The Geographer's Library

Jon Fasman
“Work. I worry that my instincts for thievery have left me.”
“Good. I expected no less intelligent an answer, even if it is not a true one.
Now, I have taken this sack from your cabin. This is what got you in trouble in
Sicily, is it not?” Omar nodded. “Yes. I will relieve you of this burden.” Omar
began to protest, and Silvio moved his hand to his sword. “I am not entirely
heartless, though. You may choose one item from among these—I see fourteen
in the sack—as a memento of your former life.” He held the sack open
toward Omar, who reached in without looking, and what he withdrew he
quickly shoved into his tunic pocket.
“Good. A proper respect for chance, or fate, or God’s will, or luck, or
whatever it is you wish to call it. Now, when you get ashore, leave this ship at
once. You are an able-bodied young man and will find work easily along the
docks. Venture inland only when you tire of life: the Golden Horde and the
Polovtsy fight for control of this island, and when one of them becomes
strong enough to eliminate the other, then we Genoese, too, will have to
leave. You will be doing yourself a service, though, if you remain among us
civilized people for as long as you are able. Now gather your remaining things
and go ashore with the rest of the crew. If you ever trouble me again—if you
ever claim knowledge of me or even hint that we have spoken—I will bone
and flay you like a pigeon.”
Omar walked quickly to the bow. When the ship reached shore, he fairly
jumped off. A man transformed, with nothing to his name except a carved
rock of questionable value in his pocket, he breathed free and deeply for the
first time since leaving Sicily, and he toddled with his bandy sea legs in the
dying light up the wooden walk.
despite his initial misgivings and concerns, Omar found Sudak a
congenial city: not as advanced or as cosmopolitan as Palermo, but, like most
seaports, teeming with intrigue, mongrels, and all the pleasures a man’s purse
could buy. He lived through several summers in Sudak, never reverting to
thievery. His ability to converse in Arabic, Latin, and vulgar Sicilian made
him unusually valuable as a negotiator, a job that not only fed and clothed
him but allowed him to save enough for a bride price and a small piece of
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