by Drew Wagar
Kiri looked up and nodded briefly. Nerina’s eyes glittered with pleasure. There was a faint pressure. Instantly Kiri understood the momentous nature of the commitment she was making at a deeper, more significant level as she felt Nerina’s mind touch hers. What had Charis called it?
The seeing, the gift …
This is what you are committing to …
She was leaving her past behind. No, not just her past – her entire previous self! This was a new start, a new life. From this point forward she would be Kiri, a candid of Daine. All that had gone before – none of it mattered any longer. The price of salvation was undying loyalty, complete and utter devotion to this religion, to the priestesses, to Lacaille herself. She could see both the opportunity and the hardships ahead. They were exhilarating, intoxicating and terrifying all at once.
I could be a healer like Charis …
Or a warrior …
All this flashed through in a blizzard of feelings and exchanges in her mind in brief moments of time.
Now you know of what we have thought to each other. Do you consent?
Kiri knew Nerina would detect any hint of deceit or trickery through the mental link. There was no way she could hide her response or prevaricate. Truthful acquiescence, or complete refusal, there was no middle ground.
Kiri took a deep breath.
I consent.
She had never been so certain of anything else in her life. The impression she left surrounding her words glowed with the purity of unadulterated honesty.
As the link dissolved and Nerina leant back again, the words of Charis’ companion, Merrin, crossed Kiri’s mind, as if in afterthought.
You know Nerina, she always gets her way …
CHAPTER EIGHT
The Scattered Isles
Round 2306, Second Pass
Meru had seen to the timers aboard the ship. They were basically the same as the ones aboard the Bethany, but Meru had been delighted to discover that they all worked in tandem, there was no need to start each timer separately. An ingenious mechanism rolled each timer over as it finished, starting the next. The whole series of glass vials was stored in an intricate metal sphere which was weighted itself, so it adjusted to the roll and pitch of the ship, always staying upright regardless of what the ship was doing. It was the most sophisticated arrangement he’d ever seen, more impressive even than the ones in Amaris, the capital of Amar back home.
After a stretch working on the engine with Mel, Meru was exhausted. They’d made enough of a repair to get the ship moving slowly. Mel had led him forward and shown him lodgings aboard the Mobilis, a small cabin on the starboard side near the bow. It was served with a single porthole, a sleeping bunk and a table and chair bolted to the wall and floor.
‘Plumbing is on the simple side,’ Mel had told him. ‘The head is forward, you’ll find it easy enough.’
The friendly engineer had closed the hatchway behind her, spinning it locked and leaving Meru alone for the first time he could remember. He took stock of his surroundings for a moment, casting his eyes around the simple cabin. His life had changed in just a stretch.
Aboard this mysterious ship with a crew and a captain I don’t know!
Part of him was thrilled, the other terrified.
He climbed into the bunk and lay down, listening to the faint thrum of the engine return as the Mobilis got underway again. He would just close his eyes for a moment …
A sharp rap on the hatchway brought him back to his surroundings.
‘Time to be working, lad.’ Coran’s stern tones came through only slightly muffled by the bulkhead.
Meru jumped to his feet and opened the hatch. Coran looked down on him with a smile.
‘Been sleeping for more than half a stretch lad. Ready to earn your keep?’
‘Aye aye, Captain!’
Coran beamed. ‘Good lad. We’re coming into our home port, you’ll not want to miss this.’
Coran ducked back out of the cabin and stomped off down the corridor. Meru followed, climbing the ladder from the galley way up on to deck.
‘Shades!’
The Mobilis was slowly moving forward, with just enough power to keep her way. Ahead was an island with steep cliffs and mountains covered in thick green vegetation, their tops swirled with mist and cloud. Waterfalls were cascading over the edge of the cliffs, splashing from enormous heights into the sea below.
Ahead, a gaping cave mouth beckoned. It was huge, more than big enough for several ships the size of the Mobilis to enter simultaneously. Meru walked forward to stand in front of the wheel house to get a better view.
The cliffs rose above them as they gently coasted in. Behind him, Meru heard a sharp click. He looked around only to be half blinded as two enormous bowls mounted on the front of the wheelhouse filled with bright light. Meru heard a chuckle from Coran as they entered the mouth of the cave.
‘Eyes forward, lad!’
The cave was vast, dozens of hands tall and several hundred from end to end. The first thing that struck him was the light. Small globes of brightness illuminated the darkness at regular intervals, bigger versions of the ones aboard the Mobilis. Meru stared at them, unable to fathom how they could work.
More tricity, perhaps?
The Mobilis slowly pulled in some distance from the entrance, but the space could easily have accommodated dozens of ships of her size. Meru looked around in surprise, seeing cranes, hoists and large unidentified machinery about them on the dockside. It was far bigger than the harbour quays back home at Amar.
What is this place?
As they came close, Meru felt the engine reverse and the Mobilis came to a halt at the quay. As if on cue, two burly men appeared, one at the bow and one at the stern, jumping off and securing the ship with ropes. They were fastened in seconds; the men clearly sailors from their practiced air.
The trembles in the deck subsided and the ship became still.
‘Welcome to Port Melanie,’ Coran said.
‘Port Melanie?’ Meru asked.
‘Mel found it, so we named it after her.’
Coran led him aft to where Mel was still slaving over the exposed engine. After a series of swiftly barked orders some parts had arrived in a big wooden crate on the quayside and were being offloaded from a wagon. The two burly men were hoisting on a derrick at the back of the ship, lifting the crate up into the air, supported by sturdy chains. As Meru watched they swung it over and then lowered it on to the deck, supervised by Mel’s watchful eye.
‘Daf and Creg,’ Coran said. ‘If you need something moved, these are your boys.’
They seemed to be twins, barely taller than Meru but almost twice as wide. They had flat faces, with noses askew and both were bald, with dark heavily tanned and tattooed skin. Neither said anything.
‘Conversation is not a strong point,’ Coran said, with a grin. ‘But harder workers you’ll not find.’
‘What did they do before working here?’ Meru whispered, looking warily at the men’s strong arms. Each forearm was easily bigger than one of his own legs.
‘They were in the removals business,’ Coran replied, gesturing for Meru to follow him from the wheel house. ‘Come on.’
‘Removals …?’
The next member of the crew was the thin gangly looking man. Meru recognised Fitch and was immediately on his guard. Fitch was looking over the edge of the ship and idly tapping the metal hull with a small hammer. He was dressed in a long grey coat with huge pockets crammed with wood-working tools; Meru could see a small plane, set squares, chisels and sanding rocks. As they approached Meru heard him muttering to himself.
‘Carpenter they say, wood narg fettler says I. Had a respectable job once I did, not patching up rotten scuppers to earn m’ keep …’
‘Fitch,’ Coran called. ‘New crew to meet.’
The man turned and looked Meru up and down. He was hunched and his expression sharp and unfriendly. His face was twisted into a grimace. Meru could see his left
cheek was disfigured as if by a fire and the good cheek was beset by a twitch and a tick. His frame was lanky but tall.
‘Fresh blood aboard the Mobilis, eh?’ Fitch said, his voice scratchy and sharp. ‘Back to health are you? More’s the pity, quicker to have drowned I reckon …’
‘Fitch is also the carpenter aboard,’ Coran explained, in response to Meru’s questioning glance. ‘And a good one when he puts his mind to it. You fixed that rudder yet?’
‘Made like a shade, Captain,’ Fitch responded, with a twitch of his cheek. ‘Strong and sure.’
‘Make sure it stays that way this time,’ Coran returned.
‘Aye sir, Captain sir,’ Fitch said, nodding and bowing vigorously, turning back to his task of adjusting the rudder mechanism of the Mobilis.
‘Good enough at what he does,’ Coran commented. ‘Best not to be alone with him though. Has some funny ideas about what’s what.’
Meru nodded, having already arrived at the same conclusion himself.
‘Master at arms, cook and a carpenter.’ Meru said. ‘Why do you need a carpenter on a ship made of metal anyway?’
Coran looked at him. ‘Good question, lad. You can ask him that … if you’re brave enough.’
Meru blinked in surprise.
Finally they came to Mel. She winked at them as they approached and he smiled in return.
‘Mel you know.’ Coran said. ‘A bit full of herself. Thinks she’s the best engineer in the world …’
‘Knows it, sir,’ Mel interrupted smoothly, her head lowered into the hold, studying the engines. ‘Then again, I might be the only engineer in the world. Who’s to say, eh?’
‘You have to keep her busy, else she gets up to mischief,’ Coran added, with a grin.
‘Fat chance with you breaking the damn ship every other spell,’ she shot back.
‘And she thinks it’s her ship too …’
‘You wouldn’t get half a mark outside the harbour without me.’
‘See what I mean?’ Coran grinned and then whispered conspiratorially to Meru. ‘Smart as a button, but don’t let on I told you that.’
Mel looked up. ‘All settled in?’
Meru nodded.
‘Right then,’ Mel acknowledged. ‘Still lots to do. Grab them gloves and tools and we’ll get you started. New gaskets to fit first, then we’ll have a go at the main bearings. Time to get acquainted with grease and oil, young Meru.’
Meru’s work with Mel consumed almost another entire stretch. By the time he had finished he was half dozing on his feet with weariness. Working on the Mobilis was harder than the work on the Bethany; heavy and difficult. It was just as well it was interesting, he was amazed at Mel’s expertise and wondered how she’d come across it.
The tricity engine, as Mel called it, in the Mobilis was complex. It was certainly no toy, despite some of the disparaging words he’d heard from Coran as the ship had limped back to its hiding place. Meru could see that straight away. Many of the mechanisms in use were complex and refined. They didn’t just work, they worked well. Centrifugal governors to regulate speed and prevent the engine running away, adjustable spring-loaded safety cut-offs to the flow of sparks, accumulators, coils, windings, the mechanism to turn the rudder and the strange sails, even the timers he’d reset – the list went on.
Even the small things, like the pipes, valves and gauges were cleverly wrought. Mel’s attitude to them puzzled Meru though, sometimes she would appear confused and bewildered by the behaviour of the engine, which seemed odd given that she had put it together. He couldn’t figure out how she’d been able to make such a complex thing work, yet still find herself bemused at its intricacies.
As time went on he noticed that the mechanisms showed signs of long use in places. Nothing appeared to be new and many of the components showed evidence of being very old indeed.
So if she didn’t make it, she and Coran must have found it, or stolen it … but from where?
By the end of the stretch he was too tired to think any more about it. Gratefully he crashed into his cabin and rolled on to his bunk, only just having the presence of mind to strip off his garments before sinking into the welcoming rough comfort of the mattress.
He must have slept for a double chime at least, but a thirst roused him in the midst of the sleeping. Bleary-eyed he did his best to ignore it, but after tossing and turning at intervals eventually gave up and decided he’d need to get a drink.
The ship was quiet with the engine shut down. Repairs were going to take a while on the starboard engine. Having stripped it down Mel and he had discovered that the main bearing was scored and would need machining. It was going to take another pass at least before they’d be able to start reassembling it. Until then the Mobilis wasn’t going anywhere.
Meru slumped out into the corridor that ran the forward length of the Mobilis, grabbed a cup and pumped water up from the tanks. He downed a couple of cup-fulls before refilling his cup a third time and heading back towards his cabin.
As he approached he could see a light shining out from further down the corridor. Coran’s cabin was down there, the hatchway slightly ajar and a thin beam of light splashing out and arcing across the floor. Curious, wondering why someone was still awake, Meru tip-toed down the corridor. He was almost at the door when he heard low voices talking. He froze, listening.
It was Coran and Mel.
‘…think you’ve found it?’ Mel’s voice said, ending in a question.
‘Surest I can be,’ Coran’s voice replied. ‘Until we go looking.’
‘Old time treasure hunters, eh?’ Mel voice sounded amused.
‘I like to think of it as uncovering our lost heritage,’ Coran replied, with a tone of mock offence.
‘But if there happens to be some coin just lying about …’
‘…it won’t harm to pick it up now, will it?’ Coran was laughing. ‘You know that’s not what this is about. Money we have enough of, it’s the skills and knowledge we’re lacking.’
‘The senate mandate doesn’t bother you at all? This land, Voren is it? You know it’s forbidden.’
‘They’re fools and we’ve been out of sight of land before, you and I.’
‘It’s one thing being blown by a squall,’ Mel replied. ‘Quite another to deliberately go over the edge.’
Meru placed his hand over his mouth.
Sail further out of sight of land? But you can’t sail over the edge, you’ll be lost forever!
‘Dangerous by all accounts,’ Mel’s voice sounded a note of warning.
‘Tricky to navigate by sail, you mean.’
‘But not for a ship like the Mobilis. Always assuming we can figure out the map.’
‘That’s my thinking. And hoping we don’t suffer another breakdown,’ Coran said. ‘Speaking of which, how’s our new hand shaping up?’
‘Works hard, applies himself and picks stuff up faster than any I’ve known.’ Mel said. ‘He’s figuring out the instruments too, caught him experimenting with the sextant today after chimes. Learning the engine fast too, won’t take him long to put two and two together and get five. You going to tell him what we’re about?’
Meru felt a flush of pride at her words.
‘I don’t need to,’ Coran replied.
‘But he’ll figure something’s up the moment we turn shaderight …’
Meru heard Coran chuckle. ‘I’m figuring he already knows.’
Meru held his breath.
‘What? How?’ Mel’s confused voice rang out.
‘He’s been eavesdropping for a spell,’ Coran said and then raised his voice. ‘Come on in boy. No point trying to hide. I can hear your breathing.’
Meru jumped back from the hatchway in surprise, tripping over his own feet and falling full length on the floor. The hatchway opened fully and light streamed out, illuminating him with a bright glare. Coran and Mel stood silhouetted in the light.
‘Not sure sneaking about is the sort of behaviour I approve of in a
n apprentice,’ Coran said.
‘Want me to keel haul him, Captain?’ Mel asked.
‘I didn’t mean to!’ Meru cried out, stumbling to his feet. ‘It’s just the hatch was open and I wondered …’
‘So what did you hear?’ Coran said, sternly. ‘The truth now and be quick.’
‘I … I heard you say you’re looking for treasure, beyond the seas,’ Meru managed to stutter. ‘But it’s forbidden to go there by order of the senate. So … you’re pirates!’
‘Pirates!’ Coran laughed with a hint of distaste. ‘Maybe we should keel haul him.’
‘Taking treasure, it’s stealing!’ Meru countered, backing away against the corridor. ‘You’re nothing but common thieves!’
Coran stepped forward. Meru saw his face clouding with anger and feared a blow was coming. He felt his arm grabbed and was hoisted to his feet.
‘Watch your tongue boy, you speak of what you do not know.’
Meru struggled, but there was no way he could escape the captain’s strong grip. ‘Let me go! You lied! This is kidnapping!’
He saw Mel lay her hand on Coran’s arm. ‘Tell him, let him make his own mind up.’
Coran paused for a moment, taking a deep breath and steadying himself before nodding.
‘Promise me you’ll listen, Meru,’ Coran said. ‘Then, if you want, I’ll take you home.’
‘I’ll have your word on that,’ Meru said, glaring fiercely and pulling away, freeing himself from Coran’s grip.
‘You have it,’ Coran said, with a faint smile. Meru paused for a moment, wondering if he’d have a better opportunity to flee.
Where are you going to run to?
Curiosity got the better of him. Coran moved back into his cabin.
‘Follow me.’
Mel moved across to Meru. ‘I know it looks all askew,’ she whispered in his ear. ‘But know this. He’s a good man. I trust him with my life. You can too. This is no idle quest for glory we’re planning. This is important, maybe even life or death.’
Meru looked at her, studying her eyes. He saw no deception in her face, he already trusted her implicitly. He looked away, swallowed and looked back at her.