He jumped down from the barrel he'd been perched upon and made his way to the captains cabin. He knew the man and his crew well, having made one or two short trips with them. They had always treated him kindly, being their employers son, for the Hiltons were well thought of.
The captain regarded him with a worried look and explained that the Hiltons next door neighbour had sent the captain a message about the dreadful circumstances that had occurred, namely his parents being arrested and led off to be questioned. Also theres a warrant drawn out for you lad" the captain informed him "so this is what we're going to do to get you safely away."
Some time later on, the ship had slipped its moorings and quietly put out to the river, past the defenses of the bridge until it was safely out of sight of the Citadel whereupon it was brought to shore briefly for John to be put ashore.
The past few hours had seen him christened Timmy, suitably clothed to look like a seaman, his skin given a wash in stain to darken it and himself put to work holystoning the deck in order to make his hands look less delicate.
"You'll do lad, its the best I can manage but should be enough that no one will be asking questions, the rest is up to you now. Stay off the lanes, use the footpaths and don't get caught trying to steal food or anything else. So you'll have to find ways to earn a living, the places I told you to look out for will usually be wanting a boy to help out, no questions asked.
Do keep your eyes and ears open and your mouth shut else that nice voice of yours will give you away till you've learned to sound like the regular folk. Head North East when you can find the right paths. I wish you all the best my brave lad, you're going to have to use your wits and don't trust nobody, remember that!"
There had been considerably more advice and warnings during the brief flight down river but the boy now calling himself Timmy had been given as much information as needed for now, any more and he might well have been overwhelmed.
He had been given a good sharp knife and a scrap of sharpening stone, a stout staff and a kerchief to carry his bits and pieces in, which included some ships biscuit and a scrap of dried meat which was more like leather than anything edible. Flint and steel rounded off his scant possessions.
Message Thread
« Back to index