Introductions

Noah was getting a few looks standing near the middle of the deck, but Hannah assured him he was not in the way before she saw something not to her satisfaction and scurried off. The captain likewise had been called over by a woman holding a hammer and nails to look at a section of deck under repair.

It all looked chaotic to Noah, but after a couple of minutes the purpose became apparent. Some of the younger women were surrounded by what looked like piles of ropes, but as he watched they gathered it up rapidly and stored it tidily on hooks attached to the forward mast. Likewise, what seemed to be cluttered tools and packages were swiftly being handed from 3 women to a fourth in a large hatch near the front, who clearly handed it off to someone else belowdecks. It was all rather impressive and exciting to see the crew in action, and even a total novice, once you paid attention for a few minutes, could see the practiced teamwork and competence.

The Nawyet was facing upriver, pointing away from the ocean and towards their destination to the south. Another river ship was docked in the berth ahead of them, and across the broad river Noah could see another dock or pier (another nautical thing he could never remember) along with a few medium sized buildings of a different sort from most of the rest of Anglet. The town, being open to all as a freeport, was an anarchic mashing of cultures and styles, and each maritime trading outfit and company had their own cluster of buildings, most of which loudly proclaimed their country of origin. As he waited he could see another boat, roughly the same size as the Nawyet but with dark blue sails, approaching down the center of the river. It had most of its sails up and was being partially towed by a smaller row boat to its berth.

Having sorted out whatever the issue with the plank was, Amaruq walked back to the center of the boat and nodded to Hannah, who had also finished. “Huddle up! Cap’n wants a word!” the first mate cried out, and everyone finished up what they were doing and began to form up in a group. Noah noticed that Amaruq, being on the short side, simply stood on a small crate in order to see everyone. A few of the deckhands, up in the rigging, yelled down that they needed a moment to lash some sail, which Hannah accepted.

The other boat was getting closer, and Noah was curious enough to want to take a look but sudden movement at his feet distracted him. A kitten had emerged from a small enclosure on the deck beside a heavy chest which seemed to contain a great deal of rope. With a smile the man said, “Oh hello!” to the newcomer.

Sizing up his brand-new boot, the kitten paused, then gave a clumsy lunge, it’s tiny teeth biting into the leather. Another kitten, and then another, emerged from their little home and wandered over to see what their sibling was battling.

Kneeling down, Noah laughed as the second kitten tackled the first, both of them rolling against his foot. He was tickling the third kitten when he heard a new voice calling out, “Ahoy Nawyet! Amaruq, still loafing about the quay, are ya? Well, I see you have your crew lined up like errant schoolgirls, going to teach them to sail, finally? Good luck!”

A gust of loud, mocking laughter followed, and from his knees Noah could see the scowls of the crew as a few muttered oaths or made vulgar gestures. The other boat was a dozen paces away, now beside the Nawyet. As he stood up, he could easily see the other crew, a dozen or so hard looking women yelling crude insults at their presumed rivals on the Nawyet. At their center was a tall woman with a swoop of chin length hair, dyed the same blue as the sails. She was holding her hands to her face, as if to shout something else, but her eyes went wide as she saw Noah looking right at her.

The rest of the laughing crew went silent as well, their faces comically shocked as they looked at this new man. One of them turned to her companion and said, “Who the fuck is that?” loudly enough that Noah could hear her easily.

Behind him, Amaruq replied in a loud voice, “I have my crew here to meet their new steward, actually. Such a hard working and keen group of sailors as the Nawyet boasts cries out for the best treatment from her grateful captain. Noah, meet Captain Sirja, on the Sparrowhawk.”

He could see the other crew look somehow even more shocked at his introduction as a steward. Taking a few steps, still holding one of the kittens in his left hand, Noah nodded formally and gave what he hoped was a theatrical sweep of his right arm, calling out, “Lovely to meet you, Captain Sirja, and I rather think the crew will be teaching me more than anything. I hope to prove an able student for them!”

Their boat was pulling away, but Noah could see a few of the other women staring at him like he was a sackful of diamonds and gold coins. They quickly began talking and whispering amongst themselves, and for a split-second Noah thought one of the women was going to jump over the side and swim over before her mates grabbed her. He kept his smile broad and waved jauntily at the flummoxed Captain Sirja.

He stood at the rail for half a minute as the Sparrowhawk pulled further away, until the blue-haired captain snapped something at her crew and they dispersed. Turning around, the crew - his crew - gave a hearty cheer and whistled, laughing as they did. Captain Amaruq was smiling, clearly pleased, and Noah was glad he hadn’t broached some strange local sailing etiquette.

She let them whoop and holler for a few seconds before raising a hand as Noah returned to stand facing the crowd. As they quieted, the captain said, “Well that’s about as good a welcome as can be had. Ladies, this is Noah Anders. He has graciously agreed to steward this ship at least until we reach the Empty City. Before you all start asking: he is available, at his discretion, at the end of the first watch, after the evening meal. He said he will do one or two visits daily,” she had to pause as some of the crew laughed and winked at Noah before shushing again, “and perhaps more. No shirking your tasks, only the night watch may engage him during the day if they wish and he is agreeable. He is willing to entertain any requests beyond the common but he has some things off the rota, so to speak. He is from across the great sea, far to the east, so he hasn’t any blueskin taint to his seed.” Another, louder burst of murmurs and excited whispers at that.

Amaruq gestured to him, and Noah formally introduced himself. “Ah yes, I am Noah, and I look forward to working with you all for the next fortnight at the least. As the captain says, I am from a land very far away, and I am a scholar in my home, here to learn things of interest to me on my travels. Being so far from home, I ask your patience if I say or do odd things, as your local customs may be unknown to me, so if I annoy you hopefully it is only out of ignorance.”

Trailing off, Noah looked at the eager faces. “Uhm, well, I don’t know what else to say? I think I am 22 summers old, as you reckon age here? I… guess I look forward to meeting you all and working together.”

“Oh, we’ll work ya. Together.” A cheery voice called out, and Noah could see it was the young Kuniq woman he met on the dock, Ipellie. Her mates all laughed, and Noah did too, with a blush. Even the captain had to chuckle along.

“Knowing you lot, I assume you have a rota planned already?” the captain asked.

The older Black woman spoke up and said, “The crew has decided the youngest will go first, so Hitty tonight.” Everyone turned and looked at the pretty young woman, who looked fit to faint. Shifting from foot to foot, she glanced around before her eyes darted towards Noah and they made eye contact, but she quickly looked away and the crew laughed good naturedly.

“Good. Now, say hello and get back to work, we cast off in 30 minutes and anyone not ready gets put at the end of the steward’s list.” With that, Captain Amaruq gracefully stepped off the box and went to stand next to Hannah.

“Hello Noah, I’m Macha, again.” The blonde-haired clerk took his hand in hers, shaking it as she did. She let go and stepped away, but made sure to brush her hand against his side as she did, smiling sultrily at him.

“You introduced yourself to him an hour ago when he got on the boat,” Ipellie groaned at the older woman. Still, she herself quickly reached out and took his hand too, saying, “Ipellie, like I told ya, but you’ll come to remember me as ‘the best lay of my entire life’, when you’re an old man, dreaming of me!”

The next woman, dark with a shaved head, snickered as she pushed back Ipellie, “You virgins are all the same. I am Shirisha, and I will take you in my turn.” She looked firmly at Noah, and he felt like he had been informed by a co-worker that an important task was being assigned to him.

The next few went by in a blur - a tall, attractive, woman in her mid-20’s named Ashe, Hyvin the third officer, another young Kuniq named Kireama, and the youngest looking one named Hitty who couldn’t quite meet his eyes.

“I am Yura, and this is my twin Yutu,” the two certainly looked like siblings, with the same braided black hair and similar facial features. Yura was a woman, but her twin was a man, delicate looking but clearly male, with a lean build. He had a few wisps of facial hair, and he mumbled hello to Noah and then followed after his sister when she walked off.

A middle-aged woman with light brown skin and green eyes stepped up next. She frowned at him but shook his hand, saying, “I am Fatima, the cook, so we’ll see each frequently. I do not lay with men.”

“I see, thank you for the, uh, heads up?” Noah was a bit thrown off by her sour look, but she turned to the woman beside her and her frown deepened.

The next was about the same age as Fatima, but had lighter skin and brown hair. She grinned and said, “Ignore grumpy here, I am Alexandra, the coxswain. Fatima and I are bonded, but I do lay with men and women, to my disapproving wife’s dismay. Uh, maybe not with you though,” she winked as Fatima looked even less impressed.

The other women he had spoken to before, so the crew all went back to their duties. Noah, without any tasks, kept out of the way. It was almost a surprise when the ship cast off, the crew in constant motion didn’t stop what they were doing but suddenly the captain was at the wheel at the aft of the boat. She called out some instructions, some of which where relayed by Hannah amidships to the crew up in the sails.

The boat rocked, and the smallest of the sails were partially unfurled. Two of the crew, along with a few burly women from the quay, undid the heavy ropes that held the boat firm against the stone pier.

“Cast bow dock line!” Yelled the first mate.

“Bow line free, aye!” Came the reply from the woman Ipellie.

“Cast stern dock line!”

“Stern line free, aye!” Yelled Hitty as she finished untying the rear rope.

The boat rocked gently underfoot as it began to move into the river, and the first mate cried out, “Headsail, full, and cast off!”

The next few hours were full of new things to marvel at. Sailing upriver took patience and constant diligence by the crew as they tacked up the wide river. The constant motion and work of the crew was impressive, but looking at how slowly the town of Anglet receded into the distance Noah realized that a man on a horse would easily outpace a boat sailing upriver. Not that a horse would be carrying 10 tons of cargo back on the return journey.

Midway through the day, the crew had a cold lunch, mostly at their stations. Noah offered to help but was again told to just stand out of the way and watch and learn where not to be, so he ate a sandwich made of a thick slice of salted ham between two slices of tough bread and washed it down with weak beer. For a time after Noah returned to his quarters to arrange his books and personal effects, and asked about washing. He got some towels and wash cloths to go with a pail of river water for bathing in his room, which seemed to mildly surprise Lisa when he asked her about it.

After that it was another few hours of playing with the kittens and watching the crew for Noah. The boat was trying to make it to a particular turn in the river to berth for the night, and it was late dusk when they finally made it in the light wind.

The supper was belowdecks in the very crowded mess room. This was near the front of the ship and doubled as part of the crew’s sleeping quarters, but some benches and tables were moved into the space and 8 people at a time could crowd around while Fatima the cook prepared a meal in the galley next to it.

“So, you’re from the far east?” Macha asked Noah. Every woman spent most of the meal looking at him, but they politely kept the conversation light.

“Yes, from a small kingdom called Brereton. Any of you familiar with the lands beyond the great ocean to the east?” Everyone shook their head, and he wasn’t surprised. Even if there hadn’t been decades of war, very few people made the perilous journey across the oceans.

Kireama blurted out, “And that’s why no taint, ney?”

Noah nodded slowly, before deciding to take a chance. “I suppose so. Uh, what is the blueskin taint thing? I mean, I think I understand part of it, but…” He hoped his question wasn’t too bizarre, but it appeared it wasn’t.

“The Ubyr, you know, the first war?” The older woman Hyvin was eating with them while the other half of the crew including the captain waited. Noah nodded, and she continued, solemnly, “the first war was 40 years ago now, when the Ubyr left their islands the first time.” Several of the crew muttered darkly or made signs warding against evil.

Hyvin continued, “The Ubyr War, against the blueskin leaches, was horrible. They were not many, but a single leach is damned hard to kill and they have powerful magic. They defeated an entire kingdom in a summer. Many of the men who fought them, in the mage battles that cracked the sky, were affected by it. Even as the war raged the men who survived and returned to their homes had less children after. Something in the air during those years, no one knows. But the taint of the magic lingered and meant less babies in the following years. But then the biters came, and the seedless men were the least of our worries.”

She trailed off, and Noah realized she was old enough to have been a child during those early, dark, years. “I am sorry to bring it up, but I thank you for sharing that with me. We know very little about the wars that befell this continent where I am from.”

“Ah, it’s alright. It is good you know, and it is good for the others to know you are a foreigner with, we hope, strong seed.” The woman winked, and a few at the table chuckled, the gloomy mood passing.

Noah was done his meal now, and he could see a few longing looks. He gave the ladies a cheerful smile he didn’t quite feel and said, “The meal was excellent. I am going to return to my quarters now, and after I wash up I will be ready in, say, 30 minutes? Hitty isn’t here but…”

“Oh we’ll let her know. Your bunk, 30 minutes, I doubt she’ll be late!” Lisa laughed and the other women gave lusty whoops.

Blushing yet again, Noah stood and left the mess, trying to act more worldly and confident then he was.