Corsair

Realizing that Maroth Marstel had been thinking things over just a little too long, Rhovann directed the old lord to reply. “One ship is hardly a fleet, my lord harmach. But we will withhold judgment on the merits of the plan until Geran puts an end to Kraken Queen or we lose another ship to the depredations of those murderous sea wolves.”

Geran frowned, weighing the deadline Marstel had imposed on him. After all, he had no way of knowing how long he had before pirates took another Hulburgan ship. “I’ll do my best, Lord Marstel,” he said.

Deren Ilkur looked around at the assembled councilors. “Is there any other business before the council?” he asked. No one spoke up; the Keeper of Duties took his gavel and rapped it sharply on the table. “Then the Council is adjourned.”

Once again, everyone stood as Harmach Grigor rose and made his way up the stairs leading from the hall. Then half-a-dozen low conversations started as the councilors and their various advisors and assistants began filing from the hall. Rhovann watched Geran stride purposefully to the door, already speaking with Kara Hulmaster. Would it be better to help him along his way or delay him? the elf wondered. Through the Merchant Council and Maroth Marstel, he could speed his enemy’s efforts to outfit his expedition and get him out of Hulburg quickly … or he could throw obstacles in Geran’s path, keeping him mired in the effort to gather armsmen and supplies for a month or more.

If Geran sailed off with a strong detachment of Shieldsworn and Hulburgan loyalists, the harmach’s hand would be sorely weakened. That suggested several possibilities. “The sooner the better, then,” Rhovann murmured to himself.

“Eh? What did you say?” Marstel asked.

“Nothing of import, my lord,” he replied. “I think House Marstel should generously support Geran Hulmaster’s efforts to fit out his expedition. There is not a moment to lose, after all.”

Marstel nodded. “Of course! The pirates must be dealt with firmly and immediately. Delay is intolerable.”

“Just so, my lord.” Rhovann gave Geran one more long look, wondering what the fool would do if he suspected that his old rival from Myth Drannor was standing only twenty feet away, planning the success or failure of his ill-conceived venture. Then he took Marstel by the elbow and guided the Hulburgan noble to his carriage.

FOUR

16 Eleint, the Year of the Ageless One (1479 DR)

Two days after the meeting of the Harmach’s Council, Geran spent the morning on the quarterdeck of Seadrake, watching as a crew of carpenters worked to replace the ship’s mainmast. The old mast had been badly cracked in a spring gale months ago, which was one reason why House Veruna’s sellswords had left Seadrake behind when they sailed away from Hulburg. She’d been stripped of stores, canvas, rigging, and other such things, of course, but that could be remedied easily enough. Replacing a mainmast, on the other hand, was a tedious piece of work. Over the last two days the Hulburgan woodworkers had cut away the cracked mast and built a temporary hoist to raise the new mast-a tall, straight spruce cut in the Galena foothills and seasoned for several years in a pond owned by House Marstel. Several dozen workers sweated and swore at each other as they manhandled the long, creaking lines, carefully lowering the new mast into the socket of the old one.

The clatter of wheels on the cobblestones of the street drew Geran’s attention. He glanced down as an open carriage halted by the gangway leading to Seadrake. A pair of armsmen in the black and sky blue of House Sokol hopped down from the running boards as Nimessa Sokol descended from her seat. She looked splendid in a dress of burgundy velvet embroidered with golden flowers. To Geran’s surprise, an undistinguished dwarf with a bald pate and a forked beard of iron gray climbed down from the carriage after her, dressed in common workman’s garb. Nimessa glanced up and caught him watching her. She gave him a warm smile and started up the gangway with her strange companion at her side. Geran dropped down the steps leading to the main deck and went to meet her at the rail.

“I thought I might find you here,” she said. “May we come aboard?”

“Of course, but mind the work on the mast.” Geran drew her past the working party and led her to a safe corner of the deck. “This is an unexpected pleasure. What brings you down to Seadrake?”

“I heard that you’re looking for a sailing master,” said Nimessa. “I think I may have found you one. May I present Master Andurth Galehand? Master Galehand, this is Lord Geran Hulmaster.”

Geran offered his hand forearm-to-forearm in the dwarf manner and studied the fellow. Tattoos of dwarven runes spelled out indecipherable words on the dwarf’s thick forearms, and like most dwarves, he didn’t spare Geran the strength of his grip. “M’lord,” the dwarf said.

“Master Galehand came to House Sokol this morning looking to sign on with us,” Nimessa said. “I thought you might need a sailing master for Seadrake.”

“I do. Are you certain you can spare him?”

The half-elf nodded. “We’ve already struck terms. But his first assignment for House Sokol is to take a post as your sailing master, if you’ll have him. And I’ll send along seasoned deckhands and armsmen, as many as you need to fill out the ship’s company.”

Geran raised an eyebrow. “That’s very generous of House Sokol.”

“No, it’s good common sense. The pirates are a problem, and Sokol ships aren’t safe until they’re defeated.” Nimessa’s eyes flashed. “Besides, I have a personal interest in seeing Kraken Queen dealt with. Anything House Sokol can provide is yours for the asking.”

“I’ve got Erstenwold’s looking after our fittings and provisions, but I can certainly use your sailors and armsmen.” He turned back to the dwarf. “Are you willing to sail under the harmach’s flag, Master Galehand?”

“Aye, I’ve no quarrel with it.” The dwarf looked over to the crew working on the mast and nodded in grudging approval. “Yer carpenters seem t’know what they’re about. Her mast never was quite true afore. She ought t’sail a sight better now.”

“You’ve sailed on Seadrake before?”

The dwarf gave him a fierce grin. “I know this ship like me own beard. I was her sailing master for five years. I’ve been wanting t’see a new mainmast for a long time now.”

“Seadrake was a House Veruna ship. Were you a Veruna man, then?”

“Aye, but we parted ways four years ago. The Double Moon Coster made me a better offer, so I jumped ship. I’ve been with them since, but now I’m needing a new billet.”

“Why’d you leave the Double Moon?” Geran asked.

The dwarf made a sour face. “’Twasn’t me notion. The Double Moon sacked me.”

Geran glanced at Nimessa. She shrugged. He looked back to Galehand and said, “That’s not the sort of thing to inspire confidence.”

“Oh, I’m good enough at me job, Lord Hulmaster. I’ve sailed these waters for nigh on thirty years, half of that as a sailing master. No, the Double Moon decided t’do without me services last month after I called one of the High Guilders a dung-brained dunderhead and knocked him down.”

Geran frowned. The Seadrake was in need of a sailing master, but he wasn’t anxious to saddle himself with a surly officer inclined to argue orders. “I can see you’re a plainspoken dwarf,” he said carefully. “What led you to do that?”

“Ye might recall a wicked set of thunderstorms that blew through early in Flamerule. We were southbound out of Melvaunt, thirty miles from Hillsfar. I came up on deck for me watch and found that instead of turning our stern t’ the squall line and reefing the topsails, the High Guilder had countermanded the captain and told the crew t’ crowd on all canvas and run across the wind. He’d some idea of trying to make Hillsfar before the storm caught up, I guess. The squall line was hard on us by then, and it nearly set us on our beam ends.” Galehand shook his head. “After we set out a sea anchor and reefed in, I told the High Guilder what I thought of ’im. He objected, and that’s when I knocked him down. They paid me off the next day in Hillsfar.”

“You’re lucky the ship’s captain didn’t throw you in irons for striking one of the owners.”