Chapter 7 – Conversations with a Pusher
The day after my near miss with the Captain, in all the goings on and learning new things from Mattin, I became aware of the ships pusher. I was on deck, coiling up some line to be stowed away, when she stood to leave her station. She had been sitting so still, for so long, that I was startled when she moved. For ten hours she had faced forward, sitting motionless at her station just forward of the main mast.
She must have sensed my presence. “Crewman, what is your name?” she said.
I said “If it pleases you lady, call me Gwynn. Is there something I can do for the ship’s pusher?”
“Hmmm, how did such a rude one, get out on the big ocean? But, you’re new to the vessel and I have shown you no manners. My name is Serrale Durkana and I am the ships motivator.”
“Yes ma’am.” I said.
She asked “When did you come aboard?”
“Two days ago, while at Frostport.”
She tilted her head and said “I knew it. I felt something come aboard. So YOU are the cursed stow-away?”
“Yes ma’am.” I said.
Her head came up straight and she said “Take care, someone’s coming from astern.”
I whispered my thanks and rushed back to my task.
While I was busied, she replied “Do not be so quick to give away your gratitude. If you use the vulgar title for a ships motivator in range of my hearing again, I’ll give you head pains for a month!”
Just then I felt a firm “poke” behind my eyes that made me see fireflies for several minutes. I did not let on that I had felt anything, but doubled my efforts to finish quickly and report the task finished to Mattin as he was the one coming from the stern.
I had heard of vessel’s hiring a Ship’s pusher for a season, but I had never seen or spoken to one before. The Captain had hired her two season’s ago, from Ryia’s School for the Blind and the Sensory Gifted.
Over the next few days I stole several closer looks at her. Now I could see that she was a tall muscular, handsome woman. She always wore dark fingerless gloves, a black leather jerkin and breaches. No-nonsense, like almost any other deckhand. Until Serrale, I had never even met a blind person. She wore the insignia eye caps that denoted her blindness and her gift, but you could not detect neediness or a desire to be helped in any way. Though she didn’t look like someone to be trifled with, I was drawn to her. She was a question, shadowed by a dangerous answer. Although I repeatedly sought reason to be near her, I kept silent for several weeks.
A few days later, I was working near Serrale when she asked “What College are you associated with? What do you carry with you?”
I lied, “I am not associated and have not been exposed yet.”
Her face darkened, “That is untrue and throwing a lie at me is ill-advised Gwynn.”
How did she know it was a lie? She’s angry, so I said “My Pappa ordered that we should not speak of it.”
“Ah, spoken like one who hides. Perhaps someone from the Orange College. They are not popular. And you carry another secret too.”
The mind carving, how did she know? I said “Pappa does not hide, nor is he disliked! That doesn’t make sense, ‘hides’ and ‘not well liked’ what are you saying?”
‘If you are of the Orange College, there are many who will hate you. They choose to assign blame for the orange pestilence on those who control the orange at it’s source. That evil preys upon those who are weak willed.’
I asked “What pestilence? Nothing has come to my ears of plague or pestilence.”
“A plague? Yes, I suppose it could be called that too. In my short time with Captain Ulvan I have heard rumors. No, this is not exactly a plague. A substance called zhest, made from the stolen fungus of the Orange College. It seems that a few uses are addictive, life consuming.”
“But why blame the Orange College?”
“Isn’t the Orange College responsible for safeguarding the substance? And you avoided part of my question. What of this other secret?”
I answered, “Aye, I’ll speak of that after my work is done.”
Later that evening, I gave a long accounting of the mind carving. Our conversation was interrupted several times until midnight. Then it was time for some much needed rest.
Soon, I found that my free time often put me sitting near her in conversation. I learned a great deal about the School of Ryia. She described her association with the Purple College of Purification. One arm of the Purple college is the Elementalists. When tested, the area that she excelled in was the specialization of Torrent. Her face would break into a broad grin and her head tilt slightly to the left, when she spoke about the thrill of moving air and water. Once she became so distracted by our conversations that she tipped the ship a little to the stern and the entire ship shimmied and rattled for a few moments while she recovered her composure. That brought the Captain running to see what was happening. She made up something about a pair of nethark that she had narrowly missed. I still think the Captain suspected my conversations were somehow the cause but he never spoke of it in my presence.
Serrale and I became great friends. Good enough that she helped me to begin to grieve the losses of Edburga, hearth and family. Though I was not convinced that such would ever completely heal.