A Country Falls (Greatest Thief 3)

Part Two - Deorun - Chapter Thirteen

The ship in front of us was huge, much larger than any of the others I'd been on. It had three tall masts, strung with so much rope it looked like a giant spider had tried to make a web. It sat high in the water, with plenty of its dark hull visible. It was crawling with sailors—Telts, Crelans and even some Natives. West Draulin and Zianna's flags snapped in the brisk wind.

Kor and I were standing a little way down the pier, waiting while Tannix said a final goodbye to his mother and Tairia. Acen and Joen hadn't joined us yet, but the other knights were already on the huge ship. I watched Tannix for a bit, but as always, curiosity got the better of me.

"What's it called?"

"The WDN Draulin Guardian," Kor said. He was technically on guard duty but he wasn't watching Tannix. His eyes were glued to the ship, his expression so rapt he could have been looking at the Telt Goddess herself. "She's a beauty, aye? Never expected a chance to serve aboard her."

"She's huge," I said.

"Aye, mate. She's an Old World warship. She crossed the Storm Sea, landed at Crele, and then landed here. She's the only one left. She originally carried the cannon from the fortress tower."

"That odd catapult that doesn't work?"

Kor shrugged. "Well, must've worked at some point, right?"

"I guess so."

"Let's go." Tannix joined us abruptly, his clipped tone enough to get even Kor to stop gazing at the ship with adoration. We followed Tannix to the wide gangway, where we were met by a Crelan sailor who looked about my age, wearing a blue and white striped shirt.

He jumped to attention. "My lord, Cap'n Roland's waitin' for you on the quarterdeck."

Tannix barely acknowledged the sailor, but Kor paused to pat his shoulder. He smiled at Kor tentatively, and trailed after us as we climbed up the gangway.

The deck was a maze of men, ropes and boxes. Tannix wove through it all, most of his success due to the fact that people stepped out of his way. Kor, the sailor and I had a harder time. When we reached the quarterdeck, Tannix was already leaning over a table with Captain Roland, looking at a large, blank sheet. I didn't understand, until I saw the tiny ship-shaped pins that were scattered across the table.

Feet thumped to the deck beside me and Ender was suddenly there, one hand still holding one of the ropes that made up the shrouds. He grinned, the excitement of being on the ship overcoming the dread of what we were about to do. "Kor, mate, you have to look around this ship. We're going to be posted up front, I'll show you." He took a step then whirled around. "Kovin, aye?"

The sailor nodded. "Aye, sir."

"Right. Keep an eye on our mate here until Lord West Draulin tells him what to do. Finn, stick with the lad."

Before I could say anything about not needing an escort, the twins hurried off. With a sigh, I turned to Kovin. "Don't you have a job you should be doing?" I asked. "You don't have to listen to them."

"Cap'n Roland said his nephews are t' be obeyed, sir. So... d'you want a tour o' the ship?"

I wasn't really that interested in a tour, but at least it might distract me from what was coming. I nodded. "Yes. Show me around, please."

Kovin showed me around the ship as the final preparations for our departure were under way. He pointed out the huge metal ram that jutted out of the front of the ship, just below the water. The buckets of oil that were secured along the back of the quarterdeck. The enormous, sideway bows that he called ballista which were mounted on either side of the deck. The bins of arrows and javelins. Then he showed me the grapples and hooks that could pull another ship beside ours, so our soldiers could hop across to the other ship.