Lora of Two Worlds

Roland was helpless.

"Two accomplices? Where?"

The cloth covering the grain sacks stirred. Two figures rose slowly:

"Me."

"And me."

Shawn hung his head: "We tried to stop her... you know she doesn't listen..."

"So you just let her run wild? The General was at the dock, why didn't you run out and report?" Roland was angry. They'd been underway a full day, already in Heyford, not Odenheim territory. Security wasn't guaranteed.

Keane added: "The young lady said if she got caught, she'd tell everyone we put her up to it... and she's our mistress..."

"The General fed you for years. Clothed you. Taught you arms. One month at the tower chamber and she's bought you out?"

Before Roland could finish, the boat bumped lightly. He looked out, they'd cleared the river and entered the canal junction. Bridgeford Ferry.

"Trouble. You two need to hide. This boat is allowed eight polemen, eight guards, one boatman, one officer. One stowaway, fifty strokes. You two, that's a hundred for me."

"That strict? Then get in the grain quick!" Lora stuck out her tongue. She hadn't known the Empire regulated boats so tightly.

Roland looked around and shook his head: "Bridgeford is in Heyford. Our boats pay tax here. The inspectors want to find extra cargo, they'll poke into every sack."

"Then what do we do, my lord? We'd rather jump in the river than drag you down..."

His sister and her men, all the same brand of fool. Roland rubbed his temples:

"Lil, stay here. I'll hide them. When the inspectors finish counting, they come out."

"I knew my brother would find a way!"

Roland's "way" was almost as bad as jumping in the river. He had Shawn and Keane climb over the gunwale and stand on the outer rail, a narrow ledge outside the hull.

As long as they didn't poke their heads up, no one could see two men hanging off the side.

For men of their training, this was nothing. They were over and hidden in seconds.

"Lord Roland, the inspectors are coming aboard. They want everyone lined up on the gunwales." A guard came to report.

"Right. Guards and cook on this side. Polemen and boatman on the other."

They lined up. Six inspectors came aboard. The lead one ordered: "Two forward to check cargo. The rest, count heads."

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"You folks work hard, must check a lot of boats in a day." Roland stepped up to chat with the lead inspector.

The man, seeing Roland's officer's uniform, smiled back:

"Thank you for asking. This ferry keeps us busy, first crossing upstream, everyone entering the north canal comes through here. Good thing it's all downstream from here. Once you hit Yorvik territory, you'll need towlines and locks, worse bottlenecking."

As they talked, the inspectors finished counting. Numbers were checked against the manifest. The King's gift, they only verified counts. No one was going to make trouble over that.

"Report! There's an unconscious overseer in the forward cabin."

"An unconscious overseer?" The lead inspector looked at Roland.

Roland explained: "The overseer can't handle boats. He's been vomiting since we left. It was too miserable, we gave him a sleeping draught. After the first day, he'll adjust."

The man in the cabin was, of course, Green, drugged and dragged aboard by force.

"Oh, seasickness. That's rough." A small dose of sleeping draught for seasickness was common knowledge among the boatmen. Nothing unusual.

Roland had a flash of inspiration: Overseers were chamberlains, they didn't count toward the boat's complement. One or two could ride along without being tallied. After this, Shawn and Keane could dress as overseers...

The inspection was routine. All clear. The inspectors were about to leave.

Then, from the river, a mighty splash. A River Loene carp, easily a hundred pounds, leapt from the water. Its tail smacked the hull, right where Keane was clinging, and splashed back.

A carp that size had few predators in the river. It was curious. It had seen something fluttering on the hull, a bit of cloth in the wind, and leapt up to give it a whack.

The sound startled everyone. The lead inspector turned toward the gunwale.

Roland's heart seized. His face went tight.

As the inspector's steps drew closer, Lora, at the end of the line, caught her brother's expression. She knew: Shawn and Keane were on the outer hull.

She raised her arm, hand-bow ready. She'd shoot the inspector, create chaos. Roland saw the movement and shot her a fierce glare:

Two extra men, a beating for me. Shoot an inspector, and you're exposed!

In that split-second hesitation, the inspector reached the gunwale. Everyone looked over. A huge carp was swimming happily toward the canal mouth.

"Big carp! What's it doing in the canal, don't they think the water's too shallow?" Leon asked, smiling.

The inspector laughed: "These fellows love to jump. At our pontoon bridge, they leap right onto the deck and become dinner."

"Trying to cross without paying the toll, of course there's a price."

Everyone laughed. The inspector bowed and led his men off the boat.

Guard Ashford brushed past them and came to Roland: "The elder lord asks, what happened? Why so long?"

"Nothing."

Leon was in the stern boat. If something had gone wrong there, it would have been big. No wonder Alvin was worried.

"Then we're ready to cast off. The elder lord says we overnight near Bridgeford Ferry. No one leaves the boat except the cook. Night watch only."

Bridgeford was a major ferry, the gateway from the River Loene to the north canal, near the junction of three provinces. Lots of traffic, lots of soldiers. Safer than a small crossing.

The boat restarted. Past the ferry bridge, they found a spot along the canal bank to moor for the night.

"Your face just changed. What happened?" Leon and Roland stood at the stern, watching the last smear of sunset.

Roland laughed:

"Nothing. Two extra guards, I had them hang on the outer hull. I was afraid the inspector would spot them. Lucky for us, they're quick, when they heard the noise, they shimmied to the stern. So when we looked over the side, all we saw was a fish."

"Head count can be wrong? That's not like you... From now on, dress them as overseers. There're more ferries ahead, can't have them dangling off the hull every time."

"Right. I was thinking the same."

Leon didn't press. And Roland didn't mention that his sister was on board.

A general's household, producing a delinquent daredevil daughter, not exactly a point of pride.

As for getting caught later...

That was a problem for later.

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