by Cindy Dees
At least the long walk gave him plenty of time to think about how he was going to propose to Rosana. Rynn and Eben had the right of it. He had to come up with some gift, something of great personal meaning to both of them. And then he would need to find a beautiful place, a private moment with just the two of them …
But how? Out here on the road, they were always with their friends, looking over their shoulders for threats or running for their lives, it seemed. He had coins in his pouch these days thanks to his small salary as a Mage’s Guild member, but he had no idea what to get for Rosana with them. He would ask Raina for advice, but he had no faith in her not to tell Rosana what was afoot. The two were thick as thieves with one another. Sha’Li was arguably the toughest fighter among them all. Not to mention she’d grown up in the heart of the Angor Swamp. No telling what she would consider to be a proper romantic gesture.
Raina spoke up from ahead of him on the dusty road. “Do you think we should spend the night in Seastar, or should we press on down to the docks and try to arrange passage immediately across the sea?”
Sir Hrothgar, who had been chosen to accompany Raina, answered quickly. “Please do not attempt the crossing of the Bone Reef at night, Emissary. It is dangerous enough in broad daylight with a skilled captain at the tiller.”
“What makes it so dangerous?” Rosana asked.
Sha’Li answered, “It is the graveyard of the leviathans. Their great bones stick out in all directions and will tear a hole in an unwary boat. A coral reef has formed over them, making them even sharper and more dangerous. And then there are the difficult currents that swirl among them. A treacherous passage it makes for even a shallow-bottomed barge.”
Will asked, “Is that why no Black Ships sail the Estarran Sea? They can’t get into it?”
Rynn answered, “That, and there’s the small matter of the Merr and their baron, Occyron the Six-Gilled, who claims Estarra for himself.”
“It’s true, then?” Will responded. “Even Koth does not challenge the Merr?”
“Not underwater,” Hrothgar answered. “It would be like attacking a bear in its own cave.”
Sha’Li remarked, “Too bad Kothites do not have gills.”
Will stared at her. “You consider Kothites preferable to Merr, then?”
Raina cleared her throat gently, and he glanced up at her. Oh. Right. Royal Order of the Sun knights were within earshot. He was accustomed on the road to being able to speak freely with his companions, none of whom had much use for the Empire.
Sha’Li prudently did not answer his question, which had the potential to wander into treasonous territory. She did, however, roll her eyes at him behind the knights’ backs, silently making her opinion of Merr crystal clear. Of course, lizardmen and Merr were known to compete over water territory the same way land walkers competed for control over countries and continents.
Will noted that, as they passed a public proclamation board in the town square of Seastar, Rynn reached out unobtrusively and tore down a sheet of parchment. It had the look of some sort of official proclamation. The paxan stuffed it in his pouch and said nothing about it. What was that all about?
* * *
Thanon and a company of his men, a hundred in total, arrived in Seastar in the late afternoon. Following the White Heart emissary and her entourage had been no hardship at all for his campaign-hardened men, accustomed to traveling much farther under much worse conditions carrying much more gear. He settled them in the local Imperial Army barracks with orders to go into town and drink their fill but not to draw any notice to themselves. Trained Special Forces troops one and all, they were adept at blending in with locals. And in the event any of them ran into trouble, all the men in this, his elite company, were paxan and fully capable of adjusting or erasing the odd memory here and there.
They left the barracks by twos and threes over the next several hours, fanning out through the city quietly to reconnoiter where the emissary and her entourage had landed and to suss out what Raina planned to do next.
It made no sense for a brand-new emissary to hare off into the countryside like this. And the way his informants reported it, the Royal Order of the Sun was deeply irritated over this journey she made. The secrecy around it was enough to rouse Thanon to curiosity. And curiosity was a sensation he’d learned long ago to trust and investigate.
What matter was so pressing that Lord Justinius didn’t forbid the White Heart emissary from making a dangerous foray into the untamed lands, if, indeed, that was where she was headed?
When two of his men reported back in the early evening that they’d found the emissary and her companions at a local inn, the Pour House, Thanon went there, hood pulled low over his face, and slipped into the common room unobtrusively to surveil Raina and her companions.
* * *
Will couldn’t complain about the accommodations on their journey so far. The inn Hrothgar took them to in Seastar was far more respectable than any place he and his friends would have stayed at on their own. As they relaxed in the Pour House’s common room over supper, a call went up for a song among the patrons.
A wandrakin woman stood up from a tableful of merchants and sailors. “And what would you have me sing?” she asked the room at large.
“Sing ‘The Lay of the Sleeping King’!” someone shouted.
Will’s breath caught, and he glanced at his companions in quick alarm. Raina’s face was frozen in a mask of a smile, and the others stared fixedly at the ceiling or down at the table boards.
The woman began to sing in a clear soprano that danced across his skin like a stream in springtime, “In all my travels far and near, ne’er was a land so fair as Gandymere. A kingdom fine and full of grace, its king the noblest of his race…”
The epic poem described a prosperous country ruled for a century by a young and handsome king. Peace reigned over the land, and it was the envy of all who did not live there. But in the way of all shining jewels, a neighboring king, the green troll Rudath, coveted it. He invaded Gandymere and laid waste to all in his path.
It seemed that Gawaine had made the mistake of believing that if he made all of his people happy, his kingdom would be secure. He did not realize that the very peace and prosperity he had given his people would also spell his doom. For it was not the way of man to be happy. According to the bard who wrote the tale, it was the way of man to be jealous and greedy, to want what his neighbor had, and to take it by force.
War came to Gandymere, and its green and verdant abundance was burned and slashed, the land left barren and wasted. Gawaine formed a great elven army and marched forth to do battle with the invader, Rudath. Blood flowed in rivers on both sides of the conflict. Exhausted, the two armies came together for one last battle that would decide the fate of Gandymere and its fair king.
The two kings agreed to do single combat, one with the other, and spare their badly depleted armies any more deaths.
The entire inn was hushed as the singer launched into the final verses. She described the two kings stepping out in front of their armies and engaging in a brutal, bloody duel that went on for an hour. They were evenly matched, Rudath and Gawaine. The troll was bigger and stronger, but Gawaine was quick and smart. Back and forth they fought, spilling each other’s blood and testing each other’s formidable wills.
Finally, in desperation, Rudath took a mighty swing with his great war axe. Gawaine could try to block the blow, or he could drop his defenses, step into the opening Rudath had created, and plunge his sword into the troll’s heart. They would both die, but the war would be over.
Gawaine lunged with his sword as the axe swung down. The two kings traded mortal blows, pitching forward into each other’s arms, dying as one, still locked in mortal combat.
Will let out the breath he realized he’d been holding as the martial melody shifted into a lament.
The elven army cried out as one as their fair king fell, and they rushed forward to retrieve his body. Each army laid its king tenderly upon his shield a
nd carried their respective king back to his own battle lines. But as the elves laid down their fallen leader, a ghostly, glowing figure of a lady appeared at Gawaine’s feet. It was his own mother, the Green Lady, come to fetch the spirit of her son home. As the soldiers looked on, Gawaine’s spirit rose out of his body and took the hand she offered to him, and the two drifted beyond the Veil, disappearing into the land of spirits departed. There, the fair king Gawaine’s spirit now walked in green meadows, forever young, feasting and participating in contests at arms with the spirits of his loyal soldiers who died for him and for lost Gandymere.
A deep silence fell over the crowd as the last, sad notes of the song floated away. Then, as one, Will and everybody else in the room burst into cheers and thunderous applause, pounding mugs on tables and stomping their feet in approval.
“Lady Hymner!” many of the voices shouted.
“Huzzah for the landsgrave!” others called.
That woman was a landsgrave? He leaned forward to ask where her lands lay, and Raina anticipated his question, murmuring, “She’s landsgrave of Morassa. She rules from the city of Dumaw, across the Bone Reef on the western shore of the Estarran Sea.”
“Well, she’s a fine singer,” Will declared.
Rynn smiled. “It doesn’t hurt that she’s a wandrakin. They have a special affinity for language and music. They give power to words that few others can.”
Eben commented, “Beware of trading with wandrakin. They’ll talk circles around you and end up getting the shirt off your back.”
“A singing con artist. That should make for an interesting landsgrave,” Will retorted.
Hrothgar sent him a quelling look down the table, and Will heeded it. He didn’t need any trouble with Raina’s guards on this last night with them.
The next morning, however, Will did argue when the Royal Order of the Sun knights tried to put Raina on an expensive Merr longboat to cross the Estarran Sea. The sleek ship had a dozen oarsmen and great square sails to propel it, and if the stylized musical symbol on the chests of a dozen crates already aboard was any indication, Landsgrave Hymner would be taking the ship as well. The last thing they needed was to be cooped up with some Imperial noble for hours on end. While Raina might relish all that diplomatic stuff, he did not.
Besides, no commoner could afford passage on such a vessel. If they were to arrive on the far side of the sea in such a craft, at best they would be shunned as Imperial servants. At worst, they would be marked for robbery and murder by local brigands.
When he pointed that fact out to Sir Hrothgar, the knight retorted, “If the emissary is not going to be properly protected, we will not let her go at all—”
Raina cut him off. “That was not my deal with Lord Justinius. I allowed you to accompany me this far in return for you allowing me to continue across the sea without you.”
Hrothgar scowled. “My duty forbids me from letting these children be your only protection.”
Raina replied sternly, “And yet your honor requires you to abide by your promise. My friends may be young, but we are far from children. We’ve faced more and greater dangers than you can imagine.”
“Like what?” Hrothgar challenged.
“I’m confident Lord Justinius did not send you here to argue with me, sir knight,” Raina said in a voice so polite and chilly it sent frost down Will’s spine. Wow. Where did she learn that tone of voice? Even his mother would have been hard pressed to achieve such an infusion of command, and she was an elf.
Scowling, the Royal Order of the Sun knights took their leave quickly after that. Will sighed a great breath of relief as their white-clad backs retreated into the crowd at the docks. He immediately stripped off his Mage’s Guild tabard and stuffed it in his pack while all the others except Raina did the same. She did, however, change out of her spotless, elegantly embroidered White Heart tunic bearing the emissary’s badge and replaced it with a stained and rumpled White Heart tabard that had seen plenty of hard times. There. Now they looked like themselves again.
He gazed up and down the quay. “Looks like there’s a barge loading passengers down that way. Want to see if there’s room for us aboard?”
Eben and Rynn, who were tall enough to see over much of the crowd, looked where he pointed and nodded. The three fellows used their size to elbow a path through the crowd for the girls, and all six of them reached the dock just as the barge captain, a scarred and weathered-looking Merr, started to step from the dock to his vessel.
“Is there room for six more?” Will called to him.
The Merr turned. Looked them up and down. “Don’t look like the types to cause trouble, I suppose. No food or water supplied on the crossing. A gold a head.”
“A gold?” Rynn exclaimed. “That’s highway robbery! Three silver will get a person passage here at the narrow end of the sea.”
The captain shrugged. “Ever since our treaty with Anton collapsed, the price has gone up.”
“What treaty is that?” Raina asked quickly.
“Treaty giving pinkskin vessels permission to cross Estarra. New treaty says no ship with more than twelve souls aboard may cross unless it’s a Merr vessel, and no Kothite cargo ships at all may cross.”
Huh. That had to be putting a crimp in the Empire’s construction schedule for Maren’s Belt. The way he heard it, all the magical waestones being used to build the road were being hauled from the Dupree harbor, where they arrived in Black Ships, carted overland to Seastar, and then sailed across the Estarran Sea to where the road was being built. It was the only practical way to move tons of stone over great distances.
Will commented, “Landsgrave Hymner can’t be too happy about the new treaty.”
The Merr grinned, a rather horrible grimace revealing sharply pointed teeth. “Way I hear it, she just found out about it. She’s been in Dupree and no one bothered to tell her.” He shrugged. “Good for us, though.”
Eben dug six gold coins out of his pouch and passed them to the captain. Will, no lover of boats, felt sick the moment he set foot upon the gently heaving barge. It was a big, rectangular vessel, and he could discern no visible method of propulsion. Maybe Merr swimming underwater pushed it forward like the last Merr boat they’d ridden. This barge’s broad deck was crowded with mostly farmers and merchants. He guessed they’d brought wares to Dupree to sell and now returned home.
The sky was heavy and gray as they set out from Seastar, and before long, nothing but black water and that ominous sky were visible around them. Will shoved his way to the rail and hung over it miserably, emptying his stomach explosively and dry heaving after that.
Rosana rubbed his back sympathetically. She might be able to heal his wounds or cure actual diseases, but there was no cure for a landlubber’s stomach.
“How long will this journey take?” he groaned under his breath.
“Rynn says it should take about eight hours. Unless we hit bad weather, of course.”
He heaved again at the mere thought of riding out a storm on this cumbersome, open-decked vessel. They were all going to die, swept overboard by the first big waves. Off to the south, he made out a few small landmasses jutting out of the choppy water. Those must be some of the peaks of the underwater reef that had grown up over the leviathan skeletons. If their captain misjudged and sailed too close to it, the bottom of this barge would be ripped apart and they would all drown and … he heaved again.
Rosana squinted up at the dark, pregnant clouds. “Not exactly auspicious weather for starting our journey, is it?”
He grunted, too miserable for words.
“Where do you suppose Raina’s dragging us off to in such a hurry?”
There was no telling with her. He shrugged in answer to Rosana’s question.
The gypsy continued gaily, apparently oblivious to the gently rolling deck beneath their feet, “Do you suppose Raina’s ring, or her friend, has told her where to look for the next item we seek?”
That was an excellent question. He�
�d been surprised to find out that Raina apparently dreamed of Gawaine on a regular basis. Maybe it was because she wore Gawaine’s signet ring continuously.
Speaking of rings, he asked Rosana, “Do you like jewelry?” He tried to sound casual, but ended up sounded nervous and lame. Hopefully, she would attribute any strangeness to his seasickness.
“I’m a girl,” she teased. “I love jewelry. The shinier the better.”
“Any particular kind? Necklaces? Bracelets? Rings?”
“Why? Are you planning on getting me one?”
He smiled, feeling even more lame. “I just noticed that you wear none. I didn’t know if that was a Heart thing, or a gypsy thing, or a you thing.”
She shrugged. “If I have coin to spend, I buy healing potions to pass out to those who cannot afford them.”
And that was why he loved her. She had a giant heart filled with compassion. Why else would she put up with him? Hanging on to the rail for balance with one hand, he put his free arm around her shoulder. “You’re too good for me, Rosie.”
She laughed. “And don’t you forget it.”
“I’m serious.”
“Oh.” A pause. Then she replied seriously, “No, you’ve got it backward. You come from a fancy family. And you’re a talented caster, an accomplished warrior. Everyone says you’ll be a Celestial Order of the Dragon knight before long.”
He stared down at her. “Who says that?”
“Everybody, behind your back. People say you can hold your own against Captain Krugar and even beat him sometimes. And he’s thought to be the greatest warrior in Haelos.”
That was because his father was dead. Tiberius had been the greatest warrior in the land in his day. A familiar wave of grief passed through him. To distract himself, Will said ruefully, “To hear Aurelius speak of it, you’d think I’ll be lucky to end up cleaning the Mage’s Guild latrines.”
“He just wants you to work hard and achieve your potential.” Another pause. “So do I, Will. If the day comes when you need to be with people of more social standing than our friends and I have, I’ll understand.”