The jackal was picking his teeth with a knife, working out along strand of gristle.
“Oi!Percy!”
Percival flinched, nearly stabbing his gums.Vance flickedher head towards Isaac.The jackal stood up hurriedly, rattling the dinnerware,trying to wriggle a scroll from his inner breast pocket.
“’Bout time we talk business,” Vance said.
The jackal came around to Isaac’s side of the table,flattening the scroll along the cloth.The paper was a maze of titles,paragraphs, and subsections.Just from a glance, Isaac could see that it hadbeen inked sometime today, and in somewhat of a hurry.
“That’s the missive the Royal Claw wanted me to pen foryou.”Vance poured another cup of wine.“Some flowery preamble to start, then anew contract.”
“New contract?”Isaac asked.
“Go on.Read it.”
Isaac began to do so, having to use both hands to keep itflat on the table.After a moment, Zaria stood up from her seat, came to hisside, and leaned over his shoulder.He heard her begin to mouth the words.
“Oh,” Vance said, a note of surprise in her voice.“Zaria,you can read?”
“I’ve been learnin’.Gotta work itout, still.”
Isaac leaned in, struggling to parse the neat, sharp curvesof Vance’s handwriting.He realized that he was, indeed, very drunk.Thecaptain’s wine was much stronger than the swill he had often been served at atavern.He raised his head for a moment, trying to catch the sea air comingthrough a portside window, and he saw the captain exchange an uneasy glancewith her first mate.
Something about their looks set him on edge.
“Hold on,” Zaria said.She pressed a finger to one of thewords.“Ap—ate, um, rem—un—er—” She frowned.“Gods, that’s a mouthful.”
“Remuneration,” Isaac said.“Appropriate remuneration.”
“Why the fuck do words gotta be that long?Who wants tospeak like that?”
“It means we’re getting higher wages.”
“Keep reading,” Vance said.
“‘Great excitement,’ Isaac said, squinting at the parchment.“‘Exotic specimens.’‘New charter.’‘Circumnavigation.’”Isaac paused.“Circumnavigation?”
Vance was holding a quiet smile.
“Wait,” Zaria said.“That means travel around, aye?”
“It does,” Isaac said, shocked.
“Then ...travelling all around the world?”
“Yes,” Isaac said.“Circumnavigation.”
Zaria gave a low whistle, glancing happily around the table.
“That’s the new contract,” Vance said, focusing on Isaac.“We’re adding several years to the voyage, if it all goes proper.I spoke tothe queen herself, and I don’t got to tell you that’s out the ordinary.Giovanna ishighlyimpressed with all the funny creatures you’ve found,Isaac.She sees the value in all these untapped lands, and she’s giving heapsof coin to aid the effort.That means better pay, better provisions, morecartographers, some hefty escort ships, and whatever else we want, really.”
“Fuck me,” Zaria said.“No one’s crossed the globe before.Half the maps are centuries old.”
“We’ll be inkin’ the new ones.”
Zaria clapped Isaac on the back, struggling to get thelaughter out.She was the only one to try.Isaac had kept reading, roaming hisgaze down the last paragraph of the missive.A stab of fear went through hisgut.When he looked up, both the captain and the first mate were watching himcarefully.Outside, the sea lashed angrily at the hull.
The room began to spin faster.
