While the travelers wait for alterations to be made to the Green Ptuvil, Ursula pays a visit to the Woman in the Woods. Once everything is complete the two vessels set sail, heading for the Sirrel. However an implacable foe awaits them, and to save one craft the other must put itself in danger!

The Voyage of the Visund

A tale of Anmar by Penny Lane

54 - The Chase

Disclaimer: The original characters and plot of this story are the property of the author. No infringement of pre-existing copyright is intended. This story is copyright (c) 2021 Penny Lane. All rights reserved.

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"I've never been in a forest before," Kaldar noted. "Are they all like this, Mistress?"

Ursula replied, "Not at all, Kaldar. I have been in a number of different forests, for various reasons, and none look like this. There are parts of... where I come from, where I believe there are forests which might be similar to this, but those are generally in hotter lands and I have not seen them myself."

Ursula, Tyra and Kaldar were walking the forest track from Bakhrad to Bakhzorum. With them were two of the Feren garrison, armed with sword and spear, 'just in case' any trouble should befall the small group.

One of these now remarked, "Mistress Ursula, we have seen no forests like these either. When we came to Bakhmenek we were surprised to find them here."

"I was told, Lem," she replied, "that this particular tree only grows by the river. Why it does not grow alongside the banks downstream of Yod I do not know. Something in the soil, perhaps?"

"But all our soil comes from the river anyway, Mistress," Kanak, the other soldier, objected. "Why should it be different here?"

Ursula shrugged. "I am not an expert on soil, Kanak. Do you know any better?"

"Me, Mistress? I can plant vegetables in our small garden, and maybe a flower or two to keep the missus happy, but that is about all. I do not know why they grow or anything."

She smiled at him. "Then we will have to let that question remain unanswered, shall we not?"

The sky widened ahead, indicating the edge of the forest. As the tree-line ended the hamlet of Bakhzorum began, a small group of dwellings, some of them tree-houses, others of more conventional construction, surrounded the inevitable central clearing. On the far side of the hamlet and facing the forest were typical fields, some with crops growing, others intended for pasture.

There were three locals in the clearing talking with four more soldiers. These noticed the new arrivals and beckoned them over.

"Lem, Kanak. You bring visitors."

"Aye, Sarje. These are two women and a boy from that big ship at Bakhrad. This is Mistress Ursula, her maid Tyra and their charge Kaldar. Mistress Ursula is the personal healer to the Princess. They come seeking that old woman healer said to live around here."

"Don't know her," the Sarjant said. He turned to the locals. "I suppose you should know, yes?"

"We do not have a healer here, Sarjant," the oldest of the two men replied, "but there is an old woman they may have been told about. She is very old and knows things, if you know what I mean. Ah, Meril here knows the way, she can take them."

The woman was about Ursula's age and dressed in the customary rural fashion of plain skirt and blouse with an apron over the top and a cowl over her hair.

"If I may ask," she began, "what business might you have with her? She sees visitors very rarely and I do not want to disturb her with some trivial interruption."

"It is a business of Kalikan, Mistress Meril," Ursula carefully explained, "and of herbs that cannot be found further downstream."

The look that passed between the two said plainly, 'not for men'.

"Ah. I understand, Mistress. Sarjant, if I may conduct these people to see the old woman. These two must needs remain here, she will not speak when men are present."

The Sarjant's eyebrows rose but he did not object. Having grown up himself in a rural part of Ferenis, he understood the unspoken implications. However, one of the visitors was not female.

"But the boy?"

Ursula said smoothly, "He is the reason for our visit, Sarjant. If you look closely, you will see that he has that which a boy should not have."

The Sarjant could see that the front of Kaldar's tee shirt had unexpected raised areas. "As you wish, Mistress."

Meril beckoned. "If you would follow me, ladies."

The local woman led the way past the small group of dwellings and out the far side, on a path which ran along the edge of the forest. At a point that seemed completely unmarked to Ursula, she turned and entered a narrow winding path between the trees.

"If I may ask," the woman said conversationally, "the attire of you three is unusual."

"These clothes are designed for hot weather," Ursula explained, "otherwise we would become sticky and uncomfortable on the river. The women, including Her Highness, all wear dresses like ours and the men's clothes are just like that of Kaldar here."

"Do you tell me? Have you had much trouble in the ports you have called at?"

Ursula smiled. "Some. It has been a mixture of, 'Why didn't we think of that? We need the patterns immediately!' and 'Scandalous! Those women should be locked up!' We nearly caused a riot in the Yod capital."

"I can understand that! I would think those dresses would be too much for this land, Mistress. We tend not to follow such fashions as those in the towns do."

"There is nothing wrong with that, Mistress Meril."

"Here we are."

The dwelling was built right into the trees, much as the houses of Bakhrad had been. Ursula shivered suddenly. Echoes of old Russian folk tales came flooding back and she wondered if they had done the right thing.

Meril explained, "I must needs go first to discover if she will accept visitors, Mistress. I will come to the door if she will."

The steps up to the door had been grown from living wood, much like most of the building. Meril climbed up and knocked. The old wooden door opened, but there was no sign of anyone inside. She entered and the door closed again. It seemed only a short while before the door opened and she beckoned, with a puzzled expression.

"She has been expecting you, Mistress. Please come in." She stepped outside. "I have been asked to stay out here and wait to take you back."

Feeling even more creeped out, Ursula led the way in followed by Kaldar. Tyra had a quick look around the cleared space in front of the house before following and closing the door.

The fairy tale impression was very strong inside, but there was no hint of danger here, rather of calm and serenity. The chamber was not small but did not take up more space than it needed. Two trunks grew up through the middle of the floor and out through the ceiling. Tables held jars and dishes of herbs and other oddments. From the ceiling timbers, all of which were living wood, more bunches of herbs hung. Doors and a stairway led to other parts of the dwelling.

A stone fireplace to one side glowed with banked embers. Around it were grouped a number of comfortable chairs, one of which was occupied by the oldest woman Ursula had ever seen... but she was by no means elderly. Her years showed clearly but her posture was that of someone fit and active.

"Come closer, if you would."

They passed between the chairs to stand before her. She inspected all of them carefully, nodding once or twice.

"If you would be seated." The woman turned to Ursula as she found a chair and lowered herself. "I see by your basket that you are a healer, Mistress, but I also see by your attire that you are not from these lands."

Honesty could be the only policy here. "Mistress, I am from another world, far away, where I was a different kind of healer. Here, I am a passenger on a ship passing by along the river. I am learning the local lore and will teach what I know to those healers I meet along the way."

"Another world? A world like this one, perhaps?"

"In some respects, Mistress. I would guess that it is as big, has one moon about the size of Kalikan, and oceans and continents just as Anmar does."

She nodded and passed on to Kaldar. "Ah. You are the reason for this visit. Child, you have that which grows on a girl's chest, but you are not a girl."

"Mother, I am a boy."

"I will tell your healer how this may be corrected." She paused then, her eyes narrowing. "Tell me, what is between your legs? Is it that which a boy has?"

Kaldar flushed. "Mother, it is not, but I am not a girl, I am a boy!"

"And you seek to defeat the design of your body to make it match that of your mind."

"If that were possible, Mother."

She told him, "You understand that there are herbs which may make your chest flat, will grow hair on your face and make your muscles as those of a man born."

"I do, Mother. Mistress Ursula has explained this."

"But those herbs cannot provide what you were not born with. You can never be a father nor, if the herbs have the desired effect, will you ever bear any child. You will become completely barren. Kalikan will no longer call to you. But, between your legs, there will remain that which men desire. Do you understand that?"

"Mother, I do. Mistress Ursula has explained what can and what cannot be done. I understand there is a price to pay for what must be and I am willing to pay it."

"So be it. Child, your way will be long and hard. Your willpower shall be your greatest asset. Do not lose hope."

She switched back to Ursula and gazed at her before speaking. "I thought there was more to you. On this other world, you were not a woman."

"No. I was born and brought up as a man, though my mind has always been that of a female."

"And yet you are a woman now. Do you seek to do the same for this boy?"

"I cannot, Mistress. The method of my change is not available here, nor on Earth. Here I will have to use what herbs I can find. I was told there are some around here. Maybe some further upstream."

"Hmm." The old woman was silent for a while, then looked at Tyra.

"Do you desire to become a man as well? I see sharpened steel in your future."

"Me? No, Mistress, not at all! But I do want to learn to fight as a man does, so that I can better serve my Mistress."

"An honorable desire and one you are well fitted for. Attend your instruction diligently and you should do all that you desire."

Tyra bowed her head. "Thank you, Mistress."

The woman turned back to Ursula. "Mistress, if I may look in your basket. I must discover what manner of healer you are."

Ursula handed the basket to the woman, who placed it on her lap and opened the covers. She examined everything inside, opened every jar, smelled every preparation. She seemed surprised by some of what she found. Then she looked up.

"Mistress, there is more."

"What? Oh, you mean the bandage bag. Tyra, if you would."

Tyra exchanged bag for basket and the woman proceeded to give the contents an equally detailed inspection. Finally she came to the tool rool and unrolled it, her eyes widening as she saw the metal implements.

"I did not expect..." She looked up at Ursula. "You can use these? You have the experience?"

"I can and I have, Mistress. In Joth I saved a man's life by opening his belly and removing a diseased part."

The look the woman returned was one of respect. "I assume this is knowledge from the other world?"

"Some, Mistress. There we are taught much about the inner workings of the body and I can do some small operations here. For more we would need much more equipment and a team of trained specialists."

"This will come to this world in time?"

"It will come naturally, I think, as it did on Earth. I may be able to slightly speed things up, but experience is what everyone will need and there is only one way to get that."

The woman carefully re-rolled the tools up and reassembled the bag, handing it back to Tyra without another word.

"I had not realized," she said. "The changes to come are more than I had considered. If I may ask your maid and the boy to wait outside. I must needs speak with you about the herbs you will need and it may take some time." She turned to Tyra. "Ask Meril to take you two back to the village and then return here. The villagers will offer you both a drink and something to eat. Your Mistress will be safe with me, you have my oath."

A surprised Tyra received a nod from Ursula and conducted Kaldar outside. The woman gave Ursula her full attention.

"Those who ward this world speak to me from time to time." Ursula was shocked at this revelation but the woman continued, "I do not understand most of what they say, which is as it should be. I was told of your coming and of the boy. I was also told for you to pass a message to the tall girl with the yellow hair - is that right? Her hair is yellow?"

"Mistress, it is. It is a characteristic of her people that many of them have yellow or red hair."

"Tell her that her questions will be answered fully in due time. She must not waste time worrying over such matters. Tell her also that her heart's desire may not be what she expects it to be, but that she will be content when it comes. That is all. Now, to herbal matters. In Bakhrad, ask for -"

* * *

Ursula and Meril walked back into the center of Bakhzorum, the former still looking bemused. From the house where Tyra and Kaldar were waiting, they saw the two and ran outside to greet them.

"Mistress! Are you all right?"

Ursula managed a weak smile. "I am, Tyra, there has been no damage done though," she flexed the fingers of her right hand, "I have gotten cramp from writing so much! How long has it been?"

Meril responded, "More than a bell, Mistress, since I left these two here. Maybe even a bell and a half."

"So long? Well we did have a lot to talk about! I don't know who learned the most between us, but it was all useful. I trust you have not been bored waiting?"

"Not at all, Mistress!" Tyra replied. "When the villagers found out where we came from, they asked us question after question about those places. None of them could believe that a whole city could be made of bricks, indeed, a few could not even imagine a city of so many houses!"

"Every place we have been to along the river has been different, has it not? People will always want to learn more... as I have been finding out. Well, it is time for us to return to Bakhrad now. I believe that Her Highness will be waiting and, although I know these new friends would feed us lunch, I also know that Adin will have cooked it for us already."

"As you say, Mistress."

Ursula looked around, seeing Lem and Kanak walking towards them across the clearing.

"Our escort is ready for us. Come on, it is time to go back and rejoin the crew."

~o~O~o~

It had taken three days, not two, to complete the modifications to the Green Ptuvil. Now, at mid-morning, it was time for the barge to depart, accompanied of course by the Visund. Marshal Boranar had brought an honor guard of troops down to the pontoon area to bid them farewell. With the men at attention he saluted Eriana.

"Your Highness, you have discovered and corrected a great injustice, and all Ferenis thanks you for it. The people of Bakhmenek, Bakhzorum and Bakhrad thank you as well. Now they have a chance to live their lives in peace and safety."

"We did what our honor demanded, Marshal. You speak of injustice, but what of justice? Have the trials been completed?"

"Aye, Highness, this morning all but the six you spoke of were hung in the town square. Not a single word was raised by anyone in their defense. The six who did not know the war was over, they will be marked in the usual way and work a period each for the benefit of the town, as is customary. Despite thinking they were still at war, certain acts were committed which could not be overlooked. The matter is now considered closed."

"Then we must depart, Marshal. Please thank your men for me, for the assistance they have given. We could not have completed our part without their help."

"I will, Highness. Fare you well upon the great river."

Eriana turned and jumped onto the Green Ptuvil. "Captain, if you would release the moorings."

Baros replied, "Aye, Commodore. Let go forward! Oarsman, push at the pontoon! Lads, be ready to raise the yard."

Still held at the stern, the bow moved away from the pontoon, allowing the barge to begin to turn in the channel. Behind them, Tor had an advantage since the Visund had already been turned and they had cast off to give the Green Ptuvil more room. Once enough of the lateen sail had been raised to catch the wind, Baros issued commands and the men borrowed from the Visund expertly spun the barge to face downstream towards the Sirrel. Following in the wake of the Visund, the two craft departed Bakhrad.

Ursula watched the barge following them with mixed feelings. She and Tyra were now the only women on board the Visund and that decision had been forced upon them. Hashim had to be on the Visund and he could not speak Norse; most of the Norse could not speak his tongue reliably enough. There were only two people in the combined party who could fluently speak both languages and neither Matta nor Vellana could bear to be away from Eriana, which meant that she had to stay on the Green Ptuvil while Ursula transferred back to the Visund.

The creek gradually widened until it was plain that they had reached the Sirrel. Ormund, who was presently steersman, began to turn the bow upstream.

Without waiting for Tor, Ursula asked Hashim, "Which side should we go, Hashim? Left or right?"

Hashim put out his left arm. "This side should be the deepest channel, Mistress. But we should not stray too close to shore here, those creeks can often have sandbars across the entrances."

She relayed this to Tor who gave instructions to the crew. The Visund settled on a course and Ursula looked behind, shading her eyes against the sun, to see where the barge was. She noticed that Tor was doing the same.

«That is one big sail,» Tor muttered. «Yet they manage it with no more than six. How do they do it?»

Hashim was there as well, his eyes shaded. "I wonder which of us is the fastest?" He spoke more to himself than to Ursula. "Normally I would bet on this one but the Ptuvil has no cargo so does not ride deep."

She relayed this to Tor who shrugged. «I am not concerned so long as we have them somewhere in sight.»

«It seems to me,» she said after watching for a few moments, «that we are running at about the same speed.»

«You have to remember the sail angle,» was his comment. «Like this we may run the same but with the wind behind us we ought to be faster. It should not be important. Once we are comfortable with each other we can trim sail to match speeds. It will just take a little time.»

The morning was bright and sunny with only a little cloud passing above them. Visibility was good but there were few other craft in sight. There were two heading downstream who passed them well on their left at a terrific rate, testament to the strong current. Their own progress was reasonable with a strong, steady wind keeping the sail filled. Behind them the Green Ptuvil began to very slowly overhaul them. Hashim had Eriana's telescope and he was checking the water in every direction, making sure that he would notice any evidence of shallows, sandbanks or other problems.

"Captain," he said suddenly, handing the telescope over, "look!"

Tor put the device to his eye but could not see anything specific. He muttered a question.

"Tor asks, what is he supposed to be looking at?"

"Behind the Ptuvil is another craft. It is not easy to see because it has no sail. From the splashes to either side it is probably a galley, but whose galley I could not say."

Ursula relayed this and Tor searched again. «Ah! Found it.» He lowered the telescope and turned to Hashim. "Danger here?"

"Captain, I have received notices of reported pirate activity at every port we went to. It is possible."

Tor frowned over this and then nodded. «We will have to drop back to cover the barge. They are more vulnerable than the Visund.»

He shouted instructions to adjust the sail as Ursula explained what he had said.

Hashim nodded. "It is unfortunate that Her Highness must needs remain aboard the Green Ptuvil," he said. "If there is to be battle, she should be here with her men."

"I agree, but the barge will still be at risk wherever she is. What can we do against a galley, Hashim?"

He grimaced. "Not enough, Mistress. I have no doubt that this ship could dance away if it were on its own but -" He shook his head. "The barge is a problem, even traveling without cargo. And all the women except you and your maid are aboard it!"

She turned. «Tor, slow us right down. We have to talk to Her Highness immediately!»

«Yah. Will do.»

The quickest way to slow their progress was to haul up the bottom corners of the sail. This had the desired effect but made the sail flutter in the wind. Tor issued further instructions and the yard was rotated slightly to give the same effect but more safely. Ursula used the telescope to look at the galley, which seemed to be larger than when she had first seen it.

«We have to be decoy,» she muttered in Russian. Both men stared at her. «But how to do it? They will always choose fat merchant vessel over ship with many men.»

"Mistress?"

"Just thinking, Hashim. We need to talk to Her Highness as soon as we can."

"Mistress, I will not disagree."

If that is pirate then they have double the chance of catching something today. We can probably run away but that would leave barge with passengers behind. What to do? Distract somehow?

"Hashim, are there any ports nearby we could take refuge in?"

"A good point, Mistress."

He found his bag of charts and unrolled several, looking for one with their present location on it. He found one and opened it out on the rearmost bench. Ursula and Tor leaned over to examine it as well.

"There should be a fishing village here," Hashim pointed to the left bank, the Yodan side, "and another here but they do not give any shelter. I do not know if that galley would follow us into either of those. Over here," he pointed to the right bank, "there is a small port some marks further on but we would have to make our way through the shallows to reach it. Mistress, I fear we would be run down before we sailed so far, and the barge would be behind us."

Ursula stared at the map, trying to visualize the distances and mostly failing. However, she did take note of some other river features which might help.

She looked up. The galley could now be seen plainly without the need for any telescope. She could see the rhythmic splashes as the oars kept time. It was apparent now that they had been spotted and were targets.

«Tor, we have to speak with Princess right now. I have beginnings of idea.»

He looked at her expression and shouted instructions. The yard was hauled round some more and their speed noticeably dropped.

«Mistress, tell me your idea.»

«On Earth there is bird - avian - which makes nest on open ground.» He nodded. «If predator comes, parent moves away from nest and pretends injury to distract from nest. We are parent and barge is nest.»

Tor thought about this and then nodded. «Yah. But what then?»

«We distract galley and make them forget about barge. Then we run away.»

Another nod. «Good plan. Must tell Princess.»

«Tell men also.»

He grinned. «Yah. But men will not like running away from fight.»

She gave him a considered look. «Could the men on board fight one of those things?»

«I went on board that captured galley in Forguland, Mistress. The deck is much higher, they would overlook us, see the men, see all the plunder. They could fire crossbows down on us and we could not reply. Yah, running away is good idea. Fighting always possible but not good idea this time. Princess, other women would still be at risk.»

As he turned away to shout instructions to the men Ursula looked astern. The galley had closed but the Green Ptuvil was now much closer. Ormund, on the steering oar, was looking nervously in several directions. She went as far to the rear as possible and shouted up at him.

«We need to get close to one side so that I can talk to Her Highness. Can you do that?»

«Of course, Mistress. Sometimes it is necessary to transfer men or cargo at sea.» He grinned. «Sometimes to fight another ship, then it gets interesting. Are we going to fight that one back there?»

«I hope not. Tor says they would have the advantage.»

«Pity, but I understand.»

The Green Ptuvil slid forward on their left. As it did so Tor adjusted their sail so that the speeds began to equalize. The craft were now barely a spear's cast apart, the crews staring at one another. She could see Eriana making her way forward to the bow of the barge.

«What are you doing,» she screamed. «You are far too close!»

Ursula gestured and shouted back, «That galley is getting closer.»

Eriana turned and shaded her eyes, noticing the galley for the first time. Her whole attention had been on the Visund and whoever else was keeping watch had not been concerned with anything behind. The galley was now close enough that Ursula could just distinguish men standing at the bow.

«Woden's Spear! What do we do?»

«We'll try and distract them, act as decoy. Once we do, you go left and slow right down. Hide against the bank.»

«Decoy? But how?»

Ursula's voice was getting raw with the shouting but she tried once more. «They do not know we are together. They do not know what the Visund can do. We'll act stupid and make ourselves bait.»

Hashim plucked at her sleeve. "Mistress, if we are not careful we'll be caught in the shadow of their sail."

"What?" Ursula looked up and understood that, as the Green Ptuvil slowly gained on the Visund, the larger part of the great triangular sail would cut off the wind from their own sail. As she tried to work out what would happen the whole plan suddenly came together in her head.

"Let it," she said. "That will make them think we don't know what we are doing."

To Ormund she instructed, «When the sail goes you'll have to steer hard right to avoid a collision. Then when we get the wind back, keep on that new course. Pretend we don't know what we are doing, but don't let them catch us.»

Ormund twisted around to judge all the circumstances, then grinned down at Ursula. «Yah, Mistress.»

To Hashim she explained, "We're incompetent. We're sailing this ship with an unusual rig and don't know how to handle it around other craft. That will make them think we will be easier to catch than the barge."

Eriana screamed, «I hope you know what you're doing!»

Things happened very quickly then. Ursula could not reply immediately as her throat was raw. The Green Ptuvil caught up and, at the same moment, the sail of the Visund fluttered and then went limp. Ormund, forewarned, heaved on the steering oar as the Green Ptuvil shot ahead and the longship slewed round, almost stopping dead in the water. On the barge, Eriana threw up her hands in annoyance and then turned to begin making her own preparations.

The Visund's sail was now at the wrong angle and hung limp. Tor went forward, desperately shouting instructions to the men to haul the yard round so that the sail would regain traction. Slowly they began to get under way again. Ursula looked behind, to see that the galley had seen the apparent disorganization and heeled right to follow the Visund.

Now all they had to do was keep ahead.

It took some time to gather the wind and regain the speed they had before. Now that they were sailing a different course, the sail was more square to the wind and provided a greater effort.

Tor came back to the stern, his expression one of worry.

«They are too close, Mistress. I do not know if we can get away.»

«We have to try, Tor. We have to keep their attention as long as possible. Even if we are forced to fight them, it will allow the Princess to escape.»

She looked up at the galley, now so close that she could clearly see the faces of the men at the bow. She could also hear the beat of the drum regulating the stroke of the oars. Someone appeared with a crossbow but one of the others put up a hand and made him withdraw.

«If they are not close enough for a crossbow then we have a chance,» she told Tor.

The Visund caught a gust and suddenly shot ahead, widening the distance.

«Not good,» she said. «Can we do that thing with the corner of the sail? Make it flutter? We don't want to lose them completely, not just yet.»

Tor looked at her with respect. «Mistress, you are good at this.»

He turned to issue instructions. The sail fluttered, the bow sagged off and their speed dropped. A moment later the sail was tightened again, but more than before so the wind had less effect. The galley began to catch them up again. This time the distances stayed more constant.

Tor came back to the stern. She told him, «I have never done anything like this before! Nothing at all.»

«Yet you knew what to do. Good thinking.» He grinned at her. «I think we will keep you.»

She was still mulling this over when she felt the wind ease. Looking up she saw that the sail had slackened and the galley was gaining fast. Tor was ready and more instructions swung the yard slightly, allowing the sail to pick up more wind. The sail of the Green Ptuvil was now a dark red triangle at least a mark away and the barge itself indistinct against the left bank, falling further back with every moment.

Two marks later and it was apparent that the galley was closing fast. Tor had made several small changes in direction to take advantage of the changing wind but the galley had matched every course correction. Now the faces of those in the bow were distinct again and the beat of the drum could be heard.

Eventually, they had approached close enough that the man with the crossbow had been given a chance at a shot. This would have easily reached the ship if he had made proper allowance for the wind, the bolt instead falling into the water ten strides to their right. After that shot no other followed, the galley simply gaining stride by stride as the morning wore on.

Tor spoke. «This is no good, Mistress. Every shift of the wind affects our speed but they are not affected by the wind. If it drops any more they will catch us.»

«But the men who pull their oars are getting tired, Tor. They cannot keep this up for ever. The longer we can last the more that is in our favor.»

«Who will win? Should I prepare the men?»

«Wait, where is Lars? Is he not forward?»

«Did you not know, Mistress? He is on the barge beside his lady friend... and of course, to defend his Princess.»

Lars is over there? Why did I not notice? Still, his men should know what to do.

«Yes, it is probably time to prepare them. But make it look like we are not that well organized.»

Tor grinned. «Like we normally do, Mistress? Organization is always difficult on a ship like this.»

He went forward, stopping now and then to have words with groups of men, almost all of whom looked tense. He stopped near the mast to have a word with Tyra, who was helping with the sailing. Further on, Kalmenar sat with a group of men, his sword already in his hand.

"Mistress, look!"

Ursula turned to look at the galley, where a new weapon had appeared at the bow. Her heart sank.

They do not need to board us at all. Just come alongside and blast us with those guns. We have no chance against anything like that.

Or perhaps not.

"Hashim, what is the water depth like around here?"

"Mistress, had we any choice at all I would not have advised coming this far over this side of the river."

She looked around and discovered that the right bank was now considerably closer than the left bank.

"We must make gamble, that we draw less water than galley does."

"We already make that gamble, Mistress."

"Find us some shallows, Hashim. It is our only chance."

He moved forward to get a clearer view of what lay ahead while Ursula turned her attention to their pursuers. The men in the bow were now above her level, the pipe-man aiming his weapon... too high? What was he aiming at? She saw the fuse-man make several attempts to fire the weapon but the wind made it difficult. Eventually one of the others formed a wind shield for the pair.

There was a puff of smoke, the sound being carried away on the wind. Instead there was a brief tearing sound and she spun, startled, to discover that the shot had gone through the sail. There were several small holes but some of the shot had caused tears to open, tears that the wind would eventually force open even more until it was shredded from top to bottom.

They want to bring down the sail, cripple us! If the sail tears or the mast is damaged, we are finished.

Tor swiftly came back, looking panicked.

«I know, Tor. If the sail tears we are done for.»

The pipe-man and his mate had gone to be replaced by a fresh pair. This time, as the galley crept even closer, it was apparent that the weapon was aimed at those in the stern of the Visund.

That would be just as effective. Shoot the helmsman, we are finished.

As before the fuse-man had trouble igniting the fuse sticking out of the gun. As before, another crewman moved to provide some shelter. Then everything abruptly changed.

The galley receded from the Visund with surprising rapidity. The pipe-man was catapulted over the bow to land with a splash in the water in front of the galley. The banks of oars thrashed briefly before coming to a rest, presumably at some order from below. Faces at the bow stared at the Visund, now sailing rapidly out of reach. As Ursula watched the warcraft slewed slightly, the stern to her right, before a visible tilt showed that it had undeniably found a shoal.

Tor's face changed immediately from worry to delight. He leapt up onto the stern decking, turned away and pulled his shorts down, waving his naked bottom at the disappearing galley. Behind Ursula, the men began cheering and jeering. The relief was so great she had to sit down on a bench and gasp for breath.

Eventually calm was restored. Tor adjusted his clothing and jumped down to join Ursula and Hashim.

«Mistress, what are your commands?»

She could sense that some fundamental change had occurred, but she did not know what.

«First things first. What about that sail?»

He turned and examined the expanse of sailcoth. «If we are careful, we could make port with it but we have no other. I would think it can be repaired, but not here.»

«Oars, then? To be safe. If we go back over to the left bank we should get there about the same time as the Green Ptuvil does.»

«Yah. Best alternative, Mistress.»

«Better be about it, then. Princess will be sick with worry.»

The yard came down and the battered sail carefully stowed to avoid further damage. Once this was out of the way the men readied the oars and began to pull. Ursula felt naked without the sail but knew they had little choice. As the men settled into a rhythm they began to sing, songs she had both heard before and some that were new to her. The changed mood in the ship was intoxicating, so much so that she joined in with some of the choruses.

Adin had served out bread, fruit and water to everyone before they reached the deep-water channel once more. They had made it before the Green Ptuvil and settled into a light stroke intended to hold their position in the lazy current. Soon the dark red triangular sail came in view and the barge approached cautiously, not knowing the circumstances until Tor blew a signal with his whistle.

Lines were thrown and the two craft brought together. Eriana promptly jumped down onto the Visund, came rapidly aft and grabbed Ursula in a hug.

"By the Gods! You are safe?"

"All of us are safe, Highness. It has been an exciting couple of hours."

The Princess released Ursula and looked around, where her men were smiling and grinning at her.

She asked Tor, «No damage?»

«The sail... Commodore. They fired a gun at us and there are rips in the sail. That is why we row. Otherwise, nobody hurt, nothing.»

«Good job, Tor. I knew that you would manage.»

«It was not me, Commodore. Ursula had the idea, it is all Ursula's work and very good work it was too.»

He started to say something else but thought better of it. Eriana stared at Ursula, who was embarrassed by the attention. She turned away to look at the men, who all looked back with expressions she had seen before, but those expressions had never before been directed at her.

Delight. Respect. Pride.