“You got a good crew, Digger,” said Captain Mack. “Strong and spirited. Anyone need patching up? We’ve got a fine medic back on the ship.”
An excess of pride or a legitimate ruggedness among the crew kept their hands from rising.
“Excellent. Now that we’ve all proved ourselves, maybe we can get to the root of our problems.”
The Well Diggers and the Wind Breaker crew once again divided into their designated brainstorming groups. Nita marveled at how the outburst of hostility seemed to leave the room completely free of tension. She never would have imagined an out and out brawl would have been precisely what the situation called for. That Captain Mack did know explained how he’d managed to remain a captain for so many years. Every day she learned there was more to that man than she’d realized.
#
The Ruby Club door swung open to reveal Lucius Alabaster in his radiant-white outfit.
“Nerve tonics, my good men! All around!” he proclaimed.
The grand gesture would have been more generous if the room contained anyone beside Tender and the steward.
“What seems to be the source for such frivolity?” asked Tender, fanning himself with his bowler hat after being startled by the proclamation.
“My day of recognition is at hand, that is what! Mallow, see to my friend in this triumphant time.”
His manservant stepped inside. “Er… what’ll you have, Tender?”
“I suppose I’ll have to sample this nerve tonic of yours to see what the fuss is about,” Tender said.
Mallow nodded and paced inside as Alabaster took his seat.
“I’ve seen not one but two fine signs of my machinations bearing fruit, good sirs,” Alabaster said, plopping down and twirling his mustache with both hands. “The first, I received a message just three minutes ago from an agent in my employ that an agent in the good Mayor Ebonwhite’s employ has appeared in our midst. The first time, might I add, that he has seen fit to show the slightest interest in our forsaken little corner of the fug. And why? What could have drawn the interest of the most powerful man of our times? The answer, my gentleman, is Lucius P. Alabaster!”
“I don’t know that I would be in quite so celebratory a mood if I’d earned the interest of Ebonwhite. He has the means to make a life rather unpleasantly complex.”
“Feh, I say. Feh, bah, and a thousand such scoffs! Ebonwhite knows not with whom he trifles! That, no doubt, is the reason for his interest. To determine the nature of my genius. And he shall soon learn that he not only needs to know my name, but that it needs to be on his lips, such that he might call it in this, his hour of need. Because the second message was to inform me that certain complicating factors have beset his own plans. And that very shortly his hated rivals from above, the bloody-handed slayers of his dragon and topplers of his dungeon, cannot simply be starved away. They must be dealt with. And who more capable than I to do the dealing?!”
Tender glanced to Mallow, who was already returning with three shots. “Forgive my denseness, but was I supposed to make sense of that?” Tender said. “His rivals cannot be starved away?”
“No, good Tender. Few but myself have the wisdom and foresight to understand the intricacies of my schemes. But suffice it say that before the month is out, I expect to be at once an employee and credible rival of Ebonwhite. And my name shall be on the lips of all who speak of great men and great minds.”
He took his drink in hand and downed it. Mallow and Tender did the same.
“Truth be told, my plans are soon to be quite vigorously in motion. And as they can only remain so in my absence for so long, I shall need to take my leave. My date with destiny is nigh. And I shan’t be tardy.”
#
After several hours of plotting, the Wind Breaker crew retired to the ship. Captain Mack piloted far enough away from the meeting place to conceal its location, then emerged from the fug to take some grateful breaths of unfiltered air. After letting the lingering pockets of fug dissipate, they gathered in the galley. Captain Mack left Coop at the wheel while they ate. In a rare appearance out from behind the counter, Butch shuttled from table to table, muttering reprimands and applying ointments.
“You should’ve seen the other guy, Butch,” Lil said, wincing as her ear was treated. “I put my boot to more than a few. And they’re only lucky I had this mask on, or you can be darn sure I’d’ve found out what fugger tastes like after they took a bite of me.”
“Fine, fine,” Captain Mack said. “We can compare scars after. The important thing is we’ve got our tasks now. So let’s divide things up and lay them out. Nita, what came of your figuring?”
“In terms of the engineering, it’s a straightforward job. Actually a great deal like what I’m accustomed to as a free-wrench in Caldera. A fence to keep man and beast out. Some mining equipment and whatever equipment will be needed to refine the ichor. With the workers we’ve got, provided their head count was accurate and their hearts are in it, under normal circumstances I’d say the defenses could be up in a week. The mine would be ready in two, but they’d probably take their time after getting the walls up, because… well, circumstances aren’t normal. They impressed upon me, repeatedly, that The Thicket will not be obliging to our task. It turns out the fug hasn’t kept all plants and animals from thriving. There are thorn bushes with cruel barbs, and animals they’ve declined to describe beyond great size and hideous appearance.
“I’ve proposed we outfit their steam carts to run the weapons that will eventually be mounted on the walls, and armor them similarly. It should add protection without adding weight, since every bit of the offensive and defensive equipment and more will be reused upon arrival.”
“Fine work. How much of our crew would you need to get it done?”
“Naturally I would need to be a part of the job from beginning to end. I would also prefer to have at least one member of the Wind Breaker crew to help coordinate.”
“If you only need one, you can have your pick of everyone but Gunner. I’ll need him with me. That Lester character would have us believe he’s going to strut in and strut out with his chemist in tow, but my own assessment is to expect a good deal more excitement than that. Stealthy or not, that stretch of fug is situated midway between three fug cities I know of, let alone the many I no doubt don’t know of. That means shipments. And shipments mean patrols and security. I don’t count on us getting there and back without shots fired. And if it comes to that, in air or on the ground, I want Gunner with me,” Captain Mack said.
“I’d have picked Lil anyway. No offense, Gunner.”
“None taken, though take plentiful notes on the construction of those war wagons. A contraption like that has a future,” he said.
“Oh no. Those wagons are coming apart just as soon as we arrive. And those are for defense, not offense.”
“If it uses ammunition, it’s good for both,” Gunner said.
“Let’s not make plans for things that ain’t been made yet. We should all set eyes on the next step,” Captain Mack said.
“And what’s that, Cap’n?” Lil said.
Butch supplied the answer in an irritated grumble.
“Glinda’s right. Let’s get us a fair distance away, then make sure we’re all patched up right. From there it’ll be up north, as near to the edge of that forest of theirs as they’re willing to let us get. Nita and Lil stay behind and get the group ready to venture into the woods. Then the rest of the crew and that Lester character load up and head to Fadewell Academy to get their chemist one way or the other.”
“I’m not keen on us splitting up, Cap’n,” Lil said. “While I’m voting that it’s not a trap, it’s just as likely it is one now as it was before, and with us up north and without the ship and the rest of you to watch us, things could go wrong quick.”
“Then you watch each other’s backs. And you keep some things in mind, second only to your own safety. You find out where that well is, you find out if it is real, and you be sure th
at you can find it again. That’s our insurance against treachery.”
“And if the treachery takes you before you return to us?” Nita asked.
“Then you get clear of them before they do the same to you, and you find out what happened to us. Simple as that. You both got good heads on your shoulders, and you’re members of the Wind Breaker crew. Together I don’t imagine there’s anything in the fug more formidable than that.”
“I ain’t about to disagree with that, Cap’n, but how are we liable to find out if the rest of you have come to ill? Or if you need our help? Or if you got something you need us to know, or to do, how are we supposed to find that out? There’s the matter of communication, is what I’m getting at.”
“Don’t think that hasn’t crossed my mind, Lil.” He tapped his knuckles on the wall in a rapid pattern. “Near as we know, there’s only one fugger alive today who knows we’ve figured out their code and that we know what the inspectors are really used for. That being the woman who filled in some of the last pieces for you girls back in Skykeep. They haven’t changed their codes, and that’s further proof of their ignorance. So far it’s served us well enough for the fuggers to think we killed our inspector, and that’s why they haven’t received any reports on us. This might be reason enough to risk abandoning that.”
Wink and Nikita, answering the tapped-out call, scurried into the room and onto the table, looking expectantly at the captain.
“I want you girls to take one of the aye-ayes with you. Hide it as best you can, not that you’re liable to have much success at it. Not knowing where you are, I can’t be sure we’ll be able to get a message to you one way or another. But having one inspector with you and one with us, at least there’s a means to do it. Half a plan is better than none.” He looked to the creatures. “Wink, Nikita, I know with those ears of yours you’ve heard every word of what I said, whether I meant for you to hear it or not. So I put it to you. These girls are going down in the fug and into The Thicket. I want one of you to go with them and listen for anything they might need to hear. Which of you wants to be the one?”
The two inspectors exchanged glances and began to drum out messages on the table to one another. When they reached an agreement, Nikita looked to the captain.
I do not want to leave Coop. But Coop wants Lil to be safe. Nikita will help keep Lil safe.
“So be it,” the captain said. “Scurry off with you, back to the watch.”
Butch held up a hand, stopping them before they could leave, and fished into her apron to reveal two treats. The aye-ayes eagerly snatched them before hurrying off.
“You’re fixing to spoil them,” Captain Mack said.
Butch nudged him and pointed to his shirt.
“I’d just as soon wait until the ladies weren’t present to see to that bit, Glinda.”
“You ain’t got nothing we ain’t seen before,” said Lil. “And vice versa with us. Because I don’t like the way Nita here is sittin’. I think she took some shots to the kidneys.”
After Butch reiterated her order, Captain Mack relented and opened his coat, then unbuttoned his shirt. Lil didn’t seem bothered at all by it. Nita averted her gaze. This having been the first time she’d seen the captain without a shirt, and only the second time without his coat, her brief glimpse at his gray-haired chest was her first real indicator of his physique. The man was formidable for one in his advanced years, and checkered with scars and burns. Several fresh bruises added color to his otherwise pale flesh.
“Oof. You took some wallops, eh Cap’n?” Lil said.
“Nothing that I won’t forget after a good night’s sleep.”
“Yeah, but when’s the last time you had one of those?”
“My health isn’t the subject, Lil. Matter of fact, if the two of you are set to be spending days at a time under the fug, your health is hard on my mind. Miss Graus, you ever take the time to work out how the masks work?”
“Yes. They’re rather simple,” Nita said.
“Confident you could repair one if pressed?”
“Absolutely.”
“Good. When you two go under, I want you each to pick out the two best masks we’ve got to take with you, and the next two as backups besides. And then there’s the matter of how you’re to eat and drink in a place where you can’t breathe.”
“I reckon we can make do with holding our breath long enough to take a bite,” Lil said. “But if you got food that’ll keep a week or two, I’d be much obliged if you’d send that down with us, Butch. While it’s fair to say I’m curious what them fuggers eat when they ain’t locked up, having had what they eat when they are locked up ain’t made me optimistic of its quality.”
Butch completed her ministrations on the captain, and gave him a short lecture and sharp slap on the head to motivate him to avoid further injury in the future. Thus delivered, she left him to button his shirt and turned to Lil. The deckhand pulled up her shirt to reveal a midriff remarkably unmarred by the brawl. Nita again averted her eyes quickly. Butch nodded and motioned for Lil to lower her shirt.
“Took most of my shots to the head, Butch. Like usual. Guess because it’s so near to hand and elbow height for the folks I usually get into fights with,” Lil said, tucking her shirt back in.
The ship’s cook and doctor turned her attention to Nita, the last of her patients present. As she probed lightly at the Calderan’s head and neck, Gunner stood.
“I’ve got to take inventory of our munitions. We were in a hurry when doing the loading, so the grape and standard shot aren’t sorted the way I’d prefer, and there are charges to pack.”
Captain Mack nodded. “Keep to the usual mix on them charges, Gunner. Now’s not the time to be toying with the powder.”
“As you order, Captain, though I’ll say that I’m at the very cusp of producing a mix that is entirely smokeless. That could be tactically valuable in open-air combat, as well as close quarters with firearms.”
“This job calling for little or none of either, I would call that a low priority, Gunner.” He stood as well. “I’m off to relieve Coop of the wheel.”
“Well sure, Cap’n. It’s been darn near a half hour since you left him. I’m sure he’s wondering if we’d forgotten about him,” Lil said.
The captain ignored the jab and trudged out the door, leaving only Butch, Lil, and Nita behind. Butch’s probing prompted a wince from Nita. This brought the immediate and direct attention of the medic, who made it clear in no uncertain terms that Nita was to reveal the source of the discomfort.
She shed her coat, then began to undo the lacing of her corset. A subtle rosiness came to her cheeks when she finally removed it and all that remained was her leather-and-canvas top, which she began to undo.
“As little privacy as there is on this ship and as long as you been on it, you still blush whenever you’ve got to show anything more than face, arm, and ankles,” Lil said.
“That, I think, is what’s taken the most getting used to and what I’ll least miss about this ship.”
“What you’ll least miss…” Lil said. She shook herself and forced a grin. “You coming down off what I’d guess is your first fistfight. You that’s been shot at and fell off one ship onto another. You that’s been locked up and busted out of a fug prison. You’d least miss having to pull up your shirt in a room where other folk might see? Plenty of fun to be had with your shirt off, you know.”
“Lil!” Nita scolded with a smile and an extra flush of her cheeks as she removed her shirt.
“Hey, if you’re learning that from me, you ain’t near as worldly as I made you for.” Lil turned to give Nita a bit of privacy, but not before taking note of what the removal of her shirt had revealed. “You folk from Caldera make sure even the bits of clothes that don’t show are fancy, huh. Maybe I should get me some of them lacy things. Not that I’d have much use for clothes like that, you and me being built so different and all.”
Butch turned and slapped Lil, still turned away, on the
back of her head lightly like she was a disobedient dog.
“Ouch! You just got through treating me, Butch. Don’t go making any new lumps; I got plenty of old ones,” Lil said, ducking her head down.
Nita, her cheeks still rosy as Butch continued her examination, tried to return to the former topic. “The rest of my time here, even the worst of it, has been an adventure. Granted some parts of the adventure are of the sort I wouldn’t gladly repeat, I’ve had more proper excitement, and I feel I’ve done more genuine good in these last few months than I ever did at home.”
Nita winced as Butch found a sore spot just beside her navel, but she continued.
“My job at home is fulfilling, even important. But if I wasn’t doing it, someone else would be, and the world would spin on regardless. With you folks I’ve done a few things that maybe I shouldn’t be strictly proud of, but I’ve nonetheless done things that I’d wager needed to be done and wouldn’t have been done besides. And I’ve made loads more friends in the process. I’ve seen things my people might never have seen. So I—”
Her sincere words were interrupted by a form stepping through the curtained door of the galley.
“I’m all done up at the wheel Butch and I—oh heck!” said Coop, barging in and catching the briefest of glimpses of Nita’s examination before turning his head and covering his eyes. He began to stutter through an apology and missed the doorway three times before finally scurrying from the room.
Lil snorted. “All right. I reckon I can see why you might find the quarters a little close and informal like.”
Butch shouted something at Coop and instructed Lil to stand guard at the door.
“I sure am sorry about that, Miss Graus. I wasn’t thinkin’ and just charged in. I didn’t reckon on you having them particular bits bein’ inspected and such, but you rest assured, I’m going to set my mind to other things and just push what I saw right out of my head. Not that I saw much of anything mind you. And that’s not to say that there wasn’t much to see, just that I didn’t get a good look is all. Not that what I saw wasn’t—”
Ichor Well Page 12
