Most notably, however, a large vessel had washed onto the beach, which was probably all that had kept it from sinking in the storm. The ship had been braced by boards to keep it upright, but there was clear damage to the hull. A crew of maybe twenty men was already hard at work making repairs on it.
We couldn't risk being seen by these strangers before knowing a little more about who they were, so we shrank back into the cover of the foliage. Our tracks would show there, but at least we'd be out of sight. When we came to a clearing, Weevil suddenly grabbed my arm and yanked me down low, behind a fallen tree. Jonas and Della crouched beside us.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"The flag," Weevil whispered. "Look again."
I rose up just enough to catch a glimpse of the ship's flag, shredded in the winds and wrapped around its post, but I knew the orange and gray colors well enough. It was the flag of Dulan.
"This isn't right," Della said. "Dulan and Keldan are enemy countries. They must've washed ashore in the storm."
"It's the ship I saw last night," Weevil said. "It was here before the storm began."
"Do you think they're planning an attack on Keldan?" Della asked.
"I heard Dulan wouldn't come anywhere near this island," Jonas said. "That they were too afraid of the Scourge."
"Unless Dulan knows the Scourge isn't real," I said. "Which would mean they are here in cooperation with the governor." My mind raced. "We know that Keldan citizens are given the Scourge, then forcibly taken to the Colony where they get so sick, it finally breaks their spirit, their will to fight. Once they are broken, wardens bring them into the infirmary and help them get better."
Weevil looked at me with widened eyes. "And once they get better, the wardens escort them out of the infirmary, and take them here. But why?"
"I think I know," I mumbled. "Before I left Keldan, Governor Felling told me I was a servant now. I think that was the exact truth. That's what the Scourge Colony is--a breeding place for people to be sold to Dulan as servants!"
"But why would the governor do that to her own citizens?" Jonas asked.
Della drew in a sharp breath. "What if she doesn't have a choice? Keldan was out of money--my father said our country was all but bankrupt. Then right before the elections a year ago, the governor suddenly had enough money for the country's needs. This must be how she got it!"
"And that's why she said that the Scourge was helping Keldan," I said. "To save us, she will destroy our people."
"She is still destroying us," Jonas said, pointing down the hillside.
Not far below, four wardens led by Warden Gossel and ending with Warden Brogg were escorting a group of nine people toward the ship. Nine people whom I had failed to rescue from the infirmary last night. Nine people who were about to discover a horrible reality. The Scourge was not a disease carrying a death sentence. The Scourge was servitude, carrying a life sentence.
While Jonas waited high on the hillside with Della, Weevil and I decided to sneak as low as possible to overhear the conversation between the Dulanian sailor and the wardens. It was a huge risk, but we had to find out as much as we could.
The sailor who greeted Warden Gossel was clearly upset. "My name is Bartek, and I'm in command here. We expected you last night."
"There was a storm last night," Gossel said without humor. "Perhaps you noticed it." Even from here, I could see a bulging bruise on his forehead. Maybe he had a bulging headache too, or at least, I hoped he did.
"We haven't seen you in a while, Warden Gossel, so you might have forgotten our agreement. If a storm is coming, you must deliver the slaves early so we can get off the shore." He pointed behind him. "Look at my ship now!"
"No one forced you to wait here," Gossel said. "You should have left."
"I will not return to Dulan with an empty ship," Bartek said. "Your governor was already paid for these slaves. She should have delivered them on time."
"My apologies, then," Gossel said, sounding more humble now. "We were delayed by more than a storm."
"You've never been delayed before. Why now?"
He cleared his throat. "We brought a couple of young people into the Colony from the river country. River People are not ... cooperative. One of them, a girl, caused us particular trouble. We couldn't leave the Colony until she was under control."
Beside me, Weevil squeezed my arm and beamed with pride. I felt happy too, that I had caused enough trouble to get Warden Gossel into some trouble of his own.
"And is this ... child who made life difficult for so many grown men finally under control?"
Gossel hesitated, then said, "She fell into the snake pit last night. We found her boots still there."
"So her boots fell victim to our snakes. How tragic. Where is the rest of her?"