by C. Litka
01
Life aboard the Shadow Bird followed an unchanging pattern. Between each voyage we'd spend four or five rounds in Bindare while Captain DenMons along with DenOrn in tow would make the rounds of their usual customers, collecting boxes and pallets of cargo for our usual ports of call. I gather that the Shadow Bird was not the only barge calling on these towns - five or six others were mentioned in passing - but even so, it was often five to ten rounds before they saw anything more than a company ore barge arriving or leaving. Lonely places. After we had our round off ship, KaRaya and I would return and oversee stowing of the cargo as it arrived in electric lorries. When Captain DenMons completed her rounds and the cargo was secured, we'd get steam up and take off in a whirl of blades for Mountain Vale, where we always had a dozen pallets or more to deliver, and then into the deep shadows, for two or three stops before ending up at Chasm Lake for the smoked and fresh trout.
Chasm Lake was a rare deep lake in Daeri, narrow, long and surrounded by steep ridge lines and mountains that sheltered it from the brunt of serrata winds, winds that could lift half the water of the shallower lakes into the air and scatter their finny inhabitants to the clouds and surrounding countryside. Because this didn't happen in Chasm Lake, it had a great population of large, deep water trout. Most of the catch was caught by native fishermen in small boats and then smoked at the small smoke house down the strand. We weren't the only barge to call on Chasm Lake, but with no scheduled service, the fresh fish were caught and put on ice only on the arrival of a barge to carry them to Bindare. That, and indeed, the never changing pattern of the Shadow Bird was about to change.
We'd been sailing aboard the Shadow Bird long enough to - almost - call Captain DenMons "Mom" with some hope of getting away with it. KaRaya may've, but, "safety first" being my motto, I hadn't risked it. This would be something like 150 rounds since we signed on. We'd arrived in Chasm Lake the round before, and were preparing to depart when two broad-feathered men in rugged and rather dirty clothing, springer rifles slung over their back and carrying several bulky bags hurried on board to take passage to Bindare just as we were raising steam to leave. They paid passage with some coins and as few words as possible, settled into their tiny cabins, and stayed there for the whole voyage, having their meals brought to them. They alighted without so much as a word upon arrival in Bindare.
The Skipper shook her head. 'Not very social folk, were they?'
'And in a great hurry.'
She watched them disappear beyond the line of barges, rather thoughtfully. 'Not fishermen. Or fish cleaners at the smoke house - we would've smelled that. Save for a few shopkeepers, all of whom I know, there's only fishermen and fish cleaners in Chasm Lake City. Interesting. I think, lads, I smell something fishy that isn't fish.'
'And what would that be, Mom?' asked Orn standing beside her on the deck, as KaRaya and I started undoing the tarps over the iced fish boxes.
She stood staring off into space for a moment, and then said, 'Not a word of this to anyone. Understand? I'm talking to all of you. No mention of passengers at all.'
'Why Mom?'
'Well, I could be wrong, and if I am, we would be in trouble if that wrong word got out,' and then lowering her voice, she continued, 'But I've seen this before. I smell gold. They had the look of prospectors. They'd been in the woods a long time, and given their shyness, I'd say that they're prospectors who've struck it rich and are now in a hurry to get their dust and nuggets safely salted away in a bank.'
'Gold in Chasm Lake?'
'In the hills or the little mountains above it. As likely a place as any in the shadows. There are big strikes every 10,000 rounds. Still, this is just a feeling I have in my bones. If we start spreading false rumors, we'd be in big trouble, so not a word, or even a hint of a word. If they brought back gold, word will surely get out when they deposit it. You don't keep gold strikes secret for long. And then lads, there'll be a stampede to Chasm Lake as the fools rush in. If anyone comes asking, our passenger fee to Chasm Lake is now ten silvers, and that for a deck passage. Two silver coins extra for a cabin, if available. Got that? Ten silvers. No discounts. Baggage is only what they can carry aboard with them. Anything more, ten silvers extra. This may be our lucky wind and I intend to ride it full tilt. But one last time. You know nothing. I'll not be made a fool of if I'm wrong. We'll see what develops in the next round or two. No shore leaves until we know. I want all of you on board and out of trouble.'