Chapter 251: Captain Desdemona

I was not happy that I was recognized, and that I was openly being called a legionnaire. I put on my best smile and took a seat at the table. “Today, I am a member of the Adventurers Guild.” I placed my bronze guild medallion on the table, showing my name and number: 13-393919.

“Looking to use the tablet reader again,” Icarus said, arching his eyebrow and looking suspiciously at my leg. I thought my limp was convincing, but maybe not to him.

“I was hoping to talk with Desdemona privately and spend some coin with Tarvon in the back,” I replied to Icarus, eyeing Desdemona for a reply.

“What could you possibly want with me?” Desdemona barked in an exasperated voice. Why did this woman hate me?

“Are you still a ship captain?” I asked softly.

The table was suddenly quiet. Icarus looked at the others playing cards, who stood and walked away, leaving just Icarus, Desdemona, and me at the table. Icarus rested his hands on the table and leaned forward. “You are looking to get smuggled out of the Empire.”

“I am that obvious?” I chuckled, hopefully hiding my nervousness. I knew the Adventurers Guild hated the Empire, so I assumed I was safe in approaching them. Whether I could get what I wanted from them was another question. “Myself, four others, and my horse,” I requested with open hands toward Desdemona.

Desdemona’s eyes widened and she shook her head. “Five legionnaires would draw too much attention. My ship is already being watched closely.” She waved me off, dismissing my request. Icarus looked just as doubtful.

“Actually, I am the only legionnaire. The others will be picked up along the coast east of here with my horse.” The revelation did not convince them but made them more skeptical. Of course, they probably thought that if the others couldn’t even enter the city, transporting them would be just as illicit.

Icarus spoke slowly and carefully. “Just because you are a Guild member, legionnaire, doesn’t mean we will accommodate your requests.”

I nodded. “I understand. Would this be proper remuneration?” I placed the major essence of clairvoyance on the table in front of Desdemona. Just seeing her shocked look made it more than worth it.

It was an essence I would likely never use, so using it as barter was an acceptable loss. Desdemona picked it up and stared at it like it was the most precious diamond in the world. It was worth somewhere in the range of fifty to five hundred gold. Being an affinity essence, it would be toward the upper range, I guessed.

While Desdemona was enthralled, Icarus spoke. “A valuable essence for sure. Still, what you are asking is dangerous. We are supposed to report any First Citizen or legionnaire attempting to leave under suspicious circumstances.” He broke into a friendly smile. “Then again, such a situation has never happened in my tenure as the Master of this Guild Hall.”

“Well, there is more. I am actually looking to adventure under the Guild in the Boutan Caliphate, but am trying to get to the Grand Duchy of Manch first.” I had a lopsided smile on my face at their incredulous looks. I could read maps and knew the difficulties of my route. Desdemona even put down the essence.

Desdemona appeared incredulous. “Grand Duchy of Manch? I have a sea ship, not a flying ship. To reach Manch I would have to sail around the Boutan Caliphate. A month and a week if the winds are with us. This would not cover my costs and crew for such a journey.” She reluctantly held out the essence to return.

“There are flying ships?” I questioned longingly.

Desdemona laughed at me. “No. Maybe during the Golden Age of the Titans, if you believe in the legends. Now, the only things that dominate the skies are dragons, and they don’t like competition.”

I sighed, disappointed. “I was hoping to use a portal to reach Manch,” I revealed.

Icarus was nodding and thinking. “You could sail to Sanco in Esenhem, then. The elves don’t have portals, but there are displacement mages who can teleport your group for a significant fee.” He nodded to the essence, giving me an estimate of the price to expect.

“From Sanco, you can port to the Esenhem capital of Artiria. Then you can portal from Artiria to Gramney. It won’t be cheap for five people and a horse, though. The elves are also fairly strict about who they agree to port.” He was clearly referencing the fact that I was a legionnaire and Esenhem and the Telhian Empire were at war.

He continued, “The Caliphate doesn’t have any portals. And anyway, all non-orc adventurers need to register at the Guild Halls in either Khoura, Harcif, Imararal, or their capital of Becar.”

I mentally stored that information, as I had planned to ask about how adventurers crossed borders during war. Desdemona studied me, trying to puzzle me out. “There are plenty of dungeons elsewhere on the continent, but if you are hiding from the Empire, the Boutan Caliphate is probably a good choice.” That actually seemed like a good reason, so I just gave her a slight nod, letting her think she had figured me out.

Icarus considered me and then gave me some advice. “If that is the path you have chosen, then I suggest you register at an Adventurers Guild Hall in Esenhem. While guild members are more accepted in the Boutan Caliphate than in the Telhian Empire, there is some … culture shock. A number of orc adventurers operate within Esenhem. It might be prudent to convince one to join you to help you navigate to the Boutan Caliphate and avoid upsetting a warlord or cleric.” While his advice was wise, I couldn’t see Maveith working well with an orc. I nodded appreciatively at his advice anyway.

My long shot exit strategy seemed like it was going to work out. “Would you be willing to take me?” I said, smiling at Desdemona.

“Not that simple.” Desdemona smirked roguishly. “I need to put in a request to sail, and then my ship would be searched on the morning we pull anchor. Sometimes they send some Truthseekers to question the passengers, but with your guild medallion, you shouldn’t be questioned—but no guarantees.”

“How long till we sail, and how long to Sanco? My companions are waiting,” I asked Captain Desdemona coolly.

“Two days to ensure the appropriate people approve our departure and seven to eight days to reach Sanco,” Desdemona said professionally. She had switched from mocking glares to something akin to respect. At least, that was how I was interpreting her body language.

“Excellent. Can I get a room here tonight?” I asked Icarus.

He nodded. “No additional charge.” He stood and left Desdemona and me at the table.

Desdemona studied me intently and started to make me feel uncomfortable. “I think I will go and talk with Tarvon.”

Stolen story; please report.

“I will join you to get this appraised.” She rolled the essence deftly across the backs of her fingers and over to her palm. Was it just me, or was she trying to impress me?

The halfling was filling out some paperwork at his counter and looked up with his merchant’s smile. It took him a moment before recognition flashed in his eyes. Was my disguise really not as great as I had thought? I attributed it to the fact that I was making eye contact. Desdemona pushed past me. “Tarvon, got an essence for appraisal.”

She placed the sphere down and spun it on the counter. Tarvon snatched it with deft hands. “Where did you come across a divination essence, girl?”

Desdemona gave me no credit as the essence’s original owner. “Barter for passage. I might consume it if the cost is reasonable,” she said with a hint of hope in her voice. If she had the clairvoyance/divination affinity, then her infatuation with the sphere made sense.

Tarvon seemed indignant. “I log all transactions honestly.” He reached under the counter and produced a scale, and I was immediately confused.

“Isn’t it just a major essence?”

Tarvon scoffed, “Boy, every essence is different. Although essence spheres come in three sizes, their density and purity can vary greatly. It doesn’t affect lesser essences much, but it can affect the price of major and apex essences by as much as fifty percent.”

I watched, fascinated, as he carefully weighed, measured, and used some type of aetheric probe on the sphere over the next few minutes. Satisfied, he opened a logbook and scribbled in it. Desdemona had lost her patience. “And?”

Tarvon was holding back a smile. “One point three. Let me check the current exchange rates.” He opened another book to reference, but Desdemona beat him to it.

“Four hundred gold … so, five hundred and twenty gold?” She spat unhappily.

Tarvon didn’t acknowledge her while he did his own math. Finished, he stated, “Five hundred thirty-six gold and eighteen silver.” Desdemona frowned and exited the back room. Tarvon turned to me. “While Desdemona is the Shorebreaker’s captain, the Guild owns the vessel. This is probably five years’ pay for her.” I had the distinct feeling I might have overpaid a little. Tarvon put his smile back on. “What can I do for you, legionnaire?”

“Just an adventurer now. Any healing potions?” I asked.

“Not with the wars. If I did, there would be almost a fifty percent premium as well. Desdemona is only running her …” He paused and looked me over. “Where is she taking you? To the other continent?”

I didn’t particularly appreciate how easily everyone was figuring out my intentions, but maybe my request was not so rare. The further you got from the Empire, the safer you were. “Just away from the war.” I stuck with the deserter theme. “Oblivion pills?”

Tarvon reached under the counter and retrieved a large jar of the pills. I purchased the entire jar of one hundred. With the transaction complete, he asked, “Anything else?”

“Some adventurer’s armor and one item for a scroll of revelation.” Tarvon’s eyes immediately brightened. He hopped off his stool, which brought him level with the counter, and quickly walked into his office, expecting me to follow.

I had a number of items that still needed to be identified. I didn’t want to put them all out there, as I was worried it might make me a target. Since I was getting some adventurer leathers, I thought getting the earth drake bracers assessed would be advisable. As Tarvon sat at his desk and set up the revelation scroll, I placed the bracers on the desk with a gold coin. He was already aware of my dimensional space, so he was not surprised.

“Where do you find all your artifacts, Eryk?” He asked in a friendly tone as he took the pristine leather bracers and the gold coin payment.

“Here and there,” I hedged. The Adventurers Guild supposedly supervised all the dungeons in the Telhian Empire in return for a noninterference policy with the Empire’s affairs. The halfling looked at me but then shrugged and continued his work.

Tarvon activated the scroll, the runes glowed, and he read the results with his mastery of the runic language. Although I couldn’t activate the scroll, I could make out parts of the runic script that flashed in the air. Finished, Tarvon picked up the bracers and licked them. It wasn’t a gross lick, just a little taste. “Earth drake bracers. They disperse impacts across your entire body. Excellent defense against bludgeoning weapons. But if the bracers become too damaged from slashing attacks, the runes running through them will be disrupted and they will become useless.”

“Thank you.” I took the bracers back, satisfied. “The adventurer’s armor?”

“The armory is in the cellar. Talk to Draymond down there,” Tarvon said helpfully. He seemed to be expecting me to ask for more, but I just stood and found the stairs down.

The air smelled of oil and leather and had a metallic taste to it. Could you actually taste the air? The room opened up into a wide space. Weapon racks lined the walls, but there were actually very few weapons on the racks. A wiry man was hunched over a table and was stitching a leather pack. He looked up, his eyes too big for his face. He reached for a glass and took a long pull before speaking. “Whatcha need?” His accent was thick and I couldn’t place it.

“Adventuring leathers,” I responded, seeing an assortment of armor behind him.

He pointed his thumb behind him. “Find whatcha want and I will add it up.” Draymond ignored me and returned to his work.

I started sorting through the leather armor on stands, tables, and chests. I started to appreciate my fitted Legion armor much more as I tried to piece together a set of leathers. The leggings were easy to find, and also a decent metal helm with padding. The boiled leather chest piece was much harder to fit. The selection was very limited. It wasn’t even hardened with resin, like Legion armor.

Maybe if we had time, I could be fitted for a new suit on our journey. I knew Maveith was going to want to move as quickly as possible to find his sister. The detour to Gramney was already going to delay us more than a week, but I wanted to leave word for Castile and the company and drop off my passengers.

I ended up getting a chest piece that was closer to hide armor, as it was the only thing that fit well enough. When I placed everything on the table, Draymond muttered, “Three gold, seventeen silver.” I produced the coins as I considered it a fair price.

Wearing slightly mismatched armor was going to gnaw on my soldier discipline. I scooped everything up and carried it upstairs. Icarus helped me check into a room on the third floor with the innkeeper. It was a small room, and the smell reminded me of Murphy’s Oil soap. The mattress was stuffed with feathers. It was a bit musty, but comfortable. I spent some time securing the room and coming up with a quick egress strategy through the lone window. I could use two air shields and cross the alley to the adjacent building’s roof.

I wasn’t going to sleep well, knowing where I was. Before settling in for a short nap, I cleaned the blood compass and put another sample of Castile’s blood into it. I was relieved to feel a weak pull, letting me know that she and the company were still alive.

After resting in my room, I spent most of the night fitting the new leathers to my frame and breaking them in by practicing sword and spear forms. I remained in the room the entire day and was surprised when Desdemona came and checked on me.

“Just checking to make sure you hadn’t run off and I still have to sail your legionnaire ass out of the Empire. We can sail the morning after tomorrow,” she said with a smirk.

She was clearly flirting with me. Her abrupt change in disposition left me confused. I managed to quip back, “Feel free to check on my legionnaire ass anytime.”

Instead of replying, her smirk grew, and she turned and strutted down the hallway. Judging by the sway of her hips, she was definitely flirting, or maybe she was indicating I should follow her? I slowly closed the door, trying to decipher the captain’s intentions. Would it be cheating on Renna? Was I even in a relationship with Renna? There would be time to figure it out on the ship, as Maveith was my priority.

Reluctantly, I took the blood compass out, cleaned it again, and added Renna’s blood sample. Maybe if she was in the city, I could risk going to see her, even though it would be a terrible idea. I was surprised but not shocked when her sample pulled in the same direction as Castile and had similar strength. They were together on the Empire’s borders. Renna was a war mage now.

I stayed in the room all day. Late in the evening, the city bells started to ring. Of course the city would be attacked when I was about to leave! I dressed in my armor and rushed down to the common room. If I was correct, the Adventurers Guild was the safest place in the city. The invaders would leave it untouched as long as no adventurers joined the defense.

Icarus was in the common room and looked over at me. “The city is not under attack. The word is spreading through the city that the Emperor is dead.”

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