The Unexpected Heir: A Tale of Alus (45 page)

"I don't have any business that far away right now. We are only going as far as Marta with two stops along the way," the man admitted. He hadn't said no to the idea of taking on passengers, however, so she remained hopeful.

"How close to Daria is that?" Xerese asked knowing little of the northern cities of Tseult. The lady wondered if she had ignored one of the history lessons of her tutors involving the cities of their neighboring ally. Maps were often introduced, but she couldn't say that it was her favorite subject. Xerese kind of wished she had paid more attention now.

"About halfway," the captain replied.

"And how much would it cost us if you took us to Marta then? We could possibly find another ship there."

"Well, we don't usually take passengers," he started just like the other captains they had met.

Putting on her best smile, Xerese tried to flirt with the old man as she begged, "Please? We have been walking for days. I am just not sure how much more I can do."

Looking from the pretty girl to the large man next to her, he began to shake his head sadly, "You mean that your husband has made you walk all the way here from...?"

She sighed and confessed, "From Delem actually. We couldn't find a ship to take us here, but it was kind of in chaos there so we left. We managed a few rides along the way, but most of it was walked."

Holding out her very tan left arm for the man to look at more closely, the girl added, "Look how dark I've gotten. A girl shouldn't have to be so dark unless she works on a farm."

She drew back the center of her top drawing his eyes towards her breasts with the motion. Lighter colored skin protected by the dress and blouses she wore could be seen to prove that the sun had changed her coloring a lot.

Chuckling at her, the captain replied, "We get pretty tan at sea too, young lady, but I can understand your complaint. Walking in the sun from Delem is certainly a feat that I would prefer to never complete."

Waiting as he suddenly looked to be thinking over their request, Xerese watched him shrug before saying, "I suppose that we could spare one of the small compartments for you and your husband."

Squeezing Toman's arm as she felt him tense at the assumption, the girl heard him out and asked, "How much would it cost?"

The man rubbed his head pushing up the brown, wide brimmed hat on his head with the movement. "Well, I suppose seven golds would be fair."

Making a face, Xerese countered, "If you're going there anyway, then I would think three would be fair."

He barked a quick laugh and said, "Ok, five, but you should bring your own food then. I don't mind supplying water and maybe some ale, but for five you can pack six days of food and serve yourselves."

Grinning at the captain, Xerese shook her head and retorted, "I bet that we would have had to do the same for seven as well, but I guess we can settle for that. How soon are you leaving?"

"With the tide two hours after dawn."

"Then we will go buy supplies and see you in the morning captain..."

"Captain Nywal and you are?"

"This is Toman and I am Xerie. It is very nice to meet you captain," she continued as sweetly as she could. Trying to be friendly could help make their time aboard better than trying to remain cold and businesslike, Xerese thought.

They left the Taramist and Captain Nywal shortly after confirming passage on the ship. A quick trip to the vendors around the market led to finding enough food to get them through a week.

Xerese convinced Toman to spend a little money on a meal at an inn as well as a room to sleep. There was only one bed for the price he was willing to pay, but a private bath on the same floor meant the young lady could wash up properly to feel more civilized.

While she slept in the bed, Toman soldiered on as he slept on the floor. Xerese shared one of the two pillows with him and a blanket, but didn't bother to fight about taking the bed. After so many weeks sleeping on the ground or in barns, the mattress felt like a cloud. Xerese fell asleep easily with a warm meal in her stomach and a nice long bath.

The morning came too early for her, but she had gone to bed early and slept a long time in comfort. After a quick breakfast, they walked to the Taramist and paid the fare in advance before being shown their small room.

It had bunks in the room. A quick apology about having the married couple sleeping in such conditions nearly made Xerese laugh, but neither she nor Toman changed their story. They merely said that it would be fine for a short trip.

"If he gets too lonely, there might be enough room on one of them for both of us," she replied jokingly at the captain's worry.

Getting Toman to redden and a laugh from Captain Nywal, Xerese smiled as they settled in for the next leg of their travel. It wasn't until they started out from the harbor, that the girl remembered how seasick she could get. Being friendly to the crew and worrying over how much she ate became unnecessary for the first day as the girl lay on her bunk ill.

Luckily Captain Nywal was willing to part with a few of his horded seasickness pills. Apparently she wasn't the only passenger he had taken with such a condition despite the early resistance to taking them along. The price to get her back on her feet to even feel well enough to be charming the next day was worth it to the captain who found his way to talking with the girl quite often as she lounged on the deck throughout the successive days.

After all the walking she had done recently, Xerese was more than willing to put up with a queasy stomach to finally be making swift progress towards her home once more.

For anyone watching him, Philip was likely to look both frustrated and worried. As he left the office for his shipping firm, which was not only the center where the ship captains could come for more work, but also what guided the warehouses and the carters who moved their goods by land; the owner was shadowed closely by Baras. Five other guards tried to blend in without revealing that they were there to guard him as well, but the need for protection wasn't what made the lord frown as he left.

"My lord, do you plan to walk again? It really would be safer to move by carriage," Baras suggested as the man's eyes already began looking around them for trouble.

"There is no more reason for an attack on me than usual, Baras," Philip replied with a sigh.

"There is no word from the Sea Dragon?" his guard and friend asked as he worried for his lord.

Shaking his head, Philip answered, "It has been three months since they left. The Zephyr hasn't returned also. Even given bad winds, they should both have arrived in time for the tournament. That ended over two months ago," he finished looking trouble.

"Would the ladies have stayed longer to attend any parties thrown by the lords of Southwall?" his friend questioned trying to think of less dire reasons for the delay.

"Then the Zephyr should have returned with word by now, but neither ship had returned."

Continuing to walk slowly in the direction of the king's castle, though it was nearly a mile from these offices, Philip considered other news that had been filtering into Malaiy from other sources. "The shipping lanes north of Tseult have seen an increase in piracy it seems."

His guard frowned at the statement, "You fear that one or both could have been taken by a pirate ship? I thought pirates were a thing of the past."

Grunting at the man's naiveté, the lord replied, "Piracy never truly ends. Give some men a ship with the incentive to make money, but no sense for business or morals; and you have the potential for pirates. A quick score on the right merchant ship can make a crew rich, so we send out battleships from the king to do our best to dissuade that kind of thing.

"Tseult's king, Tylus, has always done the same. Being able to trade makes both our kingdoms richer for it, even if there are costs in giving that protection."

"But now the shipping lanes north of Tseult have become dangerous again? Why now?" Baras questioned in confusion.

"Why now indeed," Philip nodded. Given the other troubles involving the royal family, he wasn't so sure that the two problems weren't somehow connected. This year was barely halfway through, yet they had already seen a decade's worth of incidents occurring in a matter of months.

The Zephyr had been sent hoping to get word to both Annalicia and potentially his father, Darius, who was rumored to be going to the tournament in Southwall as well. He had also sent a second ship south with messengers and soldiers for escorts to go to Eirdhen and the wizards' school there before any assurances of the high wizard being in Southwall. Unfortunately, the country was landlocked so even using a ship to bring them through the Cauldron Bay to the Eliar River would lead to more weeks of riding. 

Even riding near the river, a border between three countries, the men sent had made it to Enchwold and returned to Malaiy to report that Darius had indeed left for Southwall already. A trip spanning more than two months, they had returned and still he had no word of the ships sent north. It worried him.

Though the distance to Hala was much greater, the ships could sail without stopping during most of the trip. They covered miles of sea faster than men on horseback, even if they pushed themselves to their limits; but that had not been the conditions set.

There was the tournament and the possibility that the girls had decided to stay longer. Malaiy was on good terms with the distant country thanks to trade. The king or one his contacts could certainly have invited them to stay longer. Had Xerese or Annalicia found a suitor there? That would certainly be a possibility for a pair of eligible young ladies, but why had he not heard any word from the Zephyr in that case?

"It's a long way between Taltan and North," his bodyguard said slowly and the impact of what he was suggesting would have come as more of a blow if Philip hadn't considered the same possibility. "The spring brings more storms also."

"Either of the ships could have sunk or suffered damage making them late. Though I hope if it is related to a storm; that it is the second possibility. Annalicia's magic is strong, but I'm not sure even a wizard controlling the air or water can save a ship in the worst of weather.

"All of which makes me wish that I dared send more ships to look for them."

"But there are thousands of miles between us and Hala, which means you can send the entire fleet and have the king send the navy besides, but still barely put a dent in the area covered," Baras said ending in a sigh. "Maybe this is a time to call on a god like Sordrian. He's supposed to control the weather also, isn't he?"

"That is what the brothers say," the lord answered thinking of what he had seen and heard in the temple while he searched for an assassin. Those trips had required him being alone, which his guards had not appreciated either. Since their duty was to protect him and his family, he almost decided to try to sneak out of the house those days.

"You don't sound convinced."

"The elves had their gods too, but they came from another world. If gods like Sordrian are truly so powerful, can their abilities reach other worlds? Maybe there is a god greater than those we believe in individually.

"Even on Alus, there are beliefs in gods with other names. Who is right? Are they all real or just creations made up to make us feel better when we have no other hope?"

The guard chuckled. "I didn't know that you were so philosophical, sir."

Grunting dismissively, Philip replied, "When you are worried about your family and have little to no control over what is happening to them, you begin to consider the bigger picture. Some of the gods have been dismissed as men and women like my father. They call him an immortal, but not a god; at least most don't. There are people who have wanted to call him one, but he always says that he had parents just like the rest of us. If they weren't gods, how can he think he is one?"

Baras was quiet a moment before admitting, "I hadn't thought of that. Can a god be born to human parents? That seems like something to be contemplated by someone with more of a mind for such things.

"I'm just a guard after all."

It was his lord's turn to laugh, though it was slightly forced in his worry. "I wouldn't put a man who was just a guard in charge of my detail. You have more of a mind than that."

"Keeping an eye out for danger isn't in the same vein as researching gods, my lord."

Nodding acknowledgement of the fact, Philip knew that he wasn't the type to discover such things either. He knew some history, but even the son of an immortal wizard didn't always follow in his father's footsteps. With no ability in magic, his mind for business had led him along another path.

Baras asked, "Are you thinking of talking to the king anyway?"

The lord's feet slowed to a stop and he considered the question. What could even a king do to settle his mind? Besides that, Orlaan had enough on his mind including a family still trying to get past their grief at the loss of Princess Persimee's death as well as that of Carland. Deeanne had miscarried her first child thanks to her exposure to the poison even in a limited way. If he brought his worries over Annalicia and Xerese this soon, without any proof, the king could do little more than he could and it would only add to his worries.

"Perhaps not, though I will need to discuss with him the need for the navy to begin patrolling the coast closer to Tseult at sometime. With word of armed units moving through south Malaiy, it is beginning to look more and more like our ally could be turning against us.

"If that is true, our worries will only continue to grow."

The guard knew little of politics and said nothing. War hadn't been a part of Malaiyan life since before the Cataclysm had shaken the world. No one wanted it and the kings of Malaiy had done their best to avoid it for centuries.

With nothing positive to be gained, Philip adjusted his path and started out for home. He would put more time into coming up with a plan and consider if the need to put the navy to work in such a way was worth possibly alarming their neighbor.

They had seen the ships with the red flags twice as the Taramist moved east. Though the sailors were all worried over the possibility of being attacked, neither ship did more than angle close enough to make out their flag before moving away again. At least that was the belief of those who had watched the maneuvering of the ships.

Captain Nywal had held onto their course setting, but watched the strange ships through a spyglass as he prepared to flee. The Taramist was much too small to contend with the size of either of the armed warships, but they had felt lucky when they were left alone.

Xerese had found on this voyage that her stomach had become more accustomed to the sea in spite of the Taramist actually reacting to the waves more than either the Zephyr or Sea Dragon. Whether the captain's pills were better than those offered her by Annalicia, the girl could only guess; but she stopped using them by the end of the third day without her usual symptoms returning.

It was actually more the limitation of her wardrobe that had begun to fill her mind during her days on the Taramist's deck. Her skirts had to be held in check with her hands whether she walked or tried to stand by the railing. She soon wished that she had a pair of pants or even shorts. Though the sailors didn't know she was a royal lady, it still wouldn't do for them to see her with her skirt blown up over her head.

When they came in sight of Marta, the girl was glad for another trip at sea to be over, even if it hadn't been as long as those to Southwall and back. She was meant for land, Xerese knew by now; but at least her stomach appeared to have grown a bit more adjusted to sea life.

As they entered Marta's harbor, she noticed Toman frown while looking ahead towards the city's docks. A dozen larger ocean going vessels were moored there, though roughly twice that number of smaller fishing vessels could be seen around the bay.

Before asking her guard what was upsetting him, the girl noted some of the sailors and the captain appearing with similar concerned looks on deck.

"What's wrong?"

"Three of the larger ships at dock are flying those red flags," Toman replied glancing towards his charge. His eyes appeared to be contemplating their choices.

Xerese asked a different question feeling a little less worried over the strange ships, "What flags do the others show?"

Doing a double take between the dark haired beauty and the vessels in question, the guard squinted against the afternoon sunlight and slowly scanned the other targets. "Three have Tseult flags. The others have none showing at the moment."

"There are no other countries represented except for Tseult?"

"That isn't too surprising," he answered giving her his full attention. "It is still hundreds of miles to Malaiy and we're about as many from Kloste now."

Nodding at his assessment, Xerese noted, "True, but I am sure that Marta likely has trading partners beyond the other cities of Tseult. That there are none showing from anywhere else, yet both the red and the Tseult ships are docked amicably; makes me wonder if that is more than a coincidence."

"You don't think that Tseult has created their own pirate ships? Why would they want to risk frightening away trade?"

It was the lady's turn to frown. "I am not saying that Tseult has created or sent them, though privateers have been used in the past. Even so, these red flagged ships are likely friendly with the locals for them to fly their flags so brazenly."

"Unless we can find a friendly vessel to carry us westward, I don't think we had better stay very long here. If some pirate faction has crept up here, they might have taken up some of their more unsavory practices related to strangers."

While Toman avoided saying it, Xerese knew what he meant. Centuries ago a common commodity for income was the slave trade. Pirates and privateers alike could take a ship, plunder it and sell the vessel along with its crew for even more coin.

Many countries had outlawed slavery, but the girl had a feeling that it was still a trade even among certain countries of Taltan. Ransoming high ranking officials to their respective countries was more common still, but Xerese didn't want to risk being found out as Malaiy royalty even so.

Despite everyone's reservations, the Taramist was met by a small ship serving the city. A berth was assigned and the merchant pulled in tying off lines though Captain Nywal was slow to lower any planks. Before the man could decide whether he wanted to risk docking with ships that he considered potential enemies, a contingent of soldiers arrived escorting a pompous looking man carrying a ledger.

One of the soldiers hailed the Taramist and Nywal looked over the rail hollering back. The exchange was fairly short, but the result was that the sailors set their planks so the city's harbor official could come on deck.

Four of the soldiers spread out looking around while the man with the ledger began questioning the captain. Where the Taramist had come from, type of cargo, plans of business and the like made Nywal appear uncomfortable. Xerese remained back with Toman partially screening the girl from the new men. Her guard did his best to not look like he was trying to keep her from sight, but she knew that being the only female onboard would make her a target if the official actually cared.

Without much surprise, the man with the ledger looked towards her and could easily tell that the lady was no sailor.

"You have passengers?" he as much asked as stated the obvious.

"Just the two," Captain Nywal stated. There was sweat on his forehead due to the unusual amount of prying questions. "They joined at Adeer."

"And they are from here?" the man questioned looking first at the captain and then over his shoulder at Xerese.

Captain Nywal frowned and replied, "Not as far as I know. They paid for a ride to here. That's about all I know."

While the captain had taken a lot of time to talk with the girl, a bit of a novelty with the otherwise male crew around them, they had limited what they revealed about their background. He did know that they were working their way home after a shipwreck to the east. They had also been forced to admit that they were from Malaiy, since the origins of their slight accents were figured out by the well traveled captain.

Ignoring Nywal, the official walked towards the girl and her protector. Two of the soldiers moved to guard the man, though seeing the imposing looking Toman standing just before her made them look nervous.

"And what business do you have in Marta and where are you from?" he demanded looking towards Xerese.

"We were shipwrecked to the east and have been working our way home," Toman stated without embellishment. Their accents weren't that of the locals most likely, so the man would figure out that they were not from Tseult pretty easily. They had minimized the lies given along the way and limiting the amount of facts passed along helped keep them from saying things that could contradict their story.

"Oh, and what ship was that? A girl like this doesn't usually sail on the ocean unless she is rich or important. Though she is interesting looking, I have a hard time of believing that she is either. What made you go for an ocean voyage?"

Xerese moved forward playing at being tentative. Her fingers gingerly gripped Toman's arm and she did her best to look like she was in love with the large guardsman. "My husband decided to try his hand at shipping. We found a ship willing to give us space for cargo and room for the trip. It was called the Zephyr, but it couldn't outrun the storm. We were lucky to survive."

"A husband and wife just happened to be lucky enough to survive when the rest of your ship sank?" the man questioned looking skeptical.

Shrugging at him as if his distrust didn't register or bother her, Xerese replied, "We don't really know if anyone else survived. The ship might have survived to limp to land, but we were washed overboard when the mast was struck. I don't think that it survived though. There was so much debris.

"My husband pulled me onto some of the wreckage and luckily we floated to land by the next day. The captain must have tried to get closer to the mainland looking for shelter. It's possible someone else made it, but we never saw anyone else."

Still looking unconvinced completely, he asked, "What was your cargo then?"

"Does it matter?" Xerese asked pretending to be shocked that he would ask. "We lost everything! If not for gifts from some nice people along the way, we would still be walking in rags leagues to the east." Her hand moved to the opening in the buttons where the dress was too tight to close intentionally and added, "We haven't even been able to afford to buy new clothes! Only a donation from some new friends gave us enough gold for the trip on the Taramist. I wouldn't dress like this if we could afford to buy a proper dress or two, but we've had to use what little money we could get for food and a couple ships that could only take us a short way at a time."

The man's eyes had slipped from her face to look at her cleavage in distraction, but her attempt to make him forget his questions didn't prevent him from asking another. "Why did you travel with your husband if it was his decision to trade?"

Xerese pretended to be caught off guard by his question before releasing a charming giggle as she smiled. "Well, he has a mind for business, but is rather intimidating to look at, don't you think? My husband isn't always the most delicate with his words, so I went along to help bargain for a better profit."

Continuing to do her best to win the man over with her charm, the girl moved in a way to draw his eye. Her top continued to war with her smiling face for where he looked. "Would you rather discuss business with him or me?"

The official looked up at her face again and laughed. "Well, I suppose that you have a point as long as you are dealing with a male merchant anyway." He titled his head as the man had an epiphany adding, "Some women might prefer it as well. You certainly would be unlikely to frighten them."