The Ship of Tears_The Legend of the Nine_Part One

by T. J. Garrett

  “I’ve booked rooms,” Nini said. “You owe the lady four for the beds and four more for the ale.”

  “You have drunk four ren worth of ale?” Olivia said, incredulous. “You’ve barely been here ten minutes?”

  Nini frowned. “Silver, Olivia, four silver. Gods, if it cost that much, we’d be staying on the Swallow.”

  “Pft,” Olivia said. “That would likely cost me ten ren.”

  A puzzled look came over her face. Frowning, she asked, “You only got four rooms? But there are fifteen of us.”

  “You pay per bed,” Nini said. “They’re three bits a piece. I don’t know how many rooms that makes, but I’ll bet it’ll be most of the second floor. Elspeth and Trapper get the room at the top of the stairs.”

  “Good,” Olivia said. “Two days with Trapper in a small room is quite enough for one trip, I think.”

  “Ay, it’s not his fault,” Elspeth said.

  She looked around the common room. “Where is Trapper.”

  “Out the back,” Nini said, “in the stables. No,” he raised his hand to Elspeth’s questioning look. “He doesn’t have to stay out there. It’s just the landlady won’t have him eating on her floors.”

  “That’s fair, I suppose,” Elspeth said. “But I want him in before he gets too cold.”

  Nini laughed. “He’s a Kymbler, Elspeth, they are used to the cold.”

  “He’s a what?” Elspeth asked. Ever since her first sight of Trapper in Vila’slae’s camp, she had wondered what sort of dog he was – or if he was a dog – and Nini knew all along?

  “A Kymbler, a Toi hound. Didn’t you know?”

  “A Toi hound? There’s more like him around here? I have not seen any.”

  “No, well, they are usually all black, and not as big. I’d guess yours has a bit of Island Hawker in him.”

  “How do you know so much about dogs?” Elspeth asked.

  Nini shrugged. “We’ve always kept dogs. I have a Hawker of my own, back home. Not quite as big as Trapper, but close. She’s all white, though, bred for working the mountains. They say, a Hawker can run a hundred leagues without tiring. I don’t know about that, but she works up on the hills in all weathers, which is why I say Trapper won’t mind a bit of snow.”

  “That’s as maybe,” Elspeth said, “but poor Trapper is used to being warm, and I like to know where he is, so…”

  Nini nodded. “I’ll fetch him in as soon as he’s finished eating,” he said.

  “No need. I’ll go. I want to see what sort of horses they have here. I don’t much like the idea of walking all the way to Rieg.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Olivia said. “I will come with you.”

  “So will I,” Anooni added. “Island horses aren’t like your mainland breeds; you should let me give them the once over.”

  “Then by all means,” Olivia said, gesturing the pale woman toward the back door.

  Anooni stood.

  Elspeth was just about to follow her out of the common room, when Anooni stared at her, eyes wide, as if Elspeth had a spider crawling over her face.

  “What is it, Anooni?” she asked. “You’ve gone pale. Are you feeling well?”

  “I-I am fine. Sorry, it’s… I just…”

  “Did you See something?”

  Elspeth knew well that Anooni was a Seer. She might not be as powerful as Mersius, but the woman had often known about things before they happened. Usually just when someone was about to knock at the door, or she might grab a kitchen maid just before the woman dropped a tray, but now and then she had Seen bigger events. Like the time when she said Elspeth would meet a woman called Taomi. That had come true not a week after Anooni had told her about it.

  Anooni pulled in a long breath. Smiling, she said, “Really, I can’t See anything, Elspeth. It was, I don’t know, a shadow, or something. Ignore me, I’m likely just tired.”

  “A shadow?” Elspeth said. “That doesn’t sound very good. Are you sure there’s nothing wrong?”

  “I’m sure.” She put a hand on Elspeth's forearm. “Like I say, it was likely a shadow. It happens sometimes when I haven’t slept much.”

  Elspeth tapped Anooni’s hand companionably. “If you’re sure. But you will tell me if…”

  “I’ll tell you,” Anooni said. “But don’t worry. It was nothing.”

  Another tap on the arm, and Anooni followed Olivia out to the backyard of the inn.

  Elspeth bit her lip. She believed what Anooni had said, but that look she had given her was all shock and fear – it wasn’t just some shadow. What had she seen? And if she had seen something, why not she say?

  Get a hold of yourself, Elspeth. You heard what she said, it was nothing. Gods, you’ll be seeing ghosts next.

  She tried to force the thought from her mind and followed Anooni into the yard. If something was going to happen, there was nothing she could do about it – Anooni’s viewings always came true.

  * * *

  There were three horses, but none looked healthy enough to embark on a two-day hike through snow and ice. And if they had been, who of the fifteen would ride them?

  Fortunately, while in the stable, Elspeth overheard a fat, bearded man talk of a merchant train leaving for Rieg the following morning. Ironically, he was asking for news on a group of merchant guards, who had failed to make a rendezvous with the master wagoner.

  Olivia, ever the one to jump in on someone else’s conversation, said she knew of some men who would not mind earning a bit extra to guard a wagon train.

  “Ten good men,” she told the fat man.

  She introduced the fat man to Nini, who haggled a bit, and agreed on five krùn a piece plus food for the duration. Elspeth wondered if Olivia was going to ask the man to pay her, but the princess seemed happy enough with not having to buy food for a few days.

  The following morning, they set off for Rieg. The two-day hike was largely uneventful.

  For all but Trapper, that was. He clearly remembered he was home, and spent a good deal of time running around the merchant train in ever increasing circles. A few times, Elspeth thought she had lost him, left him behind in a valley while they cross the ridge, but he always came back, and was always excited to see her again.

  Most slept under the wagons, but the fat man gave over his tent for the women – and, surprisingly, did not even charge them for the privilege.

  On the morning of the second day, the volunteers saw off a pack of wolves. Elspeth had to hold Trapper back, and was glad he had not chosen that moment to go off on one of his runs. The wolves harried the train for most of the morning, but gave up when the wagons rolled over a steep rise – they had left the wolves territory, Elspeth guessed.

  They finally arrived at the market ground at sundown on that same day. The fat man – Perris Hugga – was so pleased with their work, he offered to pay double for the escort back. But it was Nini who told him they did not know when they might be returning to Sugal.

  They made camp under a thick canopy of fir and pine trees, just north of the market ground, and in the morning, Nini went to town and bought a horse.

  CHAPTER 14

  Reunion

  “No more than two days,” Olivia said. “If they are not there, come back. They likely think we are still on our way across the Drift. If that is true, they might go looking for us. But don’t follow. Leave word with Gresh or Sansi and come back here. Can you remember that? Gresh or Sansi. You might need to hunt them down; they are usually camped east of Fayet. But don’t scare them off. You hear? Be careful.”

  “Is that all,” Nini said. He was smiling down at the princess. “I have done this sort of thing before, you know?”

  “Yes, well, that’s as may be, but you have not done it with folk I call friend. So you be careful; don’t land them in trouble. They are already going out of their way to help us; I don’t want to bring the Kel’mau down on their camp.”

  “I’ll be careful,” Nini assured her. “Can I go now? I’d like to get
there while there’s still some light.”

  Olivia frowned. “It’s only half a day’s ride.”

  Again, Nini smiled – if that last was a joke, it was lost on the princess, and Elspeth. “Never mind. I’ll be off then.” He mounted the horse he had bought and did a seated bow. “Two days, if not sooner.”

  “Two days,” Olivia agreed.

  With that, he was gone.

  They watched until he disappeared around a thick knot of pine.

  “It should be me going,” Olivia said. “They know me; if they see him coming, they’ll likely run the other way.”

  “We have other things to occupy our time,” Elspeth told her. “First among them, we should go see Madam Olpany.”

  “See who?” York said. “Don’t think the lieutenant would like you going off on your own.”

  The big man was sitting a good way off, by the fire. Elspeth was surprised he had heard them talking.

  “I’ve nothing against you coming with us,” Elspeth said.

  “The lieutenant said to stay in camp,” York said, voice flat. He sounded bored, as if he would sooner not talk at all.

  “The lieutenant is not in charge of this expedition,” Olivia said. “We have two days before he returns with our friends, and I don’t mean to waste them sitting around the campfire.”

  Elspeth tried not to sigh. She wondered, not for the first time, what had gotten into the princess. Seemed she could not open her mouth with venom spilling out. What was wrong with her? Was she nervous about their mission?

  No, Elspeth thought, remembering when Geraldine had kidnapped them and brought them both to the dragon island. Then, Olivia had been a bull charging a goat pen – nothing appeared to bother her. Or rather, she had not let anything bother her for long. So why all the sour comments and arguments and impatience? It could not be that she was nervous over seeing Juran again, could it?

  Last time they were here , just before they left, the two had kissed – a long kiss, Elspeth remembered. And Olivia had seemed upset that Juran had not chosen to come with them back to Eiras. Could that be it? Could all these moods be because Olivia was nervous about her reunion with Juran? It seemed ridiculous, but it was a better argument than the princess being scared of what was to come – she was too stubborn to get scared.

  Well, Elspeth told herself, one way or another, we will find out in two days.

  “I suppose I could have a walk into town,” York said. “But you can’t wear that.” He nodded at Olivia’s belt, where two bright steel daggers hung.

  Chrissa was already up. She regarded the big man with a hard stare. “You let me worry about the princess,” she said, protectively.

  Chrissa pulled up her hood, fastened her cloak over the plain brown dress she wore, and turned to Olivia. “Best leave those here,” she whispered, nodding down at the daggers.

  York chuckled; he had heard that, too.

  The town was just as Elspeth remembered, if a little less crowded. Settled around the mouth of the river, she could see most of Rieg from the hill just south of the market grounds. There were a few less warehouses – burned down by the fisherfolk riot, Elspeth remembered – and a few more guards, but other than that, nothing much had changed. She had expected the huge wave she had let loose on the town to have caused more damage, but the houses by the docks seemed intact, none had chimneys or roofs missing.

  The harbour was as busy as ever. But there were no Atrian flags flying from the ships’ masts. At least they had done that much, Elspeth thought, as she cast an eye over the harbour. She wondered if Taomi would be pleased they had stopped ships from her homeland sailing to Toi, bringing their human cargo for Lady Zill and Lord Tyrell to enslave. She hoped so – assuming they were not just taking them somewhere else, that was.

  Fortunately, the guards were of the non-gold-cloak variety. Indeed, all the way down the hill into town, Elspeth had not seen a single Kel’mau, not even on the gates to the harbour.

  Olivia had noticed, too.

  “They’re not here,” the princess said. “You were right, Elspeth, she has moved the witches out of town.”

  The she was Lady Zill, Elspeth knew.

  Elspeth regarded the narrow streets, the plainly dressed guards, the wagons and the fisherfolk up from the harbour. If she needed more proof that Lady Zill and the Kel’mau had left town, she need only look at the faces of the folk as they went about their business – there was none of the fear she had seen the last time she was in Rieg.

  “I hope they haven’t moved to Sugal,” Chrissa said.

  Elspeth tried not to laugh at the comment. “Yes, that really would be the pit of irony, wouldn’t it?”

  “Let us go and talk with Madam Olpany,” Olivia said. “She will know where they have gone.”

  “Maybe,” Elspeth said. “We should have asked Anooni to come with us; she might have Seen something.”

  “Plenty of time for that,” Olivia said. “Besides, she’s looking after that dog of yours. Come on, let’s go find the old woman.”

  Madam Olpany’s kitchen was as disgusting as it had been three weeks earlier. Elspeth made sure to stand in the middle of the floor, away from any of the filthy countertops. How the woman brought in washing was a wonder; Elspeth would not let Trapper in the house without knowing she could bath him after.

  The smell was little better. Were it not for the faint odour of lemon soap, Elspeth thought she might be sick. Olivia looked like she was sharing the same thought, and Chrissa was ostensibly staying near the open window. York did not seem to care about the smell; he was busy peering into one of the huge laundry pots, which were on hooks by the hearth.

  “So, you came back,” Madam Olpany said. “I must admit, I had my doubts.” She nodded over her shoulder, to the thin man standing in the door behind her. “My man was sure you would break your promise.”

  Madam Olpany was fat. The dirty white apron she wore could have made two dresses big enough for Elspeth to wear. He round face was shiny with sweat or grease, and she had dirt under her fingernails. With her arms folded, her huge breasts all but oozed out of the round-necked dress she was wearing. Still, for all that, the smile she gave Olivia made her look pretty. Twenty years ago, she was likely a real looker, Elspeth imagined.

  “I don’t break promises,” Olivia said. “But it seems we are too late? Where have the witches gone?”

  Madam Olpany frowned. “The witches?” she said.

  “Yes,” Olivia said. “The women Lady Zill was keeping up at the old house.”

  Madam Olpany made a shooing gesture with one fat hand. “They weren’t witches, least not the ones I saw. A bit of hedge magic would be the best that lot could manage. You might call them Wet Witches, but even that would be a stretch.”

  Elspeth glanced over at Olivia. She knew that was not true; when she was there, the women she had sensed in the old house were all at least as powerful as she had been at the time.

  “Wet Witches, then,” Olivia said. “It still amounts to the same; they’re not here anymore, are they?”

  Madam Olpany stared down at her feet. An odd look had come over her, a mix of anger and shame. She was shaking her head and bit the inside of her cheek.”

  “What is it?” Elspeth asked. “What has happened?”

  She had visions of Lady Zill killing all those women, or driving them mad with those experiments of hers. When she had been under Lady Zill’s thumb, the woman had mentioned something about turning Elspeth into her Gatekeeper. Elspeth still did not know what that meant, and what she would have to do to change into such a thing.

  Madam Olpany pulled the apron she was wearing over her head. She rolled it up and threw it onto the counter on her left. “Come through to the front room,” she said. “Might as well sit down while we talk. All this standing still has got my feet singing.”

  Elspeth felt her shoulders sag. She did not want to sit on any chair Madam Olpany owned.

  But, when she followed Olivia into the front room, she was
immediately surprised by the sweet smell of fresh strawberries. There was a bowl full of them over by the window.

  Strawberries? Elspeth thought. Where did she get strawberries from in the middle of winter?

  Another surprise was how clean the front room was, and how tastefully decorated.

  Madam Olpany noticed her looking. “They’re old sails,” she said, nodding back toward the kitchen. “My man fixes them, I dye them. Dirty business, but it puts food on the table.” She said the last as if she knew what Elspeth had been thinking.

  Elspeth immediately felt ashamed. She had judged this woman on the strength of one dirty room.

  Madam Olpany invited them all to sit. A short while later, the thin man brought a tray of tea with six cups and fresh lemon. The thin man poured, then handed out the tea.

  “So where are they?” Olivia asked.

  “We’re not sure where Zill has taken them. But we know they’re not on the island anymore.”

  Something like a punch hit Elspeth in the gut. She leaned forward in the chair, tea very nearly spilling from her cup.

  Not on the island? Gods, don’t say that. How can they not be on the island?

  “You talk like you know that for fact,” Olivia said, her voice a lot calmer than Elspeth felt. “How can you be sure they’re not on the island?”

  Madam Olpany did not seem at all annoyed by the question.

  “Because those women make a lot of noise,” she said, her tone patient. “With the Voice, I mean. They make a lot of noise, and we’ve been everywhere listening for that noise. Unless they’re up the mountain, they’re not on the island. Least not in any town, and I don’t see Lady Zill roughing it out in some field.”

  “What about that Dome,” Elspeth said.

  “That’s His Lordship’s manor,” Madam Olpany said. “He’ll not have all them witches up there. By all accounts, he doesn’t much like Lady Zill. And there’s rumour of some falling out. Something about a gift Lady Zill wanted to give Tyrell, and him nearly having a fit once he seen it. She’s not been back to the Dome since.”

  Elspeth let her mind wander. The Dome, the old house, the guards; where could they go to find answers? Somebody must know where Lady Zill had taken all those women; they cannot just have disappeared.