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Excitement broke out on the stern castle. One of the signalmen called for
the ship's master. Else said, "Something's up."
"They can't get anything past you, can they?"
The ship's master, first officer, and several others closed in on the
signalmen. After two minutes of wigwags the chief boatswain shouted orders to
the deck crew to get the sails taken in. The helmsman took the ship to
starboard, out of the channel. She lost way. Shortly, the anchor chain
squealed and rattled.
"Bet that there is the reason why," Scolora said, indicating a longboat
putting out from the small quay at the foot of Mount Calen, which was crowned
by the Castella Anjela dolla Kcol-ina, headquarters of the Brotherhood of War.
"Somebody wants a ride."
Else hoped that was all.
The ship's master barked. The deck hands began herding passengers
belowdecks. Demands to know what was going on received no answer.
The working crew followed the passengers, no more pleased about their
situation. The ratings and officers followed diem, until no one remained above
decks but the ship's master himself.
Else heard a boat come alongside and scrape against the hull. People
clambered aboard. There was a muffled, heated exchange on deck. That faded
away.
Crew and passengers alike virtually exploded onto the open deck when
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permission came down.
There was nothing to be seen now but a longboat headed toward the quay below
Castella Anjela dolla Picolina. The ship's master resumed issuing orders. The
crew prepared to get under way again.
An hour later no one knew more than what was obvious immediately. Scolora
was of the opinion that, "It's somebody from the Special Office. A big-time
sorcerer. Something's going on, Alf. This is history in the making. And we're
right here in the middle of it" That excited him.
Else was not excited. He feared that he was why Vivia In-fanti had stopped.
No sign was seen of any Brotherhood passenger. If such a creature existed he
did his own cooking. The ship's cook was not fixing anything for any secret
traveler. No one had been evicted from his quarters.
THE WEST COAST OF FIRALDIA, APPROACHING SONSA FROM THE south, was the most
heavily settled rural land Else had ever seen. Every headland boasted some
kind of fortress or watch-tower. The land sloped down steeply to the Mother
Sea.
Sea traffic was heavy. Any boat that came within hailing distance tried to
sell something.
"They're all out because the weather is so nice," Scolora said. "You have to
take advantage of the good days."
"Sounds like words to live by." Else had grown comfortable with Scolora.
Enio talked constantly but asked few questions. Enio did not mind the silent
veteran type. A lot of old soldiers were that way.
Several other passengers were headed home from the Holy Lands. The lot
formed a clique. The remaining passengers
were pilgrims who had gone to visit the Wells of Ihrian. Else, Scolora, and
two others from farther west had agreed to continue on from Sonsa together.
Else wondered how he could get shut of Scolora long enough to disappear.
He had not managed enough privacy to look at his sealed orders. Gordimer's
packet contained a dozen letters, each to be opened only after he reached a
prescribed point in his mission. There were three letters he was supposed to
read before he reached Sonsa. They remained unopened. He worried. There might
be some critical detail that needed handling... though he doubted that
Gordimer fussed worse than a clutch of old women.
"Looking forward to getting home?" Scolora asked.
"Not really. It won't be anything like what I remember. Everybody I knew
will be old or dead."
Scolora made a sour face. "You sure as fuck take the fun out, Alf. Now you
got me thinking I'm heading for a foreign country."
"There was an old Deve in Triamolin who used to say that."
"Huh? What?'
"That the past is a foreign country. I keep thinking I'm dreaming and pretty
soon I'll wake up on my own cot back in Triamolin."
"Yeah? Dream about that. That's the outer lightship." Enio had visited Sonsa
before.
Sonsa proper was a riverine city eight miles inland. Vivia In-fanti would [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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