Wanderling (Spirit Seeker Book 1) (2 page)

“Adala, we have to stop by the
cloth maker’s tent before we leave,” Shem reminded his sister as they briskly
entered the marketplace together. “I want to see Mistress Tabea. Her husband
isn’t well, and I think we should buy some material from her so she can pay a
healer.”

“I’m sure Mistress Tabea is fine
without our business,” Adala mumbled absentmindedly. “She sells mostly
frivolous lace, doesn’t she? Or maybe that’s Mistress Tabitha. Step up the
pace, Shem. We have no time to waste!”

Shem had to trot to keep up with
his sister, weaving through the people in the market and clutching his empty
water bucket to his chest to keep it from knocking into everything. He had come
with Adala to draw water, but she insisted that they needed to visit the dock
first. He smelled fish everywhere as they navigated through the crowd, bumping
into more than one person as Adala raced them through the market.

People were everywhere, intently
negotiating prices for fish and other meats. He passed the alley where the
bakers sold their tasty confections and he breathed in the wonderful scent of
yeast. But a few steps later the scent was gone, replaced again by raw fish. He
enjoyed the feel of the crowd at the market today, how everyone felt happy and
eager to have the warm season before them. There was less arguing than usual,
it seemed. People had more energy to their steps.

Especially Adala, who continued
dragging Shem from block to block, scanning the booths relentlessly.

“Where are we going?” Shem said
over the sounds of fishermen boasting about their catch and shouting prices to
bystanders.

“I told you, Shem,” Adala groaned.
“I must find Captain Konrad before his ship sets off today. Best check the
docks.”

Shem sensed her impatience and
decided not to ask any more questions. Instead he raced after her as she turned
away from the fish market and strode briskly to the edge of the harbor where
the docks stood. After navigating against the flow of foot traffic, they
emerged on the dock, weaving past fishermen and sailors until they stood at
Captain Konrad’s ship.

Shem knew that Captain Konrad had
a smaller ship than his father’s because he had heard his father say so, but to
him it looked enormous next to the fishing boats at the dock. It had a painted red
stripe along the top edge, and two scripted words carved in the side. Shem
didn’t have to sound out the letters because he knew the ship’s name:
The
Mariella.

“Konrad,” Adala stated, using her
harsh voice. Shem didn’t always like it when she used it, but he supposed it
was the only way to get the attention of a captain.

Konrad strode down from the
loading dock of his ship and tipped his weathered captain’s hat to Adala. He
was a large man with a hooked nose and a bushy red-brown beard that curled in
every direction. “Miss Adala,” Konrad said in an admiring voice. “I heard you
left your father’s crew this year, but I didn’t believe it until now.”

Shem looked out to the harbor.
Their father had left two days before, sailing his ship south to trade. He missed
him already, a pit in his stomach forming any time he was reminded of it.
Still, Shem was glad to have Adala home with them for the summer. It got lonely
sometimes with just him and Mother.

Adala sighed. "I elected to
stay behind, yes," she said to the captain. “And I have been trying to
reach you for two days. You’re difficult to track down!”

“We set off today,” Konrad
explained. “I have been busy with inventory.”

“I understand,” Adala said
impatiently. “I’m here because I want work.”

"I’ve always thought your
father doesn't appreciate your skills like he should," Konrad said,
nodding his head. Shem sensed Konrad’s delight to hear her words, but the sea
captain hid his eagerness by stroking his beard and scowling behind bushy
eyebrows. "You always have a welcome place aboard my ship as navigator and
bookkeeper, provided we can agree on payment. We set sail at midday and we'd be
all the better to have you."

"I'm done with merchant
vessels, thank you," Adala said. "And besides, I think I'd be better
suited as first mate if I were to join your crew."

"Keep dreaming," Konrad
said with a bellowing laugh.

“That’s not why I’m here though,”
she said. “I want to work aboard your fishing boat.”

Konrad raised an eyebrow.
“Fisherman’s work, eh?”

“I can do a man’s work,” she said
matter-of-factly. “And I know sailing. I am willing to settle for a position as
fisherman if you don’t want a captain or mate.”

“No thanks,” Konrad said simply.
He turned to chide one of his crewmen, saying, “No, that barrel goes in my
quarters, not the hull! Lackwits.”

Adala strode forward and gripped
the captain’s arm, saying, “You know my father. You know how I was brought up.
I can pull my weight aboard a ship.”

Shem observed their conversation
with growing apprehension.
He isn’t going to budge on this one,
he
thought.
She’s stubborn, but he has already made up his mind.

Konrad looked her over curiously.
“On a ship, yes. You are a skilled navigator. Better than me, perhaps. But look
at you.” He squeezed her upper arm with disdain. “You have slightly more muscle
than my cabin boy. Fishing is a man’s game. Requires too much labor.”

Shem felt Adala grow angry, and he
decided to walk away from their argument. As he began walking back towards the
coast, he heard Adala’s strained voice, saying, “I can hold my own as a sailor
and fisherman, too. I’m not a fragile flower.”

Their tense voices faded into
unintelligible syllables. Shem wandered into the seaside market again, swinging
his bucket with each step. He observed as Captain Ludwig, the fisherman, sold a
barrel of fish to the cook from Gerstadt Castle. Shem recalled the cook because
he knew she had lost her baby a few months before. It made him sad to see her,
still full-figured from the weight of pregnancy but without a baby to nurse.

He turned to see Walther and
Mathis, twins his own age. He liked them because they always prayed solemnly in
the temple on holy days instead of acting restless like the others. He waved to
them, wondering if they might want to throw rocks into the harbor with him, but
their mother pulled them into the textiles alley of the market before Shem
could get their attention.

At Captain Stephan’s canopy, a
group of sailors spoke in angry tones, speaking of Iviannite trade routes, and
how the empire of Iviannah had dominated trade with the eastern countries,
leaving out many opportunities for Bolgish and Diggerish merchants. Their anger
was palpable, seeping out with every comment. One man whispered in an angry,
hushed tone that the Iviannite tradesmen were using witchcraft to make their
crops yield three, even four times a year. “It’s unnatural, I tell you!” one
man burst out. The others just laughed at him, and one of them threw a fish.
“Witchcraft, sure,” one of them said offhandedly, and their conversation
switched topics.

Shem sighed, glancing back at the
dock. He couldn’t hear Adala, but she was speaking with large, angry gestures.
She’s
not going to let me visit Mistress Tabea after this,
he thought.

“Shem?” called a crisp voice from
the crowd.

Shem grinned at the sound of Master
John’s voice, turning to greet him. Master John wore the blue uniform of a
Gerstadt soldier, with a polished sword at his hip and a gold pin on his chest
that showed his rank as the master of arms. Shem always liked how easily John
smiled, and how his brown beard was trimmed close to his face instead of
twisting every which direction. It made him appear younger and leaner than most
leaders. Most of all, Shem liked how John brought them food from the castle on
occasion. Soft bread and fresh fruit from the same kitchen that served Lord
Christopher himself!

“Shem, are you here all alone?”
John asked with concern, looking past Shem and nodding with understanding when
he saw Adala and Konrad arguing on the loading ramp of the ship.

“Adala wants to be a fisherman,
but Konrad won’t hire her,” Shem explained, sighing. “She’s going to be grumpy
for the rest of the day now.”

John smiled and tousled Shem’s
blonde hair. “We’ll see what we can do about that,” he said. “Stay here, I’m
going to go cool them off.”

Shem nodded, turning back to the
market while John strode down the dock. Shem noticed a group of young women,
close to the age of Adala, watching him go, chattering excitedly amongst
themselves.

“He’s handsome!” one said, the
others giggling.

“More than that, he has the ear of
Lord Christopher,” said the other. “If he were a fish, I would become a
fisherman.”

Shem sighed. He had seen these
girls flirting with men at the market. Two of them already had beaus—how could
they talk about Master John like that?

“Speaking of fisherman,” one of
the girls piped up. She was the shortest of the four, and had a high voice.
“Did you hear that Captain Raban’s daughter wants to take up fishing now?”

The others burst into laughter.
“Impossible!” one exclaimed.

“It’s true!” the shorter one
insisted. “I thought she was staying home so that her mother can teach her some
manners, but no. She is looking out for a fishing boat, according to my father.
She asked about how much his would cost last week!”

The others stifled laughter, and
Shem turned away from them, a bad feeling in his stomach. He watched the dock,
where John reached Adala and Konrad and began speaking with them. Immediately,
he saw Adala’s body language change, growing less angry looking but still
tense.

“I heard that she wears a man’s
tunic and trousers when she is on her father’s ship,” one of the girls behind
him continued. “Can you imagine?”

“Captain Aldric said she once got
involved in a tavern brawl,” another added.

“What’s she doing walking this way
with Master John?” one of them said in surprise.

Shem was relieved to see John and
Adala walking towards him, Konrad returning to his ship in the opposite
direction.

“Hello, John,” one of the girls
said, waving to him as he and Adala stepped off the dock.

John tipped his cap. “Ladies.”

“Adala, where did you get the
material for that gown?” one of the girls asked.

Adala looked down at her ordinary
wool dress, laced together along the sides of her waist. “I’m not sure,” she
said. “My mother made it. Your gown is nice too. I like the… yellow.” Shem
could see Adala struggling to find something to comment on regarding style.

“You should come to my father’s
shop sometime,” one of the other girls said quickly. “You would look well in a
dark blue. It would really bring out your eyes.”

“Thanks…” Adala said hesitantly.
Shem could see her puzzling over the other girls’ interactions, wondering why
they were a little too overly nice to her.

“We should take a walk,” Shem
said, eager for any excuse to leave the company of the four girls. “Master
John, are you coming over for dinner today?”

John shrugged. “Only if it pleases
your sister.”

The four girls raised their
eyebrows, then one of them said, “Well, we better get back to the shop. Good
day Master John.”

Shem was glad to be rid of them.
“How did it go with Captain Konrad?” he asked.

“Not well,” Adala said in an
irritated voice. “He still won’t budge, and now it’s too late.”

“Konrad’s isn’t the only fishing
boat in the harbor,” John reminded her in a calming voice. “I will speak to fishing
captains I know. One of them will give you work if that’s what you seek, Adala.
I will see to that.”

“If you say so,” Adala said,
taking a deep breath. “Either way, I suppose we should be heading back. Mother
will need a bit of notice if you will be joining us for dinner.”

They moved into the street and
weaved through the baker’s alley towards home. Maids with caps and baskets
bargained beneath each canopy in the street, their skirts a sea of earth-toned
patterns.

“I was glad to hear that your
father let you stay home this summer,” John said to Adala as they all walked.

“Father decided she would be too
much trouble if she didn’t get her way this time,” Shem added quickly, laughing
at Adala’s glare. “I don’t know how long she’s begged to leave the sea behind.”

John laughed at the two of them.
“It seems you’ve proven yourself even more stubborn than the old man, Adala.”

She smiled. “It will be pleasant
to spend one summer without the crew pushing me overboard or hanging my
nightshirt at the top of the main mast.”

“How will you cope without the
humor of sailing men?” John remarked.

“I will have to manage.” She
turned to Shem. “How about drawing water from the well on our way home, Shem?”
she asked.

John cleared his throat, and Shem
sensed his hesitation. “That may not be wise. There’s a trial in the square
today, by the well. A man from the valley stole three sheep. He’ll likely be
banished.”

Shem shuddered at the thought. “Is
it true that they brand them when they’re sent away?” He imagined the glowing
hot metal and shook away the image.

John’s normally cheerful face grew
grim. “Yes. It’s not something for a young gentleman like yourself to witness.
It’s even hard for me to watch some days.”

“Have you ever seen a branding?”
Shem asked his sister.

“Once,” she said. “I’d rather not
repeat that experience today, so we can get water at the castle.”

“That far?” Shem groaned,
shoulders sagging. The way to the castle was many blocks away, through somewhat
winding streets in the city, and all uphill.

Adala laughed. “Come on—you need
to build some muscles on your tiny frame.”

Shem started to skip forward, but
was stopped short with a heart-wrenching pain in his chest. He gasped, and his
water bucket dropped to the cobblestone street with a dull
thud
.