by David Bell
“I felt no change of wind, but this has not come from the sea,” said Potyr.
“Not from the sea, but from across it,” replied Kanesh. “The change came in the night, as stealthy as a snake taking a a sleeping mouse. I wonder what will gain more force now, prayer or rumour.”
Leilia came up to them. “Naudok is not here. If he has gone outside in this he will be lost and afraid.”
“The ship,” said Potyr. “He will be with the ship. I will go.”
She put her hand on his arm. “No, captain, he is my charge,” she said, and before they could restrain her, slipped through the door and was gone. She was away so long that Potyr had decided he must go nevertheless, when suddenly she was back with them.
“He sits there with his hands on the timbers and will not move. I am afraid for him because the mist is cold now. He said only this: say to the boy it will come today. What does he mean? What will come today?”
“We have only two boys here,” said Kanesh. “Ask both of them.”
“Rain,” said Namun. “He means it will rain today. The wood has told him.”
Kanesh threw open the door and strode outside followed by Potyr and Leilia. The yellow mist was no longer thick and still. It was thinning into swirls and spirals that flowed towards the sea as a cool wind blew across the bay. The wind grew in force until the covering of yellow dust lifted and streamed away as if in pursuit of the now distant shreds of mist. Reeds from the piles covering the timbers were next to leap free and fly past the tamarisks that were bending near to breaking point in the gale. Typhis and a few crewmen rushed out and raced along the jetty towards the Dolphin which was rocking violently and straining at her moorings. The boat she used for landing light cargo had already been swamped by the waves and capsized. Bending low, Leilia ran to the ship where Naudok could be seen crouched beside it on the windward side. He was holding fast to the top strake with both hands, though whether he was trying to stop himself or the ship being blown over, the watchers could not tell. Leilia crouched beside him, pulling at his arms and shouting against the howl of the wind, but he clung on. She looked back towards the others and threw up her arms in despair. Kanesh and Potyr looked at each other for an instant and leaning into the blast stumbled to the ship. Naudok’s frozen hands clung to the strake like a barnacle to its rock but Kanesh finally prised them loose and lifted him up by the shoulders. Potyr took him by his knees and they hauled him bodily back through the wind and flying sand to the shelter of the workshop. They went back for Leilia and found her crawling towards them, unable to stand up. She tried to speak but the wind snatched her words away. Although she was lighter than Naudok they had to fight even harder to move with her against a wind that struck with the ferocity of an enraged beast. Ever afterwards, when the talk turned to storms, Potyr would tell the story that he had never fought against a stronger wind at sea than the one he had fought on land that day.
Inside the workshop the wind hissed and whistled through every crack in the walls, rattling the tools on their hooks and stirring the sheets of wadij with Naudok’s drawings until Leilia placed weights on them. Some of the carpenters were squatting on the floor with their eyes closed and lips moving as they fingered their sacred amulets, while others sat silent with fear or muttered nervously among themselves. Naudok seemed quite unaware of the storm outside and kept protesting against the invasion of his workplace when he had work to do. Eventually Leilia persuaded him to go to the room where he rested by saying that she had to prepare his dried figs and in the darkness it was difficult to see where they were. She was told to find and light a lamp. The words made Kanesh look up suddenly: darkness, lamp? It was getting dark in the workshop; strong draughts were streaming through the cracks but hardly any light. But it was not yet afternoon. He touched Potyr on the shoulder and pointed towards the door. They squeezed outside. The sky over the bay was dark sulphurous yellow flecked with ragged clouds racing seawards. No light shone in the Palace and beyond and higher, the sacred Jaduktas was no more than a vague smudge streaked with livid vapours. It should be different, thought Kanesh, where is the black cloud sweeping over Jaduktas? Then he saw Potyr standing at the corner of the building staring away from Jaduktas and looking as awestruck as if he were staring into the very face of the Lady Mother herself. A moment later Kanesh saw it: a churning black mass of cloud bellying low and rolling towards them, not from Jaduktas but from the peaks of the other, greater, sacred mountain, the one which hid the sun’s last light as it sank down at day’s end. The dark cloud poured over the land like a great wave at sea and as a wave breaks at the crest and showers down on the trough before it, the cloud burst and sprayed the ground with lumps of ice. Inside the workshop the deafening crash of the ice storm striking the roof made everyone cower in dread. The door burst open and Kanesh and Potyr leaped inside, both bleeding from wounds where ice splinters had struck them. Through the doorway Sharesh and Namun saw white rain lashing down and not running away but piling up in heaps.
And then the darkness and the wind were gone as quickly as they had come and the rain poured down at first in a fountain of big drops until these gave way to a steady spattering which the parched ground soaked up as quickly as it fell. The boys rushed out and rolled about in the melting ice and balls of white rain as they called it, flinging handfuls at each other. Namun picked up one jagged lump of ice bigger than the rest and thrust it at Sharesh.
“Look,” he said, “the stars have broken into pieces and fallen down to earth.”
The rain fell steadily all through the day and into the night. Sharesh woke in the darkness feeling a sense of dread. What if Namun were right and there were no more stars? He got up and stepping carefully over the sleeping bodies, felt with his hands along the wall until he found the bar that held the door shut. He lifted it as quietly as he could, opened the door and stepped outside. The night was calm and stars sparkled across the whole of a cloudless sky. There was the Sailors’ Star, so Typhis could steer the ship as always; there was the yellow eye of the Charioteer; and there were the Blue Sisters. They were all there. He wanted to shout with relief and happiness. A hand he knew well touched him lightly on the shoulder.
“You see: the stars did not break into pieces and fall to earth,” said Kanesh quietly.
“But where did all the white rain come from, and the other things like glass that cut your face? It’s not there any more.”
“You remember the first morning you saw the mountains of Keftiu with their peaks covered in snow? Perhaps the great wind blew snow and frozen water from the top of the mountain and carried it here. Or perhaps even the clouds were so cold that they froze and fell to pieces.”
“I must tell Namun.”
“When he wakes. Then after the mist has cleared, look for birds flying. We have not seen them yet.”
Kanesh walked to the end of the jetty and stood for a long time looking out to sea, towards Kallista. One day he would tell the boy about the star that did fall to earth.
A cool white mist that had filled the valleys and blanketed the coast after the rain was clearing quickly now that the sun was up. Sharesh and Namun squirmed through the carpenters who were crowding round the ship and looking at it in astonishment. It stood upright and undamaged, but about ten paces away from where it had been before the storm.
“I don’t care who or what shifted her, Lady Mother or that wind or both,” said the master shipwright, “but they’ve done us a good turn. Now we can get the launch way graded and timbered and get her back onto it and propped while she’s light enough to move easy. We need that quarryman back here.”
“Leilia says we should humbly thank the Lady Mother for saving us from the drought,” said Namun. And from Sutekh, he thought but dared not say.
“But where do you look when you thank her?” replied Sharesh. “The High Priestess held out her arms towards the sacred Jaduktas when she prayed, but the cloud bringing the rain came down from the other mountain.”
“Better do it
twice, then; once to each mountain. Wait. What’s that up there?”
“Birds; Kanesh said look out for birds. They’re flying this way.”
“Coming from the other mountain; that answers your question.”
The birds soared across the bay and dived down into a patch of white foam out to sea where they plunged and shrieked in frenzy.
“You don’t think they just came down here because they saw that shoal of fish, do you?” Namun did not reply. He was thinking of the hole he had dug in the dunes and of the red stones and donkey droppings he had put in it. As he covered them with sand the name Sutekh had sounded loud inside his head, but he dared not speak it.
The land was turning green again and flowers bloomed everywhere. It would not last and everyone knew the summer heat would sear the grass once more, but for now there was water round the roots of the corn and the vines and the olive trees, and the animals could drink, so there would be a harvest and that assurance made the people thankful. Offerings of flowers, barley cakes and small clay cups filled with water were left close to the Lady Mother’s sacred places for her priestesses to take inside. Word spread that the Palace’s interventions had dispelled the Lady Mother’s discontent and that once the harvest had been gathered, there would be special ceremonies of devotion followed by games and dancing to express the people’s gratitude.
PALACE GAMES
Work in the shipyard began again. The Dolphin docked with the Kerman quarryman and some of his men on board and a cargo of stone slabs and blocks for the launch way. Bullock carts began arriving every day loaded with stone rubble, lime and clay. A wide trench was dug from where the ship lay, sloping down to the sea, and the bottom of it covered with a layer of soft clay. Large flat slabs of stone were pressed into the clay to form a firm watertight foundation. The edges of the trench were then lined with sloping courses of stone mortared with clay and lime mixture and, when these were strong, the flat slabs at the bottom of the trench were covered with a thick layer of rubble mixed with more lime and clay. Wooden posts were used to pound the mixture and water added until it was compact and firm. At all stages of the work the quarryman carefully checked the seaward slope to make sure it was constant and even. Meanwhile some of the carpenters had been sawing flat planks one hand thick and two hands wide and trimming them to make a snug fit across the trench. More clay was put down and the planks tapped into it with betels. Lime and clay mortar was trowelled into the spaces between the planks. Sharesh and Namun joined the gang of sweepers and scrapers whose job it was to make the surface of the launch way smooth and even. When the work was finished it was like a low jetty standing up from the beach and sloping gently to reach the level of the sand just short of the water’s edge.
It was high summer by the time the launch way was completed to Naudok’s satisfaction. Because of the heat it was not the best time of year for work on the ship but, if she were to be launched before the bad weather set in, there could be no letting up now. In fact the building should go more quickly once she was on the launch way because while that was under construction carpenters had been hard at work fashioning the frame timbers and upper strakes, and a cargo of decking and upperworks timber had been delivered which Naudock, to everyone’s surprise, had accepted without any complaint. With the additional strength of the quarryman and his mates available it was not difficult to lever and drag the ship onto the launch way and wedge her steady with heavy chocks. Chamfered props were made, ready to set against her later as her sides grew higher.
Naudok now began appearing more often to watch and sometimes direct the work although he never failed to retire to the workshop at the exact time that his drink or food was due. The stern frame was the first to be fitted in two identical sections, one on each side of the keel and rabbetted to it with thick pegs locking the joints.
On the days following, most of the remaining frames were added as pairs of shipwrights could work in different parts of the ship at the same time. At the end of the fifth day, Sharesh stood at the stern looking along the length of the ship, imagining the upright frames as rising horns, closest together at each end, widest apart at midship. It looked a bit like the ribs of an animal rising from the breastbone, but he knew now he should not call them ribs because this was a ship and you only had ribs in boats.
“She is going to be strong,” said Potyr to Typhis as they watched the shipwrights fitting one of the upper strakes. “They widen the planks next to every butt join and the mortices are deeper than any I have ever seen, and they lock every one.”
“They’ve got two men who do nothing but cut dovetails,” said Typhis, “and they put them all over the place as fastenings along with mortice and tenon joints holding the planking together. She’ll be strong all right, but I still want to know how we steer her. Have you got anything out of the Creator yet?”
“No; Leilia says he worries that we are being spied on and he will not reveal his design until the spies are all driven away.”
“Give those two big watchmen lads a batten apiece and send them out looking for anybody snooping around in the dunes. That should scare them off.”
“The master shipwright told me that when all the frames are in place they are going to fit floor timbers across, flush with the top surface of the frames. And as if that were not strong enough, another timber will run the length of the ship on top of the floor planks directly above the keel and be pegged into it through the boards.”
“I hope he’s going to make it easy to lift some of the boards for baling. Look, who’s that over at the workshop with Kanesh; another messenger?”
After the man had left, Kanesh came over to speak to them, saying that Sekara was sending two naval captains to have a look at the ship and may come himself.
“We know he sees a warship in this design,” said Potyr, “but he must have something else on his mind if he is coming himself.”
“Let’s hope the Creator doesn’t think he’s a spy as well,” laughed Typhis.
While Typhis went round the ship with the two captains, Sekara walked slowly along the beach with Kanesh and Potyr. He asked some desultory questions about the work but it was clear to them both that he was impatient to change the subject and talk without anyone else hearing what he had to say.
“Two things: Kanesh, after what you did at the Games and what it seems many think you did to bring an end to the drought – though how they arrived at that conclusion I do not know – your fame spreads wide.”
“That was not my intention.”
“Be that as it may, fame brings prizes but also penalties. You have the confidence of the Palace and that significantly advances the enterprise. However, jealousies are fermenting in other quarters and vigilance must be the order here.”
“We suspect we have unwanted onlookers from time to time, but measures are being taken,” said Potyr quietly.
“Good; now to the other matter. The captain of a ship just in from Taphis says he was surprised by a pirate off the Pelos cape and escaped only because the pirate broke an oar and lost way. What puzzles me is that he said he saw men on the ship wearing helmets.”
“Unusual, but they could be loot,” said Kanesh.
“Pelos is close enough to give us a chance of finding out. The captains over there are under orders to carry out a sweep of the Pelos cape and find and take that pirate if they can. I want you to sail with the force. They put to sea tomorrow at dawn.”
“We will need archers,” said Kanesh. “I understand from your Captain of Archers that they have practice in shooting at sea.”
“He and ten of his men will be with you. There is one other matter and it is for you to decide. My orderly is no longer young, but…”
“He wishes to serve again. Experience is always welcome and he knows the risks. We will be honoured to have him aboard.”
“I am grateful to you. It means a great deal to him. Now we must go. There is still much to do in preparing the ships for sea. Two chariots will come before dusk to carry y
ou and the captain here to the base.” They walked back along the beach towards the launch way. Sekara stopped and looked closely at the other two. “You may be thinking that I paid little attention to the work, but I have seen enough to know that she will make every captain wish his vessel were like her. I regret only that she is not ready for tomorrow.”
While the chariots were being loaded with weapons and other gear for the voyage, Kanesh explained to Sharesh what he and Potyr were about to do.
“You’ve done this before, haven’t you?” said the boy. “Typhis said something the other day about a battle with pirates a long time ago, and Potyr was there.”
“Typhis will be your guardian while we are gone. Do as he says. He is a gruff man but as honourable and dependable as they come. Listen to Leilia and you will learn much. Your work here in the shipyard is important. You are seeing how a fine vessel is built. Naudok is not like other builders of ships. He is endowed with rare gifts and you must watch how he applies them. Keep Namun close to you, wherever you go. He is resourceful. You have seen the Palace, a small, a very small, part of it, I should say. Should anyone, anyone at all, suggest another visit, for whatever reason, consider what your mother would advise before you agree to go. And, as I have said, keep Namun close.”
“How long will you be away?”
“As long as we must. Are these not fine horses?”
The dust cloud kicked up by the horses’ hooves hung in the failing light long after the sound of the chariot wheels had faded into the distance. Namun came up and tapped Sharesh on the shoulder.
“Now then, what was all that about?”
Sharesh told him. Namun’s face looked concerned for a moment; then he shrugged his shoulders and grinned.
