Temple Commander

2. On the Way-1

Charlaine stepped aboard the Valiant and then turned, taking one final look at Korvoran. The city had been her home for the past five years, and it was hard to think she must now leave it behind.

Valiant"You"ll miss it, won"t you?" said Danica.

"I shall, but at the same time, I"m looking forward to getting to know Arnsfeld."

"I hope you don"t mind, but I arranged to transport your horses aboard the Barlowe. The Valiant is much too small a ship for them."

BarloweValiant"That"s fine. I doubt we"ll be needing them straight away. Any idea on how long they"ll take to catch up?"

"A bit, I expect. Captain Dulworth wants to make stops along the way to buy and sell cargo."

"Oh? He"s not just shipping other people’s goods?"

Danica laughed. "No. He found out there was more to be made speculating."

"And how"s that working for him?"

"Well, he"s not ready to retire just yet, but he has made some improvements to his ship."

"Excellent," said Charlaine. "It"s nice to see trade flourishing. That"s a testament to the good work you and the fleet have been doing."

"I shall accept the compliment, though I would claim there"s still work to be done. The sea east of Reinwick is much safer than when we started this endeavour, but the coast to the west? Well, that"s an entirely different matter, which is why I"m taking two ships to deliver you to your new assignment."

"Two? But I thought you said the Barlowe would make stops along the way?"

Barlowe"I did," said Danica, "but the Vanguard will accompany us."

Vanguard"Not the Vigilant?"

Vigilant"No, I"m leaving Grazynia in command of the region while I"m away. Besides, Nadia needs a bit more experience commanding her own ship, and what better way to learn than by an extended sea voyage?"

Charlaine moved aside as Marlena and two other knights carried her belongings on board.

"Looking forward to a little reading?" asked Danica.

"Every commander is expected to know the contents of those three books." She lowered her voice. "Truthfully, most of it’s useless, but there is a smattering of wisdom to be found on occasion."

"Perhaps you should write your own book?"

"I would need the time for such pursuits, and I have a feeling I"m about to be very busy."

"I"m a little concerned," said Danica. "You"re going into a potentially hostile environment with very few allies."

"Marlena will be with me, and I"m sure the fleet won"t be too far away."

"Speaking of the fleet, I"ve been thinking about what you said."

"I"ve said a lot of things," said Charlaine, chuckling. "What, specifically, are you referring to?"

"If our ships are to have a presence to the west, we"ll need to secure permission to re-provision at a port."

"And you feel Lidenbach is the best option?"

"I"ve been talking to some merchant captains here."

"And?"

"They tell me it has a natural harbour and shipbuilding facilities."

"Shipbuilding? Does that mean Arnsfeld has a fleet?"

"I don"t know," replied Danica. "My understanding is they build mostly trade vessels, but a cog is a cog, whether it"s used as a merchant or warship."

"I shall bear that in mind when I visit their king."

"Speaking of which, what do you know of the fellow?"

"Very little. The grand mistress admitted they had sparse information on the area. Until now, nothing was of interest to our order there save our normal promise to protect women."

"I suppose that all changed once we received word the Cunars had withdrawn. Do you truly believe this whole "defence in depth" thing, or has the order been compromised in some fashion?"

"After what we witnessed in the Antonine," replied Charlaine, "I"m leaning towards the latter, but regardless of the reasons, someone has to take up the responsibility of ensuring people"s safety, and I don"t see any other order stepping up to assume that burden."

"Perhaps we should send more knights? I could ship them from Temple Bay?"

"And strip the fleet of its Temple Knights? I think not. I"ve been promised additional sisters. We"ll just have to pray they arrive in time to avert any potential disaster."

"You believe it"s that bad?"

"I won"t know for certain until we get there," said Charlaine, "but I doubt the grand mistress would give me this much authority if the situation weren"t dire."

"You were made a Temple Commander. How much more authority can you hold?"

"I was permitted to name my successor here in Korvoran. Have you ever heard of such a thing?"

"No, never."

"Nor I, which only emphasizes how bad things have become. The grand mistress obviously didn"t want anyone interfering in our plans."

"Because she didn"t name your successor?"

"Remember," said Charlaine, "there were those in the Antonine who saw us as a threat."

"You mean Temple Commander Hjordis? But she failed, surely?"

"She did, but that doesn"t mean her influence didn"t spread, and even the best of us does not live forever."

"What are you trying to intimate?"

"Eventually, they’ll replace the grand mistress, and when that happens, there"s no guarantee her replacement will feel the same way we do."

"Then we must do all we can while we"re still able," said Danica.

The Valiant set out from Korvoran, accompanied by the Vanguard, making excellent time as they headed up the east coast of Reinwick, for the weather remained fair for the first few days of sailing.

ValiantVanguardThey rounded the peninsula, and then contrary winds forced them to claw their way down the west coast. The ships weathered it well, but the crew was exhausted by the time Gossenveldt came into view.

They rested in port overnight before setting out early, seeking the coast of Langwal. Charlaine came up on deck to find Danica staring off to the south.

"Trouble?" she asked.

"Not at all," replied the admiral. "I was just taking in the view."

"Haven’t you sailed these waters before?"

"I have, although admittedly not for a while. The last time I was here was back in ninety-nine, when I took Ludwig and his new wife to Burgemont."

"That feels like ages ago. You know he has a son now."

"Does he?"

"Yes, Frederick."

"Will he have more, do you think?"

"That"s hard to say, but I doubt it. Charlotte had a difficult birth. I don"t imagine he"ll be eager to see her go through it again."

They remained silent, staring out at the coast as they sailed past.

"That could have been your son," Danica finally said. "Tell me, do you regret losing Ludwig?"

"We each have our own paths to tread. In Ludwig"s case, he had the responsibility to continue his line. I don"t begrudge him that or the happiness of taking a wife."

"That"s not what I asked. Don"t you sometimes wish you had children of your own?"

"But I do, don"t you see? The entire order is my family now." Charlaine looked at her companion. "And what of you?"

"I feel the same way. I never had a sister growing up, but if I did, I"d like to believe she would have been a lot like you."

"Now you"re just trying to butter me up for a promotion."

"No, I"m serious. You"re the closest thing to a real sister I"ve ever had."

"I feel the same, but we"d best change the subject before we both start tearing up." Charlaine cleared her throat and turned to stare northward. "Aren"t we close to those two islands?"

"You mean The Eyes? Yes. They"re just on the horizon, though admittedly, they"re not much to look at. I"ve heard smugglers and pirates like to hide amongst the inlets there, but I doubt they"d trouble us. Who in their right mind would take on a Temple ship, let alone two?"

"I see a ship."

"Yes. The lookout spotted that first thing this morning."

"Do you think she’s shadowing us?"

"More likely sailing in the same direction, but we"ll keep an eye on it to make sure."

"Perhaps we should move closer. If these waters are as unsafe as you say, they might be placing themselves in danger?"

"That"s a good point, but I wouldn"t want to delay your arrival in Arnsfeld."

"I think it worthwhile to keep people safe, don"t you?"

"Very well. I"ll alter course."

Danica gave the command, and the Valiant veered north. The Vanguard, spotting their change, reduced sail and kept their distance.

ValiantVanguardAs they drew closer to the ship, Charlaine could make out more details. In design, it was very much like the longships of old, with a single square sail and a side tiller. It had a wide beam shorter than the Valiant but struggled to keep a straight course despite the favourable wind.

ValiantOnly two people were aboard—a man and a woman, by the look of it, although it was difficult to tell for sure at this range.

Danica leaned on the railing. "Who are you?" she called out.

"The Cygnet," replied the man. "Out of Vilnitz."

Cygnet"You"re a long way from home."

"We"re on our way back from Gossenveldt, but we ran into some trouble."

"Pirates?"

"No, our tiller broke. It"s making it very difficult to keep on course."

"Lower your sail," said Danica, "and we"ll come aboard and see if we can be of assistance."

"And you are?" the man called back.

"The Temple Ship Valiant, out of Korvoran."

Valiant"Thank the Saints," said the woman. "Our prayers have been answered." Moments later, they began taking in the sail.

Danica brought the Valiant alongside, keeping just enough distance to avoid bumping into one another. They lowered the ship"s boat, and Danica, Charlaine, and two sisters rowed to the stricken vessel.

Valiant"Greetings," the man called out. "My name is Sandro Ripley, and this is my wife, Nadine."

"I’m Danica, and this is Temple Commander Charlaine. May we board your vessel?"

"Of course," said Sandro, "but watch your step. I"m afraid there"s not much room to move around."

Danica stepped onto the ship’s deck. "This is a lot of cargo for such a small ship. Aren"t you afraid you might tip it?"

"The Cygnet can bear the weight as the wide beam makes it quite stable."

Cygnet"The waves here seem to indicate otherwise."

"We normally sail much closer to shore," offered Nadine, "but without the tiller, the wind blew us out to sea."

Danica made her way aft to inspect the damage, leaving Charlaine to ponder their cargo. "What is it you"re shipping?"

"We brought silver, copper, and tin to Gossenveldt," said Nadine, "along with linens from back home. We then used the funds to buy up these finished goods."

"Such as?"

"Candlesticks, cups, lanterns, you name it. Luxury goods, mostly, targeting the wealthy."

"And does that make you a decent living?"

The woman shrugged. "We"ve seen better days. The prices have fallen considerably these last few years, as you can probably tell by the condition of this ship. What about you? Is your ship heading to Vilnitz?"

"We"re on our way to Lidenbach. Do you know it?"

"Aye. We"ve traded there once or twice, but I hear there"s little profit to be made there these days."

"Why would that be, do you think?"

"Couldn"t tell you, and to be honest, we"re about ready to give up shipping altogether." She looked around at her small ship. "Look at the Cygnet! It"s not as if it gives us much protection against the weather."

CygnetDanica returned from examining the tiller. "The wood looks rotted. I imagine the salt water hasn"t been kind to it."

"So that"s it?" said Sandro. "We"re out of luck?"

"Not quite. We can fashion a new one back on the Valiant, but it"ll take a bit."

Valiant"And what do we do in the meantime?"

"With your permission, we"ll tow you until we can complete your repairs."