To Steal a Kiss

"I was told to get what I could for the cargo," said the captain. "If you were to escape with the proceeds, I would lose my place." He looked at Astra and shook his head. Then he added, "I do not wish to keep you here any longer than possible." He turned, and climbed a set of stairs that took him above the deck. After about a minute, Astra heard a bell ring. There was a pattern to it.
There was a fast Clang- clang- clang- clang- clang.
Then there was a slower Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang.
Then another Clang- clang- clang- clang- clang.

Astra heard the pattern again, and then again. Then the bell stopped. Astra was still trying to figure what this bell ringing could mean when she saw the captain come down the stairs again. He said, "Try to get some more sleep, Astra. I will not promise anything, but I sent one of my men to come up with something."

"Is he going to steal some valuables?" Astra asked.

"Would you turn the valuables down if they were?"

Astra thought about this, and said, "I suppose that I couldn't."

"You will owe him a kiss if he comes back with what I requested. Is it a deal?"

"It is just a kiss?" Astra asked. The captain nodded.

"I could do with a bit of affection after what I have been through", Astra thought. "I really wouldn't object."

"It is a deal. But the man must remember that I am a dragon, and have a long memory."

The captain smirked. "I warned him already. The words 'playing with fire' were used. Please forgive the reference."

Astra smiled wanly, but thought, "I am not in a forgiving mood now. But if this help arrives, and I get better, then you and the Stony Brook will remain unmolested if we cross paths. This is more than I can say for the captain of the Elaine, or the Lords of the Sea."

The drinking bout was now at its fourth round. Lord Fred whispered something into Solbert's ear, and said, "Lord Fred needs to go outside for a minute."

There was a buzz of sarcasm. "Quitting so soon?" said one of the men.

"Not quitting," replied Solbert. "He just needs to empty a vessel of another sort. It would be less noxious to empty it into the sea, rather than here."

Another man said, "Lord Fred has no more capacity than a young maiden. This does not speak well of the men of the West. But go, in the company of the quartermaster, to make sure that he keeps his food and drink down. I am sure that you both will look after each other to make sure that no cheating goes on."

Lord Fred walked out to the bow of the ship with the quartermaster. Fortunately the ship was rocking gently, but Fred still felt unsteady on his feet. He would stand back from the edge of the deck a little, to make sure that he did not fall into the sea. As he silently finished relieving himself of the residue of the drinks that he had, he noticed that something was strange. The laughter and horseplay had stopped. He heard just one voice - that of Solbert.

Solbert's idea involved one part magic to nineteen parts practice and experience. He mixed a pinch of a certain salt in the pudding that could not be detected. This, in combination with the alcohol, produced the effect that he was looking for.

The heart of every man in the room beat in unison, at one beat per second. Each man breathed together, at six breaths per minute. Solbert started to speak in a special way. He had a very subtle but vital rhythm to his speech. He spoke about sixty words per minute, with any stress syllables coinciding with the contraction of their hearts. The effect on his audience was dramatic. All eyes stared at the gnome, hanging on his every word.

As Fred and the quartermaster entered the room, he heard Solbert say

"So what will it be then? Your voyage has been a success. You have reached land. But what will you get there?"

"If you are lucky, you will make enough to pay off the moneylender and perhaps outfit another voyage. But, unless I miss my guess, the Elaine is debt, like most ships are."

Solbert saw a thoughtful nod from the captain. This was a good sign.

"And perhaps the debt will not be paid. So it takes another voyage. And then another. And another. And another."

"Now some of you will meet with accidents. We don't like to think about it, but if you are to be the master of your fate, we must see things with clear eyes. One unexpected storm, one wayward spark, one heavy piece of cargo will either put an end to your life, or reduce you to begging for a meager supper."

"As officers, I suppose that you are the envy of your men. But what is that worth? You all work with them in the cold and wet of winter, and the heat of summer, with the same weavelly bread and hard meat. The men work for you, of course, but are you really masters of your own fate?"

"And then suppose you get lucky. In a few years you manage to beat the moneylender and save a little. You get a small estate. But are your really master of your fate?"

"No. By that time, you are old, but a stranger to your land. The men who count, those who run things, will want their cut of your gold and then have as little to do with you as possible. Women will whisper in your ear and smile at you as long as the gold comes, but scatter like a covey of quail as soon as the money runs out.

"I take no joy in saying this to you. But it is important. You know this what you are thinking late at night, before you chase away those thoughts with the cares of the day. But you can be the master of your fate."

Solbert paused for what seemed like a minute. Nobody in that room spoke.

"The solution, of course, is land. Land that nobody else owns. No lords or moneylenders. Land beyond the reach of the Lords of the Sea and the Blacksand fleet. Land with delicious fruit, lots of fine trees, and fish. A mild land. A land waiting for new lords, willing to take a chance. Men who wish to be masters of their fate."

Solbert paused again.

"There is such a land. I have seen it, and I know where it is. And nobody in the East does."

The captain said, hesitantly, "But why don't you take it yourself? And why does no one live there, if it is so fine? And why is it unknown to us, who range wide?"

Solbert replied, "These are all good questions. Let me continue, and they will be answered. The land is worthless to me, for I have a mission. Lord Fred has a mission. Lady Sartoma, Checkers of the Dolomite League, and the Seaman Jan of Coperton all have a mission. We have forsaken our homes and our loved ones to take a path that leads far to the east, beyond the borders of west coast of your land. I cannot tell you what the mission is - but none of us will gain a farthing from it."

"As to why nobody lives there, and why it is unknown - the cause is the same. The land lies in an area of the Terel Sea that goes against the wind and current. A normal sailing ship cannot reach it from the east. And from the West, although we have seafaring nations as you do, the land lies in a zone of dead calm, and away from the known trade routes."

The first mate asked, "But if a normal sailing ship cannot reach it, what good does it do us?"

"It is hard. But that is a good thing for you," said Solbert. "As your captain wisely said, if it were easier, someone would be there by now. But are you going to throw away the chance to found your own kingdom because the task is difficult? Take this chance! Go and gather your wives and families. If you succeed, every man will be a king, and every woman a queen. All my partners and I ask is that, after we give you the keys to the land, that we are allowed to proceed eastward in one company, unhindered."

Solbert, Fred, Sartoma, Jan and Checkers huddled together. The women and Jan had been released from their fetters. Fred spoke.

"I do not believe that you are sending them West, to the wonderous land you speak of. They are not worthy of such a paradise."

"I have to get rid of them and get out of their control somehow. And the odds are still against them, even with the help that Sartoma and I will give."

Sartoma asked, "So it is a real land, then?"

1. "Oh, yes. Remember Atheline Island? A small port there would be very useful to us."
2. "Of course not. But by the time they figure it out, we will be long gone."

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