The Cathedral of The Sea stank of bodies. The grand cleansing pool had people sitting upon every inch of the rim while dirty hands passed bowls of soup. Earlier in the day, chants and hymns had run through the vaulted halls, but any pretense of religious service had ended when the sun set. Despite the congestion, the crowd found room to squeeze away from Lucius when he marched through the doors. He didn’t even need to announce himself. Father Mosser came to greet him and brought him to one of the offices and was of sufficient standing in the church to address Lucius’ needs.
Lucius said, “Don’t explain it to me like I’m a child. Explain to me like I am the noble in charge of resolving this dispute. Why won’t you given them a whaling license. Don’t say you can’t. You certainly can. Why won’t you?”
The priest rattled a spoon through a cup of tea and sipped it, his eyes marching over Lucius and Valerie. “If I were to say it was the dictate of Acheliah, it would be correct to say that I cannot.”
“From what I hear, Acheliah is still grieving. I doubt she’s even heard of this protest.”
“And I wouldn’t have brought it to her attention,” Father Mosser said with a shrug. “I believe you want me to speak frankly, Sir Solhart? Those port men are communists, they’re no better than savages. I’ve actually had the unique experience of speaking with one of the wastelanders you brought north. Quite surprising you turned so many of them loose, but they, at least the one I met, proved to be like large children. Utterly voracious of the world and quite teachable. In fact, the only issue I encountered was explaining to the man that he couldn’t become a priest by fighting. That’s something only Aillesterrans do. But these communists would destroy all hierarchy entirely. The idea that all they want is food in the city is a facade to attack the temples. It would be far easier to petition the king to increase the dole from the granary reserves but they’ve never broached the subject.”
“You dodged the question,” Lucius said.
The priest cleared his throat. “Like all creatures of the sea, whales are the progeny of our goddess and caring for the seas is one of our duties as humans. If the men wished to go into open seas, we would grant them an unlimited license to bring in fanged whales.”
Valerie said, “You can’t linger in open seas without serpents coming.”
The priest frowned. “You shouldn’t cross them at all.”
Lucius held up his hand before Valerie revealed herself as a former smuggler. “So it’s lobed whales they’re after, I assumed as much. Continue.”
“Creatures of the sea breed like any cattle. No, that’s not a good comparison. We have no direct control over their breeding and they don’t do so often. There is no yearly rut as far as we’re aware. To maintain our production of holy oil for safe shipping, we only permit the harvesting of mature whales, this prevents the stock from depleting over time and the seas becoming uncrossable. I’m sure you understand what kind of disaster would await us then. Should the whales become a food source, it would be perhaps a single generation before the species was lost to us.”
“But you could harvest some.”
The priest nodded. “Some, yes, but not the amount they’re asking for.”
“How many would it take to, for the winter, clear out the serpents from a fanged whale region? And how many sailors and workers would you need?”
“I confess I don’t understand where you’re going with this.”
“Just answer the question please.”
The priest frowned. “It would depend on the ships that I could acquire for such a task. That is outside the coffers of the temples at this time. Suppose that we targeted a modest fifty, no thirty whales, then it would also depend on how long a period is given for the task. One ship desires about twenty sailors for the task, and they have to be hardy men to whale in the winter. Even returning with a single carcass could take over a week.”
“So, six-hundred men,” Lucius said.
Valeria laughed. “You’d best triple that number. Not one in three will be up to that.”
Lucius grinned. “If I might ask another estimation, how many men are coming to the temples to beg support for their families? I can think of few hardier men than those with children to feed. In fact, I wager it would be enough to fill the entire port and keep it busy for a time.”
Father Mosser’s eyes lit up. “But, there’s the problem of ships.”
“Problem?” Lucius said, rising from the man’s desk. “There’s an entire fleet of ships lingering at anchor right now with entirely spiteful owners right now. It seems you’ve caught on to how all of these problems can be fixed?”
The priest rose with a smile. “I believe I have.”
“I must ask that you hurry. The king has only given me two days. The ships won’t need to sail two days from now, but we must be ready to begin the work on that day. Is that a problem?”
“Hardly! Any more time and people would have time for second thoughts. Truly, the goddess has blessed you with wisdom, Sir Solhart,” the priest said, giving him a bow then extending his hand as a merchant would. Lucius clasped his hand around the mans and then was gone.
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
He marched through the city with his shadow at his side, aimed at the old town of the capital. The moment they rounded the corner from the cathedral, Valerie asked, “How did you know that would work?”
“I didn’t. I didn’t even have that plan when I arrived,” he said. “Do I strike you as a man with a master plan? I’m making this up as I go.”
Valerie frowned. “When I was briefed on you, the king said to treat you as the most cunning and deceptive strategist in the kingdom, and not to believe a word you say. Looked me dead in the eyes and told me to doubt anything I said, even if you said you were yourself.”
Lucius stopped and arched an eyebrow at her. “So if I did tell you I wasn’t Lucius von Solhart?”
She laughed. “It was hyperbole. Where are we going anyways?”
“To get ships,” he said, and took her to the front gates of the Montisferro manor. The guards at the gate were shocked to see him, but quickly unlocked the door and let him in. The steward rushed out, making apologies that it was too late for either of the ladies of the house to greet him, but beds could be made available. He thanked them for the hospitality and quietly made himself at home in the manor. Servants drew a warm bath for him, but before he could retire for the night, the steward knocked at his door.
“The ladies request your presence in the blue room. Will your friend be joining?”
“She only knows half of her manners. I’ll join the ladies alone.”
It is difficult to overstate the accumulated opulence among some of the noble houses. Earlier in the tale of Lucius’ life, there was a glimpse into the Ashe family’s estate, but that was filtered through the impressions of a child, furthermore, the accumulated wealth of the Ashe family has always been primarily in land. The Montisferro family owned businesses. They took gifts from merchants and hosted exotic auctions from which they reaped the most benefit, privileging themselves with a right of first purchase whenever a collection was brought in. In effect, they were the very image of decadence that people had when they thought about the nobility, even more than the king.
I have always put little value in material wealth. I see it as a fiction of the economy. A golden goblet holds as much wine as one made from fired clay. Their total wealth could be calculated to astronomical sums, but it existed in a manner that made it illiquid. The two sisters didn’t even think of trying to sell their collection because there were no buyers for any quantity of their assets. Should they attempt to sell even one of their rooms of art–and I don’t mean the pieces they had on display, but the ones kept in storage–the final auction price would have been a fraction of the theoretical worth.
Thus, they were in effect among the poorest of the noble houses, comparable to the Solharts, but had a manor almost entirely gilded in gold. The splendor of the room blended into one impression and sharply contrasted the simple, black dresses both women wore, even months after the death of Matteo.
Lucius had not been too shocked by the sight the first time he saw it, and he had perfect composure that night. He bowed, “Lucius von Solhart greets the ladies of the house. I thank you for your hospitality.”
Anna Montisferro, the biological mother of Matteo, said, “We told you at the funeral that you would always be welcome here, Lucius.”
Her sister, Caroline, said, “You work directly for the king, do you not? What brings you to the city?”
“The business in the port,” he said, getting confused looks from both women.
“Is there something happening in the port?” Anna asked.
Her sister grabbed her hand. “The king’s betrothed is coming, don’t you remember?”
The boy grimaced. “You don’t oversee it directly then, do you?”
“No, I believe Mister Sanders handles that,” Anna said.
Her sister shook her head. “Don’t you remember? Matteo insisted we relieve that man of his duties. It was the old fellow who likes to play the fiddle.”
“But that man took ill over the summer. I asked Mister Sanders to come back.”
Caroline sighed. “That’s terrible. Yes, rest is very important in such an elderly man. Then it would be Mister Sanders. Why do you ask, Lucius?”
Lucius asked, “Does he stay in the manor?”
Both women scoffed. Caroline said, “Certainly not. How could he oversee the port if he’s all the way over here? He stays in the house at the corner.”
Lucius described the house Kerouac had taken him too and Anna nodded her head. “That’s the one, yes. A fitting place, don’t you agree? I didn’t realize you’d be familiar with it.”
The boy frowned and sat down across from them. The chair appeared to be made of golden flowers, but the cushion was firmer than most saddles he had ridden. He considered explaining the whole of the protest to them, but suspected that they were so disconnected that he would never get help from them in time. He said, “I’m working with the temples right now to expand our viable fishing territory and bring more food into the city. They have plenty of manpower for the task, but asked me to help acquire ships for the work.”
Anna nodded. “How many do you need?”
“As many as wouldn’t inconvenience you.”
“And we’d be doing the temples a favor?” Caroline asked, not even attempting to conceal her interest. Though it wasn’t an advertised fact, Lucius knew through me that whenever the Montisferro family needed spending money, they turned to the temples. Officially, they donated a variety of art pieces and jewelry to the temples which eventually disseminated through the various monasteries and similar establishments, often getting resold quietly.
Lucius smiled. “They would be extraordinarily grateful if you could help the people of Vassermark in this way.”
“Of course we can help,” Caroline said. “We have quite a few ships on hold at the moment. The traders will need them as soon as spring comes, but I’m sure some of them can be put to use!”
“Your generosity will be known by all,” Lucius said and helped the two ladies draft him a letter of authority, being sure to have it put in his name should Mister Sanders be indisposed. They shuddered at the slightest explanation of the butchering process that would be needed for whales and gave him all the unused space available in their warehouses for the assistance of the people until the spring thaw. He was insistent on the wording of space not being used for other commerce, which the women were happy to use.
Thus armed, Lucius enjoyed their hospitality to the fullest and returned to Mosser after breakfast. The priest laughed and poured the three of them full goblets of fine liquor. “When I was a younger man, I would have called you the most dangerous devil of a man I had ever met. Today, I call you blessed by the wisdom of the goddess.”