«You will chain your rowers at once,» said the first officer.
«I will do nothing of the kind,» said Blade, crossing his arms on his chest. «All are freemen now, and none of them shall ever be chained again aboard this ship.»
«Then-you are a pirate ship?» said the second officer, tugging at his beard in apparent confusion.
Blade shook his head. «We are not a pirate ship,» he said sharply. «In fact, barely two weeks ago we sank two pirate ships and slew the crew of a third in a great battle off the islands of Nongai.»
«We have heard of no such battle,» said the third officer, and the other three nodded in agreement.
«The officers of the principality of Parine don't know everything, even if they think they do,» put in Dzhai, grinding the words out one by one between clenched teeth. His face was turning red with irritation that would be rage in a moment.
The first officer shrugged. «Very well. You are neither a galley of the Emperor nor one of the pirates of Nongai. Then what in the name of all the spirits of all the seas are you?»
Blade had to admit that was a reasonable question. After battle, mutiny, rough repairs, and the storm, Kukon and her crew looked like nothing ever seen before on the Silver Sea. Her designer would have a heart attack if he could see her now, and her builders would die laughing.
«We were once a galley of the Emperor's service, this is true. We have fought in a great battle against the pirates, a battle that did take place whether or not you believe us. Now we are a crew of freemen, sailing under no flag. I am the captain of Kukon. My name is Blade. I am a Prince of England, a distant land south of the Steppes, enslaved by the Emperor of Saram. I and all the men of Kukon come to Parine in peace, seeking a friendly reception, which we have not as yet received-«
The first officer laughed. «There is no such land as England. Whoever and whatever you are, you lie. Her Grace Tarassa of Parine has no love for liars. We, her officers-«
«-are not worthy of her,» put in Blade, his voice hardening. «I would have expected them to show better manners to strangers than does His Sublime Bloodthirstiness Kul-Nam of Saram. I see that I am likely to be disappointed and that the tales of Her Grace's wisdom were just tales.»
There was an angry growl of agreement from the men on Kukon's deck and a ripple of movement that ran from aft toward where Blade and the four officers stood. Blade realized that his crew might soon reach the end of their patience and heave the four officers into the harbor or batter them to death with oars and boathooks. Then there would be a bloody shambles, ending in death for everyone aboard Kukon.
The four officers seemed to realize the same thing and lost interest in having more fun at Blade's expense if the price of their fun would be their own deaths. Their eyes met, and the first officer spoke to Blade.
«Captain-Blade, it is not for us to decide who you are or what this ship may be. That is for Her Grace to decide, and Her Grace alone. Do you consent to accompany us into her presence, along with one of your officers?»
Luun and many of the crew laughed out loud at the officers' sudden about-face. Blade kept his own expression serious and turned to Dzhai.
«Captain Dzhai, will you accompany me to pay our respects to Her Grace Princess Tarassa and assure her of our friendship?»
Dzhai took his cue and nodded soberly. «I will, my lord prince.»
Now it was Luun's turn. «Officer Luun!»
«Aye?»
«You are in command of the ship until Dzhai or I return.»
«Aye.»
«If neither of us has returned by sunset, you may assume that we have met with treachery. You shall then put all Her Grace's men ashore, send the men to their battle stations, and depart from Parine.»
Luun frowned. «We 'ud rather coom up arter ye.»
Blade shook his head. «There will be no effort made to rescue either of us. Think only of the safety of the ship and the other men, not of us.»
Reluctantly Luun nodded, and raised one knotted, hairy hand in a ragged salute. «Aye, lord.»
Blade turned back to the four officers. «Are you ready to take Captain Dzhai and me before Her Grace?»
The four officers stared, and one of them waved a hand in Blade's general direction. For a moment Blade was certain someone was going to raise objections to his or Dzhai's clothing. He counted to ten, then twenty. By the time he'd counted to thirty, the officers had apparently thought better of making any such remarks.
«Come, then,» said the first officer. He turned and led the other three down the gangplank. Blade followed, and Dzhai fell in behind him.
Chapter 17
Beyond the fortified gate at the foot of the quay, Blade and Dzhai mounted small, sturdy horses and rode up the narrow, twisting street from the harbor.
Overhead the upper stories of the stone houses almost touched, throwing the street below into shade. On either side cobbled streets hardly wider than alleys wound away out of sight. Blade caught distant glimpses of yellow- and red-tiled roofs with white brick chimneys. Beyond the roofs was blue sky with patches of clouds and mountains studded with olive groves.
At the top of the hill the city's walls curled around the rim of the harbor. Here a dozen more mounted men joined the party. They rode on through a gate that was almost a tunnel. The walls were thirty feet thick at the base, built of enormous blocks of blackish stone now crusted and green with immense age. Then they rode out into the sunshine.
Blade looked back at the city's fortifications as they rode on. At intervals of a hundred yards the great wall was broken by towers. From ports in the towers peeped the muzzles of guns. Everything in sight was massive and square. The fortifications of Parine were old, but certainly the city would not fall easily. An army with less than five thousand men and a good array of heavy guns would be wasting its time trying to take Parine. As for anything in the harbor-
As for anything in the harbor, if it did come to a fight Kukon and her men were finished. All they would be able to do against the guns and the forts would be to die gallantly.
Blade had never expected anything else. He and Luun had been putting on an act for the benefit of the officers. They were pretending to be completely careless of the odds against them, ready to fight, apparently believing they had some chance to win, but ready to die.
Their bluff might work. A man who appears not to care whether he lives or dies is a terrifying opponent. Most people will get out of his way, and few will casually provoke him. Blade had done his best to intimidate Tarassa's hot-tempered officers into keeping the peace.
The road from the city wound toward a range of hills that spread across the northwest horizon. It passed through more olive groves, vineyards, stone-walled fields where goats roamed, and groves of squat, spreading trees with dark wood and pale bark. Blade saw men at work in those groves, cutting down some of the trees and sawing them up into planks. The wood seemed as hard as iron-Blade saw the man gasping and their bodies running with sweat. The planks- themselves looked far too small to be of much use for building.
Dzhai noticed Blade's curiosity. «They make barrels, Prince Blade. They cut the planks up into staves and then make barrels, which are very tough and strong. Sometimes they last for years on the bottom of the sea, and when they are picked up the wine or grain inside is still good.»
Blade nodded politely, but he could not take much interest in even the best barrels. Not until Kukon was assured of a safe reception.