Parihaan had her hands gripped around the top of Mothy’s trousers and the shirtless Mothy looked horrified at their discovery.
Chapter 4. Haatji Help
“Parihaan!” Wolflock shouted, trying to raise some alarm, “Get off him!”
Wolflock charged forward to tear her off his friend when Mothy grabbed him by the shoulders.
“Lockie!” He gasped and kept his friend back, “what’s gotten into you? Your eyes! What’s wrong?”
Wolflock realised that the ship had swayed and he had fallen into the cupboard doors.
“Nothung...” Wolflock belched and suddenly felt more nauseous, “...is wreng. Mothee get her off you!”
Parihaan looked at Wolflock rather cognitively and seemed horrified. Surely the liquid he drank hadn’t turned him into a monster. He felt odd, but not unchanged.
“Lockie, look at me,” Mothy said with a feigned smile, trying to be reassuring, “have you eaten or drunk anything strange?”
“Whyyis!” Wolflock giggled and slumped onto the door, unable to stay upright, “It wis...”
“Now, now, Mothy!” Parihaan said rather loudly, sliding herself over to his leg and stroking along his thigh, “let him be and come finish what we started...”
Mothy tried to move out of her grasp but she held tight.
“We didn’t have anything to finish because nothing started! Parihaan, please let me go!”
“But I want to-”
“No! Parihaan, I said no!” Mothy had stopped smiling and firmly pushed her away.
She grasped onto him tighter, but Mothy took her hands and threw them back. Wolflock was fed up watching this back and forth and decided to take action. His head was moving more slowly than it should have been but his body seemed to work fine... sort of. He thought to himself that if he just held Parihaan down then Mothy could escape. He didn’t think beyond that.
Wolflock let gravity slide him down the door and then he rocked forward. His knees hit quite hard on the wooden floor and he reached out, grabbing her arms awkwardly.
“Yoo gew, Mothee!” Wolflock grumbled as they both looked at him with fear and astonishment. “I got ear!”
“Well if you want some too, then all you have to do was ask,” Parihaan purred and Wolflock gurgled in surprise and revulsion.
“Mothee! Elp!”
Mothy tried to lift Wolflock up off her, but Parihaan gripped his forearms with her own and wouldn’t let him go.
“Elp!” Wolflock shouted.
“What’s going on here!?”
Haatji looked upon their scene with such surprise that her brown face was paled and her eyes wide and white.
“Haatji!” Mothy breathed in relief, his smile returning, “please help!”
“Parihaan,” she snarled with a quiet, cold savagery, “release him.”
Parihaan did this immediately and began swearing in low tones of her own language.
“And do not ever speak like that in my presence again.”
“You have no power over me! I don’t care what your station is! You left your husband! You are barely a woman! You don’t deserve the right to his oven! You are a pathetic creature! You’re of no use to a husband and you may as well be a worm!”
Haatji’s half lidded, bored eyes stared down coldly as the slovenly Parihaan.
“I would rather be less than a woman than a slave to a man. Especially one who treats me appallingly and leaves me for a younger woman who he treats like a queen.”
Parihaan glared at Haatji and, with hot tears streaming down her cheeks suddenly let out a huge and deliberate scream. The pitch was enough to shatter glass and the boys both cupped their ears to protect them. Haatji simply stood in the wave of pure fury as if it were a breeze.
The scream seemed to go on forever and when it finally stopped it echoed throughout an icily silent ship. Not a second later footsteps thundered down towards them. Slavidus was the first to find them, followed by Geagle and the Captain.
“By Houl what is going on here?!” Demanded Captain Blutro.
Wolflock’s head was starting to ached and his senses were returning from the adrenaline of his brawl, but he said nothing for a moment.
Mothy looked desperately from Wolflock to Haatji, who finally spoke.
“I came when I heard a scuffle and Mothy calling out for help. Wolflock was right behind me as we were talking. I had split some soup on Mothy at dinner as most of you saw. He looked for a fresh shirt and found it had been left in the hallway. When he went to retrieve it, Parihaan dragged him into her room and tried to undress him,” a few gasps came through the crowd. “Then when he called out Wolflock tried to separate them. When this wasn’t sufficient without injury her I came to intervene. Parihaan shrieked at me as you all heard and here we are.”
“That’s not what happened at all!” Parihaan cried, her brown hair sticking to the sweat on her face. “Mothy came in willingly and then this blaggard burst in, raged with jealousy and tried to take me by force! Mothy was going to help him and this disgusting slut was going to stand by and watch! She’s always been jealous of-”
“Enough, Parihaan!” The Captain snapped and the pitiful woman shrank into a ball by her bed.
“Captain!” Wolflock spoke up finally and regretted it as his own voice seemed to reverberate through his skull painfully. “I know why she-”
“Wolflock, be quiet.” Captain Blutro said sharply, silencing him begrudgingly. “Slavidus, is this the truth you heard from your quarters?”
Wolflock’s cognitive abilities became stronger as he shook off the drinking alcohol more. Haatji had lied about the progression of events to stop it from looking like he and Mothy had assaulted Parihaan, but if Slavidus had witnessed anything amiss from this, than her whole story would lose credit. Had his door been ajar? Wolflock had been too dazed to take notice. Drinking alcohol was definitely something that reduced his mental abilities and he didn’t think for a moment that he would ever touch the stuff again.
“That is what I heard, Captain. Parihaan has been making unwanted advances on many of the crew and passengers lately and I was under the impression that this would stop once they had each rejected her. Apparently I misjudged and she has escalated her attempts.”
Wolflock exhaled with relief.
“No!” she cried hysterically. “No it’s not true! They wanted me! They all wanted me!”
“No one wanted you!” Wolflock snarled, but Mothy touched his arms to keep him quiet.
“It’s her fault!” She wailed, pointing at Haatji, who blinked in mild surprise. “She’s been turning everyone against me! Now I have nothing!”
Captain Blutro sighed heavily and waved for Geagle to come forward.
“Geagle. You’re to stand guard at this door. Take it in shifts with Hognut. All her meals are to be brought to her and no one is to see her. We’ll leave her with the Guard when we dock at Creast...”
“But I’ve done nothing wrong!” Parihaan sniffed, her voice trembling dangerously.
Captain Blutro looked furiously upon her, “you have forced yourself upon several of my men and passengers, while hurling unwarranted abuse at others. The damage lays in the minds of the men you have tormented. It is the Puinteylien law that we shall do no harm to others and you have caused psychological harm to several. For this grievance the Creast Guard will decide your punishment.”
Mothy quickly piped up, “Captain! I’m sorry, I don’t think-”
“She also has a supply of drinking alcohol on board!” Wolflock cut in, unable to stop himself.
Everyone stopped.
Captain Blutro looked slowly at Wolflock and he saw several of the crew moved back uncomfortably.
“Where is your evidence, Mr Felen?”
“She has a nearly empty flask on her person or in this room and I found two barrels and a box with a hidden compartment in the hull. There is likely to be at least ten gallons.”
“He’s lying!” Parihaan hissed like a cat, but climbed up ont
o her bed and pressed herself into the corner, clutching at something under her pillow.
“Search her...” the Captain sighed tiredly.
Slavidus stepped forward and manoeuvred around the desperately writhing Parihaan, finally holding her back while he held her metal flask out to the Captain. Captain Blutro sniffed the bottle and sighed again.
“I permit no drinking alcohol onto my ship. Why was this not discovered earlier?”
Slavidus frowned, “I don’t know, Captain. I wasn’t the one to check her belongings. I believe we did throw it overboard at one stage but clearly not all of it was disposed of...”
“Mr Felen, show us what you found.”
Parihaan began shrieking hysterically, but Geagle held her back rather tenderly.
“No! No you can’t do this! I paid my fee! I paid! That is mine! It’s mine! It doesn’t hurt anyone! It’s not even there! Don’t listen to him! He lies!”
Her inane babble went on as Wolflock, Captain Blutro, Slavidus, Mothy and Hognut descended. The other crew members kept the crowd back and dispersed them over Parihaan’s cries.
Wolflock flipped one of the barrel lids open and let the lid clatter to the ground (regretting this as the noise seemed to stomp inside his head).
Captain Blutro dipped his finger in and tasted it.
“Drain it overboard. The poor fish won’t like us, but no drinking alcohol is to be let on my ship. You said there was a box as well?”
Wolflock nodded and crawled inside the box he had seen Parihaan enter earlier.
“Now... by the dimensions inside her, there is a good foot of space not accounted for and there should be a way to unlock the back...” he felt all around the edges of the wall, finally finding a little knot which popped out when he put his finger through it. A string that he felt unlatched a pole holding the wall firmly in place.
“This is quite clever,” he marvelled more to himself than anyone else. “And here we go! Six more very full little barrels.”
Captain Blutro looked terribly disappointed, yet relieved.
“Slavidus, Hognut, who do you think is responsible for the fault in security?”
Slavidus shook his head genuinely, “I don’t believe that anyone would betray you, Captain. I have been too busy to notice anything though.”
“Hognut, I will ask you now, once and once only with no consequence for your previous actions. Was this your fault?”
HogNüt shook his head and looked very genuine. Wolflock wasn’t sure why but he knew that Hognut wasn’t lying.
“Was it Grogen? Groger? Goden? Geagle?” At each, Wolflock saw Geagle shake his head, but there was ever so slight a hesitation at the mention of Geagle’s name.
“I’m s’ sorry, Cap’in. I... I don’t know who it was...” Wolflock saw his shoulders tighten and he looked to the left, avoiding the Captain’s eyes.
“Fine. I’ll let this slide. Go and empty these. I want to hear no more on the matter after this.”
Hognut nodded and quickly grabbed one of the larger barrels. Slavidus took two little ones. As Mothy went to grab one the Captain let him, but grabbed Wolflock firmly by the shoulder.
“Am... Am I in trouble?” he asked, confused at the Captain’s stern face.
“Did you bring it on board?”
“What!? By the gods no!” Wolflock was astounded that the idea could even be suggested.
“I can smell it on your breath, Mr Felen.”
Wolflock gapped, “Oh! I came down investigating Parihaan’s intoxication and found it. I got curious and sampled it.”
“And what do you think of it?” The Captain’s blank face showed absolutely nothing, but Wolflock could tell that he was judging his every motion.
“Ghastly stuff,” he answered honestly, “I don’t see the appeal. It ruins your mental functions and makes you mad in every sense of the word. Nope. Definitely not my cup of tea.”
The Captain stood like a statue for a few moments, evaluating his words and finally sighed with relief.
“Good lad. Very good my lad. Never touch the stuff again. It does no one any good. Not you and certainly not your family. But I need your help.”
“Yes Captain?”
“This is to be between just you and I.”
“Aye, Captain. Of course.”
“Not even Mothy.”
“Aye...” Wolflock said slowly.
“This drinking alcohol was allowed on board by one of my men. I want you to find which it was and why. I need to know why so I can make sure this never happens again.”
Chapter 5. Mislead
Wolflock was rather energised by his first ever requested case. He hadn’t offered to solve this, but in the back of his mind he knew he was going to. Hognut was his first person of interest. The way he had hesitated at the mention of Geagle’s name gave Wolflock the impression that the best trail would be through him, but he couldn’t just go straight up to Geagle and question him without more data.
“Oi, lad,” said a burly Hognut, his wiry, chocolate brown beard and mass of hair was the first sight to meet Wolflock as he ascended the stairs after the Captain, besides the big belly nearly colliding with him. “Give me a ‘and will ya? Just take a littl’ barr’l and ‘elp us get the job done fasta.”
Wolflock blinked for a moment. Maybe the luckiest of goddesses was laughing with him.
“Yes. Yes of course.”
Hognut wasn’t the brightest of folk. Wolflock never volunteered his snobbish services for anything, and certainly made a show of things when he was asked to do anything, but clearly Hognut thought he was more like Mothy than he was and took it in good stride.
Wolflock grabbed one of the three remaining barrels in the box and Hognut hauled the last large one up on his shoulder with impressive ease.
“You don’t drink this stuff do you?” Wolflock asked conversationally as they came up to the passenger hallway.
“Huh? Nah. I tried a bit when I was younger. Seemed everyone’s tried a bit. Not really a social thing. Makes folk nasty and stupid. There’s a few people down South who make it and sell it for fancy tastes and things. Say it goes nice with food. Dunno. Haven’t tried that stuff.”
“I’m just trying to understand why Parihaan is so upset about losing it. Is it expensive?”
“Dunno. The stuff I got as a young’in wasn’t. Cost us a day moving produce on the dock. Weren’t no skin off my back for it. I was movin’ crates anyway. We even got a barrel o’ dried fruit for it too!”
“Oh?” Wolflock pressed a little, nodding to Mothy and Slavidus as they crossed paths to the top deck (Parihaan was still throwing herself against the locked door Geagle was guarding).
“Oh yeah. This old codger said to us when we was docked in Lumbia that if we moved his stuff he’d make it worth our while. I ‘adn’t seen ‘im ‘round afore, but we did a good turn for an old bat. Then that night we was still on shore leave so we thought we’d try the bottle. Tasted bloody awful, but we was thinkin’ it would either get better as we drank or it was some magic potion. So all the crew finished it. Wasn’t good... We began vomiting, all dizzy like and one of ‘em said sumthin stupid and another threw a punch. It was on and we caused a good ruckus and trashed the street. Weren’t no good in the mornin’ though. We got called by the Lumbia Guard for disturbin’ the peace. ‘Ad to fix all the stuff we broke ye see? Captain weren’t ‘appy we were delayed a whole two days. I reckoned we got punished enough by the bloody sickness the next day.”
Hognut began draining the barrel over the edge and Wolflock copied him, glad to be rid of the foul, clear liquid.
“So... Does anyone on board still drink this stuff?” Wolflock probed gently.
Hognut snorted, “you ‘eard the Cap’in. Not allowed on board. The boys like better ways of ‘avin’ fun.”
“And rightly so,” he agreed and put the little barrel down. “What others kinds of fun do they like? I know music and dancing is popular. And the board games Slavidus pulled out the other day.”
“Oh yeah. Games, card games, fortune tellin’, swappin’ stories, and o’course a lovely lady or two if ye know what I mean,” Hognut winked.
Wolflock didn’t really know, but he pretended to for the moment.
“Do any of the crew have ladies on land?”
Hognut snorted derisively again, “yeah. Groger’s got a missus and some kids in Corl. Goden’s got a lady in every port. Geagle gets his heart broke every year. Slavidus seems to want Yifi to stay on though...”
“Is Geagle going to get his heart broken this year? There doesn’t seem to be anyone here who he fancies.”
Hognut chuckled, “ah, lad. He’s already had it broken. Poor lad. Don’t let the beard fool ya, he’s only three and twenty Summers old.”
“Who broke it this time?”
Hognut stroked his mass of wires on his chin, thoughtfully, “probably best ya don’ know...”
“It was Parihaan wasn’t it?”
“’Ow’d ya know?!” He slapped the railing in alarm.
“Parihaan seemed particularly interested in him and he looked sad guarding her door.” Wolflock shrugged nonchalantly. He also held back on saying that Hognut made it blatantly obvious.
“Well piss is out o’ the bucket now I guess. Yeah. Him and Parihaan had a fling. I swear that man’s heart is in his groin. We ‘ad to deal with ‘im being all jealous whenever she paid us a visit. Not worth it though. She’s a ‘orrible lay.”
“Pardon?” Wolflock stared.
“She paid for this ‘ere trip by sleepin’ wit’ the crew. S’fair payment. Haatji paid the same way. One night wit’ each in their room. Keeps the crew ‘appy and the lady can refuse anyone she doesn’t fancy for a bit of work on the ship.”
“And Geagle fell in love with her?” Wolflock shook his head, trying to get back to the point.
“Aye. Well, not love. Infatuations what ya call it. Shame ‘e didn’ fall for Haatji. Much nicer a lady.”
“So... he would have helped Parihaan keep her stash of drinking alcohol if she wanted it...”
“Now lad... I wouldn’t go that far. There is a code amongst us river folk. We ne’er betray each other. We all respect the Cap’in too. No lady can break that.” Hognut said adamantly.
The Case of Parihaan's Poison (The Wolflock Cases Book 4) Page 3