to serve customers. Taltin told my boss that the pot and bowls were mine, but they could be used to make meals tonight. I used enhancing, which I hadn’t dared use before, to cook the extra food. I was relieved I no longer feared the Council would look for the enhancer that stopped their version of justice. I was also glad that they didn’t consider Jerot’s beating justice.
The extra food was needed. We had more than twice the usual number of customers, including several members of the Council. The regulars were surprised to be given a choice and the newcomers enjoyed the food.
Cranket walked me home with an apology. “I knew what they were doing about Epan but couldn’t tell you. As long as Berot confirmed what Vlid told Daton, he would be exonerated.”
That was interesting wording. “You know about the truth-tellers on the Council?” I asked.
“How did you… I mean, what makes you think there are truth-tellers on the Council?”
I explained my noticing the odd unanimity of belief in Jerot’s responses.
“That’s how I deduced it,” Cranket said.
“Daton’s one of them,” I stated.
“You’re very quick.”
“Not really. But there has to be another one.” Truth-tellers probably became richer each generation. Since magic was inherited, the peasant who wasn’t cheated would die a bit richer. His children would have the double advantage of truth-telling magic and of a better start in life. It wasn’t surprising to find truth-tellers on the Council.
“Why?”
“Because if there is only one, he can lie. How many are there?”
“I’m not certain,” Cranket said. “But those I know bank with Daton.”
Those. Plural. Well, it was none of my business how many there were, but Cranket let me know that there were at least three, including Daton.
“Suppose Jerot really had been a pirate and fooled Vlid?”
“Then he would have deserved what he got. And I would have seen that you weren’t harmed because you believed him.”
I was glad we arrived home because I was uncomfortable with his willingness to be the one who caused his brother to be executed as a pirate. Although with my attitude toward Merko, I knew I shouldn’t be the one to criticize Cranket. He lost his father to pirates, as I had.
The door opened and Amapola came out. “They want to talk to you,” she said to Cranket. “I said I would watch for you. Something about the Eagle. Vlid’s drawn some diagrams and Roddy and Jerot haven’t done anything but talk about them for hours.”
“I took them to see the Eagle earlier today,” Cranket said. He went in and was welcomed by the three men. Roddy waved a piece of paper to Cranket, who sat down to examine at it.
Tired from the busy day, I sat down at the table while the men poured over Vlid’s suggesti
on about modifying the Eagle. Amapola sat down opposite me.
“Will I have to look for a place to stay?” Amapola asked me softly.
“What do you mean?” I responded equally softly, not wanting to compete with the men’s conversation.
“Jerot is well. I bet Cranket hires him to captain the Eagle. It’s a smaller ship than he deserves, but it’s something. Vlid will want to take Milea closer to where he works. He could get someplace smaller. Roddy and Lina, well they could live anywhere. You’re really the only reason they stayed.”
“Me?” I hadn’t thought about what would happen. Amapola was silent while we both listened to Jerot say something about how the Eagle would handle with the modifications Vlid was suggesting. His voice was cheerful for the first time since his beating.
“He’ll be able to go back to sea again,” Amapola said. “He was afraid he would never be allowed to be a captain again. He loves the sea more than anything, even you.”
“Me?” I protested. “He doesn’t love me. He cares about you as much or more than he cares about me.” I thought he loved her but didn’t want to say so.
“No, he doesn’t. He always criticizes me,” she said. That was true, but he wanted her to become a better person. He cared. He also spent time as a ship captain. Sailors needed to be criticized to become better, according to my father.
Cranket was taking. “… don’t know what the pirates are going to do. After all, they went inland to attack Quarryton.”
Amapola stood up suddenly, knocking over the bench she was sitting on. “Quarryton? They attacked Quarryton?”
“Yes. They burned the fields nearby, destroyed a few homes and killed some people. There wasn’t enough loot taken for it to make sense.”
“No!” After knocking over the bench, I didn’t need her tormented cry to stare at her. She was trembling. “My aunt lives there.”
Jerot was suddenly beside her and took her in his arms. He cradled her head on his shoulder and she started crying. I realized Roddy wasn’t in the room anymore. He must have gone upstairs to Lina. For comfort? To give Jerot privacy? Both? His thoughts had to echo mine. Ship Town! What happened to my home? If Merko retaliated against Amapola, wouldn’t he retaliate against Roddy and me? I stumbled outside. Vlid and Cranket were immediately behind me.
“I’m sure he’s just being kind,” Cranket said. “He must know you are worth more than Amapola. No man could love her if he’s met you?”
“What are you talking about?” I asked. My world was crashing, and he was talking about love?
“You and Berot?” Cranket said. “You were upset when he comforted Amapola.”
“Ship Town,” I said. “If Merko destroyed her home, what has he done to Ship Town?”
“You don’t love Berot?”
“Apparently not,” said Vlid with an odd intensity. Somehow these two words suggested it was important that I didn’t love Jerot.
“Would this pirate really attack Ship Town?” Cranket asked.
“If he attacked Amapola’s home, he would attack Roddy’s and mine,” I said. “He must know that we had more to do with our escape than she did.” I sat down on the front step. It was too narrow for three people and I took the middle. Cranket and Vlid both hovered over me.
While I noticed this, my mind was wondering what I should do and what I could have done. If Merko attacked Ship Town, it was my fault. If I hadn’t agreed to go with him, none of this would have happened. Having gone, I should have stayed with the pirates. They didn’t hurt me. Living there was better than having them destroy Ship Town.
“You don’t know he attacked your home,” Cranket said. “Besides, you can have a home here.”
Vlid ignored Cranket’s comment and offered his own comfort. “You are not responsible for Merko’s actions.”
I shook my head. I felt responsible. If Ship Town was attacked, my actions caused it. Merko, Kalten, and the other pirates were responsible, but if I behaved differently, it wouldn’t have happened. Yet I didn’t know. Ship Town was a long way away and isolated. Maybe nothing happened.
I don’t know how long I sat there with the two men hovering over me. Roddy came outside. Taking in the situation, he said, “I hoped you didn’t think the way I did. We can’t be certain.”
“No. But if Amapola’s aunt was killed, it seems likely,” I said.
“How far away is Quarryton?” Roddy asked no one in particular.
Vlid shook his head. “I have no idea.”
“It’s south, at least a day away by wagon and has no port. That’s all I know,” said Cranket.
“I’ll ask around the docks and see if anyone knows,” Roddy said. “It could just be coincidence. It doesn’t have to be Merko.”
“Heleen,” Cranket said, “We should go down and look. We could take the Eagle. I’ve wanted to test the new lateen sails, and I would love to have Jerot do it. I could load her up with grain to help the people there. The reports said the pirates burned the crops. I should help. I feel responsible.”
“You are not responsible for anything Merko did,” I said.
“Yes, I am, in a way. I inherited the responsibility from my father. Without him, Jerot wouldn’t have been there, and you needed him to escape,” Cranket said.
“That’s ridiculous,” I said.
“No more ridiculous than your blaming yourself. Heleen, please, let me help. I have all the money I need, and I want to do something useful.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I’ll be grateful for your help.” I reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. He smiled and squeezed back.
“It will take about four or five days to finish getting the Eagle ready and load her with grain. She’s not a big ship, so it shouldn’t take long.” That seemed a long wait, but it was probably a realistic estimate.
“How are you planning on getting it ashore near Quarryton?” Vlid asked.
“I don’t know,” Cranket said. “How would you do it?”
“It depends on how much time and money you wanted to spend,” Vlid replied.
I kept silent, because I knew Cranket was being generous, but part of me wanted to tell him to spend more money to get us on our way.
CHAPTER 16
Cranket was not going to let mere money stop him from doing things right. He went to Vlid’s cousin and told him he wanted Vlid’s services for an indeterminate time. When the cousin objected, Cranket put in an order for a ship, saying the order was contingent upon Vlid helping him.
Ordering a ship! Cranket talked about it with no more emphasis than I would put on buying a length of cloth.
That took a mere morning. I was too busy at the Kettle of Fish to be concerned about the details, but five days later Amapola, Cranket, Vlid, Roddy, Jerot, and I were on what was formerly the Eagle. A new name was painted on her: Mercy.
The comfortable quarters in the hold were gone. Instead, there were places for hammocks. The ship was going to be used as a coastal trader and there was no room for luxury.
Jerot was captain, but Cranket also brought three men of his own to help. The trip would take less than a day. Jerot, Roddy, and Cranket’s men were delighted when going against the wind, because it gave them an excuse to try tacking. I didn’t enhance, because the point was to learn what the ship could do.
Since I was used to square sails, the triangular ones looked odd. But the men were all excited about them.
Amapola sat and sewed, and I leaned on the rail, looking out at the land. We were passing a river. It wasn’t particularly big, but I couldn’t see either a bridge or a ford.
Vlid came up and leaned on the rail next to me.
“Aren’t you eager to see what the Mercy can do?” I asked.
“I’ve seen enough. Once a ship is built, my job is done.” Seeing my surprise, he added, “I was just joking. But I’m not as interested as Jerot is.”
“I don’t think anyone is as interested as he is. Do you think Cranket will hire him to be captain of the Mercy?”
> “Yes, which would be good for both of them.” He pointed to the river. “That’s why it takes so long to get to Quarryton by land. There’s a ford several miles upriver. Cranket sent wagons ahead.”
“Why do we need wagons?”
“To bring the grain to Quarryton. Also, to bring us there. Jerot’s almost recovered in the six weeks since his beating, but I don’t think he’s up to a six-mile walk.”
I thought about it for a few seconds and said, “Six miles, round trip?”
“Yes. Although I would be happy to find Amapola’s aunt is alive and well, I don’t want to deny Jerot the opportunity to comfort her.”
“The aunt?”
Vlid smiled. “You know what I mean.”
I hoped to see Amapola’s aunt. I hoped for a joyous if tearful reunion. The aunt who raised her must have wondered what happened to her. I was afraid I wouldn’t see her. I was afraid Merko killed her.
A man in a rowboat was waving Lagudia’s flag. The Mercy pulled up next to the rowboat and Vlid, Cranket, and I got into it. One of Cranket’s men handed Vlid a bag of grain to take ashore. Meanwhile a second rowboat headed from shore to the Mercy.
“We have orders to carry the women ashore, so their feet don’t get wet,” said a third man who was on the shore waiting for us. I was surprised to see it was the man I called Muscle.
Vlid must have guessed I didn’t like the idea of a strange man carrying me, because he stepped into the knee-deep water and said, “I’ll do it.” It was a bit awkward for me to get out of the rowboat without getting wet, but Vlid easily carried me ashore. I felt oddly disappointed that he released me as fast as possible. The process was repeated with Jerot carrying Amapola on the next rowboat. Cranket’s men also carried a few bags of grain ashore on the second trip.
A few yards away were two wagons. After several trips between the shore and the Mercy with the two rowboats, one wagon was half-loaded with grain. Roddy drove and Cranket sat on the front seat of the wagon while Amapola, Vlid, Jerot, Muscle, and I sat on the bags. We hadn’t gone far when we saw a fire-blackened field with some kind of grain growing through the burnt area. Only half the field was planted with the new crop. I guessed it was barley, which had a short enough growing season to be harvested before the frost. The farmer probably didn’t have enough money to buy seed for all of his land.
The Pirates of Fainting Goat Island Page 14
