by Allan Joyal
"Where will we put it all?" I asked.
"Hadlor!" Ushcail shouted. "Open up the forward hatch. We'll have to put the rest of the barrels down there. Is it clean?"
"Should be," Hadlor said. "You had me pull the last of the original barrels out. Why?"
"Let's get the original barrels and give them to the carters," Ushcail said. "No, save two that can be used to hold any fish we catch and salt or dry. But the rest of the barrels can be off-loaded. Then we'll fill the hold with new barrels."
"And we'll get to do the loading," Lucis muttered as he and I picked up our seventh barrel. We had developed a good rhythm and had no trouble picking a barrel up, but each one had to be carefully transported to the ship and then set down on the deck.
We were going back to get the final barrel when another cart was pulled into position behind the now almost empty cart. The two men pulling this one glared at the ship. "I can't believe we are allowing them to load this on that ship," one of the men said.
"I'm not worried about what you believe," Ushcail said as he examined the cargo they had brought. "These provisions have been paid for."
"Who cares," the other carter said as Lucis and I lifted the final water barrel from the first cart. The men who had been leaning on that cart immediately began dragging it away. The oddly shaped wheels clattered on the packed ground. The noise drowned out Ushcail's answer.
Lucis looked me in the eye as he carefully stepped over the ship's railing. "I can get this barrel put away. Go support Ushcail. We probably need to unload that cart quickly."
I made sure that Lucis had a good grip on the barrel. He gave me a final nod. Behind me I could hear Culax and Hadlor grunting as they unloaded barrels and boxes from the cart.
"Hey!" one of the carters exclaimed. "We did not say you could start to unload."
"We don't have time to wait for you to realize that everything is paid for," Ushcail said. "Kaven, help get everything out of the cart."
"I said stop!" one of the carters said as I started to walk towards the cart. He stepped towards me. I reached down to my waist for my knife, but the man froze and then started to back up.
"I meant nothing by it," the man said anxiously.
I felt movement on my right. I turned and saw Jessop holding a pole tipped by some strange metal hook. The carters were staring at the hook.
"Never saw a docking hook?" Jessop asked. "I should have guessed. I doubt anyone uses one to dock here."
The carter who had been approaching me looked at the other one. "Its just like we were told. They plan on stealing out of here. We better run and let the harbor master know."
"Why don't we take them?" the second carter asked.
"You want to face that hook?" the first carter responded.
Jessop swung the long pole. He caught a corner of the cart and pulled the whole thing forward. Both carters jumped away from the swinging pole.
"The harbor master was in the market when we passed through," the second carter said. He turned and took off down the pier. His partner glared at us for just a moment more and then dashed away.
"That's torn it," Ushcail said. "Load them fast. Panalope, can you help?"
"She's already doing the securing of each barrel as we get them in place," Jessop said. "I figured that would help more than having her heave these heavy things aboard."
Ushcail nodded. I was heading for the cart looking at the barrels and trying to figure out which ones to grab first. "Everything goes in the hold," he said. "Hadlor, let Panalope know what the symbols are and she can organize them."
"How do I cook any of this?" Panalope asked.
"We can't risk a fire on the ship," Ushcail said. "So everything will be eaten cold. Its all dried meat, cheeses and some hard biscuits that keep for a moon cycle."
"What about fresh food? Or fruits?" Panalope asked.
"We have a few lines for fishing," Ushcail said. "But we'll have to do without fruit. It just doesn't keep."
Panalope looked a bit upset. "We should have something that would allow us to have a fire. I thought there were ways to keep fires going. At least I heard tales that they used to use flaming arrows against galleys."
"From the shore mostly," Ushcail said. "Some galleys do carry a hotpot. They'll keep a small flame going in it and use that to start fires, but its dangerous. If the coals escape you can set the ship on fire."
"Can we get one?" Panalope asked.
"Not now," Ushcail said. "I didn't want one on board during the trials. We weren't sure how much the ship might list and I've seen those things break open. If this first trial works out and you stay aboard we'll talk about it."
"First? I thought this was the second," Panalope said.
"This will be the first time any ship attempted to sail west of Isla Oerste since the Empire fell," Ushcail said.
"Hard to believe its been that long," Culax said.
Lucis, Culax, Hadlor and I had continued to move barrels and boxes while Ushcail spoke with Panalope. We were moving the last two barrels of water when he moved toward Gypsy.
"Get those aboard now," he growled. "Panalope, get onto the pier and grab the anchor."
"I've got the stern line," Jessop said.
"Wait until we have the barrels aboard," Culax shouted.
"No time," Ushcail shouted. The man leapt over the railing and ran to the port side of the ship. He began untying the lines used to raise the sails. "High Guard Chasterman has launched three galleys. We need to get moving if we are going to get out before they trap us against the pier."
I was at the edge of the pier and looked over at Culax who was my partner in carrying a barrel. "Let go of the barrel and jump aboard. I'll hand the barrel over," Culax said.
I released the barrel. Culax grunted in surprise at the weight as I turned and leapt to the deck of Gypsy. I spun around and looked back at my fellow crewman. Culax was staggering as he held the barrel in front of him.
"Hold it out!" I shouted when I realized that Culax had turned his head and closed his eyes. "I'll take it from you."
Culax took a step towards me and then stopped and slowly extended his arms. The barrel was over the water. I reached out and put one hand under the barrel. "Got it!" I said as I put my other hand on the side of the barrel and pulled it towards me.
Culax let go. My efforts had the barrel moving up and towards my shoulder. The water inside shifted towards me, causing me to stumble. I took two steps back and was falling backward when a hand on my back halted my body.
"Careful," Lucis said as he helped me settle the barrel on my shoulder. "Hadlor needs a moment and then he can take that barrel."
"It’s the last one," I said.
The ship shifted to starboard. Ushcail rushed past me as I tried to turn around. "Get that stowed," he said. "We've already cast off."
I turned to look at the open hatch. Hadlor's body appeared from the darkness. He reached up towards me. "I've got a spot for that barrel. Hand it and then coil up the anchor rope," he told me.
"Panalope!" Ushcail shouted. "Tiller hard to starboard until the bow is aimed at the tower pier."
"The tower pier?" Panalope asked. "But one of the galleys is coming from there."
"Its Sparentce's ship. His oarsmen are most likely tired and he'll expect us to be faster because of the wind," Ushcail replied.
I turned the barrel over to Hadlor. As soon as the weight was out of my arms I ducked under the sail and ran to the bow of the ship. The anchor was lying on the deck with a pile of rope strewn nearby.
"There is a bracket for the anchor," Lucis shouted.
"Where?" I asked as I grabbed at the anchor.
"At the bow!" Lucis shouted. "Put it there and tie the rope over it. That will keep it out of the way."
I picked up the heavy anchor. It was so heavy I could not raise it above my waist. I waddled forward and looked for the bracket. It took no time to spot the shining metal at the bow. It was just below waist level.
The ship was tilt
ing to starboard as I made my way across the deck. I had to keep my steps small to avoid sliding. The ship was recovering from the turn when I reached the bow and managed to fix the anchor into the bracket.
The rope proved to have a couple of small knots in it. I had to unwind them as I wrapped the rope over the arms of the bracket. As I did I looked out across the harbor.
There was one galley directly ahead of us. It appeared to be sitting motionless as we approached. Two more galleys were off our starboard bow. The crews of these galleys were stroking hard and the ships seemed to surge across the water.
"Two ships to starboard, closing fast," I called out.
"Pan, tiller hard to starboard. Raise the sails to full and hold on!" Ushcail shouted. "Kaven, watch Sparentce's ship."
"I thought you said his men would be tired," I shouted back as I moved to the starboard railing.
"They could catch us if they try to ram," Ushcail called out. "The other two won't catch us unless the wind shifts."
Sparentce's ship seemed to turn as we did. Their bow was still facing us when the oars were thrust into the water. The ship appeared to leap out of the water as it started forward.
"He's making a run!" I called out.
"Tiller amidships!" Ushcail shouted. "Kaven, help Lucis with the foresail. We need to catch all the wind we can."
"Would wetting the sail help?" I asked.
"If that worked, ships would perform better during a storm," Jessop said. "Just get the sail as open as you can. The more surface area we have the better."
"Can the mast take it?" Panalope asked as the ship righted itself.
"Captain! There's another ship moving to block the entrance to the harbor," Lucis called out.
"Where?" Ushcail called out.
"Two points off the port bow," Lucis said. "Looks like they were lurking outside the harbor."
"Tiller to port two points. We'll try to skirt the east side of the harbor entrance. Kaven, call out how close we are to the breakwater," Ushcail ordered.
I leaned out over the railing and looked forward. The ship was turning to starboard and I could see that we would pass uncomfortably close to the land protecting the harbor. I was about to shout a warning when Ushcail shouted.
"Turn back. Get the tiller to starboard for a moment. Kaven, how do we look?" the captain said.
The sudden change of direction caused the ship to tilt to starboard. I took a wave in the face while gazing at the land mass ahead of us.
"Kaven!" I heard Panalope shout.
"I'm fine," I called back as I shook my face to clear some of the water. I looked out over the water and could see that the ship would just miss running directly into the land at the mouth of the harbor. "I think we have a couple spans to spare, but that's it."
"Captain?" Hadlor shouted. "We can't raise any more sail."
I glanced back behind us. Sparentce's galley was still surging forward, but was going to pass behind Gypsy. The other two galleys were far behind us and drifting with their oars out of the water.
"The pursuing galleys have given up," I called out.
"We can't turn into the wind to escape the last galley," Ushcail called out. "We'll have to beat it to the mouth of the harbor and then circle the island. Its going to be close though."
"Archers!" Jessop shouted.
I looked up in time to see a dozen arrows falling toward the ship from the galley ahead of us. I ducked down against the starboard railing just as the missiles began striking the ship.
Everyone on Gypsy was silent as the arrows rattled down upon the deck. My heart raced as I listened for another flight, but after the first few struck there was silence.
"Is anyone hit?" Ushcail called out.
I said nothing. The silence following Ushcail's question was broken only by the wind and waves as Gypsy raced to the mouth of the harbor.
"Pan?" I called out.
"Nothing came close to the stern," she called back. "The foresail is ripped though. Is that going to slow us down?"
"We'll repair it later," Ushcail said. "Right now it looks like the last galley will attempt to ram us. Everyone brace for a possible impact."
I remained kneeling and put my arms around the ship's railing. I could hear Hadlor mumbling something.
Pan screamed in fright. I opened my eyes and watched the boat come within handspans of running into the rocks guarding the harbor entrance. We slipped into the open ocean. A moment later there was a resounding crash just behind us.
I looked towards the stern. The galley guarding the entrance had missed us and crashed into the rocks we had just passed. The captain was screaming for his men to shift their oars as we began to gain speed and distance from the harbor.
"Captain!" Jessop called out.
"I see it," Ushcail said calmly. "Pan, give me a bit of starboard tiller until the ship is heading north. We'll run north to get some distance and then turn."
"What about pursuit?" Lucis asked.
"We shouldn't see any more," Ushcail said. "I can't see the High Guard throwing away any galleys in a chase, especially as that one will need some repair after ramming the breakwater like that."
My stomach grumbled as I unlocked my hands from the railing. Culax laughed. "I know the feeling," he said. "But let's wait until we make our next tack."
"Next?" I asked.
He nodded to the southwest. "We're supposed to be heading to the west. I'm sure Ushcail plans on us changing direction shortly."
I nodded as I climbed to my feet. "Until then," I said as we sailed away from Isla Magestica.
Chapter 12: Tales From Dangerous Waters
Captain Ushcail kept us heading north for a bit longer than I expected. The sun had passed its zenith by the time he ordered us to the ropes for the turn to port. During that time I leaned against the railing and watched the horizon.
Panalope joined me at the railing shortly after Isla Magestica disappeared over the horizon. We looked around and realized that there were no other islands in sight. I felt the young lady shiver. "My father said that this is dangerous," she whispered.
"What?" Ushcail asked.
"Not being able to see an island. He said that they are used as landmarks while sailing," Panalope replied.
"You realize we will probably not see any islands for nine days or more," I said. "That is one of the goals. The few records I could find talking about the old sailing routes taken by the Empire say that the captains reported they could reach the shores of the Empire's eastern provinces after sailing for nine days if they sailed west from Isla Oerste."
"Why so specific?" Culax asked.
"Ocean currents," Ushcail said. "Most of the galley captains know about the ones flowing around the islands. We use many of them to increase the speed the galleys can travel. I'm guessing that there is a strong current flowing westward from Isla Oerste."
"You aren't sure?" I asked.
"I've never had a reason to explore west of Oerste. Not even Syrina knows what lies to the west," Ushcail said.
"Do her people have any legends?" I asked. "And should we be just relaxing like this?"
Ushcail looked up at the sail and then scanned the horizon. "As long as the wind doesn't shift we should be fine for a time. The maps of the islands show Isla Oerste is almost directly southwest of Isla Magestica and that's the direction we are sailing. We might drift some due to currents, but if we keep a keen eye out we'll find land before night falls."
"Can we get one night on land before we leave the Islands?" Culax said petulantly.
"There is no Sere on Oerste so we shouldn’t have a problem," Ushcail said. "I expect we'll be able to rest there."
"And have a warm meal," Panalope said. She was huddling against the railing and leaning against me. "I never thought I'd feel so cold on a cloudless day."
"The ocean does that," Jessop said. "You'll get used to it."
I looked back at Ushcail. "You never answered my other question."
"I'm not sure what th
e answer is. I've asked Syrina myself, but all she'd admit was that her people have tales of once being fully human," Ushcail said.
"That's horrible," Panalope said. "You mean a wizard enchanted them?"
"Perhaps," Ushcail said. "Its very hard to say. Syrina said her people don't talk about it much. And they have few elders. The waters around the islands are not always friendly."
I just looked at the sail. The holes made by the arrows had not grown, but I could see the cloth at the edges flutter as the sail filled. "Do we need to do something about the holes those arrows made?"
"I'll fix it tonight," Jessop said. "You can't really fix a sail while its in use."
"Do we have a spare?" I asked worriedly.
"There is another sail stored below, but its too heavy. The mast can't bear the weight of the sail," Ushcail said. "I hope your Empire comes through. A new source of lumber and cloth would be a blessing for the islands."
"I have the same hope, but I have to wonder why no one ever returned. You'd think someone would have tried to sail to the islands in two thousand years," I said.
"Perhaps they were all like my father, and unwilling to do anything that was risky," Panalope said angrily. "He wouldn't even ask his ship captains to sail with any of the explorer missions we sent to the east."
Ushcail snorted. "Are the merchants still convinced that there is some great island of treasure to the East?"
"You know about it?" Panalope asked.
"It doesn't exist," Ushcail said. "That is one story I can talk about."
"Story?" Jessop said. "I thought I knew all of your stories. And I never heard that you joined any of the expeditions to the East."
"I never joined one because I was told about them before anyone offered me a position with one," Ushcail said. "Those expeditions have been going on for more than two thousand years. They have never found the island of treasure. And Syrina's people told me why."
"You mean that there is a reason," Culax said. "I thought they just had to look in the right place."
"They do," Ushcail said. "The right place is in deep water about two days due east of Isla Morda. The great treasure was the hoard of one of the few great wizards to ever visit the islands. He built his home on some kind of magical platform that floated through the waters. But he was killed by some great squid while visiting the Lava Lands."