 
       
|
The Lost Stars ChronicleChapter 29: Gib And The Apple-Tart
Gib was hobbling back up the wharf, Jackal at his side, when a strange strain of music caught his ear. The hermit turned to see where the sound was coming from. What he saw amazed him.
Puffing and huffing into the harbor was a boat, the likes of which Gib had never seen. It was covered in icicles and snow (no surprise) except for in front where a giant calliope’s was beating out a cheery tune. In the back of the scow, spinning slowly forward, was what looked like some sort of wide, mill wheel. A round, metal smokestack puffed silently on the roof of the cabin and behind what looked like some steering mechanism at the prow, stood a man. He was dressed in high winter gear, with a pipe puffing steadily in his mouth. Now, as the vessel drew nearer, he began to sing. Raising his voice above the din of his mechanical orchestra.
“Come ye one an’ come ye all!
Get yer knicks an’ get yer knacks!
A spark for yer fire an’ a light fer yer hall!
And a pipe with a brush fer the soot in yer stacks!
An’ if ye be weary an’ sick o’ cold
A’n need a drought te’ stay the chill.
Weel come’n in gather round ol’ Taylor Road.
An’ fix ye up right, I most ceertainly will.”
The man continued in billowing song to the tune of the lilting calliope, as thieves and vagabonds began to gather around his ship. Then, as the scow reached the end of the docks, the calliope stopped with a clang and with a booming voice, the man addressed his audience.
“Laddies an’ lassies, crooks an’ cads, alloow me tea introduce meself. Road’s the name. Taylor Road. S ailor, Tradesman, and Merchant extrordanar! If I dinna have it, then it dinna exist.”
Gib edged closer. Somehow, he found himself drawn to the strange ship.
“Aye, that's right.” Taylor Road said, flipping back a tarp and reveling a pile of trinkets, bobbles, and other useless-looking knick-knacks, “Step right up an’ take a gander. What about you sir?” The man looked right at Gib, a twinkle in his eye. “What can I do ye fer?”
“I...I’m just looking. Your ship is-”
“Aye, ye fancy me sardine clipper! Quite a technological marvel, if I do say so meself. There be no finner vessel then the good ship Apple-Tart. Runs on magic. Stones, that is. Engine’s been giving me trouble lately, though. This weather’s been wreaking havoc on all us magicy types.”
“What, you’re a wizard?”
“What do ye think, Rigger?” Taylor winked and gave a hearty laugh, “Aye, I like the cut of yer jib!”
This remark was followed by an even louder burst of laughter, and then, “Aye, but a fellow must be serious now an’ then. Bad things are afoot in this land an’ somen’s got to stop them. Not me o’ course. Fer tisn’t me place to do so. Aye, but you’ve got some part tae play in this ere long. I can feel it in me marrow.”
“I'm looking fer someone.” said Gib. He wasn't sure why he said it. The hermit usually didn’t trust strangers.
“Weeell, I’ll just take a look in me crystal ball here...waita minute. Ach! Tis only a snow globe. Here, ye can hold this. I’ve got something better anyhow.”
Taylor turned, and strode across an strangely empty deck, to the door of his cabin. It was only then that Gib realized what had been transpiring during his exchange with the merchant. The thieves of Port Jozef were quick at their work and had pilfered nearly every thing that wasn’t nailed down on the deck. Strangely, Taylor didn’t seem even slightly phased as he trudged back from his cabin, dragging a long something behind him.
“Ah, there ye go. Me finest dog sled. I see ye’ve got the dog as well as a bird in yer hood. This’ll take ye, quick as lightning, wherever ye need tae go. Weeell, it’s been a pleasure sir, but I think I must be gang. Me work is done here.”
With a quick shift in his steering mechanism, the man set his scow to reverse and began to puff his way out of the harbor. The calliope was silent now, but Taylor produced a fiddle and the pirates on the passing ships joined him in his song.
Tis long I’ve been a sailor,
An’ scoured the seven seas!
I’ve seen the dreadful serpents,
Heard the sirens in the breeze,
I’ve fought against the tempest,
An' I've seen the ocean’s heart.
But I’ve never seen a finer ship,
Then the good ship Apple-Tart!
hi diddle de
diddle de
diddle day
diddle diddle de de
di diddle day
hey diddle hi diddle
diddle de di
ho diddle di-de
diddle diddle di!”
Gib watched the ship disappear around the coast before turning his attention to the sled. It didn’t take long to hook it up and soon he was speeding across the tundra, headed for Orlon.
| Previous Page | Next Chapter |
|
|
