“Is that it?” Hadrian asked.
“That’s it,” Myron replied. “Thank you both for coming and standing in the cold water.”
“Let’s get back. My feet are going numb,” Arista said, hopping through the surf.
“Your Highness?” Myron asked, chasing her. “I can’t help but ask. Who is the servant of Maribor you were speaking of?”
She looked at him, surprised. “You, of course.”
“Oh.”
When they got back, Alric and the rest were tying up their makeshift raft to the side of the Harbinger. Arista was impressed. The raft was eight feet square, lashed tight and caulked with pitch.
On board, Wyatt and Elden were pushing everything that could be moved from the bow to the stern. The back of the ship began to rock in earnest, making it hard to stand.
Once everyone was on board, Wyatt looked up as if to the heavens and shouted, “Loose the tops’l!”
She gasped as Royce pulled a line, then without hesitation ran across the yard to the far side and pulled another. The topsail fell open and Royce dropped to the masthead and, running along the top of the mainsail yard, tied off the sheets.
“Loose the mains’l!” Wyatt shouted, and Royce released the big sail. “Hands to the sheets!”
Hadrian and Elden, on opposite sides of the ship, pulled ropes connected to the lower corners of the sail, stretching it out taut.
“Hands to the braces! Back all sails!”
Elden and Hadrian grabbed hold of ropes attached to the ends of the yards and pulled, twisting them around so that they caught the wind on an angle, pushing the ship backward toward the sea. They looked to Wyatt, who waved them over until they had the right angle; then they tied off the braces.
“Everyone to the stern!” Wyatt called, and each of them moved to the back of the ship. The wind and the waves rocked them, and at times it seemed they were lifting, but the ship failed to move.
“The keel’s dug in,” Wyatt said, then sighed. “We’ll need to kedge off. Elden and Hadrian, hoist the anchor to the raft and lash it tight. Alric—forgive me, Your Majesty, but I need to use you like a deckhand and will be dispensing with formalities. I hope you understand. Please take Mauvin and launch the raft as soon as the anchor is on it. Now this is what you must remember: paddle out directly behind the ship. Any angle will reduce our traction. We want to pull the ship in perfect line with the keel. When you are out so far that the chain is fully extended, drop the anchor, then return to the ship as fast as you can.”
Alric nodded, and with Mauvin following, they climbed over the side of the ship. Using the pulleys attached to the main yard, Hadrian and Elden hoisted the anchor out over the raft, which bobbed and bucked in the surf. Alric and Mauvin straddled it, tying the anchor fast to the deck; both were sprayed and soaked by crashing waves. Hadrian handed paddles down, and with one on each side, the two worked to push the weighted craft out over the swells.
The chain played out through Wyatt’s own hands as he stood at the stern, carefully watching their progress. Alric and Mauvin appeared like two rats on a barrel lid when the chain went taut. Arista saw the flash of Mauvin’s blade, and the anchor went into the water, nearly flipping the raft.
“Hands to the capstan!” Wyatt called. “That’s everyone—except, of course, you, Your Highness.”
Arista sighed but was just as happy to stand at the stern rail and watch Alric and Mauvin, who were paddling back. They were moving much faster now that they had the swells pushing them.
In the center of the ship, poles were passed through the holes in the big wheel and everyone put their weight into pushing the capstan around. Arista could hear the rapid clank, clank, clank of the pawls as they took up the slack. Then the sound grew slower, the time between the clanks longer.
Everyone aside from her, including Wyatt, heaved on the capstan. Each pole had two people on it except for Elden’s. The giant commanded his own pole and his face was turning red from the strain. Arista heard a fearful creaking as the anchor and the ship fought each other.
“Show us the waves, Arista!” Wyatt called to her. “Put your arms up and drop them just before a wave is about to hit the ship!”
She nodded and looked out to sea. Alric and Mauvin were already coming alongside. She looked at the swells. They were in a lull, but she could see three humps in the distance rolling toward them like the slithering backs of serpents.
“It will be a minute,” she shouted back.
“Everyone rest,” Wyatt told them. “When you see her drop her arms, really put your back into it.”
Mauvin and Alric scrambled over the side, soaked and exhausted. They flung themselves down on the deck.
“No time to rest!” Wyatt shouted at them. “Find a spot on the poles.”
The swells were nearing and Arista raised her arms. “Get ready!”
They all braced themselves and took deep breaths.
The first swell rushed in and Arista dropped her arms, but she did so too late.
They heaved. There was a grinding sensation; then it stopped and the men fell, exhausted, hanging from the poles.
“I timed it wrong,” Arista shouted. “I was too late. Here comes another.” She raised her arms and they all braced again, with Mauvin and Alric finding places at the poles.
Arista watched the swell rushing at her. This time she lowered her arms while the wave was still a few feet away. By the time the men heaved, the rear of the ship was rising. There were a noticeable lurch and more grinding. This time she heard the sound of wood scraping and felt movement.
“One more!” she shouted, raising her arms and then dropping them almost as soon as they were up.
Once more the men pushed, the chain tightened, and the boat rose. This time a gust of wind managed to catch the topsail and the ship lurched dramatically. The bottom scraped and broke out of the sludge. They rocked smooth and free, drifting backward.
A cheer rose and everyone was grinning. Wyatt ran back to the stern beside Arista and grabbed hold of the wheel. “That was lucky,” he said, sweat dripping from his forehead. “Great job, by the way.”
“Thanks.”
“Keep cranking! Let’s see if we can save the anchor.”
The men pushed the capstan around easily now. They quickly covered the distance Alric and Mauvin had paddled and passed it. Arista watched the cable swing down beneath them. There was a sudden lurch that staggered her; then she heard the rapid clanking of the pawls as the anchor came in.
“Man the braces!” Wyatt shouted. “Stand by to come about!”
Wyatt looked out at the swells and gave the wheel a hard spin. The ship turned. “Swing round the yards—starboard tack!”