The sun was yet to peek above the eastern horizon when Alwyn knocked at the door and stuck his head into Terryll's cabin.

"What is it?"

"A ship is approaching, Cap'n."

Terryll grabbed his cloak and followed Alwyn out onto deck in the early morning light.

"It's The Valor of Gaulang if my eyes are right," Alwyn said.

"It is indeed. It's the Earl. Prepare to be boarded, lads."

The crew unlashed Black Zefferus's wooden camels and hung them over the port rail to keep the two ships from grinding on each other when moored together and then waited as The Valor of Gaulang approached. She dropped sail thirty fathoms out and the helmsman coasted her in. At seven fathoms out, her crew tossed the heaving line. Terryll's men grabbed it, hauled it in, and within minutes the two crews had the ships lashed together.

The Valor of Gaulang towered above Black Zefferus in the water, and even with Black Zefferus's stern castle aligned with The Valor of Gaulang's lower main deck, Toli Verk, Chancellor Bennson, and Captain Elver had to climb down six feet of rope ladder.

Terryll bowed his head once they were all situated on deck. "Welcome to Black Zefferus, Lord Verk. How may she be of service to you?"

"Thank you, Captain. Lord Palne has given grievance to me that you spoke harshly with his harbormaster the other day."

Terryll bowed his head again. "With all due respect, he forgot himself, my lord. A captain is king on his ship, and until there's a king in the realm, the only person that's giving me orders is you."

"Very good, Captain," the Earl said. "The next time this harbormaster or anyone else bothers you, I suggest you use that curtelaxe of yours to remind him who's in charge on board."

Terryll grinned and his crew laughed. "Aye. I will at that."

The Earl smiled back and sized up Black Zefferus. "This is a fine ship. Captain Elver tells me it is the only ship in the fleet with a shallow enough draft to traverse the River Ordan."

Alwyn groaned and Terryll shot him a black look before responding to the Earl. "Well, she's not a river boat, but she doesn't ride deep in the water and she's highly maneuverable, so if it's your wish for us to help ferry the Lord Chancellor's troops across the river, we can do our best. I'll tell you now, though, we can't hold more than—"

"I'm not asking you to turn your ship into a ferry for Sturm Galkmeer. I've got something much more important in mind for Black Zefferus."

"Aye?"

"I need you to take me and fifteen of my men twelve leagues up river, Captain Payce. I've been assured that with the spring runoff the water is riding high so we won't have to worry about running aground and with this offshore wind, Captain Elver estimates we can make nearly ten leagues a day."

Terryll raised one eyebrow as he weighed the prospect. "High rivers do lessen the risk of running aground, but it also means a swifter current and all sorts of flotsam rushing downstream that can punch holes in our hull. The offshore breeze is not like to hold more than a few leagues inland. With enough of a breeze, and if the river is wide enough, we can tack up-stream, but if the wind dies we have to paddle and that slows us to three, four leagues a day with a full crew, and with fifteen of your men aboard, and all their equipment, I wouldn't want more than a skeleton crew for fear of riding too low in the water."

"My men will paddle. I myself will be the coxswain if need be. Can you do it? It's imperative we get twelve leagues upstream by this time two days from now."

"It will be tight, my lord. We'll have to set forth immediately. I'll need to trim my crew, offload everything onboard that's unnecessary."

"Chancellor Bennson will arrange a warehouse in North Port for your cargo and accommodations for whatever men you leave behind. You will be handsomely rewarded if we succeed in this, Captain Payce."

"Very well, my lord. Let's be off to port then andready ourselves. We're wasting daylight."