[Envinyatar]

‘Come aboard, Khaz!’ Yr Saldan shoved the boarding plank down to the dock’s edge, and motioned the man up with his lantern. Khazdifir stopped just as his foot touched the deck. Under the light of the half full moon, he made out the familiar tidiness of the ship. Everything stowed and secured, sails furled, deck clean, and he would bet whatever few coins he had in his purse that all the crew was aboard. No drunken revelries for Saldan’s sailors tonight.

There was a feeling of expectancy about the captain. The air about him thrummed with electricity. Something was going on and soon. The captain had motioned him to a small table by the starboard railing, and was pouring a tot of Southron spirits for them as Khaz spoke. ‘I want to be in on it, Saldan.’

‘In on what, my dear Kestrel?’ he asked, smiling.

‘You make a poor effort at being guileless, my dear captain. The very air screams you have something in mind.’ He glanced about the darkened ship again. ‘And why does the ship bear so much cargo aboard?’ He nodded toward the neat stacks of barrels and crates about the deck. ‘Have you gone legitimate since last I saw you? Are you now the captain of a merchant vessel?’

Saldan howled with laughter at this assessment of him. ‘In a way, yes!’ Khaz frowned, waiting for him to go on. Saldan sat back, taking the measure of his old shipmate. There was a calculating look in his eyes. His fingers drummed on the table, a considering rhythm.

The captain leaned forward, speaking in a low voice. He had been approached by a ‘certain’ group he said. They needed a diversion while they went forward with their own plans. And they wanted Saldan to create it for them. He fished in his vest pocket and found a silver coin. Placing it carefully on the table, he pushed it across the smooth planks with his thick fingers.

Khaz looked at the coin considering the vague explanation. ‘And . . ‘ he said, keeping his hands off the table. Saldan grinned, pushing the coin a little nearer. ‘There’s a fat purse to be made for a good mate like you. And a chance to make your cutlass sing, if you like. He sat back in his chair, sipping at his mug. ‘The rest I can tell you once we’re well at sea.’

Khaz smiled and shook his head, sensing that what Saldan had said was true, but not the whole of it. He wondered if even the open sea would bring the entire scheme to light. His left hand slapped down on the coin before him, and he palmed it, placing it in the purse at his belt. ‘I’m yours for the duration.’ he said, raising his mug to the captain.

‘Ah! That’s my Kestrel. Back in the nest.’ Saldan leaned forward, speaking softly once again. ‘What maps do you have of the approaches to Belfalas. And of the shoreland cities there?’

[ February 12, 2003: Message edited by: Envinyatar ]