by Allan Joyal
“I am,” my wife said tentatively. You could hear the fear, but she just tightened her grip on the tiller and stood firmly on the deck.
“Hadlor and Kaven are on the foresail. Lucis and I will handle the mainsail when we need to move it. I’ll help where needed, but I have to be watching the cliff for the marks we’ll use to identify when to turn,” Ushcail said.
“At these speeds?” Jessop asked.
“It should make it a bit easier. Some of the gaps that you can’t make in a galley we can slip through easily. The waves won’t have time to push us into the cliffside,” Ushcail said.
“What?” Panalope asked in a terrified tone.
“Some of the gaps have side currents that drag galleys into the cliffface. We will be moving fast enough that the push from the waves and currents won’t have much of an effect. We’ll be through those narrow gaps before Gypsy is in danger,” Ushcail said confidently. “And now we need to tack to port. We should be aimed to have that pointed pillar pass just to our starboard.”
“On it,” Hadlor and I said. We started working the lines as Gypsy tilted with the turn.
“The galley is falling behind,” Lucis said. “Looks like they used most of their strength rushing to catch up with us.”
“Is that the last galley?” Panalope asked. “At least for now?”
“We’ll see,” Ushcail said. “If they are gathered in the main passage through the Brethren, we shouldn’t encounter any more. That passage is almost directly south of us, but would actually make us travel south of Martinyx. We’d have to sail northwest to reach the island.”
“So, this will be faster and shorter, as well as probably getting us away from any galleys stalking us?” I replied as we completed the first tack.
“Yes,” Ushcail replied. He was looking at something off the stern of Gypsy. I glanced in that direction and could see something flying towards us.
As the flying object moved closer, I identified it as some kind of bird. However, I did not recognize the blue plumage or the large beak and claws. The bird was carrying a tube made out of bone in its claws. It flew over Panalope’s head and then released the tube.
The bird slowed down and landed on the edge of the boom. “Read, Feed,” it squawked out.
Jessop had moved to retrieve the tube. He handed it to me as we all looked at the bird.
“What?” I asked.
“Read, Feed, Return,” the bird squawked out again.
“You’re in charge and if anyone was to say the ship belonged to someone, its yours,” Jessop said. “You need to read the demand.”
“We have a bit of time before our next tack,” Ushcail said. “I’ll find a biscuit for Molnam’s messenger bird.”
I looked at the bone tube. There was a loose scrap of paper rolled up inside it. It took a few tries before I could get a grip on a corner and pull the note out. It wanted to stay rolled, so I stowed the tube in the waistband of my pants and grasped the paper with both hands.
“Speak as you read it love,” Panalope called out. “I want to hear what this Sere is offering.”
I nodded and began reading the note. “I don’t know who you are, but I’ve heard about this magical ship. I offer you my protection and a guarantee of safe passage to the island of your choice if you turn the ship over to me.”
Jessop snorted. “First his captain fires on us and then he offers safe passage.”
“How do I answer?” I asked. I could see that Ushcail had found a round biscuit and was holding it to the bird. The bird was crushing a section of the biscuit as it watched me.
“There should be a piece of charcoal in the tube. Use that to write your reply,” Ushcail said.
“Why doesn’t every Sere use this system?” I asked.
“Takes time to train up the messenger birds and not every island has an area where they can nest. Molnam has the time and fortune to establish a good breeding system. I hear he does offer them to others as gifts, but one Sere claimed the bird had been trained to spy for Molnam. Now only he and his closest allies use them,” Jessop said.
“We need to tack to starboard. Kaven write down the response. The bird will take the tube from your hand as soon as you hold it up,” Ushcail said.
I removed the tube from my waistband and turned it over. A small chunk of charcoal tumbled into my free hand. One end ended in a point. I moved to Gypsy’s rail and started to write.
“Molnam is welcome to purchase a ship once Marrisey is setup to build them regularly. However, any more attempts to capture Gypsy will increase the price he has to pay,” I said.
“He won’t like that,” Panalope predicted.
“Especially when I offer your father an opportunity to be the first to purchase one,” I said. “I figure that if I’m nice to him he might help serve as our broker and we won’t have to worry about Gypsy being captured every time we return to the islands.”
I finished writing and rolled the paper back up around the charcoal. I slipped my answer into the bone tube and held it up over my head.
The messenger squawked loudly. It launched from the boom and grabbed the tube with its beak. Carrying the tube in its mouth it flew towards the trailing galley as Gypsy began to tack.
I rushed towards the bow, but Gypsy had resumed a steady course before I could do more than touch one of the ropes. Hadlor laughed at my energy. “Don’t worry. These are easy tacks. We’re just making sure the current can’t push us into anything.”
“You had a good answer for Molnam,” Ushcail said. “And how did you think of using Panalope’s father as a broker for ship trades?”
“He’s a merchant and he’s respected. We need someone we can trust to handle the negotiations if we can contact him safely. That will be the problem,” I said.
The galley behind us turned to port. We could see someone waving as the ship began moving away from us.
“And that’s it for the pursuit,” Jessop said. “Now for the Gullet.”
“How dangerous is this?” Panalope asked. I could see the whites of her knuckles as she gripped the tiller.
“I’ve never heard of a ship attempting it at night, even with the moon as bright as it should be tonight,” Lucis said.
Gypsy seemed to speed up and rise up on a wave. I looked around and could see Ushcail smiling. There was a gleam in his eye as he gazed out over the bow.
“There’s the current. Panalope, we need to stay in the middle of this current as much as possible. Everyone, we’re going to take in the mainsail. It will provide too much speed. The foresail will be enough to handle the turns we’ll make while in the Gullet,” Ushcail said.
“I would have thought it would be the other way around,” my wife responded. “And how do I see the current?”
“Watch over the sides. The current will be brighter, especially once the sun goes down,” Ushcail said.
I noticed Jessop’s shoulders moving spasmatically. “Jessop?” I asked.
“You’ll see once the sun goes down,” Jessop coughed out. “For now, let’s get the mainsail brought in and furled. We don’t need it dragging us out of the channel.”
Lucis, Hadlor and I moved to bring the mainsail down. Ushcail had walked back to the stern and was whispering to my wife as he pointed at things off in the distance. I could see my wife’s smile go from tentative to confident as Ushcail continued to talk.
Finally, we had the sail down and tied off. Jessop moved to the bow and leaned on the railing next to the anchor. He seemed relaxed even as the shadows lengthened with the setting sun.
“Jessop?” I asked him again.
“We’re lined up for the entry. First turn should be easy to see,” Jessop shouted. “Current is smooth.”
“Jessop?” I asked a third time. I was starting to get worried by his lack of concern. However, he pointed forward of the ship.
“Watch the water,” he cackled.
I looked at the water. The waves were now in shadow. I was going to say something when I noticed a
pale green glow. It was faint, but kept getting brighter as the sky darkened.
“What?” I asked.
“No one knows why, but there is some kind of creature that glows at night. It lives in the Gullet’s current,” Jessop said happily.
“So, we can use them to see where we need to turn?” I asked looking at the glowing green water stretching out into the horizon. I could see that the path curved to port far ahead. “And looking at the glow, our first tack will be to port.”
“Good eyes,” Jessop said.
“Prepare to tack to port. Panalope try to keep the ship in the green glow. If you can we’ll be safe,” Ushcail said.
“You mean?” Hadlor asked in an awestruck voice as we moved to the lines.
“I’ve made this run more than a dozen times at night,” Ushcail said. “I’d never try to run it during the day. The glow is the only reason anyone can make their way through the Gullet safely.”
“How did you find out about this?” Hadlor asked.
“My wife,” Ushcail said proudly. “The merfolk use the Gullet to avoid the human harbors in the Southern part of the Brethren.”
“Which is what they suggested you attempt. Obviously, your wife had told the elders that you are aware of this,” I said.
“Of course, I’d never ask her to work against the merfolk council. Tack to port now!” Ushcail said.
Hadlor and I began adjusting the foresail. The turn was gentle, which made it easy to maintain our stances as we shifted the sail. It was only a moment later that Ushcail called out. “Steady. We’re good. We’ll need to prepare for a turn to starboard.”
“We’re ready,” Hadlor replied. “How many turns will we be making?”
“It depends on the current. We might be able to hug the north side of the Gullet if the current is strong enough. That would remove four or five turns,” Ushcail said.
“So many?” I asked.
“Many would be small turns,” Ushcail said. “The Gullet doesn’t have many big bends. The fear is because it is narrow and the current can drag a galley into the cliffs to the south if a captain isn’t aware of it.”
“And without the glow you can’t see it,” I said with a nod.
“Yes, now, let’s follow the glow. In the morning we’ll be off of Martinyx and be able to trade,” Ushcail said confidently. “Pan, watch the glow, we need to make a slight turn to starboard. Try to stay away from the north side of the current here. We don’t want to catch any undertow and get pulled from the flow.”
“Turning to starboard,” Panalope replied. Hadlor and I jumped to the lines. The sail did not need much adjustment, but we wanted to make sure that Panalope had no trouble keeping Gypsy in the center of the current.
Chapter 35: Martinyx and Trade
The rest of the night passed quietly. Ushcail called out a few tacks as Gypsy rode the current through the Gullet. There was one time he had Panalope turn early and break free of the current to avoid a spot where the main flow of the water appeared to run under an overhanging section of cliff. Jessop had pulled out a boat hook and stood at the starboard railing, ready to try to push the ship away if we drifted, but Gypsy caught the current again and we sailed onward safely.
The night air was refreshing. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood as we followed a bright green path leading between the sheer cliffs. We emerged from the cliffs just before false dawn.
“Let’s get the mainsail up,” Ushcail said. “Pan, the island is just a bit south of true west. We’ll want to tack to starboard. You can do it now, or wait.”
“I’d like to allow the sun to come up,” Panalope said. “I’m not sure where the island is and I’d rather not turn too much and have to turn back.”
“Good plan,” Ushcail said. “Do you want Jessop to take over so you can rest?”
“Yes, if I can do that,” Panalope said. “That was stressful. Why didn’t you or Jessop handle it?”
Jessop let out another cackling laugh. “Ushcail wanted to watch the current and I was watching the walls to try to push us away if the current surprised him. You were perfect.”
I just slumped against the railing. The many changes in course during the run were not too difficult, but the number of times we had to get on the lines added up. I was exhausted.
Ushcail came over. “You did fine,” he whispered. “And you should be very proud of your wife.”
“I am, but I hope we don’t have to do that again. I should ask how is Lenoir,” I replied.
“Just waking up,” Lenoir’s accented voice replied from the hatch to the hold. “I would have been in the way.”
Panalope sighed as she walked over and slumped against the railing next to me. “I agree she couldn’t help much, but I’d have loved to have her around to try to chat with. I needed a distraction at times.”
“I think Ushcail would have been far more worried if you had been distracted. Some of those tacks required a ton of care if we were to avoid the cliffs,” I replied. I looked out over the bow and could see a few beams of light striking the wavetips.
“The sun is coming up,” Panalope said. “I can’t believe we stayed up all night to navigate that passage.”
“We were through it fast,” Jessop said with another cackle. “The Seres are going to think we vanished. None of them are brave enough to imagine that a ship could run the Gullet.”
I nodded and then looked out over the bow. The slowly increasing light revealed a strange dark area far in the distance just a slight distance to starboard from our current course.
“I think I can see land,” I said. “I thought Martinyx was farther away.”
Jessop stood up and used his right hand to shade his eyes. “It’s definitely an island. Ushcail, it looks like we’re headed just north of Martinyx.”
“It was that close?” Panalope asked.
Hadlor came over to look over the ocean towards the island. “You haven’t been on a galley before. The islands are actually rather close together. But Gypsy’s speed makes it much easier to travel between islands.”
“We need to tack to starboard,” Ushcail said. “Jessop you know the heading I want so take the tiller. Kaven, Panalope you can rest, but clear the bow so we can handle the foresail.”
I stood up. “I’ll handle the sails.”
Hadlor pushed me towards the mast. “You’re tired. Take a break, this will be an easy maneuver.”
Panalope pulled me towards the mast. I followed grudgingly. It felt wrong to be resting while the others handled the sails. At the same time I kept my eyes trained on the island off in the distance. Panalope shook me to gain my intention.
“What?” I asked as we sat down with our feet hanging over the side of the hatch into the hold.
“Is this the last stop?” Panalope asked.
“You know the plan. From here we want to visit our home and see about saving my sister. After that we need to visit Isla Oerste before we head for home,” I said.
“Home,” Panalope said wistfully. “And we’ll be able to return Lenoir to her husband and son.”
“Thank you,” Lenoir said as she sat down across from us. “This trip has been hard.”
Gypsy tilted for just a moment. Lucis and Hadlor moved the lines. Once Ushcail was happy they moved towards the stern. Lucis looked down on Panalope and I as he approached the mast.
“That looks comfortable,” Lucis said.
“I just want to have my feet on land again,” Panalope said tiredly. “This started out as a great adventure, but now I want to start building a home.”
“Once we are back at that harbor,” I promised. “But first we need to establish some trading centers and some people we can trust won’t try to steal Gypsy. Without that all we have is a nice harbor.”
“Need Marrisey to build ships from the wood you are going to be trading for,” Lucis pointed out.
“I just hope he’s able to meet us somehow,” I said. “The Seres around Isla Magestica are going to be watching him closely.�
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“Probably,” Jessop said. “Ushcail! It looks like Martinyx has launched one of those strange canoes they use.”
“How close are we to the outer sand bank?” Ushcail asked as he turned to look over the bow.
Panalope and Lenoir both stood up. They had to shade their eyes against the increasing glare caused by the rising sun as they tried to look over Gypsy’s bow.
“It’s not too far ahead,” Jessop said. “You can see it as a gold patch of water ahead of us.”
“Let’s anchor on the bank,” Ushcail said. “Then we can find out why the council launched a canoe.”
I stood up. “I’ll get the anchor. Just tell me when to throw it into the water.”
“Hadlor, work with Kaven. We want to be able to bring the anchor up quickly once all the trading is done. Lucis, go into the hold and pull out some of the wooden shafts and planks we have. I’d estimate that we’ll want half of what we have left,” Ushcail said.
“Half?” I asked.
“We’ll want to leave the rest with Isla Oerste so that they can start trading and get a warehouse setup for us,” Ushcail said.
I nodded as Hadlor and I began unwinding the anchor cable. Hadlor just laughed at my antics. “You are too serious,” he pointed out.
“Making all of this work is the only way I have a future at this point,” I replied as I put my hands under the anchor and prepared to lift it.
“Lucis, come help me bring down the sails,” Ushcail said. “We won’t want the wind moving the ship once Kaven releases the anchor.”
“Why didn’t we do that first?” I asked.
“I just realized it,” Ushcail said. “This is the first time I’ve tried to anchor Gypsy. A galley will stop if you just tell the rowers to stop.”
Panalope laughed. “Jessop want me to take the tiller?”
“Go ahead,” Jessop said. “An extra person on the sail will help.”
“How close are we to the bank?” Ushcail shouted. “And where is the canoe?”