In Search of Spice (51 page)

“Come on, we need to look something special for this lot.” They went to her cabin.

The Bosun put down a special ladder for the Sung, with wooden steps a good foot deep. The ship’s pipers played a tune as the Sung came up the ladder from their small pinnace, led by the Captain, while Larroche and his officers waited, resplendent in their dress uniforms, blue with scarlet piping. Suzanne and Sara had worked on their uniforms so they enhanced their femininity, very much so with Suzanne.

Captain Lim Hsien Tsu smiled as he came up the ladder on to the deck and bowed to Captain Larroche, who saluted along with his officers, while the crew let out three cheers.

“It is nice to meet some cultured people here on the far frontiers, Captain.”

He introduced his staff, the most interesting of which to Sara was a tall man with long thin moustaches which fell past his chin. Captain Lim introduced him as Wu Chen Kai Lee, the Wu clearly a title. She noticed both Mage Walters and especially Perryn looking at him with interest, which Wu Chen returned.

Captain Larroche introduced his officers. Captain Lim stopped when introduced to Suzanne.

“Lieutenant Delarosa? You are an officer?” His eyebrows raised, and Suzanne was impressed he looked into her eyes.

“Indeed sir. I have won promotion on this voyage for my capability.”

“And in fighting? What happens when your ship encounters pirates?

“I am an effective close quarter fighter, sir, while Lieutenant Starr is the finest swordsman on the ship, indeed one of the top five bladesmen in our Kingdom.”

“Truly? How wonderful. It is so invigorating to meet people of other cultures with different customs. In our country women do not fight. Perhaps,” he nodded to Sara, “you would agree to an exhibition match with one of our sword fighters? I think we have a few who would give you a match. Though none so young.”

“It would be a pleasure, sir. I would be fascinated and honoured to see the styles of fighting you use,” replied Sara.

“We have a fighter from Tokkaido on board. They are unusual people; you may also wish to exercise with him. His style is very unique.” The Captain nodded and moved on.

Pat stood sweating at the end of the line, reluctant and he stood mute as he was introduced. Captain Lim, who explained the Sung used their family name first, followed Captain Larroche to the wardroom, where the cook and his helpers laid out refreshments. The Sung staff followed their captain, each introducing themselves down the line. Pat noticed the last, a petite girl, dressed like a doll with a belt under her breasts making her look even smaller. She hadn’t been introduced, unlike the others and now did not speak. He couldn’t see her face, as she held a fan in front of it, and peeped out from behind it at the staff of the Queen Rose as she went past them. As she came level with Pat, he saw her face was the whitest he had ever seen, with slanting eyes and raven dark, long hair. The fan was misleading, as the eyes were full of lively interest and they lit with pleasure when they fell on Pat. He started as she winked broadly at him from behind the fan, and stuck her tongue out when he didn’t respond.

As he trailed in last behind the other officers, he found her waiting beside the only spare place having manoeuvred Stevens past her. Pat found her looking at him expectantly and went bright red.

“What this?” She asked in sweetly accented Belada, indicating the chair.

“It’s a chair,” said Pat stupidly. “You sit on it.” He pulled it back for her, as he remembered his manners.

“No sit on cushions?” She winked at him again from behind the fan, and sat demurely on the chair as he eased it forward.

Desperately looking round for escape, Pat sat on the last chair beside her and she turned to him, ignoring Stevens on the other side.

“What this?” She indicated the bottles in front of her.

“This is wine,” said Pat, “from Varn Valley in Harrhein. Let me pour you a glass.” He did so and she sniffed it with grave suspicion.

“Is alcohol?”

“Err, yes,” said Pat, and jumped as she put her hand on his knee.

“Not good for girl when so many big men near.” The hand squeezed and Pat blushed again, looking round for help. “No tea?”

“Sure,” said Pat and grabbed the nearest pot, pouring one of the herbal teas on the table into a mug.

She looked at it with distaste, tried it and wrinkled her nose. “Very big cup. Funny taste. Not tea. What is?”

“It’s, err, leaves and flowers from home. Good for digestion.”

This caught her attention. “You know such things? You healer?”

“I know a bit,” said Pat, and found himself being drawn out on what he knew.

Meanwhile, the Captains debated the Harrheinian wines and the Sung were particularly keen on the brandy, though Wu Chen refused alcohol. Suzanne sat with the other Sung girl, their heads bent close together while they talked in a low murmur. Sara found beside her a hawk faced man, whipcord thin, who looked at her with interest.

“May I see your hands?” He asked courteously.

Sara raised an eyebrow but extended her right hand. He looked at it, raised his own and looked at her. “May I?” She nodded again and he took her hand, turning it over and looking at the calluses. Sara grinned, realising what it was about and he smiled, extending his own hand and showing his own calluses.

“You wield a heavier sword than I do,” she said, measuring the calluses.

“Perhaps, or maybe I exercise more!” His eyes twinkled. “Or maybe our styles are different.”

Sara looked at him, sensing the test. “I think not, sir. I think you perhaps twirl your sword in your hand, which I never do.” She held back the feeling he was weaker on attacks from his right.

“Perhaps we could arrange a bout?” he asked.

“I would be delighted. Tomorrow?”

“Excellent. In the morning, before it is too hot. Do come to our ship, we have more room.”

“With pleasure, I look forward to it.” Indeed she did, and he wondered at the eager anticipation she made no effort to hide.

“Excuse me, you are very young. Your Captain perhaps exaggerated your skill?”

She dimpled. “I think not. I beat our champion in the semi-final of an open competition two months ago, but was disqualified” - she hesitated at his blank look - “ah, I was made the loser because I used a move outside the rules.”

“A competition? For the whole country?” She nodded. “So all your fighting is from the practice floor? You have not killed your first man?”

“On the contrary, I fought for a year on our northern frontier and have killed a few. I didn’t keep count.” She smiled at the newly furrowed brow. “What the Captain did not say is that I am a Princess in our land, with no Princes, and my line is a fighting line. If I cannot lead men, I cannot lead our country. Some of the men here served under me on our northern frontier. They have seen me fight!”

For some time the Captains discussed trade items, then Wu Chen leaned forward. His captain nodded to him, and he spoke, “Captains, with permission, I would like to discuss with your priests. Our converse will be esoteric, I am sure, to others, so perhaps we may be excused?”

He arose from the table on the Captain’s nod, and Walters and Perryn took him to Walters’ cabin. He glanced at Perryn. “I felt you for the last two days. It is a pleasure to see you at last. You have a gift, boy.”

“Thank you, sir. I hope it is true.”

“Where do you study?”

“We have an academy in Rikklaw’s Port. I have studied there since I was a small child. Bishop Walters is a teacher there.”

Wu Chen glanced at him curiously. “You have no power. How can you teach?”

Walters flushed. “The academy is not just for magicians. I am a scholar, sir, as indeed are most of the teachers and students. People with power like the boy are unusual.”

“Indeed, with us as well. Why is he travelling with no teacher?”

“It is his time of testing and trial. He must travel and see the world, and discover himself. We have found boys with power do better at this stage without a guide, and indeed young Perryn has made great strides. It is time perhaps for him to return to the Academy for the next stage of his education.”

“You have magicians capable of training him?”

Walters looked affronted. “We do, several.”

Wu Chen’s eyebrows lifted. “You have several in one place? A school. I must visit it.” He turned to Perryn. “Boy, I would study your wa. May I?”

Perryn nodded, not sure what he meant but liking the man. Wu Chen leaned forward, took Perryn’s hands and looked into his eyes. Perryn felt as if he were being hypnotised, and Wu Chen slipped into the surface of his mind. It was not intrusive, Perryn found himself showing the Mage around, which was the best way he could explain it to Pat later. Wu Chen looked at his ambition and loyalties, his skills and knowledge, and withdrew gracefully.

He looked at Perryn. “I wondered why I had to come on this voyage. You have great promise, boy, and you are pure. You will find in due course there are Mages, some powerful, who use the powers for their own ends rather than the good of all. You will never be one of those.”

He stood. “I will return to my ship and get my things. I must come with you - I wish to see your academy and meet your wise men. And this boy needs a teacher now.”

He left the cabin. Walters looked at Perryn and whistled. “I think you have found someone special, Perryn.”

The meeting in the wardroom ended amicably, with both ships agreeing to hove to and discuss trade further the next day. Captain Larroche accepted an invitation to supper, and presented some trepang as a gift. Captain Lim examined it.

“This is from Harrhein?”

“Well, no,” began the Captain, but Sara interrupted him.

“Yes, sir. From our Eastern Frontier!”

Captain Lim raised an eyebrow at this, and Sara continued.

“On this voyage we encountered people on the outer islands with whom we concluded trade agreements which brought them into our empire. The trepang is from there.”

“The outer islands? We do not sail there. The people are very ferocious and we hear they eat people.”

One of his men leaned forward and spoke in a strange tongue, with a strange modulation, going up and down.

Captain Lim looked at the Captain, tensing. “My Lieutenant says you have some of the man eaters on board. Is it your custom to eat human flesh as well?”

“It is not,” said Sara, causing Captain Lim’s eyebrows to rise fractionally at the interruption..

Captain Larroche leaned forward. “Lieutenant Starr is under my authority as a sailor, but she is on a learning cruise as she is the Crown Princess of Harrhein and as such she outranks me on diplomacy. I am a simple trader, she is my future Queen.”

Sara continued. “We do not eat flesh, sir, but we do not impose our rule on our subject people in a manner which is distasteful to them. The people of the islands are different people. Those to whom you refer are the kai Viti, and they are a proud and warlike people. They do eat human flesh except as part of a religious ritual, a religion we do not share but we will not stop. They are not the only islanders with whom we allied.”

Captain Lim watched her, his eyes never leaving hers.

“I understand you find it distasteful, Captain, as do we. But the people themselves are good and true allies. There are other customs we find distasteful, and the most important of those is slavery.”

Captain Larroche hung his head and kept his face serene, while inwardly swearing at the girl.

Captain Lim was all attention as he couched his reply with care.

“You are clearly aware we practise slavery.” Sara inclined her head. “You are perhaps not aware of the manner of it. I am aware of the way slavery is practised by the Umayyads and the Havantine, and ours is different. In our country, it is a way to power. I myself am a slave.”

Sara’s eyes widened.

“I belong personally to my Emperor, as does this ship and most aboard it. My parents sold me into slavery as a child when they saw my potential, to enable me to achieve position in the Empire.”

“But I thought the Sung ...” Sara’s voice trailed off.

“Yes,” continued Captain Lim, “our family doctor emasculated me to allow me to be a slave. It frees me from the emotion that rules so many. Of course foreign slaves cannot rise to the levels Sung slaves can, but I trust you will understand we have a different attitude.”

“Yes,” said Sara, “I do indeed. Captain, we discovered the Umayyad trade in Harrheinian slaves. Are many sold to the Sung?”

For the first time Captain Lim hesitated, reluctant to give away how much he knew, but he inclined his head. “We have some. Not many.”

“Captain Lim, we would trade with you. We have many things you want, as you have many things we want, and I have heard you are peaceful people. We are also peaceful people, but we can fight. One thing we do not want is our people stolen and sold to other countries. I ask you, agree not to trade in Harrheinian people as slaves, and to search out Harrheinian slaves in Sung. We will buy them all back from you.”

Captain Larroche blanched, thinking of the cost and the waste, but saw the faces of the rest of his officers, shining with pride at their Princess, all other conversation ceased with everyone following each word. He saw the agreement in all the faces and groaned inwardly.