The harbormaster Lt, Juan Rodriguez de Soldano, hurried down the shipyard dock after the Castillian sailor . “You are not authorized to leave port. We are under a White Plague quarantine. Do you hear me? Any vessel attempting to leave will be destroyed by the galleons anchored in the harbor.”
“I’m sorry sir. You will have to talk to the owner about that. He instructed me to tell you that we were leaving right after full dark.” The sailor hurried on.
“The tides not even right. I know that he is a little anxious to try out the new boat, but this is the wrong time for a pleasure cruise!” Rodriguez huffed.
The Falcon’s Roost loomed ahead under the full glare of the beating afternoon sun. The bright decorations that had adorned it this morning for the christening ceremony had been stripped away. Riggers scurried amidst the sails, preparing the vessel to cast off. The ship’s owner stood uncomfortably next to a tall Avalon gentleman. “Senor Vasquez! What is the meaning of this insanity?” Rodriguez strode up to the owner shaking his finger. The owner simply shrugged sadly.
The blonde man smiled and revealed the pistol that had been hidden behind the ship’s owner. “Good sir, thank you for joining us. I was certain that you would deal with this challenge to your authority personally.” The tall man spoke to the harbormaster’s escort. “Good job, Velik. Go ahead, cast us off. We’re ready to go. I’ll take these men to the forecastle.”
“What about Alesio? Any sign?”
He shook his head. “No, I had Willie check out the entire inn and the surrounding area. She’s just gone with no sign that she was taken. I’m sure its not the last we’ve seen of her.”
While the pirate’s leader was distracted, the Rodriguez hissed at the boat’s owner. “How did they get aboard?”
“Remember that girl with her nose in a book at the christening? After we had all the provisions loaded up and most of the crew had gone for a siesta, she came back later with him.” The owner gestured at the Avalon. “Said he was a wealthy merchant who was looking to purchase a fast boat. Then he pulled the pistol on me and told me not to move. The girl whistled and these pirates dashed aboard and leapt at the skeletal crew I had. They didn’t kill anybody, just threw the crew below decks. We didn’t even get off a shot.” The owner continued in a whisper, “I think these dogs were hiding beneath the docks”
With a small prod, the Avalon escorted the harbormaster and the boat’s owner to the forecastle of the ship. A gruff Inishman joined the Avalon who spoke to him. “Mr. McCorley, please keep an eye on these two.” The Inish man simple nodded a quick “Aye, aye.” Looking around, the Rodriguez clearly saw that the sailors barely numbered enough men to sail the boat. “What’s going on here?”
“We’re stealing a boat. Hadn’t you noticed?”
“And who are you?”
“My name is Jeremiah Berek, formerly of the Sea Dogs. Now with the Brotherhood of the Coast.”
“You swine! We let you pirates berth outside our harbor and sell your plunder here and this is how you repay us?”
“You broke that agreement when you aided the fate witches in destroying our ship and putting a price upon our heads. You even let the fate witches patrol the docks to look for any stragglers they might have missed. Luckily they didn’t know where to look or that the shipyards had a boat that was ready for her maiden voyage. But now we really need to break out of this little quarantine of yours. And the way we look at it, you owe us for your betrayal.”
“Have you ever seen anyone die of the White Plague? It’s a horrible, lingering death. There’s been a case of it here in town and no one can leave until disease is contained. And if you spread the disease simply because you didn’t want to be late, I will personally hunt…”
“Do not concern yourself, sir. While my companions were busy finding the perfect boat for our little jaunt and finding some more bodies to sail her, I was investigating this ‘Plague.’ The only people to see the infected crew members were the passengers of a Vodacce vessel that came in yesterday. That vessel left minutes before the quarantine was declared. And since those former passengers burned the Hanged Man down and tried to kill our entire crew, I’m certain that it was simply a scare to close the harbor. Those fate witches wouldn’t even blink at starting that rumor. And unless we get to our men and get out of here, they will all die. I will not allow that.”
“Your ship burned down last night. Any crew on it must have died.”
“They would have. In fact, that was the fate witches plan. But I found out about it. We were able to semaphore ‘Danger’ to them. Enough to put them on their guard without alerting your vessels out there. Then I had one of our men swim out there under cover of darkness to let them know what to do. The boat was almost deserted by the time of the fire.”
“Impossible. Those tides are too strong. And where could they go? There were no other boats out there last night. Your entire crew couldn’t have made it to shore without being seen.”
Berek smiled and pointed to the lighthouse on a small rocky island a few miles out from the port.
“Impossible. We knew that lighthouse was vulnerable to attack, so we rebuilt it so that one man could hold off a score of men. And we have a dozen men out there. We would have heard or been signaled if someone had tried to take it last night..”
“Except that our man came from the top. He should have been able to incapacitate everyone inside and let our people without difficulty.”
“How could he possibly get to the top of that lighthouse, unless he was one of those damned Porte mages?”
“No, no. He just climbed the outside of the lighthouse.”
“You’re dreaming. No man could pull that off.”
“We’ll see. Perhaps you are right and no one survived. We’ll just have to go out to the lighthouse and find out for sure. And Sean, we’ll be needing a new first mate with Alesio gone. If they did survive I know one man that should be made first mate. If he pulled off three impossible feats last night, then imagine what he could do with the crew. Reminds me a certain highland lass.”
“So you are just planning on sailing out there past the navy vessels anchored at the mouth of the harbor. You ARE cocky enough to be Berek. But your luck won’t get you past them.” The harbormaster scowled at the grinning Avalon.
Berek’s somber face broke into a mischievous grin. “No. It won’t. You will. We are going to approach one of the blockade’s ships. You are going to hail her. You are the harbormaster and personally selected those ships. When you tell them to allow us to pass so you can inspect the boat that burned, they will let us pass without inspecting us too closely for fear of the White Plague.”
“Very convenient. Except for one thing.”
Berek’s face suddenly paled. “And what would that be?”
Lt. Rodriguez folded his arms over his chest. “I won’t do it. I won’t help you break the blockade.” He paused when he saw the set cast of Berek’s face.
“The lives of my crew here. The lives of our men from the Hanged Man. The lives of the Castillian crew below decks. The lives of the Castillians on those other boats. And your own life all depend upon it.” Berek’s voice rose with conviction. “If you help us, no one dies. If you don’t, then a lot of people will die. I am not threatening anyone. I do not kill hostages. We will simply fight out way out. That will cost lives. Some of the prisoners will not survive the fight. Cannonballs have little finesse.” Berek looked out into the harbor for a moment. “But we will get through that blockade. They saved me from certain death. It’s time I returned the favor.”
Staring into his eyes, the Rodriguez realized this man meant it. He would fight his way out if there was no other choice. And with surprise on his side who knew what could happen. Especially with Berek. Castille couldn’t afford the destruction or even damage of any of her galleons with the Montaigne Admiral on a rampage. Closing his eyes, he whispered, “I’ll do it.”
“Good. We’ll be stopping at the lighthouse Mr. Wilcox and the rest of the crew. We will drop off most of the prisoners then. We may need to hang onto a few of you longer, but I guarantee that you will not be harmed.” As the Falcon’s Roost sped through the dark night, Berek turned his face towards the open sea. The wreckage of the Hanged Man was out there. But there was still time to save her crew. There had to be.
