Bones of the Dragon - Margaret Weis [194]
Skylan could not see much point to that. Treasure was found on land, not in the middle of the vast and dangerous ocean.
“Sailing across open water saves time,” Raegar explained patiently. “You sail across the mouth of the fjord from Luda to Vindraholm. You don’t follow the land all the way around. That would take days.”
He showed on the map how a ship could cross the sea from one point of land to another, a trip that would normally take months, but which he claimed could be made in a week. Another advantage was that the ships would not have to make landfall every night, as did the dragonships. They could continue to sail even in the darkness and not lose their way.
Skylan had to admit he was impressed. “Can you teach me how to do this?”
Raegar grinned and shook his head. “Each ship’s captain brings along men who are skilled in this science. They use special instruments to take readings of the stars and the sun, and every day they mark the ship’s position on charts so that the captain always knows his ship’s location whether he is within sight of land or not.”
Skylan had always scoffed at learning. A warrior needed nothing more in this world than his sword and shield, the sea and a ship to make his fortune. Skylan studied the map, and his mind opened to new possibilities.
He thought about Raegar’s comparison of the map to the board for the dragonbone game. Thinking of the game made him think of the draugr, and he smiled grimly to himself. He had thwarted the draugr, or so he hoped. He had left the dragonbone game board behind, and he had forbidden any of the warriors from bringing boards with them. He wanted their thoughts to be on war, not a game. A few had grumbled at this, but there were other games to play, and, in truth, the Torgun were too glad to be going to war to complain about the loss of something so trivial.
The sun began its downward dip. Bands of red and orange and violet streaked the sky and bloodied the sea. On land, shadows were closing in. Skylan needed to find a safe place in which to shelter the dragonships for the night. He remembered from the last time he had sailed these waters that nearby was a cove on a sparsely inhabited stretch of land that would suit his purpose. Raegar found it on the map and said the cove was not far away. They would reach it well before sunset.
Skylan began sorting out in his mind which men he would send ashore to refill the water barrels and which he would leave on board to guard the ship. A muffled shriek pierced his thoughts, sent him bounding up off the sea chest in alarm.
Wulfe came scampering up the ladder, running as if his life depended on it, which, perhaps it did, for Treia came right behind him. Her fists were clenched. She was livid with fury. Wulfe caught sight of Skylan and flung himself behind his friend, using him as a shield. Treia pointed an accusing finger. “I found him hiding in my bed!”
Everyone began laughing. Treia glared around at them, and they changed their laughter into coughs or clapped their hands over their mouths. Raegar came striding across the deck, angry and indignant, to scowl at Wulfe.
“This is no laughing matter, Cousin,” Raegar said irately. “Something must be done about this young imp. He should not be aboard. He is unlucky.”
The men were no longer laughing, which meant Skylan had a problem. If his warriors took it into their heads to decide the strange boy was bad luck, they would insist that Wulfe should be left behind when they next made landfall. While Skylan tried to think how to counter Raegar’s claim, Aylaen provided the answer.
“The boy is part of Skylan’s wyrd. If anything happens to Wulfe, a thread breaks.”
The men thought this over. Their wyrd was bound up in Skylan’s. The wyrd of every man is affected by the wyrd of others. If a thread snapped, the tapestry of life might start to unravel.
Raegar remained unconvinced. “I still think we should get rid of him, Cousin.”
Annoyed at Raegar’s daring to challenge him, Skylan said, frowning, “On this ship, I am not your cousin,