Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Eight - Shore Leave

The Beaver Cleaver soared high above a hilly landscape dotted with little patches of forest and a long winding road following a rushing river.

To our right rose a mountain chain that Clive called the Seven Points on account of its seven peaks. To our left, the Darkwoods, with trees stretching out all the way to the horizon. It was the thing way out ahead of us that had me excited though.

Needleford!

From the distance, it seemed like a big, sprawling city, with homes and fields stretching out all around it and along the coast of the Empty Sea. Hundreds of ships were berthed in the port to the south of the city, and perhaps three dozen airships were sitting in the airship docks next to those.

A small castle atop a hill overlooked the city, and even from as far away as we were, I could make out the flags fluttering away atop the keep’s towers.

“We’re going to start slowing down, Captain,” Clive said.

I hung onto the rail and gave the pilot a big thumbs-up. “Got it!”

The engine stopped, the propeller started to spin slower, and the Beaver Cleaver started to slow down. Steve and Gordon pulled in some sail, and soon our rapid clip was brought down to a gentle coast across the skies.

We had to fly around the city in order to hit the airship docks from the right angle, so Clive brought us around until we were hovering our way across the open seas.

“Signal’s out!” Clive said.

Steve ran to the fore of the ship, then up the rungs along the side of the ship with some flags tucked into the back of his pants. Once he was halfway up the rigging he pulled them out and started to wave them about in a repetitive pattern.

“We’re seen!” he said. “Second lighthouse!”

I moved to the rails near him and looked out towards the docks. There were, indeed, two towers with big lights on them and what looked like a mirror array around them. Above that was a tower with a bunch of colourful wooden planks mounted to a complex set of pulleys and ropes. The panels were moving up and down, kind of like Steven’s arms.

“A signal tower?” I asked.

“A semaphore tower,” Steven explained. “I asked for a berth, captain, and they’re directing us to... Clive! Topmost, Second berth!”

“Topmost. Second!” Clive repeated. “With this tailwind... we'll need more sail. Get ready to pull them up! Port-side!”

We spent a moment running around, deploying sails as Clive indicated as we approached the huge wooden structure of Needleford’s air docks.

A group of humans, most of them young men, were waiting for us by our berth with ropes and hooks. When we came into the dock at last, they flung their ropes out and caught the metal stubs along the side of the Beaver and tied him up to the piers on either side.

There were other ropes, big ones as thick around as my arm, under us that came up to cradle the underside of the ship in place. “Lowering gravity engine output to nil,” Clive said.

We dipped a little, then settled in place onto some big wooden bracers below. It took a moment for everything to calm down and place itself, but the Beaver had successfully come to a safe landing. “Gangplank out!” I called as I moved to the port side.

Steve was the one to push out the plank, bringing it to a rest by the feet of a pair of men in officious uniforms with little anchors on their lapels.

“Ahoy Beaver Cleaver,” one of them said.

“Hey there!” I called back before stepping down the plank and shaking their extended hands.

“We weren’t expecting you here,” the older of the two said. “Pardon me ma’am, but is the captain available?”

“You’re talking to her,” I said. “I’m Broccoli, Broccoli Bunch.”

They looked at each other for a moment, then went on without a pause. “Well, as I was saying, your arrival was unexpected.”

“We did a job for the Mattergrove East Company,” I said, my smile still in place. My dad always told me that bureaucrats were people too, even if sometimes it was hard to tell. “We didn’t expect to be coming here. But here we are. We’ll need refueling and such, and we have some documents to deliver too, I think.”

The man nodded. “Of course, of course. Will the Mattergrove East Company be handling the docking fees then?”

“No, that’s on us, I think,” I said. “Do you have the invoice for it?”

“Ah, for the landing yes,” he said as he passed me a sheet. “And the first day ending at sunset. If you plan on staying for any amount of time, you’ll need to cover those fees as well. Payable before leaving. You’ll find our rates are very competitive with other ports.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” I said as I took the sheet he gave me. The numbers were pretty big, but there were also a lot of people hanging around the Beaver. “I’ll give this to my first mate. Where do we go to pay you?”

The man pointed to one of the towers overlooking the docks. “Port Authority headquarters are right there, captain.”

“Thanks!” I waved to the two of them as they made their way back to their office, and then, with nothing better to do, climbed back aboard the Beaver. I was met by Clive who was smiling a very pleased sort of smile as he came over.

“That was a nice smooth landing, if I say so myself. Not a scratch on the old boat.”

“I certainly couldn’t have done it,” I said. “Top notch work, Clive. I’m not too sure what to do now.”

“Ah, well, you young folk ought to get off the ship, maybe find yourselves a spot of trouble. I’m going to stay back here.”

I looked over to Steve and Gordon who were both coiling up some ropes and looking quite pleased with themselves too. I supposed that the bulk of their work was done for now. “That sounds like a great idea,” I said. “Shore leave for everyone while the girls and I sort out the fuel thing and send out a message or two. Oh, and maybe we can shop around a bit.”

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“Aye,” Clive agreed. “Might want to hire a guard or two for the Beaver. This city’s peaceful from what I’ve heard, but nothing keeps things peaceful like having a few mean looking boys standing around and giving anyone the stink eye.”

I giggled. “Alright. I’ll see what I can do.” I left Clive to give the good news to the boys and started towards the back, intent on finding my friends. But once more I was beaten to it as Awen, Amaryllis, and Bastion all stepped out of the cabin. “Hey guys. Ready to head out?”

“Certainly,” Amaryllis said. “I do like the idea of being a proper world traveller. I suppose that means putting a bit of effort into the act of exploring every city we encounter.”

“Awa, I’ve never been to Needleford; but I had some fish from here before, and it was really nice.”

“Maybe we can send some fish to my sister, she does so love that sort of thing,” Amaryllis said.

Awen did a good imitation of a fish for a moment.

“Clementine will order fish from quite a ways when we have a gathering that calls for something exotic.”

“Oh, oh, you meant, awa, yes, okay,” Awen said.

Amaryllis and I locked eyes. Our expressions didn’t change, but we were both communicating the same love of teasing Awen to each other, and a sisterly agreement not to ever-ever stop because it was too much fun.

I sidled up next to Awen as we started towards the gangplank. “I’m sure we can find a nice gift for Rose,” I said. “Something nice and tasteful that doesn’t send any wrong messages.”

“You can send wrong messages with a gift?” Awen asked.

“Not with the two of us helping you. Uh.” I looked to Bastion. “Three of us? Bastion, do you know anything about wooing cute harpy princesses?”

“My sister isn’t a princess,” Amaryllis said.

“I’m afraid not,” Bastion said. “There are some rather formal systems in place for gift-giving in Slyphfree. I’m familiar with those, if that would help?”

“So, if you wanted to tell someone, say hypothetically it’s a cute harpy princess, that you like her, and that you’re thinking of her even though you’re far away on some super important mission to save the world, what sort of gift would you give for that?”

“Ah,” Bastion said. “I realize that I may have overestimated my own knowledge here.”

“We’ll figure it out together!” I said. “Maybe that’ll reduce the pressure, right Awen?”

“Oh, ah, like sending the gift, but it’s from all of us?” Awen asked. She nodded. “Yes, yes that’s much better.”

I squeezed Awen’s shoulder and let her pass before me as we crossed the gangplank onto the docks proper. Most of the dockworkers that had come around when we took our berth were gone now, leaving the area surprisingly quiet.

“So,” I said as I skipped ahead. “We need to go pay for the dock, and Clive suggested we find a few guards to keep the ship secure while we’re off having fun.”

“That sounds reasonable,” Bastion said. “I don’t think it would be an issue in a Sylph port, but out here, I don’t trust the locals enough to leave valuable materials unattended.”

I shrugged. “Sure. We also need to find fuel and food.”

“Shouldn’t we be fine food-wise?” Amaryllis asked. “Unfortunate losses due to... culinary experimentation aside, we were topped up on leaving Fort Sylphrot.”

“Ah, I meant more... you know, trying out local restaurants.”

The docks ended at a long ramp that sloped down to street-level, one that was currently blocked by three young men. No, two young men and a girl. “Stop right there, travellers,” the young man in the lead said.

I stopped, and heard my friends doing the same behind me. “Can I help you?”

The boy, who was wearing a somewhat grungy shirt tucked into some patched pants and who had a neat scar across his nose and cheek, placed his hands onto his hips and tried to make himself look big and tough. “I’m the great pirate Two-Eyed Joe. This is No-Pegs Oda and the Fearsome Sally.”

“Uh, hi,” I said. “Can we help you?” Were they trying to help us, or just saying hi? And did being a pirate here mean the same thing as back home? I wasn’t exactly getting piratical vibes from the three of them.

“We’re going to take your ship. Give us everything you’ve got.”

I look to my friends, then back to the three of them. They were teens, maybe a year or two younger than me. A bit old to be playing pretend. “Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure. Give me everything you’ve got, idiot!”

Bastion’s sword came out of its scabbard with a rasp of steel on steel, and the air around Amaryllis sparked and sizzled as it filled with electricity.

“Okay,” Two-Eyed Joe said. “I’ll settle for half your stuff.”

“Joe, I don’t think it’ll work this time,” the fearsome Sally said as she leaned in towards her friend. The girl was really short, but didn’t look to be any younger than her friends. Not that it was easy to tell. She was wearing a big mariner’s jacket with her hood up and I couldn’t see much of her face. She did look rather shy though.

“Of course it’s a good idea,” No-Pegs Oda said. “We’ll never be proper pirates if we don’t steal stuff from people on a ship, and this crew looks small.”

I felt myself frowning. “Hey guys. I know being a pirate is really, really cool and all, but taking other people’s things is wrong, so maybe we should talk about this first?”

***