Back to the previous chapter: As Khiyara Walked

First Draft

Porto Vicenza sprawled ahead of the Sky Wind. The outer markers of the city's vast harbor were already behind the diminutive ship: lighthouses built on rocky islands that looked for all the world like massive crumbled columns marked the city's outer harbor extents, several miles from the city proper. Few ships were anchored in the outer harbor, save for a few old naval ships that were parked at sea.

The inner harbor was much livelier, with dozens of ships of every imaginable description at anchor, and numerous harbor boats shuttling between ships and shore. A number of ships moved through what could only be described as the chaos of the harbor, under the expert guidance of the Porto Vicenza harbor pilots. The harbor pilots of this Italic port city prided themselves on being the best in the world, for the city had the highest traffic of any port on the Brythomar. Deep sea vessels from Karasimi made port here, and few traveled past Porto Vicenza, nestled on the northern end of the Gates of Heracles. Ships from all the nations of the Brythomar visited the port, as well, making Porto Vicenza the natural choice for Azirian traders wishing to obtain Avillonian goods as well as for Avillonian merchants seeking Azirian goods.

One of the small, fast sailing boats flying the port's flag approached the Sky Wind from the aft quarter, taking advantage of the warm tail wind that had propelled the Sky Wind into port. As the harbor boat pulled even with the Sky Wind, a man called out in the Trade Tongue, "Porto Vicenza Harbor Pilot. Send a hoist!"

Captain Hadeel's crew looked back at her, awaiting permission for the harbor pilot to board her ship.

Khiyara stood at the helm of her ship, staring out over the port in front of her as memories of the vast city paraded through her mind, in particular a specific young man who had charmed her the last time she had been in port.

Ah, Ricco. He'd stolen everything she had on her, except her coin, and they had fought. She smirked at the memory and whispered softly to herself, "Oh you think I've forgotten street rat. I will find you and I will reclaim what is mine."

Realizing that her crew was staring at her, she shook herself out of her reminiscence. She nodded her head and bellowed, "Welcome aboard!"

Turning to her gathered crew, she commanded, "Get this lady ready for port, aye! Yoy Navigator! Bring the harbormaster aboard and let's be makin' swift." Khiyara spotted Master dei Sciotti standing near the railing close to the hoist. She joined Iain at the railing and gave him a lopsided grin. "So, let's see, Porto Vicenza. That would make your plans with the lovely Esabella, aye?"

Iain looked at her oddly. "Lass, you have some strange ideas. I've not been here for... Well, since before I met you. I swore not to set foot on Italic soil until I took care of some unfinished business." He grinned. "Now, you, on the other hand. I imagine you have a hold full of lads waiting for your lovely self."

Khiyara shrugged her shoulders and grinned crookedly, "Nah... I think there's only one here that I want to be seeing, and I doubt very much if he wants to see the likes of me. But you say unfinished business, aye? Well now there's a story I'd really like to hear. I can't believe a man such as yourself would be able to resist the charms of such a great port as this! There are books everywhere. How could ye stay away?" The hoist with the harbor pilot was reaching the top of the railing and duty called.

Still grinning at her first mate, she said, "Ah well, assuming our papers are in order for the harbor master I need to steal a bit of your time as we make port. It'd be a good idea to figure out what information we need to gather for the next leg of our journey, and this is probably as good a place as any to find what we need." The harbor pilot was free of the sling and waiting near her. She turned to greet the harbor master, mimicking the relaxed stance she had seen Jak use so many times. In the trade tongue, she greeted him.

"The captain and crew of the Sky Wind make ye welcome. Looks like quite the busy day in the harbor! My crew is at your disposal to guide us in quickly."

The harbor pilot half-bowed to Captain Hadeel to hide a look of surprise at having such a young captain, and a woman at that, greeting him. "I am Giulan Sizini, master harbor pilot for Porto Vicenza. What needs does your ship have?"

Khiyara returned the slight bow, before answering as politely as she could manage, "It's good to make your acquaintance Master Sizini. The Sky Wind only requires provisions at this time."

The harbot pilot gazed at the Sky Wind. "This ship is small enough, we can take her to one of the smaller piers. I believe we have openings for her. Berthing costs are (100 BUCs) per day. If you wish to resupply in the harbor, the cost is only (50 BUCs) per day for harbor space, but you will need to contract with one of the harbor boats for supplies. We do not allow foreign boats to operate without a harbor pilot, so you can not send your own boat to shore for supplies."

"We best be taking a berth. It'll make for a quicker time in port, aye? And we have more waves to cross before we reach our last port."

Master Pilot Sizini shouted rapidly in Italic at the harbor boat's pilot. The crewman on the sailboat grabbed a shuttered, lensed lantern and pointed it towards the distant shore. He rapidly operated a lever on the side on the onion-domed lantern, which in turn operated louvers covering the lens. After a few seconds, white flashes from the shore carried the reply to the crewman's query.

Sizini smiled. Switching to the trade tongue, he explained to Khiyara, "Al-Rhayidhian heliographs. They have a magickal light in them, so we can use them day or night, sun or cloud. The shore master says Pier Fourteen has a slip we can use. I'll get us there quickly with this helping wind." Sizini gave orders to the crew as he took the helm to steer the ship to its berth.

As the harbor pilot set about to his duty, Khiyara yelled, "Enzo! Marius! Navigator! Meet on the aft deck as soon as you are able!"

Marius was helping some crewmen move empty crates onto the deck. He turned his head toward the sound of the captain's voice. "That'll be the captain callin' a meetin' boys, you'll have to finish moving these empty food crates yerselves..."

Straightening himself up and checking his hands for dirt, he thought to himself, Plenty clean enough for a pirate! With that Marius moved swiftly to the aft deck where the captain was.

Climbing up the ladder to the aft deck, Marius got a lengthy glimpse of the young captain's figure as the wind pressed her blouse against her.

"Hallo, captain. Reporting as requested." said Marius with wink and a wide grin.

Khiyara smiled broadly at Marius's silly grin. She had seen the way his eyes had traveled as he came on deck.

"Marius! Looks like the lads have given' ye the cruddy jobs yet again aye? No matter, they'll get used to ya in time I'm sure." Lowering her voice, she added, "I have need of yer services that we spoke of before sailing man. It should be a fairly simple task, aye. More like just listening. We are headed into territory unknown to me or mine. I know bits and pieces that we've picked up from others, but it would be verra useful to have some idea of the climate politically speaking that we're walking into. This being a large port I think maybe we'll hear more here than a-waitin' for our final destination. If ye could report your findings back to me and the rest of the officers as we get under sail again soon, I'd be much obliged."

With a slight grin coming across his face, Marius replied, "Your wish is my command cappy. I'll see what I can find out."

When Iain joined them on the deck, Khiyara nodded at him.

She asked the two men, "Do we know if the entire crew is coming back aboard after our port stay is thru? I've not heard any grumblings of leaving, but you may have heard something more"

Marius shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't hear anything, Captain. Smooth sailing, pun intended"

Iain groaned. "No, Captain. I haven't heard any crew say they wanted to leave."

Enzo and Haraldur joined the assembly. Khiyara grinned pleasantly at the new arrivals, "Navigator!! Good of you to join us! I know ye have our supply list well in hand. Might I add a few items to it?"

"Aye, Captain. What did ye have in mind?"

"We could use some more charts of the inland region for our final destination. I don't know if we'll find them here, or maybe in the next port, but it couldn't hurt to look. Ye might also look at the charts on my desk. I've the sea charts for our next leg of the journey out, but ye may have something more up to date, aye?"

"Aye, Captain. With your leave?"

Khiyara nodded, and the Kellt headed below decks.

Khiyara turned her attentions to the other arrival. "Enzo! Thank ye for joining us! I assume our travels have treated ye kindly? Ye've made yerself a bit scarce! Would ye be willing to go with the Navigator as he searches for the supplies we be needin'? Ye may be able to get more of a price than he will on occasion..." Realizing that what she had said could be taken as a vote of no confidence in Haraldur's abilities, she blushed a bit and added hurriedly, "No offense meant Navigator I assure ye. I've just found that in other ports it's always good to have two people workin' on the list to get the fairest price."

"Aye, I'll be glad to work with Haraldur," answered Enzo. "I know the town fairly well, so at least I'll be able to avoid the more popular locations and the obvious liars and cheats."

As Khiyara talked to Enzo, Marius lowered his voice and switched to Italic. "Master dei Sciotti, I said that I'd see what I can find out about that strange coin you were given. Do you mind if I take a quick rubbing of it?" Marius pulled out a piece of thin paper and some chalk.

Iain dug the coin out of his coinpurse and passed it to Marius. Marius carefully made a rubbing of both sides of the coin and gave the coin back to Iain. He folded up the paper and put it in a small pouch on his belt.

"I'll do my best to find something out if I get a chance."

"Be careful, Marius," Iain replied quietly. "The people who recognize the coin may not be friends."

Minutes passed as the Sky Wind cut its way through the inner harbor of Porto Vicenza. Sizini kept busy, watching the waves, the other ships, and the sails above, as the lengthy shore of Porto Vicenza grew. Numerous piers jutted from the city, and ships of all sizes populated the shoreline, loading and unloading cargoes.

The city itself was stretched along a low basin, shielded from the open sea and the westerly winds of the Azirmar by a string of hills west of the city that climbed inshore towards the northeast. The city sprawled along those hills, stretching away into the distance along some of the major arteries that carried land traffic into the duchy. The smokes of numerous ovens and fire places cast a bluish-gray haze over the hills north of the city.

Pier Fourteen was one of the easternmost piers in the city, a long, narrow quay that provided berth for a number of smaller ships, none larger than the Sky Wind. The sounds of shore greeted the ship as it approached; the shouts of longshoremen and the dull roar of the waves smashing into retaining walls each bring their own unique voices. The pier was in the Sunken Quarter of the city, a region that had been built upon softer soils that had given way over scores of years, leaving buildings whose ground floors were now submerged, connected by walkways and bridges over boat canals. The pier proper was attached to one of the few regions of the Sunken Quarter that had not completely disappeared below the tide, an island called Isola Sola, the Lonely Island.

As crews tied the Sky Wind up to the pier, Master Pilot Sizini bowed again. "Welcome to my lovely city of Porto Vicenza. May your visit be enjoyable." He smiled before heading to the gangplank. He strode down the plank, conferring briefly with a man on the pier before crossing the pier to climb back onto his harbor boat, which had pulled alongside the pier as the Sky Wind docked.

The man on the pier walked up the gangplank, stopping at the end of it. "I am Master Anasya. I understand you need provisions. We have several merchants on Isola Sola who will be happy to assist. Do you expect to stay longer than a day? Current docking rates are (100 BUCs per day), first day paid in advance."

Khiyara nodded to the new arrival before turning to her Ship's Master. "Master Haraldur, how long will we need to provision the ship for the next leg?"

Haraldur considered the question. "With good men on shore, we can be under way in five hours, perhaps six."

"Good," Khiyara decided. To her first mate, she said, "Master Dei Sciotti, ye have the finances I believe."

"Aye, Captain." Iain paid Master Anasya four coins.

Khiyara addressed her officers once the harbor master had left. "All right. No shore leave beyond the detail needed to re-supply. Any other business will have to be cleared by me." She nodded toward Haraldur and Enzo before continuing. "Gather your lists, and put out a hand to the crew to see if they have any personals to be added. Be sure they give you funds up front for any goods. They'll try to finagle you out of fair money, so if you can't find what they want for the price they give, you bring nothing back and return their funds. We aren't making port, no shore leave, aye." She waited for any replies from the officers. Getting none, she added, "I've an errand I'd like to run myself, but I will stay aboard with the rest of my crew unless needed elsewise. We sail with the evening tide." Khiyara glanced up at the sun to judge the time, "Aye, that should give you enough time to re-supply and the crew to stow everything. Any objections? Voice them now."

Khiyara looked around at her officers, her arms folded loosely across her chest.

After a moment's quiet, Marius said, "Captain, given the timeframe, and how quickly we need to get back to sea, I think the crew will understand. That said, perhaps when Haraldur and Enzo purchase the supplies an extra barrel of ale wouldn't hurt."

Khiyara nodded absently. "Aye, well. Be off, then. The sun doesn't stop for the lazy and slow, and the tides won't wait."

Marius, Enzo, and Haraldur strode down the gangplank to the pier. Haraldur glanced curiously at Marius.

Marius explained, "Enzo, Haraldur, Cappy asked me to get something special for her. If all goes well I'll be back before the ship sets sail. Haraldur, I reckon we've got about 5 hours until the ship is ready to set sail, what do you think?"

Haraldur nodded. "Aye, barring any problems, we'll be ready in five hours."

Reaching the end of the pier, Enzo directed Haraldur towards the better provisioning merchants. Marius flashed his two comrades a quick grin and sped off down a different avenue, heading out of the Sunken Quarter and towards his mother's house.

After the other officers disembarked, Khiyara slipped up beside Iain at the railing and bumped into him with her hip. "A shiny gold coin for your thoughts, dei Sciotti. And, no, before you ask, I haven't actually got a gold coin. But I saw you with one earlier and I saw Marius drawin' some such when you handed it to him. Mind telling me what's so special about it?"

Iain looked at the raven-haired woman. "Jak warned me that you kept your ears open, and that you stuck your nose into business where it didn't belong," Iain said jestingly.

Khiyara grinned mischievously. "Aye, I'm not nosey... Just curious."

"Aye, well, here it is." He pulled the coin out of his coin pouch and offered it to Khiyara. "It is partial payment for me to acquire some goods for a shady merchant in Khosinga's Port. A shady merchant I had never seen before. He must have been a new arrival." Iain looked at the shiny coin in Khiyara's hand. "He offered me ten of those coins to retrieve a book from the Duke's vine lands home, but I've told no one of Jak's plan once we get a sky ship." He noticed Khiyara's puzzled expression as she examined both sides of the coin.

Iain continued to explain. "When Jak and I dreamed up this plan to steal a sky ship, we thought it was fitting that we do something truly spectacular to let the world know we were flying pirates. I thought about visiting Duke Firetta's vineyards home, the home I grew up in. We could raid it as payback for the Duke seizing it and my family's vineyards. When I was on my way to the Sky Wind to sail, this merchant stopped me and offered me ten gold coins if I were to steal a particular antique book from the Duke and deliver it to him in Khosinga's Port. He gave me that gold coin as a retainer. I don't know how he knew we had planned to raid the Duke - Jak wouldn't have talked, and I certainly did not.

"What is more troublesome is this." He reached into his shirt and drew out a black medallion hanging on a fine chain. The medallion had the same hideous tentacle-faced visage on it as the gold coin. "I took this from a captain a year before we got stuck with you." He flashed a grin at Khiyara. "The captain was a slaver. Jak killed him, but before he did, I asked him where he got this medallion. He told me it was a favor from a 'Lady Edralve'. I've wondered who this 'lady' is who rewards slavers. Now, just a few years later, I've received a gold coin with the same face on it as a down payment for a book."

Khiyara whistled as she studied the coin in her hand "This is one ugly visage, and not one I'd like to run into. But it really wouldn't be that unheard of to reward slavers." She handed the coin back to Iain before she continued. "Now don't go puttin' words in where they don't belong. I didn't say I agree with 'em at all, but they're doing a job for someone, aye, and any job well done is rewarded. It's also not unheard of to see new faces at Koshinga's Port. There are new faces there every time we make port. And there are never any non shady merchants there. They're all their own brand of shady, aye."

Khiyara glanced around her to make sure none of the rest of the crew was near. "I think the thing that bothers me the most about what you've just been tellin' me is that this same shady character knew things he had no business knowin'. I'm nosey and curious aye, but if y'all aren't speaking of things where there are ears present, then that little bit of knowledge shouldn't be public knowledge to new folk in port. That is a might bit... unsettling as it were."

"Aye, lass, he knew things that had only been spoken of once, in Jak's own home. Jak's a proper pirate, and when he had the magicks put on his house to keep it cool, he also had magicks put on it to keep snoopers from hearing things they should not hear. So how did this man know what he did? I can't say. Perhaps Marius will find an answer, or learn something about the coin."

He watched the bustle on the docks.

"Marius is out to find answers for me, Captain. Porto Vicenza is a large city, and Marius likely has ears that have heard something. I told myself I'd not set a foot on the Duchy until the Duke no longer reigned. If I have my say, when we come back here on the sky ship, the Duke will find his reign ending."

Khiyara heard the edge in Dei Sciotti's voice and glanced up at him. There was a look in his eyes that she hadn't seen before. "And here my father thinks that pirating is more dangerous than politics." Khiyara leaned on the railing and propped her chin in her hand as she watched the hustle and bustle of the dock below.

A blotch of color caught her eye on the dock. Her gaze shifted and locked on a young man wearing a blue hat who was helping to unload a cart. "Aye! I don't believe what my eyes be seein' there. Of all the nerve. That little dog is wearing my hat!" Khiyara pushed herself off the railing and headed toward the plank swiftly, checking the knives in her wrist sheathes. She loosened the leather straps that held the knives in place so the knives would drop easily into her palms as marched down the plank.

The crew cleared out of her way as she stormed towards her target.

One of the men near the gangplank shook his head. "Oy, I'm glad it's not me she's after. She's a fierce little girly to be sure."

Another one nodded agreement. Both men laughed, then the second one shouted after their departing captain, "Go get him Khiyara! We'll be waitin' for yer report." Several more crew laughed heartily.

Khiyara pushed her way through the crowds on the dock.

There! She caught site of the bright blue hat and started threading her way towards it. She followed the man off the dock and towards a warehouse near the shore. As they reached the warehouse, the crowds thinned, and Khiyara quickened her pace and dropped one of her knives down into her palm.

The man with the blue hat stepped through a doorway. Khiyara stepped to the side of the building and waited. She had let him seduce her last time she was in Porto Vicenza, and he had made off with everything she had but a few coins. He had done something that left her asleep, something in the rum, perhaps, and she had awakened hours later with nearly nothing.

"What comes 'round," she muttered as she loosened the laces on the front of her shirt, to let it hang open more than was decent.

The man strolled out of the warehouse, turning away from Khiyara.

"You know, Ricco, that particular shade of blue does absolutely nothing for you," she purred.

The young man turned. As he laid eyes on the young woman leaning against the warehouse, he smiled. There was no spark of recognition in his eyes.

"Oh really?" he asked coyly.

Khiyara sashayed towards him.

"Really," she affirmed.

Ricco smiled lecherously at her. "And what color do you think would look better?"

Khiyara smiled lasciviously in return as she brushed the sailor's arm with her hand, the hand that held the concealed knfie. "Mmmm. I think red is more your color, you pestulant blister!" she pressed the dagger lightly into his arm.

Ricco yelped in surprise at the prick on his arm. "What the Hells was that for?" he bellowed as he clutched his bleeding forearm.

"That, me dear, is for stealing my hat!"

"Hat? What... ah..." The recognition finally flashed across his face. "Khiyara, wasn't it?"

"Aye, and I'll be takin' said hat back."

Ricco sneered at her and lunged toward her. Khiyara snatched the hat off his head before he grabbed her around the waist.

She stomped on Ricco's instep as hard as she could. The pain made him release her, so she shoved him back through the warehouse's door way as hard as she could. He stumbled and fell backwards to the floor. Khiyara grinned evilly at the sailor, and then she slammed the door closed. She threw the bar into the lock and pulled a channel of Heka around her and forced it through the locking mechanism, hearing it lock with a satisfying click.

Ricco started pounding on the door ineffectively. Khiyara scooped her hat off the ground and started running as fast as she could away from the warehouse, laughing all the way.

After passing a few buildings, she slowed to a brisk walk. She slipped her dagger back into its forearm sheath and dusted off her blue hat against her leg.

The hat had seen better days. It was a little faded and sweat stained, but it cut the glare of the sun, and that was truly all she wanted it for.

Once she reached the Sky Wind, she saw that the first wagon of supplies had arrived. The empty crates had been offloaded from the ship, and the crew was making trips up the plank with new supplies. She picked up a small crate of oranges from dock and carried them up the plank.

"Ma... You here?" Marius called in Italic as he stepped through the front door of his house.

"Marius? Is that my boy coming home to visit at long last?" came a response from somewhere in the back of the house. "Or do my ears deceive me?" She hurried into the front room greet her son with a hug.

Several minutes passed as mother and son caught up on goings on. Sara d'Oro - Ma - insisted on feeding her boy, bringing him a plate of fresh sweetbreads.

As Marius finished the obligatory eating of one of the sweetbreads, he took the rubbing of the coin he had made. "Ma, have you seen a coin like this before?"

Sara looked at the rubbing with a troubled look. "Yes, I have. There was a gentleman. Well, he wasn't gentle, I'll say that of him. He wore a black medallion with that face on it, on a fine black chain. He was not a friendly man, and I'll not be seeing him again. He was pale, with dark hair, and he spoke with an odd accent that I didn't recognize. He said he was a collector of antiquities, and he had been conducting business with Duke Firetta, but I get the impression the business did not end well. He was here perhaps a year ago. I remember that he paid with silver coins with that face on it." Sara paused. "Where did you get this, Marius?"

"Nevermind that, Ma, it's just a favor for an art collector friend of mine. What did you do with those coins? I know that sometimes you like to keep souvenirs. Did you happen to keep one, or at least do you remember where you traded the coins?"

"No, I didn't keep the coins. I traded them at one of the dock merchants, since they accept foreign coin by weight."

The medallion she described sounded like a match for Iain's. Moving along with his inquiry, Marius asked, "Do you know much about a place called Ithell's Town? I've heard it is becoming a major trade town, but I'm not familiar with it."

Sara nodded. "I have heard of this town. From an al-Rhayidhian merchant, one of the sky captains, would you believe? He was memorable, and handsome, too. One of the regulars, now. He was telling me of this town in the foothills of a mountain range far from sea. The sky ships visit there, since the Caliph of al-Rhayidh has arrangements with the lord of the town, some war hero who stopped the Dark One from escaping his prison. Ithell's Town is a small trade town, but it is growing. It's not as cosmopolitan as the great port cities, but Captain ibn Duzai says it is much larger each time he stops there." She smiled blissfully. "Some day, I would like to ride a sky ship. Imagine what it must be like!" She grinned at Marius. "Are you planning on putting the sea behind you, after all this adventure you must have had? Surely a landlocked town is not in your future, even if it is a trade town."

Marius laughed. "Ah! You do know your son too well, Ma! No, I love the sea too much to stay away from her for too long. I just heard some stories about the town and thought it sounded interesting. Who knows, maybe someday I'll get to go there," Marius flashed a smile to his mom. "This man, Captain ibn Duzai? He sounds like an interesting man! Flying a ship in the sky... that's just amazing. You said he comes here on a regular basis? How often is that? I'm just curious because I'd love to talk to him some day."

"He was here just a couple of weeks ago, on his way to this Ithell's Town. I see him about every eight or ten weeks, depending on where his sailing takes him."

"Say, you haven't cleaned out my room yet have you?" asked Marius as he set down the plate of sweetbreads.

When Sara shook her head, Marius hurried upstairs. He stripped down and splashed some water from a bowl in the hall to wash his face. Marius opened a concealed panel in his closet to dig out an aristocratic outfit. Getting dressed in the noble garb, Marius gathered his belt pouches, threaded them onto the new belt, and rushed back down the stairs. Sara waited near the bottom of the stairs, watching her son curiously.

Marius said, "It was good to see you Ma, thanks for the sweetbreads. There's still nothing like them! Sorry I can't stick around, but my ship is sailing tonight, and I still have a few errands to run for the captain. I hope I can visit longer next time."

Marius knew he couldn't talk to the coin exchanger about this coin, but he knew someone he could trust. Baron Ricasoli had taken a shining to Marius long ago, and he had treated Marius as a son, teaching Marius courtly behavior and sneaking him into aristocratic events. He had even provided schooling for Marius that could not be rivaled. If anyone in Porto Vicenza knew what was going on, and could be trusted, it would be Baron Ricasoli.

Baron Ricasoli was one of three barons in the Duchy, and one of two who lived in Porto Vicenza. Like the lesser nobles, he had a spacious villa on the hills north of town as well as a smaller mansion in the town proper. The mansion was, of course, much closer, so Marius navigated through town towards it. If the baron was there, Marius would have plenty of time to visit and still reach the Sky Wind before it sailed.

Marius wound his way along the meandering streets of Porto Vicenza, past innumerable shops and houses, keeping a faint air of haughtiness about him befitting the lesser noble he appeared to be. Commoners parted way, and the town watch would bow or make salutary gestures in his passing.

Marius quickly found himself in the Nobles' Quarter of the town, amongst the roomy apartments and walled estates. Passing a small cluster of shops catering to expensive tastes - the finest al-Rhayidhian tabac and Caledonian whiskeys - Marius heard a quiet hiss from an alleyway.

"Ssst! Young Lord," an accented voice called out from between two of the shops. "A word with the young lord, please. Regarding coins most curious."

Marius paused and looked towards the alley. It was shadowy, but not dark, in the middle of the afternoon. There were three short men and a crate that was too small to hide behind in the alleyway.

The men were all about five feet tall, clad in robes and head scarves of al-Rhayidhian styling, except that the material was a pastel silk. One was clad entirely in a light green, another was clad in a reddish-pink, and the third was clad in a pale yellow. The robes covered the men entirely, and the head scarves were wrapped to cover the entire head, except for a wide swath around the eyes and forehead. Each had a belt that matched the material and color of his robe, and there were no purses or scabbards on the belt. The men were disquieting to look at.

The eyes were too widely spaced, and they had a golden tint to them. The mouth, barely visible through the veil, was too wide. There were two subtle bumps on the top of the heads, visible through the head scarves, that suggested stubby horns. As disturbing as the figures were, the way they stood was odd as well. Two of them stood side by side, almost shoulder to shoulder, while the third, in green, stood a half pace in front of them and between them. All three had hands clasped in front of them, at waist height, but the loose multiple layers of the robes' sleeves concealed the hands.

"Coins sir? What know ye of coins, and of what interest would they be to me?" Marius asked.

The one in the front smiled beneath its veil, a disturbing width of teeth half-seen through the single layer of silk. The smile faded as it spoke. "We know many things of coins, and of coins of interest to you, good Lord. Perhaps the young Lord seeks to know of coins such as this?" The lead figure slowly rotated one hand out. In it, it held a silver coin with a familiar, horrific face. It let Marius gaze at the coin for a moment before it folded its hand back into the robe. "Curious things, coins. They tell much about the land where they are minted, yes? The gold coin of Eiresud, the Harp, shows a harp upon it. The land of joyous music and laughter puts a harp as the most valued coin of the realm, above even the crown of the king. The gold coin of the Kingdom of the Five Crowns, however, shows a crown, a memory that the kingdom was once the center of the Kelltic Empire." The smile flared slowly under the veil once more. "One may say that the coins are waking dreams of the kingdom. Memories of what once was, and what makes the land and the people what they are still. Dreams, indeed. How would the young Lord like to gain some more coin? Perhaps some of gold to add to his collection? Or is there something else the young Lord seeks? Knowledge?"

Marius approached the strangers cautiously. "That's an interesting coin. I can't say I recognize where it's from. Come now, what do you mean to tell me? I don't have all day as I'm in a hurry at the moment."

The three strangers remained still. The lead being spoke again. "We will not keep you long. Missing your ship would be unfortunate, and you would not be able to complete a task for us, were the ship to leave you here." It held out its hand. It gripped the silver coin carefully, holding it by the edge so Marius could take the coin without touching the being. "For listening, you will have this coin. For helping us, you will have more coins. Perhaps a gem, if you prefer."

Marius cautiously took the coin, avoiding touching the stranger's hand as he did. The figure tucked its hand back into the folds of its robe. Marius studied the markings on the coin. They were identical to the golden coin Iain had.

"I don't recognize the writing on this coin or the image on it. Where's it from?" he asked.

"It is from a dark land, a city that has never seen sunlight. It is also from a town of men who hide in a circular valley. Two lands, far apart yet nearer than a map would show, where dreams of what once was and may be again are dreamed."

"This is all rather strange. Who are you, where are you from, and who do you represent?" Marius probed.

The lead stranger smiled disquietingly. "The waking ones, always direct. Such a trait as we do not see often. It is too infrequent that we travel these lands. So, the young Lord wants direct answers to direct questions. Perhaps we shall humor him for these three questions?" The smile beneath the veil turned feral, although the three strangers otherwise stood quietly, hands still folded in front of the waist. There was no tension in their bodies, no sense of menace save for the smile.

"Who are we? We are but merchants. We travel the lands, exchanging goods for goods. A noble trade, yes?" It paused. "Where are we from? A land you will not know. You would call it 'Leng', were you to speak a name to it." Another pause. "Who do we represent?" The smile broadened. "Ah, the crux of the inquiries, and the only one of the questions he asks that has value. Such knowledge has a price, young Lord, and perhaps you do not realize how much such knowledge will cost, so perhaps we do not answer it directly. We represent interests older than you may imagine, interests who wish to restore things on this Oerth that once were, to relive an era that has long passed. Interests who have allied with other interests from distant lands whose goals will realize our masters' wishes, although the other interests have yet to realize our alliance is one of convenience. I have answered as truthfully as I will, young Lord."

The feral smile disappeared before it continued. "Perhaps the young Lord wishes to know why we offer him a task? A companion of yours was offered a task to retrieve a book for us before your ship set sail, but he has doubts about fulfilling his obligation. We wish to have assurance that he will finish his obligation and return the book to our representative's care. What says the young Lord?"

Marius stalled as he absorbed what the merchant said. "Assuming I do come across such a book, how will I recognize it? Why do you want this book so badly? Why is it so important to your master?"

The lead merchant answered, "You can feel and control the flows of Heka. You will recognize this book. There are no other books like it, not in the waking world and not elsewhere. It is singular. Our master does not want the book. Not yet. But the book is important for our ally to complete her goals, which will allow our goals to come to fruition."

"So the book is important to your master, but what exactly are you asking me to do?"

The merchant replied, "Your companion was offered a task to recover this book. The coin with which he was paid worries him, and his dreams lead him astray. He has doubts he can not explain, for dreams are not clear to waking ones. All we ask is simple: if he fails to recover the book, or he chooses not to deliver it to our representative, we wish for you to do his job. Recover the book from Duke Firetta, and take it to our representative in Khosinga's Port. Your job will be done, and you will be paid. If he completes his task without assistance, you will be paid just the same. Coins are of no concern to our master."

Marius replied, "Alas, 'sir', and I call you this not because your appearance deceives me, but because you continue the ruse of calling me 'young lord' when you know better, so I will continue to pretend you're human when I too know better... If I should do this thing for you, you should know that money and jewels may be something that my associate values, but to me they are merely necessities to eat and to put clothes on my back. I am a seeker of knowledge, not coins. Offer me something that I value now to whet my appetite and something later when the item you seek is delivered into your care, and we may have a deal."

The merchant smiled again. "Not only is the young Lord direct, but willing to speak truths that others fear to give life by speaking the words. No, Marius, we are not human. You wish to have knowledge, not coin. Very well. You will receive the coin nonetheless, for that is the bargain our ally demands. She believes man is an ephemeral thing that finds value only in coin. We know differently, for we know what lives in dreams."

The lead merchant fixed its eyes on Marius's. As Marius watched, the pupils narrowed to dark vertical slits. "To whet the seeker of knowledge: Our kind predate yours. We walked this Oerth when you were our servants. The servants of servants. Our masters wish to return to those days. Our ally wishes to bring the Codex back to life so that she may take the Oerth for herself. She would have man removed to make room for her people, but our masters do not want her to succeed, for then, who would serve us? It matters not if you deliver the fragment of the Codex to our representative. That was a demand of our ally, and we were obliged to deliver that demand. It only matters to our masters that you take the book, that we may retrieve it another day, when it suits us." The merchant smiled again. "Man is such a fickle creature. Offered coin, he fails to complete his task. He steals a book from another man before he decides to keep the book for himself. What a pity for our ally. She will be displeased, and she will seek to harm us for our perceived failure. She will not harm us. Our kind predate her proud race."

The merchant raised a hand before Marius could interject. "Questions will wait. We give you this as a promise of future payment. You seek knowledge. Return the sky ship to your captain. Recover the book. It matters not if you give it to our representative. If you do not, you and Master dei Sciotti will not receive additional coin. If you truly value knowledge, follow the captain when he strikes forth to choose an island for his own. Scout the island. You will find more knowledge than you know." The merchant smiled once more. "Remember that knowledge has a price." The smile faded. "The young Lord has now received much knowledge, knowledge of things that have not been spoken since before his family had earned a name. Terrible knowledge. Perhaps our payments are enough now for him to agree to our terms?"

Marius pondered the stranger's narrative. "Answer me one more thing, and a deal we shall have. Do you know of a Lady Edralve, and if so, what is her role if any in what you've said?"

The lead merchant nodded slightly. "The Lady Edralve is a poor shadow of her mistress. She strives for something she cannot attain, and she lets her pettiness interfere with her tasks. She is too blinded by her pride to realize that she is not as important as she believes herself to be. That you have heard her name shows that she is not important."

"That is good enough for me. We have an understanding." Marius started to leave the alleyway. He paused and turned back to the three Merchants of Leng. He raised a hand and smirked. The merchant had avoided touching him earlier. "Care you to shake on it?"

"The custom of contact to cement a business deal. Most of your kind do not wish to contact us." A grin crossed the merchant's face, and it held out its own hand.

The hand was arthritic, with knobby knuckles. The finger nails were dark brown and opaque, like a dog's claws, but they were trimmed like a human's fingernails. The skin color was yellowish, not the "yellow" of someone from Karasimi, but the yellow of jaundice.

Marius gripped the hand. It was cool, and it felt fragile, but Marius only noticed those sensations for a moment.

He had a vision of a city by the sea, with towering buildings of crystal glistening in the setting sun. The city was nestled on a broad, low plain, bracketed by hills to the north and east. Things flew between the towering buildings. Some things were creatures, while others were crystalline objects carrying inhuman passengers between the towers. The natural harbor of the city was filled with strange ships without masts and sails. Many of the ships appeared to be black galleys with rows of oars. A few of the galleys moved quickly, leaving foaming wakes, their rows of oars perfectly synchronized as they propelled the ships through the sea. Other ships appeared to just break the surface of the sea, looking at first glance like metallic whales. A broad, delicate bridge, easily forty paces wide, rose from the shore of the city and disappeared south, passing over island-sized pedestals stretching to the horizon.

The familiarity of the city surprised Marius at first. But pieces began to fall in place. There - a group of hills that should have baronial estates on them. And there - a district of the city that should have sunk, its roads now canals. And, out to sea, the nearest of the bridge's pedestals should be shorter and broader, covered with a fishing village around the steep hill in the middle. And the Porto Vicenza lighthouse should be shining from its perch in the harbor.

Blur.

People walked along one of the broad avenues of the crystalline city. Human men and women, wearing plain, uncolored clothing, walked with heads lowered. A sense of fear and dread filled them as they avoided eye contact with other things on the road.

Short man-like creatures, wearing familiar pastel robes but without head scarves walked amongst the men, always in groups of three. The faces, fully revealed, were disturbing. The Merchants had no hair, but two knobby horns jutted from the top of the head. The eyes were too wide-set for the face, and they had cat-like slits for pupils. Their mouths were broad, filled with too many pointed teeth. They moved with excessive smoothness, as if they were floating. The robes ride so closely to the ground that Marius could see no feet.

Other things walked the avenue. Large things, pasty white and translucent, ambled along. Taller than a man, and possessing a strangely frog-like figure, the things had no eyes. Some of the things had harnesses strapped to them. Those creatures mindlessly carried large cargos strapped onto the harnesses, traveling to points unknown without visible supervision. Others pulled wagons with Merchants on board, Merchants who always stood in tight triplets. The wagons had cargos of humanfolk, all chained together by large iron bands around their necks. The despair of those people were intense.

Yet another type of thing appeared on the avenue, half-glimpsed in the crowds. Insectile and tall, with the transparent wings of a giant dragonfly, those fearsome creatures radiated menace. The other entities on the avenue were beneath the notice of the insectoids, no more than servants and servants of the servants.

Blur.

An ancient book rested on a slab of dark stone laced with green striations in the center of a city. The city around the slab was wrong. The dark stone of the buildings, also laced with green, met at impossible angles. The geometry of the city made no sense, and spending too much time studying a building caused headaches as angles changed, inverting and shifting without moving. The power in the book was palpable. Sunlight bent around the book, afraid to touch it.

A human woman in ragged clothing approached the slab and the book, wild desperation on her face. Inhuman ululations echoed through the city, alarms and shouts that chilled the spine. The woman threw the thick tome open and started reading the strange words on the pages. The words glowed a deep bloody red as they were uttered, and primeval powers surged throughout the air.

An enormous building - nearly a mile long - trembled ahead of the slab. The top of it slid aside, the cover of a tremendous sarcophagus. Thick tentacles probed out of the opening, reaching towards the slab. A roar that shook the firmament came from the sarcophagus, but it is interrupted. The cover shut violently, just missing tentacles that snapped back into the gigantic tomb. Sea water washed over the city as it sunk into the sea.

Blur.

The crystalline city shattered. Gigantic chunks of the skyscrapers fell to the ground, smashing lesser buildings. The southern bridge shook and crumbled, falling into the sea. Humans fled the devastation, running for the hills. The Merchants and other monsters fled into buildings, through magickal Gates to other places.

Blur.

Three Merchants, fully shrouded in robes and head covers, stood before a stunningly beautiful, pitch black elven woman. Her silver hair was braided in an intricate, delicate pattern matched by the thread-of-silver embroidery on her dark purple dress. The four figures were in a ballroom beneath a stunning crystal chandelier. The lead Merchant spoke with the dark elf, but the words were unheard.

The drow smiled, a thin smile. She looked disdainfully at the Merchants, her sense of superiority blinding her. She did not comprehend who the merchants represented.

Blur.

A cruel malevolence stared down at the Oerth, watching angrily as its former world thrived. Dreams flitted in the back of its mind, dreams of the oppression it once wreaked on the Oerth before its banishment. Dreams of the fear and despair it once more wished to savor.

Blur.

"Milord?" an Italic man's voice asked worriedly. "Milord, are you ill? Do you need an apothecary or a healer?"

Marius realized he was still in the alleyway. Several more crates had been piled in the back, near the first one. The three Merchants from Leng were gone, but a dark-haired boy in his late teens stood two paces away from Marius, concern on his face.

"Sorry, milord. I saw you standing here when I came to work. I thought you were just relieving yourself. Who am I to question a lord? Here I am an hour later, hauling crates out from the shop, and you are still here, standing where you were when I first saw you. I didn't think anyone could need to relieve himself that much, and it doesn't look like you were, anyway."

The sun had moved. It was later in the afternoon, perhaps two hours later than it had been when Marius stopped to talk to the Merchants. A dull throb echoed through his head as images flashed through his mind, careening and jumbling as his mind tried to put order to the chaos.

Reaching up to rub his eyes, Marius managed to stammer, "Wha… huh? What's that boy? Oh, yes, I'm fine. It must have been some bad grapes in that wine. I must be off."

Marius backed away from the boy and the alley. Without a glance behind him, he continued on his way to the Baron's mansion.

The Codex... The name tumbled around in Marius's mind, along with odd images of places and times long past. With a shudder, Marius placed the name. One of Baron Ricasoli Bettino's scholars had mentioned the book. The scholar was an ancient al-Rhayidhian man, Kirqen ibn Ali ibn Haziik, a mage of some renown in his home kingdom, who had retired to the milder climate of Porto Vicenza to teach some of the basics of his magickal arts to any Italic folks who were interested in learning, and, of course, who could afford his fees.

Mage ibn Haziik spoke only once of the Codex, but it was a memorable lecture. The mage spoke in hushed tones, almost fearfully, of a book of magick older than any other book. It contained formulae for shaping not just Heka, but reality itself. It was a book that could uncreate the world or change it in ways beyond comprehension. A terrible book, one that would exact a horrific toll on the mind of anyone foolish enough to use it. Kelltic mages used the Codex to create the Dark One's Prison over two millennia ago. Afterwards, they divided the book into thirteen parts, one for each mage, to hide. They understood the cost of using the Codex, and they understood the danger it represented if it were misused. Would Marius have heard the story from anyone other than Mage ibn Haziik, he would have dismissed the legend as a tale a parent would tell to frighten a child.

Marius reached the Baron's in-town estate quickly. He rapped smartly on the door.

The door to the estate opened. "Ah, Young Marius has returned for a visit." The older Italic man smiled. Chamberlain Antonio ran the household, seeing to the day-to-day affairs of not only the in-town estate, but the villa in the hills. "How is the Baron's favorite nephew?"

"I'm doing well, Antonio," Marius said, tipping his head.

"Please come in. Care for some wine? It's a little early for dinner. I'm afraid the Baron is at the Duke's estate for some governmental business today. He won't be back before evening."

"Wine will be fine."

Antonio ordered another servant to bring wine. "Shall we make a room for you, Marius?"

"I won't be staying tonight. I am in town briefly, and I thought I would stop by and see my uncle. Do you know, has he done trade with Ithell's Town?"

Antonio thought for a moment. "Yes, he has. I remember discussing with him the overland trade routes through the Kelltic nations. It's far easier to ship wines to Brallian and across Eiresud to the Kingdom of the Five Crowns than it is to ship it across the Duchies to the Vasmar, then across to Londoun. The sea lanes are safer on the Brythomar than they are on the southwestern Vasmar, since the orcs to our north like to prey on merchant ships, and, of course, there are the Javik barbarians. And the taxes and fees are cheaper, since the wines only have to cross through Eiresud, and not across three duchies."

"Do you know anything about the town?"

The other servant arrived with a goblet of deep magenta wine. It was one of the finer Italic wines, something Marius had not been able to obtain recently. Marius happily took the goblet and sipped appreciatively.

Antonio replied, "It's a new town, perhaps two or three years old, in part of a mountain range that had been overrun by orcs. Ithell's Town has boomed, from what I understand. It is a year-round trade route, and it has none of the corruption of Arabel Cinlu, the other trade town in the Middle Ranges. A number of the merchant families have shifted their business to Ithell's Town." He nodded to himself. "Ah, yes. And the Caliph of al-Rhayidh formally chose Ithell's Town as a 'favored trade route' for the caliphate. They even have a sky ship port, as I understand. I think the Baron is planning to form a trade delegation to visit with the lord of the town this summer."

Marius asked, "Do you have any maps of the town?"

Antonio laughed. "Maps? No, I don't believe we do. If the stories about it growing are true, any maps we would have would already be inaccurate."

Marius changed subjects. "Antonio, do you know anything about a Lady Edralve?"

Antonio scratched his jaw. "She's not from Porto Vicenza. I would think I would recognize the name if she were local."

"No matter," Marius told Antonio. Taking another sip, he let the succulent flavor roll over his tongue. It had been a while since he had tasted a truly fine wine. "This wine is delicious Antonio. Perhaps uncle would let me take a bottle back with me?"

"I'm sure he will not mind." Antonio instructed the servant who had brought the wine to fetch an unopened bottle.

"Tell me, are any of uncle's scholars still around? What about Kirqen ibn Ali ibn Haziik? Does he still keep in touch with him? I've seen a lot in my studies and would love to speak with one of them."

"Ibn Haziik... That is the mage, yes? I haven't seen him for some time. I believe he still teaches from his mansion. He's getting on in years, and he has stopped traveling to students. They have to come to him if they want his tutelage."

The servant returned with a bottle of wine. Marius accepted the bottle graciously before asking, "How far is Ibn Haziik's mansion from here? I'd love to stop by and visit with him before I need to go."

Antonio gave Marius directions to the old mage's mansion. It was fairly close by - perhaps ten minutes at a rushed walk. If he did not waste time, Marius thought he could still catch the ship. Thanking Antonio, Marius took his leave of the Baron's home.

Minutes later, he reached the ibn Haziik home. A servant - an al-Rhayidhian man dressed in traditional robes - answered the door.

Marius asked, "May I have a moment of Mage ibn Haziik's time? I am a former student who has some questions for him."

The servant replied in accented Italic, "The Mage has students at this time. He will be available in forty minutes if you care to wait."

Marius winced. Forty minutes was about when Khiyara wanted to set sail. Being this close to some answers, Marius really wanted to find out about the Codex and Leng. He had an idea.

"Forty minutes? So be it. Please lead me to a room where I can meditate while I wait"

The servant led Marius to a small library stuffed with old al-Rhayidhian books and scrolls. Taking a seat, Marius focused on strands of Heka, picturing Captain Hadeel as he formed a message.

Mentally, he said, "Khiyara, don't be alarmed. This is Marius. I'm in town and need to wait for a contact. I can be there in one hour. Please wait if possible. If you're not in the harbor when I get back, I will try to contact you again like this."

Back to the previous chapter: As Khiyara Walked

Continue to the next chapter: There Were Forty

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Original Draft 2 May 2006

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