“Enjoying the calm waters?” came Arayevo’s voice from behind him.
She walked up and rested her elbows on the railing next to him. He did his best not to gaze longingly at her, but he hadn’t forgotten that kiss, even if it had been nothing more than the brushing of her lips against his cheek. “Yes. I’m not sure how many quiet moments I have ahead, so it’s important for my stomach and me to appreciate them when they come.”
She grinned and leaned over the railing, eyeing the hull of the ship. “Yes, you and your stomach are lucky the captain didn’t have you hanging over the side here, swabbing vomit off the paint.”
“Actually, he did. You’re not on the night shift, so you missed it. It was before I worked the bilge pump and after cutting potatoes for that hash that seems to be one of only three meals your cook knows how to make.”
“Well, our cook was a miner before he lied his way into this job. If dinner doesn’t taste like charcoal, it’s a good night.”
“Arayevo...” Yanko bit his lip. He had been trying to think of a way to make this request for days. “I know you have a job here and that you seem to like it—” he tried to keep all judgment out of his voice, even if he believed she could do much more with her life, or at least much more legal things, “—but I wondered if you might like to come with me.”
She tilted her head and regarded him, the breeze blowing a few strands of hair across her face. He resisted the urge to reach out and tuck them behind her ear.
“With you?” Arayevo asked.
“With all of us,” he rushed to add. Yanko hadn’t meant to make it sound like he wanted her to spend the rest of her life solely with him. Not right away. “Dak and me, anyway. As I’ve already told you, we’re on an important mission, sent by someone high up in government. It could mean great social advancement for your family if you were to help us, if that’s something you care about.” It was important to so many Nurians, but Arayevo had never openly hungered for status. “Even if it’s not, it would be a chance to gain favor, perhaps one day be given a job that’s in line with your dreams and your craving for adventure.”
“Hm.” Arayevo gazed at the three islands that had come into view, some with rounded green banks and black sand beaches, others with cliffs rising sharply from the shallows.
Yanko kept his mouth shut, not wanting to push her. He found it encouraging that she had not said no right away. A wistful expression had found its way onto her face. For as much as the sea life seemed to suit her—he had never seen her bent over the railing and experiencing the hash for a second time—maybe this smuggling gig wasn’t quite her dream after all.
“It’s strange that you’re younger than me, but know exactly what you want from life, Yanko.”
“That’s only because my family has been telling me what I want from life since birth,” he said dryly. He had whined to her often enough about how what he wanted and what his family wanted for him were not the same, so he didn’t bring it up again now. Besides, he was growing too old for whining.
“I haven’t decided yet, but I’m enjoying the adventure right now. This adventure. Seeing places, experiencing the world. All these different ports.” Arayevo smiled fondly over her shoulder at the ship and the crew, and Yanko’s hopes sank. “I know you care about the government and who’s in charge, but honestly, I don’t. One great chief means as little to me as the next.”
“For us, in our remote village, maybe it hasn’t been that important who’s leading the Great Land, but the times are becoming more difficult. If we don’t care now and act now... we might not like what our future holds.”
“Then we can leave,” Arayevo said.
“Leave?”
“It’s not as if Nuria is the only nation in the world.”
Yanko tapped his fingernail against the railing. It was not that he hadn’t understood her; it was that he could not imagine walking away from his homeland. He was already agonizing over the fact that he didn’t know what was happening to his kin back in the village. To abandon them and never look back... No, he couldn’t imagine it.
“Your father would miss you,” he said. “And your sister, as well.”
“I would miss them, too, but we can always write. Assuming they’re all right.” A rare wrinkle formed on Arayevo’s brow. “I am worried about the village, after hearing what you said. That’s another reason I want to return with Minark, to see if I can find out what happened back there. There’ll be word in port, and if not, I can take a few days and head home.”
Yanko winced at the idea of her traveling inland alone, now that there were rebels roaming the mountains. Why couldn’t she come with him instead? Once they finished, they could travel back home together to check on everyone. He had to make one more try, tell her that, make her see the logic. “If you were to come with us and we succeed, we’d all be able to go back to the village together, to check on everyone. Maybe the pri—person in government I’m working for would even give us a carriage and a military escort.”
“You’re going to take Dak back to our village?” She smirked at him. “I don’t think he would fit in on your homestead.”
Yanko flushed. He hadn’t been imagining either Dak or Lakeo in the carriage with them as they traveled down the coast. Lakeo wanted to stay on Kyatt and study, after all, and Dak would doubtlessly consider his favor redeemed before they got to that stage. Yanko certainly couldn’t stroll into the Golden City with a Turgonian spy at his side.
“Let me think about it, will you?” Arayevo asked. “You said you’re doing some research on the main island here? That you’ll be a few days? The Falcon’s Flight needs repairs after the storm, so we’ll be in dock a few days too.”
That was a better answer than he had expected to get. Maybe she was letting him down easy, but he brightened, nonetheless, and said, “Of course. Take your time. Just... there’s one more thing. Have you considered—well, you probably haven’t, but consider this from my perspective. I ran down to the Port of the Red Sky Wars without a plan or any notion of finding anyone I knew. But then—I know this sounds arrogant to say that the gods are helping me, but I feel that more than chance led me to you. And to Dak, as well. There are what? A hundred thousand people in that city? More? What are the odds that I would run into the two of you? Maybe this is meant to be.” Yanko managed to keep himself from saying, “Maybe we’re meant to be.” It seemed a stretch to claim the gods wanted him to have a happy love life, but he had been thinking about the rest of it on the voyage, that maybe, just maybe, one of the gods was behind him in this.
“It’s an interesting premise, Yanko,” Arayevo said gently, “but I’ve never been one to spend time praying or studying religious history. I don’t think the gods are that invested in me. I’d believe that they might have an interest in you, though.”
Yanko wasn’t sure she understood his point—he doubted a god was invested in any individual, but maybe one or more had a reason to put together a team that could bring better times to their people. He shrugged. It didn’t matter for now; the argument wasn’t going to sway her. “Gods aside, please watch out for that other ship while you’re doing your repairs. They’re after me—the letter I carry. They should leave the Falcon’s Flight alone once we’re off it, but you should still keep an eye out.”
“Always.” She hugged him, then backed up and waved. “They’ll need my help docking, but I’ll see you again soon.”
“Of course,” Yanko murmured.
Thanks to the wind artifact, the schooner had already reached the mouth of the harbor, and the crew was scurrying about, responding to the captain’s orders. Since Yanko’s shift had been during the night, he did not feel compelled to jump in, but he did see Dak pulling at ropes. Yanko watched the shoreline draw nearer, trying to guess which direction the Polytechnic would be. White and beige buildings lined the waterfront and stretched inland for at least a mile before the dwellings grew more sparse with more green interspersed. Here and there, palm, coconut, and eucalypt
us trees arose between the structures and in parks, but the port was in the middle of a heavily populated area. More buildings stretched up and down the coast, stopping at the base of a cliff to the west. A dormant volcano rose in the center of the island, with greenery and black lava rock dominating its sides. This was the biggest of the islands, the maps told him, with a population of nearly a million. He would have to find a local map or do a lot of asking around in order to find anything.
As he considered asking for directions, it occurred to him that he did not know a single word of Kyattese. He would not have a guide who spoke the language, either, unless he lucked out and Dak knew it. Did he spy—or do whatever diplomatic things he supposedly did—here, as well as in Nuria? The Kyattese weren’t allies with either Turgonia or Nuria, having fought fiercely, despite their pacifist tendencies, to defend their homeland from occupation. It was a port city, known as a destination for ships from all over the world, so he would hope someone would speak Nurian.
Still, his next thought was to realize that all of the research materials in the library would likely be in Kyattese, including anything that referenced this Golden Lodestone. He groaned and rubbed his face. Why hadn’t he realized this earlier? Not that he could have done anything at any point in the trip, but how was he going to recruit someone to translate for him and also dig through the foreign texts? Someone he could trust utterly? He didn’t even trust his own comrades utterly. Neither of them knew the whole truth of this mission.
He sighed and gazed down at the water. The flip of a fin or a tail—something big and dark—caught his eye. It disappeared beneath the water before he could decide what type of fish or shark might be lurking out there. It hadn’t looked like a fish, though. More like a snake, but larger. It wasn’t in their path, but out of curiosity, Yanko reached out with his mind. He brushed past hundreds, if not thousands of fish, their auras tiny specks of brightness that lit up the world beneath the surface. A much brighter and larger aura appeared to him, and he grasped the railing tightly, a surge of fear racing through his body. He hadn’t seen a snake but a tentacle, one of many. It belonged to some kind of giant octopus or kraken, and it was as large as the Falcon’s Flight. He had heard of such massive sea creatures, but it was hard to imagine them from the mountain forests back home.
A thud sounded, a pack being thrown to the ground at his feet. It was his pack with his weapons strapped to it.
“We’ll be docked in fifteen minutes,” Dak said, a touch of reprimand in his voice. He wore his own pack over his shoulders and had his weapons belt strapped on.
“Eager to get off the ship, are you?”
“The captain doesn’t want me here.” From the way he said it, it didn’t sound like it bothered him.
“I can’t imagine why.”
Yanko picked up his pack and hefted it over his shoulder. “Have you been here before, Dak?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know where the Polytechnic is?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t suppose you speak the language?”
“Yes.” Dak regarded him. Thoughtfully? He could guess that Yanko needed a guide, but did he wonder if this might be his opportunity to learn more about Yanko’s mission? Granted, he hadn’t exactly been trying to pry information out of Yanko. In fact, his expression had been bland to the point of indifference when Yanko had confessed oh-so-vaguely that someone important was sending him to do something important. But perhaps that was his strategy for gathering information. Pretend he didn’t care, but then be there, lurking in the background when secrets were spoken.
“Do you read and write the language?” Yanko asked, even though it would be better to find some student at the Polytechnic to help him, someone who might find researching an ancient artifact interesting but who was too concerned about his or her own grades to consider the global ramifications or to do anything with the information.
“Yes,” Dak said.
“Ah, good. You’re a much more versatile bodyguard than my brother would have been.” Yanko smiled, but he couldn’t help but think that if his brother were here, he could share everything with him.
Dak only grunted in response to the praise and started to walk away.
“Wait. I have one more question.” Yanko glanced in the direction he had sensed the kraken. It had dropped down into the depths again, and he barely felt its presence now, so there was nothing to show Dak. Still, the size of it made him uneasy, and he wanted reassurance that it wasn’t planning to wrap those tentacles around the ship and squish them. “Are you aware of any large tentacled sea creatures that enjoy these waters?”
“How large?”
“As big as this ship.”
“Sounds like a kraken,” Dak said. “They’re not common in shallow waters, but it gets deep quickly when you get away from these islands. And I’ve heard they’ve been more frequent here in the last twenty years. Apparently, they’re attracted to Turgonian underwater boats, and Admiral—President—Starcrest made a number of them for the Kyattese marine scientists when he was here. They’re lucky he put in some defensive capabilities.”
“What do the krakens do?”
Dak spread his arms in a hugging motion, then squeezed them tightly about himself.
“Oh.” Now, instead of imagining tentacles wrapped around Captain Minark’s ship, Yanko pictured oblong cylinders—he had only a vague idea of what a Turgonian underwater boat looked like—being snared and tugged down into underwater chasms at the bottom of the ocean. “Do they want to eat them or do they find them offensive for some reason?”
“No, they eat fish. Lots of fish. But there’s speculation that krakens are attracted to underwater boats and mistake them for mates.”
Yanko squinted at Dak, suspicious that he was being teased.
Dak only shrugged. “The Kyattese have tried painting their boats all different colors in the hope of deterring them. Usually, they have to use a shock system to electrify the hull.”
“That would be a jarring message to get from something you thought was your lover.”
“Tell me about it.” With that obscure comment, Dak walked away.
“We’re here,” one of the crew announced. “Land of sun, surf, and those blonde girls with the bouncing coconuts.”
“You’re referring to the drinks they carry in coconut shells, right?” Arayevo asked.
“Uh, right!”
“Enough blather,” Minark said. “I want these freeloaders off my ship.” He waved a hand toward Dak and Yanko, and Yanko stuck a fist on his hip. He, Dak, and Lakeo had worked the whole way here, in addition to paying, and Yanko had kept the captain’s ship from being turned into kindling for a fireball. “Morgagt, get your scrawny backside off to the markets and find me some limes. You people had teeth falling out before the voyage started. Everyone else, get to work on repairs,” Minark added. “The women can wait.”
“Just because he already has a woman,” someone muttered as they slunk past.
Yanko frowned, hoping that didn’t have anything to do with Arayevo. It would slay him if she wanted to stay here because of the captain.
Something poked him in the shoulder. Lakeo’s bow staff.
“You ready?” she asked.
“Yes. First stop is the Polytechnic to check about enrollment. Fake enrollment for me, but I assume you’re going to ask about real enrollment?”
Lakeo thumped the staff to the deck and headed for the gangplank, clearly expecting him to follow. “How come you asked Arayevo to come with you, but you’re ready to leave me here?”
“Uh, I thought your entire goal was to come here and study.” Yanko didn’t comment on the fact that she must have been eavesdropping on his conversation, but he made a note to look around more with his senses before having private chats with people in the future.
“It was, but that was when I had money saved up.”
Yanko kept himself from mentioning the “seller’s fee” she had taken from him and then felt compell
ed to return. He still didn’t quite understand what that had been about.
“Besides,” Lakeo said, “that was before you said all that stuff about having the Great Chief be aware of one’s existence and gaining honor and maybe a decent job and...” They were walking down the gangplank, and when she fell silent, he thought she might be concentrating on not tripping over something or might have seen a threat in the crowd on the docks, but she shook her head and said, “Never mind.”
He thought he could guess what had been on her mind. “I don’t know anything about the Great Chief’s thoughts or preferences—” Yanko chose not to use the word prejudices, “—but perhaps for someone who did a favor for his family—for our entire nation—there might be some honor or privilege awarded, even if she didn’t have an entirely Nurian bloodline.”
Her shoulders hunched, and she stopped walking. Yanko half-expected her to snap at him for bringing up that subject, but she sighed instead, tightening her hand around her bow staff and staring at it. “I just want to learn magic, Yanko. I’ve tried on my own, but it’s hard.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t. You had tutors.”
“Intermittently. When my father could successfully bribe, bully, or beg someone to come stay in our village for a while. He didn’t have a lot of money to pay those people, and they never stayed long. I’m not sure you noticed, but our village isn’t an exotic tourist mecca, or a place people are drawn to stay unless they have roots in the community. A lot of time, I was learning from books.”
“Guess you’re smarter than me then.” Lakeo clenched her jaw and looked around.
“I didn’t mean to say that. The tutors did help. They gave me a foundation and made it easier to learn more on my own, but I’ve always known that my progress would improve when I could go to a real school. I’m sure you feel the same way.” Except the Nurian schools and academies did not accept those with mixed blood. Maybe that was the exception she thought the Great Chief might make if she helped with his quest. Institutions for the mental sciences did not cost students any money, not in Nuria. The Kyattese Polytechnic might be more inviting to different nationalities, but from what Yanko had heard, tuition was not inexpensive.