Contents
28. Practical Experience with Poison
Overview
On the eve of Galva’s duel with Malk, she is secretly poisoned by a crewman allied with him. Kinch and Norrigal manage only to ease her symptoms; the remedy leaves Galva unconscious for twelve hours. Malk then challenges Kinch to an unarmed death match and cruelly disposes of Bully, escalating the stakes and isolating Kinch.
Summary
After Malk’s provocation, weapons are set for a dawn duel: Malk’s spear against Galva’s bullnutter. As night falls, Galva drinks with crew; an Ispanthian oarsman wearing a badger pelt sings to Dalgatha with her and, by Kinch’s later reckoning, slips her poison.
Galva staggers below with a splitting headache and drowsiness. Kinch and Norrigal, short on poison know-how, interrogate her symptoms and induce vomiting. Guided by Bully’s pointed “hints,” they infer a twelve-hour sleeping poison and dose moonweed to ease pain, accepting it won’t wake her. Galva collapses into a deep, likely survivable sleep, leaving their mission exposed.
Malk descends with supporters and formally challenges Kinch, expecting a dagger fight. Kinch chooses both men stripped and unarmed, prolonging the contest to spite Malk. Before Kinch can react, Malk snatches Bully and goes topside while armed crew block pursuit. Cheers and cries of “Swim, swim!” rise from the deck, implying Malk has thrown Bully overboard.
Resigned to the rigged situation and awaiting dawn, Kinch lies in the hold with Norrigal as music and laughter drift down. Facing likely death and Galva’s incapacitation, Kinch and Norrigal share a bleak joke, then Norrigal kisses him, a fragile moment before the coming fight.
Who Appears
- Kinch Na ShannackNarrator; diagnoses Galva’s poisoning with Bully’s help, induces vomiting, accepts Malk’s unarmed death challenge, and braces for dawn.
- MalkAntagonistic crewman; pushes for a duel, challenges Kinch, and seizes Bully, throwing the cat overboard to torment him.
- Galva IspanthSpanth warrior; likely poisoned by a crewmate, purged but rendered unconscious for twelve hours on the eve of her duel.
- NorrigalWitch; aids Kinch in treating Galva with moonweed, panics over the poison, and kisses Kinch in a moment of fear and solace.
- BullyKinch’s cat; nonverbally guides treatment and timing of the poison; is seized by Malk and thrown overboard.
- Ispanthian oarsman with badger peltCrewman who sings with Galva; implied poisoner responsible for her incapacitation.