City of Dragons: Volume Three of the Rain Wilds Chronicles

by Hobb, Robin

  For that, of course, is my other good news. Despite many worries and the mishaps that plague any occasion, Erek and I are now wed. Our ceremony was held at the highest platform in the canopy, blessed by sun and a light wind fragrant with blossom and dancing butterflies. We would both have been content to speak our promise with considerably less formality, but as your grandparents had never expected me to wed, I think they felt a need to flaunt this wedding! And the beauty of that ceremony will be mine to keep for the rest of our lives.

  And now comes the time when I must consider well what to pack up to take with me to Bingtown. And even harder, I must choose what to leave here and bid farewell to my own birds. I caution you to have your uncle’s cotes and coops in perfect condition for when we arrive! All he can speak of is seeing his birds again. I dread the veils I must don for the journey to Bingtown, and it is hard for me to think of walking veiled in his city by the sea. But, of course, being with Erek is well worth these sacrifices.

  Detozi

  Chapter Fourteen

  SHOPPING

  “I really don’t see what you think I can do about it. Or why I should do anything at all.”

  Hest spoke the words knowing the reaction it would get from his father. The man had been determined to be unpleasant to him since the day he was born. Some time in his teens, he had realized that he might as well enjoy provoking him, as Trader Finbok was going to behave like a pompous fool to him no matter how well Hest spoke to him. And after his recent scare, it felt good to be defiant without flinching. So he said the words and then quite deliberately leaned back in his chair as if perfectly relaxed.

  His father’s flushed face went a darker red, and his left eyelid twitched. He rattled in a breath through his red-veined nose. His features were more the product of his early years spent on the deck of a ship making trading trips to the north countries than his current fondness for dark wines. Not that he wasn’t drinking today. And an excellent vintage, too. While Hest waited for him to cobble a rebuke together, he sipped from his own glass. Yes. A very nice bouquet. Was that a touch of cherry? He held it to the winter afternoon light that was streaming through the windows. A lovely color. But the hand that held it was still bandaged, and the sight of it snatched away his pleasure in the wine. The cuts on his nose and chest had been fine and shallow; they had closed quickly and were easily concealed. But his hand was a daily reminder to him of the man who had terrorized and humiliated him. He set his teeth and then became aware his father was speaking.

  “As to what you can do, you can go and fetch your wife home! As to why you should do it, for the sake of your family name. For your marriage. For the sake of getting an heir for your line. And to put an end to the gossip about all of it.”

  “Gossip?” Hest lifted one sculpted eyebrow. “Is there gossip? I’ve heard nothing in my circles. My friends regard Alise’s abandonment of me as old news. Sad and dreary but totally unworthy of gossip. All the excitement was over months ago. By the time I returned from my trading trip to Jamaillia, well, the situation had settled. She was gone. I did my best with the woman, but she ran off. With my secretary. There was a bit of drama when it was presumed they’d been drowned in that flood, but now that we’ve heard that they are alive and fine, well, what more is there to say? She has left me, and quite frankly, her absence is a relief. I’m glad to let her go.”

  Hest corrected the fall of lace from one of his cuffs. The shirt was a new one, in the latest style from Jamaillia City. He enjoyed how the lace held its shape in a half cup around his elegant hands even as he was privately annoyed with its scratchiness. Sometimes there was a price to pay for appearances. Rather like the price he’d had to pay to hire the ruffian who assured him he could track down and do away with the Chalcedean. The fellow he’d hired had an impeccable reputation for foul play. It had been rather exciting to meet him clandestinely in a filthy waterfront tavern. Garrod was a man a few years old than Hest, with ears so studded with tiny glittering earrings that they reminded him of abalone shells. “One for each man finished,” he’d told Hest.

  “And soon you’ll add another,” Hest had replied, sliding the packet of money across the table. Garrod had nodded, his teeth white, his eyes confident. The perfect man for the job. At another time, Hest might have found him attractive in quite a different way. He smiled at the memory as he lifted his eyes to his father’s furious gaze.

  Trader Finbok leaned forward and set his glass down on the table at his elbow. “Are you truly that stupid?” he demanded in disgust. “Just ‘let her go’? Walk away from the biggest opportunity that fate has ever tumbled into your lap?” He rose with a grunt to pace the room.

  It was a large room with good light in the winter. Hest looked forward to calling it his own one day. Of course, when he inherited it, he’d brighten it with color and style. The curtains were the same unimaginative brown ones that had hung at the windows for the last decade. Good quality to have lasted so long, of course, but there was a great deal to be said for keeping up with the times, if one were to appear truly prosperous. And among the Bingtown Traders, to appear prosperous, even in difficult times, was the key to being prosperous. No one wanted to trade with a man who was down on his luck. If you bought from him, you probably got the shoddy goods that were all he could afford. And Sa forbid that you try to sell to such a man; he would do nothing but whine about the cost rather than trying to negotiate honestly and sharply. Yes, new draperies were the first thing that he’d do when this room was his.

  “Are you even listening?” his father barked and then went off in a coughing fit.

  “I beg your pardon, Father. The garden view distracted me. But I’m attending now. You were saying?”

  “I will not repeat myself,” his father replied haughtily and then immediately broke his word. “If you cannot see what you are throwing away, my words will not sway you. But perhaps my actions will. So let us be plain, son and heir. If you wish to retain both those titles, go to the Rain Wilds, find your wife, discover what made her unhappy with you, and change it. Do it with as little public noise as possible. If you act quickly, if you can bring her home a satisfied woman, perhaps it is not too late for the family to claim our rightful share of whatever it is they’ve found.”

  “What?” Despite himself, Hest felt a sudden shock of both astonishment and interest.

  His father gave an exasperated sigh. “Your reputation as a shrewd trader is vastly exaggerated. I’ve known that for years. But can you truly have overlooked the fact that, with or without your consent, Alise signed on as a member of the Tarman expedition? That expedition has, according to rumor, discovered riches beyond imagining far up the Rain Wild River. Not just Elderling habitations and whatever artifacts and treasure they contain, but vast tracts of arable land. So the rumors fly. All know the liveship Tarman and Captain Leftrin returned briefly to Cassarick. What I have heard is that he quarreled with the Council and refused to give up his charts of the river. He accused them of putting a spy on his ship, and even insinuated that some of them were in league with Chalcedeans who were more interested in slaughtering the dragons than keeping our bargain with Tintaglia.”

  “Chalcedeans.” The word was lead as it dropped from his tongue, and a wave of dread engulfed him.

  “Well, it was ridiculous! The notion that any Trader would conspire with Chalcedeans, let alone back out on an honorable contract! So the Council righteously refused to pay him. Nonetheless, the very next day, he outfitted his ship extensively, drawing on a credit line from the Khuprus family. I don’t need to remind you that the Khuprus family controlled the lion’s share of wizardwood from Trehaug for years. With that trade taken from them, Jani Khuprus has probably been looking for a new investment for her family. She’s no fool. My suspicion is that they have struck a deal of their own with this Leftrin and are making a grab for a fresh find.

  “In addition, it has come to my attention that Captain Leftrin sent birds to Bingtown to put in orders for livestock! Breeding a
nimals. Sheep, goats, and chickens. And seed grain and other seeds. Vine stock and two dozen young fruit trees. Put that together with certain hints dropped by crew members, and you have arable land. It’s very possible they’ve made the most substantial discovery since Trehaug was first uncovered.”

  Hest was numbed into silence. He knew his father had spies, people who were prone to reading their masters’ messages, people in Trehaug and Cassarick who would send off a bird at the merest rumor of a good bargain. But this was beyond any rumor of wealth that his father had ever gambled on.

  “Well. I see by your open mouth that you are finally listening to me! So let me put the rest of it together for you: Alise, as a member of that expedition, has a rightful share to what they’ve discovered. Because the Tarman expedition is claiming ownership of not just knowledge of the route but the discovery itself. The Trehaug and Cassarick Councils are disputing it, saying that as they hired the ship and hunters, whatever was discovered is theirs. The Tarman expedition captain and the keepers who went off with the dragons are disputing that, of course . . . Look at you, gaping like a fish! You’ve paid no attention to any of this, have you? All you cared about was that your wife was gone and you and your bachelor friends could sprawl and drink and carouse as you pleased in her home!”

  That nettled Hest. Bad enough that his father had considered that angle thoroughly and it had not even occurred to him, without the further insult of his father’s mockery of his surprise. “Her home? It happens to be my home, and surely I am free to do as I wish there and entertain whom and how I please.”

  “Certainly you’ve done plenty of that over the years,” his father complained. “I know the sort of entertaining you indulge in. And I suspect that it may be why your wife prefers the company of your secretary over yours.”

  Hest commanded his face to stillness. A sip of wine to gain time to recover his aplomb. Do not allow the conversation to go in that direction. Do not confirm, do not deny, do not confront.

  “I’m not sure, truthfully, that Sedric was the object of her attention or even that he has anything to do with her absence. True, his failure to return home with or without her is decidedly odd and very unlike Sedric. But she did not ‘run off with him’ as some imply, for I was the one who chose that he would accompany her. He was not at all pleased with the idea of a Rain Wild journey.” Another sip of wine, and then he rose and strolled casually to the window. “We’ve had too much rain this year. I fear the roses will suffer from the sodden ground and the quick cycle of thaws and freezes.”

  He waited until he heard his father draw breath to speak and then quickly interrupted him. “You know that I’ve been back in Bingtown less than twelve days from my last trading trip. The first three days were spent disposing of the trade items I’d bought and then in catching up on my sleep and recovering from my travels. I’ve not had much time to do more than that. And I told you of the dreadful accident to my hand; it’s been very painful and I haven’t been able to tend to business as I usually do. So perhaps you should give me the full benefit of what you’ve heard about the so-called Tarman expedition. The messenger birds you sent were helpful, but one can scarcely get full information from a tiny roll of paper.”

  His ruse worked, as it almost always did. Cede his father a bit of authority, stroke his vanity with the thought that he was the expert in a situation, and he immediately calmed. Hest returned to his chair and sat in it, leaning forward expectantly, hoping he would be able to sort the facts he needed from his father’s tendency to overexplain. His expectation that his father would first begin by criticizing him was well founded.

  “Well, why you let Alise go off to the Rain Wilds alone, I will never understand, but that I suppose is where we must begin.”

  Hest dared to interrupt. “I could not prevent her, Father. It was in the terms of our marriage contract—that if and when she wished to do so, I’d permit her to travel to the Rain Wilds to continue her study of the Elderlings and dragons. At the time I thought it was just an eccentricity of hers, a leftover dream from her lonely life as an unwed woman. I thought she’d forget such ambitions once she was married with a household of her own to manage. And for years, she did. But when she insisted last spring that she would go, I could not refuse her. Nor could I cancel my trading trip to the Spice Islands. So I did what I thought best and put her in the care of Sedric Meldar. He’s been my right-hand man for years now and had been a childhood friend of Alise. They’ve always gotten along well. I trusted Sedric to be the sensible one of the pair. I thought she’d make the journey, discover how uncomfortable and provincial Trehaug is, and immediately come back to Bingtown. Truthfully, Father, I expected them to be home long before I returned to Bingtown.”

  “If you are finished,” his father said severely when Hest paused for breath, “I’ll continue what I was trying to tell you.”

  Hest hated his father’s paternalism, his assumption that he was far shrewder and much wiser than his son would ever be. But in this instance, he had information that Hest had not yet acquired. Keep silent. Nod.

  “Alise and Sedric were in Cassarick when the Tarman expedition was forming up. Now, as I read the contracts, for I’ve been able to get copies of them, the Rain Wild Traders’ Councils at both Cassarick and Trehaug hired a dozen or so heavily changed youngsters to accompany the dragons as keepers and tenders. They also hired two hunters and chartered the barge Tarman, the oldest liveship that exists by the way, to accompany the expedition and provide support for them. The Councils paid for the supplies that were loaded onto the ship. Keepers, hunters, and the shipowner were given half their pay as an advance, with the rest to be collectible when they returned to Cassarick after settling the dragons elsewhere.” His father laughed, a brief, dismissive sound. “I’ll wager they never expected to have to pay out much of that second half!”

  “How did Alise get involved? That’s what I don’t understand.” Hest spoke earnestly, hoping to nudge his father beyond the obvious.

  “I’ll get to that. What is important for us to see here is that the contract does not mention Kelsingra by name, nor is there any specific language about searching for an Elderling city. It says only that the keepers are to find a place that is safe for the dragons to settle. And that if the dragons die before they do so, the Council will regard the contract as fulfilled. Not voided, mind you. Fulfilled.”

  “And that is significant because?”

  Trader Finbok’s eyes, always heavy lidded, narrowed even more as he looked at his son with disgust. “I should think it would be obvious. If the contract stated only that the purpose of the expedition was to resettle the dragons, then the keepers and the hunters and the ship’s crew have fulfilled their contract. Once the Councils pay them, their mutual obligations are finished. Neither Council has any claim on anything else that may have been found, such as arable land, or a deserted city, or information that the expedition gathered, such as charts of the waterways.

  “Now”—and his father held up a restraining hand when Hest tried to speak—“the Councils are attempting to introduce the idea that since the existence of Kelsingra was verbally discussed at the negotiation session, and that the lone dissenting vote, that of Malta Khuprus, was swayed by the arguments of one Alise Kincarron Finbok, then it was implied to all parties that the rediscovery of Kelsingra was part of the expedition’s mission and therefore the Councils have a claim to the captain’s charts, the city, and all it holds.”

  “That does seem reasonable to me,” Hest interjected.

  His father glared at him. “No, stupid. We wish the judgment to fall in the other direction. We must say that Alise was hired solely as an expert on dragons, to help in caring for them on the journey. We want it to be decided that the contract was only for the resettlement of the dragons. Because if it is decided that way, then Alise has as much a right to a share of the city and whatever it holds as any other keeper, hunter, or sailor on the ship. Now I don’t know the exact number of people in the expedi
tion, or if those youngsters will be counted as having a valid claim. But I estimate that fewer than thirty people set out on that day. Therefore, Alise might own as much as one-thirtieth of Kelsingra and all it contains. AND . . .”—again the forbidding hand was raised as Hest sought to inject a question—“AND, as Sedric was obviously in your employ at the time, paid by you and doing your bidding, it is only right that whatever interest he has in the city is actually your interest, as you were his employer at the time. Still are his employer and therefore have the right to the fruits of all his labors while you pay his salary. Which means that the Finbok Traders may very well control two-thirtieths or one-fifteenth of the wealth of an Elderling city. A substantial fortune if Kelsingra is anything like Trehaug or even Cassarick.”

  Hest’s mind was racing. Despite his acuity as a Trader, he’d never considered the matter in that light. He’d been too infuriated over the humiliation that Alise and Sedric had heaped on him. One-fifteenth of a newly discovered Elderling city, under his control to exploit? The thought took his breath away, even as another idea soured his belly and made his heart hammer. He obviously had a piece of information his father did not. When he’d heard that Alise had apparently abandoned him and run off with Sedric, he suspected the first part was true and that the second part was gossip. Nonetheless, he had entrusted her to Sedric’s management. That his paramour “secretary” had not shepherded his wife back home to him was both Sedric’s failure and his insult to Hest.

  Hest had sent a messenger bird of his own, one that announced he would not be responsible for any debts they incurred on their expedition and that he would not allow his credit to be used to advance them any funds. Did that mean he had severed Sedric as an employee? Could Sedric then claim a share of the city in his own right?

  A few moments ago, he had not even considered that he might have a claim to Kelsingra. Now to think that it might be only half as large as it could have been, due to a moment of temper on his part, made him blanch. His father would be furious with him. But only if he found out about it. If he got to Sedric first, he was sure he could bring him back to heel and restore him to his previously doting status. He had been infatuated with Hest since he was a youngster. An assurance that Hest would not turn him out was probably all that was needed to have him dangling after him again.