A sheepish smile found its way onto Sjan-dehk’s face.
“You are…Most kind, your ladyship,” he said with a short and muted laugh. There was a fluster in his voice, and he waved his hands in front of him as if he were warding off the compliment. Such words were opponents he never quite learnt how to deal with. All the more so when it came to ones he felt were undeserved. Once more, he bowed his head to Saiya in gratitude. He had a little grin on his face when he straightened himself.
“But maybe ah…Unfair? To the city. Big place, yes? Many people. I…Hope there are more good people here.”It was a wish for the both of them. Provisioning and maintaining a ship was expensive business, and all it would take would be an unscrupulous carpenter, smith, or merchant to make it even more costly. Possibly deadly, even. True, such people were rife even throughout the Viserjantan islands, but at least Sjan-dehk had learnt – through many,
many painful lessons – how to play their game. Here? The Caesonian way of doing things was utterly alien to him. He could be fleeced and he’d never know it.
Well, it was just another problem for him to solve. At least he had Avek; that man could be tasked with procuring spiced wine and pickled vegetables, and somehow return with several extra tuns of rice wine and salted meat. Sjan-dehk hoped his skills would translate well to this entirely new city.
And that brought his mind back to his most pertinent task at hand. His crew still needed orders. Wandering the city with Saiya was out of the question, but he could at least accompany for some small part of the way.
“Then ah…Please let me walk with you to the gates.” People were still pouring through the archway in an endless torrent. Surely they couldn’t all be here for the king and his sons? Sjan-dehk shook his head slightly. Being royalty wasn’t easy. It was times like these that made him thankful for his low rank.
As usual, Sjan-dehk casually rested a hand on the pommel of his sword.
“You can ah…Hold…” He trailed off and tilted his head towards his free arm.
“If you want.” From what he was seeing, that was how men and women walked together in this city. Better for him to get used to it sooner rather than later.
At the mention of his
Sada Kurau, Sjan-dehk beamed. Beautiful was putting it lightly; she was absolutely gorgeous. The comeliest of ships he had ever laid eyes upon, and he had seen many ships.
“Yes, Sada Kurau is very beautiful,” he began, but stopped himself before he could launch into a soliloquy extolling his darling ship’s virtues. Saiya had a question and request he needed to answer.
“We should be here for ah…A few weeks. You are welcome to visit. Would be my…Pleasure to show you Sada Kurau.”There.
Now he could extoll.
And that was what he did. As they walked, he spoke at length about his ship. About how her svelte lines met the water with such grace; how her alluring, narrow figure sat upon the waves, and how her beautiful curves could break and ride even the roughest swells the sea could throw at her; how she sang her quiet, whispering song to her crew every time her billowing sails caught the wind at just the right speed and angle. But she wasn’t just a pretty ship. No,
Sada Kurau was also a fearsome warrioress. Whenever she chased her prey, only an expert hand and deft touch on her ropes could control her. Only the best sailor could keep her dancing like a butterfly about her enemies; always just out of reach, but constantly spitting fire and steel. Only the most patient would learn of her wonderful qualities, of her quirks, and realise that they only made her all the more beautiful.
Truly, Sjan-dehk couldn’t ask for a better partner. The Gods and his Ancestors could offer him the finest divine vessel, built from the peach wood and rigged with braided silk, but he would still choose his one and only
Sada Kurau.
It was only when they passed beneath the portcullis did he realise that he had been practically speaking about his ship non-stop since they started walking. That realisation came with a deep blush that climbed up his neck, and he looked away.
“Apologies, I did not mean to ah…Talk so much.” It had been such a long time since he could talk about his ship to anyone – everyone he knew either crewed the
Sada Kurau themselves, or had their ears talked off about the ship ages ago – but it wasn’t much of an excuse. He brought a fist to his mouth and coughed into it.
“Rude of me.” He stepped away from Saiya and, placing his hand on his chest, offered her a deep bow.
“Have a good day, your ladyship,” he said and stood back up, a friendly – albeit still somewhat awkward – smile on his face.
“It was my…Pleasure to meet with you. Hope to meet again. You are welcome to ah…Come on to Sada Kurau when you want.” With a tip of hat towards her, he turned on his heel, and was off.
–
“Master Hai-shuun!”The heavy thuds of Sjan-dehk’s boots against the wooden pier were matched only by the loudness of his voice. His carpenter peeked his head over the gunwale of the
Celestine, face covered with sawdust and dark hair matted and glistening with sweat. “Welcome back, captain!” He shouted over the cacophony of hammering and sawing behind him, and the shouts and yells coming from the Sada Kurau just to the left of Sjan-dehk. “Do we know what to do with the
Celestine?”
“Make her look pretty for now, master Hai-shuun!” Sjan-dehk stopped, craning his head back to look up at the man.
“This city’s run by a damn king, and he’s sending people down to have a look, so stop all big repairs and just patch up her hull. I’ve already told him what a shitheap she is, so hopefully whoever he sends won’t be expecting much.” He paused, placing both hands on his hips and looking between his feet, tongue clicking as he tried to remember what else he had to tell Hai-shuun.
“Oh, right, and have the prisoners ready to disembark!”Hai-shuun let out a low whistle. “A king? I thought a duke ran this place. How long do we have?”
Sjan-dehk looked up, shading his eyes with a hand and squinting at the sun. He chewed on his lower lip for a moment, then looked back at Hai-shuun.
“Not long. Less than two hours at most, and that’s if they show up exactly on time.”The carpenter didn’t immediately reply. Instead, he looked over his shoulder, mouth moving in an inaudible mutter and fingers tapping an irregular beat against the
Celestine. When he looked back, his concern was plainly visible on his face. “That’s not a lot of time, captain, and with thirteen pairs of hands gone, I’m not sure I can make her–” he patted his hand against the ship “–looking even reasonably presentable. I might be able to get it done if you send me more crew from
Sada Kurau.”
“I can’t send much, they’ll be coming aboard Sada Kurau as well.” Sjan-dehk spat out a curse beneath his breath after his response. He should have foreseen this; his crew was good, but not good enough to have two ships ready for inspection in such a short amount of time. True, he was in a rush to settle the issue of the
Celestine, but he still should have argued for at least one or two hours more to prepare.
But he didn’t, and so he had to work with what he had. He closed his eyes and tapped a rapid beat with his foot against the pier.
“Okay,” he let out a long breath and said.
“I can send Azwan and Sohn-Dahn over with half of the gun crew and all of the boys. It’s mostly rigging work we’ve to do on Sada Kurau, so I think Sahm-tehn and I should be able to handle it with his men pulling most of the weight.”“What about Avek? That lout’s doing nothing, last I saw.”
Sjan-dehk shook his head.
“Not for long, he’s not. I’m sending him over to Sudah to bring some stuff back here to show the king’s people.”Hai-shuun guffawed. “Him? Are you sure, captain?”
That got a mirthless chuckle from Sjan-dehk. In truth, he wasn’t sure either. Avek might be a good haggler and better talker, but the sort of people aboard the Sudah weren’t the most receptive or accepting of his ways, to put it simply.
“I’ll have Mursi go with him as well.” With their combined expertise, they should be able to bring back a varied selection of goods for Edin’s men to have a look at. The master-at-arms would also be able to help communicate with the crew of the
Sudah should Avek prove to be too uncouth for their overly-refined tastes.
“If you need, I can have the sharpshooters over to help.”“Don’t bother, they’re all helpless with this sort of work,” Hai-shuun called back. He still looked unsure but nodded anyway. “I can’t promise miracles, captain, but I’ll do my best to make this tub look decent.”
Sjan-dehk gave him a thumbs up and a smile.
“The best is all I can ask for, master Hai-shuun.”The carpenter snapped to a smart salute, then returned to his duties. From the pier, Sjan-dehk could hear him barking off a litany of orders in rapid succession. Even as he fast-marched himself to his ship, his hands were already loosening the straps and strings of his belts and armour. By the time he ascended the gangplank, he could just shrug off his belts and pull his armour up and over his head.
“Thank you,” he said with a nod to the crewmen who picked up his effects.
“Bring them to my quarters, please. Except the carbine, that one goes to master Mursi's workshop.”He rolled up his sleeves and began making his way to the quarterdeck. The yards were still laying on the deck, their sails untied and still in the process of being checked for frays and tears. Loose ropes laid about like coiled snakes. Unhitched tackles and hooks hung from guardrails, and tools laid strewn everywhere as was the men who used them. A long sigh left Sjan-dehk’s lips. It was going to take a lot of work to get his
Sada Kurau ready for the king’s men.
Well, then he had better pull his weight as well. He secured his sleeves just above his elbow and raced up the steps onto the quarterdeck.
“All officers to the quarterdeck on the double!”
