Courage was left. She could see that now, as the old man straightened, meeting the gaze of his former ally.
"Do what you will," Manhata said. The pirates sighed. As they did, Perig stepped out of the torchlight. Cholkwa joined him. A moment later the young man returned wearing his own tunic. Now he was a messenger, bringing news of Eh Manhata's death. He stood quietly, looking out at the audience, and described what
happened next. It had been a bad death, long and deliberately painful; and Manhata handled it less than well. The Man Who Broke Lineages was himself finally broken. Ahl had heard most of this before. It was no more pleasant a second time. Of all the brutal things done during the Unraveling, this was the worst. Around her the pirates gasped and groaned. "Why?" cried more than one.
"His former allies wanted us to remember him this way," said Cholkwa. "If he had died in battle or by some ordinary form of execution, his reputation would not have been diminished. But this --"
"You should have lied," said Jehan Silverback. "You should have given him the death he had earned. How can you cooperate in something so contemptible?"
Perig stepped back into the torchlight. The red cloak was gone. He was Manhata no longer.
"Anyone can be broken," he said in his ordinary, quiet, even tone,"No one escapes shame except through luck. This is something that Manhata may have forgotten, for a while at least. But he learned it at the end.
"That's one thing to remember. The other is, his enemies are fools."
"Why do you say that?" asked Jehan Silverback.
"In old age, when he no longer had his sisters to advise him, Manhata acted in ways that must be called foolish. This can't be denied. It's true as well thathis courage failed him at the end.
"But think of the rest of his life! I'm from the plain, as my cousin told you.
For more than fifty years, Manhata rose above the rest of us like a thundercloud that would not dissipate. Every time we looked up, there he was -- his head in sunlight and lightning around his shoulders. Can a year or two of folly, a day or two of pain unmake a life like his?"
"Yes," said Long Jehan.
"No," said Jehan Silverback.
"Time will determine," Perig said in his usual reasonable tone.
That ended the play. The pirates continued drinking. By now they were obviously intoxicated. Several more threw up, lurching past the prisoners into the forest shadows. Long Jehan grabbed Cholkwa's arm, pulling him down on the sand beside him. Perig settled by the other pirate cousin. Ahl couldn't tell if Jehen
Silverback had ordered him to do so or asked him. Maybe Perig was acting on his own, trying -- like Manhata -to beg a better ending.
"I think it's time for us to leave," said Leweli quietly.
"Mother told me men were disgusting after they'd been drinking for a while," Ahl said in agreement.
Maybe they could say they needed to urinate, Ahl thought. That would get them to the forest. But no ruse was necessary. The pirate closest to them slumped over suddenly, his cup spilling from his hand. The next fellow over had already risen and was stumbling toward the Taig prisoners. Why, Ahl didn't know or want to know. She and Leweli rose together, stepping backward into the black forest shadow. No one called out.
Instead of entering the forest, they went along its edge, keeping in the shadow.
Hah! It was dark! But there were stars above them and lamps on the two anchored ships. When the beach ended, they clambered over rocks, going out on the promontory which formed one side of the harbor. Someone by the pirate's fire was screaming. Ahl didn't think it was from pain or fear.
Finally, when they were a good distance from the beach, Leweli said, "This will do."
The two women dove into the water and swam toward the Taig ship.
Remember that Sorg is marsh. No one grows up there without learning to swim. Ahl was excellent and Leweli even better. Side by side, they stroked through the cold still water, making no sound. On shore the pirates were shouting at one another. Had they discovered the missing women? Or were they quarreling, as
drunks will do?
When they reached the ship, Ahl grabbed the anchor chain. It made a noise. A moment later she saw a shape above her, leaning over the ship's side. Metal gleamed in starlight.
"It's Ahlin," she said quietly. "With Lewekh. We escaped."
Ropes came down. They climbed up.
"I hope you'll be able to do something about that baby," said the Taig captain.
"You found it," said Ahl.
"Hard to miss it, once it began to cry."
"I'll take care of Dapple," said Leweli and went toward their cabin.
Ahl stayed with the captain, telling him about the situation on shore.
"The actor tried to poison them," he said, leaning on the railing and looking at the figures that moved around the pirate's fire. "They don't look dead to me."
"He said it wasn't fatal. They are certainly intoxicated, though that might be due to halin."
"They don't seem to be looking for you, which suggests an unusual degree of intoxication. Either they haven't noticed that you're gone, or they no longer care." The Taig captain paused, evidently thinking. "I could wait and hope they lose consciousness. But I think it'd be better to move before the other pirates -- the ones on board the pirate ship --notice something is wrong. Do you want to join the attack, or are you a woman like your friend?"
"I'm a woman," said Ahl.
"How about the other two?"
"Perig and Cholkwa? They're men. When I left, it seemed to me they were trying to seduce the two chief pirates."
"With luck, that will prove distracting. I'll leave some men here, in case the pirates on the ship decide to move." The captain made a noise that indicated irritation. "This would be much easier, if I didn't have to worry about enemies on two sides. Not to mention a ship with damaged rigging. As the proverb says, when luck turns bad, it turns bad."
"True enough," said Ahl. She went down to the cabin and found a knife. Leweli was nursing the baby, who was quiet now.
"The Taig men are going to attack," Ahl said.
"In which direction?" Leweli asked.
"Shore."
Leweli tilted her head, regarding the child. "A hard decision. I'm glad it's not one I have to make. But the party looked as if it might become ugly. Maybe it should be broken up."
Ahl went back on deck, carrying the knife. The Taig sailors were clustered on the landward side of their ship. After a moment Ahl realized they were lowering a boat. "Quietly," said the captain to them. "Act with care."
There was a soft splash as the boat hit water. The sailors climbed down and rowed away, their oars making almost no sound.
The remaining sailors posted themselves along the rail, some watching the shore, while others kept an eye on the pirate vessel. A man said, "They'd be crazy to bring the ship in at night with the tide low, but they could send a boat. The captain says you're a woman. Why are you traveling in disguise?"
Ahl said, "I can't tell the story now. Later, if we survive."
After that they waited. The fire on the beach was burning low, and only a few figures remained around it. Most had wandered into darkness, though she could still hear them howling like sulin.
Finally, when she began to wonder if the Taig boat had sunk, a shout came over the water: sharp and commanding. Not a drunken howl. A battle call.
Men ran into the firelight, carrying weapons. The sailors around Ahl exhaled.
"Hah! Taig!"
Behind her Leweli said, "The baby's asleep at last. What's going on?"