Fate of the Free Lands

by Jack Campbell

  “If a Mage was hurting someone else—”

  “Still a reason,” Keli said. “What about those Mages who died on this ship tonight? Would they kill someone for no reason at all?”

  “Yes,” Jules said. “That’s what Mages do. I don’t think they see us as people. I don’t think they see anyone who’s not a Mage as people. As bad as the Mechanics are, the Mages are worse that way.”

  “You say you’ve asked Mages why, and they give you an answer you can’t understand.”

  “Yes,” Jules said. “I mean, it may have some deep meaning, but nothing I can figure out.”

  “And yet I’ve asked you why you killed and you gave me straight answers. Jules, you know why you’re doing it, and you’re questioning whether you should. Do you think that’s true of Mages?”

  “No,” Jules said, looking at Keli. “Thank you.”

  He shrugged, gazing at the deck with a distressed look. “Maybe you have to be capable of that, Jules. Maybe that’s the only way you could’ve survived, and lived to have that child.”

  She looked away, angry. “That makes it sound like I didn’t have a choice in the matter.”

  “You had a choice every step of the way,” Keli said. “Don’t sell yourself short, and don’t give yourself an all-purpose excuse that it was destiny forcing your hand. You made the decisions. Take credit for those that were right, forgive yourself for those that were wrong, but learn from them, and never stop questioning the right or wrong of what you do. That’s the difference between you and the Emperor. And if that daughter of your line inherits that questioning from you, the world will be in good hands.”

  She looked at him again, smiling. “Liar.”

  “Not this time.” Keli got to his feet. “As for your worries, I don’t know any other common person who would’ve questioned the morality of killing a Mage. You do what you have to. Don’t blame yourself for that.”

  “Kara and Alons are dead,” Jules said, the smile fading from her lips. “Because of me.”

  “Not because of you,” Keli said. “Because there are those who don’t want the world to be free. Kara and Alons died because making the world free someday mattered to them. Don’t deny them the right to be proud of what they gave their lives for.”

  “I won’t. Keli, the last Mage said something just before she died. I don’t know what it meant, and I really don’t want people hearing about it and thinking it was another prophecy.”

  “What’s that? What did she say?”

  “Something about a man from Ihris. And a Mage. Maybe the man from Ihris will be a Mage. And nothing else. She died.”

  Keli scratched his head. “That could mean anything or nothing. Certainly since Ihris was just founded there are no Mages from there. Maybe that man will be a special danger to the daughter of your line when she comes.”

  “Maybe, but we have no idea, do we? Do you think I should mention this to anyone else?”

  He hesitated, then shook his head. “No. It’s so vague that those who mean mischief could interpret it in any way they wish, and those who think they’re helping you could interpret it in any way that they wish. Maybe it never did mean anything. A dying person sometimes says things that are just random thoughts from a mind approaching its end.”

  “Thank you,” Jules said. “I was thinking the same thing, but I wanted to ask at least one other person what they thought. Let this be a secret between us.”

  “A healer has to know how to keep secrets,” Keli said. “I will not speak of it.”

  “Why did it have to be twins, Keli? It was going to be hard enough for me to send away one. But two…”

  “Maeve wasn’t certain it’d be twins,” he said.

  “I think she was right.”

  After Keli left, Jules sat watching the dark harbor waters outside the stern windows.

  Why? No answer, and answers without number.

  Why twins? Had the prophecy wanted to ensure it would come true by having two children, not one, to carry on her line? It was scary to think something like the prophecy could’ve done that.

  But maybe she’d have had twins regardless. There was no way to know.

  Why? Because she wouldn’t give up, because she wouldn’t let people like the Mechanics and the Mages rule over the common people forever, because sometimes right was right and worth fighting for. You’d better be grateful, she thought to the daughter of her line, somewhere in the future. I’m going to give you everything I can.

  * * *

  The next morning the Sun Queen stood out of Cape Astra into a sea whose tranquility almost caused everyone to question their memories of the furious storm that had driven them into the safety of the port. They rode the winds down past Julesport and on south, following the curves of the shore down through the Jules Sea until the slow, majestic swells passing under the Sun Queen told them they’d reached the Umbari Ocean. Down farther, the land bending west before turning south again, they reached the broad river where a man named Edin had begun a settlement a short time before.

  The Sun Queen followed the coast as it bent east, even turning a bit north of east for a while, swinging back to the south. And there, partway down that south bearing coast, they found the old walled town of Pacta Servanda, set up here long ago by the Mechanics for reasons the few hundred remaining inhabitants knew nothing of.

  Jules brought the Sun Queen alongside the pier this time, knowing there was sufficient depth of water to accommodate the ship’s draft. Some of those in the oddly named town were still wary, but most of the inhabitants of Pacta Servanda believed Jules to be a Mechanic and didn’t question her arrival. Former mayor Terrance, who knew the truth about her, welcomed Jules. “I need a place to stay for a few months,” she told him. “A place where there is no chance of Mages finding me.”

  “I still don’t know what a Mage is,” Terrance confessed. “No one here does.”

  “Be glad for that,” Jules said.

  Terrance eyed Jules’ belly. “A few months? Do you mean to have the child here?”

  “No. Sorry,” Jules said.

  On her previous stop at Pacta Servanda, the Sun Queen had loaded some exotic wood which had fetched truly astounding prices when smuggled inside the Empire. The rich and powerful couldn’t get enough of something uniquely beautiful that they could flaunt. Jules, as she had promised, brought back the town’s share of that money, even though it would be of little use to the town until the rest of the world reached Pacta Servanda. Meanwhile, the Sun Queen took on more wood harvested in the ship’s absence, planning to deliver it to eager Imperial buyers who would be indirectly and unknowingly helping to bankroll the western settlements defying the Emperor.

  “Try to make everyone think I’m still aboard,” Jules told Ang as they sat in her cabin. “Mages, Mechanics, the Empire, and every common in every port. Unless it’s dangerous, and then tell them I’m somewhere else. Just keep changing where that somewhere is.”

  “Aside from this ship, no one knows this town exists,” Ang said. “You asked to meet with Cori,” he added. “She’s outside.”

  “Good. Bring her in.”

  Ang got up, opened the door, ushered a worried-looking Cori inside, and sat down again.

  “Cori,” Jules said, smiling at her. “Have a seat.”

  She sat down facing both Jules and Ang, looking from one of them to the other as if expecting a sudden attack. “I haven’t done anything.”

  “No!” Jules said. “This isn’t that kind of meeting. I wanted to say that you did a great job pretending to be me when we attacked and captured Western Port.”

  “Aye,” Cori said, her wary eyes going from Ang to Jules and back again.

  “How’d you like to do that again?”

  “No, thanks, Captain.”

  “It’s an important task,” Ang said, leaning toward her. “You have the right height and build for it, and your hair color is close as well.”

  “I’d be greedy to keep such important tasks to myse
lf,” Cori said. “Someone else in the crew should have a chance to show how well they can pretend to be the captain. How about Marta?”

  “Marta’s build is nothing like the captain’s,” Ang said.

  “Cori,” Jules said, leaning forward as well and smiling again. “How’d you like to carry one of these for a while?” She placed a Mechanic revolver on the table.

  “One of those?” Cori stared at the revolver. “I’d have it? I could use it?”

  “You shouldn’t have to use it,” Jules said. “But you could wear it around, impress every man who sees you…”

  “I don’t need that to impress a man,” Cori said, but her eyes stayed on the weapon. “I…um…”

  “And you’d have some of my guards with you whenever you were pretending to be me,” Jules said. “Artem and Mad will be staying here with me, but the others will guard you just as if you were me.”

  “Personal guards? With their armor and all?” Cori frowned, obviously tempted. “What would I be doing?”

  “Just pretending to be me for anyone watching from a distance,” Jules said. “When the Sun Queen is in port, you’d walk around the quarterdeck and look important.”

  “No one would get close enough to endanger you,” Ang said.

  “Those Mages off the Bleak Coast weren’t all that close when they threw lightning at the captain,” Cori pointed out. “And the Mages at Cape Astra were really close.”

  “That’s because they were all close enough to tell it was me when they saw me,” Jules said. “Mages can tell. If they get close enough to endanger you, they’ll be close enough to know you’re not me.”

  “And then they’d have no reason to harm you,” Ang said. “Of course, since you’d be pretending to be the captain, you wouldn’t have to work the ship when we’re entering or leaving port. You’d just stand on the quarterdeck and look like you’re running things.”

  “Really?” Cori bit her lip. “Me with that weapon, and guards and all?”

  “That’s right.”

  “And the Mages won’t try to kill me once they know I’m not the captain?”

  “They wouldn’t have any reason to do that,” Jules said. “It’s only for a couple of months, until I rejoin the ship.”

  “Well…I guess I could do that,” Cori said, still a little hesitant.

  “Since this is an extra duty,” Ang said, “you’d get a little bonus out of it as well.”

  “A bonus?” Cori took a deep breath and nodded. “All right. I can do that.”

  “Great,” Jules said. “I’ll go over how the weapon works with you later. Thank you, Cori.”

  “No problem, Captain.”

  After she’d left, Jules sat looking at the closed door. “You know, if Cori does get killed I’m going to feel really bad.”

  “Don’t worry about Cori,” Ang said with a laugh. “She’s the fastest runner on the ship. Any Mages who come after her are going to find themselves left in the dust while she sets a record for the thousand-lance run.” He took on a thoughtful look. “Why, if the Mages sent lightning at her like they did at you, I’d bet that Cori could outrun it.”

  “You think?” Jules asked, imagining Cori running for her life from Mages while the rest of the crew watched and made wagers on the outcome. “Try to keep her out of trouble, anyway.”

  “I am a little worried about Cori having that weapon,” Ang said, nodding toward the revolver.

  “Don’t worry about that. I said I’d let her have the weapon. I didn’t say it’d have any cartridges in it. The last thing I’d want is for Cori to goof around with that thing and accidentally shoot someone else in the crew.”

  “She’ll never live down that incident with the crossbow, will she?”

  “Not as long as I’m captain.” Jules paused. “Ang, take care of the ship and crew while I’m here. I know I don’t have to say that. You’ve acted as captain before and proven you’re good at it.”

  He smiled. “If this is a warmup to asking me to become a captain, you can save your breath, Cap’n.”

  “No,” Jules said. “Well, in a way. I’m just want you to know that I’m happy that you’ll be in charge of the Sun Queen.”

  “But you will be back. I’ll just be acting captain.”

  “Right.” Jules sat back, looking around her cabin. “But if something happens to me, take care of things, all right?”

  Ang nodded.

  * * *

  A few days later, Jules stood on the pier, watching the Sun Queen leaving port without her. It felt incredibly strange, wrong in some fundamental way.

  “They’ll be all right,” Artem said, misreading her mood.

  “With Ang and Liv watching out for them, they should be,” Jules said. “But the Empire is still trying to get their hands on me, and the Mages still want to kill me, and the Mechanics don’t know I’m down here hiding.”

  “What are we going to be doing?” Artem asked as he, Mad, and Jules walked into the town, escorted by former mayor Terrance and a few other citizens of the town.

  “All you guys have to do is keep an eye on me,” Jules said. “I’m going to be…thinking.”

  “That’s a dangerous pastime,” Terrance said. “I hope you’re not planning on digging for anything the Mechanics might have left around here.”

  “No. Nothing like that,” Jules said. “This isn’t about the past. I need to think about the future.”

  * * *

  It felt odd waking up every day in a comfortable bed, the floor steady underfoot rather than rolling to the motion of the sea. The two and three story homes the Mechanics had built here were in good shape for their age, and nice inside. Nothing like a palace, or like what Jules imagined a palace would be like, but the sort of place that was pleasant to live in. Plenty of air, natural light, windows looking out on courtyards and gardens. A lot of homes in Pacta Servanda were empty, built for the use of the departed Mechanics and commons who’d worked for them, so the only problem with finding housing was deciding which one.

  Jules sat in the room she’d taken as her own in the house where she, Artem, and Mad were staying. It had that comfortable bed, and a desk big enough for her to spread out papers as she thought and painstakingly wrote down ideas. At times she’d pause, looking out the room’s window at what could be seen of the street below.

  “You’re forgetting lunch again, Captain,” Artem said as he opened the door after a polite knock. He brought in a plate of cold chicken, bread, and cheese, setting it carefully on an uncluttered part of the desk.

  “Thanks,” Jules said. “You shouldn’t have to bring me meals.”

  “Not a problem,” he said. “It’s not like we’re being worked hard.” He glanced at the window. “I noticed when I came in you looking that way and seeming sad.”

  “Not really sad,” Jules said. “Do you have time to talk? Sit down. What do you think of this town?”

  “It’s nice,” Artem said as he took the room’s other chair. “Real nice.”

  “The Mechanics built it. Or they had commons build it for them.” She grimaced. “The whole world could be like this, if the Mechanics had shared their devices with commons.”

  “That’d be something.” Artem glanced toward her for a moment. “The daughter of your line, when she overthrows the Great Guilds, she’ll make that happen, won’t she?”

  “It might be a long time before that happens,” Jules said. “You and Mad aren’t bored here, are you?”

  “No, Captain. Just keeping an eye out for you is enough to keep us occupied. After what happened at Cape Astra we want to be sure Mages don’t surprise us again.”

  “I don’t think the Mages have any idea where Pacta Servanda is. Not yet, anyway. Hopefully I’m right.”

  “The captain is always right,” Artem said with a grin, quoting an old sailor saying.

  Jules smiled at him. “Not always. I thought for the longest time that you and Mad were a couple.”

  Artem laughed. “People often do. But
that’s not us. Truth is, I grew up with three sisters, and I’ve missed them since leaving home. The first time I met Mad I said to myself, that girl’s just like your sisters. And it feels like that. I couldn’t even kiss Mad without feeling strange about it, if you know what I mean.”

  “I know,” Jules said. “You saw Shin up at Western Port. He’s like that for me, a brother. Is Mad all right with being a sister to you?”

  “Sure is.” He paused, frowning down at the floor. “Mad won’t talk about her past much, or her family. Might have been some bad things in there, I think. She’s happy to have me around and never asking more of her than she wants to give.”

  “Then she has what she needs.” Jules sighed, looking at the papers on her desk. “I ought to talk to you and Mad about what I’m doing. I’ve talked a lot with Terrance, but I think you two might have some good ideas.”

  “What is it?” Artem asked. “I only had basic schooling.”

  “It’s not about schooling,” Jules said. “It’s about experience. Things you’ve seen and learned.” She picked up a paper, looking at her attempts to write neatly. Her pen work had been the despair of everyone who’d ever taught her, and everyone who’d had to read her reports. “I’m trying to get ahead of a big problem. I’ve been telling every new town and settlement to set things up like on a free ship, with voting for who’s going to run things and everyone being part of that.”

  Artem laughed. “I remember being that surprised when I first came to a free ship. What? Voting? But it works better than the Empire, doesn’t it?”

  “It does,” Jules said. “But the way we run free ships doesn’t work perfectly in a town. On a ship everyone has their job to do, and if anyone doesn’t do their job the whole ship suffers. We’re focused on sailing and trade and piracy. Towns might have lots of different other things they’re doing, so keeping order and what rules and laws are needed is different for them.”

  “The folks where we’ve been seem to be working it out,” Artem said. “They’re listening to you.”

  “Yeah, but it shouldn’t be about me! I won’t be around all the time. I might not be around next year if the Mages get me. So I’m trying to write down some rules and ideas that people can use to run towns, and…” She paused, a little reluctant to share her dream for fear speaking of it might jinx it. “I want those towns, those cities, to work together. Not like in the Empire, where a city does what the Emperor says because there’s a legion nearby. But like free ships working together. Supporting each other, not because they’re being forced to but because it helps them all when they stand together.”