“You have done your research, young lady. However, the numbers I quoted are accurate.”
“Of that, I have no doubt, but I’d like you to quote me another set of numbers if you will.” Camilla sat back and waited for Raymonde to ask which numbers those were.
Instead, he jotted with his pen and then looked at her and said with a genuine looking smile, “I hate prolonged negotiations, don’t you? The numbers I see are five silver slags at auction for the family. Three gold crowns for the ship and the rest should be written off as a poor investment by me.”
Camilla matched his smile. “I hate prolonged negotiations, too. Except when I’m being taken advantage of. If you receive two slags for the family I’ll be surprised, and the ship isn’t worth more than a single gold crown, but then you’ll have to sell it for parts to get that gold, and you’ll pay the brokers a stiff fee for wrecking the ship and selling it off.”
Raymonde shrugged and said, “I do accept counter-offers from time to time.”
Camilla said, “I can make you that counter-offer, which you will of course refuse. In the interest of keeping this short, I am going to split this offer near the middle. But first, hear me out. I understand that you like Captain Spanner, and so do we. Our intent is to buy his ship and hire him, but there are other captains and other ships.”
She waited for that to sink in. Shell appreciated her tact.
She said, “I will offer you a full two gold crowns for the ship, the freedom of the family, and any other debts you hold against them. Before you bargain with me again, know that this is my last offer, and I have heard there are two other similar ships for sale in Fleming for less gold. Before I lower my offer, I’ll take a look at those ships, and there is one in Racine that has come to my attention. They say it’s a bargain and ready to be put to work.”
Raymonde scribbled a few more worthless numbers in his little ledger and looked up as if taken by surprise by what he discovered. He said, “While I will not earn any profit, you have managed to correctly identify my investment, and while you are robbing me, I will accept your offer.”
Shell slipped two fingers into the purse holding the two gold coins and held them up.
Raymonde hesitated. “Those are gold rounds from Timor. About the same diameter, but slightly thicker than our bargain.”
“You didn’t have to tell us that,” Camilla said.
“I wouldn’t wish you to think me dishonest,” Raymonde said, still not accepting the larger coins.
Camilla said, “Take them. Use the extra to drop pennies into the cups of beggars now and then. Can I stop by and gather the paperwork after the noon meal?”
Raymonde stood, bowed deeply and as he did, snatched the two coins from the fingers of Shell. They left and stood in the street, looking and smiling at each other. They had just bought a ship and captain.
Shell said, “We were going to pay more.”
River said, “And I thought I was going to do the negotiating, but not when I heard Camilla take over, I shut up. If it were me on the other side of the table, I’d have paid twice as much and still thought we got a good deal.”
They were all laughing when Shell heard his name echoing down the street.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Shell turned to find a crowd of people on the street, the usual workmen, sailors, longshoremen, and gawkers. But one in the distance had his arm raised, waving it wildly as he shouted.
“Quester! You made it,” Shell called back.
Camilla recognized the name, and River stood aside as the two men hugged and spun each other around. Shell introduced them while drinking watered wine and eating a lesser version of the apple pie they had the night before.
They watched the ships and activity while telling all that had happened until Shell sat upright and turned to River. “Where is our ship?”
“Thought you’d never ask,” River said, pointing down the far end of the docks where the activity was far less. A short time later they stood looking at the Lady for the first time. The name said it all. The ship was trim for a deep-water vessel, her masts tall, and her sides high. A single row of portholes ran from bow to stern. At the stern rose two more decks.
A man near the ladder from the pier to the ship waved and called to them. It was Captain Spanner. He rushed them aboard, pointing out the beauty and functionality of the ship as he took them on a tour.
River asked, “Do you have a crew?”
“I have a cook and a good one at that. I’ll hire the rest, but with a good ship and cook, a crew is easy.”
Camilla said, “They should know our destination, and the danger, but you can’t tell them until we leave port, so how will that work?”
He smiled. “I know these men on the docks. Some I wouldn’t trust with your mug of ale; others are as loyal as an old dog. I know who is who. And which are good men at sea and which are laggards.”
“We have the money to pay them,” Shell said, “so you can go ahead and make your offers.”
Camilla nodded and added, “Standard pay, but a bonus at the end of every cruise, as determined by the Captain. A generous bonus. You decide how much.”
Shell said, “See that raised deck on the stern? I’m going to need you to buy some timber. I want a platform built there, flat, wider than the ship, if possible. A temporary structure, but strong.”
“If I may ask why?” the Captain asked.
“To carry a small dragon.”
The smile the Captain wore faltered. River frowned but said nothing. Camilla managed to keep her face passive, but her eyes took on a new glow.
Shell said, “And a wolf.”
“My ship is going to carry animals?” Captain Spanner said in a sharp tone.
“Good idea,” Shell said. “Make some pens for sheep, at least a dozen.”
“Sheep?” The Captain asked.
“The wolf and dragon must eat, you know.” Shell managed to conceal his glee by pretending to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand.
The Captain shrugged, “Consider it done. I guess this means you were able to buy the ship and pay my debts?”
Camilla said, “All taken care of. I’ll have the paperwork soon.”
“When were you thinking of sailing?” The Captain asked. “I need a crew, provisions, a damn deck built on the stern, and supplies. A lot of supplies for the trip I believe you want to take.”
Shell said, “You can begin getting things ready today, but I think at least five or six days before we depart.”
The others seemed to agree by virtue of none disagreeing. Shell said, “Inns are too open, too many people listening, and we need a place to meet and talk. Is there somewhere on the ship where all of us can gather and be comfortable?”
Captain Spanner laughed and pointed to an open hatch. “Down there is one of the cargo decks. A little modification here and there will give us a room to hold a hundred. Cookie can bring food, you can sleep in the cabins aft, and I can send for wine, tables, chairs, and anything else we need.”
Three days later, newly hired crew crawled over the ship replacing, repairing, splicing, and cleaning. They were a cheerful lot of men, handpicked by the Captain. Each knew the basics that the ship would sail across the sea to forbidden lands, and most let it be known they didn’t like a nation across the Endless Sea telling them where they could sail, let alone the coming war.
Two more Dragon Clan were found wandering the streets like lost lambs. Both were from the Drylands Family, an older man called Chess and a girl a year or two older than Camilla, but much stronger. She wanted to race the sailors to the tops of the masts even though she’d never seen one before. She had wild dark hair that refused to be tamed and eyes as wild as the hair. She never seemed to sit in one place for long. Chess called her Sophia.