Raven Rebellion Read online

  “Ah, yes. I’ve heard they’ve been biting lately. I hope you find a buyer.”

  “Thank you. Can I ask why you need to inspect us, though? I haven’t been to other cities that do this.”

  “You don’t know?” The officer arched an incredulous eyebrow at her.

  “Should I?” She feigned simple ignorance. “I’m just a fisherman’s daughter and am too busy to pay attention to much else.”

  “I thought everyone knew. Antalia is under martial law. It was a hive of criminals and other undesirable elements. We’ve since cleared all of them out, and we aim to keep it that way.”

  “Oh, I had no idea.” Nereyda held her hand up to her mouth. “I’m very glad that you have helped calm things down here, then. And these inspections are to prevent those sorts of people from coming back?”

  “Yes, that’s exactly right.”

  “Very commendable, sir. It would be a shame if someone came in to stir up any trouble.”

  “You speak very well for a fisherman’s daughter,” Metine remarked.

  “My father insisted that I be able to read, so he’d buy me books at every port we visited. Anyway, I think I’ve taken enough of your time with chatter. Please follow me to the hold. Then, we can all be on our way. I’m sure you have more important things to do.” Nereyda led the way to the short staircase down to the hold.

  “More important than protecting the city, you mean?”

  “Oh, certainly not, sir.” Nereyda acted embarrassed. “I didn’t mean that.”

  “Don’t worry, I’m kidding. You’ve been friendlier and more cooperative than most of the people I deal with.”

  “Oh good. Just step down here, and you’ll see all the fish we’ve hauled in.”

  Nereyda led him into the small hold and forced herself to ignore the smell of fish that permeated the air. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “Feel free to open any crates that you want.” She gestured at the stacks of crates that filled the tight space.

  “Definitely smells like a fishing boat.” Metine wrinkled his nose and pulled the top off of one of the crates, revealing the fish underneath. He pushed a few around, which only showed more fish underneath. After replacing the top of the crate, he moved to the next one and rummaged through it.

  Nerves prevented Nereyda from waiting quietly. “Has anyone actually tried smuggling anything into the city?” she asked.

  He glanced over his shoulder. “It would surprise you what people think they can bring in. Mostly it’s unlicensed alcohol or goods, just so they can avoid paying the taxes on them. What they get is much more expensive, though.”

  “Nothing more dangerous than that, though?”

  “Like what? Weapons?” He shook his head, moving to the next crate of fish. “Nobody would be that stupid. Unlicensed alcohol just costs you a fine, a few days of working on the docks, and the loss of the vessel. Steep, but you get to live. If someone is caught with weapons, it’s straight to the gallows. Too much risk and not enough profit to make it worthwhile for anybody.”

  Nereyda’s pulse quickened at the reminder of the punishment that waited one wrong move away. “Sounds like you’ve figured out how to prevent trouble from even getting close.”

  “That’s the idea.” He closed up the crate he was inspecting. “I think we’re good here. I just see fish, and you don’t seem like the dangerous sort. I’ll just take a quick glance at your other boats, but that won’t take long.”

  “Good.” Nereyda led him back up to the deck and watched him step back onto his rowboat with his men. “Thank you for your service!”

  “You’re welcome. Enjoy your stay in Antalia.” He bowed his head quickly, then ordered his men to row to the next boat.

  As they rowed away, Nereyda let out a deep breath.

  “That wasn’t so bad,” said Elvar next to her.

  “Could have been worse. Still, I’m not really one for the obedient citizen act.”

  “You pulled it off well, I thought. He didn’t know you well enough to realize you were mocking him.” He chuckled.

  “They never do.”

  For the next while, Nereyda stood at the helm and gripped the wheel tight as she watched the rowboat go from one fishing boat to the next. The first two went quickly. On the third, they spent longer below deck than the others. Several minutes longer. Just as Nereyda was working through a backup plan, the officer emerged, and he moved on to the next boat. Soon, they finished the final inspection and rowed back near Nereyda’s boat.

  “You’re all clear to dock,” called the lieutenant.

  Nereyda waved in response, color returning to the fingers that had clenched the wheel. Her boat led the others past the line of frigates and into the harbor. She found five open docks near each other and had her small fleet pull into them.

  “Elvar, can you see about getting all of the fish loaded up onto carts? I’m going to go find Fariha and see if she’ll help us out. Once the boats are unloaded, have the crew and our cargo come to the Bawdy Bard.”

  “Are you sure she’ll let us stay there? Antalia has been through a lot, and she might not want to take the risk.”

  “Then we’ll have to figure something out. But judging from the last time I talked to her, I think she’ll be itching to take in some troublemakers like us.”

  Nereyda patted Elvar on the shoulder as she sauntered past him and up from the docks into the city, which sloped up and away from the harbor. The people that Nereyda passed all made their way through town with their shoulders hunched and voices low. Patrols of Imperial soldiers eyed anybody wandering the streets. Nereyda didn’t know how people could stand living in a place like Antalia, where the air felt heavy with oppression.

  She picked up her pace. A few blocks from the harbor, she found the faded sign for the Bawdy Bard.

  Nereyda pushed into the tavern and let her eyes adjust. The warm lantern light welcomed her, but the silence echoed and the empty tables were too clean. After a second, she heard the sound of water splashing from the kitchen in the back. At the bar, she called, “Hey Fariha, is that you back there?”

  The sound of water stopped, and a young woman appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, then smiled as she saw the captain. Her braided copper hair lay draped over one shoulder. Fariha’s green eyes carried the hint of a sparkle that seemed to defy the oppressive atmosphere that weighed on Antalia. “Reyda. You’re back. I thought I’d seen the last of you.”

  “Same here, but I’m back.” Nereyda tossed Fariha a smile and a shrug. “I see business hasn’t really changed.”

  “No, it never changes. How’d things go with Brynja? Did you get your crew out?”

  Nereyda rubbed the back of her neck. “We got them out, but it wasn’t easy. Brynja . . . she’s not with me right now, but a lot of the crew is.”

  “What brings you to Antalia again?”

  Nereyda leaned forward against the bar. “I think that conversation is going to need a drink.”

  Fariha smirked. “What kind of trouble did you bring into my tavern this time? What do you want?”

  “You pick. You might need one more than I do.”

  “Take a seat, and I’ll get us a couple of mugs of ale.”

  Nereyda perched herself on a stool at the bar.

  Fariha came back with a pint in each hand and eased around the bar to sit next to Nereyda. “Okay, so what is it that I need a drink to hear?”

  Nereyda sipped her ale and took her time setting it back down. She wished she had planned this conversation better. “Last time I was here, you told me about what happened to this city. How they rounded up all of the pirates, smugglers, and other criminals that they could get their hands on.”

  “That’s right. They strung them all up in the square. It was a forest of gallows . . .” Her voice trailed off, a distant look in her eyes.

  “Some of those people had to have escaped that fate though, right?”

  “Some of the clever ones are still alive, yes. But most didn’t make it
. Where’s this going, Reyda?”

  “Just bear with me for now. The ones who were killed—they must still have friends and family around here.”

  “They do . . .”

  “Do you have a way of getting them all to meet here?”

  “Maybe. But you need to tell me why.”

  Nereyda took a deep breath, then held her friend’s eyes with a steady gaze. “We’re going to take the city back.”

  Fariha’s eyes widened. “You’re even crazier than I thought. You want to take Antalia back? How? This place is full of soldiers. We don’t even have weapons.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong. We have weapons. Several boats full.”

  “This is nuts, Reyda. Do you have a plan for all of this?”

  “I have part of a plan. Enough of a plan.”

  Fariha rolled her eyes. “That’s reassuring.”

  “Listen, do you want to keep living like this? Running an empty tavern in a city full of people who walk around like dogs with their tails between their legs?”

  “It’s not the life I would choose, but I also want to keep living.”

  “Is this living, though? Or are you just surviving?”

  “Maybe you’re right.”

  “Get as many people in this bar as you can. Say whatever you have to in order to get them here. Once they’re here, then I’ll worry about what we’ll do next.”

  “Fine. I’ll get them here and hear you out with the rest of them.”

  “Great, thank you. We’ll also need rooms if you can spare them and some space in your cellar for some crates.”

  “Do those crates contain what I think they do?”

  “That depends on what you think is in them.”

  “I’m probably going to regret this, but sure, if I’m going to hang for helping organize a rebellion, I might as well add weapons smuggling to the list of charges. They can’t kill me twice.”

  “They’ll probably try, though.”

  “That’s true enough.”

  “How soon can you get your people here?”

  “Nobody in this town has anything to do, so I’ll get them here tonight.”

  “Couldn’t we end up with some random people who might rat us out?”

  “I know whom I can trust to spread the word to the right people. And if a stranger wanders in, I’ll just tell them we’re full already.”

  “Sounds great. Set it up.” Nereyda heard a creak from outside. “Sounds like our cargo just rolled up. Which way to the cellar?”

  “In the back.” Fariha pointed through the door to the kitchen.

  Nereyda took a big gulp to swallow the rest of her ale, then stood up and strode across the room. Outside, six carts full of crates sat at the side of the road. Elvar leaned against one of the wheels of the front cart.

  “Have any trouble?” Nereyda asked him.

  He shook his head. “Went as smooth as possible.”

  “Nobody thought it was strange that six carts rode through town together?”

  “If they did, I think the smell of fish convinced them otherwise.”

  “Good. Let’s get everything moved into the tavern. Fariha’s got a crowd coming tonight.”

  “What are you going to say?”

  “No idea. I’ll make it up as I go.”

  “Didn’t you tell Devrim that you had a plan?”

  “I had a plan to get in. Now we work with what we find. Let’s get to work.”

  Nereyda and her crew spent most of the afternoon and early evening hauling the crates into the basement, then removing the fish from the crates to let the weapons air out. Nereyda dug out her own cutlass, dagger, and pistol. She had felt naked without them, and their weight on her hips restored her sense of security and balance.

  After they had stored all of the weapons, the crew relaxed around the tavern, and Fariha kept them supplied with drinks and food cooked from the fish they had hauled into port. As she brought orders out, she’d stop and chat with old friends from the original crew. A couple of hours after sunset, other people trickled into the Bawdy Bard. A few minutes later and the trickle became a stream. Nereyda scanned the faces to see if she recognized anybody, but didn’t see any of her old friends. A couple of times she thought she saw someone familiar, then realized it was just family resemblance. A room full of strangers surrounded her. Before long, the whole tavern was packed with people whom Fariha had invited.

  The crowd gave her the same warm, giddy feeling as when she recruited people for her crew, but her excitement was weighed down with the fear that she was sending them all to their deaths.

  A hand landed on her shoulder. “Looks like it’s time, Captain,” said Elvar.

  Nereyda nodded at him, then stepped up onto the nearest table so that she could see over the crowd.

  “Hey, everyone!” The chatter in the crowd died down to a murmur. “Quiet! That means all of you!”

  “Who the hell are you?” called a voice.

  “I’m Captain Nereyda, and I’m the evening’s entertainment,” she said with a smile to the watching faces. Once everyone had focused their attention on her, she turned serious. “I’m here to help you win back what you’ve lost.”

  “What do you know of what we’ve lost? You’re not from here.”

  “You’re right,” said Nereyda. “I’m not from here. But I used to call Antalia a second home. And I do know what you’ve lost. I know that I’m a stranger to you, as you are strangers to me. And that saddens me. It saddens me because it means that the many friends I once had who lived in this city are gone.” Emotion cracked into her voice and Nereyda let it hang in the air. She paced along the length of the table, scanning the crowd.

  “Even though I don’t recognize your faces, I still recognize what your faces tell me. I see people who have lost friends and family members. I see people who have had their ways of life torn from them. I see people who have been stuck living in the cage that this city has become. I see all of these things because I have been exactly where you are. Maybe not in this city. Maybe not in the exact same way. But I’ve been where you are in spirit.”

  She raised her voice, recalling the moments when she rallied her crew. “I’ve spent my life on the sea, as has my crew. That all ended when we were captured by the Empire. My crew was tossed into the mines to work themselves to death, while I at least had the freedom of being pressed into service on an Imperial ship. Eventually, I thought I could free my crew, but my first mate betrayed me in the hopes of getting our crew out herself. The Empire that captured us and made us slaves made my own sister betray me because it was the only way she saw to help our people. We just managed to escape during the attack on the mines, but not everyone in my crew made it. I’ve lost people whom I consider to be my family.

  “I’m here to help you take your life back. We’re going to hit these Imperial bastards where they never saw it coming, right in the middle of the most heavily guarded city in the Empire. They don’t think little people like you and me can stand up to them. We’re going to prove them wrong. Together, we’re going to take back Antalia.”

  A cheer erupted from the crowd as it whooped and clapped its approval.

  “Wait, wait,” called the same doubtful voice from earlier. A man with a stubbly face stumbled to the front of the crowd. “That’s all great, but if we’re going to fight, what are we supposed to fight with? Just beat Imperials to death with our hands and beer mugs?”

  “You’ll be using these. Crew, bring out our gifts.”

  Some crew members hauled out some of the crates and dumped them onto the other tables. Swords, daggers, and pistols poured out, overflowing the surfaces of the tables.

  “We have many more where those came from. Now, who among you has fought before?”

  Some hands started to rise, but the same man interrupted again with a scoff. “Is that all we have? Just us against the whole garrison?”

  “We’re not going to fight them all at once. We’re going to be smart about it,” said Ne
reyda. “Plus, I have yet another surprise.” She reached up toward the ceiling while summoning the power inside her. Sparks of lightning shot upward from her hand, crackling in the air. “How many Imperials do you know who can do that?”

  As she lowered her arm and shook out the tingling sensation, she fixed her eyes on the man who had questioned her. “Is that enough of a demonstration?”

  The man had no response aside from an impressed nod.

  “As I was saying, does anyone here have experience fighting?”

  A handful of people around the tavern raised their hands, including a pair of burly twins, a tall man with a graying beard, and a woman with straw-blonde hair around her shoulders.

  “Good. Meet me here tomorrow morning so we can start planning. The rest of you, come back tomorrow night and we’ll have our plan ready for you. Aside from that, don’t change your schedule tomorrow. We don’t want to tip off the Imperials that anything is about to happen. Also, if anybody decides to tell the Imperials about what we’re doing and I find out about it, you’ll learn what it feels like to be struck by lightning.”

  Some nervous laughs sounded through the crowd.

  “I’m serious. Now, enjoy yourselves and get some rest tonight. You’ll need it very soon.”

  Nereyda hopped off the table and found Elvar waiting with a drink in hand for her.

  “That was a good speech,” he said.

  “Thanks. Now we have to make it count for something,” she responded as she slumped down on a bench.

  “We will,” said Elvar. “You remind me of Captain Nogre. You definitely picked up his knack for getting people ready for a fight.”

  “And you helped teach me how to win those fights.”

  “I don’t know about that. You’ve always been a natural fighter. But Nogre would be proud of you, and so am I.”

  “Proud of the captain without a ship?”

  “A ship is just a piece of wood. The Storm Raven is here, with the crew.”

  “Half of the crew, at least.”

  “We’ll find the others. I have faith in us.” The wrinkles on his face creased into a smile. “In you. We’ll do it together.”