just a market waiting to be picked over. Reis tucked his sabre into its scabbard. "These are lonely seas, a good week or two from shore. What interests a scientific vessel out here?"
"We are specialist marine scholars, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to search for unusual fish, coral and shells." The defeated captain fidgeted as he shoved the blood-stained cloth back in his jacket pocket.
"You're all the way out here, with no defences, collecting pretty shells?" Reis frowned, his right hand resting on his sword hilt.
"We are unarmed because we are peaceable men. We never expected to be attacked." Wyman stood a little taller but still looked like a stout building block. "We intend to summarise our findings in a journal when we return to Darjee. It will be of great interest to the academic community."
Reis tapped a fingernail against his teeth while he stared at his opposite. The rap rap audible over the soft groans of injured men.
Fenton sympathised with the fallen captain. No one liked to be pinned by Reis, one of the most vicious pirates roaming the oceans. Certainly not a man with a secret, and Wyman had the look of someone with one trying to gnaw its way out of his gut. His story didn't make sense. Whoever heard of men spending months at sea just to collect a few bits of coral, a couple of dead fish and shells?
The man swallowed and stared at his feet for a long moment before answering. "The Lady Alise closed our university and directed us to find curiosities to amuse her. She thought it a better use of her scholars."
Fenton swallowed a snort. The Lady Alise, the hand that ruled the Darjee Empire for over a hundred years, was known for her childlike fits and needs. Only she would send an unarmed vessel full of bookworms out to treacherous oceans to find her a pretty bauble.
Reis gave a lazy smile; the one that encouraged a confidence that he could then sharpen and use to eviscerate you. "Ah. I understand now. My sympathies Captain Wyman, you were tasked with a difficult mission by an uncompromising mistress. Were you successful at all?"
Wyman shrugged. "We found some underwater flowers of rare beauty and tiny krill that glow in a rainbow of colours. They will make fabulous lights in Lady Alise's throne room."
A soft chuckle left Reis' chest. "Fit amusements for a child, indeed. We can only hope she is placated."
"We can continue on our way, then?" A bead of sweat rolled down the side of the man's face. A slight tremor shook the corner of his mouth and he pursed his lips to still the movement.
"Not quite yet. I would like to see these curiosities. Perhaps my men and I might learn something. Lead on, Captain Wyman." He took off his hat and waved it at the opening below.
The fool , Fenton thought as he dropped in line behind his captain. The smallest sliver of curiosity crept into his soul as he wondered what they would find in the hold. What was Wyman trying to hide from the pirates? No glowing krill or flower was worth the wrath of Reis.
Reis, Fenton and two others followed Wyman below. Boots rang out on the metal steps as they dropped into the darkness. A luminescent green strip at waist height illuminated their way. The men scanned and assessed everything, looking for items of value to carry back to the Razor's Edge. Beneath the deck, the hold was partitioned in two, the large aft area housed their engines and coal supply. In the forward section, a dozen men shared cramped space for six months, their hammocks hung three high in four neat rows. Small port holes in metal frames gave natural light and when opened, let fresh air circulate.
Wooden lockers anchored to the floor contained personal belongings. The captain flipped open a locker and pointed to Yusuf. The pirate knelt down and pulled out the contents. He found only four changes of clothing, three books, a worn portrait of a smiling woman with a chubby child and a carved wooden duck.
"We are men of science, not commerce," Wyman said. He
"We are specialist marine scholars, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to search for unusual fish, coral and shells." The defeated captain fidgeted as he shoved the blood-stained cloth back in his jacket pocket.
"You're all the way out here, with no defences, collecting pretty shells?" Reis frowned, his right hand resting on his sword hilt.
"We are unarmed because we are peaceable men. We never expected to be attacked." Wyman stood a little taller but still looked like a stout building block. "We intend to summarise our findings in a journal when we return to Darjee. It will be of great interest to the academic community."
Reis tapped a fingernail against his teeth while he stared at his opposite. The rap rap audible over the soft groans of injured men.
Fenton sympathised with the fallen captain. No one liked to be pinned by Reis, one of the most vicious pirates roaming the oceans. Certainly not a man with a secret, and Wyman had the look of someone with one trying to gnaw its way out of his gut. His story didn't make sense. Whoever heard of men spending months at sea just to collect a few bits of coral, a couple of dead fish and shells?
The man swallowed and stared at his feet for a long moment before answering. "The Lady Alise closed our university and directed us to find curiosities to amuse her. She thought it a better use of her scholars."
Fenton swallowed a snort. The Lady Alise, the hand that ruled the Darjee Empire for over a hundred years, was known for her childlike fits and needs. Only she would send an unarmed vessel full of bookworms out to treacherous oceans to find her a pretty bauble.
Reis gave a lazy smile; the one that encouraged a confidence that he could then sharpen and use to eviscerate you. "Ah. I understand now. My sympathies Captain Wyman, you were tasked with a difficult mission by an uncompromising mistress. Were you successful at all?"
Wyman shrugged. "We found some underwater flowers of rare beauty and tiny krill that glow in a rainbow of colours. They will make fabulous lights in Lady Alise's throne room."
A soft chuckle left Reis' chest. "Fit amusements for a child, indeed. We can only hope she is placated."
"We can continue on our way, then?" A bead of sweat rolled down the side of the man's face. A slight tremor shook the corner of his mouth and he pursed his lips to still the movement.
"Not quite yet. I would like to see these curiosities. Perhaps my men and I might learn something. Lead on, Captain Wyman." He took off his hat and waved it at the opening below.
The fool , Fenton thought as he dropped in line behind his captain. The smallest sliver of curiosity crept into his soul as he wondered what they would find in the hold. What was Wyman trying to hide from the pirates? No glowing krill or flower was worth the wrath of Reis.
Reis, Fenton and two others followed Wyman below. Boots rang out on the metal steps as they dropped into the darkness. A luminescent green strip at waist height illuminated their way. The men scanned and assessed everything, looking for items of value to carry back to the Razor's Edge. Beneath the deck, the hold was partitioned in two, the large aft area housed their engines and coal supply. In the forward section, a dozen men shared cramped space for six months, their hammocks hung three high in four neat rows. Small port holes in metal frames gave natural light and when opened, let fresh air circulate.
Wooden lockers anchored to the floor contained personal belongings. The captain flipped open a locker and pointed to Yusuf. The pirate knelt down and pulled out the contents. He found only four changes of clothing, three books, a worn portrait of a smiling woman with a chubby child and a carved wooden duck.
"We are men of science, not commerce," Wyman said. He
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