They approached the port in the late afternoon. From Kalah Bar they could clearly see the island of Langkawi in the distance to the West. The houses and buildings of the port of Kalah Bar began to show themselves through the humid haze as they dropped anchor late that afternoon to find that there were several Chinese ships in port and even more Arab ships. The weather had been more kind to shipping recently, Talon supposed, as he looked over the ships clustered ahead of them.
Captain Dandachi beamed at Talon and said, “I am looking forward to meeting the captains and finding out how things have fared in Muscat since we departed. You know it is well over a year since we left Muscat, Talon? I pray to God that the Heyda did not come to Oman.”
He nodded, the captain was right; they had been away for a long time, and news was at a premium. “The first thing we must do, Captain, is to make sure we can leave with fresh water in our casks and plenty of fruit and vegetables. Can you see to that? And don’t forget, we must have more rice. You told me we were low on that.”
Captain Dandachi nodded, somewhat chastened. “Yes, we must take care of that immediately, Talon. We can socialize later.”
Talon chuckled and said, “I will be right there with you when you go to talk to the other captains, my friend. I, too, am starved for news. And I want to find out if any of the China ships will take a letter to Hsü.”
There was much to do in preparation for the second long leg of the journey to Kulam Mari on the Southwest coast of Al Hind. The crew needed some time on shore to rest, and Talon was sure that both he and his family could do with some time on land. In spite of the humidity on the mainland, it was a welcome change to be able to walk on solid ground after six weeks at sea.
*****
There were those on shore who observed the arrival of a ship, an Arab-looking ship by its shape and sails; and before long it was known that it had come from China and that there were interesting people on board. The news was passed along from one person to another, then it travelled by boat until it arrived at the island, and after that it came to the table of Sing. The information was delivered in person by Amar, who knew that Sing took a special interest in this particular vessel.
“Those Persians have finally come back to our port,” he told his master, who looked up from his meal and smiled. He dismissed the concubine, who was thankful to leave, and the servants who lingered around the walls, attentive to every gesture he made.
“Are we talking about the light-skinned Persian who looks more like a Frank?” he asked.
“The word is that such is the case, Master,” Amar said.
“I wonder. They probably have a full hold. Let them collect water and supplies, and then we will see,” Sing told him. “Leave them alone to buy what they will. It will all come to us in the end. Prepare your ship.”
Amar bowed. He knew what to do.
*****
Captain Dandachi and Talon held a conference the following week while preparations were being made to take on water and supplies.
“We are running out of time, Master Talon,” the Captain said with a glance at the sky. “It is now late winter, and I was hoping to be at Kulam Mali by now.”
They both knew why they were late. The delays in Guangzhou had been costly in terms of time, but Talon was well pleased with their cargo.
“I understand, but I want to take on as much spice as we are able while here,” he replied. “You yourself told me that would pay for the journey on its own, if we can get good terms for it.”
The captain nodded his head vigorously. “I agree, we should not lose the opportunity, but then we must sail.”
As it happened, the merchants and agents in Kalah Bar were eager to sell. The price was a little higher than Talon would have liked, but the captain assured him there would be little difficulty in selling the spices for a very good profit once they arrived in Muscat.
“The caravans will leave for Baghdad and other places whether we are late or not, and those merchants who missed the first ship to arrive will be glad to have a chance for our cargo,” he said, pulling on his beard.
“Then we must make haste to load up and leave. We are all ready to go home,” Talon stated.
The crew set to with a will, and before long the ship was loaded to the top of the holds. “This ship smells like a bazaar!” Reza laughed, as the final covers were drawn across the hatchways and the captain shouted to the crew to hoist sail.
“Lets hope we have good weather all the way, as I would hate this cargo to spoil,” Talon remarked.
They watched as the port receded into the tropical haze, glad to leave the dense humidity of the mangrove swamps behind for the fresher air of the open sea. The captain took a northerly course to avoid the island of Langkawi to the West.
“We will head westerly tomorrow and arrive at the islands of Langabulos in a week if this wind remains constant,” the Captain told Talon that evening. Talon had been carefully working out the route they were to take, using the kabal and the stars. Rostam was with him, enjoying the moment and chattering as he, too, checked their position relative to the stars. They had one other instrument that they had not had on their way out to China.
This was the compass that Hsü had presented to Talon, who had to take a leap of faith with the strange instrument as they sailed. The fact that it pointed unerringly South at all times was a great mystery to him and everyone else. However, it seemed to do just that. Indeed, the captain pointed out that the stars at night agreed with it. When they went southwest to strike the eastern coast of Malaya, it pointed directly south, enabling them to sail without concern when the weather changed to cloudy or there was rain. When they finally began to head north, it remained pointing to the South, enabling them to calculate with some degree of accuracy their direction and position relative to the land on the starboard side. Talon began to gain confidence in the heavy, cumbersome instrument made of brass and iron.
It was Waqqas who brought word of trouble on the second afternoon after their departure from Kalah Bar. He came up to the captain and whispered into his ear, then pointed back over the afterdeck along their wake.
Captain Dandachi turned to look and gave a short exclamation. He stared back along their wake for a long time, and then he told Waqqas to go and get Talon, who was below. Talon came up on deck to find the captain and Waqqas, as well as Reza, standing on the rearmost part of the high afterdeck, staring back along the way they had come.
“We have company,” Reza said as he approached.
Talon glanced at the captain and Waqqas, who both nodded.
“The ship behind us has been following us since we passed the island of Langkawi a day ago, Master Talon. They might be just another ship, but we should be careful,” Dandachi said. He looked unhappy.
Talon stared at the distant sail. “Have they gained on us?” he asked.
“They are moving very fast and have shortened the distance by half,” Reza told him, and Talon knew that his friend was concerned. Their holds were full and the ship was not going to outrun a lightly loaded ship with evil intent. He had to make a decision then and there. He looked off to the West where the sun was about to set. This did not bode well if it should be a pirate: they always had the advantage in the dark.
“Reza, you know how to operate the apparatus on the main deck. Take Tarif and Umayr with you and prepare the Erupters, just in case.”
Reza ran off to carry out the order.
Talon noticed the concern on the captain’s whiskered face.
“They might just be another ship going the same way as us,” he said with a shrug. The captain nodded, but he shouted orders at the crew to bring up the deadly little pots of Greek Fire and prepare them.
“I agree with you, Talon,” he said in an unconvinced voice. “But you are right, we should be prepared all the same.”
Talon made his way back down the companionway to the passenger deck and let himself into the main room. Rav’an and Jannat were there. Rostam was getting ready fo
r bed, protesting all the way, while Salem scrubbed his face and hands.
“We appear to have company, Rav’an. This time you should all stay below. It might be nothing, but should it prove otherwise then there will be much danger on the deck. I want you safe below.”
He smiled to take the worried look off his face, but he was unable to fool Rav’an. She nodded slowly and gave him a nervous smile. Jannat looked worried, but not panicked, he was glad to see. “We shall soon know,” Talon told them as he left. He motioned to Yosef to take up a post by the door. “Stay here, my friend. Guard them with your life.” Yosef grunted assent and gripped his spear more tightly. He still had difficulty talking, but speech was slowly coming back. Talon clapped him on the back and climbed the stairs to the upper deck.
He watched as Reza supervised the preparations of the equipment. There were two of the deadly bronze Erupters, or Fire Tubes, for either side of the main deck. These weapons had squatted on the middle deck, lashed down and covered with oilcloth, getting in the way of the crew since they left. Talon hoped they would fulfill his expectations today.
Talon had also wanted to buy some Fire Lances, the smaller tubular devices made of bamboo, which could fire a stone, or sand or pebbles a great distance; but Hsü had warned him away from them, saying that they could sometimes explode themselves and kill anyone nearby. On a ship that would be undesirable, he had told Talon, with a small quirk at the corner of his mouth.
They would instead be relying again upon the deadly little pots that the captain had, with great foresight, brought on board in Muscat. They also had some other nasty little devices that Hsü had suggested for the dangerous journey home. “You never know. These can wreak havoc in a crowd, Talon,” he had said with that little smile of his. Talon realized how much he missed Hsü at this moment.
He went below to the hold to fetch several ‘Thunderbolt Balls’ that Hsü had proposed instead. These were a package of scraps of iron and gunpowder in a wrapped core of bamboo and resin. A short fuse could set it off, and it could cause much damage when thrown. He gingerly carried them onto the after deck and stacked them against the side of the ship. Reza joined him soon after and grinned wolfishly when he saw them.
“Where do you wish me to be if there is trouble, Talon?” he asked, as though it was quite natural for him to take orders. Talon smiled at his friend.
“Other than myself, you are the only person trained to use those Erupters properly, Brother. Again, it is surprise that will win this fight, if it should come to fighting.”
Reza shrugged agreement. “They are gaining on us, Talon. I suspect something is up.”
They walked over to the after railing and stared back at the oncoming ship. It was much closer now, only half a league away. They could make out the white bow wave; it was right on their wake. It seemed intent upon passing them very closely, or else it had some other more sinister intent in mind.
“Captain, change course. Lets see what they are up to,” Talon called down to the steering deck.
Captain Dandachi shouted orders and the crew jumped to his command. The ship heeled slightly as they altered course several points further north.
Within a few minutes the other ship altered course as well and continued to follow them, gaining on them every minute.
“Well, now we know. They are after us,” Reza said. “I’ll go down and make sure the lads are calm. I have put stones in the Erupters. We’ll see what effect that has on our friends.”
“I don’t have any idea as to how effective these weapons are at long range even though we saw some of it in China. The only recourse is to let them come very close and then we can be sure of hitting them every time. Especially in the dark.” Talon said.
“Send Dar’an up the mast with some of these,” he added. “Make sure he has a flint with him and can light it.”
Dandachi nodded his head reluctantly. ‘It is as you wish Master Talon.”
Dar’an was soon clambering into the lookout perch with two of the thick bamboo tubes and several pots in a bag slung over his shoulder. Talon had spent some time showing him how they worked while they had been at sea.
Talon hoped the boy would keep calm and not throw too soon. It was all about surprise, but this time it would be dark and much more perilous. He cast a look to the West. The sun had gone down, leaving a red glow that reflected off the few clouds, but in the tropics darkness follows sunset very quickly. No one spoke on the decks; the crew were in their positions armed to the teeth, tense and waiting, while Reza was standing ready with a smoking taper next to one of the Erupters.
Talon felt the familiar tightness in his stomach as he watched the other ship drawing ever closer. They would have to let it almost come alongside before he did anything, he decided; it was going to be a test of nerves. He glanced at the captain, who stood with the equally nervous steersmen. He shot Talon a distracted look. “They will be upon us very soon,” he said. Talon nodded and tried to smile.
All too soon it seemed the following ship was very close. Talon spent some time watching their approach and trying to gauge what their captain would try to do. The first thing he noticed was the other ship altering course to come alongside their port side, up wind of them. Talon nodded to himself approvingly. Good move: the pirates now had the advantage of the wind. Then he stared. The man on the afterdeck looked very familiar. He strained his eyes in the gathering gloom to see who it might be and then realized with a shock that it was Amar. He was sure of it. He itched to send an arrow into Amar, but he had to wait. “Surprise them and we might win,” he told himself.
“We are being attacked by Sing’s men! They are pirates for sure,” he called out. Someone cursed on the lower deck and there were nervous mutters from nearby. “Stay calm, men. We’ll give them a taste of the Dragon’s breath!” he called out.
Some of the men gave nervous laughs, but only a few knew what he meant. The other ship now altered course sharply to bring it alongside theirs, almost on collision course. In the gloom of the evening Talon could just make out the men gathered in the waist and the foredeck, the dull gleam of their weapons waving as they prepared to jump aboard his ship.
There was a blinding flash and a deafening report from the other ship. Talon nearly fell over with shock. From the side of the pirate ship a long gout of flame spurted and a missile howled just above the rail of the Sea Eagle’s lower deck. Everyone ducked and there was a fearful cry from the men in the waist. They were just as shocked as Talon. This was something they had not expected. The pirates had an Erupter too! The shot had been aimed high to frighten their prey.
“Stay where you are!” Reza roared to the men, and kicked one of them back into place alongside their own Erupter. “Do not be afraid. We will burn them to the water and give them a taste of our own Dragon’s Breath, but you must wait!” he called out to the frightened men.
Talon was stunned. He hadn’t expected this, but he then realized why the pirates had been so successful. Few ships possessed such weapons. He blessed Reza for holding the men together and then watched as the other ship full of shouting and yelling men began to bring itself alongside. He raised his hand; they were only twenty paces away, well within easy bow shot. He dropped his hand and shouted at the top of his voice, “Now!”
The crewmen leapt up to haul open the hatches in front of the Erupters and pushed on the heavy devices with all their might, grunting and straining to get their barrels pointing out through the hatches. They leaned back on the ropes and waited while Reza ran to the first one and touched a fuse. It spluttered and spat, but then the flame raced into a hole in back of the barrel. There was small jet of flame at the touchhole, then a blinding flash from the muzzle and a huge bang which shook the timbers and made Talon clap his hands over his ears. The device jumped back against the ropes, jerking the men holding them almost off their feet.
Crew men leapt out of the way as Reza danced over to the next Erupter. Again he touched the fuse, and crew nearby made space as it fire
d off its contents at the other ship with another deafening roar. Both Erupters had been loaded with small stones that were hurled across the water to smash into the crowded ship. At that distance it was devastating. Talon didn’t see much after that, as smoke obliterated most of the main deck. The men on the Sea Eagle were yelling and cheering as they hauled the Erupters back and began to reload them. In the dark Talon could not see the carnage they had inflicted on the other side, but the screams and wails sounded clear enough.
Talon took one of the Thunderbolt balls and tried to light the fuse. It seemed to take forever to catch as he frantically hammered at the flint. Finally it caught. He waited until the fuse was hissing spitefully, then stood up and hurled the device with all his strength across the space between the ships. He ducked behind the transom—just in time, as he felt the wind of an arrow meant for him as it passed overhead.
He didn’t see where his bomb landed because he was frantically trying to light another one, but the explosion on the other ship told him all he needed to know. There were more screams, and he knew they had been hit hard. Men down in the waist of the ship were now hurling smoking Greek Fire bombs at the other ship, their yells of excitement as they saw the flaming results contributing to the general bedlam.
He searched vainly for a glimpse of Amar so that he could send an arrow his way, but the smoke and darkness prevented him from seeing much of anything. Instead he hurled another bamboo bomb at the steering deck of the other ship and had the satisfaction of seeing the flash and hearing it explode. He shook his head. What devilish weapons the Chinese had invented!
However, there was still plenty of fight left in the pirates. Their Erupter roared again and the air all around was filled with the hum of a hundred angry bees. Suddenly his own men were down and screaming. A small missile slapped into the railing, creating a shower of splinters. Talon felt a numbing blow, then a sharp pain under his right eye. He put his hand up to his face and it came away wet with his blood. He hastily tore off a piece of his light cotton tunic and staunched the blood.
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