Markan Throne

  Discovering Cloudy spending time with Neptarik when gambling, the Sailing Master displayed displeasure. He still found it necessary to take the ship's sylph away from the messdecks more than once. Tefric claimed watching was one step away from playing. While Balnus seemed quite happy to spend his day – not to mention his silver – gambling, Neptarik spent as much time with Cloudy as possible.

  Early one morning, just before the sun showed above the horizon, the ship's sylph dug him out of his cot.

  "Come quickly!" she urged.

  Pausing only to pull on woolen breeches, Neptarik scrambled up the ladder. He came onto the upper deck just in time to stare as the sunrise bathed the sea red. But the ship's sylph had not disturbed him for a sunrise. He followed Cloudy's pointing finger and stared as a huge tail fin smacked down on the surface of the sea.

  "What is that?" he breathed.

  Cloudy's eyes danced and sparkled as she looked at him. "Whale," she replied. "We will see more in a moment."

  Neptarik went wide-eyed as two whales broke surface, keeping pace with the ship easily, expelling old air through their blowholes before diving again.

  "Whales always come for a look. Curious about us."

  "They are huge," breathed Neptarik.

  Tefric joined the two sylphs. "Magnificent beasts," he muttered, inspecting his fingernails. "The largest to be found – on this world, at least." He laid a gnarled hand on Cloudy's shoulder and the sylph looked up, her eyes shining.

  "I am glad to have seen them," continued Neptarik. "There is so much to see here. Dolphins, whales, stars, the waves, that green flashing stuff –"

  "Phosphorescence," smiled the Sailing Master.

  "Phosphorescence, yes. Even sunrises are amazing."

  Tefric laughed. "Yes, they're impressive. Sunsets too, unless someone's too busy gambling."

  Neptarik grinned. It seemed sailors were little different from soldiers when it came to leg pulling.

  The Sailing Master turned back to the ship's sylph. "Siranvaday," he said.

  Some of the light faded from Cloudy's eyes, but her earpoints barely twitched. "So it is," she said, voice flat.

  "What is so bad about that?" asked Neptarik, as the Sailing Master returned to his duties.

  "Nothing," muttered the ship's sylph. "Means washday."

  The meaning of this enigmatic answer evaded the scout and he soon moved away to greet his owner as he came onto the upper deck. Balnus ruffled his sylph's hair affectionately.

  "This is growing well," he remarked, holding the other's hair in his fist. "Almost as long as a domestic's. We must get it cut."

  Neptarik, who didn't care how long or short he kept his hair, shrugged. "Sylphs in Hejiller wear theirs long."

  Balnus smiled. "It'll get hotter as we go further south; all the more reason to get it cut."

  After breakfast, Neptarik discovered why Cloudy seemed so apprehensive about Siranvaday. Today the crew washed themselves and changed their clothes. Captain Liffen informed them that custom decreed everyone washed themselves all over at least once a week. Tahena went below to the stern walkway to wash herself. Of the crew, only Cloudy appeared unhappy with the arrangement.

  Care of the ship's sylph fell to Tefric, which meant he prepared her saltwater bath. When the Sailing Master called for her, Cloudy stood at the prow of the ship. Neptarik noted most of the crew thronged the upper deck, even those who should be asleep. As Tefric advanced, the ship's sylph moved.

  "Melnea!" For the first time, the passengers heard the ship's sylph addressed by her proper name. But Tefric looked exasperated rather than angry.

  Cloudy leapt onto the lower end of the foresail's yard and ran up the stops holding the sail in place, pausing where the yard met the mast. Tefric shouted for her to come down, but she ignored him, clearly waiting for a chase. The Sailing Master obliged and sent someone up to get her.

  She waited until the crewman came within easy reach.

  Nimble as a monkey, she ran to the very end of the yard and swung herself out, gripping the leech of the sail.

  Tefric sighed. "She's going to fall one of these days, or end up over the side. When we'll have to waste an hour to pick her up."

  "She does this all the time?" A freshly washed Tahena rejoined them.

  "Every week. It's a standing joke with her."

  The crew enjoyed the chase and their sympathies lay with the sylph. Cloudy slid down the sail's leech, landed on the deck with a soft thud, dodged Tefric's outstretched arms and set her gaze firmly on the mainmast. Again, she ran aloft, shinned out to the very end of the yard high above and refused to move.

  Tefric shook his head. "A pity Siranva did not give sylphs a fear of falling," he remarked. "I can't be bothered chasing her up there."

  "You could always lower the sail," suggested Kelanus.

  "And lose way," retorted Tefric. He glanced aloft. "Not to mention having to take that staysail down first. She'll be down soon – boredom or nature will force her if I cannot."

  Boredom – setting in ten minutes later – brought the sylph into the waiting clutches of the Sailing Master. In moments, her shirt and breeches lay discarded on the deck. Neptarik openly and shamelessly stared. Arms, lower legs and head were tanned deep blue, but the rest of her had considerably less color, upper legs and thighs paler still than her torso.

  Caught, she submitted to her bath and washed herself under Tefric's stony gaze. She exuded an air of sulkiness, though her earpoints gave lie to it. Not as bath resistant as she liked others to think.

  Neptarik jumped when Tahena poked him. "Stop staring. It's rude." She turned to Balnus. "You really must give serious consideration to marrying him off."

  Balnus laughed.

  "I'm serious. When a sylph starts leering at every female, even infertiles, it's time for him to be married."

  Neptarik blushed and looked away.

  Balnus looked at his scout.

  "Have you met Caya?" Tahena turned to the still flushed sylph.

  Neptarik nodded.

  "She needs to be married. If your master agrees, I will arrange an introduction." Tahena's dark eyes sparkled.

  Balnus grunted. "Let's get all this out of the way first," he said.

  Tahena nodded and smiled to herself. Sandev would be pleased.

  ***

  Every stay thrummed as Morning Dawn leaned away from the stiffening breeze and picked up speed. The ship's sylph turned her nose into the wind and sniffed. Her eyes were closed and her earpoints twitched with barely suppressed eagerness. Canvas snapped as men sheeted it in and spray flew as the ship cut into the waves.

  "Fast!" she exclaimed, making her voice sibilant to hiss the word.

  Sallis ti Ath smiled at the sylph's excitement and shared some of it himself. He had little to do until they caught the Flying Cloud and he appreciated the crew of this ship did all they could. Captain Grath hoped to catch Flying Cloud before she left Beshar and still believed ti Ath wanted to join friends. Sallis had never said any such thing, but let the Captain and sylph believe what they wanted. Even so, he sensed the ship suspected his real reasons. If so, her sylph had not told anyone else.

  Ti Ath was used to ship sylphs as he had met several during his travels, the first when he left his island home. Few humans understood something more than superstitious nonsense concerned ships and their sylphs, but ti Ath had seen too much. He knew of the pact between the Ten and the life elementals swarming around the ilvenworld.

  "How long, Captain?" he asked. "Before we reach Beshar?"

  "Two, maybe three days," replied Grath.

  "Two and a bit," promised the ship's sylph, silvery gray eyes solemn and sincere. "The ship says two and a bit."

  Satisfied, ti Ath nodded. It would have to do.

  ***

  "What is that I can smell?"

  Neptarik sniffed at the air again, aware of something different. He didn't know what, hence his question.

  "I can't smell anything," muttered Balnus, for o
nce not gambling.

  Cloudy laughed. "Land," she replied. "Always smell its stink milas out at sea. We should reach Beshar tomorrow. Last night, a bird slept aboard, but she has flown away again."

  "Birds? Out here?" Balnus looked skeptical.

  The ship's sylph shrugged. "Happens often. Bird flies too high, gets caught in wind and is carried away from land. Most fall into the sea and drown. Others are lucky and find a ship."

  Tahena glanced astern, as she had every day since sailing. As every day before, the horizon looked empty. She hoped Sallis ti Ath had fallen far behind.

  A sudden flurry of activity as men swarmed aloft and along the yards to bring in both staysails. After that, they briefly lowered the yard to furl the mainsail, then hoisted it again to keep the deck clear. The Flying Cloud continued to make way on her fore and mizzen sails, gradually losing speed. The four passengers watched for a short time.

  "Won't this slow us down?" asked Kelanus, still concerned about speed.

  Cloudy gave a disparaging sniff. "We don't want to get close inshore too quickly," she explained. "The coast around here has many rocks and sudden pinnacles. At night, only the ship would be aware and then it might be too late. The more eyes the better. Trouble for ships is always found close to land." The sylph smiled. "We will be in Beshar tomorrow; we are on time."

  "Why did you hoist the yard again?" asked Neptarik, taking care to use the correct terms.

  "It cannot interfere with the oarsmen from there, if they are needed," explained Cloudy. "It will be lowered again as usual when we get alongside."

  Obviously unhappy that the ship had slowed, Kelanus turned to Tahena. "What if ti Ath catches us here, waiting for daylight to go inshore?" he whispered.

  The southern woman smiled. "Whichever ship is bringing him will act in exactly the same way as Flying Cloud," she replied. "We're safe."

  "How long will we be in Beshar?" Kelanus asked the sylph.

  Her earpoints twitched. "Enough time to offload the brandy, take on the rum, get fresh victuals and water... Two days, if we're lucky."

  "That long?" Kelanus was incredulous.

  The sylph laughed. "Not everywhere is as efficient as Cadister. And Cadister is our homeport; other ships get priority in Beshar. We might even have to wait for a berth."

  "Wait for a berth?" He seemed even less happy.

  The sylph twitched her earpoints. "Happens all the time. There are not enough ports for the trade that moves these days. Ships sometimes have to wait."

  Kelanus and Tahena exchanged a look. The idea that Sallis ti Ath might actually catch up with them seemed more likely now.

  Cloudy looked anxiously into their faces. "Something is wrong?"

  Tahena pulled herself together and managed a smile for the sylph. "We're sure you know best," she said. Even as she spoke, she doubted if Cloudy or the ship had missed the verbal sidestep.

  ***

  Approaching Beshar the next morning, the passengers were thankful for the ship's caution. They scrambled onto the upper deck the moment land was sighted and watched eagerly as the smudge on the horizon rapidly grew into cliffs and islands and rocky pinnacles. Neptarik shivered as he looked at razor-like rocks lurking just below the surface, many with swell breaking over them, white patches betraying their presence. The ship's sylph stood beside the Sailing Master; every now and again she murmured a course alteration.

  Kelanus looked around. "The ship's forgiven for waiting," he muttered. "Nobody could get through this at night."

  Unconvinced, Neptarik watched the ship's sylph carefully. The ship gave all the course alterations, so she must know this water intimately. Perhaps without eyes to help her, she could not pinpoint their exact position. The ship might need Cloudy more than anybody realized. He had a feeling the ship wanted that knowledge kept secret.

  "Hasn't anyone worked out a safe passage to Beshar?" Kelanus asked Tefric, when the Sailing Master strayed towards them. "Seems foolish to have a port surrounded by all these dangers."

  Tefric smiled. "Yes, but it lies south. An extra day's sailing. We're taking a shortcut."

  "I hope the shortcut doesn't drown us."

  "Last night you were the one in a hurry." Tefric's smile broadened. "The ship knows the way." He moved away again to give another course alteration.

  As Flying Cloud passed a forbidding cliff, the land opened up to reveal a sheltered bay, with Beshar at its head. The city backed uphill and its buildings gleamed in the sunlight. A forest of masts marked the city's harbor area. As the ship entered a channel, Cloudy joined her passengers for a few moments.

  "I'll be needed at the wheel soon," she said. She glanced around the bay. "One good sign: there are no ships anchored off. Might even be a berth for us."

  "What's that?" asked Neptarik. He pointed to a small boat under oars, headed toward them.

  "The pilot boat, coming to guide us in. As if we need them." She grinned, caught Tefric's eye and a moment later took her place at the wheel beside the Master's Mate. Each of the officers took his respective station as the ship prepared to come alongside.

  Tefric briefly took way off the ship to allow the pilot boat to hook on. The mizzen sail was backed against the wind, which countered the force of the foresail. Moments later, a man in a blue uniform with two gold stripes on each cuff came aboard and the pilot boat stood off. The sails were trimmed again and Flying Cloud moved forwards slowly with only two sails.

  The pilot nodded to the Captain and the Sailing Master. "Good to see you again," he smiled. "Happy New Year. And how is my favorite ship's sylph?"

  Cloudy turned and gave the pilot her lopsided smile, but her concentration immediately returned to her steering.

  Neptarik stared, finding it difficult to follow everything going on. The other sails were furled and oarsmen readied their oars. Before the ship stopped moving, the oars were out and the ship was now propelled by brute force instead of the wind. He marveled at the skill of the crew as they brought the ship alongside with barely a touch.

  The bustle continued, securing the ship with what the watching scout felt were more than enough ropes. Once secured, the crew still hadn't finished, tidying up and preparing the mainyard for use as a temporary crane.

  They had a small problem with the gangway, but once they had got it in place, a well-dressed man hurried aboard, immediately crossing to speak with Liffen and Cloudy.

  "He's the agent for the man who buys our brandy," Sedaro explained.

  Neptarik glanced at his owner and his earpoints twitched.

  "He wants to explore," Balnus told Kelanus. "Still a land sylph."

  "We must wait until the Captain grants permission," said Kelanus.

  Neptarik stayed well out of the way, but his attention fixed on Beshar. The quayside looked as busy as that in Cadister and the scout watched the workers as they swarmed about their business. They avoided all the goods and coils of rope and lines securing ships that crowded every corner. There were children too – human and sylph, ragged and barefoot – staring hungrily at the ships and mobbing any sailor who put a foot ashore.

  His gaze swung away from the quay to the gray and white buildings that crammed against each other in an untidy jumble. Obviously a very old city, Neptarik could hardly wait to wander its streets, especially if the ship stayed here for a couple of days. Neptarik had no worries about Sallis ti Ath, since the man was no threat to him, though he understood Kelanus's eagerness to be away again. He smiled as Cloudy joined him.

  "It will be this afternoon before the brandy is discharged," she said, glumly. "Tomorrow morning before the rum gets here, let alone loaded."

  "And you must wait for daylight before sailing." Neptarik sniffed.

  Cloudy shook her head. "With any luck we can sail on the late tide. We are heading south."

  "So?"

  The sylph smiled. "We will follow the channel. A landsman can follow it, even at night. Lanterns with light crystals show the way when it is dark."

  "So we will s
ail tomorrow night?"

  Cloudy shrugged. "Things always take longer than planned in this city. Just the way they work. I would not be surprised if the brandy stays on board until tomorrow."

  The ship sylph's words proved prophetic; they soon learned no gang of stevedores would be available before the morning, so Captain Liffen granted shore leave. Cloudy shook her head when Neptarik suggested she might come ashore with him.

  "Go with your owner," she said. "My place is with the ship."

  The scout didn't argue. Tefric, who had overheard the conversation, put his hand on Neptarik's shoulder as the other sylph crossed the deck to inspect something.

  "Don't take it to heart, lad," said the Sailing Master. "If the ship had her way, there'd be no stopping at all, just sailing. Anyway, she's seen Beshar before."

  ***

  After waiting for Kelanus, all four passengers crossed the gangway and set foot on dry land for the first time in almost a week.

  Neptarik's eyes widened. "This land moves!"

  His companions laughed at him, but all staggered slightly as they walked, thanks to being used to the ship's motion. While they regained the use of their land legs, they had to deal with street children mobbing them. Growled expletives from Balnus, threats from Kelanus and a few words from Tahena saw them left alone, if a few of the older female sylphs still stared longingly at Neptarik.

  "What is it with you?" Tahena demanded of the scout. "You're a magnet for female sylphs. Have you got a sign out or something?"

  Neptarik stared at Tahena in surprise, but said nothing.

  Tahena turned to Balnus. "They all seem to know he's available," she said, accusingly. "It must be some sort of instinct. You must –"

  Balnus scowled. "Give the lad a rest."

  "It's not all his fault," retorted Tahena. "You neglect his welfare by keeping him single."

  Neptarik ignored the banter between the two humans and walked more quickly towards the first street he saw. Determined to enjoy himself, he wanted to spend some of the coin presently smoldering in his pocket.

  Far above, Cloudy and Tefric leaned against the bulwark side by side, and watched their passengers. There wasn't much call for either of them with the ship alongside and neither liked to spend much time ashore.

  Cloudy had friends among the other ship sylphs, but she must wait until the day's work had finished before visiting. Few ship masters appreciated guests during the working day. Tefric spent even less time ashore; he usually only left the ship if ropes or sails were required.