It took about an hour for the rowing boats to pull the ship out through the harbour entrance. The three hibernators spent the whole time in a state of near panic, expecting the priests to somehow send a message to the ship's Captain demanding that he return to port, but several ships had been leaving at the same time and most of them had had passengers and members of crew going aboard at the last minute. Randall knew, intellectually, that the priests had no way of knowing which ship they were aboard, or that they were aboard any of them, but it didn't help and he was only able to relax when the ship began swaying like a baby's crib whose mother was trying to lull it off to sleep. It told them that they had passed through the harbour entrance and that the ship was feeling the waves of the open sea. Suddenly their fatigue hit them, and one by one they drifted off to sleep.

     When Randall woke up sunlight was shining in under the bottom of the lifeboat. Loach was gently snoring and Randall shook him until he awoke, worried that the sound would be heard above the crashing of the waves on the prow and the wind in the sails.

     "God, I'm hungry!" whispered Loach. "I'm bloody starving!"

     "We're all hungry," replied Randall, equally quietly. He strained his ears, listening for the footsteps of crewmen coming near to them. "We're not griping about it."

     "You didn't burn off most of your blood glucose jamming a church yesterday. My adrenal glands must be working overtime replacing it."

     "You've got plenty of fat reserves," said Randall. "I've seen them, remember?" He heard a snicker of amusement coming from Jane. "Now shut up before they hear you."

     "I'm going to go see if I can find some food, before it gets fully light," said Loach.

     "No, you idiot!" said Randall, grabbing his arm to stop him. "They'll see you!"

     "Are you suggesting we hide here until this ship gets where it's going? It might be months at sea! It might be going to China for all we know!"

     "When it's fully light we'll go together to present ourselves to the Captain, ask him to put us ashore somewhere. Either that or that he gives us passage to wherever he's going."

     "And how are we going to pay for our passage? We have a grand total of eleven small copper coins. I suspect that passage aboard ships cost rather more than that."

     "Maybe we can work our passage."

     Loach laughed again. "With all your knowledge of how to sail medieval tall ships?"

     "They used to press gang people into navies back in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, people who had absolutely no knowledge of how to sail a ship, so it can't be hard to learn. We're both intelligent people, we'll soon pick it up. We'll be safe at sea until the priests have given up looking for us, and then we can get back to reclaiming the world for humanity."

     "And what about Jane? What's likely to happen to her, the only woman aboard a ship full of horny, lonely sailors?"

     Randall felt Jane tense up beside him. She was listening to the conversation with understandable interest. Randall didn't particularly care what happened to her so long as she was still useful to him, but if she realised that, she might run out on him and he might need her head phone one day. He had to say something to calm and reassure her, therefore. "We'll tell them she's married to one of us," he said. "They won't touch the wife of another crewman."

     "How sure are you of that?" asked Loach.

     Randall never had the chance to reply, though, because several members of the crew were approaching. The crewman they'd passed when they'd come aboard had been asking everyone he met who their passengers were until word had finally found its way to the Captain. He sent the crew to search the ship, and the lifeboat was one of the first places they looked.

     The three hibernators froze as they heard footsteps approaching, and then the canvas sheet covering the lifeboat was pulled up to reveal a pair of sunburned bare feet and the ragged ends of a faded pair of trousers that left his ankles bare. The owner of the feet crouched down and a stubbly, salt crusted face appeared, looking in at them. "Here they are, Cap'n!"

     Randall emerged of his own accord to avoid the indignity of being dragged out, and Jane and Loach followed as curious crewmembers crowded around. Randall looked out to see and was relieved to see the shoreline some distance away, low on the horizon. They'd made it safely out of the city. All they had to do now was placate the wrath of the ship's crew.

     The crewmen parted to allow a uniformed officer to come through. Tall, grizzled and grey haired, he scowled at the three stowaways as they stood side by side before him. He was wearing a sword, they saw, as were several members of the crew. Piracy must be a problem on the high seas, Randall thought. Either that or there were seafaring orcs attacking mankind on the oceans as well as on land. Either way, these men would be accustomed to taking lives and would think nothing of taking three more. They would have to play this very carefully.

     The Captain looked them over for several moments before speaking. "Ye're the ones the priests were looking fer," he said. "What did ye do ter piss 'em off?"

     "It was a misunderstanding," said Loach. "A crime was committed against a priest. They thought it was us. They weren't in the mood to listen to reason. We had no chance to plead our innocence."

     "Is that so." The Captain scratched his stubbly chin as he thought it over. "Whet do they think ye did?"

     "That's not important," replied Loach. "We didn't do it. We don't want to cause trouble for you, though. If you put us off at the next port you come to, we'll be on our way."

     "Hmmm," said the Captain. He scratched his chin again. "They turned out the whole city looking fer yez, ye know that? Ye know the last time they did that?"

     "Not often?" said Loach.

     "Never," said the Captain. "In all my years I've never heard o' them doing sech a thing before. A priest were killed a few years back. Ye know that?" Loach shook his head. "Bludgeoned to death in the streets while on his way to visit a fellow priest. They never found out who did it. You know what the priests did?" Loach shook his head again while feeling his stomach sink.

     "Nething," the Captain said. "The priests did nething. Anether priest turned up the next day te take over his duties and life went on. The police went abet esking questions, learned nething. The culprit were never found. After a while the whole matter were just forgotten and life went on. What you did, though... Every priest in the city out looking fer yez. The whole police force. Church bells ringing. I heard the city's militia were being roused to search the whole city, building by building, fer yez." He took a step forward to peer closely into Loach's face. "Which meks me mighty curious. Whet could ye possibly hev done ter provoke sech a response?"

     "It wasn't us," Loach repeated. "I don't know what happened to cause it."

     "Do ye believe him, Mister Baines?" asked the Captain to someone further back behind him. A moment later the crowd of crewmen parted again to allow another man to step into view. He was also in uniform, but not such a grand one as the Captain. Loach presumed that he was the first mate.

     He also took a moment or two to look the stowaways over, and then he turned his head to spit on the deck before speaking. "No, Captain,' he said in a deep, gravelly voice. "I do not."

     "Nether do I," said the Captain. "And I'm thinking there meet be a substantial reward for their capture and return. A very substantial reward, considering how badly they seemed ter want them caught." A mutter of excited conversation broke out among the crewmen.

     "Mebbe enef ter pay off what we owe and become masters of our own ship again," agreed Mister Baines, grinning to reveal shining white teeth, "with enough left over ter share out among the entire crew."

     "That would be a mistake," said Loach, though. "They wouldn't reward you. VIX would send a firebolt down from heaven to destroy this ship and kill everyone aboard."

     "And why wed He do thet?" asked the Captain. He turned to share a grin of amusement with his first mate.

     "To punish you for giving us passage out of the city."

     A deathly hush fell, broken only by the sounds of the sea and the wind. The three hibernators felt a sudden wave of hostility directed at them from officers and crew alike. Hands went to the hilts of swords and eyes burned with malice. Randall felt Jane pressing closely against him and heard her breathing turn rapid and shallow. Her hand searched out his and clenched it tightly, her palm cold and sweaty. Randall forced himself to stand firm and confident, though. He thought he knew what Loach was doing, and if he was right they absolutely couldn't allow themselves to show fear.

     The Captain took another step closer until his face was only inches away from Loach, allowing the former crime boss to smell his stale, rum scented breath. "Ye stowed away upon me ship," he hissed.

     "Who do you think they'll believe?" replied Loach, calmly meeting his gaze. "You or me?"

     "Why shed they take your word over mine?"

     "You said it yourself," replied Loach. "Why would the priests turn out the whole city to find us? What could we possibly have done to merit such a response? What crime could we possibly have committed that was so vile, so evil, that the priests would go to any lengths to catch us, and punish anyone who gave us even the slightest help?"

     This time it was he who took a step forward, and the Captain had to take a step back away from him. "What we did," continued Loach, still fixing his eyes upon the Captain's so that the other man felt himself unable to look away, "was to desecrate the most sacred sacraments of the inner sanctum! The CRES code itself!"

     The Captain had no idea what that was, of course, but his imagination filled in the details. Something holy, probably made of gold and jewels, that the priests venerated above all other things. Something so sacred that even the slightest insult to it had to be punished to the ends of the Earth. Something kept so secret that virtually no-one outside the priesthood had even heard of it but which these three people had somehow found out about and defiled in the most unspeakable way. Loach kept his gaze fixed on the Captain as these speculations went through his head, and he gave the very slightest of nods as if to confirm them.

     "Do you understand now?" said Loach in a low, menacing voice. "Do you see what will happen to you if the priests get even the slightest suspicion that we set foot on this boat? Better to just take us to the next port and let us go ashore. We'll never tell a living soul that we were ever here, you have my word on it."

     The Captain could only stare at him, his eyes widening in horror. "The priests will find out ennerway," said the first mate, and a murmur of agreement ran through the crew. "Even if we put them ashore, the priests will find out. They know evverthing! VIX sees evverthing!"

     "Kill them now!" said one of the crewmen, and everyone around him shouted their agreement. "Cut their throats and throw them overboard!"

     The crew pressed forwards, those with weapons drawing them and brandishing them menacingly, but the Captain yelled at them to keep back. "There'll be no lynch mobs aboard my ship!" he shouted as the hibernstors shrank back in fear. "What's done will be done in a calm, orderly manner and in accordance with the chain of command." He turned to Loach. "Why don't ye put down that knife o' yez and we'll see what cen be done."

     Loach laughed while cursing inwardly that his scheme had succeeded a little too well. "If you're going to kill me, I intend to sell my life dearly," he said. "I swear that the first to try to lay hands on me will be the first to die."

     The Captain sighed. "Kimble, Baronn, Kalpa, go fetch yer bow and arrows. The rest o' yez, keep 'em penned in." Three of the sailors pushed their way towards the rear of the ship and the hatch below decks while the rest of them pressed in closer, forming a solid wall around the three hibernators who stared at each other in fear. How were they going to get out of this? There was nothing they could do but stand there and hope for a miracle.

     The three crewmen returned a few minutes later carrying long bows and quivers of arrows. Each of them drew an arrow and fitted it to their bow. Seeing it, Loach had a sudden idea and he laughed aloud. "I've seen these sailor archers in action," he said to Randall, loudly enough for every member of the crew to hear. "They couldn't hit the side of a barn! I reckon those fellers standing behind us are in more danger than we are."

     His words had the desired effect and the sailors standing behind the three hibernators began edging nervously away. When the gap was large enough Loach suddenly turned and ran, pushing his way between the remaining men, running to the railing and throwing himself overboard. Seeing it, Randall followed suit before the sailors could react and Jane chased after him. Arms reached out to grab them and an arrow flew, but then they were at the railing and they followed the former gang boss down into the black, choppy water.

     The entire crew followed them to the railing and stared down at them, and when Randall kicked himself back to the surface he heard laughter despite the water in his ears. The archers aimed down at them. "Nay, save yer arrows, boys!" cried the Captain as he also appeared at the railing. "Reckon the sharks'll do our jobs for us. All right, the entertainment's over. Everyone get back to work! Get back to work I say!"

     The three hibernators, floating in the water, watched as the crew slowly drifted away from the railing. Soon, only the Captain and the first mate were left, and they waved cheerfully down at their former stowaways before they also lost interest and left. Then the hibernators could only float there as the ship shrank in the distance, leaving them all alone in the middle of the cold, empty sea.