Chapter 9 Chapter Nine Only Wastes Fat

Little is known about the Fool except that he came to Buckkeep in the seventeenth year of King Shrewd's reign.It is said that the Fool was a gift from a merchant in Bingcheng, but as for his origin, we can only guess.According to one version, the Fool was captured by the Red Ship Raiders, and the merchants of Bingcheng snatched him from them; A sharkskin parasol shaded him from the sun, and heath and lavender cushioned him from the jolts.This is obviously just a fantasy made up.We know nothing of the life of the Fool before he came to King Shrewd's court. The Fool was human, almost certainly, though neither parent was necessarily human.Some of the stories that he was born of a "stranger" were almost certainly not true, since his fingers and toes were completely unwebbed, and he never showed the slightest fear of cats.The jester's unusual features (such as lack of blood color) seem to be inherited from outside humans, rather than just a mutation of personal appearance, although I may be wrong on this point.

What we don't know about the Fool is almost more significant than what we do know.How old the Fool was when he came to Buckkeep has been widely speculated.From my personal experience, I can be sure that the Fool looked much younger than now, and in every respect, but since the Fool shows no signs of aging, maybe he was not like him then. It seems so young at first, but at the end of a very long childhood. The jester's gender has also been the cause of controversy.Someone younger and reckless than I am now asked him this question directly, and he replied that it was his own business and had nothing to do with others.I agree with that.

Whether his powers of prophecy, and obnoxiously vague forms of prophecy, were a racially inherited gift, or a gift of his own, was also inconclusive.Some people believe that he can predict everything, even if anyone talks about him anywhere, he will know; others think that he just likes to say "You see I warned you!" Some obscure words were hardened into prophecy.That may sometimes be the case, but there are many well-documented instances where what he predicted did turn out to be true, no matter how obscure his earlier predictions. I woke up hungry just after midnight and lay there listening to my stomach growl.I closed my eyes, but I was so hungry that I felt like throwing up.I got up and groped for the plate of pastries that Verity had left on the table, but the servant had already taken it away.I argue with myself, but my stomach wins over my head.

I quietly pushed open the door and stepped into the dimly lit passage. Two guards sent by Verity at the door looked at me suspiciously. "Starving to death," I told them. "Have you noticed where the kitchen is?" I've never met a soldier who didn't know where the kitchen was.I thanked them, promised to bring back something to eat, and walked softly down the shadowy passage.It is strange to step on wooden steps instead of rock steps when going downstairs.I walked the way Chade had taught me, putting my foot down noiselessly, moving in the shadowiest parts of the walkway, following the places where the floorboards were least likely to creak.It all feels so natural to me.

Everyone else in the castle seemed to be fast asleep, and most of the few guards I passed were also dozing off, and no one asked me where I was going.At the time I thought I had been successful on tiptoe, but now I think maybe they thought a skinny guy with messy hair wasn't much of a threat and shouldn't be bothered. I found the kitchen easily, a large open room with stone floors and walls in case of fire.There are three large hearths in the room, and the fires are well preserved for tomorrow's use.Although it was late, or rather early, the place was well lit.A castle kitchen is never fully asleep.

I saw several covered pots and smelled the dough rising.A large pot of stew was kept warm on the edge of a stove, and I peeked out of the lid, and it seemed that a bowl or two from it wouldn't lose much of it.I rummaged around and arranged a meal for myself.There were several loaves of bread wrapped up on the first shelf. I took the crust at both ends of the bread, and at the other corner there was a pot of cream in a large bucket of water to keep it cool.Nothing fancy.Thank goodness there are no bells and whistles here, just simple, unpretentious food that I crave all day long. Halfway through the second bowl, I heard lightly? ?footsteps.I looked up with the friendliest, most disarming smile, hoping the cook here was as soft-hearted as the cook at Buckkeep, but instead it was a maid in a nightgown and a blanket over her shoulders, holding her baby.she is crying.I looked away uncomfortably.

She hardly even glanced at me anyway.She put the cloth bag that wrapped the baby on the table, took a bowl and filled it with cold water, and kept chanting.She leaned over to the baby and said, "Come, my little cutie, my little lamb. Come, my little darling, a little water is better, just a little. Oh sweetie, you can't even lick Is there a way to lick it? Then open your mouth, come on, open your mouth." I couldn't help but look over.She held the bowl awkwardly, trying to get it to the baby's mouth, and with the other hand forced the baby's mouth to open as hard as I've ever seen a mother put on a baby.She tilted the bowl, and the water poured out, and I heard a muffled grunt, then a retching sound, and I jumped up to stop her, when a puppy's head emerged from the cloth bag.

"Oh it's choking again! It's dying! My puppy is dying but no one cares but me. He'll just keep on snoring and I don't know what to do my little darling about to die." She hugged the puppy tightly, and the puppy retched almost suffocatingly. It shook its little head desperately for a while, and then seemed to calm down a little.If I hadn't heard its labored breathing, I'd have thought it was dead in her arms.Those bulging black eyes met my gaze, and I felt the terror and pain inside the puppy. take it easy. "Come on, listen to me," I heard myself say, "you can't hold him so tight, he can't breathe. Put him down, open the cloth bag, and let him decide what's most comfortable for him. You wrap it like that and it's so hot it's choking and gasping. Put it down."

She was a head taller than me, and for a moment I thought I had to wrestle with her, but she let me take the dog, which was wrapped in several layers of cloth, from her arms, and I unwrapped it and put the dog on the table . The puppy was in a lot of trouble.It stood there with its head hanging between its front legs, its muzzle and chest full of saliva, and its belly swollen and hard.It began to retch again, its small upper and lower jaws opened wide, and its lips lifted to reveal its sharp teeth.Its tongue was very red, showing how hard it was throwing up.The girl screamed and rushed forward to hug him, but I roughly pushed her away. "Don't hold it," I told her impatiently, "it wants to spit out something, you hug and squeeze it like that, it can't spit out at all."

She stopped. "Spit?" "It looks and acts like it has something stuck in its esophagus. Is it possible it ate a bone or a feather?" She looked terrified. "That fish has bones in it, but it's just tiny bones!" "Fish? What idiot made him eat fish? Is the fish fresh or spoiled?" I've seen dogs eat produce on river banks. Spoiled salmon that died of exhaustion after spawning, turned out to be very sick.If this puppy eats rotten fish, it will never survive. "It's fresh and cooked. It's the trout I had for dinner." "Well, at least it's less likely to be poisoned. Now it's just the bones that make it sad, but if he eats the bones If you go down, you may still die."

She gasped. "No! It can't die. It will be fine. It's just an upset stomach. I've fed it too much. It will be fine! You kitchen handyman, how do you know about dogs?" I watched the pup retch almost uncontrollably again, spitting out nothing but yellow bile. "I'm not a kitchen boy. I'm in charge of dogs. In fact, I'm in charge of Verity's own dog. If we don't help this puppy, he'll die, and he will soon." With a look of surprise and horror on her face, she watched me hold her pet firmly.I'm trying to help you.It doesn't believe me.I pried open its mouth and stuffed two fingers into its esophagus. The dog retched even more, and desperately scratched me with its front paws.Its claws should also be trimmed.I touched the bone with my fingertips, turned my fingers a little, and felt the bone move, but it was stuck sideways in the puppy's throat.The dog let out a choked howl and struggled frantically in my arms.I let it go. "Hmm. He couldn't spit that bone out on his own without help," I pointed out. I'll let a girl cry over a dog as long as she doesn't scoop him up and squeeze him in her arms.I dug a stick of cream out of the barrel and put it in my soup bowl.Now I need something that has a hook or bends a lot and isn't too big.I rummaged through the cupboards until I found a metal hook with a handle attached to it, probably for pulling a hot pan off the fire. "Sit down," I told the maid. She stared at me blankly, then obediently sat on the bench I pointed to. "Now hold him tight between your knees, and don't let him go, no matter how much he grabs and twists and howls. Also, grab his front paws before he grabs me to pieces. Do you understand? " She took a deep breath, then swallowed, nodded, tears streaming down her face.I put the dog on her lap and put her hands on it. "Hold on," I tell her, and whip up a dollop of cream. "I'm going to lubricate its throat with this oil, and then I have to pry its mouth open, hook that bone and pull it out. Are you ready?" She nodded, the tears had stopped flowing, and her mouth was tightly closed.Glad to see she wasn't too weak, I nodded to her too. Getting that lump of cream down was the easy part, but the butter stuck in his throat made him panic even more, and his waves of panic slammed into my self-control.I didn't have time to slow down and pry open its mouth and put the hook down its throat.I hope I don't hook its flesh, but even if I do, well, it's going to die anyway.I turned the tool in its throat and it writhed and screamed and pissed all over its owner.The hook caught the bone, and I pulled it out steadily and slowly. The bone came out in a cloud of bloody bile, a deadly little bone, not a fishbone at all, but part of a bird's breastbone. I throw the bones on the table. "It shouldn't eat the bones of birds either," I told her in a stern tone. I don't think she heard me at all.The puppy was panting gratefully on her lap. I held out the bowl of water to it. It sniffed it, licked it a few times, and then curled up exhausted.She picked it up in her arms and rested her head on its head. "I want to ask you something." I said. "Whatever you want," she said with her mouth buried in its fur. "If you ask, I'll give it." "First of all, stop feeding him what you eat. Only feed him red meat and cooked cereal for now, and for a dog of his size, don't feed him more than you eat." The amount that can be held in one hand. Also, don’t hold it all day long, let it run around, so that it can grow some muscles, and the claws can be smoothed out. And give it a bath, its fur and breathing It stinks from eating too much too good of a food. Otherwise it would only live another year or two at most." She raised her head in fright and covered her mouth with one hand. This movement felt very similar to the embarrassment she used to fiddle with her jewelry at dinner, and I suddenly realized who I was cursing.It's Mrs. Xianya.And I made her dog piss all over her. The look on my face must have given away my reaction, she smiled happily and hugged the dog even closer. "I'll do what you suggest, son of a dog. But yourself? Don't you want a reward?" She thought I was going to ask her for money, or a ring, or even a position in the castle.I kept my sight and voice as steady as possible, looked at her and said, "Madame Xianya, I beg you to ask your husband to send the best troops to the watchtower on Watch Island, and let the two Grand Duchesses of Reben and Hux There will be no more strife." "What?" This short two-word question let me know a lot about her.This kind of accent and accent was not learned as Mrs. Xianya. "Please ask your husband to send someone to guard the watchtower." "You are a dog boy, why do you care about such things?" Her question was too direct.Wherever Kelva had found her, she had come from low birth, and hadn't been rich before marrying him.Her delight at my recognition, and her wrapping the dog in her blanket and carrying him alone into the familiar, comforting kitchen, showed that she was a commoner girl too soon to be accepted. Lifted to a position that was too much higher than her original status.She is alone, unsure, and doesn't know how she behaves, and what's worse, she knows her ignorance, which keeps her from rest and makes her happiness tainted by fear.If she didn't learn to be a duchess before her youthful beauty faded, she would face only years of loneliness and ridicule.She needs a mentor, someone as secretive as Chade, and she needs me to give her advice, right now.But I have to be careful, because she won't take the advice of a dog boy, that kind of thing only commoner girls do, and the only thing she knows about herself now is that she is no longer a commoner girl, but a duchess. "I had a dream," I suddenly had an idea, "the dream was very clear, like seeing a vision, or a warning. When I woke up, I felt that I had to come to the kitchen." I made my eyes dim, Her eyes widened.She was hooked. "I dreamed of a woman who spoke some wise words and united 3 strong men into a wall that the Red Boat raiders couldn't get in. She stood before them, with jewels in her hands, and she said: 'Let the lights of the watchtower shine brighter than the jewels of these rings.Let the vigilant soldiers of the watchtower surround our shores, as this string of pearls once circled my neck.Re-fortify the citadels against those who threaten our people.Because I am willing to walk in front of the king and the common people in simplicity, and let the defenders who defend our people become the jewels of our land. 'Her wisdom and nobility amazed kings and dukes of all the principalities, but her people loved her most, for they knew she loved them more than gold or silver. " The speech was clumsily delivered, not quite as clever as I had hoped it would be, but it caught her heart nonetheless.I could see that she was imagining herself standing up majestically before the Crown Prince, amazed by her sacrifice.I sensed her eagerness to distinguish herself, to be spoken of with admiration by those of her class.Perhaps she had been a milkmaid or a kitchen maid, and those who knew her still saw her as such.Doing so would show them that she was not a pompous duchess, and that Sir Shemsey and his retinue would tell stories of her back to the Duchy of Shokes, and that minstrels would sing about what she said, and that her husband Will be amazed by her for the first time ever.Let him see that she cares about the country and the people, not just a pretty little fool he lured in with her title.I could almost see the thoughts parading through her head.Her eyes became distant, and there was an absent-minded smile on her face. "Good night, dog boy," she whispered, and floated away from the kitchen, the dog curled up in her bosom, the blanket draped over her shoulders as if it were an ermine cloak.She will play her role very competently tomorrow.I grinned suddenly, wondering if I'd done my job without poison.I haven't really found out if Kelva is treasonous, but I think I've cured it.I'll bet those watchtowers will be manned by elite soldiers before the week's over. I went upstairs and went back to sleep.I handed the guard a loaf of fresh bread I had plucked from the kitchen, and they let me re-enter Verity's bedroom. I went upstairs and went back to sleep.I handed the guard a loaf of fresh bread I had plucked from the kitchen, and they let me re-enter Verity's bedroom. Someone's voice telling the time came from somewhere in Weiwan Castle, I didn't pay attention to it, I just got back into the bedding with a full stomach, looking forward to the good show Mrs. Xianya will perform tomorrow.As I drifted off to sleep, I bet myself that she would be wearing white, straight, plain clothes, and her hair would be down. In the end I never had a chance to know.It seemed like only a few minutes before I was shaken awake, I opened my eyes and saw Charin squatting beside me, the faint light of a candle casting a long shadow on the bedroom wall. "Wake up, Fitz," he whispered roughly. "Mrs. Thyme sent a messenger to the castle to tell you to come over immediately. They are already preparing your horse." "Me?" I asked blankly. "Of course. I've prepared your clothes for you. Be quiet while you change. Verity is still asleep." "What does she want me to do?" "I don't know! The message wasn't clear, maybe she's sick Fitz, the Messenger only said she wanted you to come at once, and I thought I'd find out when you got there." It didn't really comfort me much, but it was enough to arouse my curiosity, and I couldn't help but go.I don't know what kind of relationship Lady Thyme has with the king, but she is far more important than me, and I dare not ignore her orders.I changed quickly by candlelight and walked out the door for the second time that same night.Hands was ready to saddle Soot and made a lewd joke or two about my being summoned, and I suggested back how he could amuse himself for the rest of the evening, and rode away.The guards manning the castle gates and fortifications have been notified and wave me through. I took two wrong turns in town, everything looked different at night, and I didn't pay much attention to which way I was taking when I came here earlier.At last I found the courtyard of the inn, and the anxious innkeeper was awake, with a lighted lamp, at the window. "It's been almost an hour since she moaned and said she wanted you, little man," she told me anxiously. "I'm afraid she's very ill, but she'll only let you in." I hurried down the passage to her door and knocked cautiously, expecting to hear her screaming for me to go away and leave her alone.But a trembling voice came out, "Oh, Fitz, are you here at last? Come in, boy, I need you." I took a deep breath, unlatched the door, and stepped into the half-dark stuffy room, holding my breath against the several odors that assailed my nostrils.Death, I thought, couldn't smell much worse than this. The bed was hung with heavy curtains, and the only source of light in the room was a flickering, weeping candle in a candlestick.I took the candlestick and ventured closer to the bed. "Lady Thyme?" I asked softly. "What's the matter?" "Boy."—the voice came quietly from a dark corner of the room. "Chade," I said, instantly feeling like I'd never been so stupid. "There's no time to explain all this, and don't get too upset, boy. Mrs. Thyme has lied to a lot of people in her life, and will continue to do so, at least I hope so. Well, trust me, don't ask, just follow Do what I say. First, go to the innkeeper and tell her that Mrs. Thyme is ill and must rest quietly for a few days, and tell her not to disturb her anyway, and her great-granddaughter will come to take care of her—" "Who "It's been arranged. Tell the boss that her great-granddaughter will bring food and everything she needs, and emphasize that Mrs. Thyme needs to be quiet and not to be disturbed. You go right now." I went, and my stunned look made my words convincing.The innkeeper assured her that she would never let anyone knock on the door halfway, as she was very reluctant to displease Lady Thyme with her inn.From this, I deduce that Mrs. Thyme must be very generous in paying the money. I quietly went back to the room and closed the door gently after entering the room.Chedlar bolted the door, lit another flickering remnant candle, and spread a small map beside the candle on the table.I noticed that he was dressed for travel—cloak, boots, leather vest, trousers, all black.He looked so different suddenly, strong and energetic, and I wondered if that old man in his old robes was just a cover, too.He glanced up at me, and for a moment I almost thought I was facing the soldiery Verity.But he didn't give me time to think about it. "The matter between Verity and Kelva can only be left to them. You and I have to go to other places to handle business. Tonight I received a message that the Red Ship robbers attacked the town of Forge, here. Leave Buckkeep is so close, it's not just an insult, it's an actual threat, and it's a challenge to Verity when he's in Jay Bay, I can't believe they don't know Verity isn't in Buckkeep. But it's more than that They took the hostages and took them back to the ship, and sent word to Buckkeep to King Shrewd himself, demanding a lot of gold or sending the hostages back to town." "You mean, if they don't get the gold, they will Kill the hostage?" "No." Chade shook his head angrily, like a bear harassed by bees. "No, the message is clear. If we pay the ransom, they will kill the hostages; if we don't pay, they will release them. The person who sent the message was a man in Smelting Town. His wife and son were taken away. He insisted that he Didn't get the message wrong." "I don't see a problem with that." I snorted. "On the surface, I don't see any problem either. But the man who told Shrewd the word arrived still shaking after riding for so long, and couldn't explain why, not even what he thought we It is impossible to say whether the ransom should be paid or not. The only thing he can do is to repeat again and again that the captain of the ship gave this ultimatum with a smile, and the sailors on board listened to him. Laughing." "So you and I are going to see what's going on. Now. Before the king officially responds, before Verity even knows about it. Now watch, we're going this way." The road comes. Do you see, it curves along the coast. This is the trail we will take. It is relatively straight, but it is much steeper, and there are swamps in some places, so the carriages never go there, but the horses , it will be much faster to go this way. There is a small boat waiting for us here, and crossing Jieyi Bay by boat will save us a lot of distance and time. We will go ashore here, and then go to Smelt Town." I study the map.Forge is north of Buckkeep, and I'm wondering how long it took the people who sent us the message, and whether the Red Ship robbers would have carried out their threat by the time we got there.But it's no use wasting time guessing. "Then what kind of horse do you want to ride?" "It has been arranged, and it was arranged by the courier. There is a bay red horse outside with three white feet, which is prepared for me. The courier will also prepare one for Mrs. Thyme." Great-granddaughter. The boat is waiting for us, let's go!" "One question," I said, ignoring his anger at my delay. "I had to ask, Chade. Did you come here because you didn't trust me?" Go to the castle and listen. The milliners and button-makers probably know more than the high-ranking advisors to the king, and they don't even know they know. Well, shall we go?" So off we go.We left by the side door, where the bay horse was hitched.Soot doesn't like it much, but remains in style.I could sense Chade's impatience, but he kept the horse at an easy pace until we left the cobbled streets of Jay Bay.When the lights of the houses in the city were behind us, we set off at a canter.Chade led the way, and I was amazed at his riding skills and the ease with which he found his way in the dark.Sooty didn't like traveling at night like this, and if it wasn't for the nearly full moon in the sky, I don't think I could have persuaded him to keep up with the bay horse. I will never forget the distance I rode that night, not because we were running to save people, but because we were not running to save people.Chade guided us, using the two horses as if they were pieces on a chessboard.In this game of chess, he does not seek to be fast, but to win, so sometimes we let the horses take a breather and walk, and we will dismount and lead them through safely when encountering dangerous places on the trail. As the morning light turned the sky gray, we stopped to eat food from the bag Chade had hung on his saddle.At this time we are on the top of a hill, the forest is so thick that we can hardly see the sky when we look up.I can hear the sea, smell the sea, but not see the sea at all.The road we had taken left only vague and winding trails in the woods, not unlike the tracks of deer.We can't stand still now, and I can hear and smell life all around me, birds chirping and small animals moving under the bushes and among the branches overhead.Chade stretched, then sat on the thick moss with his back against a tree, took a drink from the waterskin, and took a few sips from the brandy bottle.He looked tired, and the daylight betrayed his age more cruelly than candlelight.I thought to myself, I don't know if he will make it to the destination or if he will collapse. "I'll be fine," he said when he caught me looking at him. "I've done tougher stuff with less sleep before. And if the sailing goes well, we'll have five or six hours of good rest on board, so there's no need to crave sleep now. Come on, boy. " After about 2 hours the road started to fork and we took the more obscure one again, and it wasn't long before I was almost on Soot's neck dodging low-hanging branches.There was mud under the trees, and swarms of little biting flies, which tormented the horses and crawled into my clothes to feast on.The flies were so numerous and dense that when I finally worked up the courage to ask Chade if we were going the wrong way, I nearly choked on the worms that swarmed into my mouth. At noon, we came out of the woods and came to the top of a relatively open hill with strong winds.The wind cooled the sweating horses and drove away the flying insects.Just being able to straighten up and sit in the saddle again was a great pleasure.The road here is wide enough that I can walk side by side with Chade.Those scarred blotches stood out against his pale skin, and he looked paler than the Fool, with dark circles under his eyes.He caught me looking at him and frowned. "Report to me, don't stare at me like an idiot," he ordered me succinctly, and I did. It was hard to see his face while looking at the road, but I glanced at him when he grinned a second time and saw his face scrunched up in a rather amused expression.After I finished my report, he shook his head. "Lucky. Lucky like your father. Your kitchen diplomacy might be enough to turn things around, if that's the only problem. I only had time to hear a little gossip, but it fits the bill. Well, before Kerr Val has always been a good duke, and it seems the only problem is that he got carried away by the young bride." He sighed suddenly. "But it's still bad enough that his own Buckkeep was looted when Verity went out there to blame people for not taking care of the lookout. Damn it! There's so much we don't know. Why the looting The bandits passed by our lookout without being spotted? How did they know that Verity had left Buckkeep for Jay Bay? Did they really know this, or was it just luck? And what was this strange ultimatum? What do you mean? Are you threatening us, or mocking us?" We rode in silence for a while. "I wish I knew what Shrewd planned to do. It wasn't decided when he sent me the letter, and by the time we get to Forge, it might all be done and arranged. I wish I Know what he's 'Technology' What information was given to Verity.They say that in the old days when there were more people in the Skill, a man could tell what his leader was thinking just by being quiet and listening for a while.This may just be a legend.The Skill is not taught to so many people these days, I remember King Bounty decided to do it.Making the Skill more secretive, an exclusive tool of the elite, so that it would be more valuable; that was the rationale for the decision at the time, a logic I never quite understood.What if they applied this same logic to good archers or navigators?But I think that this mysterious atmosphere may make the leader appear more important in people's eyes...or for a person like Shrewd, he must really like to make the people below wonder if he is You can really read what's going on in their mind without them saying anything.Yes, Shrewd would have liked that, very much. " At first I thought Chade was very worried, maybe even angry.I've never heard him gossip like this on any subject.But when a squirrel ran past, his horse dodged and Chade nearly fell.I reached out and grabbed his reins. "Are you okay? What's the matter?" He shook his head slowly. "It's all right, I'll be all right when we get on the boat. We'll just keep going, we'll be there soon." His pale skin turned gray, and he wobbled in the saddle with every step his horse took. shake. "Let's take a break!" I suggested. "The tide waits for no man. And if I rest while worrying about the boat hitting rocks, it won't do me any good. No, we'll just keep going." Then he added, "Trust me, boy .I know what I can do and I'm not stupid enough to try to do more than I can do." So we keep going, there's not much else we can do.But I ride next to his horse's head, and I can reach out to pull his reins when needed.The waves became louder and louder, and the road became steeper and steeper.It didn't take long for me to take the lead, whether I wanted to or not. We finally broke free from the bushes and came to a cliff overlooking the sandy shore. "Thanks Ada, they're here," Chade muttered behind me.I saw a flat-bottomed boat of very low draft nearly run aground on the headland.A man on lookout said hello, shaking his hat in the air, and I raised my hand in response. We half-slid, half-rided down, and Chade got on board right away.I was in charge of both horses now, neither of them wanting to step into the water, let alone step over the low rail onto the deck.I tried to reach out to them and let them know what I wanted them to do, but for the first time in my life I felt too tired to focus on the search.So after the efforts of 3 sailors, swearing, and me getting into the water twice, we finally got the horse on board.How am I going to explain to Burrich that every inch of leather and every buckle of their harness is soaked in sea water?That was what was on my mind as I sat down in the bow, watching the oarsmen stoop to pick up the oars and paddle out into the deep water.