by Nelson, J P
Contemplating the day, I knew this would be an adventure, of sorts, all by itself. Today I would set foot on the Lohra Lai, a ship of ships, converse with the famous Captain Jha’Ley, and just maybe learn something I didn’t know about my momma.
Looking at my two swords, I tried to decide which to wear. The dress blade was nice, but I was going down to the docks. Of course, I had gone to the Whiskin Boot with neither, but I think deep down I was really wanting trouble. That was not the case this morning, and if something did go down bad … I took the war blade, better have it and not need it then the other way around. Besides, I just liked the feel of it and how the grip fit so well within my hand.
As I turned a corner to walk out upon the dock, I almost stopped still. Before me was the most stunningly beautiful vessel I have ever seen. Simply looking at her made me suddenly wonder if a voyage around the world might not be possible, after all. She just instilled the sensation of awe and wonderment within my soul.
The Lohra Lai would be considered an Elvin Man of War. She was long, longer than anything I had yet seen, and I figured her to be at least two hundred feet from bow to stern. Her main deck finished into a full castle at stern with yet another cabin a’top. At her bow was a castle, as well, but different from anything I had seen or heard of.
I counted four ballistae along the gunwales, and a full missile deck below the main. There I counted twelve ballistae flaps to the deck, with two flaps a’stern, one on each side of the rudder, which I figured had to be ballistae aimed against possible pursuit.
When my eyes swept to the forecastle, generally called the focsel, I saw it was level with the gunwales, which is the rail edge around the main deck. To enter you would have to open an inclined hatch door and step down. But atop of the focsel deck were a pair of ballistae, one on each side, built into the gunwale itself. Did my eye catch some sort of swivel they were mounted on?
Below the missile deck I surmised was the spacious main hold, more spacious than you would think, and she wasn’t a small ship. Wesney had already given me an overall description, but seeing is believing; as big as the Lohra Lai was, she was rigged with two masts instead of three.
For as long as men have been sailing, the mantra went, the bigger the deep water ship the more masts she needed. Yet this vessel was proving them all wrong. She sported yardarms to carry square sails for running with the wind, but Wesney said she generally ran all triangle sails, now-a-days being called tri-sails. One big sail, sometimes used off the bow, was called a spinnaker sail.
Captain Jha’Ley learned about the spinnaker’s use when he found the ship. I was looking forward to hearing the story. But standing there looking at her, something gave me the shivers, and then I couldn’t help staring at the figure head. Lots of ships sport sculptures of nude women on the front, I remembered the one I wrapped my legs around only months before, but not the Lohra Lai. A beautiful elf lady, clad in a flowing tunic and her arms swept back, had what appeared to be feathers flowing off of her shoulders and to each side until they faded into the hull.
“She’s something, isn’t she?”
Reminding me for a moment of the Shaman Lady, Bannock just seemed to appear beside me in the bright morning light. I resisted the urge to kick him to make sure he was really there, and then someone walked by who said, “G’mornin’ mate. T’was a good toss off lahst nigh’, eh?”
The sailor wasn’t talking to me, and Bannock just looked his way and with a wave of his hand answered in a different vocal timber, “Aye, t’was indeed. Ye’re luck can but improve.”
‘Okay,’ I thought, ‘he’s really here.’
“Yes,” I replied, “she’s something. How long have you been sailing with her?”
“One year, the first time. This time almost five months.”
“She looks smooth.”
His expression became one of pleasant memories, “Ah, yes. Smooth would be a very good word for it. It’s like a slow sip of the finest wine.”
“You’ve not told me your own position …”
In the most humble of tones he said, “I’m an able-bodied seaman, who is good at delivering messages.” And he smiled this most subtle smile. It was then I knew I had known Bannock before, by another name, perhaps. It wasn’t a personal relationship, or even an association. But it was there.
“Have we known each other before, Bannock?”
“Had we ever met, even in passing, I am sure you would remember, as would I. No, we have never known each other. Although, I have certainly heard of you.”
I was tempted to ask if I had heard of him, even if by another name, but thought better of it. Something told me there was something about Bannock, something I would learn later. Wesney seemed to think well of him, and Wesney was a good judge of character.
Together we walked the ramp up the larboard side of the Lohra Lai, and from below came Wesney. A sharp looking fellow met us at the top and Bannock introduced me, “Master Wolf, may I introduce you to Sailing Master Telroy?” He looked to Telroy and said, “Master Telroy, allow me to present Master Timber Wolf, past Major of the Keoghnariu Army, former crewman of the Faulta Whimn.”
I saluted Sailing Master Telroy and appraised him, even as he was appraising me. I saw a human of average height, perhaps in his mid-twenties, wavy blonde hair and a full, but trim, beard. He stood like someone born to command, but he had an air about him which said he didn’t need to prove himself and was comfortable with his surroundings.
I asked, “Permission to come aboard, sir?”
To which he cordially responded, “Permission granted. We have been awaiting your visit.”
As Telroy led Wesney and I to the captain’s cabin, he let me know they were very busy with preparations in casting off four days hence. Therefore this meeting would not be a long one. Yet the captain wanted to meet me, nevertheless.
The moment I stepped aboard deck something felt different to me. For an instant I felt like the ship and I were in icy waters and off in the horizon I could have sworn I saw an iceberg. I could also smell the strong whiff of pine, oak and something else … some sort of flowers or other fragrance I did not recognize.
Passing a mention to Wesney I asked, “Do you smell pine trees?”
He wrinkled his brow and said, “No. Do you?”
“It must have been my imagination …”
Wesney raised an eyebrow up at me.
At the door of the captain’s cabin Telroy knocked and said, “Captain, Master Wolf is here.”
“Then bring him in.” Captain Jha’Ley was hard at work seated over several books. He stopped, looked my way in a congenial manner, and getting up he walked around his desk, offered his hand and said, “Welcome aboard the Lohra Lai, Master Wolf. I trust the refreshment provided by Bannock the other day was satisfactory?”
“Absolutely, sir,” I replied as I shook his hand.
“Very well, then.” He began to walk behind his desk to sit down as he said, “Take a seat if you will, gentlemen.” Jha’Ley was smooth, polite, but with no nonsense at all about him. He struck me as someone Hoscoe would have liked right away as the good captain was military sharp, yet he possessed a powerful charismatic aura of good-naturedness and calculating control … all at the same time.
Glancing about the room as we sat down, everything was neat and well decorated. You would have thought this to be an office in a great library, with the exception of the hammock and lockers which were also in the room. I wanted to look all around, but knew gawking in such manner would be rude. When I left I could check what I didn’t see now. In the corner of my eye I caught sight of a guitar on a stand in a corner.
The Captain reached to one side of his desk and tapped a folder as he began to speak, “Master Wolf, I have at hand here several accounts of you and some of your exploits. Furthermore, the good doctor here speaks well of you. And I already know your capability in hand to hand combat.” Inwardly I groaned. He was sitting back as he spoke and he absently reached up and touched his ja
w.
“Our man, Tiny, has … how many doctor?” Wesney held up three fingers on one hand, two fingers on the other. “… A total of five broken ribs.” With a soft chuckle he added, “It’s alright, the doctor fixed him up and you can do worse being thrown about in a storm. Besides, he brought it on himself.
“And you are most tenacious, when you take up something you don’t stop.” I had told Wesney about riding down Sormiske, was that what … “We took port in Triyon not a week after you landed from your flight off of Dellove Mountain.” He nodded at Wesney, “He gave us the straight of it yesterday morning at breakfast.” The captain was shaking his head in marvel.
“The crow’s nest is about as far up as I ever want to be; I, myself, am afraid of great heights. That’s why I took to a life aboard ship.”
I didn’t want to think about it, nor about what I did during that gliding spree …
“Yessir …” there was a note of humor in his voice, “… I believe I would have experienced an ungraceful release during such an occasion.”
‘Yes,’ I thought. ‘That just about could sum it up.’
The Captain brushed imaginary crumbs from his leg and asked, “Why would you undertake a job as a Sea Marshal?”
‘Uhm, a trick question,’ I thought. I chose to not be clever and just be honest, “Sir, there was no good reason. It seemed like something to do at the time.”
The Captain, Telroy, and Wesney all started laughing and the Captain offered an open hand toward the Sailing Master. I was beginning to feel I was the butt end of the joke when Telroy offered, “With respect to the Captain, it is his favorite explanation for several of his quests.” I saw a twinkle in Jha’Ley’s eye as I slowly found myself chuckling as well.
“Well, Master Wolf, we are betwixt and between, and I know everything I need to know about you without investigating you further. The doctor has submitted you for approval as Physician’s Mate, and you have high combat level skills warranting possible service as a member of our marine force.
“I’ll not mince words. I am preparing to undertake a task which will require men of the highest caliber and mental resolve to accomplish. Should you join us, we will have seven species of intelligent life serving aboard this vessel. They come from every spectrum of life, from all about the known world, and possess just about every skill known. Some are outcasts from their society, one is the heir to a huge coffee plantation. But on this vessel we are all equal in one respect … the completion of this voyage.
“There’s not a vessel being built today which could hope to endure what we must face. But this ship, the Lohra Lai, was not built in our time. She’s old in age, but far superior in design.”
He seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if to determine how much to tell me, then he added, “The hull won’t take fire, the focsel and lower decks seem to be two feet longer at each end and one foot wider to each side than her outer measurements.” He leaned forward and folded his arms on the desk as he continued, “More than once strange, small occurrences have happened when we have been out to sea. Some of the men claim to have seen apparitions, and I myself have heard sounds from things not seen. These incidents are not common, but they do occur. Some of the men believe she has haunts, but I …” his finger thumped the desk, “… I’m telling you I think she’s alive. I think she wants this voyage.”
From the look in the captain’s eyes I became instantly concerned of his sanity.
“There are some unexplained things going on about the world; among men, countries, and the weather itself. For centuries, even thousands of years, people have claimed no one has ever been able to sail the world around, but I believe it isn’t true. At one time, I believe even the V’Pohra Tanzhi has been traversed.”
I thought, ‘V’Pohra Tanzhi?’ That was the vast region of mist on the Mon’Cique Ocean, to the east of Aeshea. Every captain was afraid to venture in as next to nobody ever returned. Strange lightning, sightings of ghost ships, weird weather patterns; the compass wouldn’t work in there, even.
He nodded at me when he saw the obvious expression on my face. “I think every foot of water has been crossed at one time or another, every piece of land has been walked upon. This vessel, I am convinced, was built just for such a voyage. It would be very proper, indeed to have someone of elvin blood with us.”
“Is this why you are interested in me, because I have elvin blood?”
He was very strongly taken aback, although not disgruntled. “No, Master Wolf, not at all. I am interested in what you have to offer in the way of skill, knowledge, character and steadfastedness.” He passed a look at Telroy and added, “No, I have turned down five others of elvin blood, three of them full-bloods, one of whom was grown up around the sea. Your heritage means nothing to me at all.
“Back to the objective at hand, I want to see for sure …” he again poked his finger on his desk, “… I want to see how these other peoples are regarding the coming alignment.” He sat back in his chair, Telroy and Wesney both looked like acolytes enraptured in some mantra. Whether I was buying into it or not, I wasn’t sure, but there was definitely a feeling of something big here.
Jha’Ley continued, “When we complete this voyage, we will know for sure if someone else is out there. Maybe someone else is thinking the same thing, maybe they would like to trade with us.”
“Maybe they don’t.” I said.
He looked at me long and hard and said, “And maybe you’re right.” He thought for a while, and then he got up and walked over to a shelf and drew out a roll of papers. Bringing them to his desk he rolled them out as we all got up to see. Spreading them out he looked at me and said, “These maps, these are the key. Someone has been to these places before. I have already tested them.” I was just staring at the maps, the style in which they were drawn.
Pointing to various locations he said, “I have been here, here, and here. These places aren’t marked or identified in any way on any map I have ever seen, but they are there.” He waved his hand over a huge portion of the map … I had seen all of this before, long ago … “None of this is on any other map. Men would kill for this map,” Jha’Ley looked me levelly in the eye, “and some have tried.”
Jha’Ley moved his hand from one corner and I saw the inscription … only it wasn’t an inscription at all … it was my momma’s handwriting. My momma had drawn these maps herself. Why, and when?
Chapter 62
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“WHERE,” I ASKED, “did you get these maps?” Wesney had told me, but I had to hear Jha’Ley tell me himself.
He rose up and nodding behind me he said, “They were his, they were among the few things salvaged from his ship, the Kelshinua.”
I turned and felt as if I had seen a ghost. A painting on the wall with the caption, Captain Greybeard, clearly depicted the man I had known as Roveir, from House Fel’Caden, the old man who would come to our quarters, who sat with me when I was sick that time. What was it he told me, “Easy as she goes and steady in the wind … We must beat to quarters and make to fight this wanton scourge.” He had been using sailor lingo.
“He was a long lived buckaroo.” Jha’Ley continued. “My great-grandfather served as his Lieutenant and Sailing Master, then my grandfather came up with him from ship’s boy. Back then he went under the name Captain Raul Vier.”
‘Roveir,’ I thought, ‘a blend of Raul Vier.’
Jha’Ley was saying, “His last ship had been the Tab’Oleen, of which he named my grandfather succeeding Captain. Years later, the ship finally heaved to, and my grandfather retired to local fishing and taught my uncle sailing when he was a small boy.
“One day, my grandfather got this letter with a vessel design and a draft of currency. So he went about to the specified shipyard and had a ship built. Captain Vier showed up with his duffle and he became known as Captain Greybeard. The ship’s rigging was unlike anything ever seen. A one hundred and thirty-five feet two-master rigged with all triangle sails. Ever
yone said she wouldn’t do the storms, but she was christened the Kelshinua, after a princess he said he knew. No one ever knew where he came from, even my great-grandfather.
“Two old men and my uncle …” Jha’Ley was reveling in the telling of the story, “… they put together a crew and sailed for a decade, until she went down in some of the worst water you could imagine; went down saving another ship.” He shook his head in memorial. The maps were among what was saved, and they went to my uncle, who in turn passed them to me.”
Jha’Ley was standing next to me, now. He concluded with, “According my grandfather’s log, Captain Greybeard, was only a fair seaman, but an amazing leader. He knew how to surround himself with men of skill and knowledge, and my uncle said he could work such men as a Master Sailor could work a ship.
Grandfather said he could overpower an adversary just by looking at him, such was his command of presence and intimidation. Harsh and sometimes cruel, but he was fair to his men and loyal to a fault. Grandfather said he was also a visionary, and he came back from retirement with but one mission in mind. I intend to finish that mission.”
I kept looking at the painting, but I asked, “And that is …”
“… The recovery of Dorian’s Purse.”
With my eyes on the painting I asked, “What happened to Captain Greybeard?”
With reverence Jha’Ley said, “According to my uncle’s report, the Captain pushed a tube containing the maps into his hand, then threw him overboard. When the Kelshinua went down, the Captain went with her.”
If Greybeard went down with the ship, then how … there was much more involved than was apparent. I looked at Jha’Ley and wondered if he was holding something back, or if his uncle had. Somehow the old man had traveled thousands of miles to return to Gevard. Did this trip, this voyage, have something to do with his desire to set my momma free?
More mystery, more questions. I thought of Dorian’s Purse. Why would the old man be searching for it? He could have only learned of it, the details, anyway, from my momma.