The captain explained everything they needed to know about the manning of the ship and the rules on board. He made it very clear that he was the supreme authority while they were on the ship and that they were required to obey his orders without complaint, since there was no place on the high seas for dissension. The chain of command needed to be respected at all times, or else there was the risk of mutiny. Eicewald assured him that they would respect his leadership as captain of the ship and follow his instructions without querying them. The Panthers had no choice but to accept this, since Eicewald took it for granted that they agreed.
Viggo, of course, had other ideas about who he was going to obey and which orders he was going to follow. Ingrid put her hand over his mouth so that there would be no problems so soon after setting out.
The first days involved a lot of getting used to things. Although they had all been on a ship before, it had been a river barge with oars, on fresh water, on its way up-river. This new situation was similar in one way because the ship was not very different – albeit larger and with more crew – and yet it was very different in setting. The river had been calm, and the swaying movement of the ship minimal. This was not the case out at sea, as they soon found out. Gerd was wretchedly sick, and Viggo, who put on a tough act and would not admit it, was equally so. Lasgol felt a few twinges of nausea, but not too much, which he was very grateful for. What surprised him was that the three girls in the group were not in the least sick, and spent their time teasing the boys. Poor Gerd threw up over the gunwale several times. Viggo followed suit, excusing himself on the grounds that it was Gerd’s fault for having influenced him by doing it first. Lasgol was on the brink of doing the same, but saved himself by breathing deeply through his nose and facing into the wind.
After the first week, the three of them got used to the swaying of the ship and found their sea-legs. They were very grateful for this, because what little they had eaten had ended up in the sea. Gerd glutted himself the moment he stopped feeling queasy. Viggo did the same until he almost burst, and Lasgol, not to be left behind, also ate his fill. Then they slept like logs and made up for some of the sleep they had missed during all those nights they had spent awake and sick.
The days went by slowly on board. Lasgol and Astrid spent as much time as they could together. Ona and Camu stayed with them at times, then let them be, as if they felt the couple needed time by themselves. The two wild creatures would go to the bow, where the rest of the team normally gathered, beside the figure-head, which was in the form of a dragon’s forequarters. It was the least-frequented spot in the whole ship, which meant that they were left in peace. The ship was rather larger and with a slightly deeper draft than a Norghanian ship of war, so that it could carry more men and cargo. The small cargo hold under the deck was not particularly deep, but it was long. They had to go into it bent double to avoid bumping their heads. At the same time the ship was very maneuverable and quite speedy. The problem was that the two dozen sailors who made up the crew already occupied most of the space on board.
“They could’ve given us a bigger ship,” Viggo complained when he saw that he had to dodge two sailors in order to reach the group.
“Yeah,” Ingrid retorted, “and with special chambers for the young master.”
“That would certainly have been very welcome. This business of sleeping in two great tents on deck doesn’t seem too civilized to me.”
“Civilized, he says, just as if you were nobly born.”
He smiled. “So I am, in spirit.”
“I’m not complaining,” said Gerd. “At least they’ve divided us. The Captain and his sailors sleep and rest in one tent and we have the other. It’s a treat.”
“Yeah,” Viggo pointed out, “but they’ve put the Mage in with us, and he really gives me the creeps.”
He was watching Eicewald at the other end of the ship. For some reason the Mage always went to stand at the stern, beside the figurehead which represented the dragon’s tail. He spent most of his time studying a number of enormous tomes and talking with Captain Olsen, whose habit was also to stand at the stern so that he could shout orders to his men and steer the ship.
“Everybody gives you the creeps,” Ingrid retorted.
“That one has a dark look, I’m telling you, those eyes … I don’t like them …”
“You’re the one who’s dark. He’s the King’s Mage, which means he’s completely trustworthy.”
“Oh yeah, and since here, nobody betrays anyone else, changes sides or has his own agenda …”
“Viggo’s right about that,” Nilsa agreed.
“Don’t encourage him. The Mage is in charge of the expedition, and he has the King’s trust. We have no reason not to trust him.”
Viggo let the breeze blow full in his face. “I don’t trust anybody,” he said.
“Yeah, sure, not even your own shadow.”
Nilsa giggled. “The Norghanian court’s very dangerous. If you knew the stories they tell” – she was shaking one hand – “you wouldn’t believe them. The nobles, the lords and
