Morgain's Revenge - Laura Anne Gilman [57]
Gerard and Newt mingled with the sailors unloading the boxes until they were able to work their way to the gangway. They were both work-hardened enough to pass, so long as no one looked too closely, but Newt’s clothing was still closer in style; even the vomit stains added a touch of reality that Gerard’s travel gear lacked, being of higher quality material than the average worker on that vessel could ever afford.
The dock was a sturdier structure than the one in the village, better made and better maintained, but for all that, it was still a simple wooden dock—nothing that would seem out of place in any port. Certainly not anything they might have expected, remembering the glimmer and shine of Morgain’s abode on the mystical Isle of Apples.
Then again, the Isle of Apples had housed only Morgain and her great black cat, as far as anyone knew. This small, rock-crusted island seemed to be home to many more people, based on the number of souls coming down to meet the boat, waving and calling out greetings.
“Your first trip?” a sailor said to Newt, handing him the end of a rope and clearly expecting him to know what to do with it.
Newt merely nodded, watching the other man start to pull. His ability to mimic accents was best saved for emergencies—he had no confidence in how long he might be able to fool the locals.
“Nothin’ to it,” the man went on. “Towson’s a fair master, a’long as you do your share a’ the work and don’t shirk off. Here from Glandis?”
“South,” Newt said, not sure where Glandis was. “Hoping to get some skills, bring ’em home.”
The answer seemed to satisfy the man’s limited curiosity. “As I said, don’t shirk and you’ll do fine.”
Newt suspected that sneaking off the moment he had a chance was going to qualify as shirking. Since he had no desire to bring home anything except Ailis, it didn’t exactly depress him. He put his weight into pulling the rope as well, bringing them smoothly alongside the dock, which they hit with a solid thud of wood against wood.
“Welcome, and well come,” one of the men on the dock said, all smiles. “In peaceful intent, and in peaceful depart. And good to see you, White Lady.”
That speech gave Newt pause—the wording was formal enough, and odd enough, to be the makings of a spell. But since he and Gerard had peaceful intent—they just wanted to get Ailis, not harm Morgain—he suspected that it would be safe enough to try and leave the boat. He hoped, especially since there wasn’t any way to let Gerard know, not without raising suspicions. One newcomer might be normal enough. Two, especially two who knew each other, would be a different matter.
It took almost the entire afternoon to unload the boat, and by the end Newt wasn’t sure he had the strength to walk away from the dock, much less do anything more strenuous. When the last box was piled onto the back of the last wagon, and the last crack of reins and creak of wheels had sounded, he joined the other workers, both local and shipboard, in collapsing on the dock, passing waterskins and eating strips of dried meat.
“Pssst.”
Newt lifted his head to see a figure in a dirty leather apron gesturing to him. It took a long moment before the dirt-smudged figure, with fair hair slicked back and darkened, resolved into the familiar features of Gerard.
“Wha?”
“Come on!”
Newt found the energy to get to his feet. He walked away slowly, so as not to attract any attention. But it seemed as though the rest of the crew was just as exhausted as he was.
“Where have you—”
“I was sent to get the meats. Borrowed this apron from the butcher’s apprentice. Here.” He handed Newt a similar garment. “They were slaughtering today. They’re delivering all over the island now. Nobody will look twice at us.”
“Nice,” Newt said in appreciation, even as he wrinkled his nose at the smell. Dogs and horses were clean, compared to cattle. But he put the apron on and followed Gerard up the stone-paved road, following the trail the wagons had taken. Straight up to the great fortress they had first seen from the cliff, where Morgain—and Ailis