Book 3: Chapter Ten

“No!” Ellerie snapped, after Marco had asked her the same question for the third time. “I’ll tell you where we’re going when you need to know, and not before.”

“Then how do you expect me to plan for the trip?” the factor asked. He was a tall, slender man with a carefully groomed mustache and black hair that had started to gray.

“I don’t. You’re here to handle the finances and to translate. We’ll listen to any advice you want to give, but Boktar and I will take care of the planning, with help from the guide we’re picking up in Nysa. For the first leg, we’re heading east to one of the border towns between Nysar and Bancyra. Once we get there, we’ll decide where we’re going next, and let you know.” It had turned out that Nysa was just the name of the port city they were heading to. Nysar was the kingdom in which it fell.

“Fine,” Marco said, and stalked off.

Ellerie forced herself to calm down. She’d known from the beginning that making a deal with Senshall was a risk. Varsin had been eager to sign the contract, and had agreed to most of Ellerie’s—and Bobo’s—terms, but that wasn’t a guarantee that everything would go smoothly. Marco was a high-ranking agent within the company, accustomed to managing large deals on his own. He seemed to believe the group was working for Senshall rather than the other way around.

It didn’t help that, rather than naming his own representative, Burton Senshall had authorized Marco to act for him, voting Burton’s shares in addition to Varsin’s. That gave Marco four votes, or six if he could convince Razai to join him. She represented Renny’s shares.

Luckily, the contract was explicit—Ellerie was in charge of the expedition itself. Most decisions came down to her alone, without any need for a vote. Voting was limited to specific clauses that Bobo had convinced Varsin to add, clauses that would allow the group to react to unanticipated events. Plus, Ellerie and her friends controlled more shares, and thus more votes, than the Senshall group. As long as she could convince Corec and Boktar to vote with her, everyone else would likely follow along.

She was more concerned with Marco’s meddling. In addition to his attempts to discover the location of the ruins, the contract gave him the authority to block certain types of spending if he disagreed with it. If he did so too often, Ellerie was free to break off the deal without penalty, but if he did it at all, it could hurt their chances of success.

Razai had the same rights as Marco, but the demonborn woman was a puzzle. She’d disappeared after Corec had cast the warden binding spell on her back in High Cove. Corec had spoken to her since, but no one else in the group had seen her again until she’d shown up just as the ship was about to leave port. Ellerie knew little about her, other than the fact that she’d somehow become friends with Varsin’s concubine. Razai hadn’t shown any interest in getting to know the group, instead spending her time gambling and drinking with the crew.

The third new person that had joined the expedition was Leena, the cook. Unlike Marco and Razai, who were serving as company representatives, Leena was just an employee and had no voting rights. Another employee, a guide, would be joining them once they reached Cordaea, though they didn’t know who it would be yet. Burton had sent a letter along with Marco, asking his agent in Nysa to choose someone.

Putting Marco out of her mind, Ellerie decided it was time to get to know Leena. The expedition was Ellerie’s responsibility, after all, and it wasn’t fair to saddle Boktar with managing the cook on top of his own duties. Plus, mage or not, Ellerie suspected Leena would be the easiest of the Senshall group to deal with.

She found the cook washing pots and pans in the ship’s galley. The woman was wearing one of her high-necked dresses, this one in a bright yellow, but she had an apron on over it. Her long black hair was loosely tied together behind her back. There was a smudge of flour on her left cheek, but it served to highlight her striking features rather than mar them. Her sleeves were pulled halfway up her forearms to keep them out of the water, and there were tattoos on both of her wrists. The one on the left had three circles linked together in a row, ranging from larger to smaller. Ellerie didn’t have a good view of the one on the right.

“Leena? Hello. I’m Ellerie.”

The woman turned to face her, her eyes dark pools. She dried her hands and pulled her sleeves down, covering the tattoos, before speaking. “Yes, I’ve heard your name.” She seemed more self-assured than Ellerie had expected.

“Boktar tells me you’re from Sanvar?” Ellerie asked, then hid a wince. That was a stupid thing to say—the woman’s clothing wasn’t traditional Sanvari, but she was clearly Sanvarite.

“I am.”

“Has anyone told you where we’re going?”

“To Cordaea,” Leena replied. “Boktar said you’re searching for an old city.”

“Yes, Tir Yadar, one of the Ancients’ lost cities. The capital of their empire.”

Leena nodded but didn’t reply.

“What brought you to Tyrsall?” Ellerie asked.

“I needed to be there for another reason, but then I saw the posting for the job.”

She wasn’t giving Ellerie any openings to ask her about being a mage.

“How do you like it so far?” Ellerie said instead.

“I am still learning how to use the ship’s galley, but the cook here has been helpful. I’m more accustomed to baking; I was a baker once.”

That was the first information Leena had volunteered, and it explained the variety of bread rolls the woman had managed to produce in the four days they’d been on board the ship.

“You don’t mind being away from home for this long?”

Leena hesitated. “I will stay as long as I can. But for now, I must finish the washing. The ship’s cook will need to start the beans soon for the crew’s supper.”

Ellerie glanced at the pile of pots, pans, and plates. The group had always split up cooking and cleaning duties before, but now Leena was handling it all for twelve people.

“Would you like some help?”

“If you wish.”

They worked in companionable silence, which was more comfortable than the awkward conversation had been.

#

“I just talked to that elf woman again,” Marco said. “She still refuses to tell me anything about the route we’ll be taking past Nysa. I need you to find out whatever you can. A map, or anything else.”

Razai narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

“Because right now, we’ve got nothing to go on except their word. What happens if they fail? Where does that leave us?”

“Did Varsin put you up to this?” Razai had read the contract before signing on, and knew the secrecy had been deliberate. Marco certainly knew that as well.

He sidestepped the question. “It’s our duty to look after Senshall’s interests, and Varsin has invested a great deal of money into this venture. There’s no sense in leaving things to chance. Ellerie won’t talk to me about it, but perhaps she’ll talk to you. Or, if you happen to overhear something…” Marco trailed off, giving her a pointed look. How much did he know about her abilities? Renny had certainly had to tell Varsin something in order to get Razai included in the trip, but Renny didn’t know everything.

“I don’t work for you,” Razai said. “Or Varsin, for that matter. I work for Renny.”

“And how will she feel if the expedition fails and she loses her money, and the elf disappears with the secrets? We’ll give them their chance, but if they don’t succeed, then Senshall needs to be able to take over the search so we can recover our losses. Don’t forget, you and I have something riding on this too.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

He had a point. The contract was missing a lot of details about what would happen if the expedition was unsuccessful. Razai was under the impression that the negotiations had been rushed, with Varsin not wanting to risk the group seeking out a different trading house for a better deal.

“That’s true,” she said. “How about this? If we fail to find Tir Yadar, then I’ll torture the elf until she gives us everything she knows about the location. Will that do?” Razai drew one of her heavy knives and trimmed a fingernail which had grown too long and was starting to curve into the shape of a claw. She looked up at Marco expectantly.

His mouth gaped open. “I…I didn’t mean…”

“Don’t worry—I’ll ask her politely first, before the torture. But for now, I’m going to take a nap.” She nudged Marco out of her cabin and closed the door in his face. Returning to what she’d been doing before the interruption, she unfurled the spare hammock she’d borrowed from Captain Valen and strung it above her cot, on the hooks that were already bolted into the wall for that purpose. She preferred hammocks on board a ship. She’d rather not fall out of bed if the weather grew rough.

Life on the Peregrine wasn’t bad. They’d be at sea for another three weeks, and she was getting paid good wages for doing nothing at all. It was a welcome break after the constant stress of watching for threats against Renny or the seaborn diving crews. Best of all, Vatarxis hadn’t sent Tifwa across the barrier to gloat about Razai ending up exactly where he’d wanted her all along. Even Corec was leaving her alone—though that could be because he had the worst case of seasickness she’d ever seen. The others in the group were giving her a wide berth, apparently unsure whether to count her as one of them.

Razai’s real work would start once the ship reached land, but until then, her only worry was boredom. She could only play so many games of dice each day.

She’d just stretched out in the hammock when Leena returned to the cabin. Razai’s roommate was a polite but enigmatic woman, obviously hiding something about her past. That was fine; it gave Razai a mystery to ponder when she didn’t have anything better to do.

“You’re back earlier than usual today,” she said.

“Ellerie came to talk to me, and stayed to help with the dishes.”

Ellerie had helped clean up? Razai had barely spoken to the nilvasta woman, but she’d gotten the impression she came from a well-off family. Washing dishes didn’t match the image of the elf that Razai had in her head.

“I can help, too,” she said, suddenly feeling guilty for doing nothing while her roommate worked. “You wouldn’t want to see my cooking, but I can help wash up.”

“It isn’t necessary,” the other woman said. “She says, starting tomorrow, I will have help. She’s sending the boy. Nedley? She also says that once we reach land, I’ll only need to prepare two meals each day, and everyone will do their own washing. We’ll eat trail rations for the midday meal rather than cooking.”

Razai nodded. “What did she want to talk about?”

“She asked how I was doing, and why I came on this trip.”

“Why did you come?” Razai asked. “I’ve known plenty of camp cooks, and you’re no camp cook.” The meals Leena made were fine, particularly her Sanvari dishes, but everything she prepared was too complicated and time-consuming for feeding a large group of people in a limited amount of time. If they’d been on the road rather than on a ship, they’d be losing hours of traveling time each day.

“I’ll learn.”

“You said you’re a baker. Wouldn’t you have gotten better pay by staying in Tyrsall and working at a bakery?”

“I’m supposed to go to Cordaea.”

“Why?”

Leena hesitated for a moment before kneeling down and sliding her pack out from underneath her cot. Digging around inside it, she fished out a sheathed knife and handed it to Razai. A symbol of a snake had been etched into the handle. Razai drew the blade, but there was nothing unusual about it. It was just a normal, single-edged knife, somewhat longer than a belt knife.

“I’m looking for the men who carry these,” Leena said. “They were in Sanvar some months ago, but my people weren’t able to find them. I think they may have sailed to Cordaea. Do you recognize it?”

“The blade’s cheap,” Razai said. “The hilt probably cost more, particularly with that etching on it. It looks like a weapon, but why did they make the hilt out of metal? It gives you a lousy grip for fighting, especially if you get blood on it. The blade’s too long to be a belt knife and too sturdy to be a cooking knife, but it’s thin enough to fit between gaps in plate armor. It’s probably a second weapon—even for a knife fight, I’d want a heavier blade than this.”

“Some had other weapons when they attacked our camp, but they all had these. My people aren’t warriors. We weren’t ready.”

“These men attacked your people, and now you’re hunting them?”

Leena nodded.

Razai didn’t like the look she saw in the woman’s eyes. “Did you tell Ellerie?”

“No. If she knew I planned to leave soon, she wouldn’t allow me to come with them, and I can’t afford to travel this far on my own. Please don’t tell anyone.”

“So, as soon as you find these men, you’re going to leave…and then what?”

“I’m looking for something. A way to stop them. I’ll know when I find it.”

“Find what?”

“I don’t know yet, but the magic sent me here, to this ship. I’m supposed to go to Cordaea.”

“Magic? What magic?”

“I’m a Traveler, but I never completed my training. I apprenticed to a baker instead.”

“I don’t know what a Traveler is, but I can’t let you just go after these men on your own. You don’t even carry a weapon!”

“I won’t look for them until I know how to fight them. There’s someone in Tyrsall who can teach me, but I’m supposed to go to Cordaea first. There must be something I’m supposed to do there, or maybe that’s where they went when they left Sanvar. All I know is that this is where I’m supposed to be.”

Hells of my fathers, Razai thought. She’s even more naive than Renny. At least when Renny had needed to track down a group of armed men, she’d sent the constabulary rather than go after them herself.

“I won’t tell the others as long as you promise you won’t leave the group without talking to me first, all right?” Razai said. “I know my way around a fight.”

“I may have to leave quickly. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do in Cordaea.”

“Just talk to me first. And tell me, what’s a Traveler?”

#

“Feeling better today?” Katrin asked, looking up at Corec who was standing over her. She was sitting on the main deck, resting her back against the railing. She’d checked in on him several times each day, but this was the first time he’d come up on deck without being coaxed.

“I was able to eat something without Treya healing me,” he replied. “She’s doing better too.”

“Join me,” she said, patting the deck next to her.

“Are you sure those posts are sturdy enough to lean against?”

She laughed. “They’re here to keep anyone from going over the edge, but if they break and we fall overboard, I’m sure Captain Valen will toss a rope down for us.”

Corec grimaced, apparently still not in a joking mood, but he sat with her anyway. “Where is everyone?”

“Trying to stay out of the crew’s way, mostly. Ellerie and Boktar are usually in the captain’s stateroom. Bobo will be with them or in his cabin. Shavala and Sarette are in their cabins right now, but they’ll spend part of the day halfway up the mizzenmast. They’re crazy, but there’s not much else to do. I sang for the sailors last night.”

“I heard you from below, but I was too dizzy to come up. I listened, though.”

She smiled at him. “So, how was it being Treya’s roommate the last few days?”

“Heh. Why’d you switch cabins?”

“I figured you two were going to be in a bad mood anyway, but that didn’t mean Shavala and I had to suffer.”

He chuckled. “I think my mood was worse than hers.”

“Yes, you’re a big grump when you’re sick. Did you two talk much?”

“Some. Why?”

“If she’s going to live with us, you should get to know her better. You’ve asked her to help, but you haven’t really spent a lot of time with her.”

“Live with us? Why would she do that?”

“Once we figure out wherever we’re settling down.”

“I assumed she’d stay at whatever Three Orders chapter house was closest.”

Katrin shrugged. “Maybe, but she wants to help you with your plan—whatever that plan is. It’s easier to do that if she’s nearby.” So far, other than Treya’s healing magic, the plan was vague. Corec and Treya both liked the idea of helping people, but nobody was sure how to make that happen. Corec expected to spend most of his time working just to support them, and Katrin planned to do the same.

Corec nodded but frowned. “I suppose we need rooms for Shavala and Sarette too, for when they visit. That’s going to be a bigger place than I was thinking.”

“Don’t forget Bobo,” Katrin said with a grin.

Corec grunted. “Bobo can have my old room at Mama Wenna’s boarding house.”

“Then you’re still thinking of Four Roads?” Katrin asked. That wasn’t much of a surprise—Corec and Treya both considered Four Roads to be home, and Shavala liked the idea because the town was near the Terril Forest.

“Yes, but not right away. It’s too close to Larso. I can’t go there while Prince Rusol is still trying to kill me. What if the red-eyes attack the town, like they did to Jol’s Brook?”

“Treya can stop them again.”

“Not until she knows they’re there. How much damage could they do in the meantime?”

Katrin nodded. She’d been thinking about that too. “What if we lived outside Four Roads? On the Larso side, so the red-eyes wouldn’t need to go through the town to reach us?”

Corec gave her an odd look. “You want to draw them to us on purpose?”

“No,” she said with a shiver. She thought about the children she’d sung to, who’d lost half of their friends in the attack. “I just don’t want another Jol’s Brook. And Treya could heal them so they wouldn’t hurt anyone else, like she did for Nedley and the others.”

Corec looked off into the distance, considering. “You might be right. If we stay that close to Larso, it might keep the red-eyes from attacking any other villages. But it also means Rusol could send the army or the knights after us. We can’t fight them all. We need to know more.”

Katrin slumped. “I know, but I’m getting tired of traveling and looking over our shoulders all the time. I was hoping we could stop after this. Sailing is just making Shavala want to travel even more, but she says she doesn’t mind if you and I take a break from it. She plans to come with us if we go to Four Roads, but then she wants to continue on to Terevas, and then visit those other elves Yelena told her about.”

Corec chuckled. “I wonder if she’ll ever actually go back to the forest. Are you sure you don’t mind living in the free lands? I know you prefer the city.”

“I do, but we’re still planning to move to Tyrsall once Yelena leaves, right?”

“If everyone wants to, sure.”

“Then I can stand living in the country for a few years. I just want to live somewhere.”

“We’ll figure something out.”