Rome's Tribune (Clay Warrior Stories Book 14) by J. Clifton Slater

Author:J. Clifton Slater [Slater, J. Clifton]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-12-13T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15 – Wind Dancer

The sun climbed high but had yet to reach the summit of the sky. Below the orange ball, the water of Syracuse Bay was glazed over in the calm of late morning. Until the mouth of the harbor, the bay rested as flat as a wheat field, except for the wake behind a single transport.

“Stroke, stroke,” Captain Tivadar called from the rear oar. Six oarsmen went through the repetitions of rowing a merchant ship as he steered. “Walk it together. Stroke, stroke.”

From the protected harbor, the ship rowed into the Ionian Sea and rolled gently in the rougher waters.

“Not to worry,” Tivadar guaranteed the crew when a high wave rocked the deck. “The Aura is a wind dancer.”

Alerio glanced fore and aft and stepped while pulling and pushing his oar.

“Not to be rude,” Alerio remarked, “but this is a floating bowl. I can’t imagine naming this boat after a nymph of the breeze.”

“She is seventy-five feet long, eighteen feet across at the beam,” the Captain described. “But the key to her dancing and sea worthiness are the twelve feet of draft. Her big belly keeps the Aura flowing with the wind and as stable as a Spartan shield wall.”

From the Captain’s choice of words, Alerio knew he was Peloponnesian and a fan of Sparta. A wind whipped across the deck blowing from the Southeast. Another caught the side boards and the deck tilted.

“Unroll the sails. Let’s give her some air,” Tivadar instructed. “Now Sisera, you’ll see her dance.”

The two sails dropped and filled with wind. As the Captain promised, the big merchant ship steadied and began smoothly rocking up and down while cutting through the waves. Although slow, the rhythmic movement could be called a dance.

“What do you think, now?” Tivadar inquired.

“It…”

“She, Sisera. Do not insult the Aura,” the Captain warned. “It will be two days before we see land again. And the only solid surface for miles upon miles is the deck of my girl.”

“She dances well,” Alerio complimented as he shoved his oar under the steering platform. “The sun is off my right shoulder. If we are sailing east, shouldn’t it be in my eyes?”

“You must have an understanding of navigation because you are correct,” Tivadar submitted. “Our track to the northeast is to offset the sea current coming from the north. Closer to Peloponnese, the current will come from the south.”

“What happens in the center?” Alerio questioned.

“We become a hole in the water for a black night, a day, and another black night,” Tivadar answered. “But not to worry, the Aura will see us through.”

Offered the rear oar, Alerio stepped up on the platform. With the handle under his right arm, he kept the sun on his right shoulder. To his surprise, the ship did not track to the northeast in the direction he steered. But due to the force of the current, the Aura ran almost directly eastward.

***

Syracuse had faded below the horizon long before the sun dipped below the same empty skyline.

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