The First Case: The Captain's Hair
By Rhiannon D. Elton
The Wolflock Cases, 1. The Case of the Captain’s Hair, by Rhiannon D. Elton
First Edition published December 2016
© 2016 Rhiannon D. Elton. All rights reserved.
All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by Australian Commonwealth copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, at “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.
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Cover compiled by Rhiannon D. Elton
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Dedicated to Marc-Rian Stubbs (1990-2016)
Without you kicking my butt into gear and giving me hope I would have never reached so far for my dreams and made them a reality.
Chapter 1, The Beginning of the Journey
The land around was beginning to turn a soft brown as early Autumn set in across Puinteyle. The trees were beginning to glow yellow and the animals were gathering stores in preparation for the frost to come. An elegant mauve carriage clacked softly along the road to the river, West of the farming town of Plugh. The gold trim around the dazzling carriage, along with the smooth and carefully crafted wood it was carved out of, made it seem only fitting for the most influential people. The carriage itself was carrying no special cargo, no food, no supplies. Only a pair of youths, dressed prettily in finely woven hemp and silk. Inside the expensive carriage the two youths sat opposite one another, staring out of the window in a slightly somber silence.
The younger of the two siblings was a young lady, no more than thirteen and a half. She had jet black hair tied back into a plait that hung over her shoulder which was covered by a soft cream-brown coloured singlet that joined at her waist to a large puffy skirt made from layers of silk and cloth. The dress itself was plain, but it was well worn and showed a simplistic beauty. The girl had dazzling, and slightly frightening green eyes that seemed to analyse the world around at lightning speed. Her dress was mostly silk, but the underlay was a comfortable smooth cream coloured hemp fabric that came from her father's farm. Her small heeled shoes were cobbled from red leather and had a large gold buckle on the top. She was as still as stone and her face was in a soft frown, making her look like her mind was much older than her body suggested as she concentrated on everything around them.
The young boy of fifteen, was wearing long black slacks, pressed neatly and dyed black with the oil from the wolf-sheep (A creature that appears to be a sheep but eats meat and secreates a thin black dye through its pores that keeps its fur dark and sleek), a long sleeved white hemp shirt with black wooden buttons, an unfastened black necktie hanging over his shoulders and a black jacket that sat tidily folded on the seat beside him. His piercing blue eyes were cold and intelligent and his black hair hung a little too long around his face than was fashionable in Plugh, but he cared not, for it would be blisteringly cold where he was going and he knew he needed as much insulation as possible.
“Please don't resent father for not coming to see you off,” the girl said in a fairly deep voice for her age. “You do realise he did want to come but this trip was organised so quickly that-”
“I don't resent him,” the boy said quickly, cutting her off. “I'm quite grateful that I could finally make this journey. Tell him I shall write often. Whenever the news is interesting.” His voice was also quite deep and smooth, with a bored drawl hinted throughout.
The young girl smiled with relief and folded her hands loosely in her lap.
“Hopefully the journey doesn't bore you too much. You brought nothing to read or write. Even though I offered you my whole library!”
“And how would you have proposed that I carry it all, Myna? No. It is far more practical to leave such things behind and consider what lays ahead. Besides, there should be at least twenty people on the ship that I can study,” he let a tiny smile creep into the corners of his lips as he shook his head at his sister.
“Well it is the thought that counts, is it not?” Myna grinned as if they had a little joke between them.
“Aye. Which is why you should have thought,” the boy grinned back and they both began chuckling.
“You won't make any friends. The same as always, my dear Wolflock,” Myna sighed dramatically and they both resumed their staring out of the carriage window with a much lighter air.
The sun was an hour before noon when the smell of water touched their noses and they heard the noises of barrels being loaded onto a ship and scavenger birds cawing for scraps. The nearest dock to Plugh was not particularly large, but acted well as a transportation terminal for those wishing to travel either North or South along the river.
The large ship docked at the jetty was equiped to travel on water as well as ice, having great metal wings that could be let down to hold the bow from the dangerous ice. Myna poked her head out of the carriage window and saw the magnificent ship before them, smiling in excitement.
“I wish I could come with you!” she bubbled happily and bounced on her toes, “Ginia would be heartbroken though.”
“Perhaps you can both come and visit me sometime,” Wolflock steeled his face as he rose from his seat when the carriage stopped. He was the first to exit and let the powerful sun grasp his pale face. He had only a small bag with what he considered essentials.
“Do you think father would let us come?” she asked excitedly and bounced down after him, unable to contain herself.
“You would have to ask him, but I'm sure if you had company and protection he would let you,” Wolflock took her hand gently and he looked up at the driver. He was a greying man who was skinny but strong, spoke daftly, but was quite witty, and lived for the horses raised on their father's land.
“Farewell, Huston. May your horses stay healthy,” Wolflock nodded curteously.
“And may your mind stay as sharp as ever Master Felen,” Huston nodded back.
Myna escorted Wolflock to the short wooden dock and took his arm as they entered the throng of twenty people standing together behind the thick strong wooden railing. It was clear simply by judging the distance of the people from the boat who had been on the ship from Corl and who were boarding now. Those staring avidly at the ship had not been on it for a month and a half and those distancing themselves clearly couldn't wait for the journey to be over. The ship was certainly magnificent to behold. Giant silver wings flanked the sides of the ship and the borders were laced and painted with more silver, reflecting beautifully in the water and bouncing the sunlight off in a fanciful manner. It was a little under fifty yards long and fifteen yards wide. The whole ship looked like a type of giant silver knife, ready to slice through the water. There were three masts on the deck with the centre one being the largest and holding a crowsnest at its peak and giant thick sails that were bundled at the top of the mast.
Wolflock approached the nearest person to them, which happened to be a young lady with a small child intrigued with something in her large travelling sack.
The woman was wearing a black band around her auburn hair and she had a dampened handkerchief in her left hand. Clearly she was widowed and grieving still and was looking older than
she was. Her dress was faded with use and her shoes were old and worn, suggesting that she came from a working family and had travelled far to get to this journey, most likely back to her family after setting out to make her living with her recently deceased husband. As Wolflock had heard nothing of a widow passing through Plugh, it was likely she came from the lighthouse in the North or Wathers to the West as her clothing showed that she was used to the cooler areas in the continent, which ruled out the Southern cities. Her child was distracted and shared the same auburn hair as her mother, but was too young to grieve the loss of her father at this time, which told Wolflock that it could possibly have been a month or more since his passing as children quickly distract themselves from grief unless it was traumatic.
“My condolences,” he said solemnly, causing the woman to jump.
“P-Pardon?” she hiccoughed.
“Your husband. Hopefully you can recuperate on the ship. When will we be boarding, do you know?” he tried to act pleasently and offered his fresh handkerchief to dab her newly flooded eyes.
“The captain should be out shortly to allow us on board. I don't believe we've met... or have we and I just can't remember you? My memory has been so slippery since the Justice took Artin... I was so thankful it took him quickly. He was a good man though...”
Wolflock frowned and looked at Myna, who was watching the child. The Justice was a plague in the West that caused the victim to fall into an awake coma where they relived all the evil that they had done in their lives. If the person died quickly they had lived a kinder life, whereas if the person died slowly, they had caused much pain and were being punished for it. The disease had begun in Chaysaile at the demise of the tyrant King Stathan where all his followers fell ill with the disease as penence for their hateful crimes. The disease only effected men, but thankfully it was dying out. There was no known cure.
“I'm sure he was a good man,” Wolflock started, feeling awkward, but thankfully was cut short by a tall man with long greying hair standing on the ship, staring a little coldly down on everyone.
“Merry meet all!” he shouted not so merrily, “ Welcome to the Silver Ice Hair. I am first mate Slavidus Oncor for those who are joining us. I ask that all previous passengers board first and enter your rooms so that the new passengers can locate rooms that are not occupied. Mark off your names as you board,” he finished a bit more softly and grabbed a scroll of paper as two thirds of their company shuffled back onto the ship, using a sharpened piece of charcoal to put a cross next to their name on a list pinned to a slice of wood that had been placed on a barrel by the ramp to the boat.
Wolflock's stomach began to flutter a little as he realised that he was about to embark on a journey of a lifetime. He was leaving all that was familiar to him and being thrust into a new world. He wouldn't have his father to protect him from his own mistakes and he wouldn't have Myna for support and to support her in her endeavours with Ginia. His stomach jolted again as the man on the ship called out the first name of the five people still standing on the solid dock. Normally he would have been analysing the people around him, but all he wanted to do was hug his little sister and leave part of himself with her to keep her safe and keep them close. Wolflock wasn't accustom to feeling this amount of emotion, let alone showing it. But as if she was reading his mind (which he often suspected she could), Myna interlocked her fingers in with his and hugged his arm as the man calling out the names asked for the second person on the list.
Wolflock clenched his jaw so he didn't cry and he hugged her tightly, unable to restrain himself.
“Tell father that I love him and that I will miss him,” he spoke with a little warble in his voice. Then he hugged her tighter as she nodded into his chest and he heard his name called out, “And know that I love you too and I await your visit as soon as possible. Keep Ginia safe and let her keep you safe! Especially let her keep you safe!”
“I will, my brother,” she sniffed and he could feel her holding back tears too.
It wasn't customary to think in Puinteyle that crying was weakness or that it shouldn't be done in public, but sometimes it was a personal moment of release that needed to be kept to oneself as it needed to be expressed and dealt with alone to build strength.
Wolflock held onto her for as long as possible before finally letting go and walking with his head high up the small ramp and onto the ship, finally seeing the man calling out the names properly. He was a taller man in his forties, a short greying beard that was neatly trimmed wrapped around his chin and he had the rest of his long grey streaked hair back in a low ponytail. He was wearing fine hessian trousers and a softer longsleaved shirt that was casually unbuttoned at his chest. Both garments were a light grey and his shoes were new brown and leather (probably acquired on their last stop for supplies). His body was very fit and healthy from living on the boat, but his face was etched with anguish and exhaustion. It was only effecting the muscles at the moment, so it would have been fairly recently that something was disturbing him.
Wolflock briefly wondered what it could have been, but as Slavidus called the next two people up a pair of burly sailors ushered him under the deck towards his room. He turned one last time before descending and waved farewell to Myna, who was wiping her eyes and waving back vigorously.
Chapter 2, Found and Boiled
Wolflock descended and walked down a thin corridor with sliding doors on small wheels. It was dark and lit only by a few fairy dust lanterns that needed a shake to become brighter as the dust was settled. The doors were all open and Wolflock passed by a man in his thirties reading on his bed with many beautiful canvases against his wall, two dark skin women talking in gutteral tones and looking suspiciously out of the room, a small Eastern family of four who were sitting in silence with their heads bowed, a husband and wife talking quietly and sitting on the edge of their bed and a young boy around Wolflock's age who had mousy coloured hair and a youthful happy face, and was leaning back on his bed and looking at the roof absent mindedly. He also had a large bag by his bed with most likely everything he'd ever owned. He finally came to an empty room and noticed that each room was identical. He'd also noted that there were twelve rooms in this hallway, and he assumed that the crew slept on the second level and logically all the cargo would be kept in the hull to help balance the ship so that it didn't turn belly up. The room was six feet wide and seven feet long with a single table bolted into the wall under the small window and a small bed with a thin box stuffed with wool and straw. Above the bed was a shelf and cupboard that had a pillow and a thick blanket poking out. He peeked out of the window and waved at Myna, who was still watching for the boat to take off. He tossed his bag under the bed and looked out into the hallway as he heard the secondmate's soft shoes 'fwump'ing towards them. He looked frustrated and distracted, but Wolflock was more interested in how the ship functioned.
"Excuse me?" he asked politely.
He grunted and looked a little startled. He was holding the board and scroll with the passengers names on it and appeared to be rushing.
"Are we allowed upstairs to watch the ship start its journey?"
"No," he grunted bluntly and continued on his way down the hall.
"But why not?" Wolflock frowned and followed him.
"The Captain is indisposed and I can't watch everyone or give you any special treatment. Now get back to your room and I'll tell you when dinner is ready!" He rushed off faster to lose Wolflock, who grumbled as he retreated back to his room, but as Slavidus went out of view he closed his door and dashed towards the end of the hall to the deck. Just as he reached the stairs he felt his slacks get pulled and he tripped forward and fell onto the stairs. He saw the young boy in the room next to him grabbing his pants, but before he could shout out the boy grinned and covered his mouth.
"You want to watch the ship take off?" he asked for confirmation and a friendly grin. Wolflock nodded but his frown didn't budge. "Then follow me!"
The other boy dashed off down the
hall after the first mate and instead of going down the stairs to the hull, he pulled down a secret set of stairs and they scrambled up as quietly as they could. They were shrouded in a clean white cloth under a fifteen foot long elegant table.
The other boy put his fingers to his lips and peeked out from under the cloth and Wolflock followed him as he tip toed to the end of the rug.
"Follow me exactly or they'll creak!" he warned as they reached the gold tassels at the end of the ruby red rug.
He took a little dancing leap and landed on a plank silently, three feet away. Wolflock didn't dance across like the other boy but he made the same position on the plank as the other boy leapt three more planks away, two closer and then directly on a plaque set in the wood. He made it to the door and waited for Wolflock, who stumbled a little, but got to the door nearly as silently. The other boy opened the door, keeping low, and darted out behind some barrels, quickly followed by Wolflock, who quietly closed the door. They went from barrels to crates, sneaking and waiting for the crew to prepare to hoist the sales. Wolflock was greatful for being on the deck, but he wasn't thoroughly impressed with the view. But the other boy continued their journey until they came to the central mast.
"This is the tricky bit. I hope you're a fast climber!"
His cheeky grin went up the rigging in a flash and Wolflock's eyes went wide. They were bound to be caught he thought, but regardless, he wanted to see the ship more than he was worried about getting into trouble. His father had paid the Captain very well in ink, hemp and supplies so it was unlikely he'd actually be thrown off the ship. He scrambled as hastily as he could, trying not to get his feet tangled as he raced after the other boy. He was just waiting to hear one of the crew shouting out at them, but it didn't happen. Finally he reached the crowsnest and the other boy offered him a hand, which he greatfully took hold of and was hoisted into the wooden cradle.
The Case of the Captain's Hair (The Wolflock Cases Book 1) Page 1
