The winds at this time of year weren't favorable for sailing east, so the sails needed trimming frequently as The Son of Taris beat her way east-northeast, tacking back and forth to make slow progress.

Dinner was salt pork boiled with potatoes and onions. After the physical exertions of the day, Kira wolfed it down. The rest of the crew did the same, barely pausing in their eating until bowls were empty. They ate on deck for the clean air and the room it offered. The fifteen men and women who normally made up the crew in addition to the first mate and the captain filled the crew quarters. With Kira and Jason added those crew quarters were cramped.

"Do you know any stories?" one of the sailors asked Kira as everyone relaxed. "Anything new?"

"Yeah," another said. "You've been to Tiae? Did you ever meet the daughter or hear any new stories about her?"

"No," Kira denied, worried about telling these sailors things that would reveal who she was. "I'm not much for stories."

"What about you?" the first sailor demanded of Jason, clearly not expecting much.

Jason looked back at the sailor, then around at the rest of the crew. "You mean, like, some epic or something?"

"Whatever you got, if it's new. We've all heard each other's stories until we can tell 'em all by memory."

Jason glanced at Kira, who nodded to him, curious to know what he would do.

"All right," Jason said. "Have you guys ever heard of a sailor named Odysseus?"

"Funny name. Where from?"

"Uh, Ithaca. It was an island, in a sea a lot like the Sea of Bakre. This is a story they tell where I come from, a really old story, about a place like this only different. Odysseus had brought ships and soldiers to fight in a war that took ten years…"

Kira listened with growing admiration as Jason spun a story about strange islands with strange creatures, a bag that held the winds, and a sailor trying to get home. As he spoke, he grew more energetic, making gestures and acting out the story of galleys with white wings sailing the wine-dark sea. The crew listened raptly, not interrupting until Jason finally stopped after Odysseus reached home and killed all the men who had been trying to steal his home and his wife.

The applause that followed made Jason blink with disbelief.

"Where did you hear the like of that?" a sailor asked admiringly. "Did you make it up yourself?"

"No," Jason denied. "A guy named Homer did, a long time ago."

"Do you know more?" another of the crew asked eagerly.

"Yeah. There are a lot more."

"Tomorrow night, then," the first mate said. No one had noticed her stopping to listen along with the others. "It's time to trim the sails, and then you'd all best rest because you'll be doing it again at least twice before dawn."