Voyage of the Lanternfish

by C S Boyack

  "Got a mind for such things. We'll be tapped out in three days."

  "Come with me." James motioned for Mal to follow him to the back of the wagon.

  James pulled back the canvas flap. The root monsters looked up half asleep from various locations inside mortars, or atop bedding. He held up a single gold coin.

  The monsters approached and went "Ooooo."

  "Got a couple of jobs for you lads. First, we need to protect the wagons. Can you do that for me?"

  The little Boss spread his hands. "Been back watchee. Make war sassin too."

  "I know you're up for it then. But we need more of this." He slowly moved the coin in front of their faces. "There are little pockets of it all over the city, but you have to find them. Go at night so nobody sees you. Can you do that?"

  The tiny Boss put his hand over his mouth and looked down.

  Mal grabbed James' arm. "Need more." He held up three fingers. "Mules." Two fingers. "Wagon." He wobbled his hand back and forth. "Horse chair. Stuff."

  "Do you have any more seeds?"

  Mal nodded.

  James turned back to the Boss. "Could you do it with more men?"

  "Ya ya."

  "Plant another four and see how they do."

  Mal glanced at the Boss, who shook his head for no.

  Mal held up ten fingers.

  "That's more than we have now. Are you sure?

  Mal turned toward the Boss with his fingers still up.

  "Ya ya."

  "And you think this lot's going to just find coins in the street?" Fala asked.

  "Don't much care how they come by them. A few a day should keep us on track."

  "It will, but we want to gather as much as we spend."

  "I'm a work in progress, but you can teach me. Let's go find some lodging."

  The Harpooner's Ghost was a popular house. A tavern filled the main level, with lodging above. It cost extra to have what the innkeeper called a bloody wog in the house. James paid the man without explaining it to Mal.

  They only had one room available, but it was large enough for everyone, and had three beds. James offered to share with Mal, but he preferred the floor.

  After they moved in, James sat at their table. "I'll have to take the pony to the library every day. You three can do whatever you like, but Fala said we have to watch our coins."

  "I'm content to stay here and spend some time in the tavern," Dan said.

  "Might be good for a day, but it's going to take me longer than that. There's something else that's been on my mind."

  The other three joined him at the table then leaned forward.

  "Fala and Mal don't have to continue on this journey. Airstony is is wonderful city. There are ships that can take you anywhere in the world. If that's what you want, I'll pay your passage."

  "I help." Mal said.

  "And you've helped more than you know. Any debt you think you owe us is long since paid."

  "Wives, sons, all gone." Mal waved his hands in a circle. "See much now. See more things helping."

  "I'm happy to have you, and I'm glad you want to stay."

  "Look," Fala said. "I ain't slept or ate so well in months. It may not seem like much, but it matters. If I have to go back to hustling ale somewhere, I can. We seem to have coin showing up enough that I don't have to. If we get killed along the way, it's still better than sleeping in an alley and digging through the trash somewhere."

  Mal picked through his bag then produced an envelope full of seeds. "Be back."

  "Whatever they're cooking tonight smells pretty good," Dan said. "I say we go down, have a grog and some food before calling it a night."

  "I'll get my eye patch and join you."

  The tavern was a lively place. News of shipping, fishing, teamsters, and seafaring tales abounded. Quality pipe smoke filled the air. The group kept to themselves and listened. News of Hollish soldiers crossing the border never made it this far.

  Mal drew some odd glances when he returned, but the evening passed without trouble.

  James headed for the livery before the others arose. Leaves poked above the window box on the caravan once more. Chickens scratched around the manure pile. He poked his head inside the wagon. "Uneventful night?"

  The Boss said, "Horse-mule. Poo poo." He held his hands full witdth apart to demonstrate.

  "Yes, well she's a big girl. Glad you didn't run into any trouble."

  The Boss pointed to the root monster with a flat head. "Pffft. Shloosh. Ha ha ha ha..."

  The other monsters pointed and broke into raucous laughter. The one with the flat head seemed to be stained a bit darker than the others.

  "Alright, um. Carry on." James climbed aboard the pony then headed for the library.

  The city was still waking up. Rats scurried across the cobblestone for holes to hide in. Cats took up positions to catch the morning sun. The occasional rooster crowed along his route. Wagons delivered coal, and the smoke from stoves and fireplaces filled his nostrils.

  He passed through several squares on his way to the library. Most were places for vendors to sell whatever wares they had. One held a community oven, and women were already gathering to bake the daily bread.

  The library was shining white marble and three stories tall. It filled an entire block, and owned a small stable across the street. He paid the fee and left his pony there before crossing to the library.

  Arches, frescoes, and framed paintings decorated the lobby like the palace of a king. They told the story of a wealthy city located up-river as protection from invasion. Various kings did manly deeds in braggadocio poses. James went to the desk for directions.

  Political treaties, diatribes, and histories were on the second floor in the south wing.

  The others woke up late. Each visited the outhouse in turn before coming back to their room. Fala brought a pitcher of coffee and some mugs with her. "How's your head?"

  "A bit sore, not too bad," Dan said.

  "Coffee and food should do the trick. That's some strong grog they serve."

  "Seems like. We should get some air, maybe look at the ships or something today."

  "Sounds good to me. We're going to be here for a while, unless we run out of money."

  They dressed then walked around the port area. Street vendors provided food at better prices than the Harpooner's Ghost.

  Fala stopped to glance at a new corset dress in a shop window.

  "Maybe you ought to get it," Dan said.

  "Need to be more careful with our money. No idea how long James is going to need. We may wind up in the wagons again before we're finished."

  Mal tugged at Dan's black cloak. "This." He pointed at a wooden soldier about a foot tall. It had a belt and sword, a rifle with bayonet, a tall red hat with feathers, and a short brim.

  "What are you, five years old? You heard Fala, we have to watch our money."

  "Don't be like that. This is only pennies, not the same as the dress." Fala paid the vendor. "Besides, James said to get him whatever he wanted."

  "You're going to spoil him."

  "I think he's older than both of us combined. You can't talk about him like he's a child."

  "I can if he wants to play wooden soldiers."

  Fala trotted to the next vendor. "Look, oysters."

  "None for me, thanks. I ate pretty much nothing else for twenty years."

  "Is that how old you are?"

  "Don't know for sure, probably more like twenty five."

  "Seems about right. I'm about the same, I suppose."

  "Where's your mom and dad?"

  "Both dead. Don't have no brothers or sisters. Just me against the world now."

  "Mom passed, but Dad's still in Hollish." He leaned in and whispered, "I'd like to get him out if there's to be a war."

  "And James?"

  "His dad passed last year."

  "Looks like you're the only one with family. We need to save your dad and sister."

  "Looks like my family's the reaso
n for all this mess."

  "You ain't. Some awful person decided to use your sister like a game piece. I'm telling you, it isn't easy being a woman. I'll bet every woman in the square could tell you tales."

  "I don't want to hear em."

  "That's part of the problem too. They don't talk about it, and men don't listen. Bet you'd listen to your sister though."

  "I would. If'n I ever see her again."

  Fala made a pffft noise and moved off.

  "Fine. I'll eat an oyster. Is that what you want?"

  Mal tugged at his cloak once more. He made an action with his hand where he moved it in front of himself, made a fist, then jerked upwards.

  "I don't know what the hell that means," Dan said.

  Fala stomped back. "He wants to pull up the roots now. We should all go. Maybe we'll meet up with James at the stable."

  Mal approached the manure pile and shooed the chickens away. The pile was covered with leafy plant tops. He pulled them up then went to the window box for the others. The plants from the manure pile followed along, swaying under the weight of their leaves. One at a time, he picked them up and removed their leaves with his dagger.

  The earlier crop of monsters jumped from the wagon to inspect the new crop. Mal placed the wooden soldier on the ground between the groups.

  The Boss spread his hands. "Wanna?"

  Mal unbuttoned the tiny belt and sword then handed them to the Boss. The other monsters ran for the rifle and bayonet. A fight broke out. The winner aimed and tried to fire at one of his brethren.

  "Wanna?" the winner protested before throwing the fake wooden rifle aside.

  Flattop walked up to the soldier, plucked the tall hat from its head, and cast aside his own. When he put the tall hat on, the other monsters went, "Ooooh."

  Boss growled.

  "You need two groups," Dan said. "One to protect the wagons, and one to hunt for gold. Someone has to lead the second group. Might as well be Flattop."

  The Boss thumped his chest. "Boss."

  "I don't really care. You decide who guards and who goes exploring then, but Flattop looks like a leader to me."

  Boss tossed his spear to Flattop and buckled on his new sword. He pointed at Flattop, "Horse-mule." He thumped his own chest. "Clink clink."

  "Sounds like a plan to me," Dan said. "Don't head out until it's good and dark."

  Fala kept watch at the entrance. "No sign of James. Maybe we should wait for him back at the room."

  "Seems like you're pretty excited to see him again," Dan said.

  "I am. I want to know what he learned today." She stormed off toward the Harpooner's Ghost.

  James returned to the livery after dark. As he unsaddled the pony, Flattop stepped onto the rail. He challenged James with his spear.

  "Just me, bringing the horse back. Nice hat."

  Flattop relaxed.

  "Looks like everything's in good order here. Where's the Boss?"

  Flattop made a broad gesture toward the city. "Boss, clink clink."

  "Ah. Well, I hope he finds something. We may be here a while." He turned and headed for the Harpooner's Ghost.

  His friends met him upstairs. Fala jumped to her feet when he walked in. "You're alright," she said.

  "Why wouldn't I be?"

  "We fought an assassin, if you remember."

  He dragged the eye patch off and dropped it on the table, rubbing his eyes. "Harder to read with just one eye. I managed to flip it up when nobody was watching."

  "Did you learn anything?" Dan asked.

  "Not much. I spent the day going over the borders before the war. Tomorrow, I'll look at them after the war. There is a lot of my dad's history tied up in those old maps. Wish he'd have left things well enough alone."

  Mal placed a hand on his shoulder. "Wish is ghost. Eat you up. Make you weak."

  "I feel weak. Like I need to practice, but town isn't the place for it. I wish... I should have asked my dad more about what happened. As a kid, I was more interested in harbor frogs and running around with Dan."

  "You were a kid," Dan said. "We both were. I didn't care about all the crap my old man talked about either. Someday, maybe I'll have a good sit down with him. We'll talk about it then."

  "I hope we can make that happen," James said. "Have you eaten?"

  "I made them wait," Fala said.

  "Let's head down and see what they've made. I could use a drink too," James said.

  While the tavern was noisy, their table remained mostly quiet. James spent most of his time staring into his beer. He pushed his chair back, downed his beer, then stood. "I'm not very good company tonight. I need to think, and walking's a good way to do that."

  "You shouldn't go out alone," Fala said. "You know, in the dark."

  "I'll be fine. Maybe I'll get to swing my sword arm after all."

  "Maybe you ought to take some of the yams with you," Dan said.

  "There were no yams served tonight."

  "No, damn it. The other yams. I'm trying to be discreet here."

  "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Enjoy your evening."

  "Should you go with him?" Fala asked.

  "Yup, but I won't. This is the curse of a thinking man. Everything has to mean something to him. Until he can work it out, he'll be this way. If I go too, it'll keep him from it. He'll resent me for wasting his time."

  "Well, I can't just relax. I'm checking out a washbasin and going upstairs. Have a few more drinks and give me some privacy for an hour."

  "A few more sounds perfect to me."

  Chapter Nine

  James returned late. Sleep eluded him, and he struggled with Fala's snoring. Eventually, he opened the small window and concentrated on the creaking of ships in the harbor.

  The open window let him hear the first rooster crow. He eased the window shut so his friends could sleep, grabbed his gear, then headed for the stable.

  He looked inside the covered wagon. The root monsters were devouring someone's roast and were all covered in grease. "What's all this? I sent you for gold, not some family's supper."

  The monsters all laughed. The Boss stood and issued an order. "Clink clink."

  Two of the newest monsters pulled back a towel. A large flat basket was filled to overflowing with silver and gold coins.

  "Oh-my-god. I thought you might find five or six coins, not this much. You didn't keep any purses or anything did you? Those could identify us as thieves."

  "Non bongo." Boss pointed at his head.

  "Alright, just checking. I'm going to write you a note. Do you think you can deliver it to Dan for me? Without being seen?"

  "Ya ya."

  James found a quill and parchment in the caravan then instructed his friends to gather the coins and get them away from the wagons. A few might look fine in the caravan, but if a constable found the whole stash he could get curious. Then he saddled up and headed for the library.

  He overheard the women at the community oven and smirked.

  "... heard the glass break. I sent my old man to look, but he can't see nothin at night. Said there was nobody in the house, but I seen em. They was rats, and they worked together. Stole my purse they did, and laughed about it while they shinnied back outside the window. I won't be at cards the rest of this week now..."

  "Doris ain't lyin. They musta come to my shop too. Broke the window and looted the till..."

  "Hoagy was on a bender last night. Said he seen some rats laughin and carryin on outside the Twisted Turtle. I figured it was the rum doin his thinkin again..."

  "Rats. We need to get that fellow with the dogs to come back and thin em out. Maybe have a contest a some kind. Might earn us all enough to buy beans for a week or two..."

  Dan and Fala hid a bag of coins inside the caravan, then purchased a small chest for the rest. They placed the chest in their room and locked the door.

  "Maybe you can buy that dress now," Dan said.

  "Easily, if I want it. Not going to spend money unless I need to.
Might be hard to come by someday. Besides, might be a nicer one up-town."

  "So you want to go up-town today?"

  "Sure, why not. Maybe we can get you a shave."

  "Sounds good to me. I'll grab my hat."

  They followed the same road James took every day, but stopped at various shops.

  Fala purchased a different corset dress and a pair of brown and beige pants with vertical stripes. She bought some brown boots that folded over on top, and finally some scissors, needles, and thread. Mal carried her bags.

  "Why pants and boots?" Dan asked.

  "A dress is nice for town, but when we take to the road again, the pants will be better. Never know if I'm going to have to ride or run, and they're just better."

  "Guess I wouldn't want to ride in a dress either."

  "Look, there's a surgery. Maybe we can get you a shave."

  They gave a wide berth to a constable who supervised a shopkeeper nailing a board over his broken window.

  That evening, they stopped by the stable on their way to their room.

  The Boss had news of a sort. He stepped onto the wagon's gate. "Black man." He placed his hand on his chin and mimed looking all around. "Horse-mule." He traced his finger on his hip where their brands were located. He placed his hand on his chin again. "Say. Hmmmm."

  "A black man, like Mal, was snooping around?" Fala asked.

  Boss shook his head no and pointed at Dan.

  "I ain't black."

  "No, but your clothes are." She turned back to Boss. "Did he wear clothes like this?" She grabbed Dan's cloak.

  "Ya ya."

  "How do they keep finding us?" Dan asked.

  "Doesn't matter. Looks like there's one snooping around. We have to warn James."

  "We don't even know where the library is, and splitting up is a bad idea too. We make base here until we meet up with James. Make sure your blunderbuss is loaded and take up a spot in the wagon."

  "And you?"

  "I'll stay out here with the muskets." Dan turned toward Boss once more. "Send two men to watch the Harpooner's Ghost. Have the rest spread out and make sure someone has a horn part way down the street. Sound it if James approaches, or if you see the new assassin."

  "I don't like it," Fala said.