CHAPTER 5.
RINGFINGER WHARF WAS CREAKING AND SWAYING BENEATH THE weight of the refugees packed onto its spongy decking. Despite his height, even Kleef found it difficult to see anything beyond their heads except the masts and bulwarks of ships at berth. There were at least five large vessels moored along the pier, all three-masted caravels or barkentines with lines of pa.s.sengers still ascending their gangplanks. But at the seaward end was a small gap with a pair of slender masts barely rising above the crowd, and if there was anyone boarding the unseen vessel, the mob in front of it did not appear to be growing any thinner.
Guessing that his charges had hired the small vessel that wasn"t currently taking on pa.s.sengers, Kleef started toward the seaward end of the wharf. With his own watchmen on his left, and Carlton"s men-at-arms on his right, the crowd parted before him like water before a prow. It soon grew apparent that the throngs were cl.u.s.tered most densely around the gangplanks of the five large ships, where armed members of the ship"s crew stood guard as their officers sold berths.
As Kleef and his companions continued to push forward, an angry din began to build ahead. Soon, they reached the end of the wharf and found a mob of people standing along the edge, yelling down at an unseen vessel, simultaneously offering unthinkable bribes and threatening dire acts of piracy.
Before pushing through the crowd, Kleef paused and turned to Joelle. "Will the captain know you?"
Joelle nodded. "By sight," she said, "as I will him. But how can you be sure this is the right ship? I haven"t even told you what it"s called."
Kleef looked around the wharf, confirming that this was the only vessel not yet taking on pa.s.sengers. "It"s the one." He motioned Jang and Carlton forward, gesturing for them to clear the way. "We"ll need to board quickly, if we don"t want half the city coming with us."
Jang led the way into the crowd, bellowing orders to make way for the Watch and shoving aside those who were too slow to obey. But even with more than a dozen armed men helping him, the mob seemed to sense that someone was about to board the vessel and quickly began to push back. Finally, Kleef unsheathed Watcher and brandished the blade above their heads.
"Stand aside now!"
All eyes turned toward Kleef. A hush fell over the area, but the crowd seemed more transfixed than intimidated by the sight of his drawn sword, and no one moved.
Then Elbertina stepped to his side. "I suggest you do as he commands," she said, speaking in a soft voice. She still carried her weapons, and had slung a leather rucksack she had fetched from the grand duke"s mansion over one shoulder. "This company is on a mission for the Crown, and anyone standing in its way will pay a heavy price."
A murmur of discontent rolled through the crowd, but it reluctantly opened a path. Kleef led the way forward and soon found himself staring down at the deck of a small ketch. The vessel was manned by only a short, dark-skinned captain with a close-cropped beard and a sharp nose.
Kleef stepped to the edge of the deck and looked down at the gnome, who was standing amidships behind a chest-height deckhouse, resting a peculiar six-armed crossbow on its roof. With six quarrels arranged in vertical firing slots, and six strings tensioned behind them, it was an odd contraption-but one that looked dangerous enough to hold an angry crowd at bay.
When the gnome saw who had stepped to the edge of the wharf, he pivoted the weapon, aiming at Kleef"s chest.
"I"ve done nothing that"s any concern of yours, Kenric," he said. "Go and bother someone who deserves the trouble."
Kleef rested Watcher"s tip on the edge of the wharf. "Falrinn, didn"t I tell you what would happen if you ever showed your face in Ma.r.s.ember again?"
"Try that, and I"ll ventilate your chest armor," Falrinn Greatorm warned. "Besides, I"m not in Ma.r.s.ember. I haven"t set foot off the Lonely Roamer."
Joelle stepped to Kleef"s side and looked down at the gnome. "Captain Greatorm, I presume?"
Greatorm"s face lit briefly in surprise, then he scowled in Kleef"s direction. "Has this windbag been bothering you, Heartwarder?" he asked. "Say the word, and it never happens again."
"That"s a very sweet offer," Joelle said, smiling. "But no. We"re going to need him."
The gnome glared at her out of one eye. "Why would we need the likes of him?" he demanded. "I have plenty of ballast." Joelle chuckled. "They told me you were quite the wit." She sprang across ten feet of open water and landed atop the Roamer"s deck as light as a bird. The gnome scowled at her audacity in boarding his ship without permission, but before he could object, she stepped to his side and placed a hand on the crossbow.
"Kleef is very good with a sword," Joelle continued. "You"ll be glad to have him along when the Shadovar find us."
As soon as Joelle mentioned the Shadovar, the crowd began to murmur and back away from the Roamer-and the aggravation in Greatorm"s face changed to reluctance.
"Shadovar?" The gnome shook his head. "No one said anything about shadowalkers when I took this job."
"Then we"ll renegotiate," said Elbertina. She pulled a small purse from her rucksack and tossed it onto the Roamer"s deck. "That will be enough."
"And remember that this is Starmouth Harbor." Kleef brandished his sword. "And that I have good enough reason to seize your boat."
Greatorm"s expression grew hard. He glowered over at Joelle for a moment, then finally turned to the purse on the deck.
"That silver in there?" he asked. "Or gold?"
Elbertina closed her rucksack, then flashed him a condescending smile. "It"s platinum."
Greatorm"s face lit with delight. "In that case, welcome aboard," he said. "But I can only take eight of you. This isn"t the Queen Filfaeril, you know."
"Eight is madness!" Malik objected. "The Shadovar have many times that number!"
"Aye, and I was hired to dodge trouble, not look for it," Greatorm said. "Eight is all I can carry. We take any more, and those Shadovar you"re worried about will run us down before we leave the harbor."
"Then eight will have to be enough," Elbertina said.
She gathered herself up and leaped down onto the deck. Though her landing was a bit heavier and less graceful than Joelle"s, she managed to keep her feet and avoid smashing the lyre tucked beneath the flap of her rucksack. Still, Kleef did not jump down behind her. Greatorm was the kind of stubborn smuggler who always thought ahead and never gave up. Kleef actually liked that about him, but he suspected the gnome was just trying to limit the odds he would face when the time came to double-cross them.
Kleef turned to his troop and summoned Rathul, who had spent three decades in the Cormyrean navy before a third ship-sinking finally convinced him to seek a livelihood ash.o.r.e.
"What do you think?" he asked. "How many can Falrinn take in this boat?"
Rathul studied the ketch for a moment, his rheumy eyes taking it in from bow to stern, then finally shrugged. "I"d say twenty or twenty-five, as long as the day is clear and you don"t leave harbor." As he spoke, his gaze grew unsteady and his hands began to tremble. "But to go to sea, you need provisions and you need to be ready for heavy weather. I would have said fifteen or so, but you"d better take the captain at his word. He knows his own vessel."
Kleef glanced at Rathul"s trembling hands. "Don"t worry, Rathul," he said. "You won"t be coming with us."
Rathul scowled. "Why not?" he asked. "I have more experience at sea than any man here."
"You"re volunteering?" Kleef asked, surprised.
Rathul looked confused for a moment, then finally nodded. "I guess so," he said. "The Shadovar catch you out there, you"re going to need someone who knows how to sink a ship."
"True enough, but ..." Kleef made a point of looking at Rathul"s hands. "Are you sure about this?"
Rathul glanced down, then smiled. "This?" he asked, raising his hands. "Don"t you worry. They"ll be steady enough, once they"re holding a boarding axe."
"Then, good," Kleef said. "Thank you."
He turned to select the rest of the crew and was surprised to find not only Jang but his entire troop stepping forward. And standing next to them were Carlton and his men-at-arms.
Kleef didn"t know what to make of so much unexpected bravery. "Look, coming along won"t be any better than staying here to defend Ma.r.s.ember. In fact, it"ll probably get you killed. The Shadovar are still looking for our friends."
"Which means you"ll need help protecting them," Tanner said. He hesitated, clearly as surprised as Kleef by his words, then shrugged. "You deserve better than we"ve given you, Topsword. You"ve been fair, even when we didn"t respect you the way you"d earned. Maybe we just figure we owe it to you to do our duty for once."
"That"s right," said Ardul. "I"ll go, too."
"Well, the boat won"t hold all of us," Carlton said, stepping to Kleef"s side. "Even I can see that."
Kleef nodded and turned back to the Roamer, which Greatorm was slowly drawing toward the wharf by means of a windla.s.s connected to both of the ship"s mooring lines. Joelle was standing well forward, ready to grab a boarding ladder fixed to the wharf, while Elbertina was standing behind the gnome, ready to draw her sword if he tried anything shifty. Kleef liked her instincts.
He shifted his attention to the gnome. "How many of us can you take?" he asked. "Truly?"
Greatorm barely looked up. "Eight."
"Twenty," Kleef countered.
Greatorm"s head rose, an expression of true fear on his face. "No more than twelve," he said. "And if the seas turn heavy, you"ll be dumping your armor."
Kleef looked to Rathul, who gave a curt nod. "At sea, armor is a mixed blessing anyway."
Kleef turned back to Greatorm. "Done."
Greatorm let out his breath. Then Carlton picked three of his own men-at-arms to accompany them, and Kleef distributed the merchant"s bribe among the surviving members of his troop. Ten minutes later the Roamer was pushing away from the wharf.
The gnome ducked into a compartment beneath the windla.s.s, then a m.u.f.fled clunk sounded below decks. The windla.s.s began to rise, drawing beneath it a trio of tall, slender sails mounted around a vertical axis. When the sails reached a height of six feet, another thump sounded, and Greatorm reappeared. He removed a locking pin from the base of the structure, and two of the small sails immediately caught the wind and began to spin. The Roamer began to move forward as though propelled by invisible oars and soon fell into the long line of ships departing Starmouth Harbor.
Kleef took a moment to a.s.sign watch zones and order his men and Carlton"s to remain hidden behind the ketch"s bulwarks. Then he stepped to Jang"s side and spoke in a quiet voice.
"All this volunteering doesn"t feel right," he said, nodding to Tanner and the others. "What are they up to?"
Jang shrugged, then answered just as quietly. "It must be the platinum." He glanced aft, to where Elbertina and Malik stood near the strange windmill. "I think they smell treasure on the minstrel."
"Could be," Kleef agreed. "If anyone gets too interested in that rucksack of hers, discourage him."
"I will," Jang said. He glanced down at Kleef"s bloodied limbs. "How are your wounds?"
"Sore," he admitted. "But I"ll last until we find the d.u.c.h.ess. You?"
"Well enough," he said. "One of the battle-priests saw to me when I reported to the King"s Tower."
Kleef had thought as much. "Good. And speaking of the Tower, what was the lord marshall"s reaction when you told him there were Shadovar in the city?"
Jang shook his head in disgust. "It wasn"t to send reinforcements," he said. "He ordered the Tower doors barred and the portcullises dropped. I barely made it out in time to collect the troop and come after you."
Kleef gave him a bitter smile. "I guess the old marsh buzzard thought he was finally going to be rid of me."
"Perhaps so," Jang said. "His eyes did brighten when I told him you had gone after the enemy alone."
"Well, I guess that"s fair," Kleef said. "I truly hope he"s alone when he meets the Shadovar."
Jang chuckled darkly, but stopped when Joelle emerged from below decks carrying a wooden toolbox and a bucket of water. When she caught Kleef"s eye and smiled, the Shou took his leave and went to keep watch over Elbertina.
As Joelle approached, Kleef glanced into the toolbox she was carrying. Inside were dozens of different needles, threads of all thicknesses and materials, and small rolls of canvas that could only be sail patches.
"Expecting a storm?" he asked.
"Soon enough." Joelle took his arm, then drew him toward the center deck and sat him atop the hold cover. "And I want to be sure you"re patched up before it hits. Let me see how bad your wounds are."
Kleef eyed the bent, rusty needles in the mending kit. "Not bad," he said. "I"ll last until we"ve recovered the d.u.c.h.ess."
"I have no doubt." Joelle dipped a hand in the bucket, and the water inside began to glimmer with a faint silver light. "It"s what comes after that I"m worried about."
Kleef frowned. "Protecting the Eye of Gruumsh?"
"Exactly."
"I haven"t said I"d help with that," Kleef said.
"But you will." Joelle soaked a piece of cloth in the water bucket. "You"re a good man."
"That doesn"t mean I can ignore my duty," Kleef replied. "I"ll do what I can for you, but I"m here to rescue the grand d.u.c.h.ess."
"And we are serving as bait to improve your chance of succeeding." Joelle looked up and locked gazes with him. "Doesn"t one good deed deserve another?"
She smiled, and Kleef began to feel guilty for being so reluctant. Clearly, she and Malik would be taking extra risks by deliberately allowing the Shadovar to find them, and she was right-that deserved some consideration.
Finally, Kleef nodded. "Within reason," he said. "Now, tell me why you and Malik stole the Eye of Gruumsh in the first place-and why the Shadovar are so desperate to get it back."
Joelle thought for a moment, then motioned to the b.l.o.o.d.y armor covering the main parts of his limbs. "Will you take off those vambraces and cuisses so I can see to your wounds?"
Kleef glanced into the bucket of still-glimmering water. In the absence of a good battle-priest, it was probably better to trust to Joelle"s healing abilities than to do without. He began to undo the buckles on his armor.
"You understand, I promise nothing in return," he said. "My duty is to Ma.r.s.ember first."
"How could I forget?" Joelle asked. "But you will not save Ma.r.s.ember by letting Shar give the rest of the world to the Shadovar."
Joelle smiled again, this time with an expression of forbearance, and Kleef began to feel just a bit foolish. Clearly, he was defining duty a bit too narrowly, guarding only the hand when the foe was striking at the head.
"You have a point," he admitted, "as long as you"re not exaggerating."
"I"m not," Joelle said. "You"ll see that soon enough."
She had Kleef remove the doublet and hose he wore under his armor and began to clean his cuts with water from the bucket. There were more than a dozen, mostly around his knees and just above his wrists, but none were deep enough to have slashed any tendons or major blood vessels. Still, Kleef was relieved to discover that as Joelle worked, a pleasant numbness overcame the stinging ache of his wounds.
"So," Kleef said. "The Eye of Gruumsh. Where did it come from?"
"The one you saw came from an orc stronghold in the Stonelands," she said, not looking up. "Malik and I recovered it from the Hidden Temple of Nishrek in Big Bone Deep."
Kleef didn"t know whether to be impressed or skeptical. Big Bone Deep was the stuff of legend, home to an infamous tribe of orcs known as the Spleen Eaters. According to folklore, they had lived in the Stonelands since before the Storm Horns were mountains, and they were credited with a hunger for human flesh so ferocious that no human had ever seen their lair and survived to tell about it.
But, incredible as the claim was, that was not what gave Kleef pause. "The one I saw?" he asked. "You mean there"s more than one Eye of Gruumsh?"