Take the body and give me the rest (6 page)

Seth felt a burst of disappointment inside of him. The Captain
seemed a good man and had spoken it fairly but it helped him not at
all. Seth fought through the feeling and offered up a winning smile
to the Captain. ‘You’ve spoken it fair and I thank-you for your
time; the wind be at your back.’ He knew enough sailing lore that
this was considered a good farewell for seafaring types. Seth
turned away and began to walk away from
The Fleet
, keeping his head
up.

The Captain
yelled, ‘Wait!’ and Seth turned back to face him.

The Captain spoke while continuing his tally of the passing
supplies. ‘If you need berth today, then your ticket is over yonder
on that wallowing whale called
The
Opulent
. You say you’re a
scribe and learned man, so that’s what you will travel on. The
Captain, I know him by his reputation; extremely wealthy now, but
from the humblest of beginnings. It’s said he’ll pay any price for
the best tutors for his son.’

‘If you
approach him as a tutor for his little princeling, I’m sure they’ll
see you to Pelloss.’ With that, he went back to his tallying in
earnest.

‘Thanks for the advice,’ Seth said, turning towards the vast
ship—
The
Opulent
.

The
Opulent
was three times bigger than any of the other ship in the
harbour, even the long-distance trading vessels. The gangway was
wide enough for four people to walk easily side by side, and it had
a rolled out carpet along the wooden walkway. While Seth’s clothes
and arms had set him apart as he’d strolled through the city, here
they were just making him one of the mass of well-dressed and
mannered people milling around in front of the ship as it prepared
to depart.

Seth walked to
the gangway and addressed himself to a ship’s boy of around
fourteen years of age. He was smartly dressed with a miniature
horsetail and even had leather shoes with little brass buckles.
Seth addressed him directly. ‘Good morning, young sir, I’d like
admission to the Captain, if I can.’

‘Right you are,
sir, but were just quite close to pushing off. What’s it
regarding?’ he said.

‘I’m a tutor
and travelling scribe. I’m interested in a gaining a berth to
Pelloss and heard your Captain might be looking for a tutor for his
son,’ Seth said. It appeared that the boy almost rolled his eyes at
that, but answered smartly,

‘Right you are,
Master, come aboard. I’ll see you to the Captain directly.’

With no more
than that, Seth was walking up the carpeted gangway and onto the
ship. It was nothing like he had seen and nothing he had even a
flickering memory of. The amount of empty space alone was
incredible. The deck that would be normally filled with cargo boxes
and bales of produce was left clear and the railings were free of
any arms or even men-at-arms. The deck was filled instead with
people and couples wandering around and enjoying the sunshine
casting down from the sky.

It didn’t
really seem like a ship at all except that in the middle of the
deck rose five mighty masts and that standing amongst the
passengers stood some well-dressed sailors with a serious look
about them. The boy walked briskly across the deck, weaving in and
out of the passengers with Seth striding quickly to keep up.
Walking to the rear of the ship and into a tall wooden corridor
they passed ornate doors to various rooms and passed other
corridors, lastly coming to a set of large white double doors at
which point the boy stopped.

‘This is the
Captain’s dining room. He’s sharing breakfast with some guests.
I’ll see you in now,’ the boy said.

‘Can I not see
him privately?’ Seth asked.

‘The Captain
doesn’t do private,’ the boy said, knocking loudly three times on
the door.

From inside the
room came a refined piping voice—‘Enter’—and the doors swung open
from the inside, opened by some unseen servants. Seth followed the
boy into the room and surveyed the scene as the occupants of the
room surveyed him in return.

The man who was
clearly the Captain was as outrageously dressed as his ship was
designed. He wore a purple shirt with large flowing sleeves, an
embroidered vest with gold embellishments and his bright white hair
in a bold fashion that perfectly complemented his outfit. It was
clearly a wig, but Seth had never seen such before. The General had
seen some in the courts of Pellosi, but that had been a fashion
from near to five years ago. At the table were at least ten people
enjoying a lavish meal. Next to the Captain was a boy of around
fourteen, an extremely attractive woman from Pelloss, an older,
very bored-looking man and some well-dressed guests. Clearly the
most important of the passengers.

The Captain
looked at Seth, placing down his fork, and regarded him with soft
watery eyes. The man looked anything but a sailor but seemed
friendly enough. The boy coughed and introduced Seth. ‘A young
Master Tutor seeking a word with you, Captain,’ he said and then
went to stand beside the doors.

The Captain
smiled at Seth with very straight teeth and, looking around his
table, smiled at his guests. ‘Ah, of course, of course. Well how
can I be of service to you, young Master Tutor?’ the Captain
asked.

The entire
stateroom had stopped conversing and eating, with the exception of
the bored older man, who was still tearing into his breakfast of a
cooked slice of beef. The air was still with the anticipation of an
audience at a play.

Seth decided to
let Yend have a free hand. He answered, ‘Many thanks, kind Captain,
but the question is how can I help you?’ he replied.

The Captain
smiled and the audience as well. So far, so good.

‘Well, then,
how can you be of service to me? You do seem very young to be a
tutor,’ he replied casually.

‘It’s true I am
young and younger in look than mind, but I am a scholar and tutor
and have heard this ship is a haven for my like and that in your
son is to be found a very promising pupil. I can teach Pellosi,
Cravosi and Northern, both spoken and written forms,’ he said.

The Captain
smiled again. ‘You use your words well so I believe your claim and
would be happy to take you on. But, sadly, we set sail on the tide
this very morning and thus have already engaged two tutors for my
son.’ Here, the Captain indicated the attractive Pellosina woman
sitting at the boy’s left and the old bored man at his right.
‘Jevos teaches Cravosi and the lovely Minsetta teaches Pellosi, its
language, traditions and customs. He has no need of Northern. Had
you been but a few days sooner, I may have been able to engage you,
but three tutors is a little too opulent even for my tastes.’ The
Captain and some of his guests giggled at his little joke.

Around the
table, people had again picked up their utensils to eat and begun
conversing. Seth again felt a stab of disappointment but also fear;
he needed to leave this city today and it was looking more and more
like the slave ship was going to be his only option. One of the
passengers had been looking at him quite intently since he had
entered the room. She was a thin, elderly lady, but with a refined
and dignified look. Her hair was silver but long and flowing to her
shoulders. Wrinkles from year of wearing a happy countenance
creased her face at sides of her eyes. Behind her stood a woman
attending her. She looked him up and down with a sharp eye.

The Captain
started to dismiss him when the lady spoke up with a clear, strong
voice. ‘Well-skilled with those weapons as well, are you young
man?’ she asked.

Seth turned and
looked at her directly. Maybe this was his chance. ‘I am indeed,
Madam. For many years I trained with my brothers and the men of the
keep.’ It wasn’t his keep, but she didn’t need to know that.

‘And what’s
your name, young man?’ she asked.

‘Seth,’ he
answered.

In Northern,
she said, ‘Seth of the blood and snow?’ He was a Northern hero of
sorts.

The Captain
coughed; clearly bored as he was no longer the centre of the show
and with that, the ship’s boy came to stand at Seth’s side, ready
to show him out.

The lady stood
from her chair slowly and regarded the Captain. ‘Captain, as a part
of my berth I do have a spare room joined to mine for a second
attendant,’ she said sweetly.

The Captain
laughed out loud. ‘It’s true, Your Ladyship, you do have a room for
another attendant and free passage for one as well,’ he said.

‘Master Seth,’
she said, regarding him. ‘I’d gladly take you on as an armed
companion for the voyage. It makes an old lady feel safer to have a
strong arm to lean on.’

Seth nodded to
her formally. ‘I’d be grateful for the opportunity, my Lady.’ He
was leaving Cravoss and leaving this very morning.

The Captain
smiled broadly, as if he’d enacted a great drama. ‘Grand, grand,’
he said loudly. ‘I’m glad we didn’t have to turn you away, young
Master Seth. Now, come join us for a quick repast before we set off
on our voyage.’

They made room
at the table and Seth sat in a chair on Her Ladyship’s right hand.
She turned and whispered in his ear, so only he could hear, ‘Don’t
worry; she hasn’t even found the tavern yet.’

Chapter 8

‘It might have
been him.’ The tall guardsman was speaking with Dirst, Seraphina’s
cousin and also member of the Dark Guild.

‘If it was him,
why didn’t you arrest him and hold him for us?’ he said, grabbing
the thick dark fabric of the guardsman’s red cloak and twisting it
tight enough to start to choke him.

‘He was dressed
wrong and there were off-duty men there who said he was a scribe,
not a slave. What slave have you met who can read and write?’ he
said, slowly going red in the face.

‘How do you
know it’s him at all then?’ Dirst asked the guard, releasing his
cloak a fraction.

‘The girl at
the tavern; she claims he was northern for sure and acting
strangely. She wants to talk to you both,’ he said.

Leaving the
guard slightly panting for breath, Dirst turned on his black booted
heels and crossed from the alleyway where they had met and into the
street; a footman opened a door in the side of the waiting
carriage. It was black and ornate with a golden crest on the door.
As he entered smoothly, the four horse team leapt to life and
started his trip back to the manor house. Seraphina would not be
happy that they had missed another chance at him, better to leave
the part of the guardsmen out and simply visit the girl to find out
all she knew about their tall northern friend.

The
Opulent
had set sail and left the calm blue harbour waters of
Cravoss
while they were still sitting at the Captain’s breakfast
table. The time had been spent listening to the Captain tell
various stories of great trades and bargains he had made. Seth had
never heard someone delight so much in telling others of how little
he had bought something for and then how much he had sold it for
later. It was not an appealing trait.

Her Ladyship,
seated next to him, had not said much more to him and instead sat
quietly conversing with the lady serving her. The attendant was a
matronly woman in her forties—or in the sunset years, as they said
in the north. She had a firm mouth that looked disapproving but
spoke to Her Ladyship in a soft gentle voice. Seth wasn’t off put
by Her Ladyship’s knowledge of his situation; if anything, it made
him feel like he’d made the right choice in his path to Pelloss. In
the north, there were lots of wise women who claimed to have the
second sight. She was clearly one who actually did. How much she
really knew, he’d have to try find out, but maybe she’d just seen
flashes of those who followed him. It was a safe bet for anyone
leaving in such a hurry as he that someone was chasing him.

The Captain
stood from the table after his plate had been cleared by a server.
‘Well, back to work. This ship won’t sail itself,’ he said as a
form of goodbye, slightly chuckling to himself. The ship had done a
fairly good job of setting sail itself, with the help of some
unnamed and unknown sailors. The Captain was followed out of the
room by his son, the tutors and the rest of the guests in short
order.

Her Ladyship
turned to address Seth. ‘Seth, why don’t you find your room and
come back to me around lunchtime, once you’ve had a good wander
around the ship. Have a look at the figurehead; it is quite
interesting.’

He inclined his
head towards her. ‘Yes, Milady.’ It was easy being noble, he
thought.

Now that
The
Opulent
was underway, he felt a
pressure and weight lifting from his heart and mind. In the city he
had felt that they had been closing in on him quickly, much quicker
than he’d thought they could, but now he had bought himself at
least two months reprieve from worry. They wouldn’t know he was
headed for Pelloss, but even if they managed to find out, it was a
country with more than three major cities, any of them vast enough
to hide in for a lifetime.

Taking Her
Ladyship’s advice, he approached the ship’s boy, who still stood at
the doorway, waiting for the idling guests like himself to depart.
‘So, lad, where am I to spend the next two months of my life?’ he
said, letting his speech relax a little.

The boy smiled
at him. ‘I’ll show you directly, Master.’ Seth knew they were
calling him Master because that was the honour given to all people
of learning. Still, it sat strangely upon him.

The boy led him
through the door, up the corridor and past the doors to other
cabins and indeed other entire hallways. They came out onto the
rear deck with the sun shining down and most of the passengers
looking at the view of Cravoss as it shrank smaller and smaller
behind them. The boy turned to Seth and stopped. ‘Now we have a bit
of a problem,’ he said, looking a little fearful. ‘The room you’ll
be taking adjoins Her Ladyship’s, and it’s quite small, not really
meant for a Master like yourself but a server, you see,’ the boy
said.