Three days had passed since we found the refugees from the storm. We had settled back into the normal routine of fishing. Although our guests took up space, it was not unheard of to have refugees at sea, and we worked around them as much as possible. Since the Sea Crawler was a relatively small vessel with the space below decks given up to the holds for the fish and the processing space to salt them where necessary, only Loricare had a small cabin, which he rarely used.  It was not even big enough to allow for the injured man to be treated so he had ordered a small section on deck set aside for him, with a canopy and canvas walls to keep the spray off of him.

I had made little progress in discerning much about our refugees. The children’s names I had garnered relatively quickly from their guardian. She called the dark-haired boy Dajeek, while the red-haired girl had answered to Valerik. What progress I had made in gathering any information had come from them, indirectly, and that was little enough. The looks they shared when sitting near the wounded man did not indicate the concern of a loved one, but they followed the directions of the older woman who looked after him. It was difficult to tell, because while our ships employed humans as well, it had been some time since I served on board one of them, and I still struggled with interpreting human expressions.

After a couple of days, the crew had fallen back into normal patterns of dress, and both of the kids gazed at Norilena. She was indeed beautiful, and her style of minimal dress had obviously attracted attention. When she had asked them if they would like to help with various tasks, then did they show some animation, some interest, and with permission of the lady I was convinced was a Kahina, they would scamper after her to work on whatever menial and untrained task she asked them to complete.

The fourth day had dawned brilliantly, with a good breeze from the south-east, and the lookout’s cry shortly thereafter of the boiled water sign of a school of bloodfish, a truly fortunate sighting, and it generated great excitement. We shifted course to north by northeast, and set to with nets and lines. Norilena and Sinena had both stripped down, and grabbed their fishing tridents, diving into the slightly choppy seas. Bloodfish are not afraid of swimmers, but the truly large ones do not often approach the surface. They are known for their remarkable similarity to the people’s blood, they stay fresh for up to two weeks before needing to be salted, and even salted are of exquisite taste. Since the blood and scales could also be sold for reagents, or dried for potions, the sighting was indeed fortuitous near the end of our trip.

We all worked for hours straight, and even Dajeek and Valerik worked hard, seeing the excitement throughout the ship. Perhaps most remarkable of all, by late afternoon, even the Kahina had begun to help, at least in providing refreshing drinks and fetching supplies if requested.

That evening, we dined on the finest selections of raw bloodfish fillets and a soup of kordu, which consisted of ground bloodfish scales, thickened with the fresh blood of the fish  and the normal shredded sea kepi grasses, then seasoned with the essence of the dried bhut jolokia. Perhaps one of the finest meals ever had aboard a fishing vessel, accompanied by a light, fruity wine from the cliffs of Kerendar in celebration to douse the fires of the tongue lit by the fiery bhut jolokia.

Perhaps the fine meal and the exhaustion was the change we needed to open discussions. I normally practiced late at night, Sinena waking me during his mid-watch. I tried to be mindful of my time and cantrips, and mid-dark watch was the least staffed, and well, while everyone knew I had to practice, I like to think that they appreciated that I didn’t rub my differences in their faces. Loricare’s entire crew was Ari’ngole, without. Not that others hadn’t rotated in for training like me, but, his permanent crew suffered from the curse.

Tonight, though, I was exhausted, and I practiced my cantrips before meditation, looking forward to uninterrupted sleep later. I am not very accomplished, and my most powerful magics would have provided little value to a fishing vessel, but I practiced anyway, playing the mists across the bow of the ship, summoning the sounds of the sea, or even the land. Halfway through I lit my dagger so I could take some notes to refresh my memory at a later date.

It took some time before I realized that there was a presence sitting beside me, so tired that I was, I had focused, or perhaps lost focus in the magic. “Impressive concentration, Master Tolaryian.”

I jerked in startlement, attention brought back to the here and now. “I apologize, Kahina. May I assist you with something this evening?”

“Call me Teresal, Master Tolaryian.”

“Just Tolaryian, Kahina Teresal, I am no master, just a roving apprentice.”

“I had assumed….,” she paused, “well, then just Teresal as well, Tolaryian.”

“As you wish, Ka….., I mean Teresal.”

“I questioned why you kept calling me Kahina, even though I had seen no magic in the days since you rescued us. But obviously you must have seen the auras of the stabilization spells.”

“I meant no offense, Kahi.…., Teresal. I, we, had just hoped to learn more about our passengers, of course. The Captain awaits that information to determine his final decision, and, well, it is my job to discern such.”  I wasn’t sure at the time why I didn’t mention that I could understand most of her murmured prayers over her injured comrade, a likely indicator of her status.

“I see. Are we to be considered prisoners then?”

“Prisoners?” I repeated stupidly. “Of course not, but we know not what ship you were traveling on, and, well, frankly there is little ship traffic this far from the coast. To be honest, the Sea Crawler rarely visits human cities and populations,” a brief, bitter smile, crossed her face then while I continued, “I assume he wished me to make you more comfortable.”

“Why? I mean, why you? Why an apprentice?”

“Oh, well,” I paused, “I guess because I have traveled frequently to several of the ports, including even the Imperial City of Dhar as-Fanajan a few times on some of the other clan ships.”

“Other clan ships?” she prodded thoughtfully.

“Yes, well, I mean we have several. Several fishing vessels similar to the Sea Crawler of course, but also a few more dedicated traders.”

“We?”

“Clan Windstar, my family, well, my extended family, of course. Although my mother does command Nature’s Sacrifice.”

They sat quietly for several minutes. “How did you and your family come to be here, Teresal?”

She gazed into the relative darkness of the sea, although the flames of the Fates shown from the crack of the moon.  “My family? Oh, you mean Daleek and Valerik? They are not my children, or my siblings, depending on what you meant. No, they are his slaves, although I suppose given his nature he was planning to sell them soon.”

“Slaves? Are you a slave as well Kahina?” I could feel the outrage suffuse my features.

“Not in the way you mean, but my contract requires that I protect S’ayuk’s property, whatever property that may be.”

“Well, that’s completely unacceptable. Clan Windstar does not traffic in slavery.” I began to stand to go below to inform Loricare.

“Wait, Tolaryian! Be cautious please. You and your friends have graciously helped us, I do not wish to repay that kindness with horror.”

Tensely, I stood stiffly. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, my contract calls for me to protect my ’employer’ and his property, against whomever that may be. I must follow the law. She demands it of me.”

“So the fates demand you to keep slaves?” I retorted it hotly.   “I fail to see the distinction.  Surely the contract calls for you to heal your master then as well.”

She weighed her response, “I follow the law, and the contract was made legally in Bhem Halem.  I cannot harm him and I must protect him from harm, just as I must protect his property from thieves or pirates. His brain has suffered a grievous injury.  I am not a healer of great strength as my talents lie elsewhere.  It is possible I could damage his brain further, and that would violate the contract and the letter of the law.”

I know better now, but then I was extremely confused.  “Setting aside the morality of slavers, how is that just?”

Her teeth gleamed brightly, reflecting the light of my dagger in the dark night at sea, and I could tell she smiled in delight when she replied, “Law does not concern itself with the activities of its Sister, Justice.”