Chapter 22

Keziah walked into the muddy road — or what was acting more like a town square, just longer. It stretched from the port and as deep as 200 yards into the land, with buildings clambered around it. Houses, taverns, and shops dominated the view, with few warehouses and storerooms closer to the port itself. The port could easily house 10 big ships and many smaller boats. It was almost 100 yards wide, with many stone platforms protruding from the land. One bigger platform in a shape of a crescent moon created an artificial bay for the port that also protected it from waves. It was impressive and rather unusual for such a small town — probably of less than five thousand residents — to have a port this big.

He made his way there, passing multiple inns and taverns. He suspected that Lucia and her group must have stayed in one of them. Probably the one owned by a guild that was sanctioned by the Adventuring Association to hand out quests and give promotions to adventurers. The guild itself was usually formed by adventures that wanted to have some kind of home base to come back to. Eventually, with enough members and resources, they could apply to the Association to be officially recognized. The ones accepted would become de facto the center of meetings and business of all adventurers in the local area. There were guilds that weren't connected to the Association or even wanted to be at all.

They usually wouldn't be together at all times, as multiple parties would be a part of guilds. Instead, they were more like a close-knit circle of acquaintances that would occasionally go on quests together, or whenever a new dungeon appeared they would select the party to go into it and the rest would guard the entrance from other guilds, bandits, and monsters. Conflicts between the guilds happened rarely, but in such cases, a call would be sent to all members to be at the ready. Battles and wars of so many mages gathered in a small area also dragged attention to them, especially the attention of the Tower and its Magistrates. The Magistrates were the de facto army and police of the Tower that did the Tower's bidding and went after rogue mages that were too dangerous to be left alone.

Keziah's boots were covered in a layer of dirt and mud, but he carried on and stood before the harbor master. "Good evening, sir."

"Aye, greetings to you as well, lad," replied the older, gruff-looking man. Gray hair covered his head and skin was hard and weathered. "What can I help ye with?"

"I'm looking for a ship that would take me and a companion to Nardan, or at least far enough Southwest, beyond the Mountains at the Sea." He leaned on the desk that was a part of the man's office.

"Yer in luck then. Many captains be sailing there right now, I tell ye. Right now, there are three ships currently harbored here. Many more to come and go soon, surely."

"Really? To Nardan specifically?"

"Aye."

"That's a little curious, don't you think?" Keziah asked the helpful man.

"It's not as crazy as ye might imagine. Where is unrest, there is business. Where is war, there is fortune."

"Hmm, unrest in Nardan, huh?" he asked. "Do you know what it's about?"

"Just rumors. I hear about some rebellion or some such at the port town of Nardan. Nothing more than that. I'm not much for a chatterbox, you see," answered the older man.

"People still want to sail there then? Isn't it dangerous?"

"Nay, the rebels need food and resources and they aren't stupid enough to attack merchants willing to provide them with it. Until the all abyss breaks loose, there is nothing to worry about, I tell ye," explained the retired sailor.

"Interesting," Keziah mused over it for a while. "Could you point me to the ships sailing there tomorrow?"

"Aye. That would be Antolia's Wrath, Deepstrider, and Lady Grunhild's Redemption. They be all moored on that big platform behind me." He pointed at the platform with the crescent moon shape. "Can't miss them. Just ask for a captain when yer there."

"Thanks for your help."

"No problem, lad. May the sea favor you."

Keziah left the harbor master and went in the direction he was pointed at. The smell of fish from many smaller boats returning from their work hit his face like a damp, old cloth on an early morning. The smell of salt and many other substances that he couldn't even recognize pricked his nose unwantedly. It was expected of a port, though. Keziah couldn't really complain about it.

The platform that the ships were moored to was made of big stone blocks, with said ships on the right, in an artificially created bay. On the left, there were rocks that were placed there purposely and served as wave breakers. Keziah doubted they were ever really needed, as Midarior was rather tame compared to the oceans around Erythia. Extra protection couldn't hurt, he guessed privately.

All the ships had the name painted on their side, so finding the one he was looking for wasn't going to be hard. The harbormaster told him he could choose from three currently stationed ships that were going to Nardan the next morning. He had already made up his mind about which one to choose. It wasn't based on anything like the reputation of said ships or captains; or the price they were asking for, taking him and Annie on. No, he made his choice based on how interesting the ship's name was.

No self-respecting captain would allow for his ship's name to be boring, after all. It was a fool-proof method f making sure to waste as little time going around the dock, asking all meaningless questions as possible. The ship he had decided to charter was the Lady's Grunhild Redemption. Antolia's Wrath sounded way too basic and Deepstrider felt like it tried too hard. He settled on the Redemption because it had the most personality and the name had the ring of a story or mystery to him. All valid reasons to choose a ship on which he would spend a week sailing. A week if nothing goes horribly wrong, that is. It was hard to get lost hugging the coast of Midarior, so he wasn't particularly worried about that.

The Redemption was somewhat in the middle of the platform docks, with some sailors still slowly unloading and loading supplies on the deck. Keziah asked them if they were willing to take passengers, and after confirming that they indeed sometimes did, he asked to see the captain. The sailors weren't exactly the peak of customer service, but he guessed they drew the short straw, having to load all this stuff in the afternoon, while their mates were probably out, drinking. He didn't hold it against them. The wooden planks of the medium-sized, three-masted ship creaked under his boots as he made his way to the captain's cabin. The sails were of no particular color, and a merchant's flag was waved at the mast. The cabin was located under the helm, at the back end of the ship, with the doors being located directly on the main deck, rather than being underneath the deck.

He knocked on the door and after a hoarse 'come in', he entered the room. It was surprisingly spacious, with a big, oak desk in the middle of it. Two small windows were behind it, allowing for the view of the rest of the port. Under the walls, there were shelves filled with books and various parchments in between them. Behind the desk sat a man with short-cropped dark-but-graying hair and a deep-blue frock coat. He was working on some documents or studying a map. Keziah couldn't quite tell because of the mess that racked the finely made desk. With a quill still in his hand, the captain asked, "What is it?"

"Are you taking passengers on board?" Keziah ignored the courtesies and went straight to the point, guessing that was what the captain preferred.

"Not many and not cheap," answered the captain, still working on whatever he had before. "Where?"

"Nardan, two people."

The captain finally took his eyes off the parchments and looked at Keziah. "Nardan? Didn't you hear? It's dangerous out there right now."

"I heard. Ships are still sailing there, so it can't be that bad."

"Hmph." The captain looked like had wanted to say something else, but he noticed the sword on Keziah's back. "Oh. Work it is, then. Makes sense."

"Not exactly." Keziah waved his hand in a denying gesture. "We are looking for someone. If there is some work to be done, then, maybe. Haven't really decided how long will we stay."

"Hmm…" mused the captain. "How many people did you say?"

"Two. Me and my apprentice."

"Right." he locked his fingers together and looked to be calculating something. "This ship isn't exactly meant for travelers or tourists, you see. We only take them if there is enough space because it doesn't require much work or trouble. That is, unless the passengers themselves are trouble. Are you trouble, mister…"

"Keziah is fine, and if we are to set sail tomorrow morning, then no, we are not trouble."

"Rather peculiar statement." He studied Keziah for a while. "Can you guarantee that?"

"If any trouble would arise, then I will deal with it myself and we have never met."

"Hmm." The captain rested his chin on his locked hands. "It's dangerous waters we will be sailing through. Having to protect an extra pair could be quite troublesome."

Keziah had enough of the man trying to big up the price by mentioning all the possible insurances that he would have to compensate for and cut it short. "We can take care of ourselves. In an event of an attack, you can completely ignore us. And any possible trouble? It will be dealt with immediately or you won't hear from us again, but will still have our pre-payment. I also could always take my gold to any other ship sailing to Nardan. I hear it's been quite a lot of them recently. Now stop dancing around it and get to the point. How much will it cost?"

The captain looked at Keziah appraisingly. "Three gold."

"That's outrageous. Two is all I'm willing to burn. It's a price that many would be happy about in your position. And it seems like they will. Sorry for taking your time, captain." He moved to stop leaving on the door frame and leave but was stopped by the captain's voice.

"Don't be so hasty, lad. I was just looking for your reaction," the man quickly explained. "Trips like this take a week and it's miserable to spend them in the company of morons. I will take you and your apprentice for two gold. Half now, half when we reach Nardan." The captain chuckled.

Keziah grinned and agreed to the deal. He took the gold from his pouch and handed it to him. A single small coin that most ordinary people had to work months to earn. He shook hands with the captain — who then introduced himself as Edmund Law — and left the cabin.

There was still some time left of the day, so he decided to spend with acquainting himself with the local terrain, buildings, and small alleys, just in case something was to happen tomorrow morning. Being extra ready never hurt anyone.