In Search of Spice (47 page)
“As the Great Scout” - Pat tried to shrink at this name - “and the Brave Prince” - Mara preened - “captured the leader of the pigs, with the help of the Devil Dog,” he bowed to Mot, sat beside Mara in a place of honour, who barked when he looked at her. “My duty was to guard the gate. We let the women and children through before I went to find the Magnificent Magician.” Perryn, doped up on herbs and barely conscious, sat near the dais. His eyes widened and he looked worried on being singled out.
“Wah!” Wiwik exclaimed, his voice rising and reverberating off the huts. “His magic was strong! He made two huts burst into flame! But he used too much magic, not realising how poorly they made huts here. He had only seen our houses and thought these as strong. The extra magic started to consume him.”
Everyone looked at Perryn , who tried to fit Wiwik’s description into what had actually happened.
“The Magnificent Magician is powerful! He gave the magic his robe and sucked it back into his body quickly, so it only took a bit of skin on the way, leaving him standing naked and magnificent in the sunlight. At this moment, the women and children of the village came fleeing the wrath of the Great Ratu, running and screaming in terror. The sight of the Magnificent Magician, his priestly member waving in the sun, was too much! Their legs gave way, they fell on their knees before him and begged his protection. Not only did the Magnificent Magician rip the heart out of the pig by burning his home, but also he caught all the women and children without hurting them as they tried to escape! Bula!” Wiwik clapped his hands, drank, clapped them three times and shouted “Mat hey!” Warriors pushed Perryn to his feet, as he turned bright red. He vaguely remembered some women and children stopping at the sight of him only to be captured by Hinatea’s crew.
“I thought I could do magic,” Perryn began as he realised he was required to speak. “Today I realised my magic is nothing compared to the concealment magic of Patraigh Connorson.” Perryn’s training in giving sermons came to the fore as he started to speak automatically, while Pat looked desperately for escape. “Last night we travelled to the back of the village. I fell asleep with the scouts. When I woke in the dawn, I was alone! All the scouts had gone! I was scared and started to stand, when I felt a hand on my wrist. It was Pat. He said a word, and the other scouts appeared. I was reassured, and he made them invisible again and sent them off to war. I have never even heard of a magician who can make people disappear so completely. To Pat,” he cried. “Bula!” He clapped, drank the kava, clapped three times, shouted “Mat hey!” and passed a shell of kava to Pat whose evil look promised later retribution.
Pat struggled to his feet with no idea what to say. The sea of faces looking up at him confused him further, so he just drank and tried to sit down. Mara grabbed him firmly and told him to do it properly, and it took three attempts before he managed the ritual to everyone’s satisfaction, by which time the tears of mirth rolled down the Ratu’s face
The women laboured over the fire pits, offering up a fantastic smell of roast meat, to Pat’s interest as he expected it to smell somehow different. The first morsel was retrieved, carried over on a banana leaf and placed in front of the Ratu - the forearm of the dead chief. The arm was a delicacy, the Ratu explained to him. Would he like to try it?
The soldiers and Spakka were interspersed with the warriors, while the sailors stayed in a group. There was a marked contrast between the two groups, as the sailors looked nervous, while the soldiers weren’t going to let a little thing like cannibalism get in the way of a good party. Indeed, Pat could see Little using his teeth to rip meat from what was clearly a humerus. Angry shouts came from the Spakka, causing concern to Sara. Pat went to check for her, returning quickly.
“No problem,” he whispered in her ear. “Stiphleek is trying to get Boersma to eat some man meat to pay some sort of debt. Usual scrabble, Janis and Esbech will sort it.”
Sara nodded and he used his chin to point to where the crew girls were looking upset as some warriors teased them with a leg, from which they sliced slivers, chewing them ostentatiously.
“Think Rosie and Terri are regretting trying kai Viti boyfriends. I’ll have a word with Maciu for you.”
He left, leaving Sara disturbed. He wasn’t supposed to be so bloody reasonable, she wanted jealousy and bit into a chunk of roasted breadfruit with savage abandon, almost taking a chunk of meat by mistake. She noted him whisper in Maciu’s ear, who laughed and shook his handsome head. Sara swore internally, wondering if she could not persuade both of them to stay with her, after all a princess should come with benefits. Hinatea caught her eye, sitting tall and regal across the fires, not moving as Pat sat down beside her. Hinatea nodded slowly, before turning and kissing Pat with slow deliberation.
A tall and dignified woman came from the fire, bearing something on a banana leaf platter. She bowed before the Ratu and stayed down while a hush fell on the feast. The Ratu stood and murmured to her. She stood erect and spoke loudly and clearly into the silence.
Mara, sitting beside Pat, translated to Belada for him. “She welcomes the Great Ratu to the village. Swears fealty to him, offers him the old chief’s heart as a symbol. When he eats it, he takes on the spiritual path of the village, so is linked to its past. Then all stays the same, just change of leader but the spirits and Kadavu are happy they still present.”
Pat thought he understood this, and watched in fascination as the Ratu held aloft a couple of small slices, perfectly cut with one of the amazing new steel knives. He spoke, accepting the responsibilities.
All the remaining villagers came forward and took it in turn to lift the Ratu’s foot and place it on their heads. Women, older children and a few old men.
Pat whispered to Mara, “Where are the men?”
“In the fire.”
At the conclusion of the fealty ceremony, the women of the village came out with the bamboo instruments and started a slow, graceful melody. The warriors, led by the Ratu, sent a slow, sad song echoing down the beach with their melodious tenors. Mara explained to Pat it was a farewell to the warriors. Deep regret they were no longer there to fight and a promise they would live on in the live warriors’ deeds. The live warriors felt strengthened by their death and thanked their spirits for their gift of life.
Pat mused on this as he watched, noting the similarity to the beliefs of the wild men in the north, and the elves reaction to game they killed. He saw the Spakka nodding, and realised they were very much in tune with this as well. Stiphleek’s eye glinted through swelling, while Boersma flinched every time a dish passed around. He noted Sara and Suzanne’s eyes shine with unshed tears, while most of the women from the crew wept openly. Hinatea’s thigh pressed into him, her body very still. She would not tell Pat about her night with Kaduvu’s vicar, and he felt the presence of the God now. He placed an arm protectively around her, and she pressed against him.
There was silence as the song died away, the Ratu’s voice the last to tremble into the dark. The warriors sat down, one by one. Pat was deep in trance and meditation, when a loud clap and “Bula!” from the Ratu made him jump, echoed by all the other warriors and he hastily followed suit with a shell thrust to his lips.
Pat heard the Ratu whisper to Sara. “Please tell the Yellow Queen she must sleep on the ship tonight. I have my duty to perform still.” He grinned, realising the Ratu was avoiding the task himself and had not explained all of his duties to Suzanne.
As the Ratu arose, Mara touched his arm. “Come, we must replenish the warriors of the village with a stronger strain.” Pat followed Mara who followed Maciu and his father. Sara watched him go grimly, her lips a firm line which firmed even further as she saw Mactravis also in the lines of warriors leaving. The Spakka stayed seated, having explained at length about honour with the Ratu earlier to gain permission to miss the ceremony. Irritably, she went to pass on the message to Suzanne and join her on the Queen Rose for the night, noting Hinatea and the Pahippians join them.
Hinatea looked at her with wide eyes. “Tonight I sleep with all the girls, all together. In numbers we are safe from Kaduvu’s vicar and my Fire God will protect us. I will invoke the protection and raise the barrier. You should sleep with us lest he samples you.”
Sara wasn’t sure whether to be more astonished at this care for her safety or the mystical beliefs revealed.
The incorporation of the village and its small island into the Ratu’s empire proceeded very quickly and word spread through the islands. Several other villages came and swore fealty to him in the following week. Every day warriors would arrive, wanting to join the Ratu’s army and learn the new tactics.
Pat received official promotion to Midshipman, acknowledging his leadership of the scouts, for whom he found plenty of recruits, as Perryn’s tale of invisibility spread. Pat tried to tell people it was simple training and discipline, with a bit of misdirection, but Little did not help by claiming he was the most skilled wizard he had ever seen when it came to camouflage and he and Grey Fox could teleport, which was why they were so good.
The Ratu was annoyed, as he rapidly ran out of enemies to fight and took to consulting Walters and Taufik on other islands in the area. Sara and Suzanne told him directly he could not invade Pahipi, which put him into a bad mood for a day, an incredibly long time for him. Even making him their protector did not mollify him.
Sara solved the issue. She asked him to train up an army for her, which she would use as a mercenary army on her northern frontier. She and Lieutenant Mactravis agreed they had never seen such natural, skilled fighters, who took discipline better than any soldiers they had trained. As long as they were offered the chance of a fight.
The Ratu was annoyed at the lack of imminent war to which they could immediately sail. Suzanne revealed to him Sara’s status as the heir to a huge kingdom and he understood the situation, embracing her and nearly choking her. The kai Viti were not a particularly demonstrative people, but the Ratu didn’t give a damn what anybody thought.
Another peculiar friendship developed between the kai Viti and the dwarves. Having set up their kilns, the dwarves invested them with ceremony, which involved a lot of drinking and singing, something in which the kai Viti participated with enthusiasm. One of the dwarfs agreed to stay on the island and run the kiln. Naturally, this required another ceremony to invest the now bald Waru as a master and his assistants as apprentices. Pat reckoned it was the first time in history the dwarfs shared their ceremony, though it changed somewhat. It was not usual for an entire village to take part, normally being secretive and held underground. He discussed this with the master in dwarvish to the delight of the kai Viti who understood perfectly that a fight was not happening, while the Harrheinians fingered their knives. The Ratu declared dwarvish the sacred language of steel, which all smiths and apprentices must learn. The master smith told Sara she had better not upset the dwarves, as the kai Viti were natural allies for them - the shortest people and the tallest people in the world had to look after each other.
Sara needed more diplomacy when she discussed the terms for the army. It took some time for the Ratu to understand she wanted to pay the soldiers, and he refused point blank, deeply offended at the concept. He insisted she took her guard with her and agreed to train an army, promising her a thousand trained men within six months. They decided to leave Corporal Strachan behind to oversee the training, Little volunteering to help him but Lieutenant Mactravis would not hear of it, fearing the sort of training he would give them. Captain Larroche, now fully recovered, agreed to leave behind an experienced shipwright to build ships and teach the kai Viti how to sail them.
Sara and the Ratu signed an agreement of mutual aid and free trade between the Kingdoms. He listened to her warning for him to train up a reliable Prime Minister if he led the army himself, or he would return to find he was no longer the Ratu. They agreed to send him a team of administrators, farming experts and more military trainers on the Queen Rose when she returned, expected to be within six months. A core of Kingdom trained officers would keep him safe, and she and Lieutenant Mactravis interviewed over 100 boys, before selecting twenty for enrolment in the Officers Academy in Praesidium. They would learn Harrheinian on the way.
The day of departure dawned, without a soul in sight. Pat emerged on to the beach, judging the sun to have been up for at least three hours. His head ached as he remembered the previous night’s party, and the fabulous dance Suzanne orchestrated. At one point every single person present, including aged greybeards and young children, had been either playing an instrument or dancing. Suzanne had composed a score for the dance combining the ships fiddlers and pipers with the drums of the kai Viti, the dwarven horns, Stiphleek with his bagpipes and a bugler from the soldiers whom nobody had suspected existed.
He swam in the lagoon, welcomed by the small fish swarming around him and sucking at his toes. Diving down to look at the coral, he wondered again, what they were. Rocks that grew? Amazing. Something dark flashed down beneath him and he started, then realised it was Hinatea, who came up with a shellfish which she gave him with a smile and not a word.
His headache gone and feeling refreshed and a little tired, he emerged from the sea where Mot slept on his clothes, to see something dark on the horizon. Recognizing it as people, coming down the trail to the town, he wondered if he should call the alarm. Surely all the islands were now part of the Ratu’s empire? Mara appeared, yawning, came down to the beach and clasped arms with him. Pat nodded down the trail, Mara looked and answered the unspoken question.
