still sat on the large chest. Then Jalia saw she must have moved while she had been talking to Don because she now had a carpetbag on her lap.
“If I throw this rope to you, can you climb it?”
“I can barely stand up at the moment,” Sila said, her smile growing broader. “I remember who you are now. You’re the girl who destroyed the Miner’s Association because they murdered your boyfriend. That’s really quite funny, when I think about it.”
“They didn’t kill Daniel. We just let them believe they had. It made it easier for us to sneak into Telmar and kill them,” Jalia said absently. She knew that if she went down into the hold she could never carry Sila up the rope. Nor could she drag her up from the top. The woman was at least her own weight and Jalia needed some kind of leverage to do that; leverage that she just didn’t have.
“So why did you assassig… assanigmate… asagignate… kill them?” Sila asked.
Jalia answered as she continued to seek a solution to the problem. “Because we had no choice. Their gold at Brinan was lost, but that didn’t stop the Association coming after us to get it back. They tried to torture the location of the gold out of us twice before we realized we had no choice but to stop them. It was a matter of survival, us or them, and we much preferred to stay alive. Besides which, they were slavers, and I hate slavers.”
“I see, I think,” Sila said as she emptied her cup. “Well then, it’s all done with isn’t it? A woman like me can always get by provided she keeps a little money in reserve.” Sila patted the carpetbag protectively. “So come and rescue me, hero, because I am certainly in need.” She held her hand out to Jalia.
“Can you tie yourself to this rope if I lower it to you?”
“I think so,” Sila said cautiously. “But a mite of a girl like you could never lift me up. Not with my bag, and I’m not planning on leaving without it.”
“I’m going to try something dangerous. It could well get you killed if I get it wrong.”
“As opposed to dying down here if you do nothing?” Sila laughed. “I shall take my chances with my hero’s plan, however dangerous.”
Jalia worked out how much rope Sila would need to tie around her body and then added a few feet to that length. She tied several knots in the rope at this point to produce one big wide ugly knot. When she had completed that task, she lowered the end of the rope down to Sila. Sila looked at the big knot suspiciously.
“What’s this for?”
“That’s your brake. If it doesn’t work you will be dragged to a watery grave.”
“Sounds fair to me.” Sila tied the rope around her waist and held on with her bag’s straps over her shoulder. “What do I do now?”
“Just wait. If there are any gods you believe in, you might want to start praying to them.”
Jalia heard another cheer and looked up to see that Alin had been pulled aboard the Steam Dragon. Don was right behind him. Jalia watched until he too was back onboard the ship. That being satisfactorily accomplished, she got on with her plan.
There was another hold cover next to the one she had removed. She tied her end of the rope to a lashing point on the cover. Then she began to lever the cover off.
The cover tipped off its mounting and slid down the deck to the river. Sila’s weight was nothing compared to the weight of the cover and it pulled her up from the hold. Jalia stepped to the far side of the hole and watched as the rope ran up from the hold. The cover reached the water and gathered speed. The friction of the rope against the lip of the hold was so great that the wood started to smoke as Sila’s head reached the opening. Then the knot Jalia had tied snagged against the lip of the hold.
“Grab onto the side,” Jalia shouted as she sawed through the rope with her knife. Sila did not understand what was going on and began to pull herself out of the hole. Her actions allowed the knot to lift over the
“If I throw this rope to you, can you climb it?”
“I can barely stand up at the moment,” Sila said, her smile growing broader. “I remember who you are now. You’re the girl who destroyed the Miner’s Association because they murdered your boyfriend. That’s really quite funny, when I think about it.”
“They didn’t kill Daniel. We just let them believe they had. It made it easier for us to sneak into Telmar and kill them,” Jalia said absently. She knew that if she went down into the hold she could never carry Sila up the rope. Nor could she drag her up from the top. The woman was at least her own weight and Jalia needed some kind of leverage to do that; leverage that she just didn’t have.
“So why did you assassig… assanigmate… asagignate… kill them?” Sila asked.
Jalia answered as she continued to seek a solution to the problem. “Because we had no choice. Their gold at Brinan was lost, but that didn’t stop the Association coming after us to get it back. They tried to torture the location of the gold out of us twice before we realized we had no choice but to stop them. It was a matter of survival, us or them, and we much preferred to stay alive. Besides which, they were slavers, and I hate slavers.”
“I see, I think,” Sila said as she emptied her cup. “Well then, it’s all done with isn’t it? A woman like me can always get by provided she keeps a little money in reserve.” Sila patted the carpetbag protectively. “So come and rescue me, hero, because I am certainly in need.” She held her hand out to Jalia.
“Can you tie yourself to this rope if I lower it to you?”
“I think so,” Sila said cautiously. “But a mite of a girl like you could never lift me up. Not with my bag, and I’m not planning on leaving without it.”
“I’m going to try something dangerous. It could well get you killed if I get it wrong.”
“As opposed to dying down here if you do nothing?” Sila laughed. “I shall take my chances with my hero’s plan, however dangerous.”
Jalia worked out how much rope Sila would need to tie around her body and then added a few feet to that length. She tied several knots in the rope at this point to produce one big wide ugly knot. When she had completed that task, she lowered the end of the rope down to Sila. Sila looked at the big knot suspiciously.
“What’s this for?”
“That’s your brake. If it doesn’t work you will be dragged to a watery grave.”
“Sounds fair to me.” Sila tied the rope around her waist and held on with her bag’s straps over her shoulder. “What do I do now?”
“Just wait. If there are any gods you believe in, you might want to start praying to them.”
Jalia heard another cheer and looked up to see that Alin had been pulled aboard the Steam Dragon. Don was right behind him. Jalia watched until he too was back onboard the ship. That being satisfactorily accomplished, she got on with her plan.
There was another hold cover next to the one she had removed. She tied her end of the rope to a lashing point on the cover. Then she began to lever the cover off.
The cover tipped off its mounting and slid down the deck to the river. Sila’s weight was nothing compared to the weight of the cover and it pulled her up from the hold. Jalia stepped to the far side of the hole and watched as the rope ran up from the hold. The cover reached the water and gathered speed. The friction of the rope against the lip of the hold was so great that the wood started to smoke as Sila’s head reached the opening. Then the knot Jalia had tied snagged against the lip of the hold.
“Grab onto the side,” Jalia shouted as she sawed through the rope with her knife. Sila did not understand what was going on and began to pull herself out of the hole. Her actions allowed the knot to lift over the
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