Stemming the Tide

by Rosie Scott

  “You say operation like it's already established,” Vallen pointed out. “Exactly what have they started doing?”

  “Nothing yet,” Koby replied. “But pirates don't play fair. Considering Astred's crew killed through Patrick and the transporters of the ferris wagons just to steal our shipment, there's no way in hell Cale will walk into Tenesea looking for handshakes.”

  “Has there been any suspicious activity in or around Tenesea lately?” Jaecar questioned, flicking his black eyes toward the west as if he could see the giant tree from here. “Cale headed west after he blew our ship to pieces. We thought he might have shown up already.”

  Vallen shook his head. “Haven't seen or heard a thing out of the ordinary.”

  “A lot of the people who grow and tend to ferris are warriors,” Jayce said. “I wouldn't worry about it getting stolen.”

  “Cale's insane,” I said, thinking back to the Celd's jittery antics, “but we shouldn't underestimate him. From everything we've heard, he's as much in charge of this gang as Vruyk. His unpredictability just makes him unfit to be the face of it.”

  Vallen and I exchanged a glance of understanding; clearly, he thought of the business-oriented partnership he had with his sister. Jayce was as intelligent as her brother but also short-sighted and unpredictable, making Vallen the go-to for anyone looking to do business in Tenesea. Self-doubts plagued my mind as I soon related these situations to Koby and me; without Koby's grounded nature and thoughtfulness aiding me, I would be unfit for leadership at all.

  “I'll tell you what.” Vallen broke the silence, giving his sister a chance to dig for ferris again. With her brother's mind on planning, Jayce finally pulled a cigarette out without him noticing. “Let's go back to Tenesea. Make some trades. Check up on our ferris reserves and send a messenger out to the paddy fields in the northwest to make sure all is well. If something's off, we'll handle it. If everything's calm, I'll treat you all to another party. We'll waste some time while building you that ship and keep our eyes out for anything suspicious. Let's hope for the best and assume the worst.”

  “Sounds like a motto we need to adopt for good,” Koby jested, nudging me in the side. I chuckled hoarsely, knowing it to be true.

  Jayce jumped up from the fire and turned to skip into the shadows. Vallen glanced back at her with a confused expression. “Did she just skip?”

  A small light glowed in the never-ending blackness from a match as Jayce lit the cigarette she'd stolen while fleeing the scene. I smirked as Jaecar replied, “Yes, and it was the most enthusiastic skipping I've ever seen.”

  Vallen cursed under his breath and patted his pocket. “She took my ferris, didn't she?”

  “Three cigarettes in total,” Jaecar replied, proving he'd been paying more attention than me. “Just started smoking one.”

  “Son of a bitch.” Vallen grunted as he stood up and dusted off his slacks. “Next time tell me, will you? We'll be lucky to get any sleep tonight once she's high.”

  “So this whole time she hasn't been high,” Koby surmised.

  “You feel anything?” Vallen asked. Koby and I frowned with confusion before he went on, “Exactly. If Jayce was high we'd all have raging headaches by now. There's a reason I try to keep it from her on trips so the rest of us can stay sane.” He turned to the north, squinting his eyes while searching for Jayce in the darkness. “I'll be back. I have to tackle my sister.”

  Vallen darted off into the blackness. Within moments, Jayce's maniacal laughter disturbed the hum of the marsh's active wildlife. I smiled while listening to their chase. Vallen's openness continued to be a haven for me. Since I was a man with a knack for getting into trouble, it was nice to have a growing friendship with someone whose greatest skill seemed to be problem-solving.

  But I wanted to be part of the solution, not part of the wildland's ongoing problems. I could only hope that our warning about Cale hadn't come too late.

  Seven

  36th of Red Moon, 358

  Arriving in Tenesea with Vallen was an all-evening affair, for his popularity ensured passersby stopped us every few feet for greetings and quick messages. He invited many out to drink with us if they helped take our cargo to various storage areas, and most agreed. Vallen's welcoming and boisterous demeanor intrigued me because I admired it without fully understanding it. Throughout my life, I struggled to warm up to people and made far more enemies than friends. A man who shared every aspect of himself with whoever was lucky enough to walk by was such a foreign concept to me.

  By the time we entered the familiar Steamy Lagoon for drinks and games of cards, Vallen's random invitations doubled the size of our group. So many people crowded the tavern that it darkened two shades as humanoid forms of various shapes and sizes blocked the glows of alteration lights. Ferris smoke rolled so thickly along the underside of the wooden ceiling that it appeared like a tumultuous indoor storm brewed a heavy rain.

  Vallen separated from the group to put in a large order at the bar. I motioned for Sage to come with, and we followed. As we approached Vallen, he exchanged a casual handshake with the bartender and asked about the man's family. Only after the bartender replied with a story about unruly youths and sex deprivation from his wife did Vallen put in the order and turn to us.

  “Did you need to add something to the order?” Vallen asked, running a hand through his thick dark hair.

  “No,” I replied. “Sage and I needed to get you alone to ask you a favor.”

  “Uh-oh.” Vallen wiggled his eyebrows. “Sounds serious.”

  “Do you know where we can find a surgeon?” I asked outright.

  “You're looking at one,” Vallen replied just as quickly.

  “Really?” Disbelief crept into my voice unintentionally.

  Vallen chortled. “Why do you doubt me? Don't I look smart enough?”

  “Are you ever sober enough?” I countered with a smirk, and his laughter deepened.

  “Where did you study?” Sage asked, humbly curious.

  Vallen snorted and gave a quick shake of his head. “On the field, friend. You learn how to do things here because you have no other choice. The wildlands have no pretentious universities. It's all hands-on experience.” He tilted his head and switched his gaze between Sage and me. “Who needs a surgeon?”

  “I do,” Sage admitted. “I have a tumor on my upper spine.”

  Vallen grimaced in sympathy. “Let's be thankful it hasn't kept you from standing upright, friend, and set up a time to get that taken care of within the fortnight.”

  “So soon?” Sage's face fell with shock.

  “Sure,” Vallen replied, pulling a tray of drinks closer to him when the bartender set it on the bar. “Better now before everyone and their mother starts asking me for favors and I get sidetracked.”

  “Forgive me for saying this,” Sage began tentatively, “but your easygoing nature when it comes to something so serious gives me pause.”

  Vallen sobered, leaned against the bar, and commented, “You are far too proper and disciplined to be hanging around Calder and Koby. Blink twice if they're holding you against your will.”

  Sage's stoic expression relaxed with the unexpected humor. “Now I feel like I can't blink at all without making a statement.”

  Vallen chuckled and waved his hand casually through the air. “I take your situation very seriously, friend. I've extracted tumors and other foreign objects before. Never from the spine, so I'll find someone with that experience to aid me. Apologies if my attitude seems careless. It simply takes a lot to rattle me after the constant trauma of shapeshifting and having an insane criminal of a sister.” He rolled his eyes.

  “Criminal?” I questioned, turning my head ever so slightly to find Jayce in the crowd. She and Kali were in a far corner kissing as a few other sailors ogled and whistled. It surprised me; because Jayce was Vhiri and with a different woman when we met her, I figured she was in a monogamous relationship. Without moving my eyes from the provocative display, I su
rmised, “I guess that's why you had to leave Eteri. The guards there are overbearing. Koby and I got in trouble in Scirocco for wearing hoods.”

  Vallen huffed and fingered the condensation on a pitcher of ale. “Yeah. They would have locked Jayce up for life if we hadn't fled.”

  I tore my leer away from the affectionate women and asked, “For what?”

  “Seventeen counts of murder,” Vallen answered.

  Sage's eyebrows raised with alarmed uncertainty.

  “Our parents were soldiers killed in the Narangar Conflict when Jayce was still a girl,” Vallen continued, noticing our shock. “I kept busy working in construction to keep a roof over our heads. Jayce joined a gang and got involved with some bad influences. She has no self-control. When one gang would start a spat with hers, she wouldn't know when to stop. Where a normal person might fight someone to teach them a lesson, Jayce would kill them. Her moral compass isn't broken; it just doesn't exist. The first time Jayce killed a man, she chopped off his arm for making a sexual advance and left him to bleed out in the street. She showed up at the house holding his severed arm like it was treasure, proud of herself for having the strength to chop through it in just three hits. She did not understand the seriousness of what she'd done, or that the trail of blood leading from his cold body to our front door could get her thrown into the dungeon for life. When I screamed at her that we had to flee south, she didn't understand why. There is something truly wrong with her.” Vallen sighed and glanced back at his sister. When he saw the scene she made with Kali, he rolled his eyes and looked forward again. “But I love her. I take care of her as best as I can. When we finally arrived in Silvi in the late 100s, it was a relief. The only place someone like Jayce can thrive is in a land of anarchy.”

  “Is Jayce a danger to you or us?” Sage questioned low.

  Vallen shook his head slightly, though something still troubled his gaze. “Outside of arena battles, she has never hurt a friend. Sometimes she's gone too far or we've had to tranquilize her for her own good. Jayce doesn't kill to kill. She needs a reason. Her threshold for murder is just lower than most.” He cleared his throat and widened his eyes in an attempt to calm the tension in the air. “Anyway, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I'm sane.”

  “I'm not,” I said dryly to try to commiserate with him. “At least I feel like I'm in good company now.”

  Vallen chuckled and finally moved to grab the first tray of drinks. “You'll always have good company in the wildlands. It attracts misfits and miscreants.”

  As Sage and I followed Vallen back to our table, I jested, “What does that say about me?”

  Vallen put the tray down and turned back to grin. “That you're a hell of a lot of fun, is all.”

  Vallen passed pitchers of ale around as I took the seat Koby saved for me between him and Jaecar. Before Sage left to find his own chair, he leaned down to ensure I could hear him over the tavern noise and said, “Thank you for remembering to ask about a surgeon, sir.”

  Sage said it with such gratitude like he expected to be forgotten and his needs discarded. When I turned to respond, he was already walking away.

  “There you are,” Koby greeted, pushing a mug of ale over the table at me. “Here. I wondered where you went. Maybe I should start expecting long absences when Vallen is around. He actually gets you to talk.”

  I chuckled and took a drink. Over the rim of my glass, I watched Sage approach Neliah's table, where she was its lone occupant. Neliah relaxed at the quiet Celd's presence and said nothing as he took the seat across from her. I focused on their table and ignored everything else for the moment to allow my superior hearing to pick up on snippets of their conversation.

  “What kind...spirits?” Sage asked, motioning to the pitcher beside Neliah's glass.

  “None,” Neliah replied. “...drinking water.”

  “Water sounds delicious right now,” Sage commented, before wrinkling his nose. “...don't understand how, given we are surrounded by marshes.”

  Neliah chuckled and leaned to the side, grabbing a clean mug from a neighboring table and offering it to him. Sage took it gratefully and poured himself a glass.

  “I know that's not jealousy in your eyes, but I can't figure out what it is,” Koby spoke up, smirking.

  “Curiosity,” I admitted, leaning to the side of my chair to pull a cigarette out of one trouser pocket. “I wanted to see if the most composed man in the world could spark up a conversation with Neliah. She's been avoiding me lately.”

  Jaecar huffed to my left and asked, “How can you tell? She avoids socializing with all of us.”

  “Cal has chased after her for a while,” Koby answered for me as I drank ale.

  I clashed the empty mug onto the table and wiped alcohol off my lips. “She seemed receptive to it until I called her beautiful.”

  Jaecar laughed. “I don't understand surface women. I'd jump into bed with anyone if they gave me a compliment.”

  “I'd fuck anyone for a clever enough insult,” I jested while lighting my cigarette.

  The two men burst into laughter before Koby argued, “Please. You'd stick your cock in anything that moves.”

  I chuckled and took a drag of ferris. “I can't argue.”

  Jaecar took a new pitcher of ale Hassan passed down and poured me another glass. “What's the plan, then, Calder? Should I prepare to fly northwest and scout the ferris paddies?”

  “Would you relax for once?” I teased with faux exasperation. “You've done enough work lately, fetching Vallen to help us stranded rejects.”

  “Don't forget how he rescued sailors after Cale's attack while recovering from a punctured lung,” Koby pointed out.

  Jaecar grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. “But there's always more to be done. I'm relaxing tonight, I promise. I'm just trying to plan ahead.”

  Plan ahead. Azazel's face flashed through my mind. Holding a burning cigarette in one hand, I gulped down ale with the other. The alcohol did nothing to dissuade my memories, so I switched back to ferris.

  “Shouldn't you ask Vallen for plans?” I asked between puffs.

  “Why?” Jaecar questioned, confused. “You were just talking to him.”

  “We weren't discussing that. Besides, he's the man in charge around here.”

  “In Tenesea, yeah,” Jaecar agreed, “but not of this crew.”

  “Are you part of this crew?” I countered.

  Jaecar hesitated and flinched in confusion. “I thought I was. Is this your way of firing me?”

  “No,” I consoled him quickly, “but we never hired you. You only agreed to come with to help us find Astred. You seemed happy working as a scout here in Tenesea. I figured you'd stay once we returned.”

  “Then I'm glad you brought it up, because I planned on staying with you guys.” Jaecar took a swig of ale, frowned in thought, and confided, “I love sailing, but no mercenary captain had a big enough death wish to risk going east until I was lucky enough to meet you. I always viewed scouting as a temporary job while employment for sailors is so low. I'm having a blast being on the seas again. Makes me dream of one day having my own ship and crew.”

  “What's stopping you?” asked Koby.

  “A lack of gold and the desire to see where all this pirate bullshit leads,” Jaecar admitted with a laugh.

  “I'll support your dream as long as it doesn't mean you stealing a ship from us,” I said. “The gods know that's the last thing we need.”

  Jaecar snorted. “I won't have a ship to steal, Calder. You sink every one you get your hands on.”

  I laughed, though I warned, “Don't curse us.”

  *

  During the first few days in Tenesea, our crew was a bastion of productivity. Jaecar flew northwest to the ferris paddies that hugged the northernmost great lagoon to check on the growers that lived in nearby worker camps. Wild ferris grew plentiful in the marshes, but Tenesea's largest supply came from man-made paddies cultivated in the soppy strip of land between the lak
e and the ocean directly north. After harvesting, workers dried the herb in large warehouses nearby; because the beneficial effects of ferris highs could fade if exposed to light during this process, most warehouse laborers were Alderi ex-slaves who could see even in pitch-black environments. After drying, workers sealed ferris in air-tight jars to cure. Only then did they transport it south to Tenesea utilizing wagons on land and boats over water. Once in Tenesea, the ferris stayed under the watchful eye of Vallen, who oversaw the remaining curing process and the drug's distribution.

  After double-checking, Vallen promised us that Tenesea's ferris reserves were untouched. Within a fortnight, Jaecar returned from scouting the paddies in the north and confirmed all was well. If Cale did indeed plan on stealing resources from Tenesea, he hadn't yet. I refused to breathe easy. Despite multiple setbacks, our pace was brisk; if Cale's true intelligence hid under his kooky exterior like I surmised, he likely took time to survey the situation and plan accordingly. Jayce sent out a beastmen hunting party with orders to guard the paddies, but otherwise, we could do nothing.

  Vallen introduced us to an Alderi ship builder who agreed to work with Koby and me on designing a vessel. After a day of arguing and planning, Koby and I finally decided on a barque. Save for its unique sail-plan, we were able to customize its cabins and stores. The builder promised us a ship with a fairly quick pace and stores of one hundred and fifty tons. While this paled in comparison to the cog, it was twice the capacity of the caravel while requiring a smaller crew. At least ten men were necessary to sail the barque, though our current crew was larger and we planned on hiring more by the time they built the ship in Silvi within a year or so.