by Rick Johnson
Motioning Red Whale toward the door with his cutlass, Admiral Poo’Lard indicated that the interview was over. Red Whale rose and opened the door. He was not surprised to find that the passageway was now filled with some of the roughest-looking sea-beasts he had ever seen. Many bore horrible marks of battles past. All carried either wicked-looking swords or short pikes with razor-sharp points.
“The very best of my crew will escort us back on deck,” the Admiral explained. “I want to assure your comfort and pleasant ease during your time with me.”
Arriving back on the main deck, Red Whale found that Quest & Luck was now awash with sea-beasts and busy with activity. Of particular interest was a long length of rope, with a noose at the end, lying on the deck. The rest of the rope ran high up to a pulley attached to the very top of a mast.
“Now, Captain Gumberpott,” the Admiral said, “I will be leaving you here with Commander Spinnit, while I go to the rail and speak with your ship.”
Taking Red Whale by the arm, Commander Spinnit guided him over to where the noose lay coiled on the deck. Seeing Red Whale’s uneasy gaze, Commander Spinnit said, “No, you are not going to be hung by the neck. You are too valuable to us alive. But the noose does have a purpose.”
“Launch him,” the Commander ordered.
Several burly sea-beasts grabbed Red Whale and lifted him off the deck. Another sea-beast slipped the noose around Red Whale’s feet and pulled it tight. In another moment, Red Whale was dangling by his feet, swinging with the waves, far above the ship.
“Daring Dream! Hail!” Admiral Poo’Lard called through his hailing-trumpet. “There is joyous news that Lord Farseeker has retired from his rule and placed his former realm under King Myyst. I have invited Captain Gumberpott to join me in celebrating this change, but you see that he has refused. Thus, you find your captain suspended in a difficult situation. I am calling on you to surrender yourselves, or I will make his situation even more difficult. If you fail to surrender immediately, I will feed your captain to the sharks, and my crew will take you by force. I have overwhelming numbers, as you see.” Turning and extending his arm, he called his entire crew to the rails. Masses of sea-beasts crowded jowl-to-jowl, holding their weapons for Captain Red Whale’s crew to see.
Before Daring Dream II could reply, Red Whale bellowed out, “FLASH GOURDS, MY CREW! FLASH GOURDS! SHOW THEM WHAT NEW SURPRISES WE FOUND IN THE VOI-NIL!”
Red Whale’s outburst took Admiral Poo’Lard by surprise. He looked quizzically up at Red Whale.
“Something we learned about on our voyage,” Red Whale yelled to him. “Something unknown in the good Lord Farseeker’s realm. I think you’ll find it very interesting.”
Admiral Poo’Lard, putting his glass to his eye, observed Daring Dream II come alive with activity. The ship turned to sail directly toward the Quest & Luck. The deck swarmed with sea-beasts bringing out musical instruments, including two massive wooden drums. The drums were so large that they had steps attached to the sides to enable drummers to play them. Three beasts mounted each and began drumming! The throbbing, pounding drums were joined by horns, trumpets, cymbals, and whistles. Other sea-beasts banged pieces of brass pipe together and cracked whips against huge gongs. Sea-beasts not playing instruments shrieked and howled!
“What are those mad-beasts up to?” Admiral Poo’Lard muttered to Commander Spinnit.
“Looks like they’re attacking,” the Commander replied.
“They must be crazy!” the Admiral exclaimed. “Why, we’re twice their size!”
“Maybe so,” Commander Spinnit said grimly, “but our crew is spooked—what kind of wild-beasts are they? Looks and sounds like they don’t care whether they live or die!”
As Daring Dream II bore down on the schooner, several sea-beasts moved to the gun-whales. Each one held what appeared to be a round ball and lit torch in his paws. On a signal, fire was touched to fuses on the balls and the sea-beasts tossed them far out over the water toward the schooner. Trailing an arc of smoke, the balls sailed through the air until, just before hitting the sea, they exploded with a tremendous roar! KER-BOOM! KER-BOOM! KER-BOOM! Huge plumes of water flew into the air. Water from the explosions blasted across the schooner’s deck, soaking every sea-beast, including the Admiral and Commander.
The crew of Quest & Luck, stunned by what they had seen, retreated from the ship’s railing in confusion. Admiral Poo’Lard and Commander Spinnit stood mute.
“Now, my gentlebeasts, could you kindly let me down so that I can return to my ship before my crew gets impatient? I fear that, if they get impatient, they may want to land a few of those flash gourds on your deck.”
“Lower him!” the Admiral commanded.
When Red Whale was standing again on the deck, the crew of Daring Dream II exploded in cheers. “Shall I send a boat over for you, Captain?” Bem Madsoor called.
“Never!” Admiral Poo’Lard screamed into his hailing-trumpet. “I’ll never send Captain Gumberpott back to you. If you want him, come and get him—but first, you’ll have to catch us!” Lowering the hailing-trumpet, the Admiral turned to Commander Spinnit. “Full sail, Commander. They don’t know that Quest & Luck is one of the fastest ships on the sea. Let them eat our wake.”
Sails billowed. Quest & Luck turned away from Daring Dream II and began running fast before the wind.
“Clap him in irons,” Admiral Poo’Lard snarled, when Red Whale was brought to him. “Let him rot in the brig until we get back to port. King Myyst can decide what to do with him.”
Loog
When Bem Madsoor saw that things had gone wrong for Red Whale, she was not surprised. Her years sailing with Rummer Boars had taught her to be suspicious of every unknown ship on the seas, until it proved itself trustworthy. Her reluctance to accompany Red Whale to the Quest & Luck sprang from that sense of caution. Now that Red Whale was a prisoner, at least Daring Dream still had a captain.
Bem smiled when Red Whale yelled, calling for flash gourds. “Yes, Captain Gumberpott, that’s exactly right—we’ll show them we’re not a plum for picking,” she thought. “Katteo,” she said, turning to Katteo Jor’Dane, who was at her side. “Ready six flash gourds for use when I give the signal.”
“YAR!” Katteo replied.
Bem turned the wheel, steering Daring Dream II toward the schooner. “There,” she thought, “that’s close enough for our little surprise to throw a good bit of water on their deck. That’ll give them something to think about before attacking us.” Not realizing that the sea-beasts on the schooner had never seen flash gourds before, Bem did not know how right she was. When the flash gourds exploded, Bem was astonished to see the schooner rapidly make an obvious retreat.
“Why, they’re turning tail!” she exclaimed to Katteo. “They’re running away for all they’re worth.”
“What will you do now?” Katteo asked.
“We’ll give them a good show of pursuing them,” Bem said. “They’ve got too much speed for us, so we’ll never catch them. But I don’t want them to think we’re just letting them go, either. I’d like them to wonder if we’re—back there, following—even if we aren’t.” She paused, looking after the fleeing schooner. “Because we will be after them, soon enough. We were already bound for Lord Farseeker’s realm. Now we have even more reason to go.” Turning to Katteo she continued, “Here, take the wheel. Set a course straight after them, so long as a sail is in sight. As soon as we lose sight of them, turn us back toward Port Newolf.”
“Port Newolf?” Katteo asked.
“Yes,” Bem answered, “we won’t be docking there. I just want a course in that general direction while I decide where to land. We’ll need more than Daring Dream II to have a chance of taking on this so-called King Myyst. We’ll need additional ships—and we’ll need to surprise him. I want to get to Lord Farseeker’s realm before the Quest & Luck can get there. They’re faster than us and have a head start. We’ll need a different route to have hope of beating them back to port. So,
first, I want to locate BorMane. BorMane used to tell stories that make me think we can sail the opposite direction from the one the Quest & Luck took and reach Lord Farseeker’s realm. If that is correct, perhaps we could even get there before they do. BorMane will be able to advise me about that.” She smiled at Katteo. “Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to show up on King Myyst’s doorstep with a fleet of good ships before his own ship gets home. They may be faster, but we can be craftier.”
“YAR!” Katteo grinned, turning the wheel to swing the ship around.
On the fifth day after the encounter with the Quest & Luck, Bem Madsoor rose with the first light of dawn. Leaving her cabin, she went to the deck and surveyed her crew, most of whom were sleeping on the deck. Even Katteo, who was known for hardly ever sleeping, was nodding at the wheel. As light began to creep upward from the eastern horizon, Bem called the crew awake. Today they would go ashore.
To the south of Port Newolf, along the Drowns Bight, lay the small fishing village of Hadst. It was here that Bem Madsoor had decided to land. Situated along a sandy and heavily wooded coast, with few inhabitants, Hadst attracted little attention from the outside world. This was exactly what brought Bem to it. Although few honest sailing ships visited Hadst, many vessels of ill-repute came. The secluded village, with its snug, albeit small, harbor, offered a fine place for freebooters, and such, to rest, refit, and plan new adventures. During her service as Pilot on a Rummer Boar ship, Bem had often visited Hadst. It was exactly the kind of place where she would be able to find other ships willing to help her mount an expedition against King Myyst. Anchoring there for a while would allow her to raise a fleet.
“Hey-Ho! Katteo!” Bem called. “Bring us in slow and steady. Drop anchor just beyond the mouth of the river.”
A river tumbled down to the sea just at the edge of Hadst, one of the few sources of fresh water on the Drowns Bight. Bem had a mind both to resupply with the river’s fresh, clean water, and to follow the river inland to search for BorMane. She knew that BorMane had planned to go with Christer, Toshty, and Annie to Toshty’s cabin, which, she believed, was somewhere in the interior. The river offered a way to reach the interior without having to make a very difficult journey through the trackless wastes of the Drownlands. With luck, she could catch up with BorMane much more quickly by following the river.
Bem’s plan was to leave Katteo in command and take on the search for BorMane herself. Always the daring one, always the fearless one, Bem saw no danger that made her afraid to take on the task alone. Time was of the essence. Each day the Quest & Luck sailed closer to its homeport. If Bem hoped to reach Lord Farseeker’s realm before the schooner, there was no time to waste.
As soon as Daring Dream II anchored in the harbor, boats swarmed around the ship. Rowboats, canoes, flatboats, and kayaks, pushed against each other, trying to get closest to the ship. Blustering and cursing at one another, jockeying for the best places to sell their wares, some boat-beasts even tried to climb aboard. Whatever one might want, could be bought from the boats—everything from Bathing Bones to Frecked & Salted Frog Legs to the finest Mashnor Silks. Most of the items being sold were the work of honest labor, but Hadst also was notorious for the contraband available there. Bem planned to visit one of those merchants, who could supply some things she needed.
Bem had known Loog for a long time. When she was sailing with the Rummers, they often stopped in Hadst, and she met Loog on one of her first visits. A Banzit from the Banu Pale, Loog was one of the most important and prosperous merchants in Hadst. However Loog did not join the clamoring boat-vendors besieging ships in the harbor. He didn’t have to stoop to such degrading huckstering. Banzits were renowned as dealers in all types of the most hard-to-get items, and Lood was a special Banzit among Banzits. Beasts from all over sought out Loog because he dealt only in highly specialized wares—items that were highly illegal or dangerous beyond belief. Having developed thievery and forgery to a high art form, whatever it was, Loog could get it for you.
Leaving Katteo in charge of the ship, Bem hailed a water cabbie from among the boat-vendors and caught a ride to Hadst. In the center of the village, pleasantly set among flowering trees, was a coffeehouse. It was a rowdy, boisterous place where locals, sea-beasts, and travelers played dice and cards, traded stories, and in a few special rooms, conducted business that was not public. It was in one of these special rooms, far in the back of the coffeehouse, where Bem knew she would find Loog.
The short, flat-faced Goat had sly, intelligent eyes, and was dressed in his usual tight-fitting green suit of the finest moleskin. Looking at him, one would not suspect a dealer in black market goods. As he greeted Bem, his smile was genuine. Bem had never known Loog to say a hard thing to any beast, and everyone trusted his word. Loog might be a flawless thief, master forger, and deal-maker supreme, but a more genuinely well-liked beast would be hard to find.
“Hey-Mo there, Banzit!” Bem called. “I’ll give you a promise for your best work.”
“Netch!” Loog replied, ejecting a gigantic wad of spit several feet before saying more. “A promise may feed the likes o’you, mate, but not me.” The Goat took a long swallow of scalding hot coffee as if it were cool fruit juice. Grinning broadly, he continued. “But perhaps I misunderstand you—I have never known Madsoor to be one for idle talk.”
“What if I promise you a share in an adventure such as you’ve never dreamed?” Bem asked. “What if you get me a Scrib—I mean a Scrib that will fool any Skull Buzzard alive, and in return, I give you an entirely new life? I get forged travel papers, and you get an adventure like you’ve never seen. A made-up identity in return for a promise. Sounds like we both get mere words, but you get the less risky part of the deal.”
“What adventure? Netch!” the Banzit said, sending another monster shot of saliva across the floor. “I’ve got fears and dangers enough. Won’t get me minded in your way with just more rot like that. ”
“Sailing where beasts say sailing can’t be done, that’s what!” Ben said, pointing west. “Sailing west, past where the sun drowns at night—and farther—until we catch ourselves a scoundrel. There’s a buzzard-breath scag who’s stole my Captain and stole other beast’s livin’ as well. I’ll be sailing to places he’s never thought existed while he’s lookin’ over his shoulder for me. But I won’t be there. I’ll be in front of him, waiting—waiting with a fleet of Banzits and Sharkicts and whatnot freebooters. That’s what adventure, mate! And—if you’re yearning for a bit of goods to make you whistle—there’ll be plenty. Gold, jewels, silk, pearls, and all kinds of spices and foods with odors and tastes like no beast, such as yourself, has dared to dream.”
Bem paused, watching the Banzit’s face for hint of what he was thinking. Glimpsing a flicker of interest in his eyes, she pounced. “So, mate, I see that you’re ready to get me the Scrib I need, but I forgot to mention that I’ll need two good ships and crews as well.”
The Banzit’s startled look told Bem she had won the deal. “No, no, mate—While I’m gone to find my navigator, you round up another ship or two to join our little adventure. So far as any Sea Captains are likely to wonder, you can say that Captain Bem Madsoor has issued a promise—and that promise is security enough for their time and trouble. Captain Madsoor respects other captains and wishes them to continue as friends. Therefore, she also invites them to help her with the difficulties that may arise in dividing up the mountains of gold, pearls, jewels, and other fine things this adventure will collect. Their wise counsel in this partition will be urgently needed.”
The Banzit eyed Bem silently, his mind working. “Now, mate,” Bem directed, “I’ll gather my travelling pack and be back here in the morning to pick up my Scrib. Then, I’ll head out to find my navigator and be back before the new moon. When I return, I’ll take one night’s rest, then we depart at dawn on the running tide. Tell the good sea captains you round up that I look forward to their service.”
All the dumbfounded Banzit manag
ed was to mutter, “Anomaly—darn’dest Anomaly I ever saw…”
“You said something, mate?” Bem responded with a bemused look.
“Just sayin’ that this is a bit of an Anomaly here, Madsoor,” Loog replied.
“Not thinking I might forget my promise, I hope?” Bem Madsoor asked, her eyes flashing.
“Netch!” the Banzit cried, shooting a wad of spit. “It’s wonders and wonders that you get a Scrib, and my efforts to arrange two additional ships and crews—all for a single promise. That’s Anomaly for any Banzit.”
“But not for Captain Madsoor,” Bem thought silently as she prepared to return to the ship.
“Not so fast, Madsoor,” Loog said. “Netch!” Loog coated a bug crawling across the tiles with a shot of saliva. “I’ll need a bit of time to get what you need—how about you give me an extra day and a slick of silver?”
“A slick of silver!” Bem exploded. “Why you low-down, slimy Sack of Spit!”
“Compliments will get you everywhere,” Loog laughed. “But it won’t get you past the Skull Buzzards. For that, you need an absolutely perfect Scrib. You’ll also need an entire new set of clothes. No matter how good the Scrib, if you walk around dressed like a sea-beast, you won’t fool anyone. I need some time to get a proper set of clothes for you that will match the description I put on the Scrib.”
Bem thought a moment before agreeing to the deal. “It’s a fair bargain,” she said at last. “But don’t get cocky and think I’ll do anything more than we’ve already agreed.”
“No, no, Madsoor,” Loog replied. “Netch!” A wad of spit splatterd just beside Bem’s boot. “I could have put that on your boot, Madsoor. I don’t make mistakes. I missed your boot because I like you. You respect me and all will be well.”
As she turned to leave, Bem replied, “You’re as honorable a gentlebeast as one can find in Hadst—and doing business with you, means that I respect what you do.”