Chapter 12

Despite the occasionally bad weather, I spent most of my time out on the deck on my three-day trip to Aston. As soon as the people on the small ship noticed that I wasn’t really a nuisance, I was even allowed to help with some simple enough things. Like holding one rope tightly and other complex things like that. Since the ship was more or less following the coastline there wasn’t much need for finer navigation, which was a pity since that was something I would have been interested in. Well, maybe I should be happy about the fact that I was here, on my way to Aston without being robbed. I looked at the flat coastline that was now further away than usual, since the ship captain wanted to avoid the shallows closer to the coast. There was a route through those shallows but going that way would have been slower because of the required zig-zagging and the westerly wind gave us much more speed out here.

I was scratching one of the ship’s cats behind her ears when I heard someone approaching. I didn’t turn to look, since I had already guessed that it was the first mate of this ship. I wasn’t sure if it was the way he walked or my way of sensing - or both. I just knew.

“You know, those cats don’t usually allow any of our occasional guests to touch them.”

I smiled at the man, who wasn’t that much older than me, maybe close to his thirties.

“We had some cats at home and I learned there how to bribe them. Most likely they are loyal to you as long as they think that you might be useful. This girl is no exception.”

“You were interested in navigation. May I ask, why? I thought that your parents were farmers.”

I smiled at him. “Exactly. I do know what that’s like. What it’s like to take care of the pigs, for example - I learned what it’s like to do that work when you are the youngest of the pack.”

“Do you think it would be any different at sea? Most of the people here have started from the bottom and I guarantee that even this trip would be quite different if the weather was bad.”

Now, I shook my head.

“I have no illusions that the work would be easier here on the ship - but for sure, it would be different. My problem also was that, unlike my brothers, I’m curious by nature and I like to learn new things, even if I might never be able to use that knowledge. That was too much for them, since they just wanted to continue doing what had been done before.”

To my delight, the first mate was more than happy to explain me the use of the navigation devices they had. The main instrument they used was a thing he called an astrolabe, a device they used for measuring the height of the sun or stars in the sky. That information could then be turned into a ship’s position in a North-South -direction. Since the coastline was running more or less the same direction, that was usually sufficient information, especially if you knew what day of the year it was. If you were able to see the North Star at the right height during the night you knew if it was safe to turn towards the coast.

Even if the idea of using the height of the Sun and the star was familiar to me I was somewhat fascinated by the fine instrument and made sure to show my appreciation.

“You know, Stian, if we only had a clock that would work accurately at sea, we could also navigate securely in the East-West direction. As far as I know, all the clocks they have tried have gone nuts when they have been tested on the sea. Maybe someday we’ll have such a clock.”

I nodded at him, since I could understand something about the idea. Just like the time of the sunrise and sunset changed when you moved on a North-South -axis, it also changed if you moved towards sunrise - meaning East - or towards sunset - meaning West. Or, you just saw the sunrise later or sooner. In a way, confusing, but it also made sense. I wondered if they taught about these things at the University? There were so many things I didn’t know.

Even though I knew that Aston was a big city, nothing had really prepared me for what I saw when we approached the mouth of the river Aston with the rising tide. The mouth of the river also formed the base of the city harbor and the number of ships entering the area during high tide was also something I’d never seen. On the other hand, all the ships were going in the same direction; the bigger ships were heading to a different area than the smaller ones. Those carrying mostly passengers were heading higher up the river, while cargo ships - like the one I was traveling on - used the bank further away. Once we moored, I could only admire the efficiency of the men doing the task. It was obvious that I had been on a very good ship.

The moment my feet hit the ground was almost surreal: Here I was, a hunter from one of the smallest villages of the Kingdom, as far Northwest as you could get. Now I was here, at the capital, with the idea of attending the Royal University. The whole idea was so ambitious that it was absolutely stupid. I might have laughed about it, but suddenly the wind that had been coming from the sea waned and I got my first good smell of the city.

In a way, the smell of the fish in that one town on the other side of the country had been worse, but only because it had been almost a single smell of fish, and so strong. The smell of Aston was totally different, since it was a smell of everything - well, everything that smelled bad. I wondered how much stronger it would get when you really got into the city - which immediately made me wonder how I would get there. From the description Hantaliel had given me, I knew that the Royal University was on the northern side of the river, a bit outside the center of the city and there was a forested area starting from the outskirts of the University at the very North.

The faster way of going there - to the other side of the river - would be to pay for a boat to take you there but, as a student, I wasn’t supposed to have such money. Walking, on the other hand, was free. Even if it would take longer and I’d first need to walk from this harbor to the center of the city, then go across the river by one of the big bridges and then walk to the University. Of course, there would be the possibility to buy a ride - but again, that would cost me some money. Money I really couldn’t spend yet, since I had no idea how expensive would it be to live here.

“Hi, Stian, do you want a ride to the city? Only on the back of the cart, I’m afraid - but it beats walking.”

The man who shouted was the first mate of the ship Belle, the same man who had explained the basics of navigation. I took a look at the back of the cart and there were already two of the men who had been on the ship.

Soon I was sitting back there with those two men, leaning on my backpack which was leaning on some of the cargo. I took a look towards the harbor and the sea, where some of the ships were still trying to use the tide and the waning wind so that they could get docked.

The older of the crewmen turned towards me. “Don’t be afraid of a minor detour. We have some quality wine here that’s said to be domestic, but neither the Captain or the Mate like to take any chances with it. There are some officials in the harbor who’d like to confiscate everything that’s even a bit suspicious and to them it doesn’t matter what the papers say, however official they look. The better the stuff - the more likely they are to confiscate it. Like those high taxes weren’t enough.”

The man spat on the ground behind the cart while we slowly moved away from the shore. I couldn’t help wondering if it was our wine they were carrying. I barely managed to keep myself from smiling.

The way they avoided the gates was so simple that it was brilliant: There was a guarded fence that separated the harbor area from the city and some big storage warehouses were a part of that fence. We drove our cart inside one of those warehouses and, once we got inside, we drove all the way to the side wall, to a gallery that was separated by large boxes and therefore invisible from the rest of the area. The light for the area came from the windows high on the walls. As soon as the cart stopped, the horse was unhitched and the side panels of the cart were lifted off. I helped replace them with ones advertising some restaurant in the city. Now the cart looked totally different!

Once that was done, the first mate made a series of knocks on the wall. Soon after that, a part of the wall started sliding away, revealing the same kind of area on the adjoining building. Then the crewmen and I helped the man on the other side move an identical, but empty, cart next to our changed cart. Once we had positioned the old panels on the sides of the cart it looked exactly the same as the cart we had used. Then we pushed our cart to the other side of the opening, which was then closed behind us. We all were given matching jackets whose color matched the color of the side panels. I guess that we were now working for the restaurant! The grinning first mate came to me.

“So, Stian, welcome to Aston. Unfortunately you just avoided the normal passenger checks, hopefully you don’t mind. If you ride with us to the town and help us unload this stuff at the restaurant, I’ll make sure that my family will let you spend at least the first night there for free. Most likely they can even give you some hints where to find a suitable room. What do you say?”

I was dumbfounded at my luck and, for sure, it showed. I smiled and nodded at him. “Of course I’ll help you there - and thank you! I was already preparing myself for a long walk.”

The layout of the cart was quickly changed a bit more so that there now was a space where three men could sit facing the direction we were going. All those changes didn’t take longer than a few blinks of an eye and it was clear that this hadn’t been the first time they did this. Once the cart came out of the building on the other side, I was able to see the long queue of people waiting to be checked before they’d be allowed to enter the city. The older crewman was able to see where I looked.

“Some of those high and mighty people here have become really paranoid about newcomers. There are Guardians and Magicians almost always checking the passengers and even crew members - and those customs people use the opportunity to confiscate anything they like.”

Again, the man spat over the side of the wagon before turning to look at the sea that now looked gray. “We’d be happier to see those Guardians on the sea, making sure that our neighbors wouldn’t be so eager to hijack our ships, but no. And those fucking Magicians muttering...”

I felt something cold moving down my spine. Had I been using a normal passenger ship I’d be there among the other passengers, waiting to be examined by Guardians and Magicians. I’d like to think that I would have passed their scan, but for sure, it would have scared me off. Especially when I had no idea what the Magicians could do. Hantaliel had always slipped inside the city avoiding the possible check points.

Once we got to the restaurant I could understand why the first mate had asked me to come - otherwise he would have been there himself helping with the unloading! In order to do the unloading quickly and safely you needed at least three people, and it was clear that this cargo was considered precious. Afterwards, when we three who had done all the physical work were enjoying the offered pints of beer in the back yard, the younger of the crewmen turned to me. “We’d normally use our own people for this job, but we happened to be two hands short on the last trip. I’m sure that you understand to keep your mouth shut about this, Stian.”

I nodded at him since the tone of his voice made sure that he wasn’t joking. During our journey to the city both of the men had pointed me out some places and areas of the city. What was where, where to go and what areas to avoid - and if a sailor told you to avoid a certain area ... well, that probably was a good idea. Of course, some of the information they gave would probably not be that useful to a normal university student. Luckily I wasn’t one, but I still wasn’t sure if I needed to know where the best whorehouses were. When I looked up I could see both crewmen and the first mate looking at me and waiting for my answer. I made a quick decision.

“You have nothing to worry about me since I have a secret of my own ... I’m really not the poor third son of a farmer, but a bastard of a minor local lord. It was too bad that I’m also the only one of his three sons who looks like him. As soon as my mother appeared close to the manor...”

I shook my head trying to look and sound a bit sad. I had not really planned to use my second story this soon. However, it had been clear that I needed a believable story for the officials I was going to bribe. Maybe this was a good time to give it a try. I had been talking about that with the women who knew about Aston and the people in charge. Hantaliel had pointed out that I would need a believable reason to have some money but I also needed a good reason to maintain a low profile. It wouldn’t have been wise to show money while traveling, but out here, I needed to have money so that I would be able to pay my fees. In theory, you could get into the University if you were considered smart enough, but the recommendation had to come from someone the people at the University knew and trusted. Naturally there was no way I could get that kind of paper.

“So, he decided to send you away?”

I shook my head more forcefully, smiling a bit now. “No, the lord has no idea about me and he has never seen me. It was his wife who saw me and my mother and it was clear that she had a few secrets of her own. She arranged for both my mother and me to be sent away and I had to make a promise that I would never come close to the manor again. Like I said, I was the only one of the lord’s sons who looked like him at all. Since it was his wife who controlled their finances, she was quick to arrange these things. Now it seems that my mother is going to marry a decent merchant as far from the manor as possible and I have my one chance here at Aston.”