Sebastian Darke: Prince of Pirates (11 page)

'You say that, and yet you nearly took my head off when you thought I'd killed her.'

'It's the strangest feeling,' admitted Sebastian. 'I know it's wrong and yet I can't stop myself from trying to defend her. Do you suppose I'll ever be free of the enchantment?'

'Probably only when she's dead,' said Cornelius. 'But don't worry, I shan't be going after her again. I've learned my lesson. Maybe we'll be able to throw her off the trail in Ramalat. It's only a few more days from here.'

'Ah yes, Ramalat,' said Max mournfully, lifting his head from the undergrowth. 'I've heard it said that it's a terrible place, packed full of pirates, Brigands and cut-throats.'

'You shouldn't believe everything you hear,' Cornelius told him. 'Besides, it's merely a stopping-off place for us. Somewhere to hire a ship that will take us to our true destination . . . and the pirate king's treasure.'

Two days later, a little after midday, they climbed to the top of a ridge and unexpectedly found themselves gazing down on a long stretch of coastline. Immediately below them lay a huge bay, where countless wooden ships of all sizes rode at anchor; and in the curve of that bay, nestled against the hillside, was the port of Ramalat, a large cluster of timber and rough plaster houses, rising steeply from the water's edge and so tightly packed together that they seemed to be piled one on top of the other.

But it was the sea itself that caught Sebastian's attention. He had never actually seen it before – only heard about it – and he was stunned by its apparent endlessness; the way it stretched to the horizon from east to west. He remembered Cornelius's wild tales of how he had travelled upon the oceans of the world and his claim that if a man sailed far enough across those waters, he would eventually arrive back at the place from which he had departed. It had all seemed incredibly far-fetched, but looking at the vastness of the sea now, Sebastian thought that anything seemed possible.

'It's quite a sight, isn't it?' murmured Cornelius. 'I know the first time I saw it, as a young lad, it quite amazed me.'

'My father spoke of the sea many times,' said Sebastian. 'I swam in a big lake once and thought I had the measure of what the sea must be like, but now that it's before me . . . well, it's extraordinary.'

'And just breathe in that air! You know, people say that sea air has special healing qualities. Why, I once—'

'It looks deep,' interrupted Max apprehensively. 'How deep do you suppose it is?'

Cornelius laughed. 'What's the matter, old shaggy? Can't you swim?'

'I can swim very well,' Max assured him. 'It's just that I'd rather not if I don't have to. So I ask again, how deep is it? Is it shallow enough to paddle?'

Now Cornelius roared with laughter. 'Paddle? Why, it's deep enough out there to cover the peak of the highest mountains!'

Max looked uneasy. 'Well then, when we hire a ship, we'd better make sure we get one that's not likely to sink. One with no holes in it.'

Cornelius shook his head. 'I'll make especially sure of that,' he said. 'If there's one thing I can't stand, it's a ship with holes in it.' He turned and led the way onwards. 'Come on. We're to look for a place called the Spyglass Inn. Apparently that's where all the ship's captains do their drinking.'

The ridge sloped rapidly down out of the woodland and curved round to join a cobbled road that led them through the city gates, where they joined a milling throng of tradesmen, sailors, merchants and nobles moving to and fro along the street. A couple of uniformed soldiers lolled beside a gatehouse but took no notice of who was coming and going.

As the three friends strolled through the gates and along the main street of the city, a little weasel-faced man with a shaggy beard sidled up to Sebastian and pointed at Max.

'Is that your buffalope?' he asked.

Max looked at the man indignantly. 'I'm not anybody's buffalope,' he retorted. 'I am my own free agent.'

The man stared at Max. 'A talker, eh? I've been told that some of them can talk.' He looked slyly at Sebastian. 'I'll give you three gold crowns for him,' he said. 'He's a bit old, but I can always use a big lad like him.'

Sebastian shook his head. 'He's not for sale,' he said.

'Not at that price, anyway,' added Cornelius.

'Not at
any
price!' added Max.

'Oh, come along, gentlemen, this is Ramalat. Everything has a price here.' The man rubbed his beard for a moment. 'All right, I'll go to five crowns, but that's my final offer.'

Cornelius grinned up at Sebastian. 'Five crowns,' he said. 'That's not bad – I think we should consider it.'

Sebastian tried not to smile. 'I don't know, Cornelius. I think he's worth a bit more to me than that.'

'Quite right, young master!' Max looked horrified. 'Five crowns, why it's an absolute insult! A buffalope of my experience . . . If I was for sale – and I assure you I'm not – I would think a reasonable starting price would be twenty, twenty-five crowns.'

The bearded man looked alarmed. 'Twenty-five! You are joking, I trust! I could get a lusty young fellow for less than that.'

Max shook his huge head. 'Age is not the issue. Look at my physique. You can see I've worked hard all my life. Any man who was lucky enough to purchase me would be buying the most hard-working buffalope ever.'

The man snorted. 'I'm not bothered about work. Meat's all I care about. I supply rations to the army and a beast like that would feed a squad of soldiers for a month.'

'Oh well, don't mind my feelings!' said Max. 'Just act as though I'm not here!'

'Six crowns!' said the bearded man. 'My final offer. Take it or leave it.'

'Leave it,' said Sebastian, and the man shrugged and disappeared into the crowd. Sebastian and Cornelius laughed at Max's outraged expression.

'The cheek of the man!' he stormed. 'No respect at all. He didn't even take you to one side and have the discussion out of my hearing.'

'Yes, well, you'd better be careful,' Cornelius warned him. 'If we run short of money for this expedition, we'll know exactly where to get six crowns.'

'It's typical, isn't it? Somebody wants to buy me, but it's not for my strength, my wit, my intelligence. Oh no, he just wants to braise me over a fire and serve me up on a plate to a bunch of squaddies! I'm not at all sure I approve of this place!'

The street inclined gently down to the harbour now, and they saw that a fishing boat was moored at the jetty. A couple of muscular, bare-chested fishermen were unloading barrels packed to the brim with little silvery fish. People were crowding round the dock, clamouring to buy them, and there was a tumult of good-natured shoves and loud banter. Sebastian had never tasted sea fish and would have been interested to try some, but Cornelius firmly led the way on along the quayside. At the end they found the place they were looking for.

The Spyglass Inn was a great big timber-and-daub building, several floors high. Smoke belched from its many chimneys and the crudely painted inn sign depicted a piratical-looking sailor peering into an ancient telescope. Menu boards chalked up outside advertised the fact that food was available and that there were rooms for hire on the top floor. OUR BEDS ARE BUG-FREE, announced one sign proudly.

'Right,' said Cornelius, rubbing his hands. 'I'm about ready for a tankard of strong Ramalatian ale. We'll go straight in and see if we can scare up a captain and crew.'

Sebastian nodded and told Max to wait for them outside.

'Are you sure that's a good idea?' asked the buffalope, glancing about nervously. 'Everybody in this place seems to want to eat me!'

'Hardly everybody,' Sebastian corrected him. 'Only one man. But if you have any problems, just give us a shout.' He indicated an open window, then patted Max on the head and followed Cornelius in through the ancient wooden door. He found himself in the main room, which was dim and smoky and crowded with drinkers. The air was thick with pipe smoke and the buzz of scores of jumbled conversations. Somewhere, somebody was playing a wheezy-sounding instrument, though the noise it produced could hardly be described as musical. The roof was low, only a few inches above Sebastian's head. He followed Cornelius to the bar. The Golmiran was obliged to scramble up onto a high stool at the counter to make himself seen by the landlord, a big, bald brute of a man with a dark leathery face covered with intricate tattoos. When he grinned, he displayed a set of badly fitting false teeth fashioned from some kind of highly polished shell. Cornelius ordered a couple of tankards of the local ale and immediately engaged the landlord in conversation.

'You seem to be busy today.'

'We're always busy here!' said the landlord. 'Traders from all over the known world come to Ramalat to sell their goods.' He filled two tankards from a huge barrel and set them before his new customers. 'That'll be two croats,' he said. Cornelius found his moneybag and handed over the coins, which the landlord tested between his strange teeth before dropping them into his purse.

'New in town?' he asked.

'Yes,' said Cornelius. 'We've travelled here from Keladon.'

The man's eyebrows raised slightly. 'Keladon! That's quite a distance. I heard there's been a big ruckus over there. Some kind of uprising against the king.'

'Yes,' said Sebastian. 'We were the ones who—' He broke off as Cornelius elbowed him in the ribs.

'– saw some of it,' continued his friend. 'I understand it was quite a nasty business. But they say the new queen is well-loved by her people.' He gave Sebastian a sly look, warning him not to say anything further on the matter.

'So what brings you gentlemen here?' asked the landlord.

'My friend and I have need of a ship and a captain,' said Cornelius. 'We'd be willing to pay handsomely for the right one.' He leaned over the bar and adopted a conspiratorial air. 'I don't suppose you could recommend somebody reliable?'

The big man thought for a moment. His expression remained blank until Cornelius reached once again into his moneybag and placed an extra croat on the counter.

'Well, sir, I will tell you this,' he said. 'The captain and the crew of the
Sea Witch
are in today. You'll find them in the snug.' He indicated a small room at the other end of the bar. 'They've been sitting around for quite a few days now with time on their hands. They often undertake work for various people and I understand they are honest which, believe me, is a pretty rare thing among seafaring folk.'

Cornelius nodded and placed another coin on the bar. 'Thanks for the tip,' he said. 'And have a couple of drinks on us.'

The landlord gave his shell-encrusted grin and once again tested each coin with his teeth before slipping them into his purse.

Sebastian and Cornelius took their tankards and pushed their way through the crowds towards the snug.