by LeRoy Clary
On the northern side of the oval bay had been the largest printing, perhaps indicating the largest city. He remembered none of the letters and had recognized few. He invented a few letters, about the same number he remembered and placed them there with a question mark.
He settled back examining his recreation. What else had he missed? His eyes went to the top of the chart. It was uncomfortably empty. There had been a title. Then it came to him. ANTERRA, drawn in large, fancy letters. He mentally thanked Anna for her idea as he penned the title.
Glancing down the coastline again, he paused. There had been a river below the bay. And another large set of letters, probably eight or nine, but he couldn’t remember what they were. Still, he inked the river in place. The scale appeared to be about right. The coastline looked as he remembered, but might be off in detail. But overall, it was a fair copy except for the names.
He rolled the four pieces of paper together and tied a ribbon around them. Opening the door between rooms revealed Anna and Kelby sitting and eating. Both flashed him brilliant smiles.
“Good morning,” he managed, almost at a loss for words at Kelby’s return to normal.
“Morning?” Anna said, her smirk almost evilly teasing. “We’re enjoying our noon meal if you care to join us.”
Confused, he glanced out the windows and back at them.
“That’s right. You’ve been at that desk for half the day, or almost. Kelby woke up right after you left, and since then we’ve traded gossip.”
Kelby giggled. Her cheeks turned slightly pink. She said, “Not about you.” An obvious lie.
Then they both giggled until it turned into outright laughter. Uncomfortable, Gray reached for a thick slice of yellow cheese and said, “I have to go see the Captain.”
“About the theft?” Anna asked.
He nodded, his mouth full of cheese. He reached for thin slices of ham to carry with him.
Anna’s humor fled. “You be careful. I think the crew is twelve on this ship. One is the Captain, and I think you can trust him on this. One is the cook who is a bit of a dunce. Assuming your thief is neither of them, that leaves ten. Speaking in front of any of them gives you a one in ten chance of it being the guilty one.”
Gray nodded as he went to the passageway. Climbing the stairs at the end took him up to the small deck assigned to him. A crewman working in the rigging took the time to wave. Gray gave him a nod while wondering if he had been the intruder who had entered his room in the middle of the night and stolen the chart.
As if examining the ship, as any passenger, he looked over the railing on the left side of the ship and watched the water flow by. Watching was a ruse. He moved to the rear of the ship and peered over. The back of the ship was flat, the windows of his cabin opening outward. If he stepped over the railing and held on to the banisters, his feet would easily reach the window sill.
It looked dangerous. Falling would mean the ship would sail away, and he’d probably drown. I’d want a rope.
The idea was not crazy. The thief would not only have to climb down; he’d have to climb back up, a much more dangerous task. Unless a short rope helped him. Gray glanced at the deck, searching for where he would tie a rope. The balusters of the rail were too small. But the stub of a beam extended from the front of the deck. He knelt. At the two corners closest to the bow were small brown fibers. It touched one with the tip of his finger and drew it close to his eyes. Hemp. A rope had been tied to the beam. Recently. Rain or winds would soon blow or wash the fibers away.
The midshipman walked out onto the deck below where the helmsman steered the ship. Gray knocked on the railing until the midshipman looked up. Gray motioned for him to come.
The boy raced to his side, “Sir?”
“Please ask the Captain when it would be convenient to meet with me.”
“Is there a problem, sir?”
“Just a few words. I’ll be in my cabin.”
The boy raced off. Gray went to his cabin to wait. While waiting, he pulled another chart and sat. He was deep in concentration when a knock came from the door.
The Captain stood there, a stern expression on him. “May I be of service?”
“I’d like to speak with you in private, sir.”
“The sky is getting darker, and I’m needed to run my ship if a storm is to find us.”
“It’s important. Please come in. It might not take long.”
“Make it quick.”
“I have been robbed. You have been robbed is more accurate.”
The Captain’s face grew hard. Defensive. “Sir, explain yourself.”
Gray quickly explained the missing map.
The Captain shook his head. “I do not remember such a chart. But you say it was stolen?”
Gray pulled the ribbons from the copy he’d made and placed the sheets on the desktop. He shuffled the four pieces of the map until they were in proper order.
“I do not remember that one, and I have studied them all. It is not mine.”
“Someone came in here through the window last night and stole that map. My drawing is crude, but as I remember it. The ink had faded to tan and was hard to see. The letters and words were unknown.”
The Captain gave him a disbelieving look. “See here, accusations of that sort will not be tolerated. I have never laid eyes on this map, or any like it.”
“The map is gone. I have other evidence.”
“Show me.”
“On the deck above. Will you follow me?”
Gray led the way and said, “There are eyes on us. Humor me, if you will. As we move about the deck, observe that beam near my foot. If you drop something and pretend to pick it up, you’ll find fibers from a rope on the two front corners, and on the deck. Only the two front corners, as if a rope was around the beam and a weight behind.”
“I understand—you don’t have to draw me a damn picture.” The Captain dropped his hat and bent to retrieve it. His eyes were sharp, his expression stern. “We will continue talking back in your cabin.”
The Captain’s back and shoulders were straight as they reentered the cabin. The Captain strode to the windows and pulled them shut after leaning outside. He went to the connecting door and knocked, then opened it and apologized quickly, securing the latch as he closed it. Then he strode to the cabin door and yanked it open quickly and peered into the empty passageway.
He said, “While the map you describe is not mine, I have seen that coastline before. It is a land called Breslau. A place where ships are unwelcome. It would seem to me that one of my crew has been using this cabin for his own means. I sometimes use it while in port if we do not have paying passengers aboard, but it is empty most of the time.”
Gray said, “You’re beginning to believe me?”
“You could not have drawn that chart if you had not seen what you claim, let alone used the ancient words for the title and the Marlstones. Those names are a thousand years old. You’d do well to forget you ever saw them.”
The Captain stood as if to leave. Gray said, “I doubt that you climbed down that rope last night. Your cook is slow and trustworthy. That leaves ten of your crew. I would bet that you have already eliminated several more, so you know of two or three suspects. Maybe only one.”
“You’re too clever by half. But you’re intruding into an area where innocents often die, disappear, or fall overboard. Are you going to ruin my perfect record of delivering all my passengers intact?”
“I hope not.”
“Then, we will not discuss this again, and I will make a few inquiries. I will not have a crewman aboard my ship who steals from passengers.”
“I’m free to study the rest of your charts?”
The Captain paused as if giving consideration to the request. “Make me one promise. No, make that two. If you find any other charts that are hidden, call it to my attention immediately. If you locate the other chart, tell my messenger.”
Gray was still, nodding as the door closed behind the Capt
ain. He went to the other cabin and said, “The Captain had never seen the map I was studying. That means someone else has been using my cabin.”
“A crew member,” Anna said.
“More than that,” Kelby said. “Most sailors, other than officers, are uneducated and from the lower classes. Few can read. Why would someone who studies ancient maps pretend to be a common seaman?”
Gray said, “Why that exact map? The map depicting the place where the others come from.”
Anna went to the windows and watched the wake stretch out straight for as far as she could see. “Every time we think we learn a new answer it gets twisted into something else.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Gray returned to his cabin and spent the rest of the day looking at the charts, maps and graphs, but his heart and mind were not in it. He kept thinking of what the missing chart held. What had he not seen or recreated? What did the intruder want to keep hidden from him?
If the chart had not disappeared, chances were he would have studied it for a short time and put it away, never realizing it was special. Now, it was all he thought about.
The rolling of the ship became more pronounced as the day progressed. Then, as the rolling increased, the ship changed course and pitched instead of rolled. The pitching was less, but as it slid down the backside of a wave, the ship tended to plow into the next. The bow took the brunt of the storm, first driving into the waves, then popping to the surface like a cork in a stream.
The timbers groaned and creaked, but the three passengers soon adjusted to the noises. Anything not secured slid off tables and crashed to the floors. The windows in the cabins were closed and latched against the swirling rain. All three passengers climbed into beds, empty bowls ready at their sides to fill with the results of seasickness.
The day ended with them falling into restless sleep. The ship passed the storm in the night, and they woke to a clear dawn. None of the three climbed from bed at their regular early times. Once on deck, Gray found the crew not as friendly as before. A few actually avoided him, and one scowled when he thought Gray could not see his face.
The Captain must have investigated the theft, and they found out about it. Gray ignored the slights. The breakfast was served late, and it was a mere pittance in comparison to what had been served on prior days. Gray made his way to the upper deck and sank into the chair, breathing deeply of air that did not tilt and twist. Anna appeared at his side.
Anna said, “I heard the crew say the storm pushed us a full day’s travel closer to Fleming. We may arrive tomorrow afternoon.”
“You sound like you’re in a hurry.”
“I share a cabin with a girl who cannot be allowed to see the dragon on my back. Do you have any idea of how hard that is?”
“I think the crew knows that I told the Captain about one of them stealing that map.”
“So that’s why our service has been so bad today.”
“If we were departing at Fleming, it would make little matter. However, since we’re going on, I will discuss it with the Captain and try to find a compromise.”
Kelby made her way to the top of the stairs. “Am I intruding?”
Anna said, “No, please come up.”
Gray stood and offered his chair. “The air up here will do you good. I know it makes me feel better. I’m going to go to my cabin and study the charts, anyway.”
“Are you trying to avoid me?” Kelby asked, her voice sounding hurt.
Gray winced. She had managed to ferret out his intention in a matter of only a few words. The fact was, he didn’t want to make a mistake and fall in love with a normal. It had happened to others of the Dragon Clan but was discouraged. Clearly, he should keep his distance. “No, of course not. We’ll spend time together at midday.”
He glanced at Anna for support. She hid behind a vacant smile, but her eyes twinkled. Gray left the deck as if evacuating it during a storm.
In his cabin, he paused at the door, as he did every time after the theft. His eyes roamed, searching for the smallest detail that had shifted. Under the open windows, he’d placed blankets, each spread on the floor with a corner of each turned. Any foot would shift them. At the barrels of tubes with the charts, he had placed them in a fan. If any was moved, or removed, he could notice instantly. Since he entered and left by the connecting door, he tossed a towel to the bottom of the door leading to the passageway. If any sailor entered, the door would swing inward and slide the towel to the wall.
After satisfying himself nobody had entered the cabin while he was gone, he strode to the desk and removed another chart from the bin and unrolled it. The chart contained the Marlstone Islands, detailed sketches of the main city on the largest island, and even smaller sketches for towns and villages, each street carefully drawn. A few buildings were drawn and labeled. As expected, the ports, moorages, and depths of the water were detailed, along with any obstructions.
Gray’s eyes took all that in as he anchored the chart with the weights. He moved his attention to the streets of the city labeled Marlstone Town. Beside the streets were three piers extending into a protected bay, indicating a major shipping destination, however, why? The islands appeared small. If cargo ships went there, they must load and offload significant amounts of cargo to be profitable. What could the islands require or provide to justify that amount of ships?
His eyes drifted to the lower left edge of the chart. A row of symbols was drawn there. He identified sheep, goats, pigs, and a drop of water. A carrot and perhaps an egg were there, but others were unknown, although the drawings for things may have changed since the chart was made. They could also be symbols from another language or land, but at a guess, they were supplies available in the islands. The drop of water indicated drinking water.
In the lower right corner was another strange symbol. It looked like the crown that identified King Ember and all his fathers before him, a familiar sight on official documents. But the crown was different. Instead of the three points of the triad raised above the rim of the gold crown, there were five. A mistake?
No, the map was too well drawn for such a mistake. It indicated another royal line. The idea of another royal line was a new subject. He had only heard of one. If true, the image indicated not only another royal line, but one that used a similar identification. It could not be a coincidence.
The two kingdoms know of each other. First the others with their green dragons, and now a possible kingdom related to King Ember. What did it mean? Were they somehow meaningful and connected? Was Breslau the kingdom of five points? His first reaction was to think so.
It could be, but it could just as easily be a kingdom to the north or south. He memorized the image of the odd, five-pointed crown and rolled the scroll and reached for another. As the sun set, he had studied five more, none of which revealed any startling information. However, it was astounding how much information each contained.
The last had shown the bay around Fleming. He pulled out an earlier chart that also showed most of the same area. One of the underwater obstructions was placed closer to the shore. Another was missing.
That revealed why the Captain purchased so many charts. Which was correct? A good chart would be worth an entire ship if it was accurate.
Kelby came to his side. “Are you eating with us or still avoiding me.”
“I’m hungry,” he said, avoiding the second part of the question. “Let’s eat.”
Anna was already sitting at the foot of a bed, a bowl of fish stew balanced on her lap. She winked at him, but he had no idea of what it meant. She said, “How is your studying going?”
Kelby answered first, “Just like my father. He spends more time looking at a map or chart than it takes to read an entire book.”
Gray had the desire to defend himself. “A chart holds more information than a book if you spend the time to study it.”
“If that makes you smarter, then you must be very intelligent,” Kelby said, her voice sharp and pointed.
Anna covered her grin with the back of her hand. Then she averted her eyes and concentrated on her stew.
Gray reached for bread and filled his mouth, all the while trying to avoid looking at either of them. He said, “Are we still going to dock tomorrow?”
Kelby said, “I’d think a smart man like you would know.”
Turning to her, he said, “I was thinking of asking you to sit up on the top deck with me and watch the sunset.”
“I’d love to.” Her eyes suddenly softer.
He carried bread and cheese, along with a tankard of watered wine up to the deck. Kelby took the only chair while Gray leaned on the railing. The wind was soft, the air crisp, and the ship moved as if across a painted ocean. She spoke of her future. He expressed his feelings and desire to travel. They talked until late into the night, and into the early morning.
Gray managed to drag himself out of bed early and opened more charts, finding a few to be similar to others he’d already studied. He unrolled one in the late morning and noticed the land displayed was on the right side of the chart. His instinct was to turn it upside down. But the writing was right side up. There was a large semi-circle of a bay.
One word leaped to mind. Breslau. He looked to the top for a title. It said The Shoreline of the Eastern Ocean. He let his eyes roam the chart and found depths of water inked in, but no city names or natural features of the land. The large river snaked to the sea near the bottom, and again depths were provided, but no names.
Anna stuck her head inside the door. “We dock before evening. I suggest you be on deck with your girlfriend for it or get a new girl.”
Before he could thank her, she was gone. He rolled the chart and placed a small ink mark on the outside so he could quickly locate it again. Then he unrolled every remaining map and chart. If it contained something he wanted to know more about, he marked it. There were no more of Breslau.
