Explorer of the Endless Sea

by Jack Campbell

  “That’s possible,” Jules said. “I mean, that they’re thinking that. But it won’t happen. Not me, and not any daughter of my line.”

  “So you’re the one making prophecies now?” Erin leaned closer, her voice growing deadly serious. “Girl, you’ve survived more than most, but you’re carrying the weight of that prophecy on you. You’ll always be steering through dangerous waters. Don’t decide what path you have to take before you know the way. If you set your mind on how you have to steer, you might miss the signs that you need to change course.”

  Jules looked back at Erin, who had at least a decade of age and experience on her, feeling frustration and perhaps some fear rise inside her. “Are you saying I should accept an offer like that if the Mechanics make it?”

  “I’m saying that neither you, nor me, nor any other man and woman in this world knows how that prophecy will come to pass. If opportunities arise, they may be part of that. Look them over before you cast them away.”

  “That’s good advice,” Lars said.

  “Good advice?” Jules glared at him. “There are some things I won’t do. That also has to be part of the prophecy, right?”

  “That’s not for us to judge,” Erin said. “I simply advise that you not decide such things before you have to. Your heart and your head brought you this far, so I’d be the last to tell you to ignore either one.”

  “All right,” Jules said. “If we can get off the subject of me and that prophecy, there’s one more thing we should discuss. Do we try to bring in any other ships on this?”

  Lars waved a hand in negation. “Not if I have a say in it. Looking for them would just give the Empire more time to set up their defenses. And of those who might join us, the only ones I’d trust not to betray me are in this room.” He glanced at Captain Hachi. “Mind you, I’m not sure I trust him.”

  “You’re wise not to,” Hachi said. “However, my crew feels a special debt toward Captain Jules for her discovery that their former captain had been holding out far more than his fair share. Even if they didn’t look to her because of the prophecy, they’d be very unhappy if I betrayed her. I doubt that I’d live long enough to walk on land again. For the same reason, I’m confident that my crew will vote to go ahead with this plan since Captain Jules will be the overall leader.”

  “My crew will be taken aback,” Erin said, “but they trust me. I’m sure I can get their approval.”

  “Same here,” Jules said.

  Lars hesitated. “To be honest, it might take some work with my crew. The Storm Queen has been doing well lately. My crew is likely to look askance at the risk of attacking an Imperial town.”

  “What if you had that weapon?” Erin asked, pointing to the Mechanic revolver that still rested on the table.

  “Me?” Lars looked startled, then worried, then cautious. “That would impress my crew.”

  “I wouldn’t expect you three to entrust me with it,” Captain Hachi said. “Nor do I want it.”

  “Worried about using Mechanic devices, eh?” Erin asked with a grin.

  “Yes,” Hachi said in a way that implied it was the only common-sense response.

  “So am I,” Lars said. “Is it safe?” He eyed the revolver with mixed skepticism and worry.

  “Sure,” Jules said. “I mean, it’s made to kill things. But if you keep the holster fastened so it can’t fall out, and keep your finger off the trigger, it won’t shoot on its own. Otherwise it’s like a loaded crossbow. Don’t point it at anyone you’re not ready to kill.”

  “Just how accurate is that thing?” Erin asked. “Also like a crossbow?”

  “Less than that, I think,” Jules said. “I haven’t been able to practice with mine because the cartridges are too precious. But from what I’ve learned by using it to shoot at someone, the closer I am to the target the better. Like, only a lance or two away. Maybe I could reliably hit someone from farther off if I could practice a lot, but that’s impossible.”

  “Are you all right with Lars having it?”

  “Lars isn’t sure he’s all right with having it,” Lars said.

  “You’ll be fine,” Jules said. “Yes, I’m all right with him having the second weapon.”

  “It’s acceptable to me,” Hachi said. “I do have a vote, don’t I?”

  “You have a vote,” Jules said. “You’re contributing your ship and your crew. That’s it, then. We’ll work out remaining details after we get our crews to vote to take part, which we shouldn’t do until we’re all underway outside the harbor.”

  Erin nodded. “The last thing we need is some drunk sailors at a bar ashore telling everyone within earshot what we’re planning.”

  “Lars, let me go over this thing with you,” Jules said. “I’m sure how it’s made is very complicated, but it’s pretty simple to use.”

  “Is it all right if I observe as well?” Hachi asked.

  “Sure. I have a feeling if this works the Mechanics are going to be a little freer with making these weapons available to commons who are willing to do what their Guild wants.”

  “That’s an ugly prophecy,” Erin said, shaking her head. “Because you’re probably right. And because there are plenty of commons who’d work against other commons for their own advantage if the Great Guilds promised them reward.”

  “That’s what the Emperor and prior rulers of the Empire have done, isn’t it?” Hachi said. “While also trying to advance their own interests.”

  “And that’s what we’re doing,” Jules said.

  * * *

  Walking back to the Sun Queen on the next pier over should have been a short, uneventful stroll. But not for her.

  A half-dozen big sailors who’d accompanied Jules to the Storm Runner surrounded her as they all walked, forming a physical barrier between Jules and anyone outside their group. She hated the sense of being penned in, but realized the need for it. The only way to be sure no Mages saw her was to make it hard for anyone else to see her.

  At the head of the pier where the Sun Queen was tied up, though, a Mechanic waited, his dark jacket standing out clearly amid the commons around him. Engrossed in conversation with a common woman, he broke off the talk to step over and block the progress of Jules’ group when they reached him.

  She moved to face the Mechanic, more curious than worried. If the Mechanics Guild had once again changed their minds, they surely would have sent more than one Mechanic to kill her. “Yes, Sir Mechanic?”

  He looked closely at her. “You’re that one? Yeah, there’s the revolver. I’ve got a message for you. Fifty legionaries and one sloop. I was told you’d know what that meant.”

  Jules nodded respectfully, surprised that the Mechanic’s tone wasn’t contemptuous or superior. “Yes, Sir Mechanic. I understand. Thank you.”

  He waved off her thanks, leaned close to the woman he’d been talking to in order to say something that brought a smile from her, then walked away.

  “I’m sorry a message for me meant you were harassed by a Mechanic,” Jules told her.

  She smiled again. “He wasn’t harassing. He’s not like the Mechanics who grab, you know? We’ve talked before. He’s, um, nice.”

  “A Mechanic?” Gord asked in disbelief.

  “Yeah. He’s all right.”

  Gord scratched his head as the woman turned back to her work. “A Mechanic who treats commons like people. Now I’ve seen it all.”

  “He treats a common girl he likes as if she’s a person,” Jules said. “Still, that’s something.” Maybe that daughter of her line would be able to find a Mechanic or two to help her overthrow the Great Guilds.

  Gord and the others began to close in around her again, but not before a call sounded across the pier.

  “Lady pirate!”

  The voice was familiar enough for Jules to look toward the source, seeing a tall, well-muscled man walking toward her. A broad smile formed as she recognized him. “It’s all right,” she told her guards. “He’s an old friend. How are you, Shin?
”

  He reached them, smiling. “I’m delivering a message.”

  “What a coincidence,” Jules said. “What is it?”

  “It’s not for you.” He held up a small leather fold for carrying letters. “My commander told me to deliver a message. I didn’t find the person I was supposed to give it to, so I kept going, all the way to here. Do you know how far you can get if you just tell everyone who asks that you’re delivering a message?”

  “You deserted?” Jules asked.

  “I guess I have,” Shin said. “Maybe I could claim I’m still delivering that message, but I’m not sure my centurion would accept that excuse.”

  “Centurion?” Gord asked. “You’re a legionary?”

  “I was,” Shin said. “Now I want to work for the lady pirate.”

  “You can call me Jules like you did before,” she said, smiling. “Come on. We have to get back to my ship before any Mages wander along this way.”

  Ang met them as they came up the boarding plank onto the Sun Queen’s deck. He frowned at Shin. “Who is this?”

  “Someone who wants to join the crew,” Jules said. “He’s a deserter from the legions.”

  “Oh?” Ang didn’t hide his skepticism.

  “And he’s an old friend of mine from the legion orphan home in Landfall,” she added.

  “Oh.” Ang’s expression cleared. “You’re a brother?” he asked Shin.

  Shin nodded. “From Landfall, like Jules. Where were you raised, brother?”

  “The home in Sandurin. Welcome aboard.”

  Jules looked around. “Cori, you’re quick. Run to the pier where the Storm Runner is and tell them you have a message for Captain Erin. Tell Erin ‘fifty legionaries and one sloop.’ If Captain Hachi and Captain Lars are still there tell them as well. If not, tell Erin I’m asking her to pass on the message to them. Then get back here as fast as you can so we can cast off.”

  Cori nodded, her face intent. “For Erin on the Storm Runner, fifty legionaries and one sloop, pass on to Lars and Ha…”

  “Hachi.”

  “Got it.”

  “Go.” Jules turned back to Shin. “Do you have any sailing experience?”

  “No, Jules,” he said. “Only riding on ships, never doing any of the sailor tasks.”

  “You might as well go below then while we prepare to get underway. Gord, help him find a hammock and a place for it.”

  “Aye. Come on, you.”

  “Ang, let’s get ready to haul in the gangplank as soon as Cori gets back. I’ve got a bad feeling about staying here any longer.”

  He frowned, gazing down the pier at the rough, new town that made up Kelsi’s Harbor. “Did you see any Mages?”

  “No. But the Mechanics knew I was here.” How did they pass messages among themselves so quickly? “They tend to talk around commons without thinking about it, so the commons might be talking about me being here. And I suspect that Mages pay more attention to what commons say than they let on.”

  As Ang walked across the deck, calling out orders for bringing in lines and readying the sails, Marta stopped by Jules, giving a low whistle as she looked at Shin walking away with Gord. “Look what followed you home. Is he yours, Captain?”

  “Shin is just an old friend,” Jules said.

  “I wish I had an old friend like that. Maybe he’d like to make a new friend.”

  Jules rubbed her mouth to hide her grin. “He still has to run the gauntlet if he’s to be a member of the crew.”

  “I’m not worried about that,” Marta said. “Look at him. Even if we used cutlasses in the gauntlet they’d probably bounce off of all those lovely muscles.”

  “Marta, Captain Mak used to tell me that you were an example for the younger women aboard.”

  “That I am! When it comes to our new shipmate, I’m going to show the younger ones exactly how it’s done.” Marta raised an eyebrow at Jules. “Speaking of younger ones, maybe you should pay attention, too, Captain.”

  Jules shook her head. “Tips for getting more men interested in me are the last thing I need.”

  “It’s not about getting more men interested,” Marta said. “It’s about getting the right man interested.”

  “And just how do I know who’s the right man?”

  “Trial and error.” Marta shrugged. “Most likely a lot of error.”

  “Sure. Shouldn’t you be helping with the sails?”

  “Yes, Captain!” Marta ran off with a grin.

  Jules, grateful that the conversation had momentarily distracted her from worrying about being in this port, went forward to watch for Cori’s return, making sure that the foremast blocked any view of herself from land.

  She let out a sigh of relief as Cori came into view among those passing by on the waterfront, but the relief was short lived as Jules noticed how fast Cori was moving. Not simply running, she was sprinting.

  Jules did some running herself, back to the quarterdeck. “Ang! Cori’s in sight and she looks like someone’s chasing her! Is anyone else ashore?”

  “No, Cap’n,” Ang called back. “We’re just waiting on her.”

  “Start taking in lines!” Spinning, Jules faced the sailors at the boarding plank, her sense of dread spiking. “Haul that in as soon as Cori gets aboard!”

  Cori came down the pier, mouth open wide as she sucked in air, dashing to the plank and aboard without pausing. The moment her feet hit the deck the sailors at the plank started bringing it in.

  Breathing heavily, Cori bent over, hands on her upper legs. “Cap…tain…saw…Mages…look…ing…at…ships.”

  “Blazes. Ang! Let’s go!”

  Ang bellowed orders, sailors up in the rigging moving out along the spars to loose the sails, others hauling on the sheets to let the sails catch the wind. The last lines came aboard, the Sun Queen free of the pier, and as the wind caught her sails the gap between the ship and the pier grew at a slowly increasing pace.

  “Maybe you should get in your cabin,” Keli the healer said from next to Jules.

  “I should be on deck until—” Jules grimaced. “Yeah. I should.”

  She hated turning toward her cabin, hated the sense of running from a foe, but it made no more sense to stand on deck waiting for the Mages to see her than it would’ve to stand still waiting for that dragon to catch her outside of Jacksport. That logic didn’t make it any easier to walk toward her cabin as the crew, her crew, got the ship underway. The captain should be there, should be…

  Mak had told her more than once that as captain he had to put the ship and the crew first. “It’s never about the captain, Jules. You’re their leader, but you’re not their master. You serve them, so the captain always has to try to think of what they need, not what he or she wants.”

  “All right, Mak,” Jules grumbled as she reached the door to her cabin.

  She stepped inside, realizing that Keli was right behind her, blocking any sight of her with the door still open.

  “I saw some Mages coming down the pier,” he said, as calmly as if discussing seeing some birds fly past. “I just wanted to be sure they didn’t catch a glimpse of your backside.”

  Jules more fell into a chair than sat down, rubbing her forehead. “Thanks, Keli. Though I doubt my backside is all that memorable a sight that the Mages would’ve recognized it.”

  “Well, if you’re asking my opinion—”

  “I’m not. Thanks, Keli,” she repeated. “Could you keep an eye on those Mages and let me know when we can’t see them anymore?” If a Mage can see you, a Mage can kill you. Jules hadn’t learned anything to make her doubt that saying.

  “Aye, Captain.” Keli smiled at her. “Thanks to you as well, for listening to the advice of a healer for once.”

  “Don’t expect it to become a habit.” Jules sat in her cabin after Keli left, feeling like a prisoner on her own ship but knowing it would be foolish to go out on deck as long as a Mage might be able to catch sight of her.

  Did the Mages already kno
w she was still alive?

  Maybe the Mechanics had told them. After all, they liked having her kill Mages, and that was more likely to happen if Mages were seeking her out.

  She knew she couldn’t trust the Mechanics. Or the word of the Emperor. And the Mages simply wanted her dead.

  The only allies she could trust were other commons. And not all of them. Plenty of commons would sell her out for the reward offered by the Emperor. Others, men, saw her mostly as a means for them to stake a claim in whatever was accomplished by that daughter of her line. Her friends, or those commons willing to help her, were among the weakest of the weakest in the world, pawns in the games played by the Great Guilds and the Emperor.

  Jules looked over at the drawing that was the sole memento she had of Mak, showing part of Lake Bellad near Severun. They think you’re their pawn. But you’re nobody’s pawn. You’re the Emperor piece. That’s what Mak had said. He must have believed it, too, because Mak had never lied to her.

  If pawns were played right, they could dominate the game board.

  She’d have to keep playing, and hope she didn’t make any wrong moves.

  Chapter Seven

  They’d gone far enough from Kelsi’s that the harbor had vanished over the horizon, then all four ships had slacked their sails, rolling in the swells within sight of each other while their captains called their crews to vote.

  While waiting for the other ships to come out of the port, Jules lined the crew up for the traditional initiation of a new crew member. As they formed two lines with a lane down the middle, some of the crew brandished only their fists, while others held belaying pins or sticks. Shin had grinned and trotted down the gauntlet, occasionally being rocked by a blow but otherwise passing unscathed. Reaching the quarterdeck, he nodded to Jules. “Captain.”

  She held his arm up, facing the crew. “Is he one of us?”

  The crew cheered, and Jules dropped Shin’s arm. “I’m glad you’re with us,” she told him.

  “Captain Jules,” Shin said, “I am also glad. You ran the gauntlet as well?”

  “No,” Jules said. “I walked it.”

  “You walked it.” Shin sighed and shook his head at her. “You haven’t changed.”