The Pirates of Pacta Servanda (Pillars of Reality Book 4) (6 page)

He felt someone slump against him, then Alain and Mage Dav were holding the limp figure of Mage Asha, who had exhausted herself with her spell.

Mechanic Alli fired again, and another grandly dressed figure dropped on the galley. The other Mechanics fired a volley, though with everyone scrambling around on the galley’s quarterdeck and falling against each other it was hard to see the effect. What Alain could tell was that the galley was swinging wildly to one side, its earlier turn becoming more and more extreme with no means of controlling the ship’s rudder. The drumbeat broke off, the oars trying to stop and instead crashing into each other.

Once again the Mechanic weapons fired, and this time everyone visible on the galley went flat or dove for cover. Its oars in a shambles and the useless wheel sliding unheeded off one side of the quarterdeck into the water, the galley glided past the stern of the
Gray Lady
.

“I think they’ve had enough,” Mechanic Alli commented, standing up and canting her weapon over her shoulder.

“Yeah,” Mari agreed. She turned, looking at the other galleys, now visible as the last remnants of the fog dissipated. Both were drifting and showed no signs of wanting to renew the fight. The galley that had hit the rocks had taken on so much water its bow was nearly awash, with most of the crew busy using any available container, including their helmets, to try to bail out the seawater before the galley sank.

“Mage Asha?” A stricken-looking Mechanic Dav was kneeling beside the female Mage, across from the apparently placid Mage Dav.

“She is tired,” Mage Dav explained. “Not hurt.”

“Back to work, Mechanic,” Bev said, helping Mechanic Dav stand. “The job’s not completed yet.” They walked back to the railing to help keep watch on the galleys.

“Steady!” the captain of the
Gray Lady
called to his helm, grinning. “Those rocks that discomfited one of our enemies are the breakwater for Julesport, Lady Mari! I knew they must be somewhere near. Oars have their place, and I know the Mechanics use their steam, but with all respect for your arts, to me sails are what a proper ship should depend upon.”

“You make a strong argument for that,” Mari said, smiling with relief. “Jules herself couldn’t have done better.”

The captain beamed at the praise comparing him to the legendary sailor. “You would know if anyone, daughter of Jules,” he declared, bowing low to Mari. “Having you aboard has no doubt brought the favor of Jules to our voyage, and if I may say so, I have never been so glad to have honored Mechanics and honored Mages as passengers!”

Mari laughed, since she knew that commons had never before been glad to have Mechanics and Mages as passengers, though it was not hard for Alain to see her embarrassment at being linked to the famous seafarer. “How far are we from Julesport?” Mari asked.

The captain pointed ahead. There the rocks of the breakwater rose higher and were capped by a stone fortification and lighthouse that seemed designed to withstand any attack and the mightiest of gales. “That marks the entrance to the harbor, Lady! Welcome to Julesport!”

* * * *

Despite the captain’s announcement of their arrival, in fact it took quite a while to first wear around the end of the breakwater and then make their way against the wind into the crowded harbor. The
Gray Lady
’s crew was kept busy adjusting and trimming the sails, while the captain kept his attention on the many ships and boats that the clipper had to avoid while threading her way to an anchorage.

That left Mari with nothing to do but lean on the rail and watch the slow progress of the ship into the harbor. They only needed to stay long enough to take on food and water before sailing south toward the one destination no one was likely to suspect, the Broken Kingdom of Tiae.

She had a hard time relaxing after the tension of the recent battle, instead worrying about what other challenges they might face even here at Julesport. The stack of a single steam-powered ship was visible on the far side of the harbor. That would be a Mechanics Guild ship, since no one else was allowed the use of boilers as propulsion. Everything else was under sail, under oars, or at anchor. Every time the wind shifted sails flapped, spars shifted, and booms swung as sailors on dozens of different vessels of widely varying size adjusted to the vagaries of the breezes. To Mari it looked like a huge, complex machine with scores of independently moving parts, each pursuing its own path, yet all in a strange kind of harmony in the service of some greater purpose.

She would have to create something like that if she were to overthrow the Great Guilds. But that would be impossible to do alone. After so long of just barely surviving with just her and Alain seemingly against the world, it was very comforting to know that she had friends here ready to help.

Mari looked around, seeing most of her companions, but noticed that two were missing. “Where are Mage Asha and Mechanic Dav?”

Mechanic Alli looked innocently off to the side, Mechanic Bev rolled her eyes, and Mage Dav, as usual, betrayed no feelings at all even though Asha was his niece. Alain looked around, as if startled to realize the other two were not on deck.

It took Mari a moment to realize what their reactions meant. “You’re kidding,” she said. “They’re together belowdecks? Mage Asha and Mechanic Dav met for the first time in Altis. They’re already that close?”

“At the moment they’re probably very close to each other,” Alli said, grinning.

“And,” Bev added dryly, “probably trying to disprove the Exclusion Principle.”

Alain looked at the Mechanics. “What is the Exclusion Principle?”

“The law that says no two objects can occupy the same place at the same time,” Mari snapped. “Think about it.”

“We just won a fight,” Alli pointed out. “Don’t you feel like celebrating?”

“Not that way! Where are they doing this? Alain and I have been trying to find a private place on this ship since we left Altis! How did they find a private place when Alain and I couldn’t?”

“You know how young lovers can be.”

“Alain and I are young lovers! We’re both younger than Mage Asha or Mechanic Dav!”

“But now you’re an old married couple,” Alli explained.

“We’ve only been married for about a month. All right, a month and a half. That’s not
old
.” Mari gave Alain an accusing look. “Did you know about them?”

“Did I know what about them?” Alain asked.

Sometimes she wondered if Alain were truly that oblivious or if he just pretended to be unaware of human interaction. “Did you know that they were that interested in each other?” Mari asked patiently.

“Not until this day, when Mage Asha made her interest so plain,” Alain said. “I recall a time that Asha discussed Mechanic Dav with you.”

“She did,” Mari conceded. “At least, she asked if Dav was fair game and I said as far as I knew he was. I just hope she doesn’t hurt him. I like Asha, but she is still a Mage, taught to believe that other people don’t matter.”

“Mages are taught that other people do not exist,” Alain corrected. “But I believe that Mage Asha…what is the word?”

“I hope you’re not looking for the word love!”

“No. Not yet, if I am to judge love by what I feel for you. Something less?”

“She likes him?”

“Yes,” Alain said. “I believe that Asha
likes
Mechanic Dav.”

“Do she like him or does she
like
him like him?”

Alain stared at Mari, openly conveying confusion. “I have no idea what you are asking.”

“Is that because you’re a man or because you’re a Mage? Never mind. Who Asha takes up with is none of my business, as long as it’s not you.”

“You know that Asha is not your rival in any way.”

Mari shook her head, smiling to let him know she wasn’t really worried about Asha. “Alain, she’s the most beautiful woman anyone’s ever seen. She’s a few years older than me and a Mage like you. She’s even got a better rear end than I do.”

“On that last you are absolutely wrong,” Alain said.

“Sure. I’ll try to believe that.” Mari looked around the harbor again, at the city spreading beside it and up into the low hills beyond, at the forts and walls defending it, and wondered if she really was a descendant of Jules, who according to legend had been the first to see this harbor and who had founded this city. She felt a shiver born of some indefinable sensation and decided it must be nerves.

“Alli and Bev,” Mari called. “We’d better shed the jackets so no one can tell we’re Mechanics. We need to get the supplies we require and then leave this port without any complications.”

She pulled off her own jacket, wondering if the Syndari galleys would notify the city leaders of Julesport about who was riding on the
Gray Lady
in an attempt to claim the rewards, despite failing to capture Mari themselves. Or if the Mechanics Guild Hall and the Mages Guild Hall had taken note of the battle just outside the harbor.

Mari didn’t make any comments when Mechanic Dav and Mage Asha eventually reappeared on deck, but both Alli and Bev began pestering Dav with mock concern, asking if he had been hurt in the fight and exactly where he had been and what he had been doing.

By early afternoon the
Gray Lady
had tied up to an anchor buoy only about a thousand lances from the nearest pier. The captain immediately began negotiating with barges that came alongside offering food and water or transport ashore for the crew. The latter left disappointed, since no one planned to leave the
Gray Lady
.

But Mari was quickly reminded that plans were what people made before they found out what the real world had in store for them.

“There’s a launch heading this way,” the captain called to Mari. “Not normal port tax collection from the look of it. Too fancy. That fellow in the back is not the run-of-the-mill customs inspector, Lady. I’d guess from the cut of his jib that he’s a high official of the city guard.”

“We’ll get under cover,” Mari said, beckoning to the other Mechanics and the Mages. “You see what they want, Captain, and hopefully talk our way out of any trouble.”

“As you wish, Lady Mari!”

The large launch coming toward the
Gray Lady
flew the flag of Julesport, an official emblem which incongruously boasted the crossed swords of the sometime-pirate Jules. Jules had not just founded this city, but had also been the primary founder of the Confederation. It was from Julesport that she had led a flotilla against an Imperial fleet to win the battle that saved this region from Imperial control and gave Jules the title Hero of the Confederation. Mari was certain that Jules must have received aid from the Mechanics Guild and the Mage Guild in her victory, because neither of the Great Guilds wanted the Empire to grow so powerful it might openly challenge their authority, but she had still been the sort of person whose legend had trouble outpacing reality.

The idea of being linked to such a woman, of being the long-awaited daughter of Jules, was disconcerting for Mari, to put it mildly. But that was who Alain said she was, who the Mage Guild had decided she must be, who the common people saw in her: the person who was prophesized to overthrow the Great Guilds which had ruled Dematr for all of its history. A history that was measured only in centuries, but on Altis Mari had finally learned the reason for that.

Mari gazed through the windows of the stern cabin using her far-seers. The man in the stern sheets of the launch approaching the
Gray Lady
wore an impressive uniform. “That’s a dress uniform, isn’t it? Not a working outfit.”

Mechanic Dav borrowed the far-seers and took a look. “Definitely. It looks like…uh-huh. The oar handlers have knives, and the guy in the fancy uniform has a sword, but there aren’t any other weapons in sight. They don’t seem to be coming to start a fight.” He lowered the far-seers, returning them to Mari with obvious reluctance. Like other Mechanic devices, the far-seers had been deliberately kept too rare and expensive for widespread use. “These are nice. Made in the workshops of the Guild Hall in Palandur?”

“That’s right. I took an advance on my first year's Mechanic pay allowance for them.” Mari took another look at the official in the launch, then glanced at Alain. “High-ranking, but obviously not one of the leaders of the city. What do you think that means?”

Alain considered the question. “I would guess that it means they suspect that this ship carries not just any passengers, but that they also wish to know more before making any decisions.”

“I cannot sense any unusual activity among the Mages in Julesport,” Mage Dav said.

“That one steam ship hasn’t fired up its boiler,” Mechanic Bev offered.

The launch was nearing rapidly under the pull of its oars. Mari looked across the harbor, seeing no other activity that seemed out of the ordinary. Work everywhere within sight had slowed for the afternoon break. “The captain told me that we can’t leave without taking on more food and water and then getting official clearance to depart. All we can do is see what that official wants and what questions he asks.”

“It is safe to assume that the leaders of all cities are under a great deal of pressure from the Great Guilds to find us,” Alain said. “Was not Julesport the site of rioting not long ago?”

“Yes,” Mari said. “About the time I went north to find you again. The last I heard, the Mechanics Guild was leaning hard on the city leaders and the city leaders, according to the gossip among commons, were pretending to go along with orders but finding ways to avoid actually complying.”

“My experience with commons,” Mechanic Dav offered, “is that they are really good at that sort of thing. The Senior Mechanics kept telling me the commons were too stupid to understand what they were told, but it looked to me like they were plenty smart enough.”

“That’s what I’ve seen, too. We’ll crack the hatch so we can listen while that guy talks to the captain,” Mari decided.

The wait for the launch to pull alongside and its passenger to climb up the rope ladder to the
Gray Lady's
deck seemed interminable to Mari, but eventually she saw the official step on deck, looking around casually. The hatch onto the deck was open but a narrow crack. Mari stood slightly back from it, surely invisible to anyone outside, with Alain right beside her and the others clustered farther back.