Rubies and Rumors

Chapter Thirty-nine

            Junseo got another reminder of the kingdom's inequities when he ran into one of his former patients at the riverboat dock. The man had a couple of fingers amputated at the student clinic now approached each boat in turn hoping to sign on. None of the bosuns would even look at the man.

"Didn't I serve you well last season?" he pleaded.

"Last season you had all your digits," a crew member mocked.

"Yes, but your mistake got my fingers crushed, didn't it?" The man spat on the dock and walk away cursing the both the boat and its crew.

"Are you looking for passage north, young sir?" The purser called over from the deck. Junseo looked around to see what his options might be.

"Sorry I think I have to pass today. I don't want to take a chance with a crew that doesn't honor their debts. No telling what they might do to a passenger and his goods." Junseo turned away and scanned the smaller vessels tied to the next dock. There he spotted a familiar face from his days as a kite racer so waved and got a welcome sign in return.

"We have a short draw so can get you the whole way to Ilidan with no need to change boats. We just need to fill out our crew and can be on our way," The young bosun smiled warmly.

"Thanks, Tsang Liu. I was hoping I might be able to travel on your boat. I will just drop my bags and be right back. I may have a crewman for you." Junseo bowed twice then ran up the dock to see if he could find his former patient. The man had just acquired a cheap bottle of liquor and was getting ready to down it when Junseo reached him.

"Why don't you save that drink to celebrate finishing your first run on a new boat."

"What are you on about? Do I know you?" the man scowled.

"Maybe you don't remember me from the clinic but I helped save that hand." Junseo pointed to the frayed bandages. "I will clean that up for you later but I have a friend who is a bosun and they need a crew member. It would help me out if you could come along so we can get underway before the bigger boats clog up the locks."

"You mean now?"

"Yes. Where did you stow your kit?" Junseo looked around for a bag.

"Oh. Well, I kind of swapped it for this." The man mumbled.

Junseo narrowed his eyes and said, "Right. I will spot your drink but let's get a move on before the barkeep decides to call the guard." It took some persuasion to get the man to own up to what he had done and apologize enough to get his baggage back. Junseo paid the premium asked without quibbling so they could make it back to the smaller boat in time to pull out ahead of the fleet of barges heading to the locks.

Once they were underway, Tsang Liu came over to get more of the story on his new crewmember. "Another rescue?" he prompted.

"Not as difficult as the last one. But yes, he needed a place to land. So, thank you." Junseo outlined what he knew of the circumstances.

"And you? What takes you up-river? I thought you would be training with the other candidates. The Champion's League is no joke."

"You heard about that?"

"How could I not. All of G'sang province has been buzzing about how one of our own took the qualifiers by storm. If the governor gets word there will be an honor guard ready at every port."