Enlightenment

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Prin watched the chaos of the shipyard with wide eyes as they followed behind a pair of men who seemed to know where they were going. Materials for ships loaded down wagons, workers hustled from place to place, others carried tools, masts spanned between two wagons, and everyone seemed to have a job or purpose except the two of them.

A small wagon pulled by a small horse slowed beside them. A man leaned over and called above the din, “Need a ride? Best rates in Gallium.”

“How much to ride to that hill up there?” Prin pointed.

Flashing a toothy smile, he called merrily, “Depends on what part. Tell you what, when we get up to where you want, I’ll let you know. Throw your stuff in the back and let’s go.”

Sara made a move in his direction. Prin barred her with an arm. “No thank you. In our land, we walk.”

He slapped the reigns too hard on the rump of the horse, and it charged ahead. Sara said, “Do you see how far it is to walk up there?”

“He was going to cheat us.”

“How do you know?”

“An honest driver would have given a price for the shorter trip and warned us of what it might be if we traveled more distance.”

Sara said, “Are you sure you’re not thirty?”

Prin said, “Twelve.”

Sara shouted at the same time, “Thirteen.”

They both laughed again and decided thirteen was the proper age, while Prin counted on her fingers and decided she had missed a birthday while at sea. If not, it was soon, so adding a year to make her seem older was all right, but the game of asking her exact age amused both.

Two more carriages offered rides, one quoted an exorbitant price, while the other offered to settle at the far end, a scam that seemed ordinary. Other sailors were walking in both directions, most of them men, and the sailors were the largest number of all.

One walked alone, his wide eyes on the city that rose up the hillside, a first-time tourist, like them. He was older than Prin but younger than Sara, and there was an innocence about him that drew the attention of those around with greed in their eyes. Another small wagon pulled beside him, and the driver said, “Welcome to Gallium, my new friend. Throw that heavy bag in the back, and I’ll take you where you want at the best price on the waterfront.”

He shifted the sea bag on his shoulder and hesitated. The bag was apparently getting too heavy to carry. His mind wanted the ride, but his purse probably didn’t.

Besides being young and innocent, there was more to the boy. A faint haze shimmered around his head, just enough to blur the outline of his hair if she looked at it carefully. Prin nudged Sara. “See that?”

“Yes. I’ve never seen anything like it before, but have heard of it. I think he has untrained magic and does not know it,” Sara hissed softly.

“A mage? You think he’s a mage?” Prin asked, ready to scoot away before he noticed them.

“No. But if he is, he’s not a very good one. Mages learn to conceal their abilities from the first.”

Prin leaned closer and said, “Can anyone see that?”

“No, I think just a sorceress can. Not even a mage will see it. Boys with magic develop around puberty, so he’s the right age. But, why hasn’t he learned to hide it? I don’t think it’s hard to do.”

“Because he doesn’t know how, or that it’s even there. He can’t see it and maybe where he lived there are no sorceresses nearby to warn him. Now he’s a sailor, and not many of us are women, so no sorceress to help him.”

He continued watching and listening to the great deal the friendly driver offered, but he hesitated again. After a few more words had been exchanged, he decided to accept the ride.

Sara said, “You’re right. I don’t think he knows.”

Prin dropped her bag at Sara’s feet and walked directly to the wagon. She said as she pointed, “Driver. How much to take us to the top of the hill?”

“Climb on in, there’s plenty of room for all of you. We can talk while you ride in comfort.”

Prin said, “And when we get up there you will charge me ten times what the ride is worth, and if I don’t pay, you’ll call the local constable, and you’ll pay him for siding with you. No, I only ride when I know the exact cost and not one that you are going to rob me with. I’d rather walk that be robbed.”

The young sailor shifted the bag back onto his shoulder. The driver snarled that she needed a spanking, and to stay out of his business or he’d give her one. He wrapped the reigns around a post on the carriage and started to climb down. Before his threat could go farther, the knife from between her shoulders was in Prin’s hand.

She said quietly, “If your foot touches the ground, you’ll leak blood all over the pretty carriage.”

“You don’t know how to throw that.” He acted like he was going to finish getting down, but Sara was suddenly standing beside Prin smiling her warning and shaking her head sadly to the driver.

Sara said to him, without raising her voice, “You’re right, the silly girl carries that knife just for show. She does not know how to throw it, you know. But what if you’re wrong?”

His eyes went back to Prin, and he climbed up into the carriage again, shouting threats she didn’t bother to answer as she replaced the knife in the scabbard and turned away.

“Hey,” the young sailor called as Prin and Sara began walking away.

“Now, you’ve done it,” Sara said with a wink and a smile. “Gone and collected another stray.”

He ran to catch up with them. “I want to thank you.”

“You just did,” Sara said, never slowing.

“I’m new here.”

“No kidding? So are we,” Sara continued in her sarcastic voice.

However, Prin stepped up to the boy and said, “Where are you going?”

He flashed a smile and said, “I don’t know, really. My ship is being worked on, but the owner decided the crew is too big, so he can’t make enough money by paying extra crewmen. I guess I’m out of a job until I find another ship.”

Sara said, “Are you the only one he let go?”

After a slight hesitation, he said, “Yes.”

“So, I suspect there were other things involved with his decision or he would have let another go. Maybe he did so in reaction to things you did? Or things that happened around you?”

He hung his head. “I guess so.”

“What are you going to do now?” Prin asked.

He shrugged. “There’s a seaman’s union where they post openings on ships. I was going up there and see if any, need a sailor with a year of experience on deck.”

Sara turned to Prin with a heavy sigh. “Want me to wait here with our bags or come with you back to the ship?”

“Wait here. You,” Prin said, pointing at the sailor, “leave your sea bag here and come with me.” She walked rapidly back to the Merry Princess and across the gangplank, to where the bos’n noticed her arrival and waited, hands on hips. She said, “I’ve found a sailor.”

“That’s not the first time I’ve had one of the female crew say that, but never so quickly after going ashore.”

Prin said, “You’re smiling, so I missed something.”

“Never mind. What is your young sailor’s name?”

Prin turned to him, trying to cover up the fact that she didn’t know. “Well, tell him your name and what happened to you.”

“Brice,” he said quickly, then he explained quickly, and said he was a hard worker and pulled his share of night watches without falling asleep.

Several questions were asked and answered, then the bos’n said, “Give me the name of your ship, and if your story holds true, you have a position here—if you don’t mind hard work.”

Brice eagerly shook the bos’n’ hand. Prin left the ship with Brice beaming, and the bos’n happy at the prospect of finding a good replacement crewman.

Sara sat on her bag and waited. She took one look at the smiles and knew the outcome. “He got hired.”

Prin said, “Yes. You and I have things to talk about, but he comes with us.”

Sara said, “Yes. Now, we need to figure out what to do with him. The ship will pay for a cot and eats, but from what I hear that’s not much.”

“Do I get any say in this?” Brice asked.

“No,” Prin said.

“No,” Sara said at the same time, grinning.

Prin said, “We have at least a month to figure him out.”

Sara said, her tone questioning, “What are the chances?”

“Maybe there are hundreds of them in Gallium,” Prin answered.

Brice said, “Hundreds of what?”

“Sailors,” Prin lied. “Come on, let’s find us a ride.”

Two carriages stopped near them, but neither gave them prices. They kept walking, but the bags were growing weighty and the air so warm and dry, they wanted to stop for a drink, but there was no place, just people rushing in one direction or another.

Prin said, “I’m about ready to let one of them cheat me.”

Sara flagged down a man walking in their direction. “Excuse me, sir, how can we find an honest carriage?”

He pointed up the hill to a place where she saw carriages were lined up. “The flagman will make the driver give you a fair price before he leaves. Don’t pay for extras.”

They changed direction and headed for the front of the line where a big man directed traffic with a flag on a stick, and a loud voice. Others were waiting in a ragged line, so they stood until the others were gone and he asked as the next carriage pulled up, “Where to?”

Prin pointed. “We need to find a place to rent up there on that hill.”

“Three coppers. I’ll tell the driver to take you to see Mrs. Lamont.” He waved for the next carriage to approach without a second glance.

“Does she pay you also?” Prin asked.

The flagman said smoothly, “I work for the port. Anything else, and I work somewhere else. Been here three years, so far.”

“Sorry,” Sara said. “She is impetuous with her questions.”

The flagman started placing their bags in the back of the carriage while they climbed into the seats, one facing front and one the rear. Prin remembered the Old Mage telling her that he preferred to sit facing the front so he could see where he was going, not where he came from. She fought the tears and managed to wipe her eyes without drawing comment as she sat—facing forward.

The driver talked to the flagman for a few sentences, and the drive released the handbrake, and the carriage headed out being pulled behind a large black horse with a splash of white on its nose. The animal was a high-stepper, walking tall and proud.

The driver was a man of forty, maybe more, clean shaven in a land of beards, and brown hair to his shoulders. He’d looked twice at the bald heads of Prin and Sara, but didn’t mention it as he called over his shoulder, “There’s a place up ahead where we can stop for a moment to quench our thirst if you’re interested. That means you might as well, because there’s no charge and I intend to, and my horse is thirsty.”

His words were said in an oddly stilted manner, a strange accent and cadence combined. Prin watched the horse and compared it to the ones in the books she had read. It was better than any book.

Brice said, “Listen, my ship paid me, but I don’t have much. I hear this ride is three coppers and it’s only right I pay my share.”

Prin noticed the driver listening. She called, “Driver, if there were two of us, what would the cost of the ride be?”

He half-turned and winked so only she and Sara could see, as he said, “Same distance. Same price. Three coppers.”

Prin said, “There you go. You’re riding for free.”

“I can’t afford a room for a month, let alone food. I’ll make my way back to the port in a day or two, and maybe I can sleep on the ship.”

Sara and Prin exchanged a look. Sara said, “Okay, that sounds fair, for now.”

As the carriage reached the edge of the city, where one building touched another, and the walls were white tinged with a hint of blue, the carriage pulled to one side where a spring-fed rock-lined pool waited. The horse slurped while a small woman appeared and asked the driver a question. He answered, and they both laughed, but Prin didn’t understand a word.

The woman slipped inside and reappeared with four large mugs. She passed them out and spoke again to the driver as Prin sniffed the water, expecting it to be warm and green-tasting, but welcome. Instead, the water was cool, and the pulp of a citrus fruit floated inside. She drained half the mug in the next drink, convinced it was the best beverage she’d ever tasted.

“What is this?” Sara asked.

The driver said, “Water with orange. Sort of the favorite drink of Gallium, you can get it anywhere, but maybe not as cold and good as here.”

Prin looked at her empty mug, at Sara, Brice, the city above, and the back end of the horse. She said, “This is going to be interesting.”