"How are you going to help?"
"See those boats? Some of them belong to the fishermen here. They're no different from us. They sell the few fish they catch to feed themselves, and spend the night right here. If you give them a little money, they'll gladly take you all the way to Tirsit. The weather looks good. You'll probably reach Tirsit in four or five hours."
This was exactly what he wanted to hear. Even though he didn't have much money on him, there was a fair amount of money in Bera's jacket. He didn't think there would be any problem with using that money. The only issue was that four or five hours was a really long time.
"So, can we leave right away?"
"They head out every morning at sunrise. Wait, let me call Ilga, he'll tell you and his boat is the largest. Maybe he can help you."
Soon, the man came back with a tall, skinny fisherman named Ilga. Even though Ilga insisted they should leave in the morning, Arsh didn't think they had that kind of time. Arsh hadn't even brought up the money yet, but the moment Ilga realized he would be paid, he accepted the offer right away.
After speaking with him, Arsh left Ezra there and headed toward the research center. He wanted to see what was going on without getting too close. According to the homeless man, the people looking for Ezra were bounty hunters. Someone had put a price on his head.
Around the research center, however, there didn't seem to be any extra security, unlike what he had expected. Everything was just as Bera had described. But most of them probably had a siuni.
Without staying there for long, he went to a post office and sent a telegram to Mes. Ilga had told him that they would be heading to the Billard Fishermen's Shelter. Arsh asked Mes to wait there early the next morning with a carriage and, if possible, to bring Walter along as well. It would be impossible for him to carry Ezra by himself, and Mes wasn't strong enough to help.
When he returned to Ezra's side, he saw that the strange black veins on his body were spreading even more. The homeless man said the poison, which was only on his arm when they first found him, had now begun to spread across his body. They planned to leave after midnight. Until then, Arsh remained by his side, listening to his groans.
"Hang on until tomorrow," he said, wiping the sweat from Ezra's forehead. There was nothing else he could do.
Even though the homeless man told him to get some sleep until midnight, he couldn't. He would stay awake the entire night, but his body could handle the exhaustion thanks to the siutis, even after days of traveling without rest.
When the time finally came, Ilga began preparing his boat. With the help of the homeless man, they carried Ezra. They covered him with the nets in the boat and a few rags. Arsh also put on an old cap and wore a jacket the homeless man had given him over his own clothes. There were rarely any coastal patrols at night, but it was better to stay cautious anyway.
Before the boat set sail, he approached the homeless man who had helped them.
"I didn't ask your name."
"My name? It's Adam. Adam Hearth."
"Thank you, Mr. Hearth," Arsh said with a smile.
He handed him the money wrapped in a piece of paper.
"What is this?" the man said as he opened it. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw the money.
"It's not much. I can't really repay you for your help."
The homeless man smiled.
"Thank you. Tonight, my friends and I will have a nice meal thanks to you."
They said their goodbyes without saying much more. Then they set sail over the calm waters.
…
Even though the siutis strengthened his body, there was one thing he had forgotten. Seasickness. And the siutis weren't very useful when it came to preventing seasickness.
"You didn't even eat anything. How are you throwing up?" Ilga said as he rowed slowly.
"I… I don't know. Ugh…"
"Just close your eyes. There aren't even any waves today, luckily. You'll get used to it in a bit—your body will adjust to the rocking of the boat."
Arsh nodded and closed his eyes. Now only bitter fluid was coming from his stomach when he tried to throw up. They moved along quietly for a while, though he wasn't sure how long it had been.
The only things breaking the silence were the waves their boat made in the water, the creaking of the oars, and the faint groans Ezra made. But soon he started to hear another sound which was getting louder every second.
put-ptut-ptu
"What is this?" he said, opening his eyes.
"A patrol boat. They are rarely seen at this time. I didn't think we'd run into one." Even though there was no light on their boat, it was impossible not to be seen under the bright moonlight tonight.
The boat, at first just a small shape in the distance, was closing in fast. It was at least twice their size. It stopped only a few meters away. There were three uniformed men on board.
Under normal circumstances, there was no reason for Arsh to worry. These men appeared to be regular patrols wandering the coast. But if they noticed a poisoned, unconscious man hidden under the fishing nets in the boat, there wasn't a very explainable side to this situation.
"What are you doing here? You've gone out too far," one of the soldiers said.
"We didn't have much luck for a couple days, we haven't caught any fish. A school of fish brought us all the way here," Ilga said, laughing. It was obvious he was nervous even from his laugh.
"You haven't caught anything."
"Not yet."
"You," the other soldier said, smoking a cigarette as he turned his flashlight toward Arsh.
"Take off your cap." Arsh did as he was told and took off his cap. The man looked carefully at Arsh's face. It was clear he wasn't from Symran. If they were against people coming from the colonies, this was going to take a while. He just hoped they wouldn't lift the nets and search the tiny boat and that Ezra wouldn't make a sound.
"Aren't you ashamed?" he heard the man shout this time. But he couldn't make sense of it. What exactly was he supposed to be ashamed of? Seeing Arsh's blank stare, the man shouted once more.
"Aren't you ashamed to make the old man row?"
"Ah..." was all Arsh could say.
"Please don't mind him. He just arrived from the southern colonies. He doesn't understand our language very well, and he hasn't gotten used to the sea yet," Ilga said anxiously.
The soldier looked at Arsh a moment longer while smoking his cigarette. Then he put out the cigarette on the side of the boat and threw the butt into the sea.
"Alright then... be careful," the man said. Then they left the way they came without any problem.
Actually, the man was right. No matter how uncomfortable Arsh felt, he could row faster than Ilga.
"You rest a bit, let me try," he said. Ilga handed the oars to him without refusing. At first, Arsh couldn't find the rhythm, but he quickly got used to it.
Now they were moving faster than before. From time to time, Ilga told Arsh to rest, but he didn't feel the need to.
"It would normally take at least four or five hours, but if we keep going like this, we'll be there an hour earlier than I thought," Ilga said.
Arsh was hoping that Mes had already arrived by the time they got there.
About an hour later, they approached the Fishermen's Shelter. This time, he handed the oars back to Ilga and lifted the nets covering Ezra. The man let go of the oars and took the paper without knowing what it was. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw the money, just like the homeless man.
"This is too much!" the man shouted. Arsh nodded for him to accept it. The man didn't argue back.
"Thanks to you, we'll all have a nice meal tonight. Maybe we'll buy meat. Fresh bread and a good wine, not a cheap one. Thanks, kid," Ilga said, his eyes shining. He had said the same things as the homeless man. This stolen money was more valuable, more meaningful in the hands of these people than in the hands of those rich folk.
When they finally arrived at the fisherman's shelter, he saw a silhouette by the edge of the small pier, his strange clothes swaying in the wind. He had a quite tall and large build. At first, he wondered if it was a fisherman or someone dangerous, but his anxiety vanished in a few seconds.
When Ilga tied the boat, Arsh tried to lift Ezra by his arms.
"How are you going to carry him alone?" Ilga said.
"I sent a telegram to my friend, he's right over there," Arsh said with a laugh. Although Ilga flinched at first when he saw the man approaching from behind him, he relaxed when he saw his clothes.
"I guess you like hanging out with homeless people like us."
"I guess so," Arsh replied.
Juan, still in his rags, looked in even worse shape than the homeless people around.