Aiden nodded and got up slowly. His head still ached, but it was receding. At least enough so he could manage. He gave Markam a glance before following the Professor out of the small cabin. He was sleeping with a smile on his face. Aiden was happy to see the boy looked far better than he had before.
Aiden was shocked and surprised when they came out on deck. The ship was moving. Aiden went to the side of the ship and looked behind them, watching the wake rising and flaring off to the sides of the great ship like wings. He wasn’t a sailor, but he’d never seen a ship’s wake quite so high before.
Chari came running up to him, squealing happily and grabbing him in a huge bear hug and spinning him around. “Aiden! Look at it, Aiden! We’re moving so fast! I’ve never seen a ship go this fast!”
Aiden grinned through the pain in his head. It had faded even more but hadn’t quite gone away entirely. It took everything he could do to hold onto her.
“How fast are we going?” Aiden asked.
“Twenty knots at least! There’s never been a ship that goes this fast before and the Captain isn’t even pushing her hard yet. He said he wanted to make sure the Gerevat could take it first. It's not even half way up yet. Come with me! I know they’ll want to ask you questions and make sure you didn’t kill yourself.”
Chari pulled him along, yanking him up to the quarter deck and into the wheelhouse. When they got inside, Aiden could tell things were different. No one was even bothering with the wheel anymore, but the helmsmen was standing in front of it anyway. Aiden had put the control handle right next to it though the man kept giving it baffled looks. It was just a raised box with a floating handle above it, similar to what was in the Skywitch but without a seat. He hadn’t wanted to disrupt things too much.
The Captain was standing close by and Aiden studied the look on his face. It was a strange mix of wide-eyed excitement and discomfort. The man was practically hovering over the helmsmen and both men were almost sweating as they guided the ship. Chari was right, they hadn’t even put the handle to halfway forward and as fast as they were going now, it made Aiden a little afraid.
Valeran, however, was grinning like he’d just gotten a third Skywitch and as Aiden and Chari entered the wheelhouse, he strode over and clasped Aiden by the shoulders.
“Aiden! Once again you’ve pulled off a miracle though I’m afraid Captain Grell is too terrified to use it to its fullest yet. I swear I’ll create a new title for him. Admiral baby pants!”
The Duke laughed good-naturedly, but Captain Grell looked over with a dark look. “It's unnatural, Your Grace. No ship is made to go this fast, and we’re not even at whatever its top speed is yet! It's not fair to make fun of me. If we split apart, it will be me they blame.”
“Ah, don’t take it so hard, Ornten.” The Duke said, releasing Aiden and slapping the man on the back. “I understand. Don’t worry, you’re the Captain here. I wouldn’t dare countermand your orders.”
The older man wrinkled up his lips but didn’t say anything, turning back toward the helm and resuming his watch.
“Sir,” Aiden offered quietly. Not wanting to interrupt the man but wanting to make sure he understood what had been done to his ship. “Did you experiment with it a bit before moving? I made it so the ship will go backward and side to side, and even turn as well. You just have to…to turn the handle like this.” He pantomimed twisting his wrist and both the helmsmen and Captain looked first at him, then at each other before shaking their heads.
“No. Do you mean to say we could be going backward this fast? Or sideways?” The Captain asked incredulously.
Aiden thought about it but nodded. He had made it so the handle would go the same in any of the four directions.
He was interrupted by Professor Reivus intruding into the small room. “If what young Aiden says is true, that may very well be likely, but I would not go sideways that fast. The ship isn’t designed to go through the water like that. At least at speed. However, forward and backward it should be able to withstand more. Your keel, gentlemen, is no longer made from wood. It's glimmer steel. Still, the beams around it aren’t, so...it may be best not to go full speed.”
The Captain blinked at both Aiden and the Professor for a few moments before deciding the Professor was the safest bet. “How do we turn her? We tried using the wheel and rudder but after a certain point, it would just shake and seemed about to snap the shaft. Are you saying we can turn using this…oddity?” The Captain finished, looking at and gesturing toward the control that was locked in the helmsman’s grip.
For his part, Professor Reivus just turned and raised his furry eyebrow at Aiden. “Um…Yes, sir,” answered Aiden nervously. He knew he’d spooked the Captain and didn’t know how to reassure him. “Yes, you can turn using the control. Just…twist it whichever direction you want it to go.” He demonstrated by pantomiming the action. “But do it slowly. I think I made it fairly sensitive.”
Valeran frowned along with the Captain and both men looked at the helmsmen who simply swallowed and started to sweat more.
“Maybe we should come to a stop, Captain?” Valeran suggested tentatively. “Might be a good idea to see how… sensitive? I don’t fancy tossing crewmen into the water if we decide to turn too quickly.”
The Captain nodded and then gestured to the helmsmen who gladly slowed the ship to a stop. Once they were sitting quietly in the fairly calm waters of the ocean, they began moving it carefully in different directions. Backward was good, but pushed up more water than the bow did. Aiden didn’t know how fast they could go before they would have water going too high against the keel, or worse into the captain's cabin. Side-to-side was even worse, but everyone was standing in awe at watching the ship actually go sideways.
Turning wasn’t as much of an issue, but Aiden could see it would take some skill to master. The ship now turned on the center axis rather than via the rudder. Aiden had made it work like that, but it wasn’t going to make it easy for the crew. After an hour or two more of experimenting, the Captain felt confident enough to take the ship back up to speed.
“Aiden,” The Duke said quietly, coming up to stand beside him. “I think we’ll make it to Riften now. The ship is going, well, more than fast enough. At least thirty knots. Nothing compared to the Skywitch, but for a sailing vessel? I’ve never seen the like but we’ll get there on time, after all. Thank you.”
Aiden nodded, glancing at the big man before looking once more out over the railing at the ocean racing by. “You’re welcome, sir,” Aiden said quietly. He was as amazed as anyone, and even more so it had been something he’d done. Never once in his young life did he think something like this would happen. “But it's not over, is it? We’re heading into danger, not away from it.”
“Yes,” the Duke said simply. “And we’ll prepare as best we can, but we still have work to do. Going into the dragon's nest that is the Ducal Council won’t be easy, and I think this time worse than most. Someone has something planned. We need to be ready.”
Aiden just nodded, lapsing into silence as both of them watched the water below. Deep and unfathomable as they raced their way to Riften.
Chapter 19
The city of Riften was beyond anything Aiden had ever seen or imagined. Even from a distance, Aiden noticed the number of ships heading to and from the great port city made it seem busy even from miles out. He had thought Terek was a huge trade hub, never imagining it could be dwarfed by what he was seeing now, but here it was. Whereas Terek’s lifeblood was fishing, Riften’s was trade itself, pure and simple.
Turning into the mouth of the huge, natural harbor, Aiden marveled at the massive towers placed evenly along the shore. He wasn’t even sure tower was the appropriate word as the buildings were easily the size of medium-sized forts, thrusting their might over the shipping lanes below. Each also seemed to be its own trade hub, with docks and warehouses spread like leaves at its base and surrounded by ships like suckling young.
From each of the great towe
rs stretched wide, well-traveled avenues which spiraled into the city itself. Each supported an army of wagoneers, people, draft animals, and other things he couldn’t even name which all were part of the voracious machine that fed the city of Riften.
“It’s amazing isn’t it, Aiden?” Ashrak said softly, leaning on the railing next to him. “I’ve been here before a few times, but it never ceases to impress me. They say in Riften, you can buy anything. I remember once when we were here, one of my father’s men said he wanted to gild his own feet. He was joking of course, but woe to him, my father overheard him. It didn’t take my father more than an hour to find someone that would gladly pour molten gold over the man’s lower extremities. They say my father couldn’t stop laughing for an hour.”
“That’s horrible, Ashrak,” Chari said, coming up next to him. “Why do you always tell us stories like that?”
Ashrak sighed, putting his head down and shaking his head. “Sorry. I…I’m not sure, really. I just got so used to telling stories like that. People would laugh if you can believe it. It always made me sick, but it let me know who the bad ones were.” He paused before resuming talking in a hushed whisper, his hair still fallen down over his eyes. “He’ll be here, you know. My father. And my brothers too. They would never miss a trip to Riften.”
Chari put her hand on his arm, leaning in close to him. “I’m sorry, Ashrak,” she said softly.
Aiden looked on, feeling at once sad for his friend and just a bit jealous though he pushed it away. It was clear to Aiden now that Chari and Ashrak had grown closer to each other. At one time, he’d thought Chari might like him, but it had passed and mellowed into a sisterly friendship. But while Chari and Ashrak had fought like cats and dogs when they’d first met, that relationship had begun to turn into something entirely different.
Still, he hadn’t really thought about the fact Ashrak’s father would be here. The picture of the monster Ashrak had painted would instead become a man. It was a sobering thought, and then he recalled Duke Feldar would be here as well.
“Duke Feldar will be here, also, won’t he?” Aiden said, watching as his friends both came to the same realization and nodding quietly.
“We’ll have to be careful, Aiden. There’s no telling what they might try, and I guarantee you that even though you made armor and weapons for the entire ship, seventy or so sailors and soldiers are going to be hard pressed to guarantee the safety of the Duke, much less us. I think our best bet is to stay on the ship and just hide from everyone.”
Aiden nodded tiredly. He had made all of the armor and swords for the rest of the crew and with the Professor’s help, he’d also managed to create some communication devices. It had taken a number of tries to get the comm devices even close to what Professor tried to explain but Aiden just didn’t have the background knowledge to really understand. Ultimately, they ended up with about twelve devices, each with twelve buttons so when you pressed one, it would connect to one of the other devices and you could talk. The last button was for talking to everyone at once. Reivus wasn’t overly happy with it, but it was the best he could do.
That being said, they were still amazing, allowing people to talk over distances that Aiden had never dreamed possible. After he’d taken one back to Terek, it was like hearing the Duchess in the same room with them. Ahnarad had been thrilled to talk to her husband, and it had let the Duke stay abreast of what was going on back in his home city.
There were some downsides such as when Ashrak had called him when he was going to the bathroom. There was no way to turn them off, so he’d had to grit his teeth and wait until Ashrak had conveyed whatever it was he’d had to say. Not fun.
When Reivus had first heard of Aiden’s trip, he had gone silent for a long time. It wasn’t until later that the Professor had confided in him that traveling within the Anderealm might have some risks and that Aiden didn’t want to be caught there by the Mourning Lords. He was also shocked at how easily Aiden could accomplish it since they hadn’t really delved into it earlier. Aiden hadn’t known what to think and just left the Professor to ponder.
“What about the Scratchers? If we stay on the ship, they will know where we are and just come and get me and anyone around me. Are there any other possibilities?” Aiden slumped, crossing his arms on the railing and feeling his lips curl in distaste. “I suppose I can make a big floating platform or something. If we just sit up there in the air, maybe they couldn’t get to me.”
Ashrak shook his head. “It probably wouldn’t work. Skimmers aren’t that common in other Dukedoms, but they are out there. I wouldn’t fancy the only escape being a jump.”
The three friends lapsed into silence as the Gerevat made its way through the crowded waterway. Despite how large the bay was, it was still a difficult task for such a big ship. There were literally thousands of small sailing vessels and floating platforms scattered about, and to Aiden’s surprise, many of them seemed to be trying to hawk wares to any passing vessel.
“Why don’t they just go to the market square?” Aiden asked, suddenly curious.
Chari laughed softly and shook her head. “Because it’s Riften and they never do anything in a simple fashion. Once you land you have to pay tariffs. Or more appropriately land tariffs. They also have to pay some taxes for just selling within Riften’s waterways, but it's less out on the water. You can make money at it, but only if you know what you are doing,” Chari said, pointing to a large barge that had a small fishing vessel pulled up to it. “Look over there, the barge is buying from that fishermen, most likely at a reduced price but it saves them both some money and even time. The fishermen will get back out faster, and the bargemen will be able to buy at lower prices. They will both pay a small tax, though, rather than just the seller.”
“But doesn’t Riften lose money that way?” Aiden asked, confused.
“Yes and no,” Chari said patiently. “Well, honestly I’d never bet on Riften to ever lose money, but they have a premium on land, and rather than turning merchants away, they let them stay and sell on the water. And the amount of the tax changes every day, as well. It makes for a very uncomfortable time if you choose the wrong day.”
Aiden really didn’t understand but nodded anyway. It was just so overwhelming with all of the colors, flags, and people screaming out over the water trying to get attention for their goods. And this was just out on the water, he couldn’t even imagine what it would be like once they got on land. He looked with trepidation at the huge amount of traffic on the feeder roads going into the city and got a bit nervous.
Just then, Ashrak let out a soft gasp. Aiden looked at his friend and then followed his gaze toward several large, graceful warships just pushing in toward one of the tower docks closest to the city. It appeared one of the ships had actually nosed a large merchant ship away from the berth in a shocking display of aggression. Though they couldn’t hear at this distance, they could see men and women running around on the decks as the warship pushed at their flank. Several Riften vessels were also closing in on the position and for a moment Aiden thought they may attack, but instead they moved to help the merchant ship out of the way.
“Those are father’s ships,” Ashrak said, his voice dripping with scorn as his eyes turned flinty.
“Maybe we should go below deck, Ashrak?” Chari said softly, pulling at his arm. He resisted for a moment, but finally turned and followed her. Aiden chose to stay on deck, watching the altercation at the docks.
As they traveled closer, Aiden thought things might be escalating out of control. He could clearly see weapons being brandished by those on the ships from Brun. There were a lot of armed men on those ships, but ultimately the local authorities were able to get things back under control, mostly by clearing out everyone but Brun from the specific docks. In a port this busy, Aiden hadn’t thought it would be possible, but if Duke Brun was as touchy as Ashrak’s stories suggested, he didn’t blame them for avoiding a conflict.
As they moved deeper into the bay,
Stelios, Gavin, and the Duke joined Aiden at the rails. All three men looked grim as they surveyed the crowded waters around them but they seemed to be looking for something in particular. Aiden himself was overwhelmed and he wondered how any of the ships could make it through the morass of other vessels. Finally, the Duke seemed to pick one of the ships out of the sea of vessels and Aiden could see him clearly relax.
“Ah, there he is. Good. I was hoping they’d have spotted us quickly but this mess they enjoy always makes my face itch. They say you can’t even burp in Riften without it being reported through at least twelve different spies.”
Aiden and Gavin both watched the small, fast looking ship approach them with not only the official colors of Riften but several red and green flags as well. The ship was dwarfed by the much larger Gerevat, but it slipped up and alongside them like a cutter fish escorting one of the massive tarfins.
The Glimmer Steel Saga, Boxed Set, Books 1 - 4 Page 53
