Wanderlust (mxm)

Chapter Eight

The trip upriver went smoothly and they made it back to the ocean before winter struck. Soren continued to refuse the title of first mate, but he was doing all of the work associated with the job and for the most part the crew had accepted him with only a few grumbles here and there.

They sailed down the coast just ahead of the cold weather and celebrated the changing of the year during the long stretch of coast between Eith and Stanin. When they docked in Stanin, Tanden did his usual speech about respecting the locals before giving the men leave. As he had in Eith, he gave almost every sailor the first night off with a few volunteers staying behind. When he hopped from the bulwark, he called Soren to follow him. Their private conversations had become commonplace as Soren picked up more responsibility, but luckily for the most part the captain had kept their talks related to business.

Soren was surprised when he followed Tanden into the captain's quarters and Tanden abruptly handed him a pouch of coins. He glanced down at it, confused by the weight. "Is there something I need to buy?"

"No." Tanden flipped open his ledger and made a note. "I was looking at how much I owe the men, and it occurred to me that you've paid off your debt."

"I don't think so."

"With a regular salary you wouldn't have," Tanden agreed. "But technically I should have given you a raise when you took on the additional responsibilities. So if I add all that up, you've paid off your debt and I actually owe you a couple hundred siyas. So that's your money." He nodded at the pouch. "You're free to go, and you're free to not come back tomorrow."

Soren didn't know what to say. He'd always kept the possibility of leaving in the back of his mind, but he enjoyed working on the Wanderlust. He had friends aboard her, and he'd even figured out how to work with Tanden. With the option suddenly in front of him it didn't seem so appealing. "Captain, I—"

"We're going to be in Stanin for a few days," Tanden pointed out. "Why don't you take some time to think about it? If you come back, it'll be as first mate."

Soren nodded. "I'll think about it."

"Good. Go enjoy some time off."

So as Soren walked into the city, he thought of his options. Working on the Wanderlust was a good job, and being first mate was something most sailors only dreamed of. It would be foolish to refuse, to stay in Stanin and hope for another Ziannan ship to pick him up. The only qualm he'd ever had about the ship was having to deal with Tanden, but he'd figured it out months ago. So he was going to go back. To turn his back on such a good life was stupid.

But first he would enjoy his night off. Most of the crew would be heading for taverns or brothels, and in many cases both. Soren avoided the taverns. He didn't mind the occasional drink, like the kalay in Eith, but he still couldn't remember what had happened the last time he'd been drunk and he didn't want a repeat of the experience.

He finally found the brothel he had heard some of the other sailors talking about, and he stopped in front of it. He'd never been fond of the idea of brothels, but visiting them was pretty ingrained in the sailing culture. Besides, it would help him get his mind off of his decision to go back. And off of Tanden. He took a deep breath and walked in. The first thing he saw was a desk, and a ferocious looking woman sitting behind it. There were no doubts that this woman would kill to protect her girls.

Soren walked over to the desk. A few girls were scattered around the room, and Soren could sense them staring at him. He did his best to ignore them and looked at the woman, unsure of what to say.

She must have been used to that kind of behaviour, because she just opened the huge book on her desk and picked up a quill. She spoke in Morcean, and then sighed and turned the book around so Soren could see what was written. Luckily, they wrote numbers the way he was used to. He counted out the right amount of money, added some extra, and put the handful of coins down on her desk. The woman looked through the pile quickly before sweeping the money into a drawer and calling what Soren assumed was a name. A girl got up from the nearest couch and took his hand. Soren let her lead him up the stairs.