‘How would you know?’ retorted Dash. ‘You’re a bunch of coast huggers. Not a deep-water sailor in this entire nation.’
That got him the undivided attention of every man in the inn. Several were ready to teach him manners should he start insulting their homeland. Dash started talking to his captive audience. ‘It’s true! For almost twenty years the Prince of Krondor has had men down there tradin’ with the natives! They’re a simple people, who worship the sun, and even their children wear gold trinkets and play with toys fashioned from gold. The Prince has them mining gold for glass beads. I’ve seen the gold. With me own eyes! It’s the largest cargo in the world, enough gold to fill this room. More! As tall as two men, one upon the other’s shoulders, it was. And at the base, it filled a room twice the size of this inn.’
‘There isn’t that much gold in the world,’ said the man who had named himself Gracus. He was a skilled gambler, and Dash suspected a confidence man, a thief, and a potential murderer. But for Dash’s purpose he possessed the signal ingredient of nature: he was greedy to a fare-thee-well.
‘Look, I tell you this: when Mr Avery’s ship leaves here, and after we take him back to Krondor, we’re going out with every ship of the fleet, beyond the Straits of Darkness. Why?’
The men muttered as several asked why.
‘Because the biggest fleet of treasure ships in the history of the world is headin’ this way, even as we sit here gabbin’, and it’s going to come through the Straits on Banapis.’
‘Midsummer’s Day?’ asked Gracus.
‘Think on it!’ said Dash. ‘Where will your galleys be? Where will all those Keshian pirates from Durbin be?’
One of the sailors said, ‘He’s got a point, Gracus. Our ships will be in port so the crews can celebrate. Even the galley slaves get a drink of wine that day.’
‘And it’s true in Durbin,’ said another. ‘I’ve sailed into that port on Midsummer’s Day, and if there’s a crewman sober by sundown, he’s not trying.’
Gracus said, ‘That may be all well and good, but it’s still a little difficult to believe.’
Dash glanced around the room, as if looking to see he wasn’t being watched, which was difficult to do with a straight face when every man in the room was watching him closely. He reached into his shirt and pulled out a small purse. He opened it up and let the contents fall on the table.
A tiny whistle and a small top fell with a clatter, and Gracus picked up the whistle. ‘Gold,’ he whispered.
‘I traded a copper piece to a little boy for that whistle,’ said Dash. ‘And he was glad to have it. He’d never seen copper before, but gold was everywhere.’
The top and whistle had been fashioned from some of the King’s currency, melted and reforged, and James had sent back the items twice because the goldsmith couldn’t get it through his head that the Duke wanted them to look crudely fashioned. Dash took the whistle away from Gracus. ‘This boy gave me a voyage’s pay in gold for a copper piece.
‘I’ve seen other men come back from there with enough gold in their kit to retire for life to a gentleman’s farm in the country, that’s the truth.’ He glanced around the room. ‘If any of you lads have visited the Anchor and Dolphin in Krondor, Dawson who runs it, why he got the gold to open that inn by trading his clothes to the natives. Came back smelling like a skunk, ‘cause he didn’t have a change of clothing for three months, but he came back rich.’
Dash could see he had them, and he knew that whatever doubt might linger in the minds of some of these men would be far outweighed by the desire to believe in others. By the time Banapis arrived, every Quegan pirate crew able to sail would be waiting at the Straits of Darkness.
Putting away his trinkets, Dash decided he’d better lose enough to have to give those trinkets away to the winner of the pot, for the story would be more convincing with physical evidence. Additionally, he thought, as he glanced around the room at a gallery of naked greed, if he was broke he stood a far better chance of getting back to his ship alive.
Pug said, ‘Are you ready?’
Macros and Miranda nodded, and held hands.
Nakor said good-bye to Sho Pi and gripped Macros and Pug’s hands, one in each of his own. Pug and Miranda joined hands and the circle was closed.
Pug incanted and suddenly they were standing in a courtyard, high up in the mountains somewhere. A startled monk dropped a bucket of water he was carrying and stood open-mouthed and wide-eyed. Pug looked at him and said, ‘We need to see the Abbot.’
The monk could not bring himself to speak, only nodding and running off. They waited while several monks poked their heads through windows to get a look at the intruders.
Macros said, ‘I suspect you know what you’re doing?’