Dragon Clan #4: Gray's Story

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Upon waking, Gray had no sense of the time. In a room without windows, his senses were restricted. His nose sniffed the musky, stale, slightly sour air trapped in the cabin. He recognized hemp, oil, and overpowering smells of tar, all far stronger than the smell of the sea. Oddly, he had not noticed the dank smells the night before. Or perhaps not so odd. There had been far too much to think about during the excitement of boarding, and the relief of their escape from Shrewsbury.

The next item he noticed was that the room would not hold still. It rocked gently, swaying from side to side as it also moved up and down. The motion soothed his rising fears as he remembered the night before, the dangerous trip to the ship, and rescuing Kelby.

“You awake?” Anna asked softly.

“Just.”

“I think we’re at sea.”

“Me too. Any idea of for how long?”

Anna snorted, “I can’t even tell if it’s day or night.”

Gray sat up, feeling that nature would demand he find a place to pee before long. He crawled to the door and turned the handle. The door opened slightly. In the passageway outside was a burning candle, and below hung several tapers. He stood and reached for one, lighting it from the candle. Inside the room, he lit the candle.

As dim as the light was, the room seemed to be instantly thrown into brilliance. Glancing at the bunk beds, he noticed a compartment on the floor under the bed where Kelby slept containing a round object. Pulling it out revealed a bedpan.

Anna was looking over the side of the top bunk. “That’s a blessing. If you aren’t going to use it right now, I am.”

After they had finished, Gray closed the attached lid and slid the bedpan back into place. Now his stomach growled. “We did what we were not supposed to. Everything we brought with us is back at Shrewsbury in the woods.”

“No water, wine, or food, along with our bows. We were in such a damn hurry to change into the navy uniforms and rescue Kelby that we left everything.”

He patted his hip. The purse was still inside his waistband. “The ticket agent told me the water on board would make us sick and the food is bad. But at least, we’re safe.”

Anna climbed back up into her bunk, giving Gray more room to stretch out in the small cabin. “Well, what’s past is past. The reality is that the voyage to Fleming is only five or six days, usually. We can ask for wine to purify the water, and eat whatever the crew does. They look healthy enough.”

“The crew really helped us back there. I don’t know that we could have gotten aboard the Pearl without them, especially the Captain’s help.”

Anna said, “Do you still have a lot of coins in your purse?”

“Even a few gold.”

“We don’t use money in Oasis. What’s the harm in giving a gold coin to the Captain and asking him to share it with the crew?”

Gray reached into his purse and pulled out both of the small gold coins. Each would buy a small farm, the animals, and have silver left over. Strange that a round, yellow circle of gold could be exchanged for all that. A large silver paid for the best horse. Small silvers bought a surprising number of things, and even copper coins paid for lodging and meals.

He sat with his back to the wall, listening to the creaking sounds of a ship at sea, his eyes closed and his mind racing. They had not solved or discovered much in fact, but there were a hundred new doors to pass through. Their primary objective was still information about the others, and of them, he knew little more than a week ago. He suspected they intended to deliver troops to Shrewsbury, but he had no idea of their intentions from then on. They still needed more information to take to the Dragon Clan families.

The thought of the Dragon Clan made his hand reach to the small of his back. There was no sensation of any nearby dragon. He felt empty, almost lost. And scared.

A loud knock on the door sounded. He leaped up and opened it. The same young sailor stood stiffly at attention. “The Captain will see all three on the quarterdeck. I’ll show you the way.”

Anna climbed nimbly down to the floor and checked on Kelby, shaking her head at Gray’s unasked question.

Gray said, “The young woman is drugged and cannot stand.”

“Well then, I’ll take the two of you.”

Anna and Gray followed the youth down a short passage and up a steep set of stairs. A couple of turns and he threw open a door. Brilliant sunlight filled the passage, so bright Gray fought raising up an arm to protect his eyes.

They stepped out onto a small deck higher than the cargo deck of the ship. A helm stood in the center, and behind the sailor manning the helm stood the Captain. As they stepped outside, he moved to greet them.

Gray took the time to look up at the billowing sails, the sparkling blue sea, and the bow of the ship rising with each swell. The wind struck him, as did the sharp smells and stinging warmth.

“So you are the two trouble-making passengers. How are you enjoying the voyage?”

Gray was going to mutter something positive, but Anna spoke first. “Other than being cooped up in a cabin unfit for a prisoner, with no food or water, and we can’t even let any air into the room, things are fine.”

The Captain laughed as if it was the funniest thing he’d heard in weeks. He said, “It is a storage cabin not fit for passengers. You paid for a larger cabin . . . one with windows, food, and I believe you’ll be satisfied. Last night’s accommodations were only so you might escape unseen.”

Gray waited until he finished and held out a single gold coin. “This is to thank you and the crew for helping us. Can you distribute it among your crew with our gratitude?”

He hesitated only an instant; then the coin disappeared into his hand. “This is very generous, but you know that we do not like Shrewsbury, and if I had my way we would avoid that port as if it had the plague. However, your generosity will be appreciated by my crew, and I expect you’ll be treated like royalty.”

Gray said, “When we booked passage we intended to bring our own food, but we managed to leave everything we own behind. We’re hungry.”

“And thirsty,” Anna added. “We need wine for the water.”

“And proper cabins,” the Captain added with a chuckle. He turned to the messenger, “Escort them to the two aft cabins above mine. Have the cook prepare them a meal and deliver wine to them. Tell the cook his fair share of the gold in my hand depends on pleasing them for the entire voyage.”

Anna said, “The third one of us was drugged by the people back there. We may need help getting her to another cabin.”

The Captain turned to the messenger again. “Tell Mr. Danner I need two of his strongest men and a sheet of canvas to carry an injured passenger to her cabin.”

“Thank you, sir,” Gray said, bowing his head slightly, as was the custom. “Will we be allowed ashore in Fleming?”

“Of course. We’ll be there two days, I expect. Just do not miss our sailing time because I will not wait. Is there anything else?”

Anna said, “The clerk said we cannot go on deck. If we’re to be on this ship for over twenty days, I think that should be reconsidered.”

The Captain tried to hide a smile as he pointed to a deck even higher than the one they were on. It was at the far stern of the ship, and it was the highest, a few paces in each direction, a heavy railing around it. “That is yours as long as the weather is calm. Now I have a ship to sail, but if you have more questions, send the ship’s boy to me with your concerns.”

He dismissed them by turning his back and looking over the helmsman’s shoulder to check their course on the binnacle. The messenger escorted them to the storage room they used as a cabin and left them to gather their few belongings before escorting them to their new cabins. He disappeared long enough to return with two burly men and a sheet of canvas.

They helped get Kelby onto the canvas, and then the men lifted and carried her between them. Two short passages and one more ladder took them to a short hallway with only two doors. The messenger opened the first and motioned for them to follow him inside.

Inside were two beds, a cabin almost twice as large as the last, and best of all were two sets of small windows that could swing open. A connecting door went to the next cabin, containing one bed, a very large desk, and bins of scrolls. It also had the same sets of windows.

They helped Kelby into bed in the first room, and the three crewmen headed for the door. The messenger called over his shoulder, “On my way to see the cook.”

Gray took the master’s cabin, exploring the hallway as he did. A small set of steep stairs carried him to the tiny deck that was the roof of their cabins a deck below. Lost in his thoughts, he heard Anna’s call and went into the first cabin. A tray of sliced meats, cheeses, bread, and an assortment of fruit had been delivered. There were four bottles of wine, each different. Water sat on another tray, a pitcher surrounded by five mugs.

Anna, stuffing a handful of grapes into her mouth, said, “I get the feeling you really overpaid for this.”

Glancing at Kelby, and remembering the initial cabin they were in, he didn’t agree. Twenty days down in that tiny cabin below would have been hell. He reached for a slice of pork, placed a slice of cheese on top and took a bite. He opened a bottle of wine and tasted it. Then he glanced around the cabin and the opulent fixtures again. No, he hadn’t overpaid at all.

After eating his fill, he went to check on Kelby and managed to get her sitting. He dipped soft bread into a mug of wine and placed it in her mouth. Then another. She ate, but slowly and as if she didn’t care.

Anna opened both windows wide, covering Kelby to her chin after getting her to lay down again. Anna said, “Whatever they gave her will probably wear off soon.”

Gray said, “Stay with her. I have a few things to do.”

He went to the other cabin, pulled the door closed and slipped the lock into place on the door to the hallway. He opened the windows and spend the time to take a few deep breaths. He could not see any of the ship from the windows, only the wake of where they had sailed.

The rolls of documents in the bins drew him like new flowers draw bees. He found four weights on the desk and inferred they were for keeping them from rolling up while they were studied. Since there were no markings on the bins, he moved all of them into two bins, leaving two empty. Then he unrolled the first on the desk, pinning the corners down with the weights.

It was a chart, as he’d hoped, not a map. The name on the top said it was for Esperion Bay, a place he’d never heard of. Still, he had time, and the chart was drawn with a fine hand. He studied the round bay, where even the streets of a town were drawn, and the tiny numbers that gave the depths of the water were added. Hundreds of depths were recorded, including three that were in red ink instead of black. They were shallows or rocks for ships to avoid. He rerolled it and placed it in an empty bin.

There was no hurry to examine them all. He had five days to Fleming and another six or more to the Marlstone Islands. He left the cabin, and as he walked the passageway, a crewman came the opposite way. The crewman ducked into an alcove and nodded silently as Gray passed. Each crewman he encountered treated him with respect and gratitude. The gold coin must have been a great bonus for each of them.

Gray had the distinct feeling that if he asked for something any of the crew would leap to find and deliver it. He mentioned to the messenger that a chair on the tiny deck above would be nice. The chair appeared as if by magic.

He used the chair, his feet resting on the railing, as a place to observe the activity of the ship, as well as a place for thinking. Anna was a great help, and her insights were valuable, but he needed time to put together all the facts and suppositions floating around inside his mind. Just sitting and thinking of nothing seemed to allow information to jell.

Hot food was delivered near midday. It was a large bowl of boiled grains with fresh carrot slices placed on top. Small bowls were for serving, and three spoons sat on the tray. A loaf of only slightly stale bread completed the meal.

Anna ate in silence, her eyes on the wake behind the ship as if something out there interested her. She was as listless and lifeless as Kelby. Finally, she said, “I have a suggestion.”

“Tell me.”

“Perhaps we need to separate. I need to go home to tell them what we’ve found.”

Gray had been thinking much the same but had decided differently. “I think we should both sail to the Marlstones. Then we either return together or send you home, depending on what we find. Even that is subject to us finding valuable knowledge before we leave Fleming.”

“Do you think there’s more to find there?”

“I think Bear and Shailer, Kelby’s father, are two extremely intelligent men. They may have located information that changes our minds. If so, we may both head end up heading for Oasis.”

Anna said, “I’m so glad you want to me to stay. For the rest of my life, I may never have another chance to sail to the Marlstones. If possible, I want to see them.”

“That’s it?”

“No, there’s also the chase. The adventure. Hearing others tell their tales is fun, but we are hunting down enemies and slaying dragons. Well, not exactly slaying dragons, but you understand what I mean.”

Gray said, “I do. For my entire life, I’ve done little. Others stepped up when the family needed it, but I just sat on the sidelines and watched.”

“Well, you can’t say that anymore. You’re a hero.”

“I’m scared, I don’t feel like I have accomplished what I set out to do, and a hundred other ideas that all tell me, I’m no hero. I’m just trying to do what is right.” Gray avoided meeting her eyes. I said too much.

She moved to his side. “You’re a hero to me.”

“I’ll be in my cabin looking at some charts.”

“Why? Think the Captain does not know the way to Fleming?”

He grinned and said, “There’s over a hundred of them. I have no idea of what each is, but I’m wondering what charts a ship that makes port in Fleming, Shrewsbury, and the Marlstones has need for. One of the crew mentioned the Captain uses my cabin for his office.”

“Then they’re the Captain’s charts?”

“I think so.”

Anna shrugged and looked puzzled. “I guess I still do not see why that’s important. You told me you bought charts in Fleming, so what’s different about these?”

“I didn’t know what I’m shopping for. I know nothing of the sea, but the Captain does. I guess that the charts the Captain purchases will be accurate and provide more detail. Since he sails this part of the world, I’ll bet he has charts of the Marlstones and beyond.”

“You’re hoping to find one for Breslau? Right?” When he didn’t answer, she continued, “I knew it!”