Wanderlust - Chapter 7: Chapter 7

They continued along the Northern coast the next day. Soren wanted to avoid Tanden, but it wasn't easy aboard the ship. He tried to keep his head down and not seem too important. Despite that, he often found himself in situations where Tanden could tease him, and despite himself, he found that he didn't mind.
Luckily, Tanden spent a lot of time with the translator he'd hired in Falmuss, so he was often distracted. They would speak to each other solely in Morcean, except for the few times Tanden would ask something in Teltish. Soren was amazed every time he was working near enough to hear them talk. For the first few days, Tanden had spoken slowly, faltering often. By the time they neared Stanin, he was speaking almost as quickly as his translator. It didn't make any sense to Soren. Navirian and Deoran he could understand, at least those languages were similar. But Morcean was an entirely different thing.
Somehow Soren found himself at the helm when Stanin first appeared on the horizon. He was about to send someone to find Tanden, when the captain himself climbed up to the quarter deck. Soren stepped away from the helm but Tanden motioned for him to take it back.
"Think you can guide us into port?"
"Probably best you do it, Captain."
Tanden laughed. "I'll take it when we get closer. I've been thinking. We shouldn't have a problem getting up to Eith, and I'd like to head inland a ways along the river, but I'm not sure if we'll make it to the lakes on this trip. I promised my brothers I'd check in regularly and apparently the river freezes up in the winter. I'd hate to get caught in the lakes."
It wasn't a new word, but Soren wasn't used to hearing it. "An actual winter?"
Tanden's expression lit up. "An actual winter. Imagine it, white as far as the eye can see. Snow everywhere. It doesn't sound real, does it? I almost can't wait to see it."
"Sounds amazing," Soren agreed. "So you want to head back to West Draulin, and then come back out here?"
"Undecided. While we're in the area we might as well make a trip out to Crele. It's relatively quick money. It would be nice to visit my brother in Zianna if he isn't home, as well."
Soren had to rack his mind to remember the other Tandran brother's name. "Lord Tandar?"
"Sir Tandar," Tanden said. "You'd think he wouldn't give me such a hard time about insisting people call me Captain when he does the same thing." He smiled like he'd remembered something funny. "He gives me a hard time no matter what I do."
"He doesn't approve?" Soren asked. He couldn't imagine what it was like to have siblings. He was an only child, and his closest cousins had lived on Crele. He hadn't grown up with family.
Tanden shook his head. "No, he approves, he just teases me incessantly. I think he believes that being mean to me will toughen me up. Must be an army mindset. Rael's always having to step between us. Which, actually, is probably good practice for being diplomatic."
"You must be much younger than them," Soren commented hesitantly. It wasn't a regular person's place to judge a noble family, and he didn't want his observations to come off as insulting.
"I am," Tanden agreed. "Worked to my advantage, really. The Tandran family legacy rests on their shoulders, not mine, and the city isn't my responsibility. If anything happened to Rael, I'm..." he hesitated. "Eighth in line."
"Eighth?"
"If something happened to Rael, his wife would assume control of the city. She would be allowed to be the sole ruler of West Draulin until Tandrin, my eldest nephew, became of age to become Lord West Draulin. If something happened to Tandrin, Tandrix would take over, and then Tairia. Now, if some tragedy befell all of them, Tandar would have to move back to West Draulin to take over, then the cycle would continue through his family. His wife or his daughter would rule. And then, only if every other Tandran was dead, would West Draulin fall to me. It isn't impossible, I know, but it's unlikely. And as soon and Tandrin or Tandrix have any children it pushes me even further back."
"Aye, but that won't be anytime soon," Soren said.
"No," Tanden agreed. "Tandrin's ten and Tandrix is six. Tandar's daughter, Tilana, is twelve. I'm not expecting great-nieces or nephews any time soon."
Soren nodded. Let alone having siblings, he couldn't imagine having siblings who were married, or having nieces and nephews. "Do you ever consider—"
"Having children of my own?" Tanden guessed accurately. "Not really. I don't intend to ever settle down somewhere, and I'd hate to be the kind of father who abandons his children and their mother. Or the kind that drags them along when it would do them better to live in one place."
Tanden had said "their mother" as opposed to "my wife", which gave Soren pause. "Do you ever consider getting married?" He tried to sound nonchalant, like the answer didn't really matter at all and it was just friendly curiosity that made him ask.
The captain laughed. "Now that question's a little more complicated, mate, but I'll try to explain. See, my mind is constantly moving forward. To the next kingdom, the next city, the next language. In some ways, it's unfortunate. I can't stay in the same place for too long. I get bored, stagnant. As a child I warded off the worst of my boredom by studying faraway places or sneaking off to the port to talk to sailors. At the Order in Zianna, I mastered Navirian and Deoran and let my instructors think I was interested in being a diplomat just so I could get away with constantly reading up on other kingdoms."
Soren nodded. Tanden had grown up in an entirely different world, one where he could pursue his interests and not work for money. Soren thought he might have been similar, if he'd had the same opportunities. "Aye, all that makes sense, Captain. But it doesn't really explain—"
"Doesn't it?" Tanden interrupted. He crossed his arms and sighed. "The truth of the matter is that I don't think a single person could hold my interest long enough to be married. My brothers say that I get bored of people quickly, and they're not wrong. They're not right, either, but I can't blame them for that. I don't make much sense, it seems."
A single person couldn't hold his interest. Soren tried not to let the statement bother him and forced it from his thoughts. "I think you make sense."
Tanden smirked. "In Falmuss you called me confusing."
"Well, aye," Soren faltered, but things were fitting together in his mind and for the first time he thought he might actually understand what the captain wanted. "But you said so yourself, you were doing that on purpose. Maybe... maybe no one's been able to hold your interest because no one's been willin' to change with you. If someone was willin' to try new things, maybe you'd be happier." He glanced over to meet Tanden's gaze but immediately looked away. Tanden was staring at him too intently to comfortably maintain eye contact.
"Someone willing to play my game," Tanden said slowly, as if he was mulling over every word. "I think you're right. Where am I supposed to find somebody like that?"
Soren stared at his hands on the helm. "Dunno, Captain."
He flinched when Tanden suddenly stepped up beside him. The captain grabbed the same handle Soren's right hand was on, and Soren just managed to calm himself enough to not pull away.
"I'll take it from here, mate."
Relieved, Soren nodded and moved out of the way so Tanden could take the helm. It didn't seem like Tanden was going to say anything else, so Soren hurried away to help the other sailors prepare for the mooring.
Tanden dwelled on the conversation long after it had happened. He had tried to make it seem like getting married had never been something he was interested in, and in a way it wasn't. But he did envy his brothers for their marriages. Tandrael and Tandar had someone they knew would always be with them and support them. Tanden was pretty confident in his crew's loyalty, but it wasn't the same. He wanted a partner. It was just that finding a partner who was capable of keeping him interested seemed unlikely, so Tanden had settled for flirting in bars and one-night stands.
Then Soren had appeared out of nowhere, and he was fascinating. Tanden had always known he would enjoy another night with the Crelan, but he couldn't deny there was more to his attraction. He sensed a kindred spirit in Soren, someone who also wanted to explore the world. Maybe he could be that partner who was capable of keeping up with Tanden. It wasn't entirely out of the question, Soren had, after all, admitted that he'd had feelings for his previous captain. The night in Deor-Morcea hadn't been entirely due to how much ale Soren had consumed. There was more to it than that.
They passed through Stanin quickly, only staying one night to top up their supply of fresh water. Tanden dismissed his translator, finding that his own Morcean was already at a conversational level, if not fully fluent. Then they passed a long stretch of bare coastline, dotted with tiny villages that lacked a port big enough for the Wanderlust. Because of the inland lakes, Morcea didn't care much about trading on the Roeser Ocean, which explained the small number of big port cities. While the populations of Zianna, Deorun and Navire were denser near the coast, Morcea was more populated around the lakes. Any goods from other kingdoms could be dropped off at Stanin to be put on caravans, or merchants could sail the River Nir to reach the lakes.
It was about a month before the next big city, Eith, appeared on the horizon. Tanden loved the Wanderlust, but by then he was experiencing what could only be called cabin fever. He was bored of the ship and couldn't wait to explore Eith. He and Soren had fallen into an easy routine by then, and trying to fluster Soren had been the only thing keeping him from complete boredom.
Eith was a large port, bigger than the other two Morcean ports combined. It sat on the southern shore of the Nir Delta, where the river spread out and joined with the ocean. The Nir marked the border between Morcea and the two northernmost countries, Till and Sunland.
Tanden hopped onto the dock before the ship had been properly moored. He quickly made for the harbourmaster to pay before returning to the ship to make his usual speech explaining who had leave when. After the long trip up the coast, Tanden wanted to give his sailors plenty of time to relax and get space from each other. As always, he climbed onto the bulwark. Even since their launching ceremony, it had been his favourite place to stand for speeches.
"Gentlemen, welcome to Eith!" he paused to give the sailors a moment to cheer, and his eyes sought out Soren in the crowd. "It's high time for a break, isn't it, lads? We'll be spending a couple weeks here so that you can all have a nice long rest. Now, do keep in mind that we're further north than most Ziannan ships ever get. Have a good time, but I urge you all to be careful. I'm not sure how well we'll be received. And as always, respect the people and the customs. If I hear of anybody causing trouble, you will be confined to the ship. Is that understood?"
The crew agreed, half of them shouting aye and the other half yelling yes.
"Excellent!" Tanden grinned at his men. "In that case, I've got a special surprise for you lads. Tonight, everyone has leave!" He allowed the crew a moment to cheer before waving at them to settle down. It took them a moment. "I only ask that a handful of you stay on the ship with me to guard her. You'll still be on break; you'll just have to stay for the night. Do I have volunteers?" A few men waved, including Soren, to Tanden's delight. "Thank you, gentlemen. An extra hundred siyas for each of you. The rest of you lads, go explore the city!"
Tanden let them disperse before jumping back to the deck and walking over to his little group of volunteers. "I'm going to head into the city and try to find some merchants we can work with. As long as you're on the deck, keeping an eye on things, you can relax."
"Aye, Captain," Borick spoke up. "We'll keep the lady safe in your absence."
"Thank you. Hopefully I won't be long," Tanden said. He nodded at the rest of the men before leaving the ship.
Soren stood with the other four men. Along with Borick, another Crelan named Roan, a Teltan named Ivern and a Deoran named Jerios had stayed behind. They watched as Tanden strolled away down the pier, and as soon as he was out of sight Borick turned to the others.
"All right, one of us has got to step up while the captain's gone. That'll be me. Maybe he'll finally see that I'm perfect for first mate." Borick stared at each of the others in turn, daring them to argue. His glare lingered the longest on Soren. "Good, now we'll have to spread out so we can watch everything. Jerios, you can stand over by the gangway. Ivern, go up to the bow. Roan, go up to the foretop. Soren—"
"I don't think this is necessary," Soren spoke up. "Captain said we just need to be on deck. We're not expecting an attack."
"Aye, lad. But we're goin' beyond what he said so he'll be impressed."
"Doubt he'll care, mate," Soren said with a shrug.
"Oh, you spend so much time talkin' to him that you must know what he thinks, aye?" Borick asked, narrowing his eyes. "Has he promised to make you first mate?"
Soren was taken aback by the sudden hostility. He didn't want to encourage a fight. Borick was short but stocky, and there was no doubt in Soren's mind that he'd lose a physical fight. "No," he said, doing his best to sound calm. "He just likes talkin' to me, is all. Don't want to be first mate."
"Just likes talkin' to you, does he?" Borick took a step closer. "You spend a lot of time in his quarters for someone who just talks."
He couldn't let Borick see how close the taunt had hit. "That's just because I bring him food when he gets busy."
"Aye, Borick, leave the lad alone," Roan spoke up. "So what if the captain likes him? Hardly any of our concern who the man fucks."
Involuntarily, Soren flinched. "He doesn't fuck me," he said shakily, knowing full well that denying it only made it seem more true.
Ivern cut in, "Roan's right. It's none of our concern. The captain's a Tandran. Nobody's going to tell him no. Goddess knows I'd sleep with him if he told me to. Nobody in their right mind is going to upset a Tandran."
Borick turned on him. "Would you do it to become first mate?"
The Teltan crossed his arms. "Nobody's saying Soren's sleeping with the captain to become first mate."
"I'm not sleeping with him," Soren tried again, managing to sound slightly firmer that time. "I think he just likes talking about all these different places we're visiting. It's kind of boring, honestly," he lied.
Ivern glanced at him. "I believe you, Soren."
"Me too," Jerios added.
"Aye, mate," Roan said. "So Borick, leave the lad alone. We can stand on guard like you want and when the captain gets back, I'm sure he'll be impressed. Soren mate, come up to the foretop with me."
Soren nodded and followed after Roan before Borick could keep arguing. They climbed up the shrouds, and they sat on the edge of the foretop, dangling their legs over the side. For a while they sat in silence.
"Thanks, mate," Soren finally mumbled. "That caught me off guard."
"Everyone's thinkin' it," Roan said. He leaned back on his hands. "The captain's taken quite an interest in you. But if you say nothing's happenin', I believe you. Borick's annoyin' everyone these days, anyway. He's never goin' to be first mate. You'd be good at it, though."
Soren shook his head. "I don't want to be first mate."
"Why not? Vosh always told us all that the most important part of his job was understanding the captain. You seem to understand him. Seems like you'd be a good fit."
Soren knew he was right. He also knew Tanden wanted him to take on the position. "Aye, maybe. But I'm only supposed to be here 'till I pay off my debt. Then I'll be gone."
"Ah, well, we'll miss you," Roan said, reaching over to clap Soren on the shoulder heartily.
Soren smiled. "Aye, well, you won't have to miss me any time soon. I'm in a lot of debt," he pointed out. "It isn't so bad, though. The Wanderlust's route is much more interesting than my old ship. I just hope I pay off the debt when we're a little closer to home."
Roan laughed. "That's a fair thing to hope, mate."
Soren laughed as well, and then they fell into a comfortable silence, gazing out at the city of Eith.