It was a cry of “Land ho!” that awoke Ray at last. He lay for a moment or two, feeling heavy and unrefreshed. There was the sound of feet crossing the deck, a muffled calling of orders. Taut had said land on the morrow. He must have slept long, sunken in those dreams.
Slowly he sat up. On a neighboring stool lay the salt crystaled clothing of Sydyk, dry now but wrinkled and yet further discolored by the wetting of the nigh before. Still he would rather wear that than the plundered garments. As he went on deck, he was still buckling on his sword belt.
“Holla!” Captain Taut was by the wheelman. “You, must have been greatly wearied, friend, to sleep s6. deeply through the hours. So, you wish to see the first of the Red Land? We have been favored by Ba-Al. A,: following wind is behind us. I have laid a wager of five silver pieces we shall raise harbor well before night:-‘ And this time I shall be glad to anchor there. The rats’ of Mu grow keener-sighted, and their teeth are sharp-“: He grinned and strode a step or two nearer the rail, to-� spit into the sea. “It is lean picking when the merchant-, men come not into the North Sea. But the Poseidon’s service promises more than just hard knocks and nor loot, though they had better come true soon, those golden promises. And, friend, I care not if you repeat those words to Chronos’s-the Poseidon’s-ugly face… We wolves of the north are no sworn liege men of his, if, we do choose to ally with him upon occasion. We want: more than just fair promises. Now, what say you to loaf bread and other good fill for the belly-none of that
‘black stuff that tastes of dust and black beetles, such as you find on Chronos’s own ships-‘
He led Ray back to the cabin. And the food, though it was dished up in a strange collection of mismatched plates, was better than any Rayhad eaten since he left Mu. It would seem that such fare was one of Captain Taut’s self-indulgences and something upon which he prided himself.
“I thought”-Ray waved away another dish the captain urged upon him-“that you were of the Atlantean fleet-”
“Of the fleet!” Captain Taut stared. “Me-Taut? Not so-I am a free captain. There are ten like men who harbor now at the Five Walled City. But only for now, mind you, only for now. There were no pickings elsewhere-and the Poseidon has big plans. But we own no man master; our quarrel lies with full-bellied merchantmen and the Murians who hold swords between us and that we would take. However, had they spoken up as loud and clear as Chronos, talked of our looting the Red Land, we would have chosen to stand with Mu. They keep their promises. But Mu will have none of us. Now when we must take sides, we harbor at Atlantis. There, too, is our free town of Sanpar. Chronos sent his emissary to speak us straightly-as straightly as he can speak. We know well that a man watches before him, to each side, and turns often to look across his shoulder when he comes to the Red Land. But Chronos has need of us, so we raise his banner-always making sure that there is no shadow reaching toward us from the shore. We have no love for Chronos. He is over free with ordering this and that. One learns early the need for a slight deafness in that direction. And he sends men to Ba-Al, or to that new devil come at the Red Robes’ call-the Loving One.
“It is with us like strange wolves meeting in the forests of the Barren Lands. Both growl, sniff, show fangs, but do not strike lest they provoke their own
deaths. Fear and hate can be evenly matched to one’s fortune. So we wait and watch, fangs ready for some day when he thinks he has the greater power-”
“Ten ships of you?”
“Ten ships, and a berth on this one for you, friend, if you will it. We can use seamen who are not pledged to the Red Land. I do not think, and this I say in warning, Sydyk, that such a one as you will discover Chronos so generous a master that you will remain long in his service. When you have had enough of the smell of fear in his fine palace, come to the sea wolves. I warn you that though a man sweats blood in his service, the day comes when he will cast you forth without a piece of silver to your betterment, if he does not send you to Ba-Al. When he needed a ship to send for you, he named mine because I have some weight among the free captains, and if the Murians took me, he would smile, not pour any sop of wine to ease the thirst of my hungry ghost.
“We return; thus he has lost a small part of his gamble. The news you bear had better, for your sake, be worth such disappointment to him. But, remember, come to us if you need refuge.”
“Why do you offer this? You know nothing of me,” puzzled Ray.
The captain’s heavy shoulders rose and fell in an exaggerated shrug. “Why? I know not. Perhaps because you are young and a seaman like unto us. I have no liking for Ba-Al, nor for the redrobed crows who croak in his temples. Or perhaps it is because I would frustrate Chronos, if only by so little. Hark-” They heard a new stir from the deck. “Come aloft. It would seem that I have won my wager, and w e come now to harbor.”
Ray was eager to see the main port of Atlantis. It was set on a wide bay with a narrow entrance. Beyond lay the city, not as brightly gleaming as the Murian capital but far more somber with its dark walls.
“Chronos’s hold. They say it cannot be stormed because of its five walls and three canals. But”-Taut grinned again-“that has never yet been tested. Give me a hundred swords of the proper sort and a small smile or two from fortune-then-then we might just prove that belief false.”
Ray glanced at the wolfish crew in the waist of the vessel. It seemed to him that their united stare at the shoreline reflected a fierce hunger.
“I believe you,” he returned.
Taut laughed. “Chronos would not. Remember, if you have need, come to us.”
The raider worked its way in through a mass of shipping and anchored a little beyond the docks, where merchantmen were tied up. A small boat was lowered, and two of the seamen climbed down to it. Ray nodded to the captain.
“May the Sun-” He stopped short, aware that some trick of memory had played him false. His hand went to sword hilt, though he had no chance of defense.
But the raider captain only gave him a sharp look. “Guard your tongue better, Sydyk. You have been too long in Murian lands. Here they may strike first and ask questions afterward, if they hear such a greeting. Get you gone! But remember, we lie here-”
Ray climbed over the rail, bewildered. Down in the boat he sat quietly, his eyes on the dock toward which they rowed but his thoughts occupied with Captain Taut. That unusual insistence that Ray seek him out if he got into trouble-why? Judging by his background, the raider would be far more likely to sell him out as soon as he gained a hint that Sydyk was more-or less-than he seemed. Suspicion was the necessary shield for Ray now; trust was too expensive to hold to
A man wearing plain body armor stood on the dock as Ray disembarked.
“Whence come you, stranger?” There was a kind of insolent contempt in his demand.
“Uighur,” Ray answered shortly.
“And your name might be Sydyk-?”
“It might.”
“If it is, you come with me,” returned the soldier. “If
it is not, you will discover that it is not safe to play r childish games-not with those who now await you.”
The Atlantean set off through the crowd, and Ray ,’ matched strides to his. A wall of red stone arose high a over their heads a small distance from the dockside. They skirted this until a gate, overhung with the pointed teeth of a portcullis, opened. The soldier spoke to the guard, and they were passed to a narrow bridge over a canal where dark water swirled and rippled. a
This bridge ended in another gate, this time in a gray-white wall. And then a second sweep of water 1 with a bridge across to a black wall and a third canal. The Atlantean spoke. ‘
“See you the guards of Atlantis? They have been well . designed. If any enemy dares to come to test us, those gates will be barred and the bridges all withdrawn. There is no army that can win past such safeguards as these-”