by Guy Antibes
“Ship,” Jac corrected. “Some people get a bit queasy when they first arrived at Shantyboat Town, but everyone gets used to it. Not everyone does on the sea. There is a lot more roll,” Jac said. “If the weather gets too violent, I will get a touch of it myself.”
“A touch?” Ubbo said.
Jac narrowed his eyes. “Less than you, my friend.”
“Doesn’t take much, unfortunately,” Ubbo said.
“How many days to Dimani?” Ricky asked.
“Realistically, four days. With very good winds, I’ve traveled it in two, but not on the route we will use.”
“How often have you come to Sealio?”
“My father used to take me with him on trading trips as long as we didn’t visit the king. He was always afraid King Leon would take me hostage.”
“Why? Has Dimani ever been to war with Paranty?”
“Lots of times through the centuries. Why do you think we speak Parantian? We were Parantian subjects for two hundred years straight in our history. My father doesn’t quite trust King Leon.”
“Has he ever taken hostages?”
Jac shook his head. “There’s always a first time.”
Perhaps Ricky should find a way to warn Jac about the recent muster. Ricky would have to regard it as a rumor, even coming from the princess. How could he mention it and not implicate her?
Sippa emerged with Benno and stretched. He turned to watch the coast of Paranty slide past. The Five Towers were barely in sight. Ricky would have to have a conversation with his former broomball coach. Sippa strolled up to them with Benno looking this way and that at all the activity.
“Never sailed on a ship before?” Sippa asked Ricky.
“I used to live on a boat, but Jac says it’s much different on a ship.”
“Indeed. It is like comparing a pebble to a mountain.” Sippa took a deep breath. “We’ll be passing the coast of Naparra before we turn west.”
Ricky looked at Jac. “We will?”
Jac shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know the political boundaries along the coast. It’s all just Paranty to me.”
“I’ll point it out.” He looked up at the sun. “We certainly will do it before we turn west to Dimani,” Sippa said.
Mara finally crept out of the bowels of the ship, clutching her stomach. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’ve been on a boat once before. My stomach is a little sensitive, but it will pass. I had to come up and stand with you for a while.”
Her skin looked pale and nearly green in contrast to her dark red hair. She stood with them looking at the coast for a bit. And then she rushed down into the ship again.
“It will pass,” Benno said.
“When we reach Dimani,” Ubbo said grinning.
A wind came up, and the ship began to toss a bit, sending Ubbo down with her. Jac, Benno, and Ricky laughed. Ricky noticed that Sippa had slipped away to the poop deck and stood beside the captain, watching the sailors go about their duties.
One of the officers passed them. “Don’t you want to try your hand at being a sailor?”
Benno and Jac shook their heads, but Ricky looked up at the rigging. “I’d like to give it a try.”
“Better you than me,” Jac said. “I had a go at playing sailor a few years ago. It’s really hard work.”
Ricky joined the officer, who introduced himself as the first mate. “We won’t have you working in the rigging, but Zenno will show you what we do.”
Zenno was a weathered little man, wiry with pale blue eyes and dark sun-stained skin. “Our job isn’t as glamorous once we’ve cast off or when we put in. The start and the end are always events that spice up our lives. In between, it’s work, work, work.” He looked up at the first mate. “I’ll take good care of him.”
“I’m Ricky.”
Zenno nodded. “A friend of Jac Griama. His father owns the ship, you know. I’ve been on ships with the young lord before. He is a good boy, for a noble. His brother is, uh, less good.”
“And Lord Griama?”
“Owners are always two-headed monsters,” Zenno grinned. “I won’t make you swab the decks. You can figure that out for yourself. I’m going to be repairing a sail that ripped on our way here from Dimani.”
Ricky had never thought of sailors as seamstresses, but Zenno showed Ricky his special stitch, and they started at opposite ends of a five-foot tear in the thick canvas sail. Zenno checked on Ricky’s work after he’d done a few inches.
“You catch on well, lad. Get that done for today and we’ll do more tomorrow.”
Ricky enjoyed the mindless work. As he got going, Zenno became a font of information about Dimani. Ricky had the impression that sheep covered the island, but Zenno told him the south side of the large island consisted of forests used for furniture-making.
“Paranty won’t buy our goods,” Zenno said. “King’s orders, they say, so we ship our furniture to Vorria. It’s four days to Vorria’s main port from the capital, just like Sealio, so it doesn’t make much difference, as long as it gets sold.”
“Which country is the friendliest to Dimani?”
“Neither,” Zenno said. “They’ve both invaded our country in the past, and I guess they will invade in the future. There are disadvantages to being a small country surrounded by water.”
“But why? If your exports are so mundane, why would they be interested?”
Zenno shook his head. “Ask your friend,” Zenno pointed his chin in Jac’s direction.
“I will, but not now. I’ve got a job to do.”
“That’s the spirit, lad.”
~
Ricky rubbed his raw hands. He had never thought sewing to be so destructive to one’s skin. He looked at the pattern of irritation and shook his head. Princess Pira’s hands were worn more like his. She had to have spent enough time with weapons to harden her hands to match his.
The excursion with the princess happened three days ago, and already it seemed more like a dream, Ricky thought, as they still hugged the Parantian coast. He climbed back up onto the main deck after a simple dinner. The setting sun highlighted the low hills of the coast, barely reflected in the deepening blue of the water.
“Pretty,” Sippa said. “It always is. That is your domain, Naparra. It’s nearly the same size as Dimani, you know.”
“But it’s a duchy in Paranty. That makes it more like a district or a city that gets its power from Sealio.”
“Not quite the same,” Sippa said. “Naparra is a hereditary duchy. Duke Bariani and Duke Noacci can be removed from their city posts at the whim of King Leon. Noacci can go back to rule Naparra, but Bariani is a landless noble. If he loses Tossa, his only alternative is to go to Sealio and try to rebuild his influence.”
Ricky shook his head. “Land is what makes the difference?”
Sippa nodded. “It always has, but King Leon and the three kings before have chipped away at noble domains so that there are few left.”
“And Naparra is one of them.”
“It is. Being heir to Naparra is more important in the scheme of things than heir to the throne of Dimani.”
“Jac would disagree,” Ricky said.
“Perhaps, but his father wouldn’t.” Sippa looked out at the darkening sky. The coast had turned a muddy brown and was receding from sight, blending into the twilight where the sky met the sea. He put his back on the railing and faced Ricky. “I heard Princess Pira captured you.”
Ricky snorted. “I guess you could call it that. She is a complicated person.”
Sippa took a deep breath. “She is that. Did she tell you anything interesting?”
“Troops are mustering. She thinks it’s for an attack on Dimani, right where we are headed.”
“Pira doesn’t beat around the bush waiting for the bird to escape, does she?”
Ricky laughed. “She rips it apart, or gets someone else to do it, so that she can turn it into a joke.”
“Did you pick that up from one ride?” Sippa said.<
br />
“Effie told me a few Princess Pira stories. I’m told there are many more.”
“I’ve heard a few, but they don’t get around as much as you might think, Lord Valian.”
Ricky shook his head. “I’m still Ricky.”
“And I’m still Sippa Baldico.” The man smiled and looked at the remnants of a sunset on the other side of the ship. “She might be right.”
“Should I tell Jac?”
Sippa made a face. “Heavens, no. I’ll take care of that when we land. Your stay in Dimani might get a bit more interesting than what Jac Griama promised. Your shoulder is healed enough to fight with a sword?”
“I hurt my left shoulder, and I think my right is fine. You don’t think it will come to that?”
Sippa laughed. “That’s not what I meant. Perhaps you should take advantage of the calm weather, should it stay as nice as it was today, and give your friends a little practice session. I heard about your training the inmates of the Applia Juvenile Home.”
“From whom?”
Sippa raised his eyebrows. “General Farlotti for one. I visited him during our stay.”
“How much of the Battle of the Barracks does King Leon know?”
“And Princess Pira? Most, if not all of it. Farlotti was more effusive than necessary about your role in the battle but less so in the action at the palace.”
Ricky sighed. “I’m not that kind of person,” he said.
“What kind of person is that?” Sippa said.
“I’m no hero.”
“If that’s how you want to think, go ahead. Actions speak their own language.”
Ricky and Sippa looked up in the rigging at someone yelling. Ricky saw a sailor fall from the very top spar. As the man began to tumble, Ricky sang the deflection song and launched himself towards the falling man. He caught the sailor about ten feet above the deck and proceeded out over the ocean for forty or fifty feet, hanging in the air. Ricky could feel pressure on his magic, so he willed deflection from the air and gained enough momentum to glide back to the deck, collapsing in a heap beneath the sailor. His actions took just a few seconds.
The few sailors and the first mate rushed to the sailor.
“I’m fine,” the man said. “He saved me. I don’t know how he did it, but he saved me.”
Ricky managed to sit up. His left shoulder ached, reminding him that perhaps he wasn’t fully healed. “I’m glad I was able to cushion your fall,” Ricky said.
“The boy flew like an eagle,” one of the sailors said.
“A trick of the twilight,” Sippa said, helping Ricky to his feet. “It’s a wonder they are both alive.” He kept his hands on Ricky. “I’ll help you to your cabin. It’s not every day a sailor uses you for a pillow.”
“I swear that boy grabbed Omio out of the air.” Ricky heard Zenno say as Sippa helped him down the stairs. The burst of magic tore most of his power out of him.
Sippa helped Ricky sit on his bunk and closed the door.
“What was that?”
Ricky managed a smile. “Being a hero?” He sighed. “I’ll try not to do that again. I saw him fall and used sorcery that I know to grab him before he messed up Zenno’s clean deck.”
“Sorcerers don’t fly like that. They float up and float forward and float back, and then they float down. That’s how they described your flight in Applia. But this time, you moved faster than any bird I’ve ever seen.”
“I have learned a few advanced techniques. I shouldn’t have used that one. I could have lost my power when I stopped over the sea, and we both would have drowned.”
“Did you lose your power?”
“A large chunk of it,” Ricky said. “I just reacted and used too much. It will come back soon enough. I thought no one would notice.”
“The man yelled, Ricky. There weren’t many sailors on deck, but there will be rumors.”
“Then let there be rumors. I ran towards the man and caught him.” Ricky moved his shoulder and moaned. “No sword practice,” he said.
“You earned a rest,” Sippa said. He slapped Ricky on his good shoulder. “Rest up.” He left Ricky sitting in the dark.
He created a sorcerous light large enough to satisfy him that he hadn’t burned out his power. “Hero,” he said to himself, “I only did a good deed.” He winced at a pulse of pain and lay back, waiting for the new ache to settle down so he could sleep.
~
Zenno helped Ricky make a sling out of a scrap of sailcloth, while Sippa volunteered himself to help the boys with swordsmanship. Of the three, Benno showed the best form. He was Saganet’s student, after all. Ricky walked over to them and helped Sippa point out corrections. Ricky thought he was better-schooled than Sippa, but there was a point where strength and size combined with form to beat form. Saganet had told him that.
Mara walked out on the deck. She looked much better. She squinted up at the sun and smiled as she stood at the railing watching the ocean. Sippa told Ricky that he could keep Mara company while he continued to drill the boys.
“You are better?”
She nodded. “I slept, finally. When I woke, the sickness was gone. The cook’s mate said it often happens that way.” She smiled at him. “I even had some gruel. The boy said something about a miracle last night. Did you save a sailor from certain death? You flew?”
Ricky could be truthful with Mara. “I learned a new way to fly. I showed Professor Calasay and Professor Garini. It is a spell related to deflecting objects instead of making myself lighter. There’s no depression, but it doesn’t keep you from getting hurt. That’s how I injured my shoulder originally.”
“You told me it was a spell, but I didn’t know you flew into something,” she said with a hint of doubt in her eye.
Ricky grinned. “A wall. In the dark last night, I pushed off from the railing and caught a sailor about ten feet in the air, and we flew out over the sea, and then I imagined myself pushing off the railing, and that gave me enough speed to make it back to the deck. Carrying a sailor who was fighting to get out of my grasp exhausted a lot of magic, so I glided down to the deck. I re-injured my shoulder while I struggled with the sailor.”
She laughed and put her hand over her mouth. “I thought it was a wild rumor! I imagine the sailor thanked you.”
“He did when I first came out on the deck this morning. He knows the least about it because he was trying to get away from me.” Ricky said.
“You told them you were a sorcerer? That’s part of the rumor, too.”
Ricky shook his head.
Zenno came by to be introduced to Mara. Ricky happily did so.
“Your friend here saved a man’s life last night. Saw it with my own two eyes. I wouldn’t have believed it, I wouldn’t. You should perform like they do in Sealio.”
“Don’t you have performances in Dimani?”
“Not with flying we don’t. Not enough folks on Dimani to draw the good performers in. I bet you are good,” Zenno said
“He won a sorcery performance competition in Tossa a year ago,” Mara said. “I wasn’t there, but I heard all about it.”
Zenno stepped closer to Mara. “Maybe you could persuade him to show us a few tricks for free on our way home.”
“Maybe I can,” Mara said, putting her fists on her hips. “You have let the cat out of the bag, Sorcerer Valian.”
“You aren’t supposed to know Parantian sayings,” Ricky said.
“It’s a translation from Fisttian.” That made them both laugh.
“Tonight when it is dark, I’ll give you a light show,” Ricky said.
Zenno looked a little embarrassed. “You should ask the captain, first.”
“I will,” Ricky said, looking at the man standing on the steering deck.
He climbed the steep stairway and bowed to the captain.
“I didn’t thank you for saving one of my men,” the captain said. “Everything happened so fast that there were a few surprising versions of the event.”
&nb
sp; Ricky smiled. “The most outlandish one is probably correct. I am a sorcerer and plucked Omio out of the air. We drifted off the ship, and I was able to return him to the deck unharmed.”
“You didn’t make out so well.”
“I aggravated a shoulder injury. Zenno asked if I could perform a few tricks for the crew tonight. Would that be permissible?”
“As long as you don’t burn down the ship. I wouldn’t mind seeing a sorcerer at work up close, myself. You’re a young man, Are you sure you know enough tricks to keep us entertained?”
Ricky laughed. “I know enough tricks; the entertain part is up to you.”
~
The entire crew stood on the main deck while Ricky and the helmsman were up on the steering deck. Ricky had asked that buckets of water be available if he made a mistake.
The sun had set, and a thin thread of pale red rimmed the western horizon.
Ricky decided to start off with an explosion. He went to the railing and shot out a flame over the water about thirty feet and closed the flame with his metal switch, which acted as his wand. The end of the flame approached the ball at the end. The flame exploded sending sparks out, but none far enough to reach back to the ship.
With the hooting and applause, Ricky figured that his first effect entertained.
He created a hoop of light. This one was an illusion that he expanded and walked through one way and then another. He shot a single ball of flame high into the air and then another until he had a string of lights floating in the sky behind the ship. It was based on one of the tricks Loria and he had done for their performance a year ago, but with the added power that Ricky had developed since.
He used deflection to rise up twenty feet into the air and sent one of his large disks of light out over the ocean and then reversed it to go through the ship all the way to the other side before it broke up. Ricky could feel a bit of a drain with that trick, since he still was up above them.
When he looked down, he realized that the ship was leaving him behind. Evidently flying off the deck anchored him to the world, not the deck.
After creating a purple flame rising from the tip of the switch, he deflected off an imaginary wall and floated back to the ship and down to the deck.
