Finn put a scowl on his face and walked through a gap between two of the seated men. He stood beside the fire and faced the man leaning back on the carpet.

The singing came to a halt. The clapping stopped. Cob sank to his knees, panting.

Finn ignored the mutters and stares and brought his eyebrows close together as he met the headman’s gaze directly. He slowly lifted an arm to point at Cob.

‘That man,’ he said, ‘is a thief.’

The headman shrugged, picking at his hooked nose. ‘He stole from you. We stole from him.’

‘No,’ Finn said, shaking his head. He put an expression of indignant anger on his face, although deep within he was utterly terrified that he was going to get both himself and Cob killed. ‘He didn’t steal from me. He stole from the king. That vessel over there is the king’s boat. And I am here to get it back.’

‘King?’ The headman ceased picking his nose and leaned forward, raising an eyebrow. ‘Which king?’

Finn nodded in the direction of Cape Cush. ‘The great King Palemon. Look at that boat. You think it belongs to an old dwarf?’ He sneered in Cob’s direction. ‘It is the king’s personal craft. He cares about it more than his favorite concubine. It is his joy, the one great love of his life. It gives him more pleasure than anything else in this world. And he wants it back.’

The headman looked at the Calypso and then at Finn. He licked his lips.

‘Janko,’ one of the onlookers said, ‘we saw the army—’

‘Silence,’ the headman interrupted. He considered for a time. ‘The king sent you to find it? Alone?’

‘No,’ Finn said, lowering his voice. His eyes drifted to the nearby cliff, high above the beach. ‘Not alone.’ He stopped talking, knowing that it was more powerful to let the headman come to his own conclusions.

‘The king . . .’ The headman began to look nervous. ‘He won’t punish us . . . ?’

‘That depends on one thing,’ Finn said. ‘If I can give him the thief who took his beloved vessel.’ He pointed at Cob. ‘Alive.’

The headman’s brow furrowed as he pondered. Finn turned his expression of disdain into a glare.

The headman suddenly climbed to his feet, spreading his arms and smiling. ‘Of course the king may have it back. We were merely safekeeping it for him. Tell him that Janko of Negara is his loyal servant.’

‘I will, Janko of Negara,’ Finn said. ‘Now someone bind him up for me. And get this boat launched. I’ll sail it to the cape myself.’

Janko clicked his fingers, and his men leaped to do his bidding. Finn’s heart was racing, but he kept his expression slightly irritated, watching with arms folded until the Calypso was being dragged to the water. He followed as they launched the vessel, throwing Cob, tied and bound, up front.