“I think they’ve had enough,” Mechanic Alli commented, standing up and canting her weapon over her shoulder.
“Yeah,” Mari agreed. She turned, looking at the other galleys, now visible as the last remnants of the fog dissipated. Both were drifting and showed no signs of wanting to renew the fight. The galley that had hit the rocks had taken on so much water its bow was nearly awash, with most of the crew busy using any available container, including their helmets, to try to bail out the seawater before the galley sank.
“Mage Asha?” A stricken-looking Mechanic Dav was kneeling beside the female Mage, across from the apparently placid Mage Dav.
“She is tired,” Mage Dav explained. “Not hurt.”
“Back to work, Mechanic,” Bev said, helping Mechanic Dav stand. “The job’s not completed yet.” They walked back to the railing to help keep watch on the galleys.
“Steady!” the captain of the Gray Lady called to his helm, grinning. “Those rocks that discomfited one of our enemies are the breakwater for Julesport, Lady Mari! I knew they must be somewhere near. Oars have their place, and I know the Mechanics use their steam, but with all respect for your arts, to me sails are what a proper ship should depend upon.”
“You make a strong argument for that,” Mari said, smiling with relief. “Jules herself couldn’t have done better.”
The captain beamed at the praise comparing him to the legendary sailor. “You would know if anyone, daughter of Jules,” he declared, bowing low to Mari. “Having you aboard has no doubt brought the favor of Jules to our voyage, and if I may say so, I have never been so glad to have honored Mechanics and honored Mages as passengers!”
Mari laughed, since she knew that commons had never before been glad to have Mechanics and Mages as passengers, though it was not hard for Alain to see her embarrassment at being linked to the famous seafarer. “How far are we from Julesport?” Mari asked.
The captain pointed ahead. There the rocks of the breakwater rose higher and were capped by a stone fortification and lighthouse that seemed designed to withstand any attack and the mightiest of gales. “That marks the entrance to the harbor, Lady! Welcome to Julesport!”
Despite the captain’s announcement of their arrival, in fact it took quite a while to first wear around the end of the breakwater and then make their way against the wind into the crowded harbor. The Gray Lady’s crew was kept busy adjusting and trimming the sails, while the captain kept his attention on the many ships and boats that the clipper had to avoid while threading her way to an anchorage.
That left Mari with nothing to do but lean on the rail and watch the slow progress of the ship into the harbor. They only needed to stay long enough to take on food and water before sailing south toward the one destination no one was likely to suspect, the Broken Kingdom of Tiae.
She had a hard time relaxing after the tension of the recent battle, instead worrying about what other challenges they might face even here at Julesport. The stack of a single steam-powered ship was visible on the far side of the harbor. That would be a Mechanics Guild ship, since no one else was allowed the use of boilers as propulsion. Everything else was under sail, under oars, or at anchor. Every time the wind shifted sails flapped, spars shifted, and booms swung as sailors on dozens of different vessels of widely varying size adjusted to the vagaries of the breezes. To Mari it looked like a huge, complex machine with scores of independently moving parts, each pursuing its own path, yet all in a strange kind of harmony in the service of some greater purpose.
She would have to create something like that if she were to overthrow the Great Guilds. But that would be impossible to do alone. After so long of just barely surviving with just her and Alain seemingly against the world, it was very comforting to know that she had friends here ready to help.
Mari looked around, seeing most of her companions, but noticed that two were missing. “Where are Mage Asha and Mechanic Dav?”
Mechanic Alli looked innocently off to the side, Mechanic Bev rolled her eyes, and Mage Dav, as usual, betrayed no feelings at all even though Asha was his niece. Alain looked around, as if startled to realize the other two were not on deck.
It took Mari a moment to realize what their reactions meant. “You’re kidding,” she said. “They’re together belowdecks? Mage Asha and Mechanic Dav met for the first time in Altis. They’re already that close?”
“At the moment they’re probably very close to each other,” Alli said, grinning.
“And,” Bev added dryly, “probably trying to disprove the Exclusion Principle.”
Alain looked at the Mechanics. “What is the Exclusion Principle?”
“The law that says no two objects can occupy the same place at the same time,” Mari snapped. “Think about it.”
“We just won a fight,” Alli pointed out. “Don’t you feel like celebrating?”
“Not that way! Where are they doing this? Alain and I have been trying to find a private place on this ship since we left Altis! How did they find a private place when Alain and I couldn’t?”
“You know how young lovers can be.”
“Alain and I are young lovers! We’re both younger than Mage Asha or Mechanic Dav!”
“But now you’re an old married couple,” Alli explained.
“We’ve only been married for about a month. All right, a month and a half. That’s not old.” Mari gave Alain an accusing look. “Did you know about them?”
“Did I know what about them?” Alain asked.
Sometimes she wondered if Alain were truly that oblivious or if he just pretended to be unaware of human interaction. “Did you know that they were that interested in each other?” Mari asked patiently.
“Not until this day, when Mage Asha made her interest so plain,” Alain said. “I recall a time that Asha discussed Mechanic Dav with you.”
“She did,” Mari conceded. “At least, she asked if Dav was fair game and I said as far as I knew he was. I just hope she doesn’t hurt him. I like Asha, but she is still a Mage, taught to believe that other people don’t matter.”
“Mages are taught that other people do not exist,” Alain corrected. “But I believe that Mage Asha… what is the word?”
“I hope you’re not looking for the word love!”
“No. Not yet, if I am to judge love by what I feel for you. Something less?”
“She likes him?”
“Yes,” Alain said. “I believe that Asha likes Mechanic Dav.”
“Do she like him or does she like him like him?”
Alain stared at Mari, openly conveying confusion. “I have no idea what you are asking.”
“Is that because you’re a man or because you’re a Mage? Never mind. Who Asha takes up with is none of my business, as long as it’s not you.”
“You know that Asha is not your rival in any way.”
Mari shook her head, smiling to let him know she wasn’t really worried about Asha. “Alain, she’s the most beautiful woman anyone’s ever seen. She’s a few years older than me and a Mage like you. She’s even got a better rear end than I do.”
“On that last you are absolutely wrong,” Alain said.
“Sure. I’ll try to believe that.” Mari looked around the harbor again, at the city spreading beside it and up into the low hills beyond, at the forts and walls defending it, and wondered if she really was a descendant of Jules, who according to legend had been the first to see this harbor and who had founded this city. She felt a shiver born of some indefinable sensation and decided it must be nerves.