"We have studied your record, Reffurio, and have decided that you are the best available for a difficult, demanding, and possibly dangerous mission. A ship is being built, the biggest we have ever built, and we wish you to be its master. What do you say?"
"I have only a question - what is the mission?" He had heard that the King had little use for windbags, so he kept his sentences even terser than usual.
The King smiled, grinned almost. He answered in kind. "To explore the Southern Ocean."
The brief silence was broken by one of the minions. "As you certainly know, our land is really too cold for us. The last few winters have been very difficult, with many of our food animals dying, and crops failing. We believe we are now capable of expanding to other lands. We know that the further you travel south the warmer you become. We have tried to find land on the far side of the Southern Ocean, but as you know, we have so far failed. We want to try again with a bigger ship, more provisions, a determined master, and a hand-picked crew. The ship is almost finished, and we believe you should be the master. Now what do you say?"
"That I would like to see the ship before I decide." He spoke to the King almost apologetically. "I must see the ship first. I want to make sure it is good enough for the job. It will be irresponsible if I don't do that."
"It is a two masted, flush-decked ship with a crew of fifty. It will be the largest, most seaworthy ship ever built," the minion said crisply.
"You see," the King said. "we anticipate your concerns. Now what do you say?"
"I would be honoured to be its master."
The King smiled. He was taking to this big, tough, very competent sailor. But he would press him a little to see what happened.
"You would not have the final say in the crew. We will ask for volunteers, and we will be inundated, I expect. You will choose them, but then they will be vetted."
The answer was cold. "Oh? Vetted by whom? And why?"
The minion replied in response to the King's nod. "They would need to be politically acceptable. And there would, of course, be a priest."
Reffurio stared coldly at the King, a dangerous practice he knew, but he didn't particularly care. It had been an odd thing to say. All state ships carried a priest as a matter of law. Most large privately-owned ships did too, as a matter of superstition. Reffurio was unusual in that he regarded priests as a liability, contributing nothing yet adding to the costs. He had never made a show of his actions or his opinions but neither had he been secretive. The King knew, otherwise he would not have made the remark - it would have been assumed. But then he realised at the very next instant, the King would surely know because he would have discovered everything there was to know about the prospective master of the biggest ship ever built. He relaxed, then nodded.
"Of course," he said.
Behind the eyes, the King was smiling. Reffurio saw this and realised that the King had been reading his thoughts. Well, well, he would be serving an intelligent and perceptive master. Better and better.
The minion once again took up the conversation. Although Reffurio had little time for minions, this one was being uncommonly interesting.
"The ship will be half as big again as Dark Eagle, with - as I said - a crew of fifty. Two masted with a flush deck. Provisioned for half a year. But built for speed. The builders think she will be nearly as fast as Icefall."
Dark Eagle was the biggest of all, a trader that had carried the huge bluestones from the north to build the sanctuary at Arlis, the biggest and latest of the religious monuments that were scattered throughout the land, while Icefall was the King's yacht, reputedly the fastest ship ever built. Even allowing for exaggeration, Reffurio was becoming excited. He knew the ship was being built, everybody did, and he had heard the rumours, but he had heard many rumours. He had been interested, as everyone had been, but his interest had been subdued. He had assumed that a ship that had been designed by the King's designer would be for the King, captained by some sycophantic flunkey, not some horny-handed son of the sea like himself.
The minion was continuing: "The ship will be called Techyspay, after the princess, of course. You will choose your own crew, as His Highness said, who will then be vetted by ourselves. I assume you will want Fallassan as first mate."
Reffurio stared hard at the flunkey. They knew far too much about him.
The flunkey smiled. "His Highness’s staff have unrivalled resources, and we cannot afford mistakes. You were suggested as the ideal master once the decision to build the ship had been taken. But we needed to be certain. His Majesty would have nothing less. You can be sure we know everything about you. And thus we know that you prefer to sail with Fallassan, from a different mould to you, but still a rogue."
"A good seaman though."
"Of course. Seamanship, courage that is not foolhardy, determination, resourcefulness - these are the requirements. Also, I will be there. As His Highness’s representative."
"What?"
"Don't worry, I won't be surplus to requirements, unlike the priest. I'm Ombissu."
Once again, Reffurio was surprised. Ombissu was master of Icefall, a sailor at the opposite end of the social spectrum to himself, but a good seaman by all accounts, even if his ship was a fancy royal yacht, not one of the workaday merchantmen Reffurio was used to handling. Reffurio gave this now important minion closer study. He was as tall as himself but more slender - in fact, the word was probably elegant, which was not an adjective he would have applied to any of the other ship’s captains he had known. Presumably it was a requisite for being the master of the King’s yacht. But Ombissu seemed more than elegant, he seemed competent. Reffurio considered himself an accurate and quick judge of character. Now that Ombissu had identified himself, he could see that he was ideally suited for his job. Reffurio wondered why a sailor of this ability who was such a close confidant of the King had not been chosen as master of the new ship. He voiced his thoughts.
Ombissu smiled, then laughed. "I knew you would ask that. It's perfectly simple, Reffurio. You are better qualified. I can sail very quickly in a ship designed for the purpose, but you are better at the long journeys in big ships, which is what this expedition will be about."
"But you will be aboard to make sure I stay loyal."
"Oh no. I know you will be loyal. Apart from the fact that we believe you are loyal anyway, there are the financial considerations. No, I shall be there to direct the voyage, to make decisions. You and Fallassan will be there to run the ship."
There were two points of interest in these remarks. Reffurio began with the latter.
"I see. So I am just the driver. If you say 'sail through those rocks', then that is what I am to do."
"Not if you believe my orders jeopardise the safety of the ship, you don’t."
"We could have arguments, then."
"We could, but we won't. I'm a sailor too, and I'm hardly likely to endanger my own life. I do admit we could have differences of opinion, but I'm not anticipating a problem. We both possess a sufficiency of common sense."
Reffurio let this pass. It was quite possible that Ombissu was right. Having exhausted that subject, it was time to turn the crux.
"You mentioned financial considerations. Could you elaborate?"
To Reffurio's surprise, it was the King who answered. His Majesty had been quiet for so long that Reffurio had almost forgotten he was there.
"It's simple and straightforward, Reffurio," he said. "You and your crew will be paid standard merchantmen's rates for the duration of the voyage. You will be paid one quarter now, the rest when you return. After all, you won't be able to spend anything during the voyage. On return you and your crew will be paid a bonus equal to one-half of your total wages. If you return with a success, the level of which is to be determined by myself, then you will be paid another bonus equivalent of up to one half of your total wages. Now what do you say to that?"
Reffurio was about to say that there was a lot on trust, but he stopped himself. He realised
there was nothing to say on that subject. If he couldn't trust the King then who could he trust?
"Those are very generous terms."
The King had enjoyed the interview with this admirable seaman, but now he was tired. He had let Ombissu talk so that he could study this sailor of big ships, the master who had towed another ship off rocks during one of the worst storms known, who had rescued more fishing boats in trouble than he could remember, and who routinely took cargoes of food to the towns of the north during the depths of winter. And who, when he was not sailing, gave, almost single-handedly, the taverns of the town the dubious reputation they had achieved. He was originally going to give the job to Ombissu, but Ombissu, to his credit, had persuaded him to consider Reffurio. He now knew he was right. The King was coming to the end of his life, and thus his reign, and he wanted to leave a lasting mark, something that would be remembered for ever, something for the good of the people. So he had chosen this great voyage. It may fail, but there was a possibility it would succeed. The ship that was almost complete could sail further than any other. Perhaps their country really was the only land in the world, but his scientists did not think so. Using mysterious mathematical calculations that he could not even begin to understand, they believed they knew how big the world was. They knew it was round. After all, they could look into the sky and see the sun and moon, and they were round. And if you sailed, as he did, you could see the land disappear behind the curve of the world. Roundness was easy to understand. The calculation of size was incomprehensible, but apparently their country was tiny compared to the total. It seemed reasonable to suppose that there was more land beyond the ocean. There was a risk involved, of course. He had not spoken of his fear to anyone, least of all to his religious advisors; it was a dark fear, only known to himself. Suppose they found a race like themselves, only more powerful? What then? He could be alerting a force that would best be left alone. He tried to reassure himself with the fact that they had never been found. No marauding forces had appeared over the horizon, so either they did not exist, or they did not have the ships. Either way, it was a comfort. But the King still had his fear.
It was obvious that Reffurio and Ombissu liked each other. He could easily see them retiring to some tavern after this interview to swap yarns, perhaps with the redoubtable Fallassan. They were conversing happily when he waved for them to cease.
"I must go now. You two draw up the terms. You have them, I believe, Palarin," he said, indicating the other silent flunkey. "Draw them up, sign them, then take yourselves off somewhere. The ship will be ready for its trials in twenty days, so you haven't much time. I will see you before you leave, Reffurio. I will wish you luck then."
"Thank you, sir."
The King rose, and left, the others standing respectfully.
Palarin came forward with his documents.
*
It did not take long to read, agree, and sign the documents. It took even less time for Palarin - a boring fellow - to be dismissed.
Reffurio said to Ombissu, "If you have nothing better to do, we could go to the Sailor’s Rest. Fallassan will be there and the food’s not bad." He assumed that Ombissu was aware that the drink was also above reproach.
"Good idea, I’ll summon a coach."
Reffurio blinked. He had walked to the palace and assumed he would be leaving in the same way. However, if this dandy wanted to convey him by coach then he would not object. They left by a side entrance where Ombissu gave instructions to a waiting flunkey. Within minutes a two-chair coach pulled by a single, lumbering point-top grazer appeared and they climbed aboard. They set off down the hill to the harbour.
Ombissu was unfamiliar with this part of town. His high-born upbringing had kept him in the more rarefied area of the Globurn Heights, where the buildings were large and expensive, the ambience quiet and exclusive. His schooling had been of the privileged kind, where one never met the inhabitants of quayside public houses. Even when he had learned his trade on the sailing ships he had begun as an officer, co-existing with others of his class. Ombissu had not even met someone like Reffurio, an officer from the lower classes, one who had achieved his station through ability. Reffurio was almost a one-off for even captains of merchant ships were high-born. It was a desirable profession for ships were the life-blood of their maritime country.
They left their coach a short walk from the inn for now the streets had become too narrow for any mode of transport other than walking. This was the old part of the harbour, a labyrinth of narrow streets and passageways, the streets just wide enough for a hand cart. There was plenty of life here, sailors laughing and jostling, shopkeepers standing in doorways calling out for attention, loud conversations coming from open upstairs windows. They made their way through the maze until they came to a square lined - to Ombissu’s surprise - with tall pines. On the far side was their destination. You could hear the noise quite clearly, a dull thumping overlaid by a high-pitched jabbering.
"Is it always as busy as this?" Ombissu asked.
"Invariably," Reffurio replied briefly. "This is the popular rendezvous for us sailors."
Reffurio pushed open the door and they walked into a wall of noise and semi-darkness. Outside dusk had been falling, but it had been positively eye-burning compared to this lamp-lit gloom. Reffurio looked through the mass of drinkers and eaters for the figure of Fallassan.
"She’s usually over in the far corner. Let’s go see."
Ombissu wondered why he had not realised that Fallassan was a female. Then he mentally shrugged. What did it matter?
Reffurio pushed his way through the crowd, Ombissu following in his wake.
"Yes, here she is," Reffurio shouted back to him. "Over in the corner."
Ombissu saw, with some difficulty, a lean, rather hard figure sitting at a table by a window with two others. They were drinking beer from tall glasses. Reffurio tapped the two strangers on the shoulder and indicated that they should free the table for himself. Somewhat to Ombissu’s surprise, they did so. They obviously knew Reffurio either by sight or by reputation. Reffurio and Ombissu sat in the vacated chairs.
"I was having a nice quiet drink, Reffurio. I don’t need you and your friend barging in." This was said in a cold clear voice that immediately impressed Ombissu.
"Yes, you do," Reffurio said calmly. "Allow me to introduce you to Ombissu, captain of the King’s yacht."
Ombissu saw that for a brief moment Fallassan was startled. But she was instantly back to her normal confident self. She nodded calmly at him, and said "Delighted to meet you. Doubtless our mutual friend here will acquaint me with the purpose of this visit."
Ombissu nodded back. "Doubtless, but I can do it myself. We are here to offer you a job."
This time Fallassan really was surprised. "On the King’s yacht? I don’t think so."
"Don’t be silly, Fallassan," Reffurio said. "What have I to do with the King’s yacht? This job is much more in your line. We want you to be first mate on the new ship that’s being built."
"The one in the Eastern Dock? I don’t believe it."
Reffurio grinned. "Look, I’ve just had an audience with the King - and you’d better believe that because Ombissu was in attendance. I’m to be ship’s master, by the way. Ombissu will be executive officer."
Fallassan looked from one to another. "This is serious?" she asked.
"Oh yes," Ombissu said. "And there’s more."
Fallassan listened to the details of the proposed voyage with amazement and growing excitement. A voyage into the unknown in a superb ship with a hand-picked crew and almost unlimited funds seemed too good to be true. The uncertainty, the potential dangers worried her not in the least.
At the end of the explanation, when all her technical questions had been answered, she simply said, "When do I start?"
"Now," Ombissu replied. "You can start recruiting from this moment."
"First we eat," Reffurio said firmly. "Hey!" he called to a waiter weaving his way through th
e bodies, "Let’s have some service!"
Chapter 17
The small harbour boat which carried Reffurio and Ombissu cut through the wavelets of the harbour. The two officers gazed critically at Techyspay which lay in the middle of the bay with a water-carrier alongside; Reffurio had left the loading of water until the last moment. They had lived with the final fitting out of the ship, its trials, its unique handling qualities. They had fallen in love with the superb design. They knew they had a ship that could take them across oceans.
The harbour boat's captain skilfully laid his vessel alongside the big ship, ropes were thrown down and the two officers climbed aboard. Fallassan was nearby, supervising the loading of the water barrels. The second officer, Darbolin, was in the hold making sure the barrels were stored safely. The third officer, Voyallan, was nowhere to be seen. Reffurio assumed she was below dealing with the mountain of paperwork.
"As soon as the water is loaded you can set sail," Reffurio said.
"We have one more passenger to come," Fallassan said without expression.
"Oh? Who?"
"Our priest."
There was a short silence while Reffurio digested this.
"If he's not here when the last barrel is stored away then we sail without him."
Ombissu interrupted. "We have to have a priest. It's the law. We'll have to wait."
"We've also been instructed - by the king himself - to make all haste. We leave after we've stored away the water. We also need to catch the tide."
Fallassan glanced at the two officers waiting for more instructions. When none came she said, "Right. We sail once the water-carrier has cast off."
"We're sailing due south. We should make it past the south point without tacking."
Ombissu looked towards the south to confirm this when he saw another harbour boat sailing towards them. It had all sail set and was crashing through the waves.
The First Riders Page 12