"2567-44" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jerome Bigge - Warlady 5 - The Warlady Of Dularn)"THE WARLADY OF DULARN" 2567 A.D.! By Jerome Bigge Chapter Forty Four "We will have to find water in few days now," Maris said, Carol nodding in reply. With over two hundred people aboard the water consumption was well over twice the usual rate. The sixty men of the original crew now were sharing quarters with some hun- dred and thirty women. There had been three knife fights already between their Dularnian wives and some of the former slave girls. One such had been "fatal", the former slave girl buried at sea. Discipline aboard the ship was difficult to maintain, especially as many of the women didn't wear anything more than just a strip of cloth around their hips and clips on their nipples. This last I note is "cultural" in this era, and no free woman ever allows herself to be seen by those of the opposite sex except for a lov- er unless her nipples are first properly "covered" by her clips. "We need to train the women in the use of arms," Carol said. "You are thinking of Lorraine and the Athena," I spoke up. "She will doubtlessly position her ship so that in order to reach Arsana we must pass her," Maris replied, walking to the stern windows, looking out at the wake there behind the schooner. "We could make a great circle, sail around the island and come to Arsana from the north," I pointed out to the Queen then. "We are now too low on supplies to make such a voyage," she answered. I also suspected that she didn't really want to avoid Lorraine. Maris had her "pride". She was Dularn's best captain. "I will see that the women are trained," Carol smiled then. "Need assistance?" I asked. Many of them were beautiful. "Just remember I wear your neck chain," Carol smiled back. "And I your wedding band," I smiled, lifting my hand to her. Here in the 26th Century you neck chain your wife, and she puts a "ring" on you in return. Carol's neck chain was of almost pure gold, I might mention, and was quite attractive against her tan. I recalled what Maris had told about the Priestesses of Lys and their abilities to "clone" a woman. I was sterile, but Carol had ovaries and a uterus. I thought she might make a good mother... "Mark four!" the man in the boat just ahead called out. We had the North Star under sweeps, the sails furled on the yards in the darkness. We were "feeling" our way into a little cove that Maris knew about. Coming in at low tide, the Queen herself at the helm. I hoped she knew what she was doing as I stood beside her. Carol straddling the bowsprit, now watching the boat ahead. "Mark three!" the man yelled back. Three fathoms, eighteen feet! Maris barked an order, the anchors dropping with a splash! "Awfully shallow," I said, well aware of "what" we drew now. The center keel no doubt actually "touching" bottom beneath us... "The tide will raise us," Maris answered. We could also "lighten" the ship if need be. Off load everyone by boat, the tide doubtlessly in that case being enough to float the ship off. "Going to be a nasty job getting the top masts down in the dark," I said to her. I did not envy the men doing the work now! "I'd pull the main masts but I'd need a sheer hulk to do it," she answered. A "sheer hulk" being a special sort of barge with a derrick on it to install main masts on ships the size of the North Star. The main masts being almost a yard in diameter with a weight that is measured in tons. The top masts were a lot lighter in weight, and could be handled with equipment aboard... "I wonder what it is going to be like in Dularn," Carol said to me as we sat together there beneath cool shade of an oak tree. Below us in the cove laid the North Star, a sound of hammering audible at times as repairs were now being made. The ship even heeled over a bit, so that part of the hull might be scraped off. Maris had gone with the "water party", leaving me in "charge" of the ship and its lovely hundred odd "passengers" who now wandered about the shore below us, idling away the time, thinking thoughts perhaps of what their lives would be like once they finally reached a safe haven in Dularn. We were a bit short on food, but Maris said that we'd reach Dularn in another week, and I supposed we could all tighten our belts a bit until then. Maris could stand to lose another five pounds, I thought to myself just then. "Winters are going to be a bit colder than we're used to," I pointed out to her. Dularn had a "winter" with snow and every- thing. There had been climatic changes caused by The War of 2047 that made the northern parts of North America colder than before. "According to what Maris has told me, it's going to be some- thing like colonial America," my wife answered, obviously think- ing of something else than the weather. I was wondering just then what sort of a reception we might receive in Dularn. Maris was a "radical Queen" in the eyes of many of her people, and she was not all that "popular" with certain groups of powerful men... There had been "rumors" that she might not be "welcome" back now! "There's a ship out there," I said then, looking out to sea. "Some sort of big two masted schooner," Carol replied back. "Let's see what this shows," I said, rising the telescope to my eye. The sail plan, the lines, left no doubt even if one did not see the flags. Like a "bad penny" Darlanis had come back!!! "An `old friend' of ours," I said, handing Carol the scope. "If she `spots' the North Star...," Carol breathed, holding the telescope to her eye. I did not consider it likely. The ship was well hidden, and I did not think Darlanis' lookouts would be searching the shoreline several miles off for a ship... "That big blonde sure doesn't `give up'," I smiled back. "Any excitement while I was gone?" Maris asked me, the sweat on her forehead, the darkness under her armpits telling of their long march through the forest to find water. Life aboard a ship does not give one much opportunity for exercise, especially if you are the Queen of Dularn and must keep up a regal front at all time. A number of the crew (male & female) now bringing up the water barrels which had been dragged on crude sleds through the forest. They were gasping, exhausted from their labors, I saw. "A `problem' has returned," Carol said, telling of Darlanis. "She sure must have it `in' for one of you," she smiled now. "If she can find Lorraine...," I said, seeing Maris nodding. "A problem we will `face' when we get to it," she answered. "How big a crew does one of those Imperial first rates car- ry?" Carol asked as we watched the Queen supervising the loading of the ship. Such must be done with some thought to keep the ship properly balanced. One wishes the ship to be a bit "light" towards the bow, but not excessively so. Such things are a mat- ter of "experience", experience gained by years at sea. Maris was so "experienced", I knew, and it "showed" at times like this! "A little over a hundred usually," I answered, wondering why she wanted to know and what real "difference" it made right now. According to Sanda Talen Lorraine had not taken on quite as many men as she could have, no doubt due to the fact that she didn't know how long she would have to remain at sea "waiting" for us... "We have over two hundred," Carol pointed out to me, a smile curving her rich lips. "Two to one odds in our favor," she said. "A battle at sea isn't the same as a fight on land," I told her. True, the North Star would be far "handier" than Lorraine's armor plated dreadnought, but on the other hand we didn't really have anything "effective" against the Athena except fire bombs!!! "Lorraine expects a `ship to ship' fight, doesn't she?" my wife challenged. I was forced to agree that she probably did. I had considerable "confidence" in Maris, although against Lorraine I suspected that Maris would have little advantage over the fa- mous Imperial Warlady, whose awesome intelligence was something I was well aware of. Unlike Darlanis, Lorraine didn't make the sort of "mistakes" that one might expect from the Imperial ruler! "You are `thinking' of something, aren't you?" I smiled. "I am a `crafty wench'," Carol answered, strolling off. "Be dawn soon," Maris said, standing there, the dew wet on deck. The breeze had died shortly after we'd left the cove. We were I supposed several miles from land, although it was hard to tell here in the darkness. The sails hung uselessly from the yards, the ship gently rolling in the restless swell. A sickle of a Moon in the east lit things up just enough to see the sea. I recalled the fact that Imperial triremes often patrolled here. "And perhaps there will be some wind now," I said in reply. "It would take us some time to row to Dularn," she smiled. "Getting lighter," I said to Maris, wondering why I had spo- ken. I was sure she could see that for herself. There was dew in her hair, her clothing damp on her body. She was a different sort of a woman from Carol. More "feminine" in a way, less "as- sertive" than my beloved brownette. More "intelligent" too, I suspected from the talks I'd had with her. I looked out over the sea, faint wisps of fog visible drifting like ghosts over the wa- ter. There was a noticable "glow" in the east over the land, the Moon now becoming more "pale" as the Sun below the horizon lit up the sky. We had the "night sails" still hoisted, not the blue green "day" sails that we used to avoid being spotted by others. "Sail Ho!" the lookout called down. "To the southwest!" "I'm going up," Maris snapped, striding to the rigging. "I'll call general quarters," I answered, Maris nodding. "What is it?" Carol asked, tugging at her clothing. She was "sans" clips, but I felt it wasn't time to "mention" that fact... "Ship is three masted schooner, same `class' as us," Maris called down. She had a "head" for heights, something I didn't... "Looks like it could be the North Wind, under captain Miles!" I could see her looking through the telescope. Another Dularnian! "One of `US'!" Carol cried, throwing her arms around me. I felt it wise then to whisper in her ear that she was bare nippled underneath her blouse and that it "showed" if you looked "right"! Captain Miles of the North Wind was an older man, his red- dish hair showing just a trace of "gray". He had smiled at all the women on deck there to greet him, many of them rather briefly clad, I might note, making us look like some Imperial slaver on its way to market. He was said to be a "cautious" man, not one to take "risks" unless there was a considerable gain to be made. "There's `trouble' in Dularn for you," he said to Maris, looking straight into the azure of her eyes. "Real bad trouble, my Queen. Maybe even your death if you return to Arsana now." "THE WARLADY OF DULARN" 2567 A.D.! By Jerome Bigge Chapter Forty Four "We will have to find water in few days now," Maris said, Carol nodding in reply. With over two hundred people aboard the water consumption was well over twice the usual rate. The sixty men of the original crew now were sharing quarters with some hun- dred and thirty women. There had been three knife fights already between their Dularnian wives and some of the former slave girls. One such had been "fatal", the former slave girl buried at sea. Discipline aboard the ship was difficult to maintain, especially as many of the women didn't wear anything more than just a strip of cloth around their hips and clips on their nipples. This last I note is "cultural" in this era, and no free woman ever allows herself to be seen by those of the opposite sex except for a lov- er unless her nipples are first properly "covered" by her clips. "We need to train the women in the use of arms," Carol said. "You are thinking of Lorraine and the Athena," I spoke up. "She will doubtlessly position her ship so that in order to reach Arsana we must pass her," Maris replied, walking to the stern windows, looking out at the wake there behind the schooner. "We could make a great circle, sail around the island and come to Arsana from the north," I pointed out to the Queen then. "We are now too low on supplies to make such a voyage," she answered. I also suspected that she didn't really want to avoid Lorraine. Maris had her "pride". She was Dularn's best captain. "I will see that the women are trained," Carol smiled then. "Need assistance?" I asked. Many of them were beautiful. "Just remember I wear your neck chain," Carol smiled back. "And I your wedding band," I smiled, lifting my hand to her. Here in the 26th Century you neck chain your wife, and she puts a "ring" on you in return. Carol's neck chain was of almost pure gold, I might mention, and was quite attractive against her tan. I recalled what Maris had told about the Priestesses of Lys and their abilities to "clone" a woman. I was sterile, but Carol had ovaries and a uterus. I thought she might make a good mother... "Mark four!" the man in the boat just ahead called out. We had the North Star under sweeps, the sails furled on the yards in the darkness. We were "feeling" our way into a little cove that Maris knew about. Coming in at low tide, the Queen herself at the helm. I hoped she knew what she was doing as I stood beside her. Carol straddling the bowsprit, now watching the boat ahead. "Mark three!" the man yelled back. Three fathoms, eighteen feet! Maris barked an order, the anchors dropping with a splash! "Awfully shallow," I said, well aware of "what" we drew now. The center keel no doubt actually "touching" bottom beneath us... "The tide will raise us," Maris answered. We could also "lighten" the ship if need be. Off load everyone by boat, the tide doubtlessly in that case being enough to float the ship off. "Going to be a nasty job getting the top masts down in the dark," I said to her. I did not envy the men doing the work now! "I'd pull the main masts but I'd need a sheer hulk to do it," she answered. A "sheer hulk" being a special sort of barge with a derrick on it to install main masts on ships the size of the North Star. The main masts being almost a yard in diameter with a weight that is measured in tons. The top masts were a lot lighter in weight, and could be handled with equipment aboard... "I wonder what it is going to be like in Dularn," Carol said to me as we sat together there beneath cool shade of an oak tree. Below us in the cove laid the North Star, a sound of hammering audible at times as repairs were now being made. The ship even heeled over a bit, so that part of the hull might be scraped off. Maris had gone with the "water party", leaving me in "charge" of the ship and its lovely hundred odd "passengers" who now wandered about the shore below us, idling away the time, thinking thoughts perhaps of what their lives would be like once they finally reached a safe haven in Dularn. We were a bit short on food, but Maris said that we'd reach Dularn in another week, and I supposed we could all tighten our belts a bit until then. Maris could stand to lose another five pounds, I thought to myself just then. "Winters are going to be a bit colder than we're used to," I pointed out to her. Dularn had a "winter" with snow and every- thing. There had been climatic changes caused by The War of 2047 that made the northern parts of North America colder than before. "According to what Maris has told me, it's going to be some- thing like colonial America," my wife answered, obviously think- ing of something else than the weather. I was wondering just then what sort of a reception we might receive in Dularn. Maris was a "radical Queen" in the eyes of many of her people, and she was not all that "popular" with certain groups of powerful men... There had been "rumors" that she might not be "welcome" back now! "There's a ship out there," I said then, looking out to sea. "Some sort of big two masted schooner," Carol replied back. "Let's see what this shows," I said, rising the telescope to my eye. The sail plan, the lines, left no doubt even if one did not see the flags. Like a "bad penny" Darlanis had come back!!! "An `old friend' of ours," I said, handing Carol the scope. "If she `spots' the North Star...," Carol breathed, holding the telescope to her eye. I did not consider it likely. The ship was well hidden, and I did not think Darlanis' lookouts would be searching the shoreline several miles off for a ship... "That big blonde sure doesn't `give up'," I smiled back. "Any excitement while I was gone?" Maris asked me, the sweat on her forehead, the darkness under her armpits telling of their long march through the forest to find water. Life aboard a ship does not give one much opportunity for exercise, especially if you are the Queen of Dularn and must keep up a regal front at all time. A number of the crew (male & female) now bringing up the water barrels which had been dragged on crude sleds through the forest. They were gasping, exhausted from their labors, I saw. "A `problem' has returned," Carol said, telling of Darlanis. "She sure must have it `in' for one of you," she smiled now. "If she can find Lorraine...," I said, seeing Maris nodding. "A problem we will `face' when we get to it," she answered. "How big a crew does one of those Imperial first rates car- ry?" Carol asked as we watched the Queen supervising the loading of the ship. Such must be done with some thought to keep the ship properly balanced. One wishes the ship to be a bit "light" towards the bow, but not excessively so. Such things are a mat- ter of "experience", experience gained by years at sea. Maris was so "experienced", I knew, and it "showed" at times like this! "A little over a hundred usually," I answered, wondering why she wanted to know and what real "difference" it made right now. According to Sanda Talen Lorraine had not taken on quite as many men as she could have, no doubt due to the fact that she didn't know how long she would have to remain at sea "waiting" for us... "We have over two hundred," Carol pointed out to me, a smile curving her rich lips. "Two to one odds in our favor," she said. "A battle at sea isn't the same as a fight on land," I told her. True, the North Star would be far "handier" than Lorraine's armor plated dreadnought, but on the other hand we didn't really have anything "effective" against the Athena except fire bombs!!! "Lorraine expects a `ship to ship' fight, doesn't she?" my wife challenged. I was forced to agree that she probably did. I had considerable "confidence" in Maris, although against Lorraine I suspected that Maris would have little advantage over the fa- mous Imperial Warlady, whose awesome intelligence was something I was well aware of. Unlike Darlanis, Lorraine didn't make the sort of "mistakes" that one might expect from the Imperial ruler! "You are `thinking' of something, aren't you?" I smiled. "I am a `crafty wench'," Carol answered, strolling off. "Be dawn soon," Maris said, standing there, the dew wet on deck. The breeze had died shortly after we'd left the cove. We were I supposed several miles from land, although it was hard to tell here in the darkness. The sails hung uselessly from the yards, the ship gently rolling in the restless swell. A sickle of a Moon in the east lit things up just enough to see the sea. I recalled the fact that Imperial triremes often patrolled here. "And perhaps there will be some wind now," I said in reply. "It would take us some time to row to Dularn," she smiled. "Getting lighter," I said to Maris, wondering why I had spo- ken. I was sure she could see that for herself. There was dew in her hair, her clothing damp on her body. She was a different sort of a woman from Carol. More "feminine" in a way, less "as- sertive" than my beloved brownette. More "intelligent" too, I suspected from the talks I'd had with her. I looked out over the sea, faint wisps of fog visible drifting like ghosts over the wa- ter. There was a noticable "glow" in the east over the land, the Moon now becoming more "pale" as the Sun below the horizon lit up the sky. We had the "night sails" still hoisted, not the blue green "day" sails that we used to avoid being spotted by others. "Sail Ho!" the lookout called down. "To the southwest!" "I'm going up," Maris snapped, striding to the rigging. "I'll call general quarters," I answered, Maris nodding. "What is it?" Carol asked, tugging at her clothing. She was "sans" clips, but I felt it wasn't time to "mention" that fact... "Ship is three masted schooner, same `class' as us," Maris called down. She had a "head" for heights, something I didn't... "Looks like it could be the North Wind, under captain Miles!" I could see her looking through the telescope. Another Dularnian! "One of `US'!" Carol cried, throwing her arms around me. I felt it wise then to whisper in her ear that she was bare nippled underneath her blouse and that it "showed" if you looked "right"! Captain Miles of the North Wind was an older man, his red- dish hair showing just a trace of "gray". He had smiled at all the women on deck there to greet him, many of them rather briefly clad, I might note, making us look like some Imperial slaver on its way to market. He was said to be a "cautious" man, not one to take "risks" unless there was a considerable gain to be made. "There's `trouble' in Dularn for you," he said to Maris, looking straight into the azure of her eyes. "Real bad trouble, my Queen. Maybe even your death if you return to Arsana now." |
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