King Of The Murgos

by Eddings, David

  ‘You’re a corrupt and disgusting man, Kheldar.’

  ‘I know. Smuggling is a very profitable business, though. You ought to give some thought to going into it.’

  ‘Kheldar, I’m the king. I’d be stealing from myself.’

  ‘Trust me,’ Silk said. ‘It’s a bit complicated, but I can show you how to set things up so that you can make a very handsome profit.’

  The ship rolled then, and they all looked out through the windows along the stern to watch the waves sweep by as the steersman pulled his tiller over hard and the ship came about. Far astern they could see a half-dozen red sails looking tiny in the distance.

  ‘Are there any Grolims on board those ships, Pol?’ Belgarath asked his daughter.

  Her lavender eyes became distant for a moment, then she passed one hand over her brow. ‘No, father,’ she replied, ‘just ordinary Malloreans.’

  ‘Good. We shouldn’t have too much trouble hiding from them, then.’

  ‘That storm the captain mentioned is coming up behind them,’ Durnik said.

  ‘Won’t it just hurry them along?’ Urgit asked nervously.

  ‘Probably not,’ the smith answered. ‘Most likely they’ll come about to head into the wind. That’s the only safe way to ride out a storm.’

  ‘Won’t we have to do the same thing?’

  ‘We’re outnumbered six to one, my brother,’ Silk pointed out. ‘We’re going to have to take a few chances, I think.’

  The advancing wave of darkness that marked the leading edge of the oncoming storm engulfed the red sails far astern and came racing up the coast. The waves grew higher, and the Murgo ship bucked and plunged as the wind picked up. The timbers shrieked and groaned in protest as the heavy seas wrenched at their vessel, and high overhead there was the heavy booming of the sails. Garion actually listened to that booming sound for several minutes before the significance of it began to dawn on him. It was an ominous grinding noise from amidships that finally alerted him. ‘That idiot!’ he exclaimed, leaping to his feet and snatching up his cloak.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ Sadi asked in alarm.

  ‘He’s carrying full sail! If his main-mast doesn’t break, we’ll be driven under!’ Garion whirled, dashed out of the cabin, and staggered along the lurching companionway to the three steps leading up to the deck. ‘Captain!’ he shouted as he dashed out onto the rain-swept deck. He caught one of the hastily strung lifelines as a wave broke over the stern and came rushing knee-deep down the deck, sweeping his feet out from under him. ‘Captain!’ he shouted again, hauling himself hand over hand up the rope toward the aft deck.

  ‘My Lord?’ the captain shouted back with a startled look.

  ‘Shorten your sail! Your main-mast is starting to tear free!’

  The captain stared aloft, his face filled with sudden chagrin. ‘Impossible, my Lord,’ he protested as Garion reached him. ‘The men can’t furl sail in this storm.’

  Garion rubbed the rain out of his eyes and looked back up over his shoulder at the tautly bellied mainsail. ‘They’ll have to cut it away, then.’

  ‘Cut it? But, my Lord, that’s a new sail.’

  ‘Right now it’s the sail or the ship. If the wind uproots your main-mast, it’s going to tear your ship apart—and if it doesn’t, we’ll be driven under. Now get that sail off the mast—or I will.’

  The captain stared at him.

  ‘Believe me,’ Garion told him, ‘if I have to do it, I’ll sweep your deck clean—masts, rigging, sails, and all.’

  The captain immediately began giving orders.

  Once the mainsail had been cut free and allowed to kite off into the storm, the dreadful shuddering and grinding eased, and the vessel ran before the wind more smoothly, propelled only by a small foresail.

  ‘How far is it to the mouth of the Goran Sea?’ Garion asked.

  ‘Not far, my Lord,’ the captain replied, mopping his face. He looked around at the storm-lashed morning and the low, nearly invisible coast sliding by on their right. ‘There it is,’ he said, pointing at a scarcely visible hillock jutting up a mile or so ahead. ‘You see that headland—the one with the white bluff facing us? The channel’s just on the other side of it.’ He turned to the sailors clinging to the aft rail. ‘Drop the sea anchor,’ he commanded.

  ‘What’s that for?’ Garion asked him.

  ‘We’ve got too much headway, my Lord,’ the seaman explained. ‘The channel’s a little difficult, and we have to turn sharply to get through it. We have to slow down. The sea anchor drags behind and keeps us from going quite so fast.’

  Garion thought about it, frowning. Something seemed wrong, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He watched as the sailors rolled what appeared to be a long canvas sack on a heavy rope over the stern rail. The sack streamed out behind them; the rope went taut, and the ship shuddered and slowed perceptibly.

  ‘That’s better,’ the captain said with some satisfaction.

  Garion shielded his eyes from the icy rain being driven into his face and peered back behind them. The Malloreans were nowhere in sight. ‘Just how tricky is this channel you mentioned?’ he asked.

  ‘There are some reefs in the center, my Lord. You have to hug the coast on one side or the other to avoid them. We’ll stay close to the south shore, since that bay I mentioned is on that side.’

  Garion nodded. ‘I’ll go warn the others that we’re about to make a turn to the right. A sudden change of direction might toss them around a bit down there.’

  ‘Starboard,’ the captain said disapprovingly.

  ‘What? Oh, no. To most of them, it’s to the right.’ Garion started forward, peering out through the rain at the low coast sliding past. The bluff and the rounded headland looming above it was almost dead amidships now. He could see the channel just ahead cluttered with jagged, up-thrusting rocks. He swung down into the narrow, dark companionway and shook as much water out of his cloak as possible as he stumbled aft. He opened the main cabin door and poked his head inside. ‘We’re at the mouth of the Gorand Sea,’ he announced. ‘We’ll be turning to starboard here.’ Then he cursed at forgetting.

  ‘Which way is starboard?’ Ce’Nedra asked.

  ‘Right.’

  ‘Why didn’t you say right, then?’

  He let that pass. ‘When we come about, we could bounce around a bit, so you’d all better hang on to something. There’s a reef in the center of the channel, so we’re going to have to swing in tight to the south shore to avoid—’ Then it came to him, even as the ship heeled over and plunged into the channel. ‘Belar!’ he swore. He spun, reaching over his shoulder for Iron-grip’s sword, and then plunged back down the companionway. He banged out through the slanting companionway doors and jumped up to the rain-swept aft deck with the great blade aloft. ‘Cut it!’ he screamed. ‘Cut the rope to the sea anchor!’

  The captain gaped at him, uncomprehending.

  ‘Cut the cursed rope!’ Garion bellowed. Then he was on them, and they stumbled clumsily over each other, trying to get out of his way. The ship had already swept in a tight curve close in to the headland, avoiding the reefs and up-thrusting boulders in mid-channel. The submerged sea anchor, however, pulled by the force of the waves running before the wind, continued on across the mouth of the channel. The rope that had slackened until it was lost in the whitecaps suddenly snapped taut, jerking the Murgo scow askew. The force of that sudden sideways jerk threw Garion off his feet, and he crashed into the tangle of arms and legs at the rail. ‘Cut it!’ he shouted, struggling to free himself. ‘Cut the rope!’

  But it was too late. The heavy sea anchor, pulled by the irresistible force of the storm-driven waves, had not only jerked the Murgo vessel to a halt but was now pulling her inexorably backward—not toward the safe channel through which she had just passed, but instead directly toward the jagged reefs.

  Garion staggered to his feet, kicking the floundering sailors out from around his ankles. Desperately he swung a massive blow at the
tautly thrumming rope, shearing away not merely the rope itself but the stout windlass to which it was attached.

  ‘My Lord!’ the captain protested.

  ‘Get that tiller!’ Garion shouted. ‘Turn to starboard! Turn! Turn! Turn!’ He pointed at the deadly reefs foaming directly in their path.

  The captain gaped at the huge knife-edged rocks standing in his vessel’s course. Then he whirled and tore the tiller from the hands of his frozen steersman. Instinctively, he swung the tiller hard over for a turn to port.

  ‘Starboard!’ Garion shouted. ‘Turn to starboard!’

  ‘No, my Lord,’ the captain disagreed. ‘We have to turn to port—to the left.’

  ‘We’re going backward, you jackass! Turn right!’

  ‘Starboard,’ the captain corrected absently, still wrestling with an idea he was not yet fully prepared to grasp—all the while still firmly holding the tiller locked into the fatal course he had originally set.

  Garion began to clamber over the still-floundering sailors, desperately trying to reach the bemused captain, but there came a sudden tearing sound from below the waterline and a lurching jolt as their ship crashed stern-first into the reef. Timbers shrieked and snapped as the sharp rocks knifed into the vessel’s bottom. Then they hung there, impaled on the rocks, while the waves began the deadly pounding that would soon break the ship to pieces.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Garion struggled to his feet, shaking his head to clear it of the ringing sound and to chase the dancing sparks from before his eyes. The sudden jolt of the ship’s striking the reef had tumbled him headlong into the aft rail, and there was a great, stinging welt across the top of his scalp. The air around him was filled with sounds. There were shouts from the deck and cries for help coming from the water. The ship groaned and shook as she hung on the reef, and the surging waves pounded her splintered bottom on the unseen rocks beneath her keel. Wincing, Garion shook his head again and began to slip and slide his way across the heaving aft deck toward the companionway door. As he reached it, however, Belgarath and Durnik came crashing out. ‘What’s happened?’ the old man demanded.

  ‘We hit a reef,’ Garion said. ‘Is anybody down there hurt?’

  ‘They’re all right—a little tumbled about is all.’

  Garion touched the welt on top of his head, wincing at the sharp sting. Then he looked at his fingers, noting that there didn’t seem to be any blood.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ Belgarath asked.

  ‘I hit my head.’

  ‘I thought we all decided that you weren’t going to do that any more.’

  A deadly, jarring boom came from under their feet and with it the sound of splintering timbers.

  ‘Belgarath,’ Durnik said with alarm, ‘we’re caught on the reef. This surf is going to pound the ship to pieces.’

  Belgarath looked around quickly. ‘Where’s the captain?’ he demanded.

  Garion turned to look aft. ‘He was right there at the tiller, Grandfather,’ he said. He clambered up the short incline to the aft deck and caught hold of the steersman, who was stumbling forward. ‘Where’s the captain?’ he shouted.

  ‘Lost. He was thrown over the aft rail when we hit the reef.’ The steersman’s eyes were filled with shock and fright. ‘We’re all doomed!’ he cried, clinging to Garion.

  ‘Oh, stop that!’ Garion snapped. ‘The captain’s gone, Grandfather,’ he shouted over the noise of the storm and the confusion on deck. ‘He fell over the side.’

  Belgarath and Durnik came quickly up the three steps to the aft deck. ‘We’ll have to take care of it ourselves, then,’ the old man said. ‘How much time do you think we’ve got, Durnik?’

  ‘Not much. There are a lot of timbers breaking down in the hold, and you can hear water pouring in.’

  ‘We have to get her off this reef, then—before the rocks break any more holes in her bottom.’

  ‘The reef’s the only thing that’s keeping us up right now, Belgarath,’ the smith objected. ‘If we lift her off, she’ll sink in minutes.’

  ‘Then we’ll have to beach her. Come along, both of you.’ He led them aft and took hold of the tiller bar. He jiggled it back and forth a couple of times and then swore. ‘The rudder’s gone.’ He drew in a deep breath to calm himself and then turned to Garion and Durnik. ‘We’ll do this all at one time and all together,’ he told them. ‘If we start heaving and hauling and bouncing her around, we’ll just tear her up all the more.’ He wiped the rain and spray out of his face and peered toward the shore, perhaps a mile distant. He pointed at the up-thrusting headland with the white bluff on one side dropping straight down into the thundering surf. ‘There’s a beach just to the left of that bluff,’ he said. ‘We’ll try for that. It’s not too well sheltered, and there are a lot of rocks sticking up out of the sand, but it’s the closest.’

  Durnik leaned far out over the aft rail and peered down. ‘She’s been badly broached, Belgarath,’ he reported gravely. He squinted across the intervening water toward the beach. ‘Our only hope is speed. Once she’s clear of the reef, she’ll start to go down. We’re going to have to push her toward the beach as fast as we can—and without a rudder, it’s going to be very hard to control our direction.’

  ‘Do we have any other options?’ Belgarath asked him.

  ‘Not that I can think of, no.’

  ‘Let’s do it then.’ The old man looked at them. ‘Are we ready?’

  Garion and Durnik both nodded, then straightened, concentrating hard as each of them drew in and focused his will. Garion began to tingle all over and clenched himself tightly, holding in the pent-up force.

  ‘Now!’ Belgarath barked.

  ‘Lift!’ the three of them said in unison.

  The battered stern of the ship came sluggishly up out of the churning waves with her shattered timbers shrieking as the hull pulled free of the jagged reef.

  ‘There!’ Belgarath snapped, pointing at the half-obscured beach.

  Garion thrust, bracing his will astern at the boiling reef. The ship settled sickeningly as she came free, going down rapidly by the stern; then, slowly at first, but quickly gaining speed, she surged forward. Even over the sound of the howling wind, he could hear the rushing wash of water along her sides as she raced toward the safety of the beach.

  When they hit the currents in the main channel, however, the rudderless ship began to veer and yaw, threatening to swing broadside. ‘Keep her straight!’ Belgarath shouted. The veins were standing out in his forehead, and his jaws were tightly clenched.

  Garion labored at it. As long as their broken ship moved fast enough, they could keep the water from pouring in through the shattered stern, but if she went broadside to the waves, the loss of momentum would be fatal. The sea would inexorably drag her under. Garion gripped the bow with the force of his will, holding the ship rigidly on course, even as he continued to drive toward the beach with all his strength.

  Three hundred more yards. Sweating and straining, Garion could see the foaming surf seething on the sandy, boulder-strewn beach.

  Two hundred yards. He could hear the thunder of the waves.

  One hundred yards. He could feel the ponderous, upward-heaving swell of the great wave that rose beneath them and rushed them toward the safety only scant yards away.

  And then, even as the prow touched the froth-covered sand, the great swell that had driven them up onto the beach subsided, and there was a dreadful, shocking crash from amidships as they came down onto a submerged boulder lurking beneath the surf. Again Garion was thrown face down on the deck and half stunned by the impact.

  The surf still boomed about them, and the snapping and splintering of timbers amidships was deafening, but they were safe. The prow of the stricken vessel was firmly embedded in the wet sand of the beach. As Garion painfully hauled himself to his feet, he felt drained and weak from his efforts. Then the deck beneath his feet gave a peculiar, sickening lurch, and there were more cracking and splintering noises comin
g from amidships.

  ‘I think we broke the keel when we hit that rock,’ Durnik said shakily. His face was gray with exhaustion, and he was shaking visibly. ‘We’d better get everybody off the ship and onto the beach.’

  Belgarath rose from the scuppers. There was a ruddy contusion on his cheek, rain and spray streaming down his face, and a vast anger in his eyes. He was swearing sulfurously. Then his rage suddenly vanished. ‘The horses!’ he exclaimed. ‘They’re down in the hold! Durnik!’

  But the smith was already running forward toward the sprung hatchway amidships. ‘Get Toth to come and help me!’ he shouted back over his shoulder. ‘We have to get those horses out!’

  ‘Garion!’ Belgarath barked. ‘Let’s get everybody out of the cabins and onto dry land. I don’t think we’ve got a lot of time before this wreck starts to break apart.’

  They started forward, moving carefully on the slanting deck of the broken ship, with the wind-whipped spray and driving rain stinging their faces. They ducked into the slanting aft door and down the companionway. The narrow hall echoed and rang with the noise of cracking timbers coming from amidships.

  The aft cabin was a total shambles. The shock of striking the reef and the even worse one that had broken the ship’s back had torn most of the bolted-down furniture loose. Sprung timbers flopped and clattered, and the windows across the stern had all been broken and wrenched from their casings. Spray and rain were splashing in through those gaping holes.

  Ce’Nedra and Prala looked frightened as they clung to each other, Urgit held tightly to the keel-post as if expecting yet another crashing impact, and Sadi half-lay in a corner with his arms protectively wrapped around his red leather case. Polgara, however, looked dreadfully angry. She was also wet. The water pouring in through the shattered stern had drenched her clothes and her hair, and her expression was that of one who has been enormously offended. ‘Exactly what did you do, old man?’ she demanded of Belgarath as he and Garion entered through the broken door.