contempt.
‘Our captain and officers,’ she replied.
‘Uh – oh. Are you, er – ?’
‘An officer? Of a type. Call me Jaelin, though. The navigator drinks rather more than all the others. I do not know a vast amount about navigation, but I keep the charts in order, do his calculations without making errors, write up his logs, take his notes to the duty officer, and clean up his vomit. With luck he will not die of a drunken fit before I learn enough to get a ship from one port to another without getting lost or running into anything. Then I shall take over as navigator and become a real officer.’
‘Er, I see. How many times have you been to sea?’
‘This is my sixth voyage.’
‘You fight like a Baltorian berserker.’
‘I should hope I fight better than that. Actually, I’m seventeen, shorter than most, and I look a bit like a girl. So I’m told. Small hands, soft skin, that sort of thing. I have to compensate by being thoroughly ruthless in a fight, cultivating a short temper, and taking no nonsense from those around me. Here’s a tip, boy. Learn some bad language quickly and be heard using it.’
‘But my mother –’
‘Won’t know. It’s not a clean ship. It’s not a happy ship. It’s not even a very safe ship, but it hasn’t sunk yet. I was going to transfer to the Sea Lily tomorrow, a much hardier ship, and one less inclined to cause me problems. But there you are.’
‘Why did you change your plans?’
‘You ask a lot of questions, Hargav,’ said Jelindel. After a moment’s reflection, she added, ‘Which isn’t an altogether bad thing, I suppose. Someone tried to kill me yesterday, so I thought it wise to leave D’loom early.’
‘Tried to kill you?’ gasped Hargav.
‘That’s right. This is the forecastle. That’s because it’s shaped like a castle and it’s on the front bit of the ship. When you feel the need for the privy, drop your leggings, hold on to this rope, point your blurter over the side and give those fish a hard time. A bit refreshing in a storm, but then we’re sailors so we’re tough. This thing’s an anchor, the thing attached to it is an anchor rope.’
‘You seem very well educated for a sailor,’ said Hargav.
‘Navigator’s mate, boy, big distinction. I spent some time in the Great Temple of Verity –’ Jelindel hesitated, silently cursing her carelessness.
‘That’s a women’s temple.’
‘I became a gardener’s apprentice after I lost my parents in a fire,’ Jelindel said by rote. ‘The priestesses saw that I was pretty bright for a peasant boy, so I was allowed to sit in on lessons. I learned good speech, mathematics, even a little magic – not that it does me much good at sea since magic is diminished over water. Still had to live in a hovel amid all the other town brats, so I learned to fight, too. Don’t touch that, the penalty is five lashes.’
‘They taught you magic?’ Hargav said. ‘What sort of magic? Just tricks and illusions, I bet.’
‘Then you would lose,’ Jelindel said.
‘I’ve tried magic,’ Hargav admitted. ‘You know, saying weird words and that. But nothing’s ever worked.’
‘Anyone can pluck the strings of a lute, Hargav, but few have the ability to make it sing as it should. Discordant noise is just that: noise. Magic’s a bit like that. You need not a little talent to make it work.’
‘Why did you leave the priestesses?’
‘I took a sabbatical. I did in fact “leave” a Nerrissian temple once. But that’s another story,’ Jelindel said. The lies came glibly over time, although they never sat easily with Jelindel. Her life as a girl was by far more preferable to her role as a boy.
‘Can you sew?’ she asked.
‘I –’
‘Can’t? No problem, I’ll teach you. Why did you decide to go to sea? Get away from a house full of girls?’
‘Well, ah, I thought I would never say it, but yes. All that time, with nothing but girls talking about, well, things that concern girls. A
‘Our captain and officers,’ she replied.
‘Uh – oh. Are you, er – ?’
‘An officer? Of a type. Call me Jaelin, though. The navigator drinks rather more than all the others. I do not know a vast amount about navigation, but I keep the charts in order, do his calculations without making errors, write up his logs, take his notes to the duty officer, and clean up his vomit. With luck he will not die of a drunken fit before I learn enough to get a ship from one port to another without getting lost or running into anything. Then I shall take over as navigator and become a real officer.’
‘Er, I see. How many times have you been to sea?’
‘This is my sixth voyage.’
‘You fight like a Baltorian berserker.’
‘I should hope I fight better than that. Actually, I’m seventeen, shorter than most, and I look a bit like a girl. So I’m told. Small hands, soft skin, that sort of thing. I have to compensate by being thoroughly ruthless in a fight, cultivating a short temper, and taking no nonsense from those around me. Here’s a tip, boy. Learn some bad language quickly and be heard using it.’
‘But my mother –’
‘Won’t know. It’s not a clean ship. It’s not a happy ship. It’s not even a very safe ship, but it hasn’t sunk yet. I was going to transfer to the Sea Lily tomorrow, a much hardier ship, and one less inclined to cause me problems. But there you are.’
‘Why did you change your plans?’
‘You ask a lot of questions, Hargav,’ said Jelindel. After a moment’s reflection, she added, ‘Which isn’t an altogether bad thing, I suppose. Someone tried to kill me yesterday, so I thought it wise to leave D’loom early.’
‘Tried to kill you?’ gasped Hargav.
‘That’s right. This is the forecastle. That’s because it’s shaped like a castle and it’s on the front bit of the ship. When you feel the need for the privy, drop your leggings, hold on to this rope, point your blurter over the side and give those fish a hard time. A bit refreshing in a storm, but then we’re sailors so we’re tough. This thing’s an anchor, the thing attached to it is an anchor rope.’
‘You seem very well educated for a sailor,’ said Hargav.
‘Navigator’s mate, boy, big distinction. I spent some time in the Great Temple of Verity –’ Jelindel hesitated, silently cursing her carelessness.
‘That’s a women’s temple.’
‘I became a gardener’s apprentice after I lost my parents in a fire,’ Jelindel said by rote. ‘The priestesses saw that I was pretty bright for a peasant boy, so I was allowed to sit in on lessons. I learned good speech, mathematics, even a little magic – not that it does me much good at sea since magic is diminished over water. Still had to live in a hovel amid all the other town brats, so I learned to fight, too. Don’t touch that, the penalty is five lashes.’
‘They taught you magic?’ Hargav said. ‘What sort of magic? Just tricks and illusions, I bet.’
‘Then you would lose,’ Jelindel said.
‘I’ve tried magic,’ Hargav admitted. ‘You know, saying weird words and that. But nothing’s ever worked.’
‘Anyone can pluck the strings of a lute, Hargav, but few have the ability to make it sing as it should. Discordant noise is just that: noise. Magic’s a bit like that. You need not a little talent to make it work.’
‘Why did you leave the priestesses?’
‘I took a sabbatical. I did in fact “leave” a Nerrissian temple once. But that’s another story,’ Jelindel said. The lies came glibly over time, although they never sat easily with Jelindel. Her life as a girl was by far more preferable to her role as a boy.
‘Can you sew?’ she asked.
‘I –’
‘Can’t? No problem, I’ll teach you. Why did you decide to go to sea? Get away from a house full of girls?’
‘Well, ah, I thought I would never say it, but yes. All that time, with nothing but girls talking about, well, things that concern girls. A
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