Negotiations were concluded quicker than Duglin expected, and the unsettling witch hunter took his leave. Once their guest was seen safely down the gangplank, the boy could tell that the crew had a mountain of questions for their Captain, but Firch seized the initiative.
“I’m sure some of you have guessed that the deal with Thuley is off,” Firch began.
“What will we do, Captain?” Marsel began.
“We don’t even have enough money for supper, never mind provision the ship,” Tash added.
“What are we hauling, anyway?” Raimala ventured, adding to the chorus of voices.
The Captain raised a hand, and when his crew fell silent, he spoke softly. “First of all, let’s not disturb our neighbours. Let’s go see what we have in our hold before discussing our next steps.”
“I will keep watch up here,” Fultern offered. “Whatever you decide, Captain, I will follow.”
Inder fell into step beside Firch as the Captain made his way down into the hold. “That man, he was a witch hunter, wasn’t he?”
“He wants us to transport him and his prisoner to Darvigan,” Firch said.
The colour drained from Inder’s face, and the stocky man stopped in his tracks, blocking the narrow stairs. “Tell me you said no.”
“I told him I’d think about it,” Firch said. “But that is a last resort.”
“I’ll say,” Inder said soberly as he began walking again. “Why didn’t he book passage on one of those Imperial ships we saw out in the bay?”
“They’re staying here to fly the flag,” Firch pointed out. “Besides, you saw what they’re setting up. They already have one witch on board. Can’t blame their captain for not wanting to host two.”
“Two what?” Marsel asked as she and the others descended into the hold.
“Witches,” Firch replied bluntly.
Marsel blinked. “Witches? Not pixies or elves?”
“Thought they were only the subject of stories cooked up to scare children into behaving,” Tash remarked.
“We’d never heard of such things until just now,” Raimala added.
“Well, they are real, and they are trouble,” Inder grunted before shuddering. “I’d rather not be within a hundred leagues of one if it’s all the same to you.”
“Well, as it happens, we’re within a league of two, I’d wager,” Firch remarked dryly. He then turned to Bardrick. “Care to open one of these up?”
“You know, I’ve been itching to find out what’s been in these since we got the job,” the bear of a man replied as he found a crowbar. “Now, I’m dead certain I don’t want to know.”
“All the same, open one up.”
The crew watched with bated breath as the muscular man pried a crate open, and Inder cursed when he saw what was inside.
“A cannon?” Duglin blurted. The weapon was long, and the Imperial Eagle etched into its base seemed to gleam under the light of the hold’s lanterns.
“Not just any cannon,” Inder breathed as he struck one gently with a hammer, producing a steady, low pitched note. “These are the latest long nines. Long range, terribly accurate in the hands of a capable gunner and for the exclusive use of the Imperial Navy.”
Bardrick scowled. “Let me guess, the likes of us being caught with one means…”
“Death by hanging,” Firch said and glanced at the two slightly smaller crates. “I suppose we’ll find the fancy shells these things fire in there.”
“What were they doing on that wreck?” Marsel breathed.
“A ‘welcome to the Empire’ gift for our governor, I’d wager,” Inder suggested.
“What do we do with them, Skip?” Raimala asked.
“We find a buyer,” Firch replied. “There has to be someone out there willing to buy them.”
“Did you forget about the death penalty for possessing them, Captain?” Bardrick spat.
“Plenty of settlements and people out there that won’t worry about that,” Inder pointed out.
“Yea, but they’re the types who’d sooner pry the cannons from our cold dead bodies before paying us for them,” Bardrick countered.
“That’s enough,” Firch roared.
A shocked silence descended over the hold. Duglin was the most surprised of all. In his month on board, this was the first time he’d heard the Captain raise his voice.
Firch’s gaze turned steely. “These cannons are the only thing worth a damn on this ship. If we don’t sell them, we could well lose the ship.”
Marsel raised a meek hand, and Firch signalled for her to speak.
“To that point, Captain,” she said, her voice scarcely a whisper. “We don’t even have enough money to buy provisions. How are we going to set out?”
If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
“We’ll spend tomorrow begging and borrowing to scrounge together what we can,” Firch said. “Then we head west.”
“You want to try our luck at Murkwater?” Bardrick ventured.
“If it comes to it,” Firch said. He then turned to Inder. “Did you get any whiff of work while you were out?”
The first mate shook his head. “It’s the low season, Captain, and what little work there is, isn’t available to a ship with women and a branded on her crew.”
“But what about…” Tash began.
“Captain!” Came Fultern’s voice from above decks. “It’s Darnall. He’s brought men.”
Inder led the charge out of the hold, and once they were on deck, they found over a dozen armed men standing at the foot of the gangplank with Darnall at their head. Fultern stood at the top of the gangplank, blocking their path. His sword was at his hip, and he kept his hands loose at his sides as he stared them down.
“I don’t like the look in their eyes,” Bardrick whispered. “Shall I break out the weapons?”
“No, best not instigate things,” Firch replied.
“I’ve heard your crew have been running around town securing provisions, Seager,” Darnall called. “Are you looking to leave in a hurry?”
“Can you blame me?” Firch asked.
“No, but I trust you weren’t thinking about leaving before paying me,” Darnall said. “Has Thuley paid you yet?”
Firch hesitated before replying. “There have been some complications. Perhaps we could agree upon an extension…”
“I’m holding you to our contract, Seager,” Darnall warned. “To the initial terms we agreed before Ergon.”
“Well then, we need to leave in search of work so we can pay you,” Firch replied.
“Your first payment is due in two days,” Darnall scoffed and waved his men forward. “There’s no job that will earn what you owe in that time. I’m impounding your ship. If I’m not paid in two days, she’s mine.”
Darnall gestured to his men, who charged up the gangplank.
“Fultern what are you doing?” Bardrick demanded as the wiry man stepped aside to let Darnall’s men swarm on board.
“What Darnall says is true,” he replied. “He is within his rights to seize this ship until he is paid.”
“Stand down, Bardrick,” Firch growled and levelled his gaze on Darnall as the swarthy man strolled onto the deck and looked around.
“Captain, perhaps we could offer him one of those cannons as payment,” Raimala suggested softly.
“What’s he going to want with one of them?” Inder hissed. “He’d just as soon turn us in for the reward and seize our ship.”
“We’ll get you your payment, Darnall,” Firch said. “In the meantime, your men are not to go belowdecks or up onto the quarterdeck.”
“Who do you think you are to give me orders, boy?” the careener demanded.
Firch tapped his cheek before turning to Fultern. “Stop anyone who tries to go where they’re not meant to.”
The swordsman nodded. “Aye, Captain.”
Darnall’s men chuckled and exchanged amused looks before looking to their boss, who waved them away.
“I’m not sure what you’ve got up your sleeve, but one way or another, I’m getting paid in two days,” he warned.
“Of course you are,” Firch said. “And I’ll be sailing out of this port on my ship.”
As Firch walked to the gangplank, Inder ran up to him and hissed. “You’re not going to accept the job, are you?”
“I don’t see what choice I have,” he replied. “Have everyone except for Fultern meet me at the temple in two hours, he needs to keep an eye on things over here.”
“Will Ergon even legitimize a contract when there’s a witch involved?” Inder asked.
“We’re about to find out,” Firch said. “Where are we on the provisions?”
“All we need is the money,” Inder replied.
Firch nodded before walking down the gangplank and into the night. When he disappeared from view, Inder sighed and turned around. “You heard the Captain, let’s go.”
The Temple to Ergon was an impressive stone structure topped by a domed roof. It stood on a small rise close to the shore, affording pilgrims a clear view of the bay from the temple’s grounds.
“It’s just after midnight, and there are so many people here,” Raimala breathed as they joined the queue of worshippers waiting for their turn to enter the temple.
Marsel frowned as she looked out towards the docks. “I don’t see why we’re here. Women and the branded aren’t welcome in the temple, and I don’t like the idea of leaving the Vesper alone with those men.”
“The Captain wanted everyone here so that we wouldn’t get in his way should things take a violent turn on our ship,” Inder replied.
“Fultern, sure did a bang up job keeping Darnall and his thugs off our ship,” Bardrick scowled. “The Captain should have left me in charge of security.”
“Fultern has a rigid sense of morality” Inder said. “He decided they were justified to impound the ship, so he let them on. If they try to do anything more, he won’t take it lying down.”
“Get in his way,” Bardrick scoffed. “He’s alone against a dozen men.”
A wry smile crossed Inder’s lips. “That’s right, you lot haven’t seen him in a proper fight.”
“Did that fight happen while you were drunk?” Bardrick snorted.
Inder clicked his lips irritably, and the bear of a man backed down and scowled. “What’s the Captain thinking, forming a contract for this job? Didn’t you say the man had been turned down by every single captain in town? He should be desperate enough to agree to any terms the Captain sets.”
“All the more reason to get a contract sanctified,” Inder pointed out. “Keeps him honest. Besides, didn’t you know? All witch hunters are Imperial Agents. I wouldn’t feel comfortable letting one aboard without some assurances.”
Bardrick made a face. “Now we’re letting an Imperial Agent on board? Well, that’s just perfect.”
“Here’s what worries me,” Marsel said softly.
Inder sighed when she paused. “Go on then, let’s hear it.”
“I happened to overhear them talk about passage to Darvigan,” the young woman began.
Bardrick scowled. “Figures he’d be headed there.”
Marsel lowered her voice before continuing. “Are we going to carry our… goods there?”
“That would be mighty stupid,” Tash remarked.
“Which is why that’s not what we’re going to do,” Inder growled.
“We can’t just throw them away,” Bardrick grumbled. “That would leave us with nothing after everything we’ve been through.”
That prospect sobered the crew, and the mood grew grimmer. At length, Inder clapped his hands. “The Captain has a plan.”
“Wish he’d share it with the rest of us,” Marsel said nervously. “I don’t see how we can charge enough for passage for two to Darvigan to settle our debt to Darnall. Not if we want Ergon’s blessing…”
“Trust in the Captain,” Inder said.
An awkward silence descended over the crew as they moved with the line towards the temple’s doors. Then, Duglin could no longer hold back his curiosity.
“Why do you have so much faith in the Captain, anyway?” the boy asked.
The first mate whirled around and gave him a look that turned Duglin’s knees to jelly. However, his bitterness at the prospect of not being paid after a hard month at sea made him blurt. “You were third mate on that famous voyage of yours, and he was just the cabin boy. How can you have so much faith in him?”
The others fell silent. The truth was the question burned the mines of many in Avarice, the Vesper’s crew included, and they were eager to hear the answer. Inder continued to glare at the boy but emboldened by the crew’s obvious curiosity, he held the first mate’s gaze. At length, Inder shook his head.
“That’s right, he took you to see Thuley, didn’t he?”
“I don’t see what that…” Duglin began.
“Best not to believe to a word that man says,” Inder remarked.
“But it’s the truth,” Bardrick insisted. “You were third mate, and he was the cabin boy on that voyage across the Maelstrom.”
Inder glared at the big man, who shrugged in return. At length, Inder sighed. “You’d have to have been there to understand.”
“Isn’t that the truth?”
The others jumped when they saw Firch walking up to them with Andar, the witch hunter, half a pace behind him. When he joined them in the queue, the Captain clapped his hands and rubbed them together.
“Now then, let’s get this done, shall we?’