“So you just walked from where the boat brought you?” asked Rin.
“Yeah,” said Ari. “We’ve been doing it for all our lives. Just one foot in front of the other. What about you two? How did you make it to Cliffhaven?”
Rin quickly explained how they’d found a small island in the aftermath of the galleon’s sinking and then flown from island to island over the course of the next few days. Ari wondered if things would have gone all that differently if they’d ended up encountering each other by chance.
“It’s a miracle that we all survived, chala,” said Rin. “Now. Let’s discuss what happens next. We need you to arrange a meeting with Baron Ogwell.”
“This is where I can help,” said Durrien. “I know how politics are played in Cliffhaven. Rin has explained her sister’s idea to have you present yourself to the baron as a traveling lord from an unheard of region. I think it could work, with a small addition.”
“What do you think we should do?” asked Ari.
“You’ll need to send Baron Ogwell an official gift to get him to take you seriously and invite you into the Noble’s Quarter and his estate,” said Durrien. “It’s going to take a fair amount of coin to make it happen.”
“Well, we have some,” said Ari with a frown.
He’d hoped to be able to keep most of what remained of their reduced treasure stash in order to help himself and Kerys get settled once they’d fulfilled the Vereshi’s request. Thinking about how close they potentially were made him feel strange, as though he was in the middle of a dream and due to wake up at any second.
He scooped up the coins he had scattered in the bottom of his pack and dumped them out on the tavern’s counter. Durrien let out a whistle, but he shook his head as he looked at the pile.
“You probably have the equivalent of a hundred gold tips here,” he said. “Useless like this, though. The Baron is a stickler about his currency. You’ll need to exchange it into cliff-tips before spending it or trying to send some of it to him as a gift.”
“I thought gold was gold?” asked Ari. “What kind of pompous jerk would turn their nose up at a present just because it’s not the same as the coins of the city he rules?”
“You… really shouldn’t say things like that so loudly, lad,” said Durrien, glancing around nervously. “Anyway, I know a girl who can help you out. Normally, the rate of exchange would mean that you’d only get half the true worth of this in weight, assuming you went through the normal channels.”
“Is this sort of activity legal?” asked Eva.
Durrien winced. Ari set a reassuring hand on Eva’s shoulder.
“Everything is legal, as long as you don’t get caught,” he said.
“Aristial Stoneblood, I will never cease to be amazed by your inventive logic,” said Kerys.
“She’s a sweet girl,” said Durrien. “Her name is Amber. Bit of an eccentric sort. Moonlights as a healer and does all sorts of magical experiments. Her place is all the way to the southwest, not too far from here. It’s in the very corner, you can’t miss it.”
Ari nodded, sliding the coins back into his pack. “Anything else?”
Durrien shot a look at Kerys and Eva. “Do you mind leaving one of your friends here to help with cooking and serving? I had to give the regular staff some time off for the sake of keeping Rin and Leyehl’s presence secret, but I could really use the coin that would come from being open tonight.”
“Sure,” said Ari. “Kerys?”
She shot him an exaggerated scowl. “Why does it have to be me?”
“Because you can’t turn into a sword,” he said.
CHAPTER 47
Durrien instructed Ari to leave the door open as he left, and before he and Eva had even made it to the end of the block, a few men began wandering into the inn, as though drawn by some invisible force. It was late afternoon, and Ari suspected it had more to do with them getting an early start on quenching their thirst than anything else.
“How are you feeling?” asked Eva. She drew closer to him and let her fingers graze against his. Ari took both the hint and her hand and then answered her question.
“Fine,” he said. “Relieved. We’ve had our eyes set on Cliffhaven for so long, and now we’re finally here.”
“That is not what I was asking,” said Eva.
“I know,” said Ari.
They walked through an alleyway that exited out onto the southernmost street. Ari could already see Amber’s place in the distance, a surprisingly large stone structure with wood boarded over its windows.
“Has your condition been affecting you?” asked Eva. “Since what happened on the rune sled, I mean.”
“It’s been fine,” said Ari. “I feel great. I don’t see the point in worrying about it.”
“Aristial,” whispered Eva. “This is not something you can just ignore. We should discuss potential solutions, at the very least.”
Ari smiled and let out a tired sigh. “I’ve already found my solution, Eva. I made it to Cliffhaven. More importantly, I brought Kerys, and you, to Cliffhaven. You’ll be safe here.”
Eva squeezed his hand so hard that it hurt.
“I’m going to help you, Lord Aristial,” she said. “Whether you like it or not. So quit feeling sorry for yourself and acting like you have already marked out your grave.”
Her voice was stern, commanding, and yet somehow, still so vulnerable. Ari stopped walking and turned to look at her, seeing the emotions flickering on her face underneath her forced stoic expression. He let his hand brush her cheek, along with a few strands of her silky, silver-blue hair. He kissed her and then hugged her, feeling his emotions resonating with hers.
“I haven’t given up completely,” he said. “It’s just scary to try to be hopeful, you know? Easier for me to focus on you, and Kerys, and the parts of our situation that I can control.”
“I understand,” said Eva. “Let me do it, then. I will take responsibility for saving you this time.”
They were still hugging, and Eva shifted her head so it rested against his shoulder, planting a gentle, protective kiss on his neck. They were in the middle of the street, forcing people to walk around them. Ari didn’t care.
“Come on,” he said, after holding like that for another minute. “Let’s go meet Amber.”
He slowed as he approached the door to Amber’s place, feeling a sudden stab of unease. A crash came from within the stone building, and Ari only took the time to glance over at Eva before throwing the unlocked wooden door wide open.
Eva flashed with light as they moved into the entranceway, timing it so that she was out of view of both the street and whoever might be further inside. Amber’s place was basically one large, open workshop, with a small second-floor loft at the top of a ladder serving as a basic bedroom.
A young woman with short red hair was currently at the top of that ladder, and it only took a glance toward the corner of the workshop to see why. A hairy spider the size of a hefty dog was shuffling across the floor. Ari flinched backward when he saw it, ignoring the creepy, skin-crawling sensation that arachnids had always triggered within him as he brandished his greatsword into an offensive stance.
“Run!” said the woman. “It’s poisonous!”
“Ah,” said Ari. “Well, doesn’t that just sweeten the deal.”
He slashed at the space in front of the spider, which seemed less than intimidated. Keeping his back to the wall, Ari slowly moved to the left, feinted to the right, and then quickly stabbed his sword forward in an attempt to skewer the creature through the abdomen.
The spider shot forward, slipping underneath his legs and eliciting a surprised and unflattering squeak from Ari’s throat. He kicked outward, managing to knock it back before it could start up his leg. The spider landed on a discarded robe and became entangled as it tried to regain its footing.
Ari didn’t hesitate. He hacked into the spider several times in quick succession. Which was probably overkill, given that the massive arac
hnid had gone completely still after the first blow. He wiped a mixture of red blood and greenish fluid off Azurelight.
“That was disgusting,” came Eva’s voice through the bond.
“I could not agree more,” said Ari.
“What’s that?” called the woman. “Did you say something?”
“Just talking to myself,” said Ari. “Are you Amber, by chance?”
The woman climbed down the ladder, giving Ari a chance to get his first real look at her. She had red hair, cut almost short enough to be androgynous, and a heavily freckled face. Her rather boyish haircut contrasted against a curvaceous, womanly figure, though the plain tunic and pants she wore were only flattering due to how tightly they clung to her body.
“I am,” said Amber. “Apologies for the greeting my latest experiment gave you.”
“Your latest experiment?” asked Ari. “You made that spider?”
“No, but I did make it bigger,” said Amber. “It was a test of a wand I purchased from an adventurer who claimed that it could cast a spell to increase the size of any insect.”
“A wand?” said Ari.
“Yes,” said Amber. “Now, if you don’t mind me asking, who are you, and what are you doing here?”
Her voice wasn’t impolite, exactly, but there was a curt, no-nonsense quality to it that Ari felt a grudging respect for. Even if he’d saved her, he was still a stranger in her home, and a stranger wielding a weapon.
“My name is Aristial Stoneblood,” said Ari. “Durrien told me that you could help me with a small problem I need solved.”
He reached into his pack and pulled out one of the ancient gold coins, passing it to her.
“Whoa…” said Amber. “Where in the world did you find these?”
Ari chuckled.
“That wasn’t a rhetorical question,” she said, raising her eyes to meet his.
“I’m not sure you’d believe me if I told you,” said Ari. “It was in an old ruin, of sorts.”
“These aren’t Saidican drakes,” said Amber. “They obviously predate the Saidican Empire.”
“Correct,” said Ari. He glanced away from her and began looking around the room. Amber’s workshop was an impressive mixture of disciplines, with several old, rusted weapons, shields, and pieces of armor lying in one corner, and what looked like an alchemy set spread out across a table on the other side of the room.
“I’ll give you a fair price for them,” said Amber. “Three gold tips per each coin. Deal?”
“Yeah, sure,” said Ari. “These weapons… Are they enchanted, too?”
He crouched down near the pile of discarded equipment.
“Some of them used to be,” said Amber. “A few still have a small amount of essence left in them, but not enough to be useful.”
“Do you sell enchanted items, then?” he asked.
Amber smirked. “Occasionally. Though, much like many of my other pursuits, it’s something I can’t do openly. Baron Ogwell has a habit of seizing enchanted items to hoard, or occasionally gift to his loyal followers.”
There was an edge of contempt in her voice that told Ari about the regard she held the man in. He let his eyes continue to drift across her work space, and then froze when he spotted a potion sitting on the rack above her alchemy supplies with a curious label.
“Weathersense Potion,” muttered Ari, as he reached a finger toward it.
“It’s a little rude for you to just start touching whatever you want, you know,” said Amber.
“Well, I’ve certainly heard that one before,” said Ari. “Seriously though. What’s the deal with this potion?”
Amber shrugged. “To be honest, I don’t rightly know. I made that potion from the blood, or rather, the ooze of one of the weather monsters that made it into the city last year.”
“Seriously?” asked Ari.
“I took a simple approach,” said Amber. “Added a small amount of distilled essence, along with a few other ingredients.”
“What does it do?” asked Ari. “You’ve tested it, haven’t you?”
“In a sense,” said Amber. “I gave a small sample to one of the stray dogs that often hangs out by the wall. I thought it was a failed experiment until the next storm came.”
“What happened to it?” asked Ari.
“He started acting very strange,” said Amber. “Like he was connected to the storm, somehow. A few weeks later, he got away from me while I was bringing him by the city’s gate. Made it outside. I thought that would be the last I’d ever see of him.”
“It wasn’t, though,” said Ari.
Amber chuckled. “No. I’ve seen the dog since then. He should have been taken by the storms we’ve had since, several times over, but somehow he’s survived them. Hence, the Weathersense Potion. As far as I can tell, it bestows some type of affinity for storms when imbibed.”
“Have you tested it on yourself?” asked Ari. “Or another human?”
“Not a chance,” said Amber. “Who knows what other effects it might have. Dogs can’t explain what’s going on inside their bodies. I wouldn’t be surprised if the potion did massive damage to some internal organ or another. The liver, or kidneys, perhaps.”
Ari tapped a finger against the bottle’s glass, feeling his curiosity getting the better of him. Amber was smiling, and he got the strange sense that she hadn’t given him the explanation on a whim.
“You seem like the adventurous sort,” she said. “If you were interested, you could be the one to give it a try.”
“What’s the catch?” asked Ari.
“No catch,” said Amber. “Just come back here once you’ve taken it and let me run some tests on you.”
Ari pulled the potion off the rack, furrowing his brow with suspicion.
“You really do expect that there’ll be some sort of horrible side effect, don’t you?” he asked.
“Do you honestly think I’d let you have it if that wasn’t the case?” asked Amber. “I am very interested to hear what happens when you drink it.”
She grinned, and Ari slowly shook his head.
“You’re an odd person,” he said.
“You’ll make a great test subject,” she replied.
CHAPTER 48
Ari left with a pouch of exchanged money and the Weathersense Potion, though he wasn’t fully committed to making use of the latter. Eva began chastising him almost as soon as they were out the door.
“I suggest you throw it away,” she said. “It makes no sense to place any amount of trust in something that you lack a complete understanding of.”
“I didn’t understand you when we first met, either,” said Ari. “And look at how much the trust I placed in you paid off.”
“I am not a mystery potion that was given to you for free by a woman you have known for ten minutes,” said Eva.
“That is a good point,” said Ari. “Still, given how she described the reaction of the dog, I can’t help but think that it might eventually come in handy.”
The two of them left it at that and continued down the street. It was early evening, and the setting sun caused Cliffhaven’s western wall to cast an imposing shadow across much of the city. It had the effect of making it seem much later than it truly was when they arrived back at the Traveler’s Guild Inn.
The door was still open, but now the sound of laughter, conversation, and general merriment echoed from within. Close to two dozen people were sitting at the bar or grouped around tables, and Ari almost had to do a double take when he saw the face of the girl carrying mugs of ale around on a serving platter.
Kerys had changed her clothing at some point and now wore a flowing, low-cut gown that fit her surprisingly well in place of the tunic and leggings she’d been given in Varnas-Rav. She was smiling and had to wave off one of the men at the table she was tending to as she set down their ale.
The man didn’t take the hint. He stood up and took hold of Kerys’ wrist, muttering something in a voice that was altogether too loud and
too drunken for Ari’s liking. He noticed Durrien stirring behind the bar and held a finger up. He wanted to be the one to handle it.
“He won’t mind if you sit with us for a minute!” bellowed the drunkard. “Here, we needn’t even pull up another seat! You can drop down right on my lap.”
“Let go of me, you oaf!” snapped Kerys.
“Did you not hear the lady?” asked Ari, as he inserted himself between them. “She asked you to let go of her.”
The drunken man was both taller and heavier than he was, and Ari noticed the appraising look he gave him as he continued to grip Kerys by the arm.
“Piss off, boy,” he said. “I’ll bet you don’t even know how to use that sword on your back.”
“I bet you I won’t even need to.” Ari pulled the man into an armbar before he could react and twisted hard. Harder than he probably had needed to, if the resulting crunch and the man’s pained shout were anything to go by.
“I warned you that you’d be taught your lesson if you tried your games on one of my girls again, Brickmore,” shouted Durrien. “If I were you, I’d get out of here before the lad decides to get serious.”
The drunken man shouted a few words mangled by the pain Ari had left him in and then exited with one of his companions as an escort. Ari set a hand on Kerys’ shoulder and led her over to the bar.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” said Kerys. “You didn’t have to step in. I could have handled it.”
“Sure,” said Ari. “Where’d you get the dress?”
“Durrien lent it to me,” said Kerys.
“It belonged to one of my daughters,” said Durrien. “Er, not Tialese. One of the other ones. I have four… or is it five? Yeah, five sounds right.”
“I’m surprised it fits you so well,” said Ari.
“Do you think it looks good on me?” Kerys beamed, turning in a circle to show off the garment. “It’s the first piece of clothing since leaving Golias Hollow that I thought was really, you know, pretty and stuff.”
Vision Voyage (The Weatherblight Saga Book 2) Page 29