Wizard's Funeral by Kim Hunter

Author:Kim Hunter
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fiction, Fantasy, Epic, General
ISBN: 9781841491431
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 2003-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

When they emerged from the end of the tunnel, they came out into a basin filled with ships. It was morning. A great dull sun fought to penetrate the layer of clouds above. On the choppy ocean, outside the harbour, ships of all shapes and sizes were coming and going. There .were the small, nippy boats with their squarish lugsails and their triangular lateen sails; there were ketch-rigged sailing barges and yawls. On a larger scale beautiful three-masted schooners, proud and puffed, were entering or leaving. Five-masted barques with laden decks and full holds cruised through the dancing sea with ease. Audacious brigantines cut across the bows of larger vessels, raising foul language from the masters. This was the busiest port in the known world. Quite a sight, isnt it? said Golgath, to his two open-mouthed companions. Stuns you, when you see it for the first time. No wonder the city is rich, replied Soldier. Ive never seen such evidence of trade. Used to be twice as much. Well, it dont do the poor much good, do it? growled Spagg, disenchantment following rapidly on the heels of enragement. The three men walked around the harbour, bargaining with captains and masters for passage across the Cerulean Sea. Golgath was taken with a brig whose captain offered good passage, but eventually they came to an arrangement with the owner of a caravel, a smallish ship with a little more panache than the slightly larger brig. The caravel, called inexplicably the Winged Goat-fish, had more of a jaunty shape to its hull and had odd little sails in odd places. As he paced the deck he felt he had the right boards beneath his feet. He felt comfortable. Spagg was already being sick over the side, even though the ship was still securely moored. I hate sailin, he moaned. This is your first time, argued Soldier. In real, yes, but Ive often been on the high seas in me dreams, an Im nearly always as sick as a pig. Their cargo appeared to be walnuts, sackfuls of them. Even before they set sail they were cracking open those which had escaped their containers. Before they touched on the shores of Uan Muhuggiag they knew they would be heartily sick of them. They set sail with an assisting tide at dawn the next day. Soon the land had dropped behind them and a silvery sea spread before them. All three men heaved a sigh of relief, knowing that they had been in danger from several points of the compass until they were actually on the water. The sea was running and Soldier felt exhilarated. If he had ever been on a ship before it had been completely obliterated from even his subconscious. He felt young and boyish, completely captivated by the feel of adventure, the smell of the salt in the wind, the rush of the foamy water beneath the vessel. There were still shore birds perched on the rails and spars, but they left the ship once it had reached a certain point.

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