Chapter 252: Anchors Aweigh

Was the Emperor dead? I stood stunned but impassive. My hand drifted to my pocket and I activated the compass. It still had a faint pull, so Castile was alive—or recently dead. My mind raced, and Icarus studied my reaction.

“You don’t look surprised, legionnaire,” he stated appraisingly. “The news is likely days old,” he probed. He probably thought my flight was due to the Emperor’s death.

It felt like everything was snowballing and spinning out of my control. “I am just stunned. What does this mean?”

Icarus eyed me again before speaking. “It is just a rumor right now, spreading like fire through the city. If true, they will lock down the city to maintain order.”

Our conversation was cut short as Desdemona slammed the heavy entry door open, and before it slammed shut, I could see the chaos starting in the street. She had a tense energy and an angry tone. “There is smoke coming from the palace.” Her eyes locked on me. “Is this your doing, legionnaire?”

I could see why this woman was single. One moment she was hinting at a tryst, and the next moment, she was accusing me of killing the Emperor and burning down the palace. I bit my tongue, holding back a nasty retort. “No, I had nothing to do with it. Is this going to affect us sailing tomorrow?”

Desdemona barked a laugh. “Are you daft? The palace is burning! I doubt they are going to let anyone leave the city now. At least not until a new Emperor sits in the palace.” She collapsed heavily into a chair and put her feet up on the table, tilting precariously back in the chair. She locked her fingers behind her head. “All we can do is wait.”

Maveith and Ginger couldn’t wait. I quickly came up with a plan in my head. “That doesn’t work for me. Would this help?” I produced Count Cato’s writ of unfettered passage and handed it to Icarus. I could have handed it to Desdemona, but she was currently rubbing me the wrong way.

Icarus eyed the seal and read the parchment, surprise blossoming on his face. After a moment, he said, “It might.” Desdemona, irritated that no one was telling her what was written on the parchment, leaped to her feet, let the chair crash to the floor, and stomped across the room, taking the writ.

She read it, confused, and looked at me. “Where did you get this? Are you are working for Count Cato?” she said accusingly. By her tone, I surmised Count Cato had a poor reputation with the Adventurers Guild.

I decided to reveal more than I should, but I needed to get out of the city and pick up Maveith soon. “No. I took it off the dead bodies of his men who were exploring the Ruins of Caelora. They apparently ran afoul of a wyvern.” Icarus and Desdemona made eye contact, and unspoken words passed between them.

Icarus addressed me cautiously. “What were they doing in Caelora? Last time you utilized our hall, you alluded to the rumors that a dungeon was found in Caelora. Are they true?”

At this point, I didn’t see any harm in telling them the truth. “Yes, there is a dungeon inside the city of specters. Almost impossible to reach safely, as the specters respawn.”

“Respawn?” Icarus echoed. He pursed his lips. He nodded, deciphering the odd word. “I see, and the Emperor was aware of this dungeon. That is a violation of the Guild’s agreement with the Empire,” he said tersely.

The air suddenly felt heavy, and I felt out of place. In a tight tone, Desdemona offered to Icarus, “If I move now, I might be able to use this to get out of the harbor. I can carry a message for you, father.”

“That is best. Most likely, if we use any of the message senders, word would get out that we know for certain,” Icarus said in agreement.

It seemed whatever I did, I always seemed to stir shit up. “What are the implications of the Shimmering Labyrinth Dungeon being revealed?”

Icarus considered me before explaining. “Our Telhian charter grants us administration of all dungeons within the Empire. The First Citizens have a right to purchase retrieved artifacts that our members intend to sell. By keeping a new dungeon secret, we are entitled to a lessening of certain restrictions upon our Guild operations. Unfortunately, I am not in a strong position to negotiate.” He patted his small beer belly with a smirk. “Desdemona will get word to our assembly, and they will send someone with a stronger hand.” I could tell he was hinting at someone more powerful. “Do you object?” he asked directly.

“No, my bridges are already burned with the Empire,” I replied candidly. This got an approving look from Desdemona. I had already decided to abandon the Empire, so this did not affect me. It looked like it would only negatively affect the new Emperor and First Citizens, which was fine with me. “Are we leaving now?” I asked Desdemona with a crooked smile.

She rolled her eyes and barked an order at me. “Yes, grab your things, legionnaire. We will head to the Shorebreaker immediately.”

“I am ready to go now.” I held my smile. I was wearing my new adventurer’s armor, and the magebane blade hung on my hip. Although the hilt was intricate, I figured all the other blades I owned could be recognized.

Desdemona huffed and rushed into her room, returning with a leather pack that I assumed was her go bag. She was about to shoulder it but instead tossed it hard at me to carry, not hiding her teasing smirk. “Follow me, legionnaire.”

“You know if you keep calling me legionnaire, someone might believe you and detain me,” I voiced humorously.

Desdemona stopped and spun, walking to get face-to-face. In a challenging tone, she snapped at me, “Do you think I am an idiot?”

Say no, Eryk, say no. “Well, I don’t know you well enough to make that judgment.”

Icarus coughed, amused. Desdemona’s bronzed face started to darken as she flushed in a torrent of emotions. She had to look up as she was more than a head shorter than me. Her eyes were ablaze as she scowled up at me. Her finger stabbed into my armor repeatedly as she talked. “The only stupid one here is you.” She then spun and stormed out.

I whispered so only Icarus could hear. “That was not a very good comeback.”

Icarus laughed again. “Don’t let her get too far ahead, Eryk. She has a tough exterior, but I think she actually likes you.” He winked and indicated I should go with a gesture. Did he just give me permission to seduce his daughter, or tell me that his daughter was seducing me? I adjusted the straps on her pack before shouldering it as I moved to catch up to her.

She had slowed, and I was soon walking next to her. She walked confidently and didn’t speak as we wove through the city streets toward the docks. It looked like every city guard had emptied into the streets to keep order. In the distance, I could see a line of blue-gray smoke rising from the palace. I wondered if that was the Archives burning. Maybe the blood sample was being burned at this very moment. I rechecked the compass in my pocket, reassuring myself that Castile was alive. If she was dead, I probably would not head to Gramney. My course was set for the moment anyway.

As we stepped onto the timeworn, salt-crusted stone piers, dozens of large ships were actively trying to make ready to sail, but soldiers, legionnaires, magistrates, and city guards were barking warnings to stand down. It was complete chaos. Desdemona stormed up the gangplank of her modest ship. “Isaak, prepare to sail!” she barked at a sailor. He nodded and started yelling orders, spurring a flurry of sailors to action.

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A desperate man in white magistrate robes barked at Desdemona from the pier, “Captain! All ships are being held for three days. Please …”

Desdemona spun and marched heavily down the ramp to the magistrate. His two city guardsmen reached for their weapons. “Magistrate Jochen, Count Cassius Cato has chartered my ship for an urgent mission. We are to get to his estate and secure it.”

The magistrate took the writ she slapped in his hand and read it. His mind seemed to be working. “How are you going to get to Count Cato’s estate by ship?” he asked skeptically after reading the writ and confirming the Count’s crest.

Desdemona caught herself but snatched back the writ. “We are getting more men to guard his Citadel. Most of his men were sent to the war front.” She obviously had no idea which city housed Cato’s Citadel, and neither did I.

The magistrate seemed to weigh his options. “If you can wait four hours, we can have a message sent to the Count to confirm.”

“You have thirty minutes!” she said confidently. She turned her back on the magistrate and jogged back up the ramp. I cocked my eyebrow as she passed, and her eyes gave me a fiery warning not to question her intelligence after the poorly thought out ploy. I heard her whisper to Isaak, who I assumed was her first mate, “Cast lines in ten minutes.”

I moved to the center of the deck as men raced about in a dance, preparing the rigging. Magistrate Jochen was left stunned. He looked young to be a magistrate, maybe in his early twenties. After getting over his shock, he sent one of his guards off at a run.

Desdemona joined Isaak in giving orders, and as she passed me, she said, “I hope Cato is not in the city and easily found, or this could be a very short trip.”

I kept having to move out of the way and eventually found an unobtrusive spot all the way in the stern. The ship was not large, maybe sixty feet bow to stern and twenty feet in width. I watched the stone docks as the magistrate fumbled with what to do. It was clear we were not waiting on him. He raced to talk with other magistrates, but everyone was occupied arguing with other captains in the chaos. When we cast lines, we were not the first; others were trying to get past the breakers into the mouth of the river to join the current.

Tall towers guarded the harbor with massive ballistae on top. All were manned, but none of them fired as the small parade of daring ships left the harbor. Desdemona came to me, breathless, sweat glistening on her brow from having worked with her crew to make sail as quickly as possible. “If we had waited till night, they probably would have stationed men on the decks of every ship. You got lucky; I don’t take no for an answer,” she said with a flirtatious smirk.

I could see why Desdemona was a captain. There was something attractive about a woman with a commanding aura and confidence in her element. She didn’t stay near me as she walked the deck and navigated around the other ships fleeing the capital. It was still over a mile in brackish water to reach the sea.

Desdemona tossed her jacket away, revealing her muscular, tan frame under a thin blouse and leather vest. She moved with a practiced grace across the deck, giving sharp orders. When she passed close to me, I asked, “Can I help?”

She took a moment to look me up and down doubtfully. “You should remove your armor. If you fall overboard, you will likely drown trying to swim in that. Have you ever sailed before?”

“No. This is actually my first time on a sailing ship,” I replied. “But I am willing to learn.”

“First time? I will be sure to break you slowly. Wait till we hit the open water and see if you still want to help then.” She grinned mischievously at me as she prepared the Shorebreaker to raise full sail.

As soon as the river pulled the ship into the sea, it began to rock with the waves. Desdemona kept eyeing me, but I never stumbled once. My stomach did churn a bit, but I bit down and contracted my abs to counter the seasickness. Every time she looked at me, I just smiled back.

The ship was being tossed roughly, and I think the course’s purpose was to try and get me nauseous. Desdemona finally gave up and gave a string of commands. “Hoist the sails! Pickle, to the nest! Lasho, calm the waters! Vodoma, funnel the wind to the sails!”

A choreographed action took place, and the sails dropped and snapped to attention in the wind. A man scrambled up to the crow’s nest. Two sailors, who I hadn’t realized were mages, started weaving spell forms. The water immediately around the ship calmed, and the mast strained under a stronger wind as the Shorebreaker started cutting through the water much faster, leaving behind the other ships escaping the capital.

With the deck steady and the ship under speed, I complimented Desdemona. “A fine ship and crew.”

She brushed it off, but I think she blushed. It was hard to see under her tanned skin. “They are. Where are we picking up the others?”

“Stay close to the coast. He has a spyglass, and when he sees the Adventurers Guild flag on your ship, he will reveal himself on shore,” I explained.

She shrugged. “My cabin is the first door through there,” she said, pointing.

“Is that where I am staying?” I asked innocently.

“No, put my pack in there,” she ordered. Even though her voice was harsh, I could see the twinkle in her eye.

I entered the foredeck and found her captain’s cabin. It had the sickly-sweet scent of perfume and just one large hammock. I tossed the pack on the large, polished table with two fixed benches, which provided comfortable seating for four. It was spartan except for the closets, which I couldn’t resist and peeked into. They were packed with clothes, and it was from there that the sickly-sweet smell was coming.

Returning to the deck, I had someone show me my cabin. My tiny cabin was simple: a hammock, a desk, and a single chest. I sat at the desk on a chair fixed to the floor. I cleaned the compass, sterilized it, and added Maveith’s sample. I took a deep breath and activated it. We had only been separated for two days, but the wilds were dangerous. A steady pull eased my mind, and I returned to the deck.

I leaned on the rail and watched the shore for Maveith. I tried to count the crew as a distraction, and there were either nineteen or twenty above deck, not including Desdemona. There were more belowdecks because I could smell dinner being prepared and hear frequent, varied shouts from below. We sailed for nearly seven hours, and I was getting worried the sun might set and make it hard to spot Maveith as the compass pull grew stronger.

Fortunately, before dusk, Pickle called down from the crow’s nest, “Big bloke on shore with a horse!”

Desdemona looked at me, and I nodded. “Thought you said there were five passengers besides yourself?”

Everything had been so rushed that I hadn’t had time to prepare for my passengers to be removed. Now, I decided it was best to hold them until we reached Gramney. “Yeah.” I pretended to look at the shore and thought I could make out Maveith. “It doesn’t look like they will be joining us.”

Desdemona shrugged. “No refunds.”

The ship made anchor just fifty yards offshore, and the waves were being calmed by aetheric magic. Lasho went with us in the rowboat to calm the waters. Maveith had a huge grin on his face as I jumped off the bow of the small boat into the breakers, and we clasped each other’s wrists. I asked, “Any trouble?” He shook his head no.

Getting Ginger into the boat only took a pair of apples to bribe her. I had been worried about getting her on deck, but didn’t need to worry, as there was a ramp on winches that led to the ship’s hold on the port side. The Shorebreaker frequently took on all different types of cargo, including livestock. The rear hold had a slight ammonia scent, coarse floorboards, and eight individual stalls.

I spent some time getting Ginger comfortable and settled, but she seemed familiar with water transport. Maveith had fed her already, and two young deckhands assured me they would take exceptional care of her. I handed them each a silver to make sure.

When I finally got back on deck, Desdemona already had the Shorebreaker under sail and was talking animatedly with Maveith, her bright white teeth in a constant smile. They seemed to be getting along, and I just hoped Maveith didn’t say too much.

Seeing me, Maveith said, “Eryk, Captain Desdemona is an avid fan of checkers. She thinks she can best me three out of five games after dinner while we discuss my travels from Stone Mountain Island.”

I had thought Desdemona was flirting with me, but maybe that was just her way of being friendly. Perhaps I had misread the situation entirely, as I was often prone to do with women. I was probably never going to see Renna again, but I had some hope we might reunite.

“I’m going to get some rest.” I waved to my friend, wishing him the best of luck with Desdemona. As I turned, did she look disappointed? I returned to my cabin, secured the door, and took out the dreamscape amulet. Setting it loosely in my grasp, I entered the dreamscape.

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