Chapter 4

Characters introduced in this chapter:

Mr. O'Flaherty

Harbor Master, a man of average height, but well filled out from good eating.

Captain O'Sullivan

Captain of the Aine, A medium height, broad Irishman with brown hair and beard

Mr. Fin

First mate of the Aine, A tall thin man with watery eyes and thinning blond hair

Kell and I were up early the next morning after a good night's sleep. After taking care of our morning business, we repacked our backpacks and folded the clothing from last night and left them on the bed. Donning our Apprentice robes and resetting our wards on the room, we set out in search of breakfast.

We only needed to follow the scent of food and soon wound up in the kitchen where we found a number of the servants and the cook at breakfast.

"Good Morn, Masters," the older man who had delivered the clothes yesterday said in greeting as we entered.

"Your breakfast will be ready in the small dining room shortly," he added looking at the cook who rose to prepare our breakfast.

"We can eat here just as well," Kell told him, and added, "Those eggs and bacon look good." It was the traditional thick Irish bacon, and not the thinner American type.

"But the Wizard would never approve," the older man stated.

"If you don't tell him, how will he know?" I asked. The man looked at me questioningly.

"We'll be gone as soon as we find ships to carry us to our destinations," Kell added.

"Aye. Master Wizard spoke to me last night about finding passage for both of you, but he had trouble remembering where you were going," he told us.

"I'm going to Limerick Town, and my Cousin is going to Letterkenny in County Donegal," I told him.

"Those are both considerable distances from Dublin, and may be difficult to find passage to quickly," he told us.

"We won't know until we look," Kell told him.

Following a fine breakfast, Kell and I retrieved our backpacks and canceled the wards around the room before leaving for the docks with the older man, who it turned out was the Chief Steward of Leinster House.

On leaving Leinster House, we reentered the main part of Dublin through the Nicholas Gate and proceeded to the market area near the river. The area around the market smelled of the river and of the many products being sold and traded there. Many of the smells, however, were overpowered by the general smell of fish and seaweed plus the distinct feel of all of the Magic that had been used to preserve them.

There were many different kinds of fish and seafood on sale here. There were herring, cod, ling, bream, and whiting available - some fresh, but most preserved by various means. Dublin did a huge business in the transshipment of herring and other fish to the continent. Oysters and shell fish were also available in abundance. Finally, there was salmon - some fresh, but mostly preserved. The Magic used in addition to the other traditional forms of preservation hung like a blanket over the area.

We, however, were not here to buy fish or any of the many other and varied items for sale at the numerous shops and stalls. We were more interested in those who had delivered many of these items to the market.

We found those we were seeking beyond the market and scattered along the quay. There were numerous ships tied up here, and they were of all sizes and shapes. We followed the Leinster Steward over to a small building on the dock. He told us to wait outside while he went in to talk with the proprietor. He returned a short time later with another man.

"This is Mr. O'Flaherty. He is well acquainted with the various ships and their Captains that dock here regularly. He'll be helping you find passage to your destinations. His fee has already been taken care of, but you will need to arrange the price of your passage on your own," the old Steward told us. We thanked him for his help before he departed.

"Now, which of you will be going to Limerick?" Mr. O'Flaherty asked as soon as the Steward had departed.

"I am," I told him.

"You'll be the easiest to find a ship for. There are two ships here from that area. One from Limerick itself, and the other from Ennis in County Clare," he told me.

"For you, young Apprentice," he said turning to Kell, "It will be a bit more difficult." He had only just finished speaking when a tall, sunburned man approached us. "Or maybe not!" Mr. O'Flaherty said in surprise, as he turned to the other man.

"Greetings, Captain O'Donnell," he said. "When did you arrive?"

"We came in on the morning tide," the Captain replied. "And will be leaving again as soon as we can get the cargo sold and unloaded, and a new cargo loaded," the Captain told Mr. O'Flaherty

"And would you be willing to take a passenger with you?" Mr. O'Flaherty asked.

"A passenger you say! A paying passenger?" he asked.

"Yes. This Apprentice is bound for Letterkenny," Mr. O'Flaherty told him.

"Aye! It will be tomorrow at the earliest before we can leave though," the Captain replied.

"That would be fine," Kell told him. "Where should I meet you?" he asked.

"Here in the morning will be fine. I'll know more then. How will you be paying?" he asked.

"In Union coins," Kell answered.

"That's fine," the Captain replied, before turning to Mr. O'Flaherty. "Will you be free soon?"

"My assistant will be glad to assist you until I return," Mr. O'Flaherty told him. "I shan't be very long at all."

We both followed Mr. O'Flaherty down the quay until he came to a small ship. It was about fifty-seven feet long and maybe fourteen feet wide. It was fitted with two masts. The forward one was equipped with square sails and the rear one was lateen rigged. We could see that it was presently riding a little high in the water, but it was still in the process of taking on cargo. Mr. O'Flaherty approached the rather tall, thin man at the gangplank where he was checking off goods that were being delivered.

"Is the Captain aboard?" he asked the man.

"Aye, sire," the man replied, and called, "Captain!" in a loud voice. A slightly shorter, broader man appeared at the rail of the ship.

"What Fin?" he demanded in a disgruntled voice.

"A visitor, ... Mr. O'Flaherty," the man, Fin, replied.

"A good morning to you, Captain!" Mr. O'Flaherty said cheerfully. "I've a bit of a proposition for you."

"A paying proposition?" the Captain asked.

"Naturally!" Mr. O'Flaherty replied with a grin, which definitely got the Captain's attention.

"Come aboard," he said, and we made our way onto the ship between the cargo being delivered. The Captain was busy for a short time after that directing cargo placement, but soon turned to us.

"Can you accept a passenger for Limerick?" Mr. O'Flaherty asked coming right to the point.

"Aye, for a fee," the Captain replied.

"This young Apprentice is seeking passage to Limerick."

"And how are you paying? I don't need any more Magic in payment," he stated turning to me.

"I'll be paying in Union coins," I told him.

"Aye, they'll spend anywhere. And what about this other Apprentice?" he asked looking at Kell.

"I'm going to Letterkenny, and already have passage," Kell told him.

"Just the one then?" the Captain asked.

"Yes," Mr. O'Flaherty told him.

"We'll be leaving about noon. Be here early in case we finish loading before we expect. Payment of," and here he named an amount, "will be due when you board," the Captain informed me with no fooling around. It was obvious that he didn't need someone in the way while they loaded his ship.

"I'll return at 11:00, Captain," I assured him, as we made our way off his ship.

"That was certainly easier than I expected," Mr. O'Flaherty remarked, as we returned to his office.

"You need to check with me later today to see when Captain O'Donnell's ship will be leaving," Mr. O'Flaherty told Kell.

"Yes sir. I'll do that," Kell assured him. Kell and I returned to the market then, as Mr. O'Flaherty was anxious to return to his business.

"So you'll be on your way shortly," Kell said, as we stood on the outskirts of the market and watched what was going on.

"Will you be all right here over night?" I asked him.

"Yes, I'll find someplace to sleep, and there is certainly plenty to eat here," he said with a smile, pointing to the busy market area.

"Don't drink too much!" I warned him, which reminded me that we hadn't returned the firkin to the brewers in the Otherworld in our haste to find a ship.

"We still need to return the firkin," I reminded him.

"Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it later today," he assured me before he came to what was obviously bothering him.

"Where are we going to meet up again and when?" Kell asked me in as serious a voice as I had ever heard from him.

"I've been thinking about that since yesterday," I told him. "Especially after what the Wizard told us last night about the Sidhe here. I propose that we meet in Sligo Town in four weeks from today. We'll certainly be able to locate each other's Talent there. After that, a short trip to Kesh and the Otherworld here wouldn't be out of the question," I told him.

"That sounds good, and four weeks should be time enough," Kell agreed. "Let's buy some food to take with us. I don't know what they eat on those boats, or even if they'll feed us."

"That sounds like a good idea," I agreed, and we went off to look at the offerings of various venders in the market.

It was well after 10:00 that morning when we started back to the ship that I was leaving on. We had purchased a number of items of food in the market and had enough to last each of us for five or six days. We had canceled the weak preservation spells on them and used our own more powerful preservation spells on everything.

We arrived at the ship, the Aine, close to 11:00. It appeared that the loading had been completed and the crew was preparing to cast off.

"Come aboard," Mr. Fin called on seeing me. "We'll be shoving off shortly." I turned to Kell and clasp his hand before hugging him and slapping him on the back, as he was doing to me.

"Take care of yourself and be careful," I told him.

"You do the same," he admonished me, as we separated. "I'll see you in Sligo in four weeks," he said, as I turned to the ship.

"Yes, four weeks," I answered, as I headed up the gangplank.

"Welcome aboard the 'Aine', Mister... ?" the Captain asked as I boarded his ship.

"Kennard O'Connell," I told him. "You've named the ship after the Queen of the Fairies of South Munster!" I finished.

"Aye. I see that you know your mythology. She has always been good to us," Captain O'Sullivan answered.

"About the fare, I'll need... ," and he named the amount again. It seemed like a rather small amount until I considered what we had paid for the food in the market, which had been ridiculously little.

"That's acceptable," I told him and handed over the coins.

"You will be sleeping in Mr. Fin's cabin and can eat with the rest of us," he told me. I could now see that the 'Aine' had a crew of seven plus the Captain.