โTHERE ARE TWELVE SEAS,โย Ann explained as she sat on the railing of the ship, knocking her heels rhythmically on the wood. โAnd therefore, twelve kinds of spores. How could you not know that?โ
โI lived all my life in a little mining town,โ Tress explained. โYes, we always talked about there being twelve seas and twelve moons. But Iโve
learned so much in the last few days, I figured I should confirm things like that.โ
Sheโs right to ask, Ann,ย Fort said, holding up his sign.ย There are, after all, thirteen kinds of spores.
โNo there ainโt,โ Ann said. โDonโt you be spreading that lie.โ
Itโs not a lie,ย he wrote.ย Itโs a legend. Different thing entirely.
โNonsense is the proper term,โ Ann said. โPeople canโt even make up their minds on what color โbone sporesโ are supposed to be. White or black? Or both? Listen, Tress. There areย twelveย kinds of spores.โ
Tress nodded. They were at the prow of the ship, on the upper deck, near the forward cannon. Tress hadnโt been surprised to find Ann hereโthe lanky carpenter often hung around the cannon, shooting it glances like a teenager with a crush. However, Tressย hadย been surprised to see Fort sitting on deck
this morning, darning socks. A part of her had believed him a permanent fixture of his office.
For her part, Tress was carefully counting the pouches of zephyr spores in the gunnery barrel. Sheโd asked Laggart, and heโd said they should maintain forty on hand. She figured that counting them gave her a good excuse to move them out of the barrel into an aluminum box, where theyโd be safe from the shipโs silver.
โTwelve seas,โ Tress said. โHow many have you seen, Ann?โ
โThree,โ she said proudly. โThe Emerald Sea, the Sapphire Sea, and the Rose Sea.โ
Impressive,ย Fort wrote. โI know, isnโt it?โ
Iโve been to ten.
โWhat?โ Ann sat up straight. โLiar.โ
Why would I lie?
โYouโreย literallyย a pirate,โ Ann said. โEveryone knows you canโt trust those types.โ
Fort rolled his eyes expressively, then turned back to his work on his socks. Tress hesitated, looking at her box of pouches. Had that been the twenty-second or twenty-third sheโd just counted? With a soft groan, she piled them all back into the barrel and started again.
โWhich two?โ Ann asked, tapping Fort to make him look up. โWhich ones havenโt you been to?โ
Not hard to guess,ย Fort wrote. โMidnight and Crimson Seas?โ He nodded.
โThe Midnight Sea,โ Tress said as she counted. โThatโs where the Sorceress lives.โ
โYeah,โ Ann said. โAnd the Crimson Sea is the domain of the dragon. But thatโs not why people donโt sail them. Itโs the spores, Tress. You need to know this stuff, if youโre gonna sprout. Most types of spores are deadly, but two are downright catastrophic. Stay away from crimson spores and midnight spores, all right?โ
โAll right,โ Tress said. โYou have to go through the Crimson though to get to the Midnight, right? So Iโm unlikely to ever do that.โ She frowned. โWhy do you have to go through one to get to the other? Canโt you just sail around the Crimson to get to the Midnight?โ
โNot unless you can sail through several mountain ranges,โ Ann said. โI suppose you could sail all around the world, then come upon the Midnight from behind.โ
Itโs one of the reasons the Sorceress set up there,ย Fort
explained.ย She controls trade through the regionโthe passage that connects the planet. Only her ships can sail the Midnight.
โBeen years,โ Ann noted, โsince there was any trade though. The king doesnโt want to pay tariffs, and so itโs war instead.โ
As if he thinks he can beat her,ย Fort said, shaking his head.ย He canโt even get a proper fleet through the Crimson. Too dangerous.
Tress nodded. These seemed like things she probably should have known already. She was playing catch-up, but for a second time she was glad she hadnโt left these people. She realized that only one member of the crew likely had experience with the Sorceress personallyโbut all of them had information that could help her.
โThere are twenty-five pouches here,โ she said, finishing. โSo I need to make fifteen more.โ
โWithout blowing off your face this time,โ Ann said. โI didnโt blow it off.โ
โTechnically, Iโm sureย someย pieces of it were removed,โ Ann said. โToo bad you got that salve. Youโd look badass with a scar or two on your face.โ
Tress gave a noncommittal shrug to that. Then, as Ann returned to pestering Fort, Tress quietly undid the latch that opened the false bottom of the barrel and counted. Five hidden cannonballs, each a little larger than her fist.
With Huck acting as lookout, sheโd retrieved some ordinary ones from the shipโs hold. No one guarded them. Who would steal them? But now, trying to keep herself from sweating at the subterfuge, she began slipping them from her sack and swapping them for the ones in the barrelโs false bottom.
She was certain sheโd be noticed at any moment. But people rarely watch you as much as you think; theyโre too busy worrying whether you are
watchingย them. So Tress was able to, one at a time, replace Laggartโs secret cannonballs with ordinary ones. Then she latched the hidden bottom and replaced the twenty-five zephyr spore pouches.
The swap performed, she pointedly dried her hands and didย notย poke at her mask. Anyone can blow their face off by accidentโI mean, who hasnโt
โbut if you do it twice in a row, you look really silly.
Tress cinched closed her sack. She still didnโt know what sheโd do with those sabotaged cannonballs. Hide them in her cabin? Drop them off the boat in secret?
โHey Tress,โ Ann said. โWhen youโre making charges, you think you could maybe whip me up a few extra? So I can practice?โ
โDonโt see why not,โ Tress said. โAssuming the captain says itโs all right.โ โYeah,โ Ann said. โOf course.โ Though there was something in her tone,
reminiscent of how you might talk about that project youโve been planning to finish โtomorrow.โ She wandered off, but only after trailing her fingers along the length of the cannon.
Fort had been focused on his work, and had therefore missed the
conversation. While his condition leads to plenty of difficulties, I will say Iโve always envied his ability toโby looking awayโcompletely excise from his life most of the stupid things people say.
Tress settled down on the deck in front of him, catching his attention.
โWhatโs up with Ann and the cannons?โ Tress asked. โI thought she was the shipโs assistant cannonmaster.โ
Suppose she still is,ย Fort wrote.ย Didnโt ever officially get
removed from the post. She wonโt be firing guns anytime soon though.
Tressโs breath caught. โWhat did she do?โ she whispered, leaning in.
Are you whispering?ย Fort wrote back. โUmโฆyes.โ
Thatโs cute.
โAnn. Are you going to tell me about her or not?โ
What will you trade me for the information?
โDo weย haveย to negotiate every time, Fort?โ Tress asked. โCanโt we just chat like friends?โ
But the negotiation is the fun part!ย he wrote.ย Itโs what tells me about you. What youโre willing to give up, what you value. Come on. Doesnโt it excite you to try to find the best deal?
โIโฆdonโt really know.โ
What will you tell me to get me to talk about Ann? Information for information. Youโre distracting me from repairing these socks, you know. I canโt sew and watch the board at the same time. So you owe me.
โBut I donโt know anything interesting to trade.โ
Oh? And why are you here? What possessed a nice girl from a small town to steal an inspectorโs coat and go out pretending to be a pirate?
She leaned in, speaking softly despite what heโd said before. โMy ignorance isย thatย obvious?โ
Girl, if youโd been sailing the spore sea for longer than a week before we found you, Iโll eat my own cooking. So why are you out here?
โIโm looking for someone,โ she said. โSomeone dear to me.โ
Ah,ย Fort wrote.ย So youโre searching the seas, like Salay. Hoping that at each new port, youโll at last find the sock thatโฆย He deleted that part.ย Sorry. Board isnโt always good at predicting. Youโre hoping to find that PERSON youโve lost.
Tress glanced across the ship toward the helmswoman, who stood as sturdy as the masts, fixed in her place on the quarterdeck, both hands gripping the shipโs wheel. As usual, her dark eyes were fixated on the horizon with the kind of intense expression people reserved for only the
most important of tasks, like finding the last piece of unopened candy in a bag full of wrappers.
She hunted relentlessly for her father. In the face of Salayโs confident determination, Tressโs own quest seemed laughable.
โItโsโฆnot really the same,โ Tress told Fort. โSalay has no idea where sheโll find her father. I know exactly where Charlie is.โ
Fort nudged her a moment later.ย Oh?ย heโd written.ย Just need to save up some money to get to him, then?
โItโs worse than that, Iโm afraid,โ she said. โThe Sorceress has him.
Attacked his ship. Took him captive.โ
Fortโs shoulders slumped.ย Oh,ย he wrote.ย Iโm sorry.
โYeah. I barely have any idea what Iโm doing, Fort. But I have to reach him.โ She grimaced. โI said Iโll likely never reach the Midnight. That was kind of a lie. Iโm determined to get there. Somehow.โ
If the Sorceress attacked his ship, heโs dead. Iโm sorry. You should probably move on.
โHeโs alive,โ Tress said. โShe asked for a ransom from the king to free
Charlie. I thoughtโฆmaybe I could make enough money to convince the king to pay it.โ
Tress,ย Fort wrote,ย the Sorceress doesnโt ask for money as
ransom. She asks for souls, usually from the royal bloodline. Mere money would never satisfy her.
Tress blushed, feeling like an utter lunatic. Sheโd already realized that she wouldnโt be able to pay his way free, but still, the depth of her ignorance
was disturbing. Like a fish trying very hard to jump out of its tank in order to escape, sheโd been trying to solve a problem before stopping to wonder if
she even understood her situation.
Look, if this Charlie was kept for ransom, heโs likely a nobleman. Right?
โYes,โ Tress whispered.
That lot donโt care about people like us,ย Fort wrote.ย Iโm sorry, but itโs the truth. Youโd best move on.
โMaybe,โ Tress said.
Well, you gave me information. Only fair that I give you what you wanted. I can tell you about Ann.
โI didnโt tell you anything important, Fort,โ Tress said. โYou donโt have to take that in trade.โ
Ah,ย he wrote.ย But the information about Ann is barely worth anything. Everyone knows it. Youโd have found out soon anyway.
โYou acted like it was some big secret!โ Tress said.
No. I just asked what you wanted to trade.ย He grinned, poking her in the arm with a knuckle, then continued writing.ย Donโt look indignant. Revealing your emotions makes it easier for people to get a good deal out of you. That one is free.
Ann was given the job of assistant cannonmaster because she asked for it after the last one died. But no one thought to have her fire one of the blasted things first.
โAndโฆ?โ Tress asked.
That woman has worse aim than a drunk man riding a three-legged llama,ย Fort wrote.ย She once fired a pistol at a target, but managed to nearly hit MEโand I was standing next to her. The first time she manned the cannon, her aim was so far off, the only thing NOT in danger was her target.
โMoons,โ Tress said. โMaybeโฆshe just needs more practice.โ
Iโll let you teach her, then. Iโll be safely boarded up in my room, maybe with some armor on.ย Fort eyed her.ย Some things arenโt
meant to be, girl. Sometimes you simply have to accept that.
โYouโre talking about me. And Charlie.โ
Maybe. Listen, Tress. Even if heโs still alive, the Sorceress will have cursed him like poor old Hoid. She uses a lot of different types, but she always puts one on her captives, to keep them pliable.
โHow do you know so much about it?โ Tress asked.
Captain told me,ย Fort explained.ย When she had me trade to get Hoid on our ship.
โThe captainย specificallyย wanted Hoid on the ship?โ Tress asked. โWhy?โ
Donโt know. She heard about his curse and his trip to the Sorceress. Getting him was a poor deal, since his former
shipmates were happy to be rid of him. Captain insisted though.
Fort shook his head, considering the damage to his reputation once people found out how much heโd traded to get a lunatic to be their cabin boy.
Tressโs interest deepened, however. Captain Crow had manipulated the crew into becoming pirates, then forced them to become deadrunnersโ
because she wanted them to sail dangerous seas. And sheโd specifically been watching for someone cursed by the Sorceress?
Could the captain be looking to visit the Sorceress herself?
Tress looked toward Crow. And then, Tress took the singular step that separated her from people in most stories. The act, it might be said, that
definedย her as a hero. She did something so incredible, I can barely express its majesty.
I should consider this more,ย Tress thought to herself,ย and not jump to conclusions.