What just happened? Ursula is among many who struggle to understand the events of earlier that day. At a safe fishing port the combined crews gather to try and make sense of the pirate attack. In the following days the sail is repaired and Ursula finds some of her needed herbs. Then everything changes again...

The Voyage of the Visund

A tale of Anmar by Penny Lane

55 - Debriefings

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) 2022 Penny Lane. All rights reserved.

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"A pirate galley?" The official's eyes widened. "Are you certain?"

Hashim's response was dry. "Shall I show you the holes made in our sail by their gun, sir?"

The eyes narrowed. "Gun? Whatever is a gun?"

"My mistake, sir. You might know it here as a Thunder Pipe."

There was a sharp intake of breath. "You were attacked by a galley which fired a Thunder Pipe at you? However did you escape from them?"

The pilot smiled. "It was a near thing, sir, but we lured them onto a shoal in the middle of the river. They are stuck fast, I deem, and are likely to stay that way."

The man's relief was obvious. "So our shipping is safe, then? We have had reports of strange sightings for some days, now, and also reports of vessels not arriving upstream or downstream after departing here. Where is this galley now? Shall you show me?"

The port office in Tserikon had a large chart tacked to the wall and Hashim moved over to it, pointing.

"We departed this morning from Bakhrad after a stay of four days. There was a barge accompanying us and we felt it would be in danger if the galley descended on it, so we attracted the attention of the pirates and lured them away over to the other side of the Sirrel. About here, somewhere," his finger described a circle on the chart, "we went over a shoal which the galley could not. If the shoal was sand they may be able to get off but if it was mud then they will not. The ram must have stuck in firmly at the speed we were both traveling."

"That odd ship of yours, it has so shallow a draft, then?"

"Aye, sir, no more than a stride, if that."

The man let out a low whistle. "Maker! And the pirates are stuck there, you say?"

Hashim spread his hands. "We did not wait around to make certain, you understand. I feel confident that, if you should send a boat to investigate, it will still be there."

"And the crew?"

He shrugged. "If they had a small boat, someone may have gone for help. Otherwise they are marooned there with only what provisions they have aboard."

"And, what you have not said, is that being a pirate the men at the oars will likely be slaves."

Hashim's response was somber. "That is true, sir. Will you attempt a rescue?"

"It is not my decision to make, pilot. However, not five marks further upstream at Wadek those of Pakmal have two galleys. I will send an urgent message to them, it will be their man who decides whether to investigate."

"Sir, I beg you, ask them to make the effort. I myself was slave on a similar galley during the war. I am only aboard this ship in order to return to my home land of Faralmark, having been freed in Forguland. I know what conditions are like for those chained to the oars."

The man winced. "Do you tell me? Then I will make your case for you, pilot. So, how long do you think your ship will be staying here?"

"As I mentioned, the sail will need to be repaired. Do you have a vendor of sailcloth here? If you do not, it would be possible for us to row to... Wadek, did you say?"

"There is no need for that, pilot. We have a respectable sailmaker here and I am sure that he will give you all the assistance you require."

"Thank you, sir. Then, probably, two or three days only. Because the sail is an uncommon shape I do not know how long it will take to repair. We must needs move on if our schedule is to be kept."

"Where are you bound, then, that is so important?"

"Bibek is our main destination, sir. Our... owner has some important business with the Margrave."

"Ah. As you say, pilot. I will make certain that you are given every assistance, then."

* * *

"Highness."

"Hashim, come and join us. You are the last, I believe."

"I had to explain what happened to the port officials, Highness. That took a little time. Then they told me there was a sailmaker here and so I had to see him. I apologize for the time it all took."

It was late afternoon and the expedition members occupied most of the tables and chairs in the hostel dining room. All had drinks and nibbles in front of them, even though the evening meal would be served in less than two bells. Although most had little to offer, Eriana thought it likely that many would want to discover what had happened after the Visund sailed away, leaving the Green Ptuvil to quietly fade in the other direction.

Eriana certainly did. Her emotions had swung between annoyance, fury, fear and helplessness during the voyage and she was struggling to understand what had happened and why Ursula had acted as she had. The worst part was that she could not understand why she felt as she did.

"Who will begin?" she asked the assembly once Hashim had found a seat. "I doubt anyone on the Green Ptuvil can contribute much since we did not see most of what happened."

Baros raised a hand. "Highness, it is not true. We did not see the end but we should have seen the beginning more clearly." He stood and bowed low. "Highness, I must apologize for myself and the crew of the Green Ptuvil. All of us were concentrating on keeping your own ship in view, nobody concerned themselves greatly with what was happening elsewhere on the water. It should not have been possible for that galley to come so close without anyone seeing it."

"Master Baros," she replied with a nod, "you are correct. This meeting, for those of you who have not traveled with us before, is called a debriefing. Just as one may have a briefing before a task to prepare oneself for what is to come, a debriefing is often held afterwards to examine the incident properly, to draw conclusions and to ensure that any problems do not happen the next time. In such meetings we do not consider blame, only details. The more we may learn the better we may be prepared should another incident occur."

"I understand, Highness, and thank you."

"Then, if you would begin with our departure, say from when we reached the Sirrel."

"Highness, I took the tiller myself until we reached the Sirrel and then handed it to your man Brodgar. Naturally, our intent was simply to follow in the wake of your own ship unless you instructed different. Mostly, that is what we did."

"As you say."

"Master Hashim had told me that they intended to go ahead, to leave us room, since they were unsure how we would handle the Green Ptuvil. They pulled a long way ahead and then began to ease off to come back to us."

"Aye. I saw that and wondered why."

"To begin with I believe that they decided that they were too far ahead. However, they eased some more and then suddenly slowed right down to came alongside... uh, far more closely than is the usual custom for two vessels sailing together. I wondered if there was some problem and if they required your advice. I was shocked when the galley was pointed out behind us, approaching fast."

"So was I! Normally we keep a sharper watch than that."

"Highness, I was not privy to your conversation with those on the Visund. Perhaps others might continue."

"As you will. Ursula, if you would tell us what happened on the Visund."

"Highness, Hashim had been keeping watch, mostly for shoals and other shallow water, but he did notice the galley in the distance. When it became obvious that the galley was pursuing either or both of us, I asked Tor to slow us down so that we could ask you for advice. I was concerned that you might be the slower vessel and as you have almost all the women on board, a liability if you were captured."

Eriana shuddered. "Aye. I have already seen what Yodans can do, I would not want to experience it for myself. Then you shouted something about a decoy."

"It seemed to me that we had to draw their attention, make them focus on the Visund and give you a chance to make an escape."

"By what? Colliding with us?"

"The sail of the Green Ptuvil is much larger than that of the Visund, Highness. When we approached on that side your sail cut off the wind from ours. Ormund was instructed to turn away to avoid an apparent collision. To the pirates, that looked like we did not know how to handle the ship properly and I thought that could be used against them. Remember, they would not know that we were sailing in company, they may have thought it just a chance approach of two vessels traveling in the same direction."

"Ah, I see. That is why they turned to follow you, then."

"Yes, Highness. I asked Hashim if there were any ports nearby we could go to and he pulled out a chart. The nearest ones were too small and the next bigger one is on the other bank. While I looked at the chart I noticed the shoals all along the middle and west side of the river and told Tor to head that direction. The galley, seeing that we apparently had trouble with the sail, followed us and ignored you."

"But they nearly caught you! Did you intend to make battle, then, when they did catch you?"

"It was only a pretense, Highness. Tor was very clever with the sail, he made it look as if we were clumsy and that they were about to catch us but they never did, although they did come closer and closer. We had to keep their attention if we could and make them forget about you. Then we found the shallows and a shoal we could slide over but they did not."

"They fired a gun."

"Yes, Highness, and made holes in the sail. I should have thought of that, I apologize. Tor says that it has to be repaired before we can use it again. They were about to fire another gun at the stern of the Visund when they hit the shoal at speed. They stopped so quickly that man holding the gun fell off the bow and into the water."

Eriana considered this. "If they had come so close, you must have prepared to defend the ship."

"Highness, we did, but both Hashim and Tor had been on those captured galleys in Forguland and knew that they had the advantage. The men would have fought well but I suspect it would not have been an easy win. It did not help that Lars was with you."

"True enough, but in the end he was not needed." She thought of something. "Tell me, the man who fell off, did his weapon go with him?"

Ursula smiled. "Highness, it did, and I was delighted to see it go. One less for anyone else to worry about."

"Indeed. Very well. Thank you, Ursula. Tor? What can you add to Ursula's tale?"

«I am not used to ship fighting, Highness. Ursula saw what I did not. If left to me, I would have probably tried to wedge the galley between our two craft, then attacked from both sides, divide their attention.» He grinned. «Ursula's way was much better, did not put any of you at risk. Not much damage caused, either.»

Eriana gave Ursula an inscrutable look and then relaxed. «Thank you, Tor. What of the sail?»

«I will not know until we can open it out and examine it, Highness. There are certainly at least two long tears in it that should be repaired before it should be used again. Hashim says that there is a sailmaker here, which may be helpful.»

«Or expensive.»

«Yah. Maybe we stay here three nights, I doubt we would need more unless the sail is badly damaged.»

«I'll leave that to you, then.»

She turned to the others and translated the Norse, adding, "We managed this time. It was mostly luck, aye, and Ursula's clever tactics. It has shown that there are many things we could have done better. To begin with, for one craft to speak to another whistles and shouting will not do. If we are to fight galleys, we must learn how to do it. If we are to fight from galleys in the future, we must learn how to do that too. Maybe there are better ways, I do not know, only that we cannot go on as we did before.

"Until now we have done things the Einnland way. We can do that no longer, the circumstances are too different. If any one of you has thoughts on these matters come and speak with us. We will become a new service and that may mean a different way of doing many things. This evening I will talk with Ursula, Lars, Tor, Hashim, Kalmenar and Baros of such matters. The rest of you, relax and enjoy yourselves."

She stood. "I believe that it now is time for us women to prepare ourselves for the evening meal. By your leave, gentlemen."

* * *

Eriana stared at those gathered around the table.

"I will tell you privately that my confidence has been shaken by our adventures of the last few days. We have been unprepared for what happened to us both on land and on the river. I will freely admit that I did not appreciate the size of the task asked of me." She waved an arm. "In this chamber we are all equals this evening. If you would give me your thoughts."

Kalmenar stirred. "Highness, the task you refer to was suggested by Princess Garia and Tenant Maralin. I suspect that their advice was based on their knowledge and experiences, ah, in their home lands and, while it was necessary for such a service there, Princess Garia has always said that for the problems of Anmar then the solutions must be appropriate for Anmar."

Baros looked surprised. "What is this? You speak of the whole world, My Lord, and yet of people who you suggest are not of the world."

Eriana held up a hand. "Master Baros, you and Hashim are not privy to information known to the rest of us. What I will tell you now should not be spoken of to anyone not of our company. Have I your oaths?"

Baros replied, "It is clear that... not secrets, perhaps, but private information is known to several of your company. I have overheard comments which have intrigued me. I will swear to keep anything you tell me secret from anyone not of your company."

Kalmenar said, "Heard and witnessed."

Eriana turned to Hashim, who said, "Highness, I have traveled with you longer than Master Baros and it has become plain to me that some of those I have met have had knowledge unusual in these lands. One of those was Tenant Maralin and the other," he cast an eye at Ursula, "is Mistress Ursula, who sits at this table. Now, it seemed to me that this meeting was to discuss matters concerning, eventually, your new Navy and what manner of ships, people and organization it might have. If it were not for that special knowledge she might have, I do not know her purpose here."

"You are right, Master Hashim. Both Ursula and Maralin are what you claim and I will explain more. Shall I have your oath?"

The pilot waved a hand. "Highness, of course you may have my oath! Wild dranakhs could not keep me away now. I swear that whatever is revealed in this room shall be spoken of to no-one not presently in this room."

Kalmenar said, "Heard and witnessed."

Before Eriana could speak Baros had an objection. "Highness, what of the other men and women? I take it that your own men all know the secret, if that is what it is, but what of them? If they are to travel with us, then surely they will discover much in the same way that Hashim has."

Eriana's eyes narrowed and then cleared. "You are right, Baros. It is only right that all who sail with us should learn but that time is not now. The women have immediate problems to solve and your fellow men are not committed to our cause, indeed, they may even depart our company once we travel beyond Yod. You have my oath that they shall learn all there is to know once we reach Bibek, should they still be with us."

"Good enough, Highness. Heard and witnessed."

Eriana leaned forward. "Then, let me tell you why a healer should be of interest to me and the desires of the Sirrel Federation."

* * *

Ursula and Tyra climbed the rear stair from the bathing facilities back up to the Women's Quarters, ready to retire for the night. On the small open landing at the top Eriana was waiting, leaning on the railing and looking out towards the Sirrel, which could just be seen between some of the buildings of Tserikon. It was now night, but there were fishermen out, most using lanterns to help them attract their prey, their lights glimmering on the water.

The Princess stood up as the two approached. "If I may speak a private word or two with Ursula, Tyra. We will not remain here long."

The maid glanced at Ursula who nodded. "You might as well carry on inside, Tyra. I do not think there will be much for you to do here."

"As you wish, Mistress. I will make your bed ready for you while I wait."

Tyra entered the building and Ursula turned a questioning face to Eriana in the gloom. Eriana seemed embarrassed.

"If I may ask you a personal question, Ursula. What has happened today, and before, has left my mind in a turmoil. I must ask if you have yet decided what you will do in the future."

"The future?" Ursula's brow wrinkled. "Highness, you know everything that has happened to me since I arrived on Anmar. You know how short a time has passed since then. I have not thought much about my future since everywhere we go is different and I am still learning about this new world. Why do you ask?"

"Of all the company of the two vessels we now occupy," Eriana tried to explain, "yours is the future I cannot account for as I might the others. My men will likely follow me and I am guessing that the women we rescued will also do so. When the Visund reaches Palarand once more Bennet and Semma will no doubt resume their posts at the palace. Kalmenar will go with them, of course."

"That much I can see, Highness, but the other men are different."

"As you say. I suspect that Hashim will become part of my crew, he already behaves as if he has done, and I am glad of it. He has wisdom of the river we will be in need of. The other men," she shrugged, "may or may not do so. I suspect that I will not know until we depart Faralmark for Palarand what each of them may choose.

"But you are different in a different way, Ursula. Though you sail with us you are not strictly part of the crew. Though you may follow my suggestions yet I may not command you. As Wallesan said, you are here by the command of higher Beings and it is to them you must make answer. Yet," her shoulders dropped, "you have become too essential to this adventure. You minister to the needs of my men and you give good counsel to all. I thought your purpose with us was as a healer but what happened today has made me reconsider."

"Today was a surprise to me as well, Highness. Thinking about it, the encounter was not something you or your men would be familiar with. Why I knew what to do is another matter, one I have been thinking about since we arrived at this port. As I said in our meeting earlier, I have no answers, but the implications concern me."

"I have no idea why the Beings brought you to my world, Ursula. I begin to wonder if it is for some purpose other than that of healing, your decisions today suggest it may be. It is becoming plain to me, however, that we would not be here tonight if it was not for your advice and abilities. Thus, looking into the future, I must needs wonder if there is some other part you will play, and that in turn implies that you should remain with us and not step off when we reach Faralmark or, indeed, once more reach Joth."

Ursula flicked a hand. "Highness, I can easily answer that concern for you. Since coming aboard I have heard a lot of talk of Palarand and those who live there. It sounds like a very interesting place -"

"An understatement, Ursula! The place is amazing, bewildering, curious, wonderful!"

"- and that is why I will probably sail with you all the way back to Palarand. You told me that King Robanar had some kind of Council that was collecting information about Earth, I believe."

"That is true. I am not part of it but I know of its existence and why it is there."

"Then I should go there and add what I know to their knowledge. They have been dealing with matters of Earth for, what, a year now?"

"Aye, about that."

"And they have some kind of connection to the Beings that brought me here."

Eriana was more cautious. "I do not know, Ursula. I do know that Garia could speak to them but that is all, and she is no longer in Palarand. What the others can do I could not say."

Ursula was silent a moment and then said, "Highness, do you recall that I visited the Woman in the Woods in Bakhzorum?"

"Aye, I do. She had words concerning young Kaldar."

"Yes, and some words for you from the Beings. She told me to say to you, 'Your questions will be answered in time. You must not waste time worrying about such matters.'" Ursula started to add something else but changed what she was about to say. If I tell her the rest it would just give her a different worry to focus on. "I had the impression that those Beings sometimes spoke to her, but she does not understand much of what they tell her."

"Is that so? How did she know about me?"

"The Beings told her to pass on that message, through me, to the tall girl with the yellow hair." Ursula smiled. "There are very few people around who fit that description, Highness."

Eriana considered. "That is a message from those Beings, to me, delivered by a set of circumstances that could happen in no other way. The Visund calling at Bakhrad, you being aboard, Kaldar being aboard, the Yodans... Very well, Ursula, I will accept the message you have delivered, though it still leaves questions unanswered. However, you have answered the most important one for me, and that is that you will remain with us until we return to Palarand." She turned and gazed for a moment at the lights on the Sirrel. "It is time for us to retire for the night, I deem. Come, let us join the others."

~o~O~o~

"It doesn't taste too bad, Mistress." Kaldar swallowed the potion and looked at Ursula. "Is there any more? I mean, is that all I have to take?"

"It is only the first of many, Kaldar," Ursula replied. His face fell. She explained in a lowered voice, "These herbs will begin to make your chest right, now that I can get the herbs I need. They may also stop your, uh, Call of Kalikan, but we'll need to see what happens as time passes. There are other herbs which will have to wait until I can find a supply. There are three and the Woman in the Woods said that one grows in the very southern parts of Yod, which we will not reach for a day or two yet. The others, well, they are supposed to grow in the drier climate to the west, along the upper reaches of the Sirrel. Because of that, I have to find a supply and gather a stock, since you will still need to take them once we go down river again."

His eyes were solemn. "I understand, Mistress. I must needs thank you again for attempting to do something I believed impossible."

"This is something I thought impossible too, Kaldar. We do not have herbs like these on Earth, though there are other... uh, potions that are used. Mostly it is done by surgery."

He grimaced. "You told me about that, Mistress. If that were the only way I would attempt it, though. It is hard for me to live like this."

He gestured with his hands down at the dress he wore. Since they were in a smallish hostel there was no possibility for him to appear otherwise.

"I know. I have had to do the same from time to time." She added, "Shall we join the others?"

"As you desire, Mistress."

As they stood Tyra said, "I'll clean up and pack the basket, Mistress, and be right along behind you."

The three joined the other women in the courtyard where tables and chairs had been set out to permit diners to eat breakfast in the balmy morning air. Eriana already had a tankard of ale in front of her while the other women nursed mugs of pel.

Ursula, Tyra and Kaldar curtseyed. "Good morning, Your Highness," Ursula greeted Eriana. "I apologize for the delay, the potion took longer to mix than I had allowed for."

"Good morning, Ursula, Tyra, Kaldara. A new potion, it is to be expected. Please, find yourselves seats. This morning I am told there is something called zurin available and I will try it. It is smoked strips of zinakh meat and I believe that we have something similar in Einnland called flesk. Do you know of it?"

"Not by either of those names, Highness. However, from the description it sounds as if it could be familiar. I will wait and see what arrives and then I will be able to tell you if I know it or not."

The zurin had been flame grilled and Ursula knew exactly what it was when the plateful appeared. She picked up a strip and bit off a piece.

"Bacon! This would be known to both Garia and Maralin as bacon, Highness. It comes from an animal very similar to zinakh, though of course ours only have four legs."

She turned to the serving girl. "Can you bring us a plateful of bread rolls, please. About the size of those on the men's table."

The woman curtseyed. "As you wish, Mistress."

When the rolls arrived Ursula took one and slit it in two before inserting two rashers of bacon.

"This is a style of eating that I discovered in Canada, uh, Alberta, Highness. It permits you to enjoy the taste while keeping your hands mostly clean. Of course you can also eat it with a knife and fork."

Very soon all the women had bacon rolls on their plates and the men on the other tables were staring over with intense curiosity. As a result a plate heaped with zurin had appeared at each of the men's tables and extra supplies of bread rolls accompanied them - followed by the cook, who came to see why there was a sudden demand for the smoked meat. The men directed him to 'the Commodore'.

"We have eaten something like this before," Eriana pronounced casually. "We were surprised to find it in these remote lands. Is this a normal offering in the hostels of Yod?"

The cook bowed low. "Mistress, it is not." She did not bother to enlighten him. He continued, "Some of our local farmers discovered this means of preserving the meat against hard times in the winter. Since last winter was mild, there was excess and the hostel obtained some. Do you tell me that it is popular where you come from?"

"Not popular, no, but we do eat something similar. The flavorings used in this meat are more to my taste than those of my homeland, that is probably why my men are eating it."

The cook bowed again. "Mistress, I will remember your words and try our meats on other travelers. If there is a favorable response I will see if more may be obtained."

Ursula commented, "In many parts of our lands this way of preserving meat is very popular, Master Cook. Once people know about it the demand may grow considerably."

"Do you tell me?" The man looked thoughtful. "I must needs consult my suppliers, I deem. Now I should leave you to enjoy your zurin. By your leave?"

As they finished their rolls Eriana turned to Ursula. "This is our third day here and Tor informs me that the sail will be finished and re-hung by the end of this afternoon. Unless you have other reasons to stay, I propose that we depart tomorrow morning."

Ursula nodded. "I heard Tor speaking to some of the men yesterday evening, Highness. As you are aware I obtained a good supply of some herbs that Kaldar needs and I gave him the first dose this morning. However, the woman at the market told me that one of the others may be available from another healer who lives on the other side of the village. I propose going there this morning with Tyra to see if anything is available. Depending on the answer, I have no objection to sailing tomorrow."

"And if she says that herbs must be gathered, or brought to the village, you desire to wait."

"It depends, Highness. I will know by lunch time whether it would be a good idea to wait or not."

The Princess nodded. "We are in no hurry, though the days pass. I will wait for your word at lunch, then."

"Thank you, Highness."

* * *

"We have everything?"

"I think so, Mistress. It is a pity about the day dresses."

"Yes. Yesterday evening's shower did them no harm but they can not be worn again until they are ironed."

"As you say, Mistress. I intend to try that this afternoon, assuming there is time available."

Ursula shrugged. "I have nothing planned but who knows what this morning will bring. Let us go."

The two departed from the hostel to make the short walk up the slope from the port area to the main square of Tserikon, which was where the market was situated. They were not prepared for the attention that they encountered along the way.

"Mistress? Did we suddenly grow extra heads?"

"I am guessing that it is our ship dresses, Tyra. We had little alternative today. Still, they know we won't be around much longer. Once we sail away the outrage will soon be forgotten."

They passed a man with two dranakhs, one of them a youngster. Both stopped and turned towards them, the parent uttering a bleat. Then the youngster trotted across the road to greet Ursula, nudging her with its large snout. She placed a hand on it and smiled.

"Greetings, young one! Out for a walk with your mother today?"

The owner stopped in the middle of the road, astonished. "Mistress, do you speak to the beasts?"

"I do not know, sir," she replied. "I only know that for some reason they take a great interest in me."

"That is most unusual." He stared at their dresses. "As is the attire of you and your maid, Mistress. Is this customary wear where you come from?"

"In the hot months of summer, yes, sir. These are much cooler while we are sailing on the river."

"Ah, I see." He shook his head. "It is not my part... I give you warning that you may offend some, perhaps many, in the village. We of Yod are not accustomed to seeing so much flesh exposed."

"We know that now. We have more conventional day dresses on board but they were soaked by yesterday's rain. This is all we have available and we sail tomorrow."

"As you say. Unfortunate."

The young dranakh bleated at her.

"Yes, we had all better be on our way. Good day to you, sir."

"And to you, Mistress. Come, Tazin. Your mother has work to do."

In the market there were more mutters and disapproving stares but little more. Ursula reached the stall where she had obtained her herbs.

"Mistress Ursula! Good morning, and to you, Tyra." The stall-holder eyed them both cautiously. "Your attire today is... unusual."

"Good morning to you, Diara. Unusual in Yod, perhaps, but not elsewhere in the Great Valley. The dresses we wore yesterday were soaked by the late rain and this was all we had left."

"Do you tell me? An unfortunate circumstance, I deem. How may I attend you this morning, Mistress?"

"I had thought to visit that other healer you mentioned yesterday."

"The herbs I gave you are what you need?"

"They are, thank you, and I made a potion from them earlier today, before breakfast. Of course it will take some time for the results to show."

"As you say. But you still seek the other herbs, I would guess."

"That is so. If any are available it may save time later on."

"Of course. You need to speak with Mistress Pokara, then. If you go along that street," she pointed, "and look for a house with a blue door on your right. It does bear a healer's sign. The house will be almost at the end of the street, but Tserikon is not large."

Ursula dipped her head. "Thank you for the information. We will call here on our way back and tell you what she says."

"That will be useful, Mistress. Mistress Pokara seldom comes to the market these days so any news will be welcome. Till later, then."

The two walked across the market and entered the street, which was lined with dwellings either side. They walked along the cobbles, noticing that locals coming the other way kept clear of them, some passing with mutters. Used to the disapproval by now, the two thought little of it and continued.

It was a surprise, therefore, when strong hands grabbed both by their upper arms and manhandled them roughly to the side of the street. Four fairly large and rough men kept their hold while a fifth came round from behind to confront them. Revulsion showed his emotion very clearly.

"This display is not permitted in Yod, woman!" he addressed Ursula. "Where is your seemly attire? What man permits his women to walk the public streets brazenly attired thus? I will have his name and put it before the Committee!"

Ursula tried to shake her arms free but the grip was too strong. "Let go of me! I answer to no man but to Princess Eriana of Palarand. Let me go or feel her displeasure."

"Princess?" he sneered. "What fantasy is this? You are in Yod, woman, not some bedtime story land your mother may have told you. Now, who is he? I want his name."

"Her ship is in the port with thirty of her men. Once she learns that you have assaulted two of her crew she will demand a reckoning."

"Crew? On a ship?" He laughed. "What ship would ever come to a dump like this? For that matter, what woman could ever be crew on a ship? That is a job for strong men, not feeble women like you!"

She replied evenly, "I am a healer, personal physician to Her Highness. Let us go immediately!"

The man looked disgusted. "This is all female nonsense. Get these two off the streets, boys. Dars, you go to the meeting place and find something decent for these two to be seen in."

One of the men holding Tyra said, "Right, boss, but where will you put them?"

"That shed behind Farron's will do for now, I just want them out of the sight of respectable people as soon as we can."

"Oh, there. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Dars let go of Tyra's arm and trotted along the street, turning down an alley. Tyra chose that distraction to wrench her other arm free and turn on their captors.

"Let my mistress go! You have no idea who you are dealing with!"

She made to run off but the boss man took a quick step forward and backhanded her across the face. Tyra flew backwards and landed in a heap on the cobbles, blood coming from a split lip. He bent down, grabbed an arm and pulled her up before she could recover and make any further move.

"No idea who you are dealing with," he muttered angrily. Louder he responded, "Neither have you! Right, boys, let's get going before anything else happens."

At that moment a dranakh appeared out of the alley towing a cart, turning to go down to the port. The old man guiding the dranakh was walking alongside and took note of the group opposite, but when he saw who it was he kept his gaze firmly on the ground in front of him.

The dranakh did not. It stared at Ursula and made a complex bleat which made the old man's head snap up.

What do I do? What can I do? Can a dranakh take on four men... who are all heavily armed? Would it? How do I talk to it? There is so much about all this I do not know!

Then she had an inspiration. She closed her eyes and pictured the Visund, tied to the pontoons down at the port. Then she changed the picture to one of Eriana, standing proud with her sword poking up over her shoulder.

The dranakh bleated again and then carried on pulling the cart, which Ursula now saw was piled high with reeds, along the street. The old man followed without a backward glance. Her heart sank. It appeared that communication with dranakhs - if that was what she was capable of - was not going to be easy.

So much for that idea. We'll have to think of something else.

"What was that about?" one of the men asked.

"Dunno," their leader replied. "Them creatures are a mystery to most people. I wouldn't trust them myself. Maybe it picked up something from the women somehow. Come on, let's get going."

Ursula and Tyra were frog-marched along the street almost to the end. Although they were almost dragged along, Ursula managed to keep an eye out for landmarks in case any opportunity came to escape. She had enough presence of mind to notice the cross-and-leaf sign on the door of a cottage opposite, showing how close they had come to the residence of the healer she had sought. The men, however, turned the other way, along an access alley leading to the rear of the buildings lining the street. Here there were outbuildings and they were led to the front of one of these.

"I'll take those," the boss said, grabbing Ursula's basket and the bag from Tyra's shoulder. "You might be telling the truth or you might have weapons in these."

They were pushed inside. Like most outbuildings, this had been roughly built and probably a long time ago. As the door banged shut Ursula found that she could see easily because of the many gaps between the planks in the walls, but she could also see that the gaps, while admitting daylight, would be too small to help them escape.

"Let me look at that," she said to Tyra.

Maneuvering the girl around to get the best light on the wound, she inspected Tyra's lip. It was bleeding but not heavily.

She shook her head. "If I had my basket I could deal with that in a moment," she said. "Have you a cloth in that pocket, by chance?"

"I do, Mistress. What should I do with it?"

"Put a little spit on it and hold it firmly against your lip. That should slow up the bleeding and possibly help to reduce the swelling." Tyra's eyes widened so she added, "There's no swelling yet, but there might be if it is left on its own. Have you any bruises elsewhere? Scratches? Grazes? You fell on those cobbles fairly hard."

Tyra tried a faint smile but that just made the blood flow again. "Mistress, Semma has been teaching me to fall properly so it wasn't as hard as it looked." A grimace. "I probably did get a few bruises, though. What did you mean by spit?"

"Spit comes from your body so it isn't a foreign substance that your body would fight. It will also stop the cloth sticking to your lip. Since it comes from your mouth it has substances in it which will help clean the cut and fight infection. I cannot imagine that that man's hand would be very clean."

"Oh. Thank you, Mistress."

The outbuilding, while spacious enough, was completely empty. While Tyra attended to her lip Ursula cautiously investigated all of the sides, peering out through the cracks between the planks forming the walls. It was soon apparent that the timbers, although seeming to be old and fragile, could be difficult to shift to make a hole big enough to escape through.

It was also apparent that at least one of the men stood watch, leaning casually against another outbuilding some strides away. He would easily see or hear any attempt to escape. Ursula's basket and Tyra's bag lay to one side of his feet.

She turned back to Tyra. "There appears to be just one man keeping watch, over that side." She pointed. "While they are distracted, let me have a look at the rest of you. Any grazes could cause blood stains on that dress and we ought to do something about them before it dries."

"Blood stains, Mistress? But what can you do? You have no basket!"

Ursula smiled. "Spit again. Your own spit is the one thing that can remove your blood from cloth, Tyra. If you have ever sewn and pricked your finger, you would know what I mean."

"Sewn? Oh! Mistress, I did not know that."

It was easy enough to examine Tyra's body by lifting the thin dress and peeking under her undergarments. There were no grazes but several bruises had already begun to show. Tyra noticed that Ursula herself had begun to bruise where she had been held on her upper arms.

"Bruises are fine, Tyra. Cuts, grazes, even broken bones, they would be more of a problem. If there is one thing this shed is not, it is clean."

For want of anything else to do they both sat down cross-legged on the dirt floor, but Ursula thought that perhaps five minutes had passed before someone rattled the door latch and they both rapidly stood again, unsure of what would happen.

The door opened partway and the boss's face showed through.

"Here! Put these on. You shall not leave here until you do so."

He flung a bundle of cloth into the outbuilding and slammed the door shut. A conversation seemed to be going on outside so Ursula moved quickly to the door to overhear what she could.

"- I had a quick look inside both and she seems to be telling the truth, Commissioner." Commissioner. So, these people are most likely Yodans of the Ascendancy. "I don't know what most healers carry but what is in these appears to be more than just the usual ointments and field dressings."

"So? She's a healer. What is that to us? It does not give her permission to walk our streets half dressed!"

"Commissioner," Ursula recognized the voice of 'boss', who was now deferring to someone of greater authority, "if she is that knowledgeable a healer then she might be able to help the Old Leader. Perhaps we could take her to him? I believe it could be worth the risk."

"I don't know. Someone will be looking for them soon, a husband or maybe people from that ship in the port. Yes, she spoke that much of the truth but I cannot believe even now that -"

The voices turned indistinct as the two men walked off. Ursula checked to see that their guard still kept watch before turning away from the door, her mind racing.

Tyra went to investigate the bundle and nudged it apart with her foot, revealing two shapeless dresses and two cowls.

She bent closer. "Mistress, these are filthy. I would not care to - ew!" She jumped back a foot. "There are vermin, Mistress! Tiny scurrying things that run from the light, I am guessing."

"Lice, probably, or something similar. Get away from them, Tyra. They will be attracted by the warmth of your skin."

Despite her own warnings, Ursula carefully nudged the noxious bundles to one side of the outbuilding with the toe of one foot, thinking that if anything were to happen, a trip hazard would not be helpful. Then the two resumed their seated positions on the other side, forced to wait for others to decide their fate.

Ursula tried to focus on what she had heard because it had suddenly caused an explosion of possibilities. Though the conversation outside had been in the Yod-accented common tongue of the Great Valley, one word had been in a different language, one she knew well, and that word had caused her mind to consider the impossible: Führer.