Just once, Pen thought glumly, he’d like to get an answer to prayers, instead of being delivered as one. [loc. 261]
This novella could easily have been titled Penric and the Pirates ... Penric (and his chaos demon, Desdemona) are travelling incognito when their vessel is boarded and captured by pirates. Penric is deemed pretty enough to be a high-value prize, so he's imprisoned with some other potentially-lucrative captives, including two small girls who have set out, after the death of their mother, in search of their father. They don't immediately trust Penric but his general wholesomeness wins them over. Delivered to pirate HQ, Pen and Des concoct a number of practical and feasible escape plans, all of which fail due to other people. Eventually Penric is rescued, with the two girls, and with a hefty anti-ransom from the pirates who would prefer him to leave them alone.
A light and cheery read. People are killed off-page, but there's very little actual cruelty. The pirates are Quadrenes, i.e. don't believe in the Fifth God, the Bastard, who Penric serves: there are some theological elements here, not least because the orphans' mother was a prostitute and a follower of the Bastard, hence Penric's sense that he is being used to fulfil the god's wishes.
The girls are sweet, the pirates are wicked, Desdemona is awesome. Next!
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