Monday, April 12, 2010

Chapter Thirteen, On the Docks

The Gibbet brothers made it through safely. Alec said he'd seen teams of guards patrolling the streets. Reunited with her bodyguards, Alicea chose to make haste to the docks before the situation could get worse. She'd already met with the Guard captain while she'd been in the mountains, there was no need to deliver the Call to Arms.

Ishylde was sitting next to a fresh corpse down on the docks.
"I see the drifters still have the time to pester travellers, even while the city burns." Orion spat on the grungy body. "Good riddance. You'll be her sister then?"
"Companion, something between a guard and a servant really. Is this our transport milady? I'm sorry I couldn't find anyone willing to put to sea."
Alicea held out her hand. Ishylde returned the leather pouch, as heavy as when she'd been handed it.
"This is Captain Waveblade. He's agreed to take us to Ruom."
The captain stepped forward.
"Aye. The nice miss made the significance of her voyage quite clear. The ship's this way."

She was bigger than any of the other ships in the harbor, and the only one made of wood. Two masts, no obvious secondary method of propulsion; she wasn't exactly thrilled with the prospect of what was almost certainly the slowest seaworthy ship in the ocean, but it was free.
"Don't worry miss. She's faster than she looks."
"You got an engine hidden in there?"
"The Juline hides nothing, 'cept for a balista in the focsle."
"Well, best get a move on then."

No comments:

Post a Comment