By Blood Betrayed (The Kingsblood Chronicles)

by Houpt, David

  “A backward land, but don’t underestimate them if you come against them, Alan. They’re tremendous fighters, and usually very capable generals.”

  “I’ll remember that,” said Lian, who thought that he could perhaps locate an advantage in the Realmsknights’ prejudices should he ever come at odds with them.

  The rain began then, a sudden downpour, and both men turned their attention to the ship, in case either was needed. Once the initial heavy gusts and lightning passed, however, the storm steadied into a fairly peaceful shower, with winds under fifteen knots.

  Cedrick left Doval’s assistant Alo in charge of the ship, with strict orders to raise an alarm if anything happened. Ylen, nursing a sore head and a cup of rum, took a position on the afterdeck with Alo, saying, “My head will feel better with the rain to wash the blood off my scalp.”

  Cedrick nodded, with a significant glance toward the young Alo. Ylen nodded slightly, blinking his eyes against the pain of moving. Lian noted that the little navigator was sitting within easy reach of the brass bell which served as part of the ship’s alarm system. Even though Ylen was leaving the ship when they made port, Lian was pleased to see him taking his duty seriously. It did much to offset Lian’s inherent dislike of the man.

  Arden led the way into Cedrick’s cabin, where Reidar and Yarek were already waiting. One or both of them had cleaned up the mess of charts and books which were the result of the collision. With Cedrick and Lian bringing up the rear, the room was extremely crowded.

  Glad I’m not afraid of tiny places, Lian thought to Gem.

  Reidar intoned a low, murmured spell as soon as Lian latched the door, and the room suddenly seemed to grow even closer and more claustrophobic. “Nothing said will venture outside of this room, even were she under these floorboards,” he said when he was done.

  Arden nodded his thanks and said, “I’ve spoken with Alan, and he maintains that he isn’t the reason she’s aboard. She says that she is seeking someone in Seagate, and that probably means that she’s visiting the Companion Tyrone.”

  “Tyrone, Captain?” asked Lian. He knew the names of all of the Companions and a little of their histories, but he didn’t know of a connection between the youngest Companion and Seagate.

  Arden smiled, “I have reason to believe that Tyrone resides in Seagate, keeping an eye on the Island Kings’ interests. I also have on good authority that his relationship with Sileth is very close, indeed. She has been known to make the crossing to Seagate in the past, with no one quite sure how she got there.”

  The mercenary leader had received several long scratches on his forearms from the battle. As he spoke, he began gingerly working the bloody sleeves of his jerkin away from them. “The question, of course, is what do we do about Sileth’s presence?”

  No one answered for a moment, each deliberating. Reidar finally said with a shrug, “I suggest that you leave her be and hope she doesn’t start eating the men. She’s old enough to be more than a little dangerous. You saw how she cut through the lizards.”

  Yarek added, “And she has shown consideration for the living aboard, as she loaded her own food supply. She is a stowaway, however, and a dangerous one.”

  Cedrick snorted. “Nanavi and Kess were stowaways, too. And I think that the Companion is probably less likely to attack the crewmen than she was. With the exception of Alan, here, I’m sure you all remember how much trouble Nan gave us at first.” They all grinned, even Lian, who could easily imagine the kind of trouble Nan might have given.

  Arden said, “My plan was not to attack her, in any event. I did want to hear your opinions before I settled on a course of action, however.

  “Actually, I’m quite glad that she was aboard, and that she saw the lizards as an inconvenience. She could probably have summoned winds to sail Searcher all the way to Seagate if we’d all been slaughtered, but it would have been a lot of work, even for her.”

  “Why did they attack us?” asked Cedrick. “The lizard folk are ordinarily peaceful, and even when they aren’t, they have more sense than to attack a warship.”

  Reidar said, “These weren’t lizard men, exactly. The ones I am familiar with don’t have gills, and these things did. Also, the water here is over a thousand fathoms deep, and the scaled folk don’t dwell in such deeps.” The mage produced a flask of brandy and poured a bit for each man present into cups he retrieved from a cupboard. He passed them around to a chorus of thanks.

  Lian said, “I saw them breathing the air, though, and didn’t see any neck vents for the gills.” If he had seen gills, he would have struck at them.

  Reidar said, “They’re obviously capable of breathing air, too. But I examined some of the corpses, and they definitely had gills. Also, a man o’ war of that size would have to be exclusively a deep water organism. If it ever reached shallows, it would become entangled and die. I think we can assume that they herded the man o’ war into the path of the ship so they could stop and board us.”

  Cedrick said, “Those things float free in the currents, Reidar. How could they hope to catch a ship like Searcher with a man o’ war?”

  Reidar sipped his brandy before answering. “The winds had nearly stopped, remember? We weren’t moving at more than a few knots, and perhaps they had some way of positioning the thing. I don’t know how it happened, but it was obviously pre-arranged. They weren’t interested in captives, from the tactics they were using.”

  Arden said, “I don’t necessarily agree. Once they drove the survivors to surrender, who can say what they would have done? Even a scow like the Golden Gull would have killed the man o’ war when it struck it, so they didn’t intend to feed their big jellyfish. However, the reasons for their attack are irrelevant. We have other matters to discuss.”

  He shifted his perch on one of the two stools that the room boasted. “We are dangerously short of crew, and it will be difficult to hire more in Seagate. Ylen is leaving and most of the recruits we enlisted died in this attack. The rumors of a curse on the ship will be worse than ever. If we hadn’t hired replacement crew in Seagate just a few months ago, it wouldn’t be such an issue.

  “We’ll have to offer higher wages, and that won’t sit well with the current crew unless we pay them the same or better. The promise of good pay will flush out every cutthroat that thinks he can earn easy money, and it’ll be damned difficult to weed out the scum from the merely foolhardy,” he said, placing his palms on the chart table.

  Yarek said, “That isn’t necessarily true, Arden.” The martial arts master was soft-spoken and wasted no motion on gestures.

  “How so, Yarek?” the mercenary leader asked.

  “You have the resources to buy a crew,” the little man said flatly. His remark elicited a mixture of emotions from the other men, from a speculative mien on Arden’s features to a quickly hidden look of disgust on Lian’s.

  Yarek said, “I don’t approve of slavery, either, Alan. I propose manumitting them once they’re aboard.”

  Arden nodded. “There’s lots of indentures and debt-slaves on the blocks. Most of the sailors will jump at a chance for a good posting and freedom, even with the specter of a ship’s curse hanging over us. It will be said that I am so down on my luck that I’d buy slaves to crew my ship, but it will also be said that I have always hated slavery, and maybe I’m just sick of seeing so many good men and women in chains.

  “It’s a good idea, Yarek,” he said, “though it will hurt us financially, especially if the slave masters figure out what I’m doing.”

  Lian, thinking ahead, asked, “How much will they hike the prices if they realize your plan?”

  Reidar snorted, “Oh, three and four times their worth would be a good start, if they’re canny enough to sniff this out. And that’s their living, much as magic and fighting are mine.” He refilled the brandy cups from his little flask, which Lian would have sworn had been emptied after the first round.

  “But it could be more than that, especially for the most skilled ones
?”

  Reidar nodded.

  “Then we need to buy entire lots of slaves, and ensure that the ones we want are in them,” Lian declared. “We can then resell the others, even if at a loss. It smacks of slaving, but it will get us the best prices.”

  To Gem he said, I don’t like it, but it’s the mercenary call. He could feel her agreement on both points.

  Arden said, “I’m tempted just to free the lot of them.” He obviously didn’t relish the thought of reselling the slaves.

  Yarek laid a hand on his shoulder and said, “That wouldn’t be wise, my friend. As slaves, they are given food and shelter, and are kept off the streets. Remember that many of the Seagate slaves are former thieves and murderers, who were sentenced to slavery by the magistrates. Certainly, if there are individuals who deserve freedom, we should grant it to them.

  “But it isn’t feasible to simply loose hungry and desperate men and women on a city.”

  Cedrick said, “I agree with Yarek and Alan, but I won’t transport slaves. Searcher’s reputation is a clean one, and if you insist that we turn slaver, even once, you can find a new captain.” Lian could tell by the set of his jaw that he was serious about his ultimatum.

  “Even if we free them elsewhere?” Arden asked, arching his eyebrows.

  “Even then, Arden,” Cedrick said. “This ship will carry no slave cargo while I am her captain.”

  Reidar added, “Nor while I am her mage. You know my own views on slavery very well, Arden. I can justify the purchase and resale of extra slaves to myself, but not the cruelty of transporting slaves and selling them in other ports. In order to keep them under control, they’d have to be shackled or enspelled. Believe me, I know about that.” As he said that, he absently rubbed at his forearm under his sleeves.

  Arden looked at the table for a moment and said, “I like the idea of manumitting sailors who are slaves, as well as any other good souls we find. I don’t like the idea of selling any man into slavery, which is what I will be doing if we follow Alan’s plan. Once I buy them, they are mine, and my responsibility. I cannot conscience, then, selling those to whom I have obligation to slavers, even if they never actually left the pens.

  “It is a good idea, Alan, and it would save us a lot of coin, but I can’t do it.” Arden shook his head and sighed deeply.

  Lian nodded, glad to have found a captain who had such a strong moral sense and regretting that he’d made the suggestion, even if it was one his persona as “Alan” would have made.

  Cedrick nodded his own approval, looking like a man who had his convictions reaffirmed. “We’ll have to suffer the cost, or find another way around it.”

  Arden said, “Let me worry about the gold, gentlemen. Cedrick, I believe you had some other business?” By his manner, the discussion of crew was closed.

  Cedrick leaned his weight against the beam which bisected his room, his perch on the room’s other stool precarious in the rocking motion of the ship. He didn’t appear to notice. “I do. I need a new first mate, with poor Robin and Doval both dead. Alan is my first choice, despite his lack of experience. I propose to enlist him as my direct apprentice until he’s capable of commanding alone, and to make him a formal officer of the ship. He’s good with the men, and gods know we need more officers right now.

  “I’d also like to second Nanavi and Reidar, since they’ve both served with me before,” he said, turning to Reidar. “I’ll need you and Nan until we reach Seagate. Damnable way to run a ship, I tell you.”

  “I don’t have a problem with helping out, and I know that Nan won’t mind the work. She likes to watch the sailors working anyhow,” Reidar said with a ribald grin. The barbarian woman had no apparent loyalty to bedmates, sleeping with whomever she chose, and leaving them when it suited her. Lian had managed to avoid her attentions up to now, but it had only been a scant few days and he knew his resolve was weakening. The Rodan’s manner was overpowering.

  Lian said, “I am honored, Captain, by your vote of confidence, but I don’t know if I am able to accept your offer.”

  Cedrick said, “I know that you aren’t ready, lad. But you keep a clear head and you learn faster than anyone I’ve ever seen.”

  Lian shook his head. “Even so, Captain. Being first mate aboard a ship, even one so fine as Searcher, isn’t part of my future plans. I already indicated to Arden that I only signed on because this was the best opportunity available at the time.”

  “Before you take offense, Cedrick,” Arden said quickly, “he did tell me that before I hired him. And as much as you love the sea, there are others who don’t hear its call.”

  “It’s all right, Alan,” Cedrick said, his tone restrained. “I do understand, even if I am disappointed. I would feel the same about an offer to serve as mayor for a coastal town. The offer stands, however, until I hire another first mate. If you change your mind before then, come and see me.” By the time he’d finished, Cedrick had relaxed back to his former amiable mood.

  “It’s late, and we’re all exhausted,” Cedrick said, rising. “Also, I dare not leave Alo alone on deck for too long, even with Ylen to watch after him. The boy’s already going to have delusions of grandeur.”

  Cedrick left the room, leaving the others behind.

  Lian said, “I hope that I haven’t offended him.”

  Reidar said, “He just can’t understand why anyone would turn down such an offer. To Cedrick, there is no finer aspiration than a ship’s command. To men such as Arden and myself, there would be fewer worse ones.”

  “I’ve been meaning to ask about the working arrangement between you and the Captain, sir,” Lian said to Arden. “And I’d rather hear your version of it than listen to those that the crew would tell me.”

  Arden said, “It’s common knowledge, and I’m surprised you hadn’t asked before. Cedrick is an excellent captain, but he found himself black-balled some years ago. Seems that his practice of teaching Pilot’s Guild secrets to anyone he liked offended someone, and suddenly he couldn’t find a position as an officer of any stripe.

  “I had just acquired Searcher, and my short stint as captain proved to me that I didn’t want the job. It tied me to the ship, and I never felt comfortable leaving her behind to go perform what I consider to be my real job. Cedrick was a lucky find, and he has accepted my conditions without complaint, all of these long years.”

  “One of those conditions is that you do all the hiring yourself?” Lian asked.

  “Yes, or at least have final say. Another is that Searcher is mine, and goes where I want her to, and does what I want her to. Cedrick has grown to love the ship, and I think that he’d be happier only if she was his and his alone.” Arden shrugged. “I may give her to him one day, who knows? There aren’t many who can afford to hire a marine force like mine, and I might make a better living commanding a ground-based company.”

  He clasped Lian’s arm and said, “Whatever you’re running from, Alan of Staikal, it’ll be easier to face it with a friend at your back than alone. I don’t know why you’re on the run, but I know that you are as surely as I know that it’s night outside.”

  Lian decided that he must have looked chagrined, as Arden said, “I know that’s why you wouldn’t take a permanent position with us, son. And Cedrick’s offer was one that only a fool or the hunted would refuse.”

  Reidar and Yarek both nodded. Arden continued, “Don’t worry about it, Alan. I told you, I don’t care about your past, so long as it doesn’t catch up with me and my men.

  “Now, I’m sure that you have some duties to attend to,” he said, dismissing Lian.

  “Tell Cedrick that I asked him to show you the secret of the ballistae, though, when you see him,” Reidar said. “It might be necessary, with all the casualties. I trust you won’t burn down the ship, anyhow.”

  Lian glanced at Arden to see if the mercenary leader would object to his mage’s words, and seeing no reluctance he nodded and withdrew from Cedrick’s cabin.

  Chapter Twe
nty Nine

  “The stronger the Gift, the more difficult the Mastery.”

  -- Unknown

  Cedrick was standing at the stern rail when Lian found him, absorbed in the dark seas that stretched endlessly behind Searcher. Lian was reluctant to disturb him, but approached anyway. “Ah, Alan,” he said warmly. “Don’t worry, son; I’ll accept your decision whatever it is. For me, the sea is life itself, and I sometimes forget that isn’t so for everyone.

  “What can I do for you?” he asked, resting a hand on the younger man’s shoulder. His manner reassured Lian immensely.

  “Reidar would like you to show me the secret of the siege engines, Captain,” Lian said. “He’s afraid that we’re so short of crew that it might be needed.”

  Cedrick nodded and led Lian to the starboard bolt-thrower. “I agree with him, even though it’s unlikely that we’ll run into more trouble between here and Seagate. The Island Kings patrol these waters heavily, and pirate ships steer clear unless they’re really desperate.

  “Still, I’d have said with utmost confidence that we were safe from lizard attacks, too,” he added, pressing a catch on the side of the weapon. Inside was an orange, heavily faceted gem about the size of a hen’s egg. It was mounted on a four-inch metal pole.

  That’s a firestone, Gem said, and it’s been heavily enchanted. Its size indicates that it came from a pretty big fiend. Firestones could be found in the heart of a certain kind of fire spirit, and in fact were all that remained after the creature burned into ashes and smoke upon its death. The stone conferred upon its bearer some power over mundane flames, and could serve as a focus for fire spells. Because of the latter, they were highly prized by fire mages.

  “You know what this is?” Cedrick asked, handing the stone to Lian, who took it carefully.

  “Yes, Captain,” he said. “It’s a firestone, and a pretty damned big one.” He turned it over in his hand. In the center of the gem was a single, dancing flame.

  “I don’t know where or how Arden managed to obtain them, but there’s one on each of the ballistae. They’re enchanted to be nearly indestructible, and they are woven with Returning spells should someone try to steal them. I’ve seen the Returning work even if the stone is dropped over the side, by the way, so you don’t have to be that careful with them.