Despite what Havard had told Lerran, and the agreement they had come to, Lerran decided to respect the appointment with the Mining Group that Kolt had set up for him. Four days after his visitation to the various factions, he rowed ashore from Storm with Silver again, and they trekked across the city of Kedar to the lavish business. Continue reading Lerran 9
When Raya returned from another hunt, she found a few wagons sitting along the trail leading up to their short town wall. Sten and four other guards were present, as well as Lotha, Viker, and Councilman Cavthur, speaking with the owner of the caravan. It was late in the afternoon, and the sun was starting to set. At the entrance to the town, the light from the sun framed the North Rise and left them in a warm shadow. Continue reading Raya 8
Master Nerlav had three projects in the works at any given time; Dago had been tasked with guarding the most recent one. They were building a crane against the side of a bridge; the local Mage King had hired the company to repair the structure that crossed the North Fork in the Low Dales District of Ith. It was a tricky project, for the bridge was bordered on both sides by two-storey houses. Continue reading Dago 15
The Kedar Mining Group was based out of a large square stone building on the east side of Kedar City. It was a long hike through the winding, sweaty streets before Lerran and his comrades reached it. Their banners, a black banner with a white semicircle—which looked more like a sideways moon than the top of a mining axe—adorned all the street corners near their structure. Though the Mining Group had a small private army in their employ, they competed for power in Kedar using money and jobs, not brute force and reputation like the Saltwater Army or the Tower of Black and Blue. Continue reading Lerran 8
Storm wound between the scattered isles of Kedar and into Keda Bay. It was after midnight, but the winds had picked up late the day before and Captain Urro had ordered a double shift. Lerran stood in the prow and watched moonlit forests rise out of the ocean beside them. There was little rock visible from here, though it could have been the shadows of trees that obscured the banks. Continue reading Lerran 7
She awoke the next morning with Iloli’s bed sheets strewn around her while the woman herself stood nearby starting to dress. The sun blinded Vaenuth, shining through an open shutter and across the bed.
“I’ve got to get to work,” Iloli said, quietly. “But I really enjoyed last night.”
Vaenuth looked away, and stared up at the ceiling. She had also had fun, lots of it, but Iloli had not given her what everyone else seemed to get out of this. Vaenuth hadn’t been with a woman in a long while, and she’d been quite hopeful… but again, she awoke the next day disappointed. She didn’t let Iloli know that though. She sat upright. “Certainly made my stay in Nokire better.”
Soon enough, they walked back to the Mediator’s office building, where many traders were already negotiating. “I’ll write a list,” Vaenuth told her friend. “Don’t give me a discount just because of our—”
Iloli laughed. “Fine, but I reserve the right to ask you out to the bar again the next time you’re in Nokire.” She had worn a violet robe today, a much lighter colour than the normal blue tunic that Vaenuth wore most of the days she spent in towns.
They exchanged their business information easily enough and Iloli sent a runner to procure the proper supplies from the warehouses in the settlement. Once it was all concluded, Vaenuth and Iloli, in the privacy of the latter’s office, gave one another a parting kiss, quickly, and then Vaenuth was on the way out of Nokire. Their camp was abuzz with activity and the smell of fruit seemed prevalent.
Banno was waiting, on watch, instead of one of their usual guards. “I was worried—” he began, but cut himself off. “Did you have a good time?”
She smiled at his second attempt. Before she could reply, Tagg brushed past her, tapped her on the arm and then said to Banno, “Damn, I bet she did…. That little trader girl is fine!” Vaenuth could only laugh at Tagg’s random interruption, and Banno rolled his eyes.
“Did things go smoothly here?” she asked.
“They did,” Banno replied, quietly. Tagg had run off again, to help with the loading of their tents. “I posted guards on the white lead specifically. We’ll be tired and slow today, but at least we’re still getting the job done.”
“That’s good,” Vaenuth said. “For once, I actually need some food, I think. Shall we?”
“Of course!” Banno led the way, and they went toward the smell of jam and bread.
Within the hour, they set out from Nokire and Vaenuth didn’t look back. They would finish this deal, at Kivrad’s estate, within three weeks time. The jungle got denser and more humid around them, and Vaenuth felt at home in some ways. But she always longed for the Expanse, the open reaches without human touch.
The sun was starting to set behind the Yurna Mountains, by the time that the camps around Nokire came into view. Banno barked out Vaenuth’s orders, assigning camping tasks to her workers—five names for setting up tents, three for preparing food, two for patrol and scouting the nearest camps. It was of great importance to know one’s neighbours, and their strengths and weaknesses. Continue reading Vaenuth 14
Two ships raised sails in the middle of the Grey Sea, and began to circle one another. The sun beat down from overhead onto the shirtless backs of the tanned or dark skinned crews, until they were slow enough to drop anchor and drag alongside one another. On the deck of Storm, Captain Urro and Lerran son of Gharo stood side by side, watching the approaching vessel. Carved into the wooden boards on its hull were the words “Twelve and Coast,” an odd name for a ship. The crew were a mangy lot, Lerran saw, as they came into view. They all had matted black and silver beards, save one or two. A few wore their tattered mops of hair in knots or tails, and most were missing teeth. Continue reading Lerran 6
Raya had come a long way from Vagren over the last few days. She’d been home for two of them, and on the road for close to three before that. Hemsten had given her a big hug when she had come walking up to their pointed palisades in the middle of the evening with Viker and Lotha at her heels. The two magicians had spent a lot of the journey taking notes on parchment or discussing the number of refugees on the road. They smiled and shook hands with Sten as they entered Olston. Continue reading Raya 7
The crevices in the wood felt like the grain of a weapon’s handle. The bar was rougher than Dago expected; friction caught his hand more than once as he slid it over the surface. He sighed, pressed his fingernails into one miniature canyon, and took another sip of the treble he had been drinking. It was a classic Radregan beverage, malted from maize into a stiff drink. Continue reading Dago 14