Quest for the White Wind

by Alan Black

  “That is, if we ever get to sail out.” Tanden turned to pace toward the stern. “Gregin is right in a lot of respects. If his new captain and his crew show up before Tuller gets here, we hang. If Tuller does get here, can he get past the guards on the pier? There are too many ifs and what ifs. Why can’t I steer a course I have set without having to guess and re-guess every step of the way?”

  Tanden shook his head to chase away the worries. Worry was nothing more than paying interest on a loan that a man may never borrow. Stopping a worry was easier said than done.

  He cautiously peered into each hold on the ship, but there was no one else aboard. Lastly, he found himself at the hatchway to the ship’s stores. Opening the door, he found it in a state of utter disarray. Items were thrown every which way. Empty wine bottles were scattered and broken around the floor. The mutinous crew had gone through most of the alcohol onboard. Poor Durrban would have taken a club to any man who dared defile the part of the ship he considered his domain.

  Tanden never allowed any part of his ship to fall into disorder. On a fully equipped sailing vessel, everything must be kept properly in its place. To do otherwise courted disaster. Any loose item in a cabin or on the deck was free to fly about with any sudden tilt or turn of the ship. Loose rope could easily tangle a man’s feet or be so knotted as to be useless in an emergency.

  Tanden flipped the lid off a water barrel finding it almost full. Finding a cup, he drank his fill as he completed a quick visual inspection. He could see the new captain would not be sailing to Tunston without restocking. He estimated he should be able to reach Kalos or Fortin across the Black Sea with the stores already aboard. Grabbing a bucket, he collected a couple of loaves of hard bread, salted fish, and two bottles of wine. Refilling his water cup, he stepped back into the sun. He gestured with a nod of his head, directing Seenger into the ship’s stores.

  He walked directly to I-Sheera and handed her the cup of water. She drained the cup without taking a breath, raising her eyes at the food and the two bottles of wine.

  Tanden said, “They aren’t for us, but we should eat soon. As for the wine, we’ll celebrate long and hard in Harkelle.” He added to himself, “If we live that long.” He would never express his doubts to a woman or a crewman.

  He walked slowly down the gangplank, looking like he was melting in the heat. The three guards turned to look at him with suspicion in their eyes. Soldiers in the employ of any of the magic orders were not known for being overly friendly. He said, “Priest Gregin sent you these.” He held out the bucket of wine, fish, and bread.

  The men looked at Tanden.

  He answered their look, “What? It isn’t my idea. You know how some of these priests are, always passing out bread and wine. I’m not going to beg. If you don’t want it, I’ll take it back to the priest. What do I care?”

  “Wait.” One of the guards reached out and took the bucket. He said, “If he sent it, I’m not one to offend a priest.” He looked at the other guards and said, “Who’s to know?”

  Tanden said, “We have to stand watch up on deck and have a good view of the docks. Sit while you eat. We’ll call you if we see someone coming.”

  “Thank you, soldier. That’s goodly kind of you.”

  Tanden agreed, “Yes it is, but you’d do the same for us if our roles were reversed.”

  The guard nodded vigorously, but Tanden could read the denial in his eyes. Turning to go, he stopped and said almost as an afterthought, “Oh, Priest Gregin says no one, and he means no one, comes aboard without his or my say so. Understand?”

  The guard nodded with his mouth full of fish.

  Back on deck, Tanden told I-Sheera, “That was a two-edged bribe. Not only are they now in our debt, but the dry bread and salty fish will make them drink the wine. With wine inside and this heat outside, they should be as useless as a saurus without legs in no time. Stay alert and keep moving around. Let your uniform be seen, but don’t let anyone get a close look. I’m going to check on our guests. I’ll be back shortly.”

  Heraclius was awake. He glared with hatred at Tanden as he walked past. For his part, he completely ignored him. Back in his cabin, Gadon was snoring softly in Tanden’s bunk. Tanden walked over to Gregin. Gagged and tied tightly in his chair, the man could only watch Tanden.

  Capturing a blue priest was not as difficult as he thought it would be. In the heat of the day, under a bright noon sun, there was no wind and no moons moving about the sky for Gregin to collect and condense his magic. A man with enough skill to become a priest should have the ability to store magic, but Gregin appeared to be powerless. Maybe he was so confident about being protected by the blue order he had failed to build up a power reserve. Without magic, the blue priest was no more dangerous than any other man.

  Tanden glanced at the chamber pot I-Sheera had brought into the room. The side was dented. That bright flash of white light had distracted the blue priest enough that the woman had not gotten hurt. He would be exceedingly sorry if she had. He glanced at the doorway curiously. The sun had not shifted much, but no light flooded the room.

  I-Sheera lit his heart. Had she lit the room? Shaking his head, he knew that was not possible. Women could not operate magic. Or could they?

  He would have followed that thought, but Tanden remembered the chest Gregin and the soldiers had carried aboard and his curiosity chased away other thoughts. The chest was obviously heavy from the way Heraclius and Greeta had struggled to carry it. A heavy lock held the chest’s hasp closed. Tanden tugged lightly at the lock, testing its weight and strength.

  A grunt caused him to look up at Gregin. The priest’s face had turned red at Tanden’s touch on the lock. The man was shouting at Tanden, but his voice was completely muffled by the gag.

  Tanden said, “What? This isn’t mine to play with? So hang me for it.” He slipped his knife from his belt and slid it under the hasp, jerking the blade upward. The lock remained intact, but the hasp pulled away from the wooden chest. “Good lock, Gregin. It held up quite nicely. Your choice of chest wasn’t the best, but then I give my word not to inform your city wizard. Wait. I believe this is the Blue Wizard’s chest. Correct?”

  Tanden saw the rage in Gregin’s eyes. He smiled at the bound man. “I see I’m right. I believe it’s within my rights as captain of the White Wind to inspect all cargo brought aboard my vessel.” Tanden flipped the lid up and stood back in surprise.

  The chest was filled almost to overflowing with jewels, silver, and gold pieces. Much of the silver and gold was partially melted and hammered into almost shapeless hunks of metal. Tanden could barely recognize some lumps as cups and plates. A large number of items must have been pagan idols and icons. Other pieces were stamped with marks from the red and green magic orders.

  Tanden shook his head in amazement. The value of the chest had to equal the cost of the White Wind and all her cargo.

  Tanden looked into the priest’s eyes seeing only hatred and evil. He said, “And what’s this, Gregin? A gift from the city’s blue wizard to the Blue Wizard in Tunston? Spoils from the poor of Stantinstadt? It doesn’t matter. I thank you for your gift.”

  Tanden thought to himself, “If I live to spend it.”

  He stepped around Gregin, checking the knots and bindings. The priest rocked the chair at Tanden, in a futile attempting to fight. Seenger had wrapped the priest’s hands in thick burlap, blocking any possibility of magic.

  Gadon grunted. “Can’t a man take a quiet nap without you jumping around like you got hot coals down your pants? Leave poor Gregin alone. I’m sure I can gather up enough strength to open him from gullet to gobbler if he causes any problems.”

  “You nap, old man.” Tanden laughed. “I’ll need your strength soon enough.” He took a long leather strap from a locker under his bunk. He tied it over a cross beam in the ceiling and looped the other end around Gregin’s neck. The priest could not move more than an inch or two without hanging himself.

  Tanden said, “Beh
ave yourself like a good little boy or I’ll let Gadon kick your chair out from under you.” He took another leather strap with him to the passageway and without comment, jerked Heraclius’s ankles up and tied them to his wrist bindings. He looped the leather from the man’s ankles around his neck. Heraclius would choke himself if he struggled against his bonds. Tanden patted the man softly on the shoulder.

  Back on deck, Tanden paced along the rail. To anyone watching, it appeared as if he was marching on a watch, when in truth, he paced to burn off nervous energy. He sent I-Sheera and Seenger to eat, drink and rest in the shade. Two of the three guards dozed. The third man sat quietly swatting at flies.

  Tanden noticed the dockworkers returning to finish unloading the Allexian ship. He rushed down the gangplank to the guards. He shouted, “Get on your feet. Someone is coming. Quickly.”

  The guards shot to their feet just as the first longshoreman came into view along the pier. The guards shook themselves awake as they set themselves in order around the gangplank, clubs in hand. Tanden had to admit they looked the part of alert guards.

  The guard who had spoke earlier said, “Thanks for the warning, soldier. When this day is over, meet us at the Fat Pig Tavern. We’ll buy you and your friends a drink, um...the ogre may have to drink it out back in the alley since they don’t allow, you know, his kind inside the tavern, but you and the little soldier are more than welcome.”

  Tanden said, “Thanks, friend. We accept your offer.” Tanden said to himself with mock offense, “Why you cheap son of a diseased whore, I give you two full bottles of wine, plus a meal, and you offer me one little drink.”

  He walked back to the deck and continued his pacing along the rail. I-Sheera stood at the bow of the ship. Standing in the shade of the main mast, Seenger watched the dock area in both directions.

  As the day wore on, the heat became oppressive. The sea air was humid and felt thick. Tanden was sweating under the heavy leather tunic. The working pace of the longshoremen slowed to a dreary crawl and their banter all but ceased. A water barrel was set in the shade of the warehouse wall. The workers stopped frequently to drink and pour a cupful of cool fluid over their heads. Unloading the ship would take the rest of the day at this slowed pace.

  During the mid afternoon, Tanden carried a bucket of water to his two captives. He admonished them both not to speak when he removed the gag or they would not get to drink. With that exception, Tanden remained on the deck, watching the men unload the Allexian ship.

  To keep his thoughts off their predicament, he worked out ways to improve loading and unloading ships. He had never given the process much thought in the past. Any captain in a great hurry to unload simply hired a magician or wizard to shift cargo from the ship to a warehouse. Paying a priest’s hefty stipend greatly sped up the process, but magic cost more than gangs of laborers. Tandon surprised himself by devising several new methods, some foolish and some not. He quickly ruled out lowering the ship to match the level of the dock and thereby avoiding going up or down a gangplank. He also realized raising the dock to the level of the ship's deck was just as unworkable, as most ships sat at different heights from the water by design or the amount of cargo they carried. Even the deck of the White Wind would rise considerably when off-loading of her cargo.

  Still, he reasoned, since they were berthed parallel to the wharf, why not use multiple gangplanks? Some planks could be designated for foot traffic to the ship and some could be designated for carrying cargo off the ship. He devised a mental plan for a trough to slide cargo from the deck of a ship to the docks. He was working on a design for a hoist based on the principles of a lever that could transfer cargo to a ship and remove it without men carrying it on their backs, when he noticed I-Sheera running toward him.

  She pulled at his arm and pointed up the wharf. A group of eight or nine men were heading directly toward their berth. They could be heading to the Allexian ship or to the White Wind. Even if Seenger had not been wounded in the fight with the Surr slavers, Tanden knew the two of them alone could not defend the White Wind against that many, even with I-Sheera’s capable help. He believed the three men guarding the gangplank would crumble at the sight so many men. Tanden decided his best option was to put on a bold face and confront the group.

  Tanden called down to the guards, “Someone is coming. Stand ready. Remember, no one comes aboard the White Wind until I say so. I’ll be there shortly.” The three men nodded and shifted their clubs from hand to hand, looking the part of men ready to fight.

  He told I-Sheera, “Draw your sword and hold it like you’re more than ready to use it. Stand at the top of the gangplank.” He did not bother giving instructions to Seenger, he knew what to do.

  Tanden marched resolutely down the gangplank, stopping near the bottom. Spreading his legs wide and holding his sword blade ready across his chest, he watched the end of the pier, until the first man came into view. It was a common sailor carrying his few belongings in a crude, cloth sack. The man walked in and around the slow moving longshoremen, but his eyes raked across the White Wind with practiced appraisal.

  Tanden said to the guards, “Do your work, men. Hold them away from the ship’s gangplank until we find out whether they can come on board or not.”

  The three guards called to the man, halting his progress, and began shouting at the same time. Tanden recognized the phrases the men used as universal to guards and soldiers the world over.

  “Hold up, there.”

  “Wait just a minute.”

  And even, “Where do you think you’re going, pal?”

  Two more sailors stopped behind the first as he faced the three guards. Longshoremen coming from both directions began milling about on the narrow pier. An impasse quickly developed with three guards blocking the width of the walkway from one direction and the three sailors blocking the other way.

  Dockworkers gratefully placed their cargo bundles on the dock and sat down. The other sailors pushed forward to see what was holding up their progress, each man shouting instructions to someone else. The dock foreman shouted from the back of the knot of workers. Officers from the Allexian ship shouted orders to clear the pier.

  Tanden saw Tuller in the midst of the sailors, waving to get his attention.

  Tanden called to I-Sheera and Seenger, “We are letting this bunch up. Hold them on the mid-deck.”

  Without waiting for a reply, Tanden drove into the mass of men. He shook his sword in the air and shouted for quiet. He tapped the tallest guard on the shoulder and told the man to let the sailors pass one at a time.

  The man nodded and began bullying men, pushing them in one direction or the other. His two companions joined in and under Tanden’s direction, they quickly had everyone standing in two columns. One line of men was for incoming traffic and one line of men was for outgoing traffic.

  In single file, the guards let the sailors pass up the gangplank under Tanden’s watchful eye. Tuller passed him without comment or a second glance. Tanden recognized a couple other faces from the docks in Harkelle. One of the men stared at the soldier’s uniform and started to speak.

  Tanden interrupted him, “You’re holding up the line, sailor. Get aboard.” Although Tanden had seen the man before, he could not remember his name. Before following the men up the gangplank, Tanden turned to the three guards and said, “You men do excellent work. Have you ever thought about joining the wizard’s garrison?” He could see the men puffing their chests. He continued, “I’ll buy the second round at the Fat Pig Tavern tonight.”

  Tuller had found seven sailors, in addition to himself.

  Tanden followed the men up the gangplank. He was more optimistic about their chances for success, but cautioned himself not to get ahead of the plan. They were not out of port yet.

  Tanden motioned I-Sheera to move to the bow once again and continue to watch for activity on the wharf. Tanden walked over to the small knot of men standing at the far rail. He placed his hand on Tuller’s shoulder, giving him a
gentle squeeze.

  Before he could speak, one of the sailors said, “Tuller, I know you and you know me. I didn’t sign on to be pushed around by any man’s soldiers.” He pointed at Tanden’s uniform. “And no one said anything about working with an ogre.”

  Tuller said, “Shut your mouth and listen. This is Tanden. He’s the captain of the White Wind. You gave me your word to sign on for a quick sail to Harkelle. No questions asked. Teil, I didn’t ask you why you were stuck in port at Stantinstadt without a ship and no way to get home, did I?”

  Teil said, “I don’t care what I said. This don’t look right.”

  Tuller answered, “You’re correct, Teil. This isn’t right, but we’re here to make things right. I promised you work on a boat sailing to Harkelle. And I gave the captain’s promise to all of you that you’ll earn double the wages. You can listen now or go back to whatever hole you crawled out of.”

  The man who had recognized Tanden from the gangplank spoke up, “I’m Kerrel. Most of you know me. I got into a bit of trouble on my last ship and couldn’t get another. I know Tanden and his reputation as a captain. I know the ogre is part of this ship’s crew. I’ll sail with Tanden even if he’s wearing the royal robes of King Krebbem himself if he’s willing to give me a chance to get home.”

  Tanden said, “Good to see you again, Kerrel. If you’re that happy to sail with me, then you must be willing to sail without wages?” Tanden laughed as the sailor tried to take back his words. He reassured the man, “I stand by the promise Tuller gave you of double wages. We don’t have much time to delay. I will tell you this, Teil is correct. Things aren’t right. This ship is mine to captain. It was stolen from me and I’m here to take it back. There may be trouble before we get out of port, but all I ask of you is a crew to sail my ship home.”

  There were nods of agreement all around, except for Teil. Tanden looked at the man and said, “Do you want off my ship?”