Overboard! Page 18

  The masses of people began to thin a little as they left the south gate behind them, and once or twice they took a sudden sharp turn first left and then right entering narrow alleyways that took them off the main thoroughfare. Neep was not sure if this was down to a wish for concealment or desire for speed, but concluded that it could well have been both. Yet Neep found himself fascinated by the sights and sounds of the streets as they made their way deeper into city. The dark narrow alleys that seemed to run in all directions from the narrow street along which they made their way seemed to lead in all directions, the long terraces of houses and buildings almost leaning into the streets above them as if listening or watching their progress through the streets. Eventually Neep was able to walk alongside Daisy and keep pace with her.

  “So we are making our way to an Inn?” he asked and Daisy nodded.

  “The Drowned Duck.” she said flatly as Neep noticed she continued to scan the crowds and buildings as they briskly marched past them. “It is run by an old friend of mine.”

  “Is the market square in the centre of the city?” asked Neep as they seemed to be making their way unsteadily north.

  “Not quite.” smiled Daisy and Neep heard Bones laugh from behind him.

  “Off the centre and out through The Shambles.” Neep heard him say in his usually deep gravelly voice that always reminded Neep of rocks rubbing together.

  “I see.” said Neep. “So near to the centre of the town but hidden a little way from it too.”

  “Correct.” said Daisy as they suddenly made another sharp turn and entered a large square that seemed to be surrounded on all four sides by what Neep could only think of as mansions. The square was huge and full of people. Neep thought he could see across the crowds what looked like a large ornate stone fountain shooting water high into the air, but the sheer amount of people in the market square made it difficult for him to be sure. The sun blazed down over the street market which had four grand roads entering it. Each was wide, well cobbled and beset with traffic of carts, horses, carriages as well as the usual masses of people. The white stoned facades of the buildings around the square almost blinded him after the shadows and overhanging houses of the alley from which they entered the square. Neep noted with a glance that despite the four wide roads being the most ornate exit from the square, there were what could possibly have been dozens of side alleys entering the market, from one of which they had just exited.

  Daisy must have noticed the look on Neep’s face as she smiled and pushed him on the shoulder as they continued to make their way into and across the square.

  “Come on country boy.” she smiled. “They are just buildings.”

  “And lots of people too. Where do the four roads lead?” asked Neep, an edge of awe creeping into his voice. Daisy continued her rapid pace towards what Neep now saw was indeed a huge fountain in the shape of what may have been some unnamed stone mason’s idea of mermaids. They were well carved though, blushed Neep, drawing his attention away from the water dashed stone that were almost covered in cascades of water as they flew into the air and then fell back down into what looked like a large pool that surrounded the fountain. About the low walls of the water feature were small seats set into the stone, about which sat multitudes of people relaxing and watching the people go by.

  “Each to one of the city gates.” said Daisy as once again they made an abrupt change in direction, this time off to the east. “The north road leads through the commercial and military districts bounded by the noble houses on the west side and the residential quarter on the east side. The east road leads there too as well as the Wynd to the south through the slums to the warehouses and craftsmen’s quarters. The west road leads directly to The Black Tooth however.” Daisy paused and came to a sudden halt and they all abruptly stopped as Daisy spun around as if trying to get her sense of direction back. Then they were just as quickly as they had halted moving off again.

  “The Black Tooth?” asked Neep, raising an eyebrow.

  “Yes.” said Daisy, cleared agitated by something that Neep had failed to notice. “The Beak’s residence. Well, more like a keep than a residence.”

  “Why do they call it The Black Tooth?”

  “Because something rotten resides within.” laughed Daisy. “The Beak is not in the slightest concerned by criticism against him I fear. In fact, I think he rather finds it useful. Fear is a great leveller, Neep. Never forget that.” Neep looked ahead through the crowd to get his bearings.

  “So we are heading to the east towards where the ordinary people live?” Neep turned away from her however as Mister Bones took the opportunity to answer for her.

  “More a case of keeping a distance between ourselves and The Beak.” he said and Neep suddenly felt the urge to speed up his pace himself.

  On they continued, finally leaving the square and entering another alley that wound in a generally easterly direction. It was a little wider than the previous alley they had found themselves almost sprinting along. There did seem to be still a fair few people about but they seemed to be almost lingering outside some of the buildings, and as they passed several doorways the loud sounds of raised voices and from some even music could be heard.

  “Are these all alehouses?” asked Neep slowly as the penny finally began to roll in the right direction. Daisy gave him a smile.

  “Inns too.” She said as they entered a small square on the opposite side of which stood an impressive building of at least three storeys, a sign hanging outside which proclaimed that this was finally “The Drowned Duck.”

  “Here we are.” Said Mister Bucket from the front of the group and reaching the door he held it open for them all to enter. As Neep went inside he was surprised at how brightly lit the interior was for an Inn. He was more used to dim lighting and dark corners, but wide broad windows surrounded what appeared to be the bar of the Inn, sunlight pouring through them illuminating the much trodden but unusually clean brown carpet beneath their feet.

  Neep was surprised to see that the bar was more or less empty, except for a tall long haired woman behind the counter. Her hair was as black as coal, but her face had a certain stern look to it that is always found on a woman who makes a living from serving men with alcohol all day.

  “Daisy.” she more or less stated as the group entered the bar. Daisy gave a low bow as she approached the counter, and taking a small tied leather purse from somewhere beneath her cloak threw it onto the counter where it rattled with a metallic clink before being spirited away by the woman behind the bar.

  “Lucetta De Sanchez.” said Daisy, introducing the woman as they made themselves comfortable. “The owner of The Drowned Duck.”

  “Just Lucetta will suffice.” said the woman, giving each one of the group who had just entered the once over as if trying to decide who was the most likely to give her trouble. For some reason Neep noticed that she seemed to leave her gaze on him the longest, which he thought was at best unlikely, unless she knew something that he did not.

  Daisy settled down more or less straight away and was soon giving orders to Mister Bucket to return to the ship to bring some more crew from there with him. As Neep made himself comfortable at one of the seats in the lounge by the window it soon became apparent that Daisy and Bones were moving most of the crew into the inn four at a time, presumably leaving just a skeleton crew on board The Magpie. Soon Ensephilephtor Boom arrived at the Inn along with several other swarthy looking pirates and members of the ship that Neep had seen on several occasions before. The only difference this time was that each and every single one of them seemed to be carrying at least two swords, and also had several what appeared fully loaded flintlock pistols tucked into their belts. It took Neep very little effort indeed to realise that Daisy was expecting trouble.

  In the meantime,c Lucetta set about assigning rooms to the crew and Neep was pleasantly surprised to find that the inn seemed to be much larger than he had first though. He was assigned a small room on the first floor where he
tested the bed for comfort (moderate) and the window for the view and line of escape if required. (Excellent and unlikely.) Returning to the common room he was greatly surprised by the almost complete lack of ale being drunk, though several groups of the crew seemed to gather around the tables. He had overheard one of the passing pirates saying that the inn was presently closed to anyone other than Daisy’s crew and that therefore Daisy and the sailors from the Magpie had the full run of the place.

  Neep sauntered around the lounge uneasily, several of the pirates nodding at him as he approached but he did not feel that they were inviting him to sit with them as such. So he wandered from group to group, observing the inevitable card game that had started up, listened to various discussions on the weather and the sea and the city before finally approaching a table by the window at which sat Daisy, Bones and Boom. Daisy appeared to be looking out of the window intently, pulling the somewhat dusty curtain slightly to one side as she peaked out into the busy square outside.

  “Mind if I join you?” asked Neep and Bones waved his cloak shrouded hand at an empty stool, inviting him to sit down. Neep lowered himself onto the stool and sat in silence as Daisy continued to look out onto the street. Suddenly the inn door opened and every eye in the room turned to look at it as silence descended. Four pirates filed in, led by Mister Bucket and conversation started up again as several comrades of the new arrivals welcomed them heartily. Mister Bucket then settled himself down at a table by the door, the procession of pirates in the inn apparently now completed. Daisy seemed to visibly relax and turned away from the window.

  “Ah Mister Neep.” she smiled. “There you are. How are you finding Nine Wells then?” She asked, smiling her usual smile that seemed to indicate that at best she found Neep nothing but a passing amusement.

  “Well I haven’t seen that much of it really.” said Neep. “But from what I have seen it looks quite a busy place.” Boom chuckled at this. As usual it was very difficult to discover what Bones was thinking however, what with him being covered in a thick black robe and all.

  “Busy indeed.” smiled Daisy. Neep waited to see if she was going to add anything to this, but the silence that followed her agreement seemed to indicate that this was not the case. Several somethings had been nagging at Neep since he had been effectively kidnapped from under the nose of Jenkins, and so he decided it was the best time to broach them before whatever was about to happen actually happened. Neep thought that there would probably be little time for questions when it did.

  “So why did you bring me with you first?” asked Neep, noticing as he did so Daisy’s eyebrow rise somewhat. “In fact, why kidnap me in the first place? You don’t seem to be particularly concerned about me trying to escape.” he finished as he heard Boom whistle through his teeth on the other side of the table.

  “Have I not treated you well?” asked Daisy, an edge in her voice that made Neep shuffle slightly on the stool.

  “You have.” he confirmed.

  “And have I not treated you as if you are a member of my own crew?” She continued and Neep nodded sombrely. “Well then. I “kidnapped” you as you so dramatically put it as you were the only crew member to hand who had had access to captain Jenkins. Sadly, that doesn’t seem to be of importance to him for he is long overdue now.” she finished, a look of concern crossing her face quickly before she managed to hide it.

  “As for you trying to escape.” said Bones in his usual gravel-like voice, “Where would you go? Besides we planted the thought in Jenkins's head that we had a key of some sort. He has the map of course, which we greatly desire. Nevertheless, we do have a key of sorts, and poor mad captain Jenkins will covet that too.”

  “Think of it this way Neep.” said Daisy. “By your sudden absence from Jenkins’s ship it may appear to the mad old captain that you are of some importance to us that you in actuality are not.” She looked at Neep who seemed to be looking confused.

  “Like this.” she continued, “When we kidnapped you from captain Jenkin’s ship it would seem to him that you are of much more value than he originally thought.”

  “Perhaps even that you may have something to do with this mysterious key that we have told Jenkins about.” smiled Boom as Neep realised just how clever Daisy had been in taking the opportunity to abduct him.

  “Is there actually a key at all?” laughed Neep, suspecting that there wasn’t. He was therefore somewhat startled when Bones leaned across the table and with one hand pulled out what appeared to be a small black disc from within his robes and extending his hand held it out for Neep to see. As he did this the robe slide back from Bob’s wrist, revealing a skeletal hand and arm clutching the medallion. Neep gasped but with great effort forced his concentration back to the small round black disc.

  Neep examined it closely as Bones held it out for him. It appeared to be covered in strange symbols that to his eye made no sense whatsoever. What it was made of seemed to be a complete mystery as well. Neep touched the surface and it did not appear to be made of stone; metal neither. Yet as he stroked it carefully between his fingers he felt as if it was almost making a humming sound, soft and low enough so that he could only just feel it rather than hear it. Neep felt his head spinning a little, and a wind rose around the table, a gentle breeze that spoke of the sea and air rushing over the waves.

  “Neep?” he heard Daisy say and he shook his head to clear it as Bones concealed the medallion within his robe once again.

  “Yes?” He asked, struggling to focus on Daisy on the other side of the table.

  “Are you alright?” she looked concerned, leaning towards him.

  “Fine.” he said finally. “I think I am just a little tired after the early start and the trip across the city. Perhaps I will go and lie down for a while.”

  “Good idea.” said Boom, helping him to his feet unnecessarily. Neep gave them all a slightly embarrassed smile and made to leave the table. As he did so Bones stood with him.

  “Thank you Mister Neep.” he said earnestly.

  “What for?” asked Neep, puzzled.

  “For not mentioning the hand.” he said, and though his voice sounded as much like rocks as it always did, there was a hint of a smile in there somewhere too, as if borne from the depth of the stone like a small breeze.

  “You are welcome.” smiled Neep and retired to bed where he slept soundly until the early evening.

  ***

  Neep dug into his meat and potato pie, sitting at the bar on a somewhat precarious wooden stool that rocked slightly from side to side every time he switched his weight. He also cast an eye over the menu that was pinned behind the bar. Lucetta De Sanchez stood behind the bar in front of him, watching almost his every move. Fork to mouth to plate, shovel then back again. Repeat. “Bill of Fayre.” read the menu on the wall. As he continued to dig into the very tasty pie he cast an eye across what else Lucetta had on her menu. The first item was, “Rat meat pattie” he noticed with an element of alarm, then “Rat breast in a rum sauce” as well as “Rat soup” and finally, “Rat pie”.

  “Lot of rat on the menu.” said Neep and Lucetta nodded, never taking her eyes off his progress with his food.

  “Yes. Easy to find and extremely cheap.”

  “Never had rat before.” smiled Neep, and he watched with growing concern as Lucetta turned a deep shade of crimson and seemed to be having great difficulty in not smirking.

  “Really?” she said and Neep nodded vigorously.

  “Not sure I would take to it really.” he smiled. Lucetta just nodded, continuing to watch him. Neep looked at the menu again. “Rat stew” caught his eye further down the list, as did “Spicy rat”, “Rat in a pot” and “Rat crumble”.

  “Everything seems to be made of rat.” said Neep out loud, his chewing slowing slightly. He placed his fork back on his plate. “All of it.” he said, staring at the pie in front of him, and finally coming to a decision he pushed the plate away from himself.

  “Is this rat too?” he asked quie
tly. Lucetta just smiled.

  “Made of rat?” he asked, pointing at the dish in front of him.

  “Is your pie tasty?” asked Lucetta, ignoring his question completely.

  “I suppose so, but am I eating rat now?”

  “Flavoursome with succulent meat and a juicy gravy?” said the inn keeper.

  “Yes, but is it rat?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “Well, to the rat; yes, probably.”

  “Well I would suggest that you eat your pie Mister Neep. After all, if you are enjoying it then does it matter whether it is rat or not?”

  Neep lifted the dish to his nose and sniffed the all too scarce remnants of the pie. It smelt just the same as any normal pie he deduced, though perhaps there was a slight hint of cheese to it. Deciding that there may very possibly be a bit of dairy about the pie, Neep pushed the plate even further away from himself and sat down the fork before looking at the menu again, hopefully for something on it that didn’t have the word “rat” in it.

  “Panya Paella?” he queried, looking at the menu closely.

  “Rat Paella” said Lucetta in a vaguely impatient manner.

  “It’s all rat isn’t it?” he asked in resignation. The innkeeper looked completely nonplussed.

  “It is.” She confirmed finally, removing the plate from Neep and turning to take it into the kitchen behind the bar. “Very tasty. Local speciality in fact.” She called over her shoulder before disappearing through the door. Neep felt vaguely queasy but in an effort to not think too much about what he had just eaten he strolled around the bar where the pirates were sat deep in conversation, playing cards or sharpening weapons in groups of different numbers. He spotted Ensephilephtor Boom across the lounge, regaling several of the pirates with tales of his adventures no doubt, thought Neep.

  “It was then that the dog came back with the fuse still in its mouth…” he heard Boom finish his tale and as the pirates gathered about him roared loudly in amusement he looked about the room for any sign of Daisy or Bones but they both seemed to be absent.