by Dean Cadman
“So, you’ve been stuck here all these years because of me?” Lusam said, feeling a little guilty that his simple existence could impact someone else’s life so much. Byron laughed loudly.
“No, Lusam. I could have requested a different post at any time, but believe it or not, I actually like it here. In fact, unless I’m recalled to the High Temple, I intend to stay here as long as possible,” he said, still chuckling to himself.
“That’s good to know,” Lusam replied, feeling a lot less guilty now.
“Renn, maybe you and I should go and speak with Captain Waylon now. Time isn’t on our side, I’m afraid, and as the saying goes: the tide waits for no man. I’m sure he’ll be wanting to leave dock in less than an hour, before the tide gets too low. If he agrees to your proposal you’ll need time to sell your horses before boarding too.” Renn nodded, but made no effort to leave.
“Lusam, I’m sorry to ask this, lad, but just how much gold do you have? I’m afraid we might need a large amount of it to convince Captain Waylon to travel far enough south past The Serpent Isles to suit our purposes. Apparently, there’s a lot of Empire ship activity in the area, and they’ve been losing ships at an alarming rate. I was hoping we’d only need to pay a reasonable price for passage, but it appears we will probably have to make him a vastly inflated offer to get him to agree to our destination,” Renn said apologetically.
“I have about ninety gold coins left, I think,” Lusam said, hoping it would now be enough.
“I have about the same, too,” Neala offered.
“You do? Where in Aysha’s name did you get that much money from?” Alexia gasped.
“Lusam makes it,” Neala replied, laughing at her own insane-sounding statement.
“He what?” Alexia asked, her mouth hanging open at Neala’s reply.
“I said, he makes it. He pulls the gold out of the river and turns it into coins. It’s really amazing to watch,” Neala said, trying very hard not to burst out laughing at the look on Alexia’s face, or Byron’s for that matter.
Renn turned to Byron with a wide grin on his face, and simply said, “Told you.” Then nodded his head towards the docks, indicating they should go and talk with the Captain now. Byron alternated between looking at Lusam and Renn, then silently followed his friend towards the docks, leaving the two girls and Lusam to chat amongst themselves.
“Was that true?” Byron whispered as they walked away from the others.
“I’ve never seen him actually do that, but I’m certain it’s well within his abilities to do it,” Renn replied.
“Remind me when this is all over to plan my next fishing trip with him,” Byron said chuckling to himself.
The two men soon arrived at the gangplank of the Pelorus. Men were frantically scurrying back and forth, loading and unloading cargo, and generally making ready for their next trip to sea. The Quartermaster was standing at the ship’s rail, watching the progress of his men carefully. He noticed Byron and Renn approach the gangplank, and called down to them below, “If you’re looking for the Captain, he just went to your office for the paperwork.” Byron nodded to the man, and turned on his heels to head back to his office.
“That’s probably a blessing,” Byron said to himself, but Renn overheard him anyway.
“Why’s that?” Renn asked curiously.
Byron looked at him a moment, then replied, “It’s probably better discussing the prospect of travelling further south than The Serpent Isles away from the crew. If they’re not aware of it until after you leave The Serpent Isles, there’s far less chance of the crew becoming restless on the journey, and doing something foolish.”
“You think they could mutiny over it?” Renn asked in surprise.
“It’s certainly not beyond the realms of possibility. Generally speaking, the crews of ships are a suspicious lot at the best of times. Add in the current wild tales that are circulating amongst them, and who knows what they could do. I know one thing though—if I were the Captain, I’d sleep a lot better if the crew didn’t know that I was going to be responsible for putting their lives in danger later in the voyage,” Byron replied quietly.
“I see your point. If we do manage to come to an agreement with Captain Waylon, I think it’s best we keep our true destination a secret from the crew for as long as possible,” Renn said.
“I agree,” Byron replied.
As they reached the harbour master’s office building they met Captain Waylon on his way back out. He was a large muscular man in his middle years. His bald head was almost completely covered with tattoos, and his skin the colour of tanned hide. He was wearing a pair of calf-high black boots, leather trousers and a leather waistcoat. In fact, the only thing he was wearing that wasn’t leather was a shirt that at one time had probably been white, Renn thought.
“Good day, Captain Waylon,” Byron greeted him.
“Aye, it might be if I had my paperwork to leave ’ere,” he replied coolly. Byron ignored his comment and continued as if nothing had been said.
“This is my friend Renn. He has a business proposition he’d like to discuss with you, but I suggest we take the matter inside my office,” Byron said, gesturing with his hand towards his office door. Captain Waylon sent an appraising look towards Renn but said nothing, instead he followed the two men back inside Byron’s office. Byron took a seat behind his desk and sorted through the paperwork in front of him. After a moment he pulled several pieces of paper out of the pile and placed them in front of himself.
“According to this you’re heading to The Serpent Isles Captain,” Byron stated, then raised his eyes to meet Captain Waylon’s.
“Aye, that’s the plan, but if I don’t weigh anchor soon, I won’t be going anywhere today,” he replied.
“Well, it just so happens my friend here wants to book passage south for himself and three travelling companions, and I thought, seeing as you’re heading that way anyway, a slight extension to your journey might be mutually beneficial to both parties.”
“That depends on what ‘slight extension’ means, exactly,” Captain Waylon said sounding a little dubious.
“I will make it plain, Captain. Renn and his companions need to reach Lamuria…” Byron began to say, but was cut short by the booming laughter of the Captain.
“You’re crazy if you think I’m about to turn my ship into a ferry service and risk the waters south of The Serpent Isles,” Captain Waylon said scowling at Byron.
“Tell me, Captain, how many days does it take for the round trip to The Serpent Isles?” Byron asked.
“You know full well it’s a ten-day round trip including loading and unloading, so why bother asking?”
Byron smiled at the Captain, but said nothing for a few seconds, as if contemplating the best way to approach the man, then said, “Because, Captain, from what I hear you have only until the end of the month to pay off your gambling debts, at which point, if you can’t, the Pelorus will no longer be your ship. You know as well as I that you won’t make it back in time to make your payment deadline, not to mention, looking at this manifest, I highly doubt the trip will cover what you owe anyway after paying your crew. What Renn is offering here is a way to keep your ship, at least until you decide to play your next card game. It would, of course, be up to you when to tell your crew of the slight detour, but I’m sure a skilled Captain such as yourself could handle his crew adequately.”
Captain Waylon remained silent after Byron had finished speaking, which Renn took as a good sign. ‘At least he hasn’t rejected the offer out of hand,’ he thought to himself. After a long awkward silence the Captain finally spoke.
“One hundred gold, fifty now and the rest when we arrive,” he said without preamble.
“Fifty gold,” Byron countered. Another long silence ensued.
“I see you’ve done your homework, harbour master, seein’ as you know my debt is fifty gold. Unfortunately, I’ll also need to convince my crew that it’s a good idea, and that, my friend, will cost
more gold.”
“I understand, Captain. My final offer is seventy gold pieces. Take it or leave it, the choice is yours. I’m sure one of the other Captains would consider the journey for such a sum if you don’t want to take it,” Byron said convincingly, but he knew it was highly unlikely any other Captain would consider the journey for any amount of gold right now. After yet more stony silence, Captain Waylon finally spoke.
“Half before we sail, the rest when we arrive at your destination. You sleep on the aft deck, provide your own food, and no fires whilst you’re aboard. And under no circumstances must my crew learn of your intended destination until we leave The Serpent Isles, at which point I will address them regarding the matter myself. If any of my crew asks, you’re travelling to The Serpent Isles, and only after we reached The Serpent Isles did you decide you wanted to travel further. Do you understand my terms?” Captain Waylon asked looking directly at Renn.
“I agree to your terms, Captain. I will make my travelling companions aware of your terms also. And thank you, Captain. You have no idea how important this trip is to all of us,” Renn said, holding out his hand to Captain Waylon.
“I care little for your reasons for wanting to reach Lamuria, but I will see the colour of your gold before we depart, if you don’t mind,” Captain Waylon said taking Renn’s hand.
“Of course, Captain, but in the meantime I must speak with my travelling companions, and arrange sale of our horses and tack. I believe you are scheduled to depart just after the hour mark. If that’s correct, I’ll make sure we’re aboard in plenty of time to avoid delaying you,” Renn said.
“You do that,” the Captain said, turning his attention to Byron once more. “Now, may I please have my documents so I can prepare my ship for departure?”
“Certainly, everything seems to be in order, Captain,” Byron said, handing the paperwork to Captain Waylon with a smile. Captain Waylon took the papers and placed them inside his leather waistcoat, nodded to Byron and Renn, then turned and left the office without another word. Byron waited until the Captain’s footsteps faded into the distance before speaking.
“Well, that went better than I thought it might do,” he said, breathing a sigh of relief.
“Yes, thanks for that. I’ve never been good at dealing with men like that. I tend to end up hitting them for some reason, and that rarely achieves the desired outcome I was hoping for,” Renn said grinning at Byron.
“I bet it doesn’t,” Byron replied, chuckling to himself.
“Anyway, I’d better be off. We need to sell those horses and board the ship before Captain Waylon sets sail without us. It was good seeing you again, old friend,” Renn said, slapping Byron on the shoulder as he stood up from behind his desk.
“You take care of yourself out there, Renn. Don’t be playing the hero and getting yourself killed, that won’t achieve anything. Besides, I need you to bring Lusam back safe next summer for that fishing trip, remember?” Byron said winking at Renn.
Renn winked back at Byron and replied, “I’ll try to bear that in mind.”
“What… the part about not getting yourself killed or the fishing trip?” he asked, but Renn simply raised his hand in a goodbye gesture as he vanished through the doorway, shaking his head slightly to himself as he left.
Chapter Thirty-Two
It did not take them long to find the horse trader in Fairport. It took them even less time, however, to realise they were never going to sell their horses for a fair price there. The man bordered on rude whilst inspecting their horses, suggesting he had never seen such a sorry bunch of animals, and that his own mother would be able to haul heavier payloads than they could. Renn suspected the man’s attitude was a combination of two things: knowing they needed to sell the horses—because why else would anyone ride to a sea port and try to sell the animals?—and that probably, he only had a ready market for much heavier horses, to be used for haulage purposes in and around the general area of Fairport. Given their time restraints and lack of choice, Renn reluctantly accepted the man’s offer of six gold pieces for the four horses, and they were soon on their way back towards the docks.
Renn had already brought the others up to date with their current departure plans, costs, and that they should not mention travelling further south than The Serpent Isles to any of the crew, or even discuss it amongst themselves whilst aboard ship. They all understood the risks of a rebellious crew, and what impact it could have on their journey, or even their lives. They had done a quick inventory of their supplies before selling their horses, and found that they should have enough food to last them the five-day sea journey. This was something Renn was thankful for, as it would have been unlikely that they would have had enough time to procure more supplies before boarding the Pelorus anyway.
It was obvious when they reached the dockside that the Pelorus was only waiting for them to board before setting sail. One of the crew was standing impatiently at the bottom of the gangplank, ready to quickly usher them onto the ship. Renn climbed the gangplank first—noting how much steeper it was now, compared with only an hour ago when the tide wasn’t full yet—closely followed by Lusam, Neala and at the rear, Alexia.
“Welcome aboard the Pelorus,” another crewman said as they reached the deck of the ship. “Please take your bags to the aft of the ship, and remain there. The main deck will be busy for a while, best if you stay out of the way, at least until we hit open water. Captain Waylon said he’ll come talk with you once we’re underway. Now, if you don’t need anything else, I’ll be getting back to my regular duties.” He nodded towards the aft deck, then turned and headed the other way, leaving Renn and the others to find their own way. There was a narrow wooden staircase that led to the aft deck, and each took their turn to climb up it, and onto the bare deck above.
‘At least the high ship’s rail would offer some protection against the wind and sea spray,’ Renn thought, knowing full well how uncomfortable an open sea passage could be if you were too exposed to the elements, especially if the weather turned bad.
“So, I guess this is home for the next five days,” Alexia said, walking the width of the deck area in a few short strides.
“Well, I for one plan to catch up on some sleep,” Lusam said, finding himself a corner to sit in, and making it as comfortable as possible.
“Not even you could sleep for five days,” Neala said, teasing him.
“Maybe not. But I can try,” Lusam replied, grinning at her. Neala rolled her eyes at him, then went to join Renn, who was leaning over the rail watching the men below prepare the ship for departure.
“Have you travelled on a ship before, Renn?” Neala asked curiously, still watching the men below.
“Yes, many times. Actually, I originally came to Helveel by ship. To this very port, as it happens. How about you?”
“Once. But it was a long time ago, and the ship was smaller as I remember,” Neala replied, but didn’t elaborate further.
After the anchor had been lifted, and the ropes cast off the dock, the men raised the jib sail, and the ship began to move slowly forward. The front of the ship slowly turned starboard towards the open sea, and more sails were unfurled, making the ship lurch forward with a slight jolt. Moments later the mainsail was set, and their speed increased noticeably, and so did the movement of the ship.
“Is it normally this bad?” asked Alexia looking slightly concerned, holding tight to the ship’s rail, as the ship bucked over some waves, and crashed through others.
“No. It can get much worse than this in open water,” Renn replied laughing. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it after a while.”
“How in Aysha’s name can you ever get used to the ground beneath your feet disappearing whenever it feels like it?” Alexia squealed, attempting to walk back to where she’d left her possessions, and failing miserably. Instead, she ended up crawling on her hands an knees across the deck, while everyone else found it most amusing.
It was much longer than they ha
d anticipated before Captain Waylon finally paid them a visit. The sun had almost reached its highest point in the sky, and the sea had calmed down a lot since the early morning, much to Alexia’s relief. Lusam, thankfully, had the good sense to separate two lots of thirty-five gold pieces from his purse before boarding the ship, so when the Captain came to claim his initial payment, he didn’t have to count it out in front of the crew. Captain Waylon showed them where the clean drinking water keg was kept, and where the ship’s facilities were to be found, if you could even call them that. He also provided them with a large piece of old canvas and some rope. It looked like the remains of a larger torn sail that had been modified, with metal eyelets running along all four sides. The Captain assured them it would fit snugly over the aft deck should the weather take a turn for the worse, and if not, it would at least give them something more comfortable to sit on than the hard deck. But the best thing he gave them, was the news that the wind was currently very favourable to their trip, and they could shave as much as a whole day off their journey time if it continued the way it was. Renn silently thanked Aysha for their current good luck.
By the second day aboard ship they were all thoroughly bored. Even Lusam had reached his limits for dozing away the day. Their supplies and equipment had been well-packed away before boarding the ship, and it was well into the second day that Lusam remembered the monk’s journal he had discovered in Mr Daffer’s basement. It wasn’t until he was searching through one of the packed bundles of equipment, he realised Renn had also packed away his blessed sword and shield. Lusam didn’t expect any trouble on the ship—not until they had announced their true intended destination to the crew, anyway—but it seemed strange to think of Renn without them by his side.
Lusam saw Renn’s face light up as he realised what Lusam was digging out of the bundle. He had been more than a little curious as to what more the journal contained when Lusam had read three of the entries to him back at The Old Inkwell.
