King's Exile: Chronicles of the Dragon-Bound: Book 1

by William Culbertson

  Another passenger leaned over the rail and looked out at the dock. Tapp recognized him instantly—Farkas Zodas. Now there was an evil one. The guard had been looking for him ever since he had escaped from prison a year ago and killed a guardsman in the process. Drugs, women, slaves, murder for hire—Zodas was wanted for just about every serious crime Tapp could name.

  Tapp started to bull his way through the crowd, ready to shout a command to summon the guard and hold the ship. He drew breath and took a step forward, but his head threatened to burst. He pushed his thumbs to his temples and looked down away from the sun. When he could think again, the moment had passed. The last of the mooring lines had been drawn aboard, and the longboats were easing Wings of Wind away from the dock.

  He sighed. Maybe it was just as well. Apprehending Zodas might have won him a good notice at his next review, but the idea of spending the rest of this day with an arrest made his head throb. On top of that, he would probably have had to deal with a complaint from the harbormaster for “interference with trade.” Zodas was outbound from Tazzelton, which meant he would be someone else’s problem. Maybe the constables of Butterock would get it right this time. Or maybe not.

  Whatever happened, Tazzelton would not see Zodas again for a while. Tapp turned to resume his patrol. Pakal was just coming into sight on his route down the docks. Tapp waved a halfhearted hello and walked off on patrol.

  Chapter 13

  The Wings of Wind fascinated Dax. He had never imagined the complexity of a sailing ship and the intricate work required to control it. As the ship left the dock, the deck was awhirl with activity. The crew took in and payed out lines in response to commands from Captain Lauter. Many of the orders Lauter called contained familiar words, but their nautical meanings were new and strange. The captain’s voice was not a shout, yet his voice resonated clearly above the confusion of activity. It reminded him of Orin Herne’s commands in the training yard. Dax added this ability to the growing list of skills he had to learn when he got to Iron Moor.

  Anna was as captivated by the activity as he was. She delighted in finding several women among the crew. Tough and hardened by their work, at first glance in their sailors’ clothes they appeared not much different from the men. They pushed and heaved with a will and a curse right beside the men. Anna constantly caught at Dax’s arm to call his attention to whatever part of the sailing process had piqued her interest at the moment.

  On shore the crowd had thinned as their ship prepared to leave. A single member of the guard stood toward the rear and watched as the ship slowly eased away from the dock. He caught Dax’s eye for a moment. Dax’s heart skipped a beat, but the guard’s gaze passed on and lingered near the stern. A commotion at the bow caught his attention. He and Anna made their way to a space near the bow that was free of gear and activity where they had a clear view.

  Three longboats towed the Wings of Wind away from the dock into the harbor. Two larger boats had twelve people on the oars, six to a side, with a coxswain calling the stroke. Coxswain. Dax savored the new word along with all the others he had learned since he had boarded the ship. A smaller boat on a longer towline in the center had only four rowers and was coxless. The crews stroked mightily, and water foamed about their oars. Tethered to the ship, the rowers appeared to make little headway. Yet when Dax turned to look back, the dock had slipped away behind.

  The crewman who had been coiling dock lines on the deck nearby came over to watch. “Yes, ma’am, now there’s a job for you, harbormaster’s crew. Work like a dog for half an hour or so, then lay about until the next job. Could be an hour. Could be a week.”

  “That’s all they do?” Dax asked.

  “Some. Most work as stevedores hauling cargo when they’re not out on the pond. Pay’s a lot better on the longboats, though.” He nodded toward the bow. “Center boat’s ours. Cap’n Lauter’s handpicked crew.” He chuckled to himself, then laughed at their puzzled looks. “A little punishment detail, it is. Keeps the lads lookin’ sharp.”

  “Does Wings of Wind have to pay for those other boats then?” Anna asked.

  “You bet your teacup, missy. It’s an expensive way to leave the dock, for sure.”

  “So why does Captain Lauter pay them?” She cocked her head to the side. “Couldn’t he just wait for better wind?”

  The crewman smiled. “Now that he could. Thing is, the Vaughns get way more for dockage fees than it costs to rent yon puppies and their little boats on a fine day like this.”

  The ship had a myriad of intricate ropes, loops, levers, pulleys, windlasses, and other objects that were all needed to control the sailing process. There was an even deeper complexity to running the ship than Dax had appreciated. Not only did Captain Lauter have to know his ship and how to sail it, he had to manage the knotty problems of running a business. Again the world proved more complicated than Dax had imagined.

  Once they were well out into the bay, Captain Lauter called out the order to make sail, and the crew got to work. One sailor went to each mast and climbed the ratlines to the lower sails. At the first yardarm, the crossarms that held the sails, the hands braced themselves between the yard lines and worked to loosen the ties that kept the bulky canvas sails furled. Once the sails were shaken out, they climbed the mast to the upper sails and repeated the process. Meanwhile, two other crewmen took over the sail that had been freed and hauled on the lines that swung the yardarms to the side and drew in the sheets to control the bottoms of the flapping sails. The Wings of Wind did not have a large crew, but they worked with the spare efficiency of long practice. One by one the great sails snapped full of wind, and the ship heeled to the side from the pressure of the air.

  As the sails bloomed over the deck of the ship, the two harbormaster’s longboats cast off their lines and turned aside out of the path of the ship. Each longboat headed down opposite sides of the Wings of Wind, each man on an oar stroking as hard as ever. Free of their burden, the longboats fairly flew through the water, throwing up spray at the bow as they rode over the chop and down into the hollow between the waves. The coxswain shouted and gestured on toward shore. Puzzled for a moment by their effort, Dax saw the other boat come in sight at the stern. Her crew was working just as fast and furiously as the boat that had passed down Dax’s side of the ship. He realized the two longboats were racing for the harbor.

  The crewman who had spoken to them earlier saw Dax watching the longboats and smiled. “Last boat back to shore buys the first round at Captain Abby’s Alehouse.” He nodded toward shore. “Even better than bragging rights.”

  The third longboat, the ship’s boat, came alongside, and the crewmen swarmed up a coarse net hung over the side. “Hey, hey!” called Captain Lauter. “A cheer for today’s rowing crew. May they never get put on report again.” Other crewmen on deck hooted at their sweating mates, but the men from the boat seemed to take the teasing in stride. “And,” the captain continued, “let’s not forget, they get the first pints at supper tonight.” That brought a lusty cheer from the four, and the men fell to work on the lines and winches with the rest of the crew.

  With another order from Captain Lauter, the sails caught more of the wind, and the boat surged forward. At the same time, the deck leaned more emphatically to one side. Startled, Dax shifted his feet and grabbed for the rail. Trimble walked up casually and leaned back against the rail. “Ships do that, you know,” he announced. “The force of the wind pushes on the sails and makes them heel to the side.”

  Dax was a little sheepish about his reaction. He had never travelled by ship before. “I know. I’ve seen them sailing before. I just never knew what it would feel like to be on one.”

  Trimble smiled smugly. “When I sailed down from Bington a few years ago, the sailors said I looked like an old hound hanging out the side of a lord’s coach. I had to see everything that was going on.”

  At a poke from Anna, Dax remembered his manners. “Oh, Anna, this is Lukas Trimble, my escort for the trip. Lukas, this is
Anna.”

  Trimble took her hand and made a small bow. “Charmed to meet you.” As he straightened up, he winked at Anna.

  A slim woman joined them at the bow, and Anna held out her hand to her. “Leith and Lukas,” Anna said, “I want you to meet Miss Innes, my governess.”

  “How do you do, Leith,” she said with a nod. She turned to Trimble. “Lukas.” The woman was very fair complexioned, which made her red hair all the more noticeable. Once introductions were out of the way, Trimble focused his attention on Miss Innes, explaining some of what the sailors were doing around them.

  Another of the passengers strolled up to their group. “Ah, fellow travelers on this fair ship!” the man said with a smile. “My name is Fars. Since we’re to be shipmates for a while, could I have your names?”

  Dax looked at the man skeptically. Average height and a bit burly, the man had a broad face filled with a wide smile. He had a pronounced widow’s peak and was dressed like a prosperous gentleman. However, when he had said his name, he had lied. His dragon sense made it clear. Dax glanced at Anna. She was frowning too.

  Anna introduced her guardian, and Fars swept off his hat and bowed low. “Miss Innes. I am so pleased to meet you.” He straighted up and took her hand. “Now, my lady, would that be your given name or your family name?”

  “Please, call me Hemma.” She put her other hand to her mouth as if embarrassed by the attention.

  “Hemma it is then.” Fars turned next to Trimble. “And Lukas, is it? You appear to be a right solid young lad, you do.” He speared Trimble’s hand with his own and shook it vigorously.

  Fars had stories, lots of stories, to tell them about sailing. He had even sailed on the Wings of Wind the year before. He monopolized the conversation, but Miss Innes interrupted after a few minutes. “Please?” she interjected timidly. “I need to go back to my cabin to get my bonnet if we are to be out in the midday sun much longer. I fear I will get an awful burn.”

  “Ah, my dear.” Fars took her hand gave her a small bow. “Of course. Off you go.” Just as she started to turn away, Fars added, “No, wait. Better yet. Would you and Lukas like to come to my cabin? You can take shelter from the sun, and I can share a fine bottle of wine I just happen to have with me. These young girls seem bored by my stories. I’m sure they would rather watch the sailors at their good work.”

  Dax was more than happy to be away from Fars—or whatever his name was. Once the three adults had moved out of earshot, Anna turned to Dax. “Thank goodness he’s gone, but what’s going on? He was lying so bad his lips should have shriveled up.”

  “I don’t know, but I don’t think any of those stories really happened to him.”

  “I know. I felt that too, but how do I know?”

  Dax shrugged casually. He did not want to say anything about being dragon-bound. “I just seem to know when someone is lying. Like when he said his name.”

  Anna frowned. “What can we do about it?”

  “I’ve never been able to figure that out,” Dax admitted. “Most people don’t believe me when I try to tell them someone is lying.”

  She put her hands on her hips. “I just hate it when no one takes me seriously.”

  “Well, I take you seriously,” Dax offered.

  “Of course you do.” She beamed. “After all, I’m older than you.”

  “Not by much,” he said defensively.

  “Oh, come on. I’m only kidding. If we’re the only ones with common sense on board this boat, we’d better look out for each other.”

  Dax nodded in agreement.

  #

  Dax and Anna spent the afternoon exploring the ship. Several times crew members warned them away from places, but they were good enough to explain the what and why of it. The crew all seemed to take their cue from Captain Lauter, who appeared to have no secrets. The captain gave orders quickly and decisively, but he was like as not to have shared his thoughts with the crew or anyone else who happened to be on the bridge deck. His orders were seldom a surprise.

  Curious, Dax made a point to ask him about it. “Sure,” Captain Lauter replied, “I like to have everyone around know what I’m thinking about doing. It’s my order to give, and I have to live with it. But what if we’re in a tight spot and the bloody spanker boom catches a gybe and clouts me a good one? Does everybody just stand around waiting for me to find my head after it’s rolled into the scuppers?” Lauter laughed. “Nah. No surprises for this crew. They’ll talk and second-guess the captain all the time anyway, so I just saves them the trouble by lettin’ ‘em do it to my face.”

  #

  The first evening on board, Captain Lauter hosted all the passengers for dinner in his cabin. There were only six passengers, and there was a dining table set for them when they arrived. The only passenger Dax had not met was Myr Kembel, whom the captain introduced as a grain merchant on his way to Wellock. He was a stocky man whose dark face did not express an interest in anything or anyone. If he said more than three words that night, Dax did not notice.

  “So good of you all to join me for supper,” the captain welcomed them once they had all arrived. “We should be only four days getting to Butterock if the wind holds, but I like to make sure my guests on board feel welcome.”

  The captain’s attendant served around a sweet white wine. Dax had seen the attendant on deck earlier in the day, trimming the sails on the main mast. Fars stood up and offered a toast. “To our captain!” Fars lifted his glass and gave a hearty chuckle. “May he bring us all to a fair shore with good wind.”

  They all acknowledged the toast. Dax was sitting across from Trimble, and he noticed his companion swaying in his seat a bit more than the ship did. Trimble’s eyes were not tracking too well either. He glanced at Miss Innes. Her pale skin looked flushed rather than burned. She sat next to Trimble, and she laughed gaily at something he said to her. How many glasses of wine had those two had in Fars’s cabin?

  As they dined, the captain tried to draw everyone into the conversation. He made a point of asking Dax and Anna what they thought of his ship and seemed genuinely interested in their opinions. Fars punctuated the conversation with a few witty comments that made everyone laugh. While the man’s good humor was quite appropriate, every now and then Dax felt something off about the man’s bonhomie. He remembered Ma Cookie’s saying, “A holiday goose won’t smell good if you leave the bad parts in when you cook it.”

  Anna enjoyed the captain’s polite treatment of her, and she sparkled with effervescent charm toward everyone at the table. She even got Kembel to smile at her once. After the dinner, they all gave their thanks to the captain for the pleasure of his table. In the passageway, Dax saw Fars take hold of Trimble’s and Miss Innes’s arms in the passageway. “Well, wasn’t that a fine evening!” he said heartily. “Why don’t you two join me for some more conversation? It’s not late, and the youngsters can keep themselves entertained for the evening, eh?”

  “Oh, well, no.” Miss Innes sounded flustered. “I mean, I have to make sure Anna is safe in her cabin.”

  Trimble nodded. “Yes, we have duties.” He started to pull away.

  “Oh, now, I think the girls will be just fine.” Fars turned to look back at Dax and Anna. “In fact, why don’t they spend the night together? That way neither one of you will have to worry about them. The bunk in Miss Leith’s cabin is plenty big for the both of them. I’ll bet they’ll spend half the night talking about all the fine young men there are to meet in Butterock.”

  After some confused talk, both Trimble and Miss Innes agreed it would be a fine idea. Dax, however, was appalled. The proposal hit him so quick he did not have time to think. He liked Anna a lot, but spending the night with her! He was speechless. What could he say? To make it even worse, Trimble looked at him with a half smile that might have been the start of a tipsy leer. He made it worse by winking at Dax. “Sure,” Trimble responded. “I’ll bet, uh, she’d like that.”

  Miss Innes took Anna by the arm. “What a
nice idea.” She turned Anna toward their cabin. “Let’s go get you a small bag. You can take your blue sleeping shift. You two will have the best time staying up late and talking.”

  A sleeping shift—that was the answer. Dax hurried down the passageway to his own cabin, where he got out of his dress and donned the shift that Moryn had insisted he needed. Dax had planned to just sleep in his underclothes as he had at the apartment, but now he needed more of a cover-up. The sky was dark by this time, and he had to light a candle to get ready.

  A short time later, there was a knock at the door. Anna was there with a small carry bag. Miss Innes came in with her and helped her lay out her things in an empty cubby near the bed. “Now you two dears have a good time. We’ll be in the other cabin if you really need anything.”

  Dax was close enough to smell the wine on her breath, and her movements were unsteady. How much wine had Fars brought with him?

  In a moment Miss Innes was gone. Anna looked at the closed cabin door, shook her head, and sat down. “Nothing good is going on over there tonight with that Fars person.”

  “I know. Trimble is a good man, but he has just left the guard. He’s used to being told what to do, and I think he trusts Fars too much.”

  “Miss Innes too. She’s been my governess for three years now, but she’s not exactly what you would call worldly.” Anna looked up at Dax. “I’ll bet she’s never even seen a real weenie.” She dissolved into giggles.

  Dax was startled, but he giggled right along with her. “Yeah. I’d guess either Lukas or Fars would be more than happy to show her.” His face was red as he said it, and Anna picked up on his embarrassment.

  “Well, I’ll bet . . .” Her voice was a scandalized whisper. She looked left and right as if checking the small room to see if anyone was listening. “I’ll bet Lukas wants to put his he-nie in her she-nie!” She burst into gales of laughter.

  Although his face flamed with embarrassment, Dax laughed with her. “That’s really not very nice,” he muttered when he finally trusted himself to talk again.