Hadespera

The 22nd of Thargelion

The Year 4631 in the Era of Mortals

Generally speaking, Arche trusted his instincts. When confronted by situations where he had no idea what to do, he went with his gut and things tended to work out. When working Mana, he liked to do things by feel. This had been rewarded and reinforced by the acquisition of the Pathfinder trait. His gut had led him wrong, of course. He’d made mistakes and people had been hurt, but it had still gotten him through more than it had gotten him into. So when Ryan Blackdog walked into Rune’s office with a presence as suffocating as a wet, weighted blanket, calling Arche a god, his every instinct screamed danger. Therefore, Arche did the most natural thing in the world.

He panicked.

The chair fell to the ground in a clatter as Arche surged to his feet, Tridory in hand, ready for a fight. Tess shot up a moment later, cueing off his distress with knives at the ready. Ryan didn’t move. He watched Arche’s reaction calmly, his solid purple eye twinkling as he puffed his pipe.

“Put that away before you hurt yourself, son,” the elf said after a moment. “I’m no more a monster than any other businessman.”

Arche slowly lowered his spear, still feeling on-guard. He heard Tess breathe sharply next to him and turned to see that Rune was putting away her combat face and again donning her business face. He hadn’t seen her make the switch initially, but figured she was preparing to kick his ass again if he started a fight in her office. The memory of his arm cracking in her hidden library made him lower his spear more quickly.

“I’m sorry,” he said, turning back to the elf. “That was rude of me. I’m Arche.”

The intense presence dissipated until it was barely noticeable. The elf walked toward them, extending his prosthetic to take Tess’s hand.

“Tess,” she said quietly.

“A pleasure.” Ryan inclined his head.

Now that they were close, Arche found he was taller than the elf. The overwhelming presence had made the elf seem larger than life. He didn’t know if it was the elf himself or some artifact he carried. Hoping to gain some insight, he Examined Ryan.

No.

“Naughty”—Ryan cut his eye toward Arche—“but not surprising. You won’t be peeking at my secrets so easily.”

Instead of answering, Arche turned to Rune.

“You said you wanted to introduce us. Why?”

“Because interesting people should know each other, don’t you agree?”

Arche turned back to Ryan, who settled into a chair at the head of the table.

“I’ve heard your name before.”

“Of that, I have no doubt.” He drummed the fingers of his metal hand against the table. “But yours is much more interesting, Arche Enyalius.”

Arche’s blood pressure spiked, so he tried to deflect the conversation back onto the elf.

“I heard you’re a pirate.”

“Reformed, actually. I’ve not pillaged in a century. I assure you, my business is quite legitimate. ‘Dread Pirate’ is just a moniker, these days.”

“What can we do for the reformed Dread Pirate Ryan Blackdog, then?” Tess asked.

Ryan turned his piercing eye on her and his mouth shifted in the suggestion of a smile.

“You are from Myriatos, the new city in the Mycenaean Forest, are you not?”

Arche and Tess exchanged glances.

“We are.”

“My ship sails all over the world and sometimes beyond. I would like to secure formal trade rights with your city.”

“It’s not really accessible by ship,” Arche said. “Being in a forest and all.”

Ryan’s eye twinkled.

“Let me worry about that. I presume you have the authority to secure trade, Miss Tess?”

Tess blinked rapidly, her brow furrowing.

“Yes, I do. What terms are you suggesting?”

“An agreement for free trade. My business is not consigned to any country, kingdom, or territory, and I pay tithe and tax to none. My services are sought for their diversity. I would like permission to sell and buy in your city. I can also offer shipping services, if you’ll pardon the joke.”

Tess thought over the offer, her face growing guarded as she considered it.

“No tax or tithe is a concern. It’s a small settlement and any coin that leaves will be sorely missed. Much of the reason we are in Ship’s Shape at all is to secure more funds for the treasury.”

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“The Blackdog Trading Company does more than sell and ship,” Ryan pointed out. “We would also be willing to buy any trade commodities that Myriatos produces. I understand if you lack those currently but, given your situation in the Sylv, I can’t imagine you will find nothing of value to export.”

“How do you know so much about where we’re from?” Arche asked.

Ryan tapped a finger against his temple.

“I take care of my people, even if they no longer sail with me. That means keeping an eye about.”

Tess leaned forward, all business.

“What kind of commodities do you carry, Captain?”

“Everything. Food, livestock, safe passage, exotic objects, magical artifacts, art. If there is a demand, we supply. What we don’t have, we can acquire. If we are not the direct seller or buyer, we often act as intermediaries.”

“And all this opportunity in exchange for free passage and untaxed trade?”

“Precisely.”

Tess gave it thought for a moment longer, then nodded once.

“That can be arranged. I have a further question for you. The journey here took us a month by foot. How long would it take you to travel between Ship’s Shape and Myriatos?”

Ryan sat back in his chair and puffed his pipe before answering.

“A week, in fair weather. Longer if the weather’s bad.”

Arche’s eyebrows shot up. Turning a month-long trek into a five-day journey was incredible. Especially if it meant avoiding walking all the way back.

“We are in the process of recruiting new citizens to our village. Would you be willing to provide safe transport?” Tess asked.

“I would indeed. I would even go a step further and offer to spread the word, if you like. Of course, my passage services are not free.”

“Understood. How much would it cost to take a group of people here to Myriatos, accounting for a five-day journey?”

Ryan smiled and made his pipe disappear with a wave of his hand. He straightened in his chair and leaned in.

“Since we’re all such good friends and because your archousa has done right by my people, I would give you a special discounted rate at two drachmae per head. Normal price would be ten. When would you be willing to leave?”

Tess looked to Rune.

“When will you have your materials ready?”

“I’ll have the materials delivered to you in four days.”

“Then we shall be ready to sail in four days’ time. Where can we find you?”

“Look for the ship with black sails. She’ll be the only one at port.”

Sensing an end to the conversation, Arche and Tess rose from their seats and headed for the door.

“Until we meet again,” Ryan called after them.

They stayed quiet until they had left Rune’s shop and reached the street outside. Only then did Arche breathe a sigh of relief.

“What the fuck?”

“For once, I agree,” Tess said.

“How did he know so much about us? Five days to get to Myriatos, but we didn’t even tell him where it was.”

The Rogue shrugged. “Vik’s our spymaster. It’s possible he’s been sharing information with Ryan about everything that’s been going on. It’s also possible that Vik learned it all from Ryan and that Ryan has informants among our people. Not sure how he gets his information, though. Magic, maybe?”

“Maybe. He seemed pleasant enough, but damn if he isn’t unsettling. Do you know what kind of elf he is?”

“No idea. Never seen one like that, before.”

Arche nodded, lost in his own thoughts for a moment, then perked up.

“Hey, will we really be ready to leave in four days? I thought we needed more time to sell everything off.”

“Already taken care of.”

Arche blinked in surprise.

“Really?”

“You need to stop being surprised when I’m good at my job. I’m going to start taking offense.”

“I just wasn’t expecting it, is all. I thought you still needed weeks to get rid of everything.”

Tess smiled. “Making alliances with the king has its benefits.”

“Yeah, about that, why didn’t you ever tell me he was Sisyphus?”

Tess cocked her head and shrugged.

“No one’s seen the king in decades, maybe longer. I didn’t think it mattered. Why?”

Arche frowned.

“I know him. I mean, I didn’t know him, but I knew of him. He’s a myth where I come from. A cautionary tale.”

“A cautionary tale? He’s a king.”

Arche thought of how to explain, then realized the conversation would get much deeper and much longer than he was prepared to go. Further, it was definitely not a conversation to have on the street where anyone could overhear them.

“We can talk about it later. I’ve learned some truths about Tartarus with my memories back and it’s probably better to wait a little while.”

Tess crossed her arms.

“Very well. We have a few days to ourselves, now. How would you like to spend them?”

“I’ll need at least one day to go back into the treasury. Sisyphus is letting me keep a shield I used down there, but I didn’t bring it with me.”

Tess frowned and held out her hands. The Mirror Shield of Perseus appeared.

“Is this the one?”

Arche’s mouth dropped.

“What? How did—? When did—?”

“You were unconscious. The shield was lying on the steps and it looked important, so I grabbed it.”

Arche took the shield from her and stared at it before putting it away in his inventory.

“I told Sisyphus I hadn’t taken anything else from the treasury.”

“And you didn’t.”

“Did you?”

“A couple of things,” she said offhandedly. At a look from Arche, she hastily added. “And I gave them back once it was clear a deal was on the table. Those guards were so old-fashioned. You know, they didn’t even search us. You should have seen their faces when I pulled some of their treasures out.”

Arche struggled to find something to say, then settled for the easy thing.

“Thank you.” He offered his arm for her to take. “May I buy you dinner to show my gratitude?”

“Mmm.” Tess took his arm and fell into step beside him, leaning her head against his shoulder. “I seem to recall a promised dinner, long ago. I have grown so very hungry since then.”

“As have I. You know this place better than I do, so you pick the place and I’ll cover the meal.”

“Very well. You’ve seen some of the best and worst that Ship’s Shape has to offer, so I think I’ll spend these next few days showing you the lovely middle.” She held out her hand and a bottle appeared. “And I just so happen to have some wine.”

Arche laughed.

“As long as I’m with you, I’m sure it’ll be lovely indeed.”