Chapter 35: Back Home Again

I wandered around Michaelsport until I found a stable. They would sell me a couple of horses, so I told them I’d be by tomorrow for them. If they were sold by then, I’d walk to Cooper’s Crossing. If anyone asked the farrier, he could tell them that I wanted two horses to head up to Cooper’s Crossing tomorrow. I used their well to wash the bolt off before all the blood dried on it. That would remove any doubt. How many men are wandering around Michaelsport with two swords and a bloody crossbow bolt?

With that done, I wandered down to the docks trying to keep an eye on my back while I looked over the ships. One looked like it was getting ready to get underway, so I asked one of the crew where they were headed.

“Up north to Long Cut from here, dunno where after that. Ask the Cap’n.”

“Does he allow passengers?”

“Yes, sometimes. Ye’ll hafta ask the Cap’n.”

“Which one is your Captain?”

He pointed the Captain out, and I went to talk to him. He was busy, so I waited.

Eventually it was my turn. “Your crew says you are going to Long Cut next. Will you take a passenger or a guard?”

“Two Pinches for the deckspace. We’ll feed you for a Quad. If you have to fight it’s free.”

“Very well. When do you get underway?”

“As soon as that loading is done. This afternoon some time.”

“Thank you. I will be here.”

I wandered some more until I found an arms merchant and bought a small bow, suitable for use on horseback. I couldn’t use it very well, but dammit it would have been a lot better at the bank than my one-shot crossbow. I got a bunch of arrows, too. I figured that I’d be losing or breaking most of them before I was any good. It was past time to master the skill. I had also wanted a full-sized shield, but my arms were about full so I settled for a medium one.

I didn’t see any more of the Brotherhood thugs wandering about, so they must only be at the bank. Anyway, I had just about all I could carry so I went back down to the docks and went onboard the Bright Star. I was deck-cargo, just like the bundles and baskets.

I stayed out of the way until we were clear of the port, then went to talk to the Captain. He was expecting it.

“Ye have yer legs. Where you from?”

“The Island. You ever go over there?”

“Sometimes. Ye want to go home?”

“If I can. How much would it cost you to take me to Bridgetown or Small Cove?”

“More than you’ve got. This crew ain’t workin’ fer free.”

“Of course. How much?”

“All the way over t’ the Island? Just t’ let you off? A Conch. Paid first.”

That was a completely outrageous fee. He just said that to call my bluff. Still...

“That’s more than I’ve got on me, right. Still, when we get to Long Cut if you’ll take me to the bank I’ll show you your Conch. You won’t get it until I reach the bank at Small Cove, though.”

“Give me a Shell first, and then the Conch in Small Cove.”

“Deal.”

I held my hand out and we shook. If I paid in advance, he could just have me killed while I slept. This way, he knew he would get the money, but only if I made it to Small Cove. An extra Shell was a small investment in my safety. I was no longer deck cargo, in the way and more trouble than I was worth. Now, I was valuable priority cargo!

We were three days getting to Long Cut. I entertained the crew while I learned to use the bow. We set up a target in the bow, and everyone stayed behind me while I practiced. There were some men aboard who had hunted as boys and young men, and they proved that there was nothing wrong with the bow or arrows. It was all me.

If we were attacked by pirates, I was going to hand the bow to the best archer in the crew and try to cover him with my shield while he did what he could. If we got boarded, I would play “Widemouth Guard” and wade in. Still, I was better when we reached Long Cut than I was when we left Michaelsport. Not good, but better. And I still had about half of my arrows.

Captain Ralf and I talked a few times. Bright Star was what Earth would call a ‘coaster’. It went from port to port heading north, and then from port to port again as it came back down south. It would carry anything for profit. Sometimes he carried merchants with their own cargo. The ship itself gave me the feeling of being old, but it was certainly solid and safe enough.

He’d never carried those large barrels of Long Cut ale, though. They were too expensive. He’d carried some of their smaller casks, but not the big hundred-gallon barrels. Besides, he knew of ships that had been boarded by pirates just for those barrels. No, it was safer to not carry anything valuable.

But, I knew that there was a market for Long Cut ale. Maybe Filo could use Thunder as an armed freighter? He could carry forty or fifty barrels if he skimped on supplies. Enough men to be safe from pirates wouldn’t add that much to the load.

Long Cut was a port city hidden behind a crack in the coastal cliffs. If you don’t live there, it’s just like any other. Port area with warehouses and taverns here, business district there, rich people and government buildings up on the hill, small shops everywhere, the poor’s lodgings crammed in wherever they could find room.

The bank was in the business section. Captain Ralf took me there. I stuck my finger in the ID hole and withdrew a Conch and four Shells. I showed them all to the Captain, and then gave the Conch back to the teller for deposit again. The good Captain would get his Shell when we pulled out tomorrow, and his Conch when we landed at Small Cove. We split up after that. He had to discharge and take on cargo, and I wanted to visit the brewery.

The brewery sold their ale in an assortment of containers. You could buy a small five-gallon cask for a Quad all the way up to a huge ‘tun’ for five Shells. The tun looked like two hundred gallons or more. I had no idea how to even move it without a forklift. Maybe a huge wagon. And what would you do with it? But, the price was nothing, there at the brewery. The higher charges elsewhere were all transportation and profit for all the middle-men.

No, the right size to ship was their hundred-gallon barrel. They sold it at their brewery for three Shells. Delivery would cost more. They could provide any amount up to a hundred barrels or so, if they had some warning.

The Long Cut brewery was big business. They sold their ale to anyone, and ships and caravans took it with them all over the world it seemed. There was certainly a supply, if I could provide a market on the Island. I couldn’t help but think that if the Brotherhood had started here and offered a discount on Long Cut ale to any town that surrendered to them, they would control the world by now.

I bought two of their small five-gallon casks and paid a Pinch extra for delivery to the Bright Star today before dark. Then, just to make sure I didn’t get into trouble somehow, I went back to the ship for the night. Whether I drank them all myself or used them as bribes, it seemed like a good investment.