Dragon Choir (28 page)

Elrin took a
trip down to the mess and returned with pickled eggs and salted
fish, rousing Hurn and Amber from their slumber to eat. Over the
simple breakfast they watched the convoy wind through a warren of
turquoise channels like a great serpent of sails. They past islands
with luxurious golden beaches encircling patches of rich green
forest, some long and narrow, others no more than the size of a
single ship. The islands grew in size and the water calmed,
shielded from the swell of the open ocean.

“
Quick!” Elrin waved them over to the side of
Bone Dancer
.

Minni went to
find out what the fuss was for. “What’s wrong?”

Elrin pointed
down through the water. “Look!”

The reef on
one side of the ship was shimmering under a blanket of coins.
Treasure littered the shoreline and smothered the beaches in gold
from distant lands. How many ancient kings with empty vaults would
have mourned for this fortune, snatched up by greedy dragons
through the ages?

They were
actually here. They’d come to the Hoard Islands.

Elrin ran to
the other side of the ship, eyes wide with amazement. Minni
followed, waving over Amber and Hurn to see. Great mounds piled
across another island, its mantle of riches so thick, trees had no
room to grow. It was barren save the precious treasures.

Erin shook his
head in disbelief. “There is so much here. How would a dragon
possibly miss any of it?”

Minni gave him
a nudge. “It looks nice to a Calimskan maybe, but there is a good
reason we rid ourselves of precious metals for the Surrender Moon.
That’s the last moon before the dragons descend to collect. Here on
the coast it’s gold to the grave.”

“
Even a little bit?”

“
Sure, take a piece and see if you make it through the
season.”

“
Why would a mighty dragon bother me for one little gold
coin?”

“
A mighty dragon wouldn’t, it’s the young ones that sniff out
the small stuff.”

“
I could defend myself from a small dragon, couldn’t
I?”

Delik walked
up beside them with a chuckle. “You might survive one, but what
about the next, and the next? What about a pack of the bastards,
each with an aching to please their sweetheart? What then?”

“
I would bury it.”

“
Sure beats holding it in your pocket,” said Minni.

Delik shook
his head. “It’d be gone by seasons end. Fools still try
though.”

“
So how does Kobb get away with keeping all his
silverware?”

“
That’s not his,” said Minni.

Delik
chuckled. “Prisella rules the roost, Kobb just polishes her
collection.”

“
Then I’d take it to Calimska, before the season began. I’d be
rich and safe there.”

“
Not with that dead letter you wouldn’t,” said Minni. “Your
escort on the other hand. They’d do just fine after your
delivery.”

“
Maybe so,” said Delik, scratching his stubble. “But even
without his bounty he’d have Stoneheart’s toll.”

“
And the carry laws,” added Minni.

“
Alright, alright, I yield.” Elrin dipped his head to Minni
and Delik in mock defeat. “The rebellion’s finest have obviously
considered doing the same.”

Delik gripped
Elrin’s shoulder, enjoying the banter. “Considered and applied
without success. Minni can tell you the story.”

Minni
darkened, punching Delik in the arm.

Delik took the
jab in good humour. “Perhaps another time then, I forgot how
sensitive she was about it.”

“
Hells, you did,” said Minni.

The
light-hearted ribbing continued through the morning. Delik and
Minni bickered like an old couple, digging at each other’s sore
points and goading one another on. Tikis joined in and was just as
bad with both of them. They recounted fragments of times past,
enough for them to have a laugh together, but not enough for Elrin
to decipher the meaning. He found himself laughing along with the
camaraderie, though he didn’t feel it himself. He wanted in, but
there was so much history he couldn’t penetrate. He was just a
shiner from the wrong side of the range.

The heat of the day took hold early. The cloudless sky
scorched and the cool breeze of the morning burned up, draining the
wind from the sails. The crew worked the rigging to catch what they
could, easing
Bone Dancer
through the shallow channels.

The channel opened up into deep water and the ship changed
tack, heading for a wall of rock, a mountain range growing out of
the ocean dappled with greenery. It stretched across the sea,
rising higher as they approached. Closer they came and Kobb made no
move or call to correct
Bone
Dancer
’s course.

Elrin held onto the rail, bracing himself for the ship to run
aground. Instead they passed right into the mountain. There was an
enormous unseen hole in the rock, wide enough for three ships to
sail through side by side. It must have been a trick of the eye,
for the hidden entrance was no magical force; solid rock arched
high above them in a winding cavern. Kobb wheeled
Bone Dancer
starboard,
through a kink in the tunnel. Ahead lay the tunnel exit, opening
into a wide natural harbour. At the centre, huddled in a busy mess,
an entire village of ships were at anchor.

Kobb called
down from the quarterdeck, his bright clothes glaring in the sun
like the treasures that surrounded them. “Welcome to Kobbton!”

***

Smoke from cook
fires snaked into the sky through a forest of masts. Fresh baked
bread made Delik’s stomach growl. Kobb’s pirate town thrived on the
rich hauls he stole and traded. The outer edge of the village where
the ships came to dock echoed with the cacophonous hammering of
coopers and carpenters, breaking down barrels and building them,
repairing damaged ships and modifying them.

The buoyant
village teemed with humans and shankakin, though other races were
speckled amongst them. A team of dwarves smithed around a
well-insulated forge and an elf rowed by the pier with a boat full
of crab pots. An old orc sat out of place with a group of
sailmakers, his needle in hand, hard at work. Ona only knew what
would happen if the dwarves, elves and orcs bumped each other’s
drinks. Perhaps here in Kobbton they had escaped the ancient feuds.
More likely they just avoided each other; the slights of dynastic
snobbery weighed heavy and crimes of war heavier still.

The rescued
slaves disembarked, free to walk amongst those who traversed the
boardwalks and bridges, those who made their home and livelihoods
upon the modified hulls of Kobbton. There were vessels of all
shapes and sizes, a shamble of interlinking ships, stitched by
plank and line, floating in the shell of some long dead
volcano.

Blue-green water lapped against the steep rock, shielding the
hideout from the open sea. The high cliffs were occupied by
opportunistic trees and shrubs, collecting the strewn treasures
with windswept limbs and grasping roots. Scores of boats and ships
were berthed at piers that wheeled out like spokes around the hub
of the pirate village. At the ready to sail were war galleys with
sharp rams at the bow and ballista upon the decks. Docked nearby
were Jandan caravels with their lateen sails and carracks
like
Bone Dancer
,
fitted with cannon. Drakkin longboats floated low beside merchant
fluyts.

The pirate fleet was expansive and varied, yet Kobb’s most
recent prize ships, sailing in such a grand procession, would be
his new pride.
Juniper
and the galleons were the finest examples of Jandan naval
might. They surpassed the carracks and caravels the Jandans brought
with them when they had first made landfall on the coast, laying
claim to everything in the name of their greedy Lord. The Jandan
armada had multiplied its ranks with these war machines, galleons
and frigates bristling with cannon, sturdy and fast.

Using these
ships as bait for Kobb and themselves as bait for Jando was a
gamble that didn’t sit well with Delik. He wasn’t the gambling type
and here he was playing his hand of cards against a table full of
chancers. He made it this far into the game and only had a few
cards left. The trouble was which cards should he play next? Kobb
had played his hand as Delik expected; the pirate didn’t have a
good card face. If Jando didn’t play their armada, they had room to
breathe, but if Jando did lay the armada on the table, Minni had
best pluck the right card from her sleeve, or they were sunk.

Kobb swaggered
across the deck and cut in front of Hurn as he approached the
gangplank; a dangerous move considering the ogre was five times his
size. “I’ll be calling in that favour now. Shouldn’t take you too
long, given your extraordinary proportions.”

Hurn leant
down and snorted his reluctant consent. Kobb flinched under the
sudden rush of air from the ogre’s nostrils, streaming over his
face.

“
Hurn Ga Kogh lift what?”

Kobb motioned
over one of Fjhor’s warriors. “Get the brute to move the cannon and
shot. When he’s done with those, all the ballista need to be
mounted. Report back when the jobs are finished.”

Amber took
Hurn’s hand, ready to follow.

Minni grabbed
her other hand. “Stay with me, love. Hurn will be finished
soon.”

Amber produced
the saddest eyes Delik had ever witnessed, her bottom lip slung in
a pout, her spirit shattered.

“
Little Bell safe with Hurn Ga Kogh. Little village sink if
small man hurt—”

“
No, no! None of that sort of talk, thank you.” Kobb jabbed
his thumb over his shoulder. “I’ll get Granny Shan to keep an eye
on them, they got along fine last night after dinner. Isn’t that
right, deary?”

Amber nodded
her vigorous approval. Granny Shan had become a fast favourite with
both Hurn and Amber, spoiling them with lollies and delighting them
with stories of dragons and magic. Minni was confronted by the
pleading eyes of all three, Kobb, Hurn and Amber.

Minni broke.
“Oh, fine then. Just look out for each other and not so many
treats. If they come back with a scratch, it’ll be your head,
Kobb.”

Delik made his
way down the gangplank, wondering if Minni had just handed Kobb the
wild card they needed. If Amber was the Key to the Dragon Choir
they must keep her close. Elrin too. What if it was the lad? He
could chase the meanings of the prophecies to the five hells and
still not know what they were about. He had to put it from his
mind.

Delik followed
Fjhor along criss-crossing walkways between the village ships. “How
is it that Jandan scouts don’t spot the rising smoke and find your
hideout?”

Fjhor’s face
remained deadpan, though his broad shoulders straightened with
pride. “They see the smoke, but they don’t see their way back to
tell anyone.”

Kobb must have
placed ships on guard throughout the maze of islands, perhaps
hidden fortifications and fixed batteries of cannon. He had to have
some weather witches tucked away somewhere. Perhaps they had a role
to play. Kobb’s modified caravels would catch any ship with a witch
at the sails. Whatever his strategy, Kobb would need something
better to face off the armada he was goading into battle.

Passing
through a crowded market square, Delik calculated how many in the
village would take up arms. There were many children about, elderly
too. Some would have to remain to care for them. At least a third
of the population here would not be fighting fit. That still left
hundreds of capable hands. There were also the rescued slaves, the
rebels under his command and however many other ships Kobb had
ready at sea.

They had a
chance, but there was no way that Kobb had as many guns as the
Jandans. He would win by boarding, overpowering the marines in
melee. Like the market square, with the decks of several barges
tied together, they would incapacitate the Jandans, grapple them
together and swarm the decks.

The market was
a clamour of trade. Shell was exchanged for all manner or goods
from lands near and far. The irony of being surrounded with gold
and silver and trading in shell gave Delik a chuckle. These people
would know the taboos more keenly than any other. Making their
sanctuary in the dragon hoards was both brilliant and extremely
dangerous. He wondered how long it took to dismantle the village
and float it somewhere safe when dragon season came.

They arrived
in the guesthouse, away from the noise and bustle of the market.
Atop the wide deck of a modified drakkin war galley a bungalow
rested. The two blue shuttered windows, red door and thatched roof
made it appear like a giant’s disembodied head, floating in the
bay. Across the deck, all manner of plants grew from pails and
pots. There were miniature fruit trees and thick bunches of herbs.
Tikis took one look at the hull, turned his back and folded his
arms tight across his broad scaled chest.

“
Don’t take it personally, Tikis. It just shows our hosts poor
taste. Only Kobb would think to ruin a fine galley like this.”
Delik chuckled hoping Tikis would find the humour in it. “Come on,
I bet she’s perfect under the deck. Let’s take a peek.”

“
This one shall remain.” Tikis sat cross-legged on the
pier.

“
It’s just for a while, I’ll cook you up
something.”

“
You and yours go and rest. This one’s shadow will set it
aflame. This ship is for death and this home is for life. Drakkin
cannot mix sacred places.”