by Brian Keller
Silas spun the wheel, leaned against it, and roared, “Helm’s-A-Lee! Secure that main!” As the ship turned, it leaned and everyone held on. Kinsman clutched the rail and chanced a look over his shoulder across the deck and realized that the ship was leaning so far that the grey churning water on the other side of the ship was now beneath him more than it could be described as being alongside him. He closed his eyes from the sting of the salt water spray since he didn’t have a hand free to wipe it from his face. With most of the canvas furled, the effect of the wind as it passed amidships was diminished but still alarming. All at once, the ship righted itself, causing both sailors and passengers to cry out in alarm as the momentum dashed them against the starboard rail. Several sailors recovered almost immediately and rushed to follow the captain’s last command. Silas then locked the helm in position and called out, “Drop the bower! Tem, get me a count o’ the men!” Silas stepped quickly to the starboard rail and peered at the roiling water below. The mate shouted, echoing the command then muttered, “At least we’re not lyin’ to.” Then yelled again, his voice was beginning to crack from to continued shouting, “Drop that damn bower! Douse all but the main and aft, and secure that main sheet!” The mate began to walk among the crew and passengers trying to get an accurate count of each. Kinsman realized that Silas had arranged the ship like a wind vane, with the main and aft sails controlling their orientation. He muttered, “That’s great as long as the wind doesn’t shift dramatically.”
The wind showed no signs of abating but the rain seemed to have lessened slightly. The mate called out, “Topside! Check those parrels b’fore ye climb down! We still gotta sail outta here.” As he turned back toward the aft, he scanned the crew’s activities, “An’ loosen those main braces! Let it dump air if the wind shifts overmuch.”
He chuckled as he passed a cluster of recently freed prisoners, “Jus’ got outta irons, and here we’re all in irons!” After seeing the confused looks on the passengers faces, another crew member explained, “When a ship faces the wind, unmoving, it’s said the ship is “In Irons”. You can rest easy now. We’re anchored and this squall will soon pass. We’ll sift through what's left below and bring up some dry clothes, once it does.” Silas was sitting on the deck, leaning back against the rail at the aft of the ship. His chest heaving with every breath. He called the mate over to get the count of those on board. The mate reported, “We lost one, sir. One'a the others said 'e saw 'im get flung outta the riggin' when the ship snapped upright. We've sent out a boat ta look fer 'im... That was nicely done, sir.” Silas was shaking his head, “It was nicely done… because you fixed my calls. I’ll see that you get an additional share aboard, even if it comes outta mine.” The mate was obviously pleased with the compliment, and the bonus, but he simply shrugged, “I do thank’e, sir. But I didn’t need ta watch all you was watching. Ya kept us clear-a the rocks, even with the wind boxing the compass a time or two. And ye got the boat around right smart-like. No, Silas t'was yer doin’. I jus’ made the calls how I knew ye wanted ‘em.” He sat heavily on the deck beside the larger man, “You were already Third Sword, but considerin’ you’ve got the only sailing ship in the Wharf City, you gotta be First of sumthin’ now.” They shared a chuckle as Kinsman joined them and announced, “A few of your men are nursing some nasty rope burns, and probably a few sprains and broken bones, especially some of those climbing down now. With your permission, I’ll have those men seen to.” Silas nodded his agreement, “You have my thanks. Sea water makes for bitter salve. How long before we can get your people unloaded? As soon as this storm passes, we need to pull out of here and get on to Temidan. The Prince’s ships will surely come looking for the ones who emptied his prison. We may not have any prisoners left aboard, but I want to be as far away as we can manage before then.” Kinsman joked, knowing they were anchored, “I’m not sure… how much closer can you get to the base of the cliffs?”
The rocks making up the treacherous coastline of the Broken Coast might provide shelter from the full brunt of the ocean’s fury, but it didn’t feel like it. Several people wondered aloud whether the longboats lashed to the sides of the ship would even survive a single trip to the cliffs without capsizing. Considering that it wouldn’t be safe to shuttle more than eight or nine passengers in a single trip, and fewer in the cases where prisoners weren’t strong enough to sit upright, it would take at least seven trips, and probably closer to nine, to shuttle everyone off the ship. Cooper wondered whether it would be safe to send eight or nine people at one time in the basket. And would it withstand nine, or even eight trips up and down the cliff face? He shook his head and told himself, “Now is not the time for doubting.” Almost all the able-bodied Guild members were on deck, “Breathing the free air”, he assumed. Loryn was helping Aden to keep his balance. The younger boy looked like he was naught but skin and bones and his pallor settled somewhere between grey and a dusty yellow. He stepped forward to grasp Aden's outstretched hand and gave him a one-armed hug as he leaned in to say, “Good to see you survived. Another couple of hours and everyone should be tucked away, fed, and dry. Miss Camilla will be so glad to see you.” Aden pulled his head away with his eyes wide with realization. Cooper smiled to assure him that he'd heard correctly. Aden opened and closed his mouth a couple times, as if searching for the right words, “Miss Camilla?!”. Cooper clapped a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder and nodded, “She'll likely feel the same way when she sees you.” He winked, then turned and indicated Loryn and Gaff, “You two go up as part of the first group. Help Birt and Dailen with getting everyone unloaded from the basket and into the wagons. They’re going to have their hands full enough just managing the horses. We need to keep that basket moving.”
Despite the continuing rain, everyone had gathered on the deck, those that could move without assistant helped those that could not. Kinsman found it necessary to repeat his instructions and assurances more than once. The third time he was unable to conceal his irritation, “The basket is large enough to hold seven or eight people, at the least. Keep your hands and feet inside it as you go up. There are teams of horses above that will be raising and lowering the basket. Yes, there may be some falling rocks. No, we’ve not done this before. You are welcome to remain aboard the ship and sail on to whatever destination the captain decides but I should warn you… we didn’t take the time to check how well the ship had been provisioned when we took it. Everyone aboard might become quite hungry and thirsty before reaching the next port. I’ve climbed these cliffs before. This time I’ll gladly ride in the basket.” He gave Loryn and Gaff a nod and walked to the port side of the boat to help lower the longboat that had been lashed to the rail and then assist passengers in descending to board the smaller vessel. Kolrem was among the first to climb down, joking, “I’ve already spent more time aboard a ship than I wanted.” Four others joined them in the longboat and the Wharfsider’s paddled strongly through the rough water to the base of the cliffs. A couple of the oarsmen did their best to keep the boat up against the rocks as the waves tossed it. The others helped the people get transferred into the basket, then they clambered back into the boat and began paddling back to the ship to accept the next group. Kinsman divided his attention between helping to hold a rope keeping the longboat snug against the hull of the ship, and watching the slow ascent of the cage as it was pulled from above. A short series of lightning flashes revealed the cage was tilted against the rocks instead of ascending. There was a sudden lurch as the cage broke free of whatever outcropping had halted its advance and through the wind, he almost thought he heard the metal frame screech and bang against the rocks. He turned his attention back to the task immediately at hand. A few of these men and women needed some help moving from one vessel to the other.
The efforts continued. As soon as one group was loaded onto the boat, Kinsman and the others began preparing the next. He lost count of the people that had made the trip up the cliffs, but he thought it had been either seven or eight trips when he tu
rned away from the rail and saw only a few people remaining on the deck. It was still night but in the light of the false dawn, he could see their expressions were a mix of fear and hope.
Silas approached and leaned down to speak into his ear, “I don’t know when we’ll sail back into Paleros Bay. It’ll likely take weeks, even months, to get the ship refitted. I certainly don’t want to come back until the ship’s appearance has been changed. The First sent some sacks of gold for fixing up the ship, and enough to restock and provision it but little extra. If you want us to bring back any premium goods, I’ll have to ask you to invest a little beforehand. After our first run, we should be able to finance our own ventures.” Silas stood to his full height with his eyebrows raised and shouted over the wind, “Will you be wanting anything?” Kinsman wished he knew what ingredients Miss Camilla and Aden might need, but no one had even considered that with everything else going on. Besides, he had nothing to write on and doubted that Silas knew enough about herbs or distillates to remember them if he told him now. Instead, he extended his hand and as Silas gripped it he replied, “No time now. Maybe next time.” He then passed a small pouch of coins to the large man, shouting, “Some operating expenses. We’ll settle up later.”
Kinsman then turned to the rail and descended into the boat below. As the smaller vessel pitched and tossed he wondered how well the prisoners had fared. They’d already been through so much while incarcerated. As the Wharfsiders brought the boat to the rocks, Kinsman helped others across the slippery rocks. The repeated spray of salt water drenched everyone and made his eyes sting. Once everyone was safely into the basket he turned to give the Wharfsiders a wave, but they were already paddling back to the ship.
Kinsman climbed into the basket and they waited about ten seconds before the slack was taken out of the chains and they began to rise. The grating screech of the cage scraping against the rock made him grit his teeth but it was better than climbing, especially during this storm.
Two surprises awaited him at the top of the cliffs. As the basket cleared the cliff face, it was turned onto its side, almost dumping the people onto the wet grass. Cooper recovered quickly and noticed Utsef was there, along with Loryn and Gaff, helping collect passengers who were less able to stay ahead of the basket, which was still moving. Birt and Dailen got the horses stopped after a few steps but it was apparent that the horses were not pleased to be out in the weather. The flashes of lightning and booming of thunder had become less frequent, but each instance still caused the horses to lurch. The hooves had torn up much of the grass, turning a strip leading from the edge of the cliff to where they now stood into mud. Kinsman helped an older man reach the wagon before he turned and scanned the surroundings for Utsef. The Assassin had knelt next to Kolrem, who was seated with one leg extended. Kinsman stepped to them and was about to greet Utsef when he noticed that his mentor was wrapping Kolrem’s right ankle very tightly. Kolrem’s face was drained of all color. He’d been pale from the last few months in a cell, but now his pallor was even starker. While Utsef tightly wound strips of canvas around Kolrem’s ankle, Gaff firmly pulled on Kolrem’s foot, keeping the injured leg straight. Once Utsef tied it off, he stood and faced Kinsman and nodded, “His ankle’s almost been crushed. His Earth Talent should help him heal once he’s got some food in him. Make sure Camilla knows, right away.” Kinsman looked to his friend, then back to Utsef with a questioning expression. Utsef shrugged, “I’ve been camped over on the point overlooking the bay for a week now, watching the prison and the bay. Did you know that a tower is being built over there? Anyway, when I saw the Naval flagship sail out into the bay, lower the flag and return, I knew you be soon to follow. I hadn’t expected you to conduct the prison break during a storm, but I suppose it might make pursuit a bit more difficult.” Kinsman asked, “Are you coming with us?” The man shook his head, “No. I only came back around to see how things developed. As soon as the wagons start moving, I’ll head back to the Forest.” Kinsman knew there was no convincing him otherwise so he simply gripped the man’s arm and told him, “Thank you for helping. It’ll probably be a year or two before we’ll have students for you… if you’re still planning on teaching…?” He turned the statement into a question and awaited the man’s reply. Utsef simply nodded, “You know how to find me. Next time, bring some spices with you.” He gave Kinsman a wink and turned to help a woman climb into the wagon. The wood flooring of the wagons had become slippery by mud and rain. It made for unsteady footing. Kinsman and Gaff helped get Kolrem upright and half-carried him as he hopped to the wagon and slid aboard. Birt and Dailen had already brought the horses back near the edge of the cliffs and had unhooked them from the chains. The sky to the east would soon start to show light from the approaching sun. The storm which might make them harder to follow had also delayed them longer than he’d expected. There was no time to waste if they were to have everyone unloaded and hidden inside the Houses in Miller’s Flats before dawn.
He turned and shook Utsef’s hand as he asked, “You’ll come into town once or twice in the next year, won’t you?” Utsef gazed north, toward the city, “Maybe.” As Kinsman pulled in a breath to protest, Utsef consoled him, “Once, surely. Twice or more… possibly, but unlikely.” Kinsman nodded. It was close to the answer he’d expected.
Birt and Dailen had gotten the horses positioned and the others were helping to get them hitched to the wagons. Kinsman told Utsef, “It’s almost time to go. Thanks for helping. It is good to see you.” Utsef nodded and they parted ways. Kinsman knew that Utsef still needed to collect his pack before returning to the Forest, and the rest of them needed to be elsewhere as well. Once the sun was up, they’d all be exposed; and if no one knew what had happened yet, they soon would. Then there might be no place in the city that would be safe from searching Guardsmen and soldiers, except the Ruins perhaps. They’d have to start transporting small groups to the Ruins almost immediately.
He went to the edge of the cliff and peered downward, trying to see whether or not the basket had come to rest at the base of the cliff. It’s unlikely that it would be spotted by passing ships; most gave the Broken Coast a wide berth, but better for it to rest at the base of the cliffs to be easily lost from sight amidst the rocks. In the faint light it was just possible to make out the rocks below, or more precisely, the white spray of water as the waves dashed against the rocks. He couldn’t make out the shape of the basket at all.
When he stepped away from the edge, Birt’s wagon was already moving and Dailen had just climbed up and was preparing to grab the reins. Kinsman made a last inspection of their surroundings, making sure no one had been left behind, and then jogged to Dailen’s wagon and hopped in. He glanced around at the passengers, looking for one in particular. Kolrem was in Birt’s wagon.
The brief, rough ride to the city was uneventful and mostly quiet. Once the wagon reached the developed road they increased speed and no one felt comfortable enough to get up to move around. Kinsman took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The worst of it was over. They’d successfully broken everyone out of Serpent Tooth prison and navigated the Broken Coast. The sun was still below the horizon but in the growing light, they were close enough to begin to distinguish individual buildings on the outskirts of Miller’s Flats. There was almost no chance of them getting everyone inside without being observed. That meant they’d have a day or two, maybe less than a day, to get people moved to the Ruins before word began to spread. He considered simply bypassing Miller’s Flats entirely, but that would be even more foolish. Going directly into the Ruins would simply draw the soldiers in behind them. He hadn’t considered that they’d need to move so quickly. A new plan was needed immediately and he was almost out of ideas. A few could be shuttled through the Wharf City by boat, several at a time could be taken through the city in the wagons, but surely the bridges will have an increased presence of soldiers. Perhaps one of the other Guild members would have an idea.
The wagons drew up near the House b
y the brickmaker’s kilns. Kinsman jumped down from the wagon and jogged straight up to the House to open the door. It was ajar. He waved to get the attention of the rest of them as they were helping people climb down from the wagons. He signaled that they should wait. He drew his right hand blade and slowly pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Chapter 28
He stepped into the main room, his senses alert, trying to detect the presence of anyone around. He considered reaching out to feel for someone lurking in the darkness but that would likely only alert the Hunters and draw them here. That was the last thing he wanted at this moment. He’d taken six steps when he heard the whisper of fabric and turned to meet it as he saw a shadow separate itself from those around it. A soft voice resonated in the empty space, despite the wind outside, “Sheathe your weapon, Kinsman. Surely you don’t intend to fight me.” The voice was familiar at once. “Felis?! What- How?” Even in the darkness he could sense Felis’ smile. The questions were left unanswered. Any answer would’ve been interrupted by another voice. Iona called out, “You two know each other?!” She revealed herself but remained behind Felis. Kinsman drew his second blade and Felis stepped forward, remaining between the two of them. He spoke quietly, “There’s a reason I’ve forced this meeting. There are matters that require resolution.” Cooper and Iona each wondered if they’d soon be fighting for their life, and each wondered whether they had only one foe in the room. Iona was thinking, “If Felis and this Gifted young man know each other well enough for Felis to call him ‘kinsman’, perhaps I’ve been brought into a trap!” So many things now made sense to her all at once: Felis’ unwavering confidence, the fact that he neither moved nor acted like a scholar, and certainly not a researcher… For Cooper’s part, his mind was racing, “If Felis brought her here, he must know about my abilities. If he somehow blames me for the destruction of the Guild, then she’s the perfect person to bring along to seek retribution.” Cooper was first to break the silence, “Felis, if you’ve brought her here, then you know who she is; and you know about me. You must know then that if this comes down to killing, I’ll be the one that lives.” He stepped to the side where he could still see Iona’s outline, to get as much warning as possible if she started to attack. Felis noticed his movement, and smiled as he replied, “This meeting was inevitable. I forced it to happen now so that I could stand between you. No one needs to die.” He turned his back on Cooper, on purpose, to speak with Iona. She spoke first. She almost spat the words, “You’ve lied to me.”
