by Brian Keller
The discussions went far into the night, everyone paying particular attention since they knew that they might be the next to be called upon.
Chapter 24
The following morning, everyone spent an hour preparing their equipment. Checking bowstrings and fletchings and putting fresh edges on blades. After breakfast everyone, except one person, pitched in with construction efforts. One person stood a four hour shift at the Waterfront, watching for the Sundancer.
It was after lunch when Balat came running into the Ruins. He saw Dailen first, “Where’s Cooper? The Sundancer is sailing into the bay!” Dailen pointed vaguely in the direction of the vault and asked, “If she’s still sailing in, how can you be sure it’s her?” Balat was already running in the direction Dailen had pointed. He turned and ran a few stuttered, sideways steps as he called back, “If you’d ever seen her, you’d know! It’s her!”
Cooper received the news as expected and rushed off to change clothes. A few minutes later he was walking quickly to the Waterfront, not looking to see if anyone was following him or not. By the time the boardwalk was in view, he realized that he was being followed by at least a half dozen Guild members. Cooper turned to them, “I don’t think the crew of the Sundancer are prepared to entertain. Birt, Loryn, come along. The rest of you, please go back to the Ruins. We’ve quite a bit of work ahead of us and we’re nowhere near able to house everyone we hope to recover.” He paused and took a breath, “Please.” He turned back to the boardwalk. Birt and Loryn fell in step. Birt asked, “Why are you bringing the two of us along? Feeling generous?” Cooper chuckled, “Not exactly. You’re coming since this will be a business deal, and I’ll want you to support my claims. You’re the best actor we’ve got, besides Mister Ysel.” Birt asked, “And Loryn?” Cooper let out a full breath of air, “Because Loryn has spoken with them recently… and she wouldn’t go back anyway, even if I’d threatened her.” Loryn snorted, “Not true. I’d have gone back with the others if you’d told me.” He replied, “You say that now.” Loryn merely smiled.
By the time they’d approached the ship, it had been tied off and the harbor master was disembarking. Loryn waved and called out, “Sundancer! Permission to come aboard?” The old first mate had escorted the harbor master to the gang way. He leaned over and squinted at the three of them, recognizing two of them almost immediately and settling on Loryn, “Well, slacken my sails! Did you kill the horses gettin’ here so quick, missy?” Loryn placed her hands on her hips and shifted her weight to her back leg as she called back, “Not at all. If you were a better sailor, you’d have been here ages before me. I could’ve walked here faster than you sailed!” Something about Loryn’s disposition seemed to disarm the old sailor and he slapped the railing as he laughed loudly, “Well, you’d best come aboard, the three of you. You can introduce me to your third man.” He centered his gaze on Cooper, “Because the Captain’s got plenty to discuss with you, no doubt.”
Captain Rigel emerged from the hatch before Cooper had taken more than four steps in from the rail. The scarred man squinted against the sunlight and snarled. At first, Cooper thought he’d judged the Captain wrong, then he realized that what he thought was a snarl was actually a grin. The captain’s gravelly voice rumbled, “I received your message and here we are. How long has it been?” Cooper stepped forward to grasp the man’s extended hand, “Too long, sir. But unexpected events have made things difficult. I apologize for sending such a, well, vague message but I couldn’t risk providing specifics. I hope to explain everything this evening aboard the ship of the First Merchant.” Cooper pointed northeast, in the general direction of Mardon’s ship, amidst the others that comprised the Wharf City. “The First is a bit of a reluctant host in this matter. I hope you won’t feel insulted if I suggest that your men remain… sober, until after the meeting?” Captain Rigel tilted his head as if to better gauge Cooper’s expression, then replied, “We can host it here. We should be ready by six or seven.” Then he raised his voice loud enough to be heard across the deck, “And my crew will remain sober until I release them to leave the vessel!” The crew responded predictably and Cooper felt a little uncomfortable, “Well, sir. Once the meeting’s over, anyone remaining involved might be spending several more days sober. I didn’t want to volunteer your ship for the meeting, since you’ve only just arrived and so many eyes are upon you.” Captain Rigel nodded, “Because so many are watching, and many people coming and going is expected, that makes it the ideal place to have a meeting. How many will be coming, do you think? Cooper quickly tallied the numbers, “Enough men to crew a fair-sized ship, I would guess that to be between fifteen and twenty plus eight, perhaps ten of my own people… so at least two dozen but no more than thirty people.” Captain Rigel nodded as he began trying to figure out what the young man had planned. Cooper added, “I’ll make everything clear this evening, sir. I’d rather not explain it more than once, if I can help it. I’ll say this; it’ll be dangerous, but it should be profitable. More importantly, it needs to be done.” He turned to walk toward the gangway and stopped, turned back, fished his token from his pouch and displayed it, then added, “And sir? Refer to me now as “Kinsman”, and please inform the crew.” If the captain was surprised by this announcement, it didn’t show. Kinsman shook hands with the First Mate as he left the ship. Birt and Loryn hurried along behind. Birt was the first to speak, “I thought you were bringing me along to talk business…?” Cooper shrugged, “I thought so too, but Captain Rigel was willing to accept a minimal explanation. We’re gathering on the Sundancer between six and seven. We need to be there by six. Go back and tell the others.” Loryn asked, “What about you?” Cooper clenched his jaw, “I’m going to talk to Mardon, to let him know he won't be expected to host the meeting and to tell him to have his people on the Sundancer a little before seven.” They parted ways and as he neared the First’s ship he had already decided, “We may need to limit our dealings with the Wharfsiders after this, at least for a while.” He disliked the feeling that he couldn’t fully trust his allies but “Mardon’s greed is starting to show.”
*****
Iona sat at her desk (“I now have a desk of my very own!”) and thought about the events of the last few days. As she considered the sheer numbers of people who made demands on the prince’s time, it was a wonder that he managed anything else. Still, every day, after dismissing courtiers and commoners alike, he called in several councilmen and advisors and they discussed “old business”. They’d covered a few topics before Iona realized that “old business” was merely something that was already being managed and the prince simply wished to be apprised of any progress. Once that category was exhausted, or at least discussed to Prince Lancaster’s satisfaction, he would ask if there was any “new business” that needed his attention. Invariably there would be, but today one of the councilmen had brought up the topic of the Ruins. This was of particular interest to Iona, knowing more than a little about the Ruin’s history as well as a few more recent events. If the councilman was to be believed, the entire district was undergoing a total rebuild. The prince had appeared mildly interested, but certainly not excited. He had inquired, “Is that what the tax collectors have told you?” The councilman nodded emphatically and added, “Several tax collectors sent to investigate rumors have disappeared so I sent another with a contingent of guards. His report to me stated that he was met by a mob that insisted they owned the Ruins. I felt that you should be informed immediately, my liege.” The man bowed his head to show that he felt he’d faithfully discharged his duty. The prince appeared to consider this for a moment then asked, “And were the deeds displayed? If “the mob”, as you call them, claim ownership then they should have documents to that effect.” The councilman had already started to withdraw. The question brought him up short. The man stammered, “Ye-ye-yes, my liege. Some documents were presented, and according to the collector’s report, they appeared genuine, but the idea… well, the Ruins, my liege!” The prince had turned to
her, causing everyone else in the room to become still; until that moment it was as if she were either invisible, or beneath notice. He asked, “I seem to recall a report from Yoren about the Ruins. You were involved. Actually, you were almost the subject of his report. Something about an “unprecedented magical phenomenon”, wasn’t it?”
She’d bowed her head, embarrassed by the sudden attention, but replied, “Yes, my prince. That’s exactly right. There was some kind of magical battle that took place in the Ruins several months ago.” This announcement resulted in several of the councilmen murmuring amongst themselves, the consensus being that none of them had any news of any such battle. Iona ignored them and continued, “Undoubtedly it’s coincidental, but it happened the evening before the Lord General’s raid on the Guild headquarters. When we went to investigate the Ruins, the Guild house was still burning.” No one uttered a sound for several seconds. The prince was thinking about what she’d said and no one wished to interrupt his concentration. The prince broke the silence. He pointed at the man who’d brought up the topic and announced, “I shall appoint you as my representative in this matter. Investigate further. The Ruins have long been a place of danger and uncertainty. We’ll need to satisfy ourselves that the Ruins are indeed safe. Our citizens along the coastal neighborhoods have endured enough recent hardship without placing them in harm’s way yet again. We’ll also need to verify the authenticity of these deeds.” The man bowed deeply, “Yes, my liege” The prince turned to Iona and added, “Considering your familiarity with the Ruins, I wish you to accompany this man. You’ll recognize if there’s any magical threat and give everyone time to react, isn’t that correct?” Iona didn’t know how to respond, she had little experience with ‘tactful speech’, “I should be able to, my liege… the power I felt resulting from that magical battle faded rapidly, as if one participant had defeated the other…” The prince leaned forward, adding, “I detect an unspoken conditional statement lurking. What is it?” Iona shook her head, “I’m not sure how to describe it, my liege. Nothing of that magnitude has ever happened, not since the University mages stood against the Mad Wizard, and there is so little written about that event that I can’t even be sure that’s a fair comparison.” The prince looked confused, “What has that to do with your detection of a magical threat?” Iona hesitated but when she replied her voice had been clear and distinct, “I might detect a threat, my liege. But someone who can harness that much power… well, detecting it doesn’t mean we’d have any chance of avoiding it, if such an attack was directed at us.” The councilor had turned several shades paler and looked as if he might vomit.
Now that Iona was in the privacy of her own chamber, she had time to consider what she knew and contemplate what she didn’t know. She knew that Cooper was involved in the battle in the Ruins, and that he’d been the one to survive. She’d also witnessed him take the full brunt of the Professor’s magical attack, amplified by Wen’s Talent, and live. Furthermore, after leaving his message on Yoren’s body, he had quickly departed as if completely unscathed while Yoren lay dead, seemingly as a result of that same magical energy. It had already occurred to her that if Cooper had wished, he could’ve remained in that vacant lot and killed each one of them. She’d seen how quickly the young man could move. If he had continued his attack, the only chance any of the mages would’ve had to survive would have been to flee in different directions, as fast as their respective Talents allowed them. Most of them would’ve survived, but Iona had no Manifested speed. The fact remained, he had intended the Spymaster to die, and once that had been accomplished, he departed. Furthermore, why didn’t he simply drain the life from the Spymaster as all the University scholars claim the Gifted do? Why resort to using blades?
She recounted what she knew of Cooper: he’d fought and defeated slavers in the Waterfront, and the slaves were nowhere to be found. The professor had theorized that he had probably drained the life out of them, just as the Mad Wizard would have done. The professor hadn’t been interested in her opinions, but if that had been the case, where were the bodies? Why wouldn’t he have just left them on the ground beside the bodies of the slavers? He had also defeated another of the Gifted in the Ruins, and now that neighborhood was being reoccupied. Had he somehow made the Ruins safe? He’d also killed the Spymaster but spared the rest of them. He’d left the message for the Prince, essentially proposing a policy of “symbiotic avoidance” which the prince seemed willing to accept, or at least that’s how things appeared. Knowing what she’d read of the Gifted from University research and reports, much of this conflicted with what she’d come to know, or at least suspect; but she also remembered what the prisoner, Grief, had told her when she’d asked about Cooper, “I’d tell you to be careful, but it won’t matter.”
She didn’t want to discuss ‘Cooper’ with the prince. Not yet. Not until she knew how to accurately describe him.
*****
As Cooper left the Wharf City, on his way back to the Ruins, he was trying to decide whether Mardon had appeared relieved or insulted that he wasn’t going to be hosting the final planning meeting. Probably a combination of both, but at this moment Cooper decided he was beyond caring whether he had inadvertently offended the man. He could visualize the events of the next twenty-four hours clearly in his mind. Now it was simply a matter of describing it well enough that the others could act on his instructions, and keep their actions reasonably synchronized. The timing would be nearly as crucial as the actions themselves, at least in the first several hours.
Back in the Ruins, Birt approached him as soon as he arrived. Birt called out, “Cooper! How many of us are going to this meeting?” Cooper replied, “You, Rukle, the Journeymen, and two or three of the others who are ready and able to fight. The rest of them will either be staying here in the Ruins to continue construction efforts, or they’ll be assisting Dailen and you on the Cliffs tomorrow.” Birt asked, “Mister Ysel and Miss Camilla?” Cooper shook his head, “Mister Ysel stays here throughout all that’s to come. Miss Camilla will meet us in Miller’s Flats to tend the wounded and assist with helping prisoners recover. We’ll need to hire a second healer, like we did after raiding the quarry.” Birt nodded, his questions answered, “I’ll tell them.” Cooper smiled thinly, “Thanks. I’m going to try and sleep for an hour or two. Please wake me before it’s time to leave for the Waterfront.”
It seemed to Cooper that he'd barely closed his eyes when he was being shaken awake. He heard Rukle’s voice along with a constant pattering noise from outside, “Hey, wake up. Birt told me to wake you. It’s still a little before five.” Cooper sat up slowly and rubbed his whole face. “Surely it hasn’t been three hours already.” he thought. He asked, “Is it raining?” Rukle nodded, “It sure is. It started about an hour ago. It’s really coming down. Probably one of the last storms of the season.” Cooper turned and let his legs hang over the side of the bed and gave Rukle a nod, “Is everyone getting ready?” Rukle confirmed, “Yes. We’re taking everything we need, right? We’re not coming back here until it’s over?” Cooper stood and replied, “Right. If someone gets wounded during the raids, they’ll be brought here.” He was still waking up and corrected himself, “Everyone except Birt, that is. Birt’s coming back here after the meeting.” He took a few steps and sat on the floor, “I’m going to take a few minutes for some much-needed stretching; then I should be ready to leave. It isn’t far to walk, but I’d rather not explain our appearance to the City Watch, so we’ll leave a little early.
