| Were-children laughed and ran along the rails of the main deck as the
good ship Katie's Smile plowed ahead toward the horizon. Dolphins
leapt from the waters before the prow, playing 'tag' it seemed with the
pirate ship. Or perhaps it was 'follow the leader'. And the children stared
down at them in wonder and joy. It had been eleven days since they had
set sail from Moreau's Island. Eleven days of nothing but the unbroken
expanse of the deep blue sea. But now the dolphins had come to play.
Fred thought the dolphins were a good omen. Most of the Pack had never been on a ship before, with its gentle rolls and sudden surges. And they were also very used to roaming about where they would; the closed in conditions they lived under on the ship was maddening to them. They barely had enough room to move without stepping on each other. Add to that the unchanging flat seascape that surrounded them day and night, and it wasn't surprising that a certain amount of restlessness was growing among his tense shipmates. The voyage was beginning to take its toll ************************************************************************ Carradene and his inner circle had remained down below in their quarters since the ship had sailed. He had asked Fred and Alicia not to tell anyone about his connection with Malachi or his true efforts on the Pack's behalf. Fred and Alicia had protested. They felt that his bravery needed to be celebrated and his supposed cowardice exposed for the lie it was. But Carradene had simply shaken his head. He thanked them but feared that there might be a break in the Pack's unity. There needed to be only ONE leader of the Pack, and Fred had been chosen. Carradene could live with that. Loam spent most of his time roaming about the ship trying to lighten everybody's spirits. He had organized the musicians and jugglers and bardsmen so that every night the Pack had stories and song and laughter to keep their minds off darker thoughts. He most of all, it seemed, wanted to keep the Pack together as a family. And when he could, he always joined Fred and Alicia as they oversaw the voyage and planned for what was to come. In this the two had been joined by Moran, Kayne and Vanya. The five of them had become the new Council. Fred was Leader of the Pack, Alicia was of the foxes, Moran of the bears, Kayne of the wolves and Vanya of the cats. Soon they would reach the secret base the pirates had established on Malagua island, and they had to be ready. Loam did not envy their task. Malagua was located in the Bokh'ainer Archipelago, a lawless string of islands controlled by blood thirsty bandits, corsairs and buccaneers. And to the west of that was the wild country of Nom Malbra. Nominally under the control of the King of Hespan, it was little more than an unconquered frontier where the law was the naked sword. Fred had never traveled to these places, but as a Lord of the Kingdom he had studied them diligently. Hespan was a rival in the great game of state. And much of its wealth was derived from the silver mines of Nom Malbra. ************************************************************************ Fred and Alicia sat in the captain's cabin and stared at the charts one more time. The cannon had been checked and tested. The store of cutlasses and pikes had been counted. Ships supplies had been organized. Now they simply had to wait until they arrived. If it came to a fight, they were more than ready. A knock came at the door and a young weasel headed woman poked her head into the room. "They've spotted land, Captain!" she said excitedly. Fred and Alicia bounded up to the deck and looked out. The dark outline of a small isle broke the even contour of the horizon. Fred touched Alicia's hand, "If my calculations are correct, that should be Aseph's Finger. We can replenish our water supply and gather up some turtles and cormorant eggs to spice up our diet." He paused and a gleam came into his eye, "And we'll be able to run." The entire ship's crew stared as the isle came closer. Their toes itched
and their knees sweat. Soon, they would all feel hard dirt and stone under
their feet. Soon, they would all feel the wind in their hair as they ran,
and ran and ran.
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