Oh yes. if ever true heroes walked the earth then Saba Yavendar was one of them. But in truth Hearst had never met the poet; he recalled only the memories of the wizard Phyphor. He lacked the curiosity to explore those memories further: he lived only to seek his death in battle.
He almost found it when the Skua encountered another Collosnon warship. In a desperate light, the Collosnon ship was set ablaze and the Skua went aground on a shoal close to shore. The pirates had victory, but they had to wait until the incoming tide floated their ship off the rocks before they could go anywhere; meanwhile, the smoke from the burning enemy ship slowly drifted up into the sky.
Morgan Hearst sat on the canted deck of the Skua, 328 watching the smoke of the burning Collosnon ship and brooding on his fate.
His closest friend, Elkor Alish, had become his enemy. He had lost his right hand, becoming a cripple. And he had lost his faith in the warrior ethos of Rovac, and had nothing with which to replace that faith.
So he wished to die – but in battle the habits of a lifetime did not allow him to do anything less than his best. He had fought welclass="underline" something which other people had noticed.
'You did well,' said Ohio, coming up to Hearst, who was cleaning the last blood from his sword Hast, if you say so.* said Hearst. it's the act which makes it so, not the saying. One day you must tell me where you learnt to fight.' it's a long story,' said Hearst, sheathing his sword.
'So is life,' said Ohio. 'There's time enough for all the stories. You could tell me now: we'll have time enough before the tide floats us off these rocks.' i doubt it,' said Hearst.
'Try,' said Ohio.
'Death is my story, and the carrion crow will tell it.'
'There's no crows in this country,' said Ohio. 'Just skua gulls. Why so sour, friend Hearst? You fought well, but from the look on your face a guess would have to say you'd lost the battle." if you say so,' said Hearst.
'You're a strange one, you are,' said Ohio.
He scanned the sea, looking in case any other ships had come in sight. But there was only the burning hulk of the Collosnon warship. The sky was clear: the light wind aired the smoke toward the shore. The tide was slowly rising.
'How are you?' said Miphon, coming along the deck toward the two men. 'No injuries here.' said Ohio. 'Not unless you want to count this," said Hearst. 'Oh, your hand,' said Ohio, seeing the ugly blood bruise under Hearst's left thumbnail. 'You'll lose that nail for sure.'
'No,' said Miphon. 'I'll fix that. Wait.'
Miphon picked his way along the canted deck of the ship to where a group of pirates were heating up a brew of red wine and spices over a fire built on a bed of sand. He scraped some hot coals into a small pannikin and returned to Hearst. Miphon blew softly on the coals; they glowed cherry-red; he heated the blunt end of a needle.
'No,' said Hearst.
'It won't hurt.'
'That's not the point.'
'Then what is the point? You'll lose that nail unless you let me work on it.' 'The point…' 'Tell me,' said Miphon. 'I'm tired of…'
'Of what? Being attended to by a pox doctor? Do you think they'll get to hear about it on Rovac? Come on, give me your hand.'
Hearst extended his hand. Miphon heated the needle again and touched it to the thumbnail. He did it several times, slowly burning a hole through the nail.
'Does it hurt?' said Ohio.
'No,' said Hearst.
'But then, if you're a Rovac warrior, you wouldn't admit to the pain.'
'It shouldn't hurt,' said Miphon.
'I knew you were something special,' said Ohio, i always knew you weren't just the wandering swordsman you claimed to be. But I never guessed you were from Rovac'
Miphon touched needle to nail again. is that a Rovac sword?' said Ohio. 'How much is it worth?'
'The sword is from Stokes, where all the best steel comes from,' said Hearst. 'As to what it's worth, well, there's no price that would buy it.'
And he looked hard at Ohio. 'I've no designs on your property,' said Ohio, i was just curious.'
Miphon touched needle to nail one last time. Blood welled up from the hole he had made.
'That should take the pressure off,' said Miphon. 'There's no reason now why you should lose the nail, so long as you're careful with it.'
'Good,' said Hearst.
'Tell me about Rovac,' said Ohio.
'About Rovac?' said Hearst.
'Yes.'
'It's a place where the ground's the ground and the sky's the sky,' said Hearst. 'The people there are born of women, some nine months after their parents couple. To live they eat and drink; at the end of living they find they die.' "But seriously,' said Ohio. 'Tell me -'
There was a shout as a pirate cried out in alarm. Looking to sea, they saw a Collosnon warship rounding a point of land. It was about five hundred paces away. Some of the crew cried out in panic. •Stand fast!' shouted Ohio. 'We'll be afloat before long! Stand fast, you – we can outfight that ship. Stand fast!'
There were murmurs of protest still among the crew. With their ship stuck fast they were in a bad position, unable to manoeuvre. They had taken heavy casualties in their last battle. Under the circumstances, they had little stomach for facing up to the Collosnon yet again.
On the enemy ship a battle-banner was run up high. Marines on the deck could be seen arming and armouring. Then four harpoon-head arrows slammed into the deck of the Skua. Each was armspan-long; they had been hurled by arbalests, winch-cranked crossbows used most commonly in siege warfare.
The Skua's crew began to take to the water. Ohio shouted at them, but four more outsize bolts hit the deck. This time each was wrapped around with fiercely burning rags saturated with whale oil. Fires started. A few men tried to put them out. Then one was cut down by a crossbow bolt. The enemy ship was three hundred paces away and closing.
The death completed the rout of the pirates. Ohio was left standing on deck, bellowing obscenities at those who were fleeing. They were clumsy swimmers, most using dog-paddle; their labouring efforts disturbed the dog-brown seals which lay on rocks near the shore. The fire on the ship was now out of control.
T could swear this ship is afloat,' said Ohio.
'It is,' said Hearst.
A small wave rocked the ship, scraping it against the rocks beneath. Only Miphon, Hearst, Blackwood and Ohio were left on deck. Four men could scarcely hope to put out the fire, let alone sail the ship.
'I'm going,' said Hearst, with a glance at the enemy craft. It was approaching slowly, with a man at the bows dropping a lead line to make sure the warship did not run aground on a shoal; it was too close for comfort.
Hearst, Miphon and Blackwood took the plunge to the cold shock of the sea. Burdened by clothes, boots and swords, they floundered through the bitter chill of the sea.
Ohio swore, then, drawing a knife, cut his thigh-high seaboots down to ankle length, then jumped. And was dragged straight down, for he wore a heavy treasure-belt at his waist. Ohio cut the belt free and bobbed up to the surface, a pauper. Trying to breathe, swear and spit out water at the same time, he almost drowned himself.
In the end, Ohio gained the shore, and, shivering uncontrollably, followed the other three up the tidal rocks, finding graspholds and footholds amidst slippery seaweed. Limpets and chitons clung to the rocks, armoured against the sea. Crabs retreated, some sidling into pools of water, others clattering into deep crevices.
Then the climbers reached the higher rocks, bare but for barnacles.
Ohio, gasping, sat down to catch his breath.
'You'd better hurry,' said Miphon to Ohio, 'or you'll never catch your crew.'
'What?' said Ohio. 'That cut-throat mob of Scourside eagermouths? What good's a crew without a ship? And where do they think they're running to? There's no fireside to the east for a hundred leagues. Would you run that way?'