Robin Hobb - The Mad Ship

Although she had been anticipating his words, they still stunned her. ‘But…’ she began, but he lifted a warning finger.

‘Hear me out. I have been giving much thought to this, and I see advantages for you, as well. It is scarcely a secret that the Vestrit fortunes have not prospered lately. The Vivacia is not yet paid for; that leaves you as ransom to the family’s debt. It is also well known that the Rain Wild Traders would not consider taking a woman who is already married, or who has pledged marriage. Simply by considering my offer, you could put yourself out of their reach.’ He watched her face carefully. ‘We are a wealthy family. My wedding gift to your mother would be substantial, enough to secure her old age. You have made it clear you have no faith that Kyle will care for her.’

Althea found it hard to speak. ‘I don’t know what to say. We’ve talked as friends, and yes, we’ve flirted a bit, but I had no notion that your feelings ran strong enough to propose marriage.’

Grag gave a small shrug. ‘I’m a cautious man, Althea. I see no sense in letting my feelings run ahead of me. In this stage of our relationship, I see planning rather than passion as what we must first share. We should be talking honestly with one another, to see if we share the same ambitions and goals.’ He was watching her face carefully. As if to give the lie to these words, he touched her hand again with one fingertip. ‘Do not think I don’t feel an attraction towards you. You must know that I do. Nevertheless, I am not the sort of a man who would fling his heart where his head had not gone first.’

He was so serious. Althea tried for a smile. ‘And I feared you were going to try to kiss me.’

He returned her smile, shaking his head. ‘I am not an impulsive boy, nor a rough sailor. I would not kiss a woman who had not given me her permission to do so. Besides, there is no sense in taunting myself with what I cannot yet claim.’ He looked aside from her startled expression. ‘I hope I have not spoken too crudely. Despite the rough shipboard life you have shared, you are still a lady and a Trader’s daughter.’

There was no way to share with him the thought that had suddenly flashed through her mind. She knew, with vast certainty, that she would never desire to be kissed by a man who had first asked her permission. ‘Permission to come aboard’ some impish part of her mind whispered, and she fought to keep from grinning. Perhaps, she suddenly thought, Brashen had already ruined her, but not in the social sense. After the sailor’s matter-of-fact declarations of his desire, Grag’s restrained and polite courtship seemed almost silly. She liked the man, truly she did. Yet, his careful negotiations left her unmoved. Abruptly, the situation was impossible. And as if Sa knew that there was no way Althea could rescue herself, fate suddenly intervened.

‘All hands on deck!’ someone roared in a voice that mixed both indignation and fear. Althea did not hesitate as she plunged out the door, nor did Grag even pause to put his toothache binding about his jaws. All hands meant all hands.

The crew of the Ophelia lined the bow railing, looking down. When she joined them, Althea was incredulous at the sight that met her eyes. A Chalcedean war galley, flying the Satrap’s colours, was challenging Ophelia’s passage. The size comparison between the two ships might have been laughable were it not that the galley bristled with soldiers and their weaponry. The smaller, lighter galley confronting them was far more manoeuvrable than the cog. Such a vessel was often swifter than a sailing ship as well. In the light evening breeze, Ophelia could not avoid and outrun such a ship. The galley had run up to her on the windward side, taking advantage of the light breeze that pressed the ships together. They had no choice now; they would have to deal with the galley. The liveship’s figurehead stared down at the Chalcedean’s horse-prowed ship, still and shocked. Ophelia’s arms were crossed stubbornly on her chest. Althea lifted her eyes to scan the horizon. The Chalcedean appeared to be operating alone. Captain Tenira shouted down, ‘What mean you by barring our way?’

‘Throw down a line. In the name of your Satrap, we will board you!’ declared a bearded man standing in the galley’s bow. His blond hair was bound back in a long tail down his back, and battle trophies – finger bones bound with hanks of hair – decorated the front of his leather vest. Missing teeth gapped his threatening snarl.

‘On what grounds?’ Althea demanded of those around her, but Captain Tenira did not bother with such questions.

‘No. You will not. You have no authority over us. Stand aside.’ The Trader captain stood firm, looking down on the galley. His voice was even and strong.

‘In the name of the Satrap, throw down a line and submit to boarding.’ The Chalcedean smiled up at them, more teeth than affability. ‘Do not make us take you by force.’

‘Try,’ Captain Tenira suggested grimly.

The captain of the galley took a handful of documents from his mate. He waved the bundled tube of scrolls up at Tenira. A red ribbon bound them, weighted with a heavy seal of crimped metal. ‘We have authority. Right here. We shall bring our writs aboard to prove it. If you are an honest ship, you have nothing to fear. The Satrap has allied with Chalced to stop piracy in the Inside Passage. We are authorized by him to stop any suspicious ship and search for stolen goods and other signs of pirate activity.’ While the captain was speaking, several of his men had stepped forward with coils of line and grappling hooks.

‘I’m an honest Bingtown Trader. You have no call to stop me, nor will I submit to a search. Be out of our way!’

The grapples were already spinning, and as Captain Tenira finished speaking, three were launched towards the Ophelia. One fell short as the liveship sidled to one side. Another landed well on the deck but was immediately seized and thrown back by the Ophelia’s crew before it could be set in her wood.

Ophelia herself caught the third. In a sudden motion, she plucked it out of the air as it whirred past her. With a shout of anger, she gripped the line below the grapple and snatched up the rope. The man who had thrown it came with it, kicking and cursing in surprise. She disdainfully threw grapple, rope and sailor aside into the water. She set her fists to where a woman’s hips would have been. ‘Don’t try that again!’ she warned them angrily. ‘Get out of our way or I’ll run you down!’

From the galley came cries of amazement and fear. While many had undoubtedly heard of the liveships of Bingtown, few Chalcedean sailors would have ever seen one before, let alone seen one angered. Liveships seldom frequented the ports of Chalced; their trade routes were to the south. From the galley, a line was thrown to the Chalcedean sailor struggling in the water.

On board the Ophelia, Captain Tenira bellowed, ‘Ophelia, let me handle this!’ while on the galley deck below them the Chalcedean captain angrily called for firepots to be prepared.

Ophelia paid no attention to her captain. At the mention of firepots, she had first gasped, then shrieked her wordless anger when she saw the smoking pots of tar brought out on his deck. For them to be readied so swiftly meant that the captain of the galley had had them prepared from the beginning. ‘In Sa’s name, no!’ Althea cried as she saw the pots readied for launching. Arrows were thrust headfirst into the small, fat pots; fuses of charred linen dangled. They would be lit before the arrows were released, and given time to ignite the contents of the pots. When the pots of grease and tar struck Ophelia, they would shatter, and the flames would leap up. Ophelia could not avoid them all, and every liveship was vulnerable to fire. It was not just for her rigging and decks that Althea feared, but for Ophelia herself. The only liveship that had ever died had perished in a fire.