Yngvild and the Forest of Dreams

To Caratis

There was nothing more we could achieve in Beretha, so we resolved to go to Caratis. We went to see Erik to enlist his help.

'Well met, Erik!' I said.

'Well met! I see you have a new friend.' Erik said.

'Yes. He's a former employee of Duke Xaime, and he needs passage on the next ship to Kronstadt, along with our despatches. Can you arrange that?'

'Of course I can.'

'He might also need some clean clothes. We've done our best, but he'd be harder to spot in something else.'

'Sveinn, take this man upstairs and see what you can find for him to wear. He wants to be on the Seagull as soon as you can arrange it.'

'Erik, is that the King's Ship Seagull?' said Noren.

'It is.'

'In that case we might want to speak to the Captain.' I said.

'Do you want to escort your friend to the Seagull yourself?' Erik said.

'That might be easiest.' I said.

We waited while Sveinn found Adan some fresh clothes. Adan came back down the stairs almost unrecognisable in Skyssian Board of Trade messenger overalls with his dark hair bundled inside a blue woollen hat. His colouring wasn't quite pale enough, but it worked. We walked him out of the office and down the jetty. The familiar line of the Seagull was moored a short distance from the Board of Trade office. We attracted no special attention from the guard, who I recognised from the ambush in Kronstadt. He'd watched us emerge from the Board of Trade's office and walk straight to the ship. On the bridge from the dock to the deck we were spotted by Lieutenant Snorri.

'Well met!' a smile shone from him.

'Snorri!' I felt the warmth in my cheeks.

'How did you two end up here?' Snorri said.

'It's a long story, I'll tell you another time. Is Captain Olaf around?' I said.

'He's in his cabin.'

'Do you think he'd mind if we disturbed him?' I said.

'Yngvild, I doubt he'd ever mind if a woman half as beautiful as you disturbed him.'

I blushed again at the compliment. 'We've got some despatches, and also Adan here needs to go to my mother.'

'Let me look after Adan, you take the despatches to the Captain.' Snorri bowed and then ushered Adan towards the cabin in the bow that Arald had been lodged.

I knocked on the door of the Captain's cabin.

'Enter!' Olaf said.

I opened the door and Noren followed me in.

'Well met, Captain Olaf!'

'Well met! Yngvild the Fierce, and Noren the Dwarf. Well, I never expected to see you two here.'

'We're just passing through, but we thought that you might be able to do us a favour. I understand that you are bound for Kronstadt?'

'Yes, back on the message run. Nothing exciting. What can I do for you, dear lady?'

'We've just delivered a prisoner to Snorri. He needs to go to my mother, the details are in this despatch here. It might be best to hide him when you move him to her. The other despatch is for the Board of Trade about the local situation here, but it needn't go to them until Adan, the prisoner, is safely delivered to Lady Helga.'

'Of course I'll do that. Where are you off to next then?'

'We're trying to get to Caratis, to find Noren's mother.'

'I've been told that the port of Caratis is closed to traffic to and from Salicia. There's a blockade by the Cottalem navy just to the East of Caratis.'

'We'll have to go overland then.'

'I might be able to save you some time. If you are up for it?'

'What have you got in mind?'

'Well, we're quite good at sailing at night, and we could row out to where we could drop you off by boat later tonight. The Cottalem Navy go back to port before it gets dark and sail out again at sunrise.'

'I'd be up for that.' I said.

'Faster than walking' said Noren.

'Excellent, let's get ready to sail.'