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.
They anchored in the bay between another Radregar galley and a cluster of roped-together fishing boats, and waited for the sun to rise. Lerran and Urro had both been up all night, so they retired to their respective quarters for about three hours of rest before the foreshadowing of sunlight flushed the horizon.
With oars, the Storm was pushed toward the docks until close enough to ease a rowboat crossing to the shore. Lerran and three of his underlings left the rowboat with its crew and went ashore.
Kedar was already strewn with the smoke of ovens and metal-smiths, and the soldiers of various factions marched their territories with practiced determination. Some buildings were built of wood, some of stone. Business rarely expanded outward. Kedar City was tucked between the Bay and the brittle Mud Mountains; the wealthier a person or organization was, the taller their property grew.
After a quick survey of the port, Lerran and his men determined that the Dispatch was not here. His men, Kolt, Niloru, and Silver, said little, even to one another. Silver, known for his steely grey hair, asked Lerran, “Where now?” once they had determined their comrade’s ship was not here.
“We follow them throughout the city. Someone must know something,” he said. “First, we find the arms dealer. Yigal. He runs a shop in the Tower of Black and Blue’s district.”
He led the way, though he didn’t know it precisely. Despite the maps he had studied on their voyage, he had never been to Yigal’s shop himself. He had never even communicated with the man in letters, only read the correspondence of others. He paid a stranger two pence for directions. The man said, “Yeah, a weapons shop, right? Head north, take the next main right, and then left on the third side street…. I think.”
They found it, but not as they expected. There were big boards of wood against the inside of the window shutters, and planks nailed across the doorframe. No notice hung outside; only a small sign that read “Yigal’s,” above the door.
“Out of business,” Kolt said. He was a tall man, with an iron short sword hanging on his back. It was not usual for a man of his rank to afford a weapon of that metal.
The nearest business was a tannery that seemed to specialize in production and not sales. There was only a small, unattended desk inside the door, with a brass bell hanging from the ceiling. Around the corner of the open office, a dusty and hair strewn work floor sported a half dozen men who were either pounding hides stretched on racks or working a shaving them. Lerran rang the bell, and waited while one of them waved, finished his task, and then came to see the son of Gharo.
“Are you here to buy? Only Brothers Black and Blue—”
Lerran interrupted him with a raised hand. “I’m seeking Yigal, the arms merchant down the road. I’ll pay for information.”
“Ha, Yigal,” the man said, opening a mouth that had surprisingly white teeth. He had a bald head, but only a few wrinkles. “Fellow cost the Tower of Black and Blue a fair share and committed an in-house murder to accomplish it. Got himself skinned and hung, as I heard it.”
“When?”
“A month ago, maybe two?” the tanner said. He scratched behind one of his ears. “I don’t know the whole story, and I don’t know it accurately. Go to the Tower if you want more information.”
“Very well, I will,” Lerran said. “Men.” The three fell in behind him and they left the tanner’s.
It was quite easy to find the Tower of Black and Blue. It was one of the predominant factions of Kedar, and had afforded to build a great spire in the famous cityscape. Angled gradually from the ground to the sky like some godly monolith, the tower was only shorter than the aged Wide Tower by a few feet. It’s top floor was painted with colours to match its namesake, while the other floor only matched in trim and window shutters. As they neared the Tower, it rose over the buildings nearest them some eight storeys into the air; it seemed to be built of massive stone blocks, but what mathematical genius had designed blocks angled so perfectly to construct slanted walls so skillfully.
No fewer than a dozen guards stood outside the Tower, and a man in robes spoke with the few visitors who’s purpose allowed them past the simple soldiers. Before approaching, Lerran ordered them all to remove their Gharo brooches, and approach as un-aligned newcomers. They were all covered by the shadow of the jutting fortress.
Through a mask of criss-crossed metal rods, the first soldier in Lerran’s path asked, “What is your business here?”
“I’m here for information about one of my own that I suspect spoke with members of your Tower two months ago,” he said. He kept his hands idle at his sides, without touching his weapons, while Kolt, Niloru and Silver tensed as they were waved into the midst of the defensive trope.
The un-armoured man in the middle flourished with a many shaded robe, full of white, sky blue, and dark blue. There were no greeting customs observed in Kedar, and the man cut straight to business. “What do you want and what party do you represent?”
“I’m just looking for my brother,” Lerran said.
The man shrugged. “Why are you looking for him here? The Tower of Black and Blue is not a place for children.”
“What’s so bad about it?”
“Guards,” the man said, raising his hand. “This fellow is wasting my time.”
Two stepped toward Lerran, and Lerran’s men reached for their weapons. “Whoa,” Lerran said, “Easy, men. Listen, Black and Blue, I went to Yigal’s shop. Why did it close?”
“Wait,” the man said. The approaching guards paused, and Lerran stopped pacing backward with his own warriors. The overseer of the Tower of Black and Blue stepped closer. “Yigal’s business has been concluded. Now stop poking your nose where it doesn’t belong or next time you’ll end up like Yigal. Away with him!”
The guards finally put their hands on Lerran, though he went willingly. The men of Gharo were ushered down the street and shoved away from the Tower’s shadow. “Be-gone,” the guard added, for further orders.
They went to the Public House, though Lerran sent Niloru and Silver to tell the rowboat and Captain Urro what was going on, before coming back to the inn. The Kedar Public House was one of the only truly safe places in Kedar, and the only place Lerran would stay in the city, especially after his interactions at the Tower of Black and Blue earlier.
They sat at the bar, and asked anyone who sat near them if Renado or Vanci had been spotted here. By the time the common room emptied, no one had spoken up, not even the staff of the establishment. Eventually, Lerran paid for their rooms, and his men and he retired for the night.