Scorpio Invasion by Alan Burt Akers Read Free Book Online Page B

and here my new vessel,
Garrus
, pulled in to buy and sell the goods she carried. The master, an apim called Nath Hsienu, known as Nath the Bollard, ran a much tighter ship than the ineffectual Tsien-Ting. There was no trouble aboard
Garrus
. In addition, Nath the Bollard was addicted to the game of Jikalla, and we had a number of interesting games, although, as you know, my main interest in that department is Jikaida.
    Nath the Bollard warned me that finding a ship going south would be difficult.
    “I’ve heard rumors of a great deal of nasty business going on along the coast there. My cousin twice removed, Naghan the Omurdour, sailed out with a fine crew of fellows. They were never seen again.”
    “And the rumors?”
    “Those devil ships that helped destroy the empire. They’ve been seen again flying over the coast.” He looked at me meaningfully. Because of his work as a vessel’s master he was nowhere near as apathetic to events as the majority of his countrymen. “Over the west coast. You know what that means.”
    I knew — or assumed I did. Those would be the Shank vollers. But it was clear Nath the Bollard was referring to the vollers of Havilfar and Hyrklana, the airboats that had contributed to the defeat of Loh.
    “You’ve not seen them?”
    He shook his head. “And don’t want to. Some poor devil was fished out of the sea clinging to a stump of mast. He’d seen ’em. Oh, no, if you see them ships flying through the air that’s about the last thing you’ll see, by Lingloh!”
    This news was really more than rumor. The chances of finding a ship to sail south were looking more remote by the minute.
    “Cheer up,” said Nath the Bollard, setting up a new game. “We’re sailing all the way to Sardanar at the mouth of the river. If you manage to find a ship and sail out to get yourself killed, well, then, dom — at least you’ll have had the time between then and now to play Jikalla!”

Chapter five
    As it turned out, fate or chance took a hand. Take your pick of those two imposters; one or t’other will trip you up when you least expect it. In the event I didn’t get to Sardanar on that trip; the place is not so much dire as lacking interest. It does have massive sea walls and fortifications dating back to the early days of the Walfargian empire. Those sea walls would prove of little use against an aerial armada.
    On the succeeding days as we glided down the River of Glinting Charm we passed a considerable traffic going upstream. Nath said there were more vessels of all kinds breasting the current than usual at this season.
    “I think,” I said, as I hauled my sweep to steer clear of a lopsided craft packed with people and bundles lolloping along and zigzagging wildly as the helmsman sought the westerly breeze, “I really do think I can guess why there are all these vessels going upstream.”
    “Aye,” said Nath the Bollard, taking his straw hat from his red hair and bashing it against his thigh. “Aye, by Hlo-Hli!”
    The bosun, a lively fellow with a meaty jaw and a meaty fist, said: “You reckon it’s them Fish Head devil worshippers?”
    “Practically certain, Larghos.”
    Larghos the Bosun spat overside. “Reckon they’re running too far.”
    I agreed with him. The plan of campaign the Shanks were probably following would call for their complete domination of the coastal seas. Only after that would they gather their forces for a push inland. The continent of Loh was so vast that they were likely to be swallowed up in its immensity, so they’d plan with Fish Headed cunning. Mind you, for the poor folk of Loh who happened to inhabit the areas chosen for invasion by the Shanks the invasion would mean the end of normalcy.
    We hailed a passing craft and heard a garbled shout about fires.
    “The devils are probably raiding up and down to strike terror as far as they can.” My own thoughts were that the already existing invasion of Tarankar would form the locus for their main