“Lower the sails!” Crixus boomed as he carefully maneuvered the Dragonling toward the single pier stretching out of the town’s harbor. They had made far better time than Glade had anticipated, making it to the port well before sundown. Not that he, or anyone else for that matter, was complaining. He was beyond ready to be on solid ground.
“What was your question again?” Crixus asked casually as he steered the ship, making minute adjustments as they neared their desitation.
“I don’t want to distract you,” Glade replied. He couldn’t help but be impressed as the navigotor turned captain managed the symphony of chaos around them. The man’s eyes took in everything, from the synchronized movements of the crew to the quickly approaching pier. They had been chatting amicably for the past hour or so as they approached Aldorna. The topics ranging from the basic demographics of the town to which of the two inns they should stay at when they arrive.
“Not to worry. I’ve made this run plenty of times before with the rag coats. At least once every three weeks or so to refit and resupply. I could bring this beauty to port with my eyes closed by now,” Crixus laughed. That laughter died out when he noticed that one of the sails was still up. “The Adjudicators take me, hold that thought,” he grumbled before yelling, “Keinan! Bobber! Drop the bloody sail already! I swear, if you halfwits run us aground again I’ll give the both of you back to the slavers guild!”
Turning, Crixus pointed to a younger man helping him with the helm.
“Rat, I can handle things up here. I need you down with Docs and Byron to work the mooring lines.”
The boy darted down the narrow stairs and began helping two others readying coils of heavy rope.
“I recommend ye hold onto something,” Crixus scowled as the ship slowed. “We’re coming in a mite fast. Nothing the Dragonling can’t handle, but for those of you who don’t have your sea legs yet it might be a bit... rough.”
Bragden grumbled something under his breath as Glade and his companions grabbed hold of the railing.
A few moments later, the Dragonling lurched to a stop as Rat and the others expertly tied the ship to the pier. It wasn’t as bad as Glade had feared, but it wasn’t gentle either. Throughout it all, Ember excitedly pushed feelings of wonder his way as they looked out over the town of Aldorna. It was the first time he had experienced such a thing and couldn’t wait to have Glade explore.
As far as towns went, it wasn’t much. There was the one long pier with a building at its end, which he assumed was where the harbor master stayed. Beyond that were a series of one and two story stone buildings built along either side of a dirt road. There were some warehouses closer to the harbor as well as a few dozen ramshackle homes dotting the coast line leading away from Aldorna, each with a small dock out front for the many one masted fishing vessels they had seen earlier.
If Glade were to guess, the population had to be no more than a couple of thousand.
From their earlier discussions, Aldorna’s primary trade was from a vast network of farms that he couldn’t see as well as fishing.
“Secure the lines and the sails! I want everything tied down that doesn’t need repairs or to be refitted!” Crixus bellowed before turning back to Glade. “Now, where we?”
“I was asking about who govern’s Aldorna,” Glade said, absently adjusting the pack on his back. He could have left it in his cabin, but he hadn’t felt comfortable letting Ember out of his site since the time he had spent helping Kedryn open his air channels.
Stolen novel; please report.
“That would be House Aldorn, a middling family that has stayed outside of the Free Cities’ politics for as long as I can remember. They’re nothing to worry about for us though. They keep to themselves mostly, happy to make what money they can from farming, fishing, and random port calls.”
“You mentioned you’ve been here before?” Riya asked, her brows creased with concern.
“Its hard to miss the Dragonling,” Crixus laughed as he tied down the helm. “Only ship of her class, that she is. Though I bet you’re worried they might be wondering about what happened to the rag coats, am I right?”
Glade nodded along with the others. It was something he would rather not have to explain to the local authorities.
“Not to worry,” Crixus said, dismissing their concerns with a casual waive of his hand. “The bloody rag coats had a run in with House Aldorn’s resident knight the first time we came. They’d had too much to drink you see, and several of the beasts had the bright idea to start chasing down townsfolk in the streets like they were play hunting or something. Miss Ciera thrashed the lot of them within an inch of their lives,” he said with a fond smile. “I’ll never forget that glorious beat down as long as I live.”
“Even the Alpha?” Gent asked in disbelief. “He was a slagging body mage, easily at the Concordant level!”
“Ha! Miss Cirea's a body mage herself,” Crixus barked a laugh. “Everyone says she’s a Resonant ranked at least, which means she mopped the floor with the lot of them. Forbade them from stepping off the ship from that time forward.”
“Wait just a moment, you’re saying that this knight person just let the Gnolls go after they hunted down townsfolk? Was anyone hurt?” Glade asked, giving Crixus an incredulous look.
“She had to,” Crixus said with a shrug. “The bloody rag coats had House Fellu’s backing for whatever reason. There wasn’t much house Aldorn could do otherwise. And yes, some people got hurt, but no one lost their lives. Besides, the trouncing the rag coats got was more than enough to send a message, one that even the Alpha could respect.”
“Thats disturbing,” Glade muttered under his breath. It appeared the rule of law in the Free Cities was more of an arbitary system than indiscriminate, which meant they needed to be extra careful. They didn’t have a powerful house backing them like Crixus believed.
“Again, nothing to worry about. Miss Cirea will likely make an appearance in the next hour or so to make her usual show of force. So long as we don’t cause any trouble she’ll leave us be. After all, word of the rag coats demise and all wouldn’t have reached house Aldorn as of yet. A fact that I intend to take full advantage of!”
“Advantage how?” Glade asked, his curiosity peaked.
“Well, that storm did a number on the Dragonling,” Crixus said with a gleam in his eye. “And House Fellu has already established a line of credit with House Aldorn on the rag coats’ behalf. I think a full refit is in order, don’t you?”
“A full refit could take a while,” Glade smiled, catching on. “We might need rooms at an inn while the work is being done, along with some meals.”
“And plenty of ale,” Gent added, his own smile growing.
“I’d personally recommend the spiced rum, but to each his own,” Crixus said with a shrug, starting down the stairs.
“So long as it burns going down, I’ll be fine,” Gent laughed. Even Bragden’s perpetual frown twitched into a smile.
It took the crew several long minutes to finish tying things down before they congregated on the main deck where Crixus took the time to explain their plan. Everyone cheered when they heard about sleeping in a real bed with hot food and a few rounds of drink.
“As all of you sea dogs know, we are now free thanks to these people,” Crixus explained, pointing over at Glade and the others. “We aren’t going to be able to hide that fact while we’re here, so to make this sound half way feasible, Glade here was the Blackrobe’s and the Alpha’s superiors who have awarded us our freedom for a job well done. Do ye understand what I’m saying?”
Everyone nodded, passing him looks of appreciation, which honestly made Glade a bit uncomfortable. He never did like being the center of attention.
“That said, all of you have some decisions to make. I’m not going to begrudge any man here their freedom now that we have it. If any of you want to leave then you have my blessing. Though, you should know, I’m staying on as the captain of the Dragonling. If you do want to leave, come see me tonight so we can send you off proper like. Any questions?”
“Who’ll be staying to guard the ship?” one of the men asked nervously. Glade noticed it was one of the two men who hadn’t lowered the sail in time.
“Funny you should ask,” Crixus said with a wicked grin.