The Lost Star's Sea

by C. Litka

  03

  I hurried out onto the lane and turned toward the encampment. The Crea Clan enclave was located on its fringe, so looking towards the small, but rugged mountains of Blade Island's "handle," the Assembly was spread out ahead and to either side. Several ships were drifting overhead, carefully maneuvering for their traditional landing spot to join the many more that had arrived while I had slept. The lane ahead was now thick with Temtres strolling between the long rows of stalls under colorful banners. Only the fact that Py's distinctive blue outfit would stand out amongst the colorfully dressed Temtres made me hopeful of finding him in the throng.

  I turned and worked my way, along the edge of the encampment, peering down each lane as I crossed it. Reaching the last lane without spying him, I hurried halfway up it and started working my way back - zigzagging through the lines of ships, stopping for a minute to survey each lane in both directions before I continued on.

  I caught a glimpse of his blue garb in the crowd, a hundred meters down the third lane I crossed. He was being carried along - feet off the ground - between two massive Temtres, and surrounded by half a dozen more. He didn't appear to be resisting. Either he was unconscious or was going along willingly.

  I hurried through the crowded lane trying to catch up with them without attracting attention, planning my rescue as I went. With both darters along, I had a very unfair and very welcomed advantage. If I could catch them by surprise, I should be able to silently disable his captors before they could even draw their swords. However, since DinDay's ship would likely be nearly deserted - between the search parties and everyone else out visiting, I decided to postpone my attempt until they reached the ship, where I could disable his captors out of public view. I'd rescued Cin in a similar situation when I was last here - not that she needed it. I figured the same approach - putting a dart in everyone I saw aboard the ship - would work now as well. So once within 20 meters of Py and his guards, I simply followed them to DinDay's ship, arriving in time to see Py being hauled into the forward deckhouse for his interview with DinDay.

  I slipped between the empty stalls and drew my darter, setting it for maximum stun - we'd need all the time we could get to gather our gear and make our escape to the foothills beyond the encampment. Taking a deep breath, I muttered, "Right" quietly to myself, and started up the gangplank with my darter held close to my side, half hidden in the generous fit of my trousers.

  As expected, the ship was nearly deserted. Talk and laughter drifted down from above the grating, but no one was guarding the gangplank, nor did I see anyone on the main deck, save a pair of guards outside the captain's cabin. I put them to sleep before they even knew I was aboard.

  With more than a vague sense of deja vu, I pushed through the cabin's door - behind my darter. Inside, it was dark, crowded and noisy. Everyone had their backs to me, all giving angry roars and growls. Through the press of bodies I caught a glimpse of DinDay, at the far end. Py, held by his massive guards, stood before him as he bellowed something about putting an end to this blasted interference in Temtre affairs. I didn't wait to hear what more he had to say before pressing my darter against the hulking backs of the two fellows before me and putting a dart into each. Held that close, no one noticed the little flickers of blue light as the darts discharged their energy. Pushing their bodies slightly ahead, I darted their neighbors on each side before elbowing my way through their inert bodies to get shots at DinDay and the rest of the mob.

  I didn't catch Py's reply to DinDay, but from the roars and growls of DinDay's followers around me, and DinDay's long string of curses, I judged that it wasn't well received. And then, ending with a mighty curse, DinDay reached to draw his sword, apparently intending to divide Py in two. But even as he drew it, he had a little blue dot on his upper chest immediately followed by several darts. His string of curses ended abruptly as his sword floated from his hands.

  Confused, the men yelled and started surging about realizing that something had gone amiss. Py had, in fact, reacted to DinDay's intent and his guards were struggling to hold him. I took a second to aim carefully, so as not to put a dart in Py, and sent a dart into each of their backs before turning my darter on the other half dozen active clansmen jammed into the cabin. Bodies - both the inert and the animate surged about the close confines of the cabin. Flashes of blue light flickered in the cabin as I sent my darts towards anyone looking to still be moving on their own accord.

  This phase ended within seconds with a bright blue flash on my shoulder and a wave of heat on my face. Looking down, I saw a smoking hole in my shirt sleeve. The dart had discharged on the armored shirt I wore underneath it. I stared at it for a second. I hadn't realized that darts could ricochet? Actually, I was pretty sure they couldn't. I looked up and across the now silent cabin. Inert bodies were drifting aimlessly about and between them I saw the adept-in-blue-who-wasn't-Py pointing a sissy and staring wide-eyed at me.

  'You!' she said as our eyes met.

  I couldn't think of a thing to say. I couldn't think. Naylea Cin in the blues of an Adept of Laeza was... dumbfounding.

  'What are you doing here?' she demanded, clearly less dumbfounded than I.

  I managed to retain enough of my wits to bite back "Saving you" but couldn't think of anything else to say until it struck me what she'd just done. I started laughing. 'You put a dart in me again - just like you always do!'

  There wasn't much light in the cabin - but she shrugged and might've smiled. 'Old habits die hard. Once more, what are you doing here?'

  'Looking for you.'

  She shook her head, as if to clear it, and pushed several inert bodies out of the way to get closer.

  I cupped my hands - with my the darter still in hand - and bowing slightly, said, 'Teacher.'

  She stopped, smiled slightly, and cupping her hands - Like mine, her left one still holding the sissy and bowed her greetings. 'Brother,' she said, adding 'Once more, Litang, how is it that you happen to show up here and now?'

  Closer now, I could see her eyes. I needed to see them to know what to say. To know what to feel. They were not as bright as I remembered them. And not as cold. They were serious, wary, but not, I felt, angry. I let out the breath I was holding. 'It is good to see you again, Naylea. I had hoped to find you here. Not here like this, but here at the Assembly. As for your question, I'm here - here in this cabin - because I caught a glimpse of your blues from the back and followed you here. I actually thought you were Py. I just learned that DinDay had ordered his clansmen to search the encampment for Py?'

  She shook her head. 'Wait! Who's this Py?'

  'Py, LinPy is the Advocate I came here with. It's a long story and I don't think we have time to go into it here and now. We should be gone before more of DinDay's men return,' I said, and started to turn to the cabin's door. 'I'll fill you in as we go.'

  She grabbed my vest. 'No. I have plenty of darts. I want to know what you're doing here - now.'

  I sighed. 'I'm here at the Assembly to see you again. I'd a letter from DeKan saying that he had urged you to attend the next Assembly and invited me to return as well. I'm here in this cabin because I thought you were my friend, a Laezan by the name of LinPy who traveled with me aboard EnVey's Wind Drifter in order to deliver the ultimatum to the Temtres? Which, I suppose, is why you're here as well.'

  She nodded yes. 'Go on.'

  'EnVey just told me to find Py and lift for the mountains since DinDay had turned his clansmen out to find the Laezan on the island and likely silence him. DinDay has great plans for the SaraDals and doesn't want Laezans throwing shade on them.'

  'DinDay thinks he can get away with silencing an envoy? I'm going to have a few words with DeKan.'

  'Ah?' I muttered and boldly took her hand. 'I'm sorry. But well, DeKan is dead. Killed in battle not long before the Talon Hawk sailed for the Assembly. EnVey says that DinDay will be elected the next clan-king - there's no one brave enough to oppose him. He's the clan-king already in all practical matters
.'

  'DeKan dead?' she said softly.

  I could see the news hit her hard. 'I'm sorry, Naylea. The Talon Hawk only just arrived. EnVey and the other clan-chiefs here had gone to pay their respects, only to hear the news - the very sad news?'

  She stood silently staring into the dim recesses of the cabin for perhaps half a minute, letting me hold her hand before I said. 'Perhaps we should be going now. I'm sure there are more parties about searching for LinPy. We need to find him?'

  She shook her head and slipped her hand from mine. 'They'll only bring him here, and as I said, I'm not short of darts. DinDay won't be getting into mischief anytime soon, so we've time to find Brother LinPy. Still, I suppose that I should get my gear off the Dagger before the news spreads. Once I'm out of these blues and into conventional garb, I'll be able to go anywhere without attracting attention. We can then return here if we miss him and the search parties don't. Right. Let's go,' she added, pushing a body out of the way to grab her iron vine staff floating by the door.

  'Wait a second,' I said, and shoving my darter under one of my belts I brushed the sleeve of my outer shirt to clear it of the charred fabric around the hole while Naylea waited, watching me with a faint smile.

  'Did you really dart me for old time's sake?'

  'I'd say yes, but as an Advocate of Laeza, I must be truthful, and admit that I was just darting everyone in the cabin.'

  'If you had your sissy in hand, why did you wait so long to use it?'

  She shrugged. 'I had hardly stepped off the Dagger when they pulled up alongside and grabbed me - demanding that I go with them. I thought they were acting under DeKan's orders. Hauling me off to see him under guard would've been his idea of a joke. When I found that I was being taken to DinDay, well, I had a few things to say to him, so I went along with them without a fuss.'

  'Whatever it was you had to say, he didn't take it very well. He looked ready to slice you down the middle when I arrived.'

  'With my sissy in hand, I was in no real danger,' she replied giving me a look that dared me to say otherwise.

  I passed. 'Right.'

  'Open the door and stand aside,' she said, straightening her low crowned hat.

  I cautiously opened it as she stood, her sissy in hand waiting to see who was outside.

  Nothing had changed. The sleeping guards were still standing guard. Unconcerned laughter still wafted faintly back from the deck overhead. The ruckus in the captain's quarters had not spread beyond its door and the whole episode hadn't taken more than a few minutes.

  'Lead on, Litang,' she said with a nod.

  I slipped past the silent guards and stepped out into the light. Cin followed. After our eyes adjusted, we walked quickly down the gangplank. Then taking the lead, Cin led me past the empty stall at its foot, dodged across the lane, slipped between the two ships opposite, pulling up under the bow of one of them to consider our next move.

  I took the moment to study her. She was still her straight, slim self, all the elegant little curves of her face, neck and from what I could tell, body, were just as I remembered them. Even in the blues of the Order, she was still Naylea Cin. How I'd mistaken her for Py, even from the back and between two thugs, I don't know.

  She still struck a cord in my heart. And yet ? Perhaps in a lower register than before. Was it something in me, or something in her? She seemed more mature, or perhaps less vibrant - as if touched by a gentle sadness. DeKan? The wild joy she had shown when dueling with the thugs of the Legion on Despar was entirely missing. And that cold streak of cruelty in her eyes, which I knew ran through her character as a stealth of St Bleyth as well, seemed to be missing or suppressed. In short, during the time since the Nileana Tree blossomed, she seemed to have lost a little of herself in the Order of Laeza. And I found that it saddened me to discover that.

  'Right,' she said and turned to me. 'I'll return to the Dagger to collect my gear. I'll keep an eye out for this LinPy of yours. If I find him along the way, I'll take him along with me. After I collect my gear, I'll head for that little woods on the edge of the island where the white ship crashed. You can still find it, can't you Litang?'

  'I believe so.'

  She gave me an impatient look. 'Right. You continue searching. If you don't find him once you've gone through the Assembly, assume I've found him. Collect yours and his gear and meet me in the woods. If it turns out neither of us has found him, we'll return once I'm out of these blues. With DinDay out for hours, he'll be in no great danger. Agreed?'

  'Right.'

  'Then let's get moving? Oh, and buy some food - a lot of food. You know my favorites. I didn't have time to eat before DinDay's men collected me.'

  'Gear, food, anything else?'

  'Make sure you're not followed. You might be remembered.'

  'Right.'

  With that and a nod, she started off.

  'Be careful Naylea. DinDay still has plenty of clansmen out looking for you.'

  She didn't look back, but held up her hand holding the sissy so I could see it. I sighed. Well, I'd found her. It hadn't gone exactly as I'd hoped - or as I feared. Still, whatever she'd become, I was fairly sure our St Bleyth past was safely buried.

  I stepped into the lane and looked up and down it. No blue dressed Laezan was in sight. With DinDay out of action I figured I'd time to walk up and down every lane to be certain of finding him. I turned left and headed up the lane towards the low mountains in the distance. I'd have to walk a dozen lanes to cover them all, so I walked as fast as I could without attracting attention or losing contact with the island.

  I had reached the lane's end and was half way down the next when I suddenly found myself engulfed in a whirlwind of feathers. A cold nose touched mine, and beyond it stretched a long, toothy snout, with two bright black eyes twinkling at me. A lot more teeth, a blast of dragon's breath, and a soft bark with a sloppy wet tongue that slapped my nose.

  'Siss!' I exclaimed.

  She barked giving me another lick of greeting.

  'Let go of me and I'll give you a hug, you old feather duster!'

  She uncoiled herself and I drew her close again with an arm around her long neck, drawing her crown of feather to my face. Unlike Cin, there was no bad history to stand between our affection. 'Neb, It's great to see you Siss! Hissi, the egg you gave me is here too. Have you seen her yet?'

  I heard a barking laugh behind me, and turning saw Hissi floating close by. In that moment I wondered if Hissi was indeed, Siss's daughter. They had different feather patterns and Hissi was at least half a meter shorter and smaller, but there were subtle similarities - if only in attitude. Who knows?

  'Great! My two dragon friends are with me!' I gave Hissi a hug as well.

  A fine-feathered fellow hugging two Simla dragons attracted some curious, amused glances, so I let them go and led them beside an empty stall to be out of traffic.

  'We need to talk, girls. We're in big trouble already. I've met Naylea, and the powers that be are already looking to kill her and Py. She's heading back to the Dagger to collect her gear and we're to meet in that woods where we saw the small white ship and the two talon hawks. Remember it, Siss?'

  She barked her "Yes."

  'Good. You go find Naylea and look after her. We'll catch up on all the gossip once we're hiding in the woods. Meanwhile, Hissi and I will find Py and bring him there as well. Any questions?'

  They both barked their unconcerned laughs, and Siss headed off to find Naylea, after accidentally on purpose brushing the tip of her tail across my face. She hadn't changed.

  'Can you find Py?' I asked Hissi.

  She barked a laugh and started off. I followed. It was of some comfort to have companions who found this all a lark. She led me to the edge of the large sport field where I saw a lively throng of young people laughing and shouting encouragement. As I approached, a young man from within the crowd rose, flailing about, into the air, to the hoots of the crowd. A couple of his friends climbed on each others should
ers to haul him down. Hissi had found Py.

  I slipped through the crowd, getting a few haughty looks for being fine-feathered and not clan - but I didn't let that discourage me until I came to a hulking youth scowling at the proceedings. He took active offense to my pushing in.

  'Who do you think you are?' he demanded.

  I made a quick calculation and decided to try the gold-token before my sissy. I reached into my vest and hauled it out. 'Your superior, son. Step aside,' I growled in my best Captain Miccall voice. I palmed my sissy in my left hand.

  He took in the gold-token for a moment. Hissi, floating behind and above me, growled menacingly. He took both of us in and made a small step aside, still scowling - enough to allow me through. Good enough.

  I reached the front row of spectators, to see a grinning Py send another youth flying before turning to the next in the line of youths, waiting to try their luck taking on the Laezan. I stepped into the ring and called out 'Teacher!' cupping my hands in greeting.

  He smiled and returned the greetings as I hurried over to him to whisper, 'Trouble. We need to go. Now.'

  He gave a brief nod, and then turning to the eager challengers. 'Duty calls, my friends. However, I shall be available throughout the Assembly to give more lessons.'

  The largely cheerful crowd expressed their disappointment as Py collected his staff, stuck in the turf, but cleared a path for us as we struck out for the Crea clan encampment. As we walked, I charged Hissi with keeping a wary eye for DinDay's men and brought Py up to speed. I found myself too shy to name the second advocate, saying only that there was another Laezan here on the same mission who had just escaped from DinDay's clansmen, and was now collecting her gear with plans to go undercover.

  'Good! I knew that I wasn't the only advocate charged with delivering the message. It was too critical to be left to just chance and one advocate,' he said with a smile. 'So a sister Laezan found a way to get here as well. I'm looking forward to meeting her.'

  'We will, shortly,' I said. 'We're to rendezvous and decide on our next course of action.'

  Remembering the second half of my mission, I stopped at several stalls to buy a supply of stuffed char-buns, half a dozen jars of spice ale and a good selection of smokey, charred lizard meat and vegetables on sticks, stuffing all into a mesh bag that I bought as well. I guess I wanted to make a good impression with Naylea. Hissi insisted on a char-bun to eat as she swam alongside of us.

  Py had grown more silent, and more serious than I'd seen him since he had to try the murder cases as magistrate, as the full implications of DisDay's plans settled in. 'This is not good, Wilitang,' he said at last. 'The stakes have gotten a lot higher.'

  'Aye. Not good at all.'

  One of the youngsters off the Wind Drifter slipped alongside us.

  'Follow me. The ship is being watched. The Clan-chief has shifted your kits over to the Island Serrata - I will lead you there,' she said quietly - proud to be the first one to have found us.

  'Run ahead, Ria,' said Py. 'You don't want to be seen with us. We'll follow you from a distance.'

  She gave him a quick conspiratorial smile and skipped ahead. As we followed her around to the far end of the Crea clan encampment in a wide circle, she was joined by several more of Py's young friends, who fanned out as scouts and guards.

  TaFin was waiting for us in the shadow under the stern of the Island Serrata. He shook his head sadly as we approached.

  'I knew you was trouble the moment you came aboard,' he said. Just who he was referring to was left for us to guess. Kicking our stuffed kit bags with his long sandals, he continued; 'Here's your gear. The Cap'n says to tell you that for the Dragon's sake, keep clear of the Wind Drifter and himself. DinDay has men hanging about and he suspects that he'll be followed wherever he goes as well. He'll do what he can for you, but that won't be much. If he can, he'll send a boat back to pick you up once we've sailed. But don't count on it. If you need to get a word to him, do it through me, or one of the youngsters here. Discreetly.'

  'Tell EnVey not to worry. We can look after ourselves. And we'll stay well clear of him and the clan. Tell him to blame me and my gold-token for having brought Py here. A ride back would be nice, but I think that we can find our own way home, if necessary.'

  'And how would you do that? Grow wings?'

  I shrugged. 'I haven't really thought about it much. I suppose we (and by that I meant Cin) could steal a ship's boat, or even build one if we're left behind?'

  TaFin gave a snort.

  'We'd have plenty of time. And I've got coins to buy the tools. We might even buy one of your electric boats you're trying to sell,' I replied. 'That'll make him happy.'

  'Good luck with that. We don't extend credit. And certainly not to a fellow whose prospects for paying it back seem so dim,' he replied with a shake of his head. 'You're a long way from home, Litang.'

  'Never underestimate an engineer. I've already found my way to the Dontas from here once. I can do it again.'

  'Right you are, Litang,' he said with a grin. 'That will make the Cap'n sleep sounder. Now get on with you, before someone wanders by looking for you.'

  'Thanks, TaFin. Take care. And tell EnVey thanks for everything. I'll be sure to look him up when I get back. And whatever you do, make sure you get lost on the way to SarLa, if that's the way things go.'

  He shrugged. 'Let's hope it doesn't come to that.'