by Charles Lamb
“You have another option?” the Captain asked, not quite challenging Alex.
Alex had several thoughts, all requiring them to close the distance between the vessels. After a moment’s consideration, he asked a question.
“Is fire still a concern to sailors?”
“Dear lord yes!” the man at the helm answered before any of the officers could reply.
Satisfied with the reply, Alex rushed below, returning a short time later with his Elven bow and a strip of parchment with writing on it. Securing the parchment to the shaft, he nocked the arrow and sized up the distance to the pirates. Both the Captain and the First Officer watched him in disbelief.
“Sire, they are far out of bow range, and will be in Ballista range before you can reach them,” the First Officer commented.
Smiling, Alex paused a moment checking the wind, and then let the shaft fly. Concentrating on the closer of the two vessels, the three men watched as the arrow carried the distance between the two ships, landing firmly on the deck. Alex turned to see the look of disbelief in the First Officer's eyes, while the Captain was using the binoculars again.
“A sailor has retrieved your message. It is being passed to someone I suppose is the captain,” Yeagars relayed.
“There seems to be a disagreement aboard; what did the note say?” the Captain asked, dropping the binoculars long enough to look at Alex.
Before Alex could reply, they heard the lookout call out from his position up in the rigging.
“They are heaving to!”
Sure enough, Alex could see both ships slowing and starting to change course, heading away from the schooner.
“What did your message say?” the Captain asked again.
“It simply said my next arrow will be aflame,” Alex replied with a smile.
“What’s going on? Who are those guys?” Cassie asked, suddenly appearing from below decks and joining the three men, while pointing at the two ships now shrinking in the distance.
“Nothing sweetheart, just a case of mistaken identity,” Alex replied.
“Mistaken identity?” the First Officer asked, falling for Alex’s trap.
“Yes, they mistook a predator for prey,” Alex replied with a smile as he led Cassie away.
----*----
After the pirate incident, the remainder of the trip to Freeport was uneventful. The winds had turned even more favorable, delivering them at the earlier end of the Captain’s estimate. Rather than tying Cassie’s Quest up at the wharf, as they had nothing to load or unload, Alex asked the Captain to anchor in the bay. The Captain agreed that would be best if they needed to leave in a hurry.
As the town of Freeport wasn’t very large; Alex, Leander, Cassie, and Abrianna had no need to offload the horses for transportation. While an option, Alex didn’t want to attract additional attention by flying Shadows and Rose into town. Therefore, he had the jolly boat dropped in the water to ferry the four to shore. While the Captain remained on board with Kinsey watching through the railing, the First Officer supervised the transfer of the party to shore.
Alex was surprised to see the large number of ships, both in the bay as well as the ones tied up at various docks around the small harbor. Considering the quantity of ships he had seen in Windfall since taking governorship there, he wondered where the rest of these were headed, saying so aloud.
“Many of these ships will never cross the western sea,” the First Officer replied.
“They travel up and down the coastline, trading with the many small towns dotting the seashore. Of those that do cross the sea, some are smugglers, anchoring off the coast of Westland, attempting to bypass Windfall tariffs. Others will head north to trade with those beyond the Northern Mountains, like Nyland.”
Alex realized there was much he did not know about the world he now lived in. As the First Officer spoke, he watched Leander nod in agreement. At some point, he needed to sit down with the man for some much needed geography lessons.
Reaching an open spot along the dock between two piers, the seamen who had been rowing tied off the boat so that the four passengers could safely climb out and on to the wharf. For the trip, he and Leander had their swords, while Cassie and Abrianna were dressed more formally, although not in dresses. He pretended not to notice the dagger Cassie had hidden under her attire, and suspected Abrianna had the same.
“We will return to the ship, but there will be a man on watch. Just wave from here and we will return to get you,” the First Office said to Alex, as he was the last to climb out. He nodded and started to leave.
“Thanks. We should be back before dark,” he replied as he climbed up onto the dock.
Alex turned and watched the jolly boat cast off and head back out into the bay, before returning to his three companions. While all three were in nondescript clothing, wearing nothing that tied them to either a Royal House or the Ranger’s Guild, he had verified all wore protective garments beneath their clothes. He, himself, wore the same undergarments Cassie had used as leggings, with her Ranger tunic, on previous outings.
“Where to?” he asked.
“Father said that Aunt Amelia was to meet with the Masters of the local Trade Guild Houses, introducing each to our trade proposal,” Abrianna answered.
Alex realized that this was the first time he had ever heard the name of Cassie’s mom.
“Then we start there. Do we need appointments?” Alex asked, unsure of the protocol.
“No, most Trade Masters are always open to conversation. I am told they hold the belief that the only bad conversation on trade is the one they didn’t have,” Abrianna said with a laugh.
With that, the four headed away from the wharfs and into the warehouse district, where the Trade Houses were located. Abrianna led the way, with a protective Leander always at hand. As they walked, Abrianna gave a running dialog.
“This area is where we will find the Trade Guilds, as opposed to the Craft Guilds. While the two are tightly aligned, it is the former that controls the movement of goods.”
“Wouldn’t it be smarter to go straight to the suppliers?” Alex asked. “In my world, that’s called cutting out the middle man. You can keep the prices down and shorten the time to market.”
From the horrified look on Abrianna’s face, he assumed he had spoken heresy.
“That would be disastrous!” She replied, “Any craftsman caught bypassing the Guild regulations on trade would be banned from practice in any Guild city. While small local sales are not regulated, any sizable transfers, such as the type we desire, are strictly controlled by the Guilds. We would soon find that no one would consider doing business with us at all if we bypassed the traders.”
Feeling duly chastised on the subject, Alex nodded and dropped the subject. He recognized a protectionist system when he saw one. By now, they were walking down stone streets, wide enough to allow two wagons to pass unhindered. Looking down the long causeway, he could see building after building on both sides of the street. All were two-story structures, with large wooden loading docks, set at a wagon bed height, for easy transfer of goods.
Above each loading dock, Alex could see large wooden signs, with what he assumed were the names of the owners, rather than the goods they distributed. He was sort of expecting to find dealers of wine, grains, and so forth rather than house names.
“What’s with the signs?” Alex asked as they stopped at the first such structure.
Apparently confused for a moment, Abrianna looked at the sign hanging above them before suddenly understanding the question.
“Oh, each denotes the Trading House, not the contents. For example, this is the House of Cybele, and they may belong to the Textile Guild, the Spice Guild, and the Coopers Guild. As such, each house may distribute differing goods. Transport to and from the harbor is by house and ship names.”
Alex could see the simplicity of it. You make your pickup at Cybele, and deliver to the vessel Sally Mae for shipment at sea. He was sure there was a lot more to i
t, but for now, he need not concern himself with the subtleties. Climbing the small flight of wooden steps that led them to the loading dock, the four entered the small door next to the large cargo doors.
During the trip across the sea, they had discussed the best way to conduct their search without raising suspicion. All assumed that many of those they encountered would have no idea that Amelia was missing and therefore have no reason to react to a follow up contact from Great Vale.
Entering into a small alcove located at one side of the side of the warehouse, Alex turned to see the expanse beyond the space they occupied. Inside he could see stacks of crates and barrels throughout the warehouse. Looking up, he could see there was a second level, the floor above open straight down the middle to allow items from above to be lowered. Every now and then, there was a bridge-like section connecting one side to the other. He could see men crossing with small carts, moving goods around.
“May we see your Master?” Alex heard Abrianna ask a girl sitting behind a table. There were neatly ordered stacks of sheets, the top containing itemized lists with words he could not make out.
“And your business?” she asked, while appraising the four as one might a potential suitor.
“We follow the emissary from Great Vale. We are here to confirm relations and to place an initial order,”
At the mention of an order, the girl quickly rose from her seat, asking the four to wait. Within seconds, an older woman appeared, with the girl in her wake.
“My name is Cynthia; I am the Master of the House of Cybele. How may I be of service?” she asked.
“Cynthia Cybele, are you kidding me?” Alex mumbled with a laugh to Leander. The comment caught the man off guard and caused him to choke in reply.
“Yes, we are here to follow up with you on Emissary Lady Amelia of Great Vale’s last visit,” Abrianna replied, doing her best to ignore the sounds behind her.
“That was some time ago, we had assumed things had not fared well with Windfall,” she replied while scanning the four before her. Alex got the impression she was holding back something.
“There are rumors?” the woman added without completing the sentence.
“No, the misunderstanding with Windfall has been resolved and Great Vale is prepared to begin trading,” Abrianna replied.
“Wonderful!” Cynthia replied, looking relieved, “My assistant will take down the necessary information and we will contact your Trading Houses. What ports are you registered with?”
Before departing on this trip, Alex had identified several of the better Trading Houses in Windfall, at Abrianna’s request, should they need reputable references. From the look Cynthia gave them and the gushing responses to their names, he had chosen well.
Once their business was complete, the four retreated to the street.
“Well, that was a bust,” Cassie commented in despair.
“Not entirely. She knew your mother and was expecting someone like us sooner. That tells me we are on the right track,” Leander replied, causing Cassie to brighten some.
“And the rumor of Renfeld’s survival is working. On to the next one,” Alex added, ushering the others further down the street.
Chapter 4
The rest of the day was a repeat of the House of Cybele. Each trader that they contacted remembered Amelia, and was supposedly delighted to begin trading with Great Vale. As the day grew late into the afternoon, they had reached the House of Drakon, a name Alex recognized from the Harbormaster’s book.
While outwardly no different from any of the warehouses they had visited earlier, Alex felt a negativity in the atmosphere. It was a feeling that was amplified when the Master appeared to greet them, summoned by his assistant as they approached.
“Hello, you must be the party from Great Vale. I am Tantalus, Master of this house.”
“You were expecting us?” Abrianna replied.
“Ah, news travels like the wind on this street. It is quite rare that new trading partners of such importance appear.”
Alex took an immediate dislike to the man. He reminded him of the worst kind of salesman, one who profited from the misery of others. As he was scanning the area around them, noting several workmen busy nearby, he caught a comment that snapped his attention back to Tantalus.
“A horrible business that, the death of the Emissary’s guards.”
“You have knowledge of the incident?” Leander asked, breaking protocol for someone who was supposed to be a guard.
“Only that they abandoned the good Lady to run off to a tavern. I do not know which one, as I do not frequent such places,” Tantalus replied curtly at having to talk to one of lesser importance.
“My Lady, it is getting late. Perhaps we can return tomorrow to continue our business here?” Alex said to Abrianna while glancing at Tantalus.
“Of course, he is right. You should not be wandering these streets after dark. My man will see you out. I will look forward to tomorrow, then,” Tantalus replied, while indicating one of the nearby workers. With that, he turned and retreated up a flight of stairs with his assistant close behind, leaving the four standing by themselves.
Holding up one hand, Alex indicated the others should wait while he moved over to the closest man, outwardly appearing to stack the same items over and over. Subtly producing a gold from his pouch, he stood next to the man with the coin protruding between two fingers as he set his hand, palm down on the counter.
“You were listening?” Alex asked the man quietly.
“Oh, never, sire,” the man replied without looking up from his tasks.
Setting the coin on the table where the man was working, but keeping two fingers on it, he added.
“And you were not listening the day Lady Amelia and her guards arrived?”
The man glanced sideways and then gave the slightest of nods.
Alex slid the coin over and watched the man slip it into a pocket.
“I heard those men talking while the lady went upstairs to speak with Tantalus. They said they were headed to that mermaid bar, out on the point,” the man relayed as he continued his work.
“Mermaid bar?” Alex asked, confused by the reference.
“Yes, it’s called The Siren’s Song. Popular with the fisherman and sailors from the harbor. You know, a pretty face to drown your sorrows type of place. Maybe even get lucky,” he finished.
“Do you know why they would be going there?” Alex asked.
“Something about needing information on shipments to Windfall. I think they suspected Tantalus of supplying nasty Prince Renfeld with weapons,” the man replied before moving off to the back of the warehouse.
Moving back to the others, he led them out into the street before passing along the information the man provided.
“Aren’t mermaids half fish? How can they run a bar?” Alex asked quietly, not wanting to draw attention from the others passing by on the street.
Alex’s confusion caused Abrianna to speak up, after the men were out of earshot.
“Mermaids do take that form when submerged, yes. However, when on land, they appear as normal as any human woman might. They are said to all be quite beautiful. I understand they can stay out of the water for days, requiring only an occasional dunking. I’m told even a bath will suffice,” She stated, only to be interrupted by a snort from Cassie.
“If you call that normal,” she remarked snidely.
Alex was taken aback at the comment, realizing he hadn’t seen such a response from his intended since the early days when he first arrived. He realized she was jealous.
“So they have legs?” he asked, trying to ignore the outburst.
“Yes, and I understand they can be as flirty as a nymph!” she added, while looking at Cassie.
“They do nothing as well as a nymph!” she snapped, and then smiled at her cousin, slightly embarrassed by the outburst.
“Sorry,” she managed with a blush.
With that, the four left the front of the warehouse and st
arted out for the point on one side of the harbor. As they walked, Alex considered what he thought he knew about mermaids. He was pretty sure a mermaid and a siren was not the same thing, so the name of their destination confused him. Secondly, he was positive that mermaids had a reputation for drowning sailors, so the man’s reference to drowning their sorrows was right on.
“So what’s the story here? Mermaids running a bar? What about the mermen?” he asked openly.
“First, there are no mermen. Like nymphs, they are all female and mate with human men. Mermaids apparently only bear female children.” Abrianna replied while eyeing Cassie. Without the expected outburst, she continued.
“The legend I know says the first mermaid was the beautiful, vain, young wife of a fisherman. Unaccustomed to the long separations from her handsome husband, and longing for his attention, she begged the gods to transform her into something that would allow her to go to sea when she chose, to be with her man. Taking pity on her, the gods granted her wish and made her mermaid, allowing her to swim out to his boat whenever she chose.”
Abrianna paused in her tale, waiting to see if Alex had any questions before continuing.
“However, as it always is with the gods, her blessing turned to tragedy. When she appeared at her husband’s boat, he was so horrified at what she had become that he rejected her. In her fury, she lured the crew into the sea with her beauty, drowning them, leaving her husband alone and devastated.”
“Wow, bummer,” Alex replied.
“Ah, yes…” Abrianna replied, looking confused at the comment, “so, from her came the first mermaids, vain and beautiful, like their mother.”
“Ok, so why a bar?” Alex asked, still not understanding the connection. This time, it was Cassie that jumped in on the answer.
“Like other creatures of magic, they both need and despise interactions with humans. If they continued to drown sailors, they would become extinct or at a minimum, hunted to nonexistence. The bar gives them a very lucrative revenue stream, a constant supply of willing men, and the chance to take revenge on the very sailors that wronged them so long ago.”
