The sun was low in the sky by the time Multaw, Cyuw and I got back to the thoroughfare that faced the bay. It was high tide, and I could see that the cove was full of small boats. Many seemed to be making their way towards the river mouth, some moving surprisingly fast considering they had no sails and only seemed to have oars. Since some of the boats I saw earlier no doubt had a Whisperer aboard, perhaps they were propelling their boats so they could get home faster.
In their midst, the Coldhold seemed to rise out of the water like an island, significantly larger than the little boats around it. Thankfully, they hadn't hung any of the wisplights outside—I hadn't remembered to tell them not to show those off—but hopefully they were looking this way.
I held up my rock with the binding of lightwisps on it, the glowing side facing the ship, and waved it back and worth as Multaw and Cyuw watched my back. We'd been fortunate enough to avoid getting into trouble, though I'd caught some folk following us for a little bit. It hadn't escalated to anything, but I was glad for the reminder before we'd gotten into any real trouble. I'd have to rethink how I wore my belt pouch, since I couldn't just keep it so inaccessible forever.
The shadow that was the Coldhold began to move towards us. Fortunately, there weren't any other boats in the way and the water level was high because of the tide. The ship was able to come in and turn so that the outriggers came close to the thoroughfare. The three of us took a running leap onto the wooden walkway from the outrigger to the rest of the boat, and once we were aboard Yhorj stomped twice on the deck. The was the signal for Cottsy to activate the bound tool driver, and we all reached for the railing as the ship began to move.
"Where are we going, Lord Rian?" Yhorj asked as he steered the ship out of the bay. Fortunately, there were no other boats coming in, so he was able to aim for the middle of the opening at full speed.
"We'll need to find someplace else to anchor for the night," I said. "I don't want us getting swarmed by boats tomorrow morning. As soon as we're out of the cove, turn right and keep an eye out for someplace that looks good. Has anyone started on dinner?"
"Hans is downstairs preparing the meat, and we have some water boiling," Yhorj said, pointing towards the pot on the stove bound tool in the cabin.
Ugh, I must have been really tired if I'd missed that. It was right there! I nodded, making my way to the enclosed cabin in front and sitting down heavily on one of the benches there. Ugh, my feet! They hurt so much! "So, have you all worked out who's going to be staying up with me to keep watch?"
"Lord Rian, I don't think you should be one of those staying up," Cyuw said. "You've been talking to people all day, and you have more things to do tomorrow. You should rest."
Normally, this was when I'd protest that I was fine and that I could keep going, but… ugh, my feet! However, eventually I found the energy to say, "I'll think about it and tell you after dinner. Maybe I'll be feeling better by then. Cottsy, I'm sorry for asking, but can you bring the wisplights up so we can see where we're going?
"Coming, Lord Rian!"
The wisplights came up, already glowing with light. The bead receptacles were sealed with a wooden stopper so that the beads wouldn't accidentally go flying from a sudden movement. Multaw hung them on the hooks that had been added when the Coldhold had been refurbished, then tied the cord on the wisplight to the hook as well, to be doubly sure they wouldn't accidentally fall into the water. While both of them were the same shape—a stone base to let it stand, an enclosed copper bead receptacle, the core that made the thing work, a circle of bone, a wooden ring on top to hang it from, and a cord that trailed from the ring—one of the wisplights shed light in all directions, while the other directed its light in a cone in one direction, the better to see what was in front of us in the dark. The wisplight that sent light in all directions also moved air, allowing us to circulate and cool the air below the deck where weslept. It was a bit bright, but nothing they couldn't sleep through, especially with something over their eyes.
On either side of the entrance to the bay, the two lighthouses were beginning to shine, light glowing from their peaks. The white, even light was definitely Whispering. I saw someone watching us from one of the towers, outlined in the light and hard to see. I waved to them anyway, and they waved back.
Beyond the protection of the bay, the ocean was an ominous plain under a darkening sky. Fortunately, the waves were relatively mild, so it was an easy trip as Yhorj guided the Coldhold back the way we'd come that morning. Along the shore, we could see light in the various sheds. Light, and…
"They're still working?" Yhorj said. Even with the setting sun, dark shapes were walking down the shore towards the water, carrying buckets that they filled and struggled to carry back.
"Probably getting a start on tomorrow while it's still cool," I said. "Or maybe there's a day shift and a night shift. It's a lot harder for them to get the salt out of the water compared to us, and they need to get all the stuff that's not salt out of the finished batch too. And then there's how hard it must be to gather enough salt to make a profit and not just break even."
Stolen novel; please report.
I wondered how hard that life must be, how many people might be using those sheds. Did people even live in them? Or did they have to make their way from wherever they lived to the shed, then have to travel all the way back once their shift was done? How close was the nearest dragon shelter? I… hadn't actually ever learned if Covehold had dragon shelters…
We should probably ask about that. Yes, we should definitely ask about that.
––––––––––––––––––
Eventually, the shoreline we were passing became bare of sheds, the rocks taking their place, and we began to search for a good place to anchor.
The water was clear enough that I could see almost to the bottom once you angled the directed wisplight down into the water. It was a great help in finding good places to anchor.
Once we were anchored, everyone took turns stripping down and using the ladles to take a bath. Usually they wouldn't do that so late, but given the time they'd spent in town, it couldn't be helped. At least no one lost their soap this time.
By the time we finished scrubbing off the sweat and assessing whether our clothes needed to be washed in salt water again or could stand another day, the food was ready. The meat had been fried in some seel lard and its own juices, which had been quicker than stewing and much more flavorful.
We all ate in the cabin above, Multaw and Cyuw taking it in turns to tell the others of what they'd seen in Covehold's streets, while the men who'd stayed on the boat relayed what had happened as they'd waited.
"We had some of the little boats trying to come up to us," Liggs said as I listened. "But they only got close enough to give us a yell and ask where we were from, and if we were the 'ice boat' that came around a couple of seasons ago. One kept trying to get close, but Yhorj kept our distance, and eventually they gave up and went back to gathering salt."
"Did you notice if they had a Whisperer on their boat?" I asked.
Liggs shook his head. "Sorry, Lord Rian. I couldn't really tell."
"Well, keep an eye out next time. If someone was feeling nasty, a Whisperer could destroy the ship with a touch if they could tap any of the ice. I don't know how well Lori would be able to tell someone was trying to do it, or if she'd be able to respond."
The men looked alarmed, and I quickly tried to calm them down. "Don't worry, don't worry, it takes a special kind of evil to want to do that to men just minding their own business, but… well, be careful, all right? Even if they broke the boat, I'm sure the other little boats would come to rescue you. But if that happened… well, we'd have to look for a way back home overland, and we'd lose all our goods, not to mention the bound tools. And Lori would be really annoyed at me. You'd all be safe though, she doesn't know who any of you are."
That… probably wasn't as reassuring as I'd hoped it was.
"Anyway, tomorrow we'll be meeting with Ravia and he'll be picking up our salt and other trade goods. Once we have beads to spend, we can focus on our other priorities," I said. I held up my hand to illustrate. "First, we need to sell Binder Lori's beads. I was able to sell a few today, but doing it that way takes too long, so I'll have to go with my other plan. Secondly, we need to recruit those Deadspeakers Lori said we could finally look for, which will mean doing the rounds on the bars and placement offices. Third, we need to buy the things that the demesne needs. Oiled paper for everyone's windows, Deadspoken thick leather for boot soles… everything. We can get Ravia's help putting that order all together, so that's actually the simplest thing we need to do."
It wasn't as daunting as it sounded but it would take time. And while I could theoretically take as long as I needed, or at least as long as we had enough food and beads to make the journey back to Lorian, unless Lori had radically changed her mind there would be no additional projects in the demesne while I was gone, which meant my absence would be delaying the construction of the sawmill. That wasn't counting any new problems that might come up. While I had faith in Riz, Kolinh and Shana's capabilities—even as the thought of someone like Shana actually needing to be competent like this made me want to cry—I had slightly less faith in their ability to understand what Lori meant, or being able to tell Lori 'let's try something else' when she might have an idea that would be inadvisable.
And I honestly not sure where they would fall if Lori decided it was time to kill Shana and claim her core—including Shana. She probably wouldn't, but…
"Will we all be going out into the town and looking for what we need, Lord Rian?" Cottsy asked, pulling me away from my musings.
"It would be faster," I said, "but I'm not sure how advisable it would be. Now that there are other boats in the water…" I sighed, and shook my head. "No, some of us will have to stay here to guard the ship."
"Then only you and two other people will be able to go out into the town every day," Yhorj said. "Well, that settles it. You can't stay up tonight to keep watch, Lord Rian. Or any night while we're here, for that matter."
I blinked. "Say that again?"
"Well, you'll probably be out every day talking to people and handling the buying and selling," Yhorj said, and everyone else nodded in agreement. "So you need your rest to keep your wits about you, and you need to get an early start so that you have as many hours of daylight as you can. Any of us can stay up and keep a watch out, but we're not as good as you are at talking to people and making deals." More nods all around.
I opened my mouth to protest—
"So, all who vote that Lord Rian get as much sleep as he can and not need to keep watch?" Yhorj said. He raised his hand over his head. "I say aye!"
"Aye!" everyone else chorused, raising their hands as well.
"The votes are in, Lord Rian," Yhorj said with a grin. "Off to sleep with you after you finish eating."
…
Well, if they were so insistent, what else could I say?
"I've been betrayed!" I declared dramatically. "You're all voting against me? How could you?-! After all I've done for all of you, you turn on my like this?" I mimed being stabbed in the heart.
"You could just do what Binder Lori does and do what you want?" Cottsy said with a grin.
"Don't tempt me. Fine, fine, you can all have the night the watch. It can't be whoever's going to be coming with me tomorrow, though."
"We'll sort it out, Lord Rian," Yhorj assured me.
I made a big show of sighing and turning back to my dinner, pouting theatrically to hammer home my 'defeat'.
As the men began discussing who should come with me and who should stay up on watch—they'd also have to make sure the boat wasn't drifting towards shore—I wondered how everyone was doing back home.