by David Bell
“Did he say anything about me?”
“He said you were resourceful. I think he meant you were good at getting out of a tight corner.”
Namun beamed with pride.
Sekara was on the quay at the Palace naval base to see the two warships cast off and pull away in line ahead on a course towards the island of Dia some twenty stadia away. He had wished them good fortune but now, as they receded from view, he mused over what that fortune might be. The pirate might be taken or destroyed: clearly the best outcome. Or, he might be intercepted, but escape: unsatisfactory, yet at least all pirates would know the patrols were ranging far and they might be less fortunate another time. What if there were no sighting? Word would soon spread that the hunt was on and and that would sound a warning to sea robbers, as well as answer the cries for protection from the merchants on Keftiu and the other islands. Sekara was well content: whatever the outcome, none could say nothing was being done. He turned his mind to another matter. A whisper had come to him that Kanesh’s ward, Akusha’s son, was being spoken of at the Palace. He must look into that. There was no knowing what Kanesh might do should there be any mishap in that direction.
The force commander waited until his ships were close to Dia before he changed course, putting the sun behind him, and ordered a steady stroke that would get him to an anchorage near the distant end of Keftiu where he planned to lay up and rest for a few hours of darkness. An onshore wind was blowing, brisk enough for the commander to order the helmsman to stand well clear of the coast. Sudden squalls were not unknown and he did not want to be driven too close inshore. Kanesh stood with the commander outside the stern cabin and looked along the ship towards the prow where Potyr had stationed himself beside the lookout. Kanesh approved of what he saw: she was well found and the crew was young and strong. They pulled easily and not an oar was out of time. He doubted whether they had seen any action, but training should tell for something and they seemed well trained. In this state of readiness one rower in three rested with his oar inboard, changeovers being signalled by the ship’s gong sounding. The wind slackened a little and the day grew warm. Some of the archers lay dozing on the decking over the hold while others sat stoically gazing at the distant shoreline. Ektan, his face as cheerful as that of a boy let off school, was talking in his respectful old soldier to officer manner to the Captain of Archers who listened politely, nodding from time to time. It was so peaceful, Kanesh thought, like a sail across the harbour; but all of that might change very soon and then the swords in the hold and those bronze-headed arrows in the quivers had better be ready and sharp. He turned to the commander.
“What are your course and times, Commander, if I may ask?”
“Drop anchor in Apatawa Bay by nightfall, clear Diktinna cape midday tomorrow; should pass Kalana on the larboard side about dusk. Could lay up there but we mustn’t delay if we are to have a chance of interception. So I think we row on and that means we should make landfall on Kestera by dawn the day after.”
“Do you not think it wiser to rest at Kalana and have a fairly fresh crew for the last stretch?”
“Depends on the sea between Diktinna and Kestera and how we go. There’s only one decent anchorage on Kalana that I know of and that’s on the windward side, so getting in at night is not easy.”
“You know best, Commander. How many of your men have seen action?”
“I know what you are thinking, my Lord. There’s always got to be a first time.”
“Then let us hope that this will be it, Commander.”
Dusk was seeping up from the horizon to darken an apricot sky as the two ships entered the bay and came to a stop a ship’s length away from a small rocky island. Stone anchors were lowered over the side. Cooks were ordered ashore to build fires and prepare fish and beans for the crews. The captain of the second warship came aboard to join Kanesh, Potyr and the commander on the stern deck. They drank sweetened wine from beakers served by Ektan. There was no wind in the sheltered bay and the surface of the sea was as smooth as glass. The snow-covered peaks of mountains in the distance blazed red with the last rays of the setting sun and fires burned on the shore. Kanesh could feel the soft fatigue that rest in calm waters always brought on after a long sea passage flow through his body. For once, he might sleep tonight, he thought. After supper, lanterns were lit and hoisted at the bow and stern of each ship. The watch changed and the rest of the crew and passengers settled down for the night. No one knew when he might have such a calm night again.
The crews were called to their stations before dawn and both ships had cleared the bay by first light. With the sun to starboard they followed the curve of the coast, rowing easily in a calm sea until the sun was astern and ahead of them in the misty distance they could just make out a long dark ridge of land stretching out to sea. The commander set a course towards the seaward end of the ridge and as the morning wore on and the air cleared, a landmark well known to Potyr came into view: a pointed hill forming the cape at the end of the ridge which they could now see was bare and rocky with a spine of crags running along its length. Off to larboard the coastline was low and green inland above yellow smudges of sandy beach. A lookout called that he could see smoke on shore.
“Kydona,” said Potyr. “Ships from Taphis call in and there is some trade in stone from Malluon. Difficult getting in or out when the wind gets up.”
“I know the country round there,” said the Captain of Archers. “It’s where we recruit some of our best men. There’s two of them here on board in fact: the ones pointing towards the shore.”
“We seem to be making good time; how long to the Diktinna cape?” said Kanesh.
“The commander estimated about midday,” said Potyr. “If they keep to this stroke, I think a little later.”
“Thereafter, we face open sea. It would be wise to lie up and rest at Kalana. With a dawn start we could cross the strait to Kestera before the sun is more than a hand or so above the horizon, and have crews still fresh enough to deal with anything that happens.”
“All well and good if anchorage can be found on Kalana. This calm weather may not last.”
“You could pray for it to last,” said Kanesh with a smile.
“I pray always for good weather,” replied Potyr. “All seamen do.”
It was Ektan who resolved the question. As the ship drew level with Diktinna cape and the island of Kalana came into view, he approached Kanesh and asked permission to speak.
“I know that place, sir,” he said. “Been all over it looking for hawks’ nests: for the eggs, sir, for Lady Tuwea’s father, Lord Gerax. Lovely birds hatched from those eggs, sir. Fly here all the way from the Black Land those hawks do, somebody told me once. Should be arriving soon.”
“Is there anchorage on Kalana, master Ektan?”
“Two places, sir, but the best is a cove on the leeward side. It’s smaller but it’s better shelter than the other that most ships try.”
“Thank you, master Ektan. Kindly go to the commander and tell him what you know.”
For once in his life, Typhis was unsure what to do. The messenger stood patiently waiting for an answer. Namun was sent to bring Leilia.
“He carries the wand and he bears the seal,” she said. “It is a request and not a command.”
“Is there any difference when it comes from the Palace?” growled Typhis. “Well he’s not going unless I go as well and that’s all there is to it.” He turned to the messenger. “Listen, you, say to your chamberlain or steward or whatever he is, that the Lady Akusha’s son and his guardian, remember that, his guardian, will attend the entertainment, as you put it, but we’re not walking all the way up there. So if he wants us he’d better send a carriage for us.”
“The invitation is addressed only to the Lady Akusha’s son, sir.”
“You heard me. Now get back up there and deliver my message.”
As they stepped down from the carriage, Typhis and Sharesh were met by a manservant who conducted them into the garden of a larg
e house set back from the road. Namun remained unnoticed clinging to the back of the carriage until it stopped again near the bottom of the ramp that he and Sharesh had run down after the leaping. He jumped down and sauntered away with the wallet hanging from his shoulder. If anyone asked him what he was doing, he would say was delivering tablets to a scribe in the Palace.
Pasipha closed here eyes “A little more just there; that is good, oh yes, that is very good. This new cendana oil from Gubal, Thyras, is so good for my skin and so expensive. It makes me feel relaxed and yet adventurous at the same time. Can you understand that? I suppose you must feel the same when you confront the bull. Thank you, Luzar; that is perfect. Now, be a good boy and go down to the garden and make yourself pleasant to our visitors. Say I will see them shortly. And tell the maid to bring my yellow gown, but not just yet. Off you go. No, not you Thyras, they can wait a little longer.”
Sharesh had never seen anyone like Luzar before. His tattooed face and the colour of his long hair and his skin were fascinating. Typhis, who had sailed the island seas since he was a boy and had seen more ports and peoples than he cared to remember, was just as intrigued but determined not to show it. They were standing in the shade of an almond tree sipping water from the beakers that Luzar had brought for them.
“You want to know the land of my birth.”
Typhis sniffed. Sharesh nodded. Luzar’s voice rose and fell like music. “In the Endless Ocean; my land lies in the mists of the Endless Ocean.”
Sharesh started and was about to speak when Typhis put a big hand on his shoulder and squeezed. Better not say anything yet about the ship and where she might be sailing one day, was the clear message in his eyes.
“What is it like, your land?” said Sharesh.
“Green, all year long, green; not like this land. Waters run all the time. Soft rain falls and the grass is sweet and the forests are deep and cool. The sun is warm but does not burn skin, like here. We sing and dance. We have much treasure. I had a horse when I was a boy; a little horse, but strong.”
“Why did you come here?”
“Pirates took our ship, killed my brother, sold me and other men for slaves.” Luzar’s face twisted with the pain of memory. “Now I never see my land again.” Sharesh felt his hurt. It was a long time since he had seen his own home. Luzar’s expression slowly regained its usual composure. He looked at Typhis. “I am seaman, like you,” he said, “but here I am gardener. Lady Pasipha will see you now. Come with me.”
In spite of himself, Typhis could not resist doing exactly what Pasipha said. “Why, of course you must come to the entertainment, but before we go, I hope you will let me walk in the garden a little with the Lady Akusha’s son, whom I have never met, and hear all about his mother who left us so long ago. That is not too much to ask, is it? Luzar will show you the house and the view of the sea. I am sure you two men will have much to talk about.”
Typhis looked into the almond-shaped eyes and could only nod assent. With Luzar at his side he watched the yellow-gowned lady take Sharesh by the hand and walk slowly away beneath the trees.
“I see your mother in your eyes, Sharesh, their depth, the way you glance to the side and tilt your head. The set of your mouth is not hers; you must have that from your father. And your hair; I see you try to smooth it down but it will always grow up. No men of Keftiu have hair like that. Am I embarrassing you? Your mother came to Keftiu at the bidding of the Lady Mother, it was said. Where she came from we did not know. I was a girl not much older than you are now when the Lady Akusha, yes, from the very beginning she was the Lady Akusha, first assisted in the rite in the house of the Lady Mother. I was a novice then and frightened by the mysteries. She comforted me, took time in trying to explain, but even she could not persuade me and, as you see, I left the sacred service. Yet I remember her kindness. Shortly afterwards she was heard to have taken ship to Kallista, escorted by a merchant’s agent to whom she was, surprisingly, married, though that did not preclude her from continuing to attend on the Lady Mother as a matron servant. So you have nobility in your ancestry, Sharesh, and that is why you have been invited to this entertainment.”
“What about Typhis? He has been invited.”
She laughed and looked at him mischievously. “It would be nearer the truth to say that he invited himself, but it is recognised that he is acting on behalf of Lord Kanesh as your guardian, and Lord Kanesh has established himself in a position of some influence at the Palace. So a rough but honest seaman will be allowed to perform his duty, if not witness quite everything that is to be experienced tonight. Such men always interest me, but that is another matter and for another time. Yes, Lord Kanesh,” she went on, looking closely at Sharesh. “What do you know of him? What persuaded your mother to place you in his care?”
“She says he considers himself in our debt because we found him on the beach after the shipwreck and my mother nursed him when he nearly died. And Amaia helped.”
“I see,” she said, as quietly as if she were thinking out loud. “There must be a close bond between the three of you.” She swung round to face him and took both of his hands in hers. He was as tall as she was, no longer a boy, with shoulders beginning to widen and harden into those of a man. She opened her almond-shaped eyes wide and looked deeply into his. “I will tell you about the entertainment. First there will be dancing. You have seen some dancing already, I know, but this is different, more like playing games. Then musicians will play and sing. A storyteller will sit at his table, light his lamp, and tell stories of days long ago. Last comes the game.”
“Will there be anything to eat?” asked Sharesh, “and what sort of game is it.”
She laughed again. “Oh, yes,” she said, “there will be things to eat.” She stopped laughing quite suddenly. “The game? Oh, the game is a kind of hide and seek.”
Typhis was not very impressed by the sound of the ships that Luzar said they had in his land but he had to admit that they seemed able to stand up to some heavy weather out there on the Endless Ocean. He wasn’t going to tell Luzar that he had never been on that sea nor show that he was not too sure how you handled it, but if they could do it, then he could. Best of all, it was clear that Luzar knew the seas and the coasts well enough for him to be pilot if they ever got near the place. There was nobody else in prospect, after all. What he still found difficult to work out was what Luzar said about the sea being higher at different times of the day and night. Maybe Potyr would understand what he was on about.
“Lady wants you to go to the house now,” said Luzar.
“How do you know?” said Typhis. “I didn’t hear anybody call. Anyway I want you to tell me again about your sea being different from ours.”
“ No need you hear any more; I always know. We must go now. Her chair is ready.”
Potyr was right. The sun had begun its downward course by the time the ships stood clear of the Diktinna cape. Another great bay opened on their larboard side as they set course for a tiny smudge on the horizon that the commander said was Kalana.
“If your man can take us into that cove on the windward side he says he knows, we will drop anchor there for the night. He can have only one try, mind you, if the wind gets up, otherwise we shall have to carry on to Kestera as I first intended. What do you think, Captain?”
Potyr stared out to sea, his eyes sweeping the horizon, then dropping to study the surface of the blue water and how it broke to the sweep of the oars. He turned to starboard and, lifting his chin high, drew in deep breaths of air through his nose.
“A swell is stirring. I think we have calm seas only until the sun climbs high tomorrow.”
The cove was a snug fit for two warships but offered good shelter should the wind rise during the night. The island was shaped like a boney hand with the forefinger pointing the way to Kestera. There was little grass to feed the few scrawny goats that wandered amongst the rocks and thorn scrub, who scattered in fright as crewmen were allowed ashore to start up cooking fires or
stretch their legs and relieve themselves with exaggerated sighs of pleasure. Kanesh and Potyr set off with the Captain of Archers and four men to make the short climb up a gulley that led to a little pass from which they could scramble down into the anchorage on the other side of the island. What they found there sent them hurrying back to the ships.
“Most of the huts have been ransacked and burned,” said Kanesh. “Bodies in the ashes, some of them children, but no women that we could see. The boats are there but the small ship you told us about has gone.”
“People may have got away in her,” said the commander. “Or run off to hide among the rocks. We could start a search when it gets light.”
“There will be no time for that. The raiders have left the storehouse intact which means they intend to return here and use this island as a base for preying on shipping passing through the strait between here and Kestera. Some of the timbers in the houses are still warm so they are not long gone. We know they did not head towards Keftiu or we should have seen them. That means they could be somewhere off Kestera where they could sight shipping on course for the Pelos cape, or making passage through this strait. We should set off in pursuit as soon as it is light to have a full day for the search. Men could be sent out with torches now to search for fugitives, but I doubt if any will be found.”
The commander called up one of his officers. “Send out the boys with torches. They are less likely than seamen or archers to frighten anyone who may be hiding. Tell them to be quick about it: we do not want them at the other end of the island when we weigh anchor.” He turned to Kanesh. “You have other suggestions? I am listening.”
“Captain Potyr knows these waters better than most. Let us hear what he has to say.”
Potyr had his answer ready. “We could wait here and take him by surprise when he returns, but we do not know when that would be and in any case it would allow him to do more damage. He has a start on us and for the time being weather calm enough for him to lie off the Kestera cape, where he can sight ships making for this strait or the Kapros strait. Let us sail mid time between dusk and dawn and we will be off Kestera before day breaks. Let one ship make up the windward coast to lie in wait at the opening of the Kapros strait. Let the other steer openly for the outer coast. If he is there, as I suspect, and sights our ship, he will be in two minds whether to close with us, or let us come on. Greed may decide for him. Our ship is large and could be carrying rich cargo. When he is close enough to see he has roused a wolf and not trapped a lamb it will be too late. If he fights we will destroy him. If he turns and runs for the strait he is lost also.”