Sebastian Darke: Prince of Explorers

by Philip Caveney

  'There's an empty berth right there,' said Cornelius, pointing to a place between two majestic ships. He turned and gestured into the wheelhouse, where Olaf was currently piloting the ark to its final destination. 'Max is going to be so disappointed,' the little warrior observed. 'For the last two days, he's been announcing to anyone who'd listen that we were doomed!'

  Sebastian grinned. 'Where is he, anyway?' he asked.

  'He's having a lie-down. Said he was feeling seasick again.'

  Sebastian shook his head. 'I didn't realize you could get seasick on a river,' he said.

  'Probably just an excuse to take another nap,' said Cornelius. 'Actually, I'm glad of the silence.' He thought for a moment. 'We'll have to play this right. We can't let everyone go tearing off into the city or our treasure will be looted before you can say Shadlog's trousers. I think it's best if you all stay here and keep an eye on it. I'll nip into Veltan and find the right people to escort it up to a bank.'

  Sebastian looked doubtful. 'You sure that's the best thing to do?'

  'Absolutely. Well, it's like I said before: that much treasure needs to be stored in a vault. You can't just throw it in a heap and hope for the best. And some of these children are too young to know what to do with it. There will be other things to sort out – somewhere for them to stay and so forth. They won't want to be split up after spending all their lives together so we'll need to find a big property, somewhere with plenty of rooms . . .' Cornelius looked up at him. 'Of course, if you'd rather head into town and sort it all out, I don't mind staying with the ship.'

  'Oh no, you go ahead – you're better at that kind of thing. Besides, I want to ask around, see if anybody has seen anything of Jenna. Oh, I hope she's still here! Hey, supposing she is? Won't she get a surprise!'

  'Yes, particularly when she claps eyes on Keera.'

  Sebastian shrugged. 'Oh, it's not going to be quite so bad now. At least she's just a mate – and I mean that in our sense of the word. It would have been a great deal more awkward if Keera still thought she was my second wife.'

  Cornelius laughed. 'What a complicated life you lead, Sebastian!' he observed. 'I thank my lucky stars the ladies never seem to find me as appealing as they do you!' He hurried back to the wheelhouse to advise Olaf on mooring the ark. Sebastian stayed where he was, staring at the approaching jetty. This place reminded him of Ramalat – it had the same urgency about it, as though everybody had a job to do and needed to get it done as quickly as possible. He scanned the ships around him but couldn't see one that looked like the Sea Witch.

  He heard the clump of hooves behind him and turned to see Max looking dolefully at the approaching port.

  'We made it then,' he said, seeming to take absolutely no pleasure in the fact. 'And there was me thinking we'd have to swim the last few leagues.'

  Sebastian shook his head. 'How did you ever come to be such a misery-guts?' he asked.

  'I had a hard life,' said Max, 'when I was young.'

  'Really. Well, it seems to me the hard times are finally over. Once we sort out all that treasure in the hold, we'll be rich. Think of it, Max! There'll be no reason to ever go adventuring again.'

  Max sighed. 'Now why do I find that so hard to believe?' he asked.

  The ark nosed slowly towards the jetty and then swung round to lie alongside. Sebastian picked up a mooring rope and flung it to a man who had appeared on the quayside and addressed them.

  'Avast there,' he said. 'The harbourmaster will be with you presently.' He wrapped the rope expertly round a mooring post.

  'Er . . . oh, arrrh!' said Sebastian, trying to sound suitably nautical. 'Er . . . avast yourself . . . shipmate!'

  The man gave him a puzzled look and walked off.

  Cornelius and Keera appeared on deck; the children followed, chatting excitedly as they gazed in wide-eyed wonder at the city that lay before them. They flocked up to the bows and watched in awe as Cornelius jumped nimbly onto the jetty. He looked up at them. 'Now,' he said, his expression stern. 'Nobody leaves the ark until I get back, understand? I want you all to keep an eye on what's below decks. And don't forget to keep baling out that water. We haven't come all this way only to sink in the shallows! I'll return presently with some wagons and an armed escort.'

  'Don't be too long,' Phelan called down. 'We want to see the wonders of Veltan, don't we, Salah?'

  'Yes. I can't wait to see the k-k-king's palace!' she said.

  'All in good time,' Cornelius assured them. 'First we have to make the necessary arrangements.'

  Sebastian leaned over the rail. 'I was thinking,' he said. 'What do we do about Thaddeus Peel?'

  Cornelius smiled. 'Let him stew. Right now, we have bigger fish to fry. When we next find ourselves in Ramalat, we'll look him up, if only to give him Aaron's journal. If that doesn't put him off sending another expedition, nothing will. And of course, we'll tell him that there's not a bit of treasure left in the place.' He tapped the hull of the ark with his knuckles. 'We won't mention that it was us who brought it out of there! Anyway, I'll be back shortly.' He turned and strode away along the jetty.

  Keera studied the huge city with evident trepidation. 'It looks so big,' she said. 'And there are so many people!' She turned her gaze towards the vast sea beyond. 'And that must be the thing you spoke of. The ocean.'

  'Yes,' said Sebastian. 'But don't worry, we've no reason to venture out there. I plan to make only one more sea journey, to Ramalat – hopefully in Jenna's ship.' He glanced up and saw that a couple of smaller children were already trying to clamber over the side. 'Stop that,' he told them. 'You heard Cornelius – we must wait until he returns.'

  Phelan and Salah stepped forward and pulled the children safely back onto the deck. Now that they had arrived safely, everybody seemed to be revelling in a new sense of freedom. There was an air of wild excitement and Sebastian could only wonder what they would be like once they stepped ashore.

  'You cannot blame them for wanting to stretch their legs,' said Keera. 'They have spent so many nights behind locked doors.' She looked at Sebastian. 'You are troubled?'

  Sebastian frowned. 'I can't seem to shake the feeling that it's all been too easy,' he said.

  'Easy?' She was puzzled. 'I wouldn't say getting here has been easy. If I'd had to bale out one more pan of water, I would have screamed!'

  'That's not what I mean. I'm just talking about the last leg of the trip. Aaron said there would be no rapids and, sure enough, there were no rapids. Max said the ark would sink, but it didn't sink. In my experience, if things can go wrong, they generally do. I hate to sound like Max, but how come we've arrived in one piece with no major problems?' Keera smiled. 'Why can't you just accept that everything is fine?'

  'Because I—'

  'Ahoy there!' said a deep voice, and Sebastian glanced down to see a man striding towards him – a heavy-set man wearing a tricorn hat, red frock coat decorated with gold braid, and highly polished shoes decorated with silver buckles. He had a jolly red face and a bulbous nose. 'I'm Rollo Tandy,' he announced proudly. 'Grand Harbourmaster of Veltan.'

  'Oh, and I'm Sebastian Darke, Prince of Fools,' said Sebastian, without thinking. 'Er . . . I mean, Prince of Pirates . . . er, Explorers . . . I'm Sebastian Darke,' he finished lamely.

  'Pleased to meet you.'

  Rollo Tandy ran a doubtful eye over the badly listing ark. 'I must say we get all kinds of craft in this harbour, but that's a new one on me. Build it yerself, did yer?'

  'Umm . . . no, this was built by these children, under the direction of a brilliant man called Aaron . . .' Sebastian realized that he had never learned Aaron's second name. 'It was designed as a rescue boat. They have lived in the jungle all their lives and now we have brought them to civilization.'

  'Very noble of you, I'm sure!' said Rollo. 'Well, you've brought them to the right place. And let me tell you, there's no finer port in the known world than the great city of Veltan. May I enquire what is your cargo?'

  'Well, it's just t
heir . . . their possessions, really,' said Sebastian. It was vague but it wasn't really a lie. 'Their . . . various bits and pieces. They are orphans. My friends and I found them in a lost city in the jungle of Mendip.'

  'Really?' Rollo looked very interested at this news. 'Ever since I was a boy I've heard stories about a fabulous lost city in the jungle. Is this the place you speak of?'

  'It may be. But I would advise you to forget I ever mentioned it. It is a terrible place, sir, filled with creatures from your worst nightmares; a fate worse than death awaits anyone who is foolish enough to go there.'

  'And he calls me a misery,' muttered Max.

  'Do you require help off-loading your cargo?' asked Rollo.

  'Er . . . no, my friend has gone into Veltan to make the arrangements.'

  'Very well. If you would just like to step ashore and sign the necessary papers; and of course there's the little matter of the mooring fee.'

  'The . . . what?'

  'The mooring fee. Two gold crowns. That must be paid, young sir, otherwise the craft and its cargo become property of the King of Veltan.'

  'Oh, er . . .' For a moment Sebastian panicked. He had no money at all with him. But then he felt Phelan push something into his hand, and when he looked down, he had two golden coins in it. 'That's no problem,' he said brightly. He climbed over the rail and jumped down onto the jetty. 'Phelan, you're in charge till I return,' he announced over his shoulder.

  He followed Rollo along the jetty to a small wooden office. They went inside and the harbourmaster sat down at a finely carved desk, its surface covered in charts and scrolls.

  'Now, take a seat, young sir, while I search out the relevant documents,' he said.

  Sebastian dropped into a seat opposite him and took a look around the interior of the hut, which was crammed with all kinds of nautical equipment. There were ancient maps tacked to the wall, lanterns hanging from hooks, stuffed parrots perched on a branch – and even a dusty pile of wooden legs. And then Sebastian saw something else. Something he recognized. Propped up in one corner of the hut was the figurehead from a ship – a battered life-size image of a woman with long hair streaming out behind her. The woman's nose had been sliced off and one cheek flattened.

  For a moment Sebastian couldn't remember where he'd seen it before, but then it came to him. 'The Sea Witch!' he cried delightedly.

  Rollo glanced up from his papers and turned to look at the figurehead. 'You . . . recognize that, young sir?'

  'Of course I do. That's Jenna's ship. Jenna Swift, a captain out of Ramalat. Does this mean that she's still—?'

  He broke off, perplexed by the expression on Rollo's previously jolly face. 'Is something wrong?' he asked.

  Rollo stared at him forlornly. 'She was . . . dear to you?' he asked quietly.

  'Yes, she . . .' Sebastian was experiencing a terrible sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. 'Why do you look at me like that?' he asked. 'Has . . . has something happened to Jenna?'

  The harbourmaster sighed. 'I met her only the one time,' he said. 'She seemed a most remarkable young woman. And the boy who sailed with her – the one everyone called The Kid – he was a bright spark, that one! She came in with a cargo of cloth, maybe one moon ago. Said she was eager to get back to Ramalat and meet up with her young fellow . . .' He gazed sadly at Sebastian again. 'There were storm warnings. I advised her to wait a few days, let them blow over, but she was fearless! Told me that she would face any storm to clip a few days off her journey. Said her love would keep her safe.' Rollo's big shoulders slumped. 'The wreckage started coming ashore five days ago. The figurehead was the last thing we found, just down the coast from here. We put out boats to have a look for any survivors but we found nothing. I'm sorry, lad.'

  Sebastian sat there, gazing across the paper-strewn desk.

  He was aware of a pain in his hand and, glancing down, saw that he had been gripping the gold crowns so tightly, a trickle of blood was flowing from his palm. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

  'Believe me, if I thought there was any hope, those rescue boats would be out there still. But we searched for days and found nothing but wreckage. They couldn't have survived out there. The—'

  'No!' The single word was a croak. 'She . . . she can't be dead. Not Jenna. She . . . she only went for a short while. Needed the money, you see. Some crazy treasure-seeking adventure we had, but . . . we lost it all. Every last bit of it ended up at the bottom of the ocean . . .' Sebastian was still staring at his hand, the rivulet of blood trickling down his arm now. But then the hand seemed to blur as tears filled his eyes. 'She . . . she might have got to shore,' he said. 'Don't you think?'

  Rollo shook his head. 'I'm sorry, lad,' he said. 'They would have been out in the open sea. I did try to warn her. She was headstrong, that one.' He waved a hand dismissively at the paperwork. 'Forget this for now,' he said. 'We can do it later. You need to have a bit of time to yourself.'

  Sebastian nodded. He swallowed hard and got to his feet. His legs seemed to have lost all their strength and he had to put out an arm to support himself against the doorframe as he left the hut.

  Across the jetty, in the ark, there was still an air of celebration. The children were laughing and calling out to each other; but they fell silent when they saw Sebastian walking slowly and carefully back to them. He was trying in vain to hold back the tears. He clambered up the gangplank and saw Max's mournful face looking at him.

  'Young master?' he said. 'Whatever's wrong?'

  'Jenna . . .' he croaked; and couldn't find any more words. He pushed past the others and went to sit in the wheelhouse, his back to the door. Alone in the silence, he felt his grief sweep through him like a dark tide and could no longer hold back the tears.

  EPILOGUE

  The days passed agreeably enough. In the afternoons the big house rang to the sound of children's laughter. Cornelius had found them a perfect home a short ride from the city; it was surrounded by gently rolling meadows, dotted here and there with tall, graceful trees.

  In the afternoons Sebastian liked to go out to the big paddock and chat with Max, who had grown sleek and fat on a steady diet of his favourite fruits and grains. Money was no object now and they wanted for nothing. Whatever they needed could be obtained from the merchants in Veltan, and whenever gold crowns were in short supply, it only required a trip to the bank, where those who oversaw the vast fortune that had been brought from Sanctuary were happy to dispense bags of gold coins as if they were no more valuable than the packets of sweets the children loved to buy from the city markets.

  Sebastian and Keera had been cast as parents to an extended family of children who ran and played and sometimes argued in the big empty rooms of a mansion house that had once belonged to a prosperous oil merchant. Cornelius was the wise uncle who visited sometimes and kept a small room to himself, up on the top floor. He was still travelling here and there, pursuing his various schemes. Though now a rich man, he was never happy to sit still.

  Sebastian could not say that he was happy either. He was able to put on a reasonable show, but he knew that he was just going through the motions, ticking off the days as they slipped slowly by. He was pleasant enough to Keera, though he knew that she could never be anything more than a friend. She seemed to have accepted that, just as she had accepted the fact that she would never see her village again. Somehow, that all seemed so far away and long ago. But she seemed to enjoy her role as housemother to the children, and they in turn adored her. She had made friends with some of the ladies who lived in neighbouring properties and they were teaching her to act in a manner that befitted a prosperous lady of Veltan. One day, Sebastian thought, she would notice one of the many young men who cast admiring glances at her whenever she travelled into the city to do her shopping; a romance would inevitably follow. Of course, he would do nothing to oppose it. He had loved two women in his life, both of them lost to him for very different reasons. He could not make himself love Keera, no matter how
pretty she was; and even if one day his feelings changed, the death of Cal would always be there to drive a wedge between them.