I really should have been more inquisitive or at least studied geography more. I didn’t even know what the name of the river was that would take us to Kollavik. After Captain Benedek lead us past a number of riverboats, some that were well kept and others that I was surprised could float at all, he took us out on a small pier. At the end of the pier was one of the larger boats that I had seen on the river. Although most of the boats were flat on top and looked like the barges that I had seen plying the Mississippi back in New Orleans, this one was configured a bit differently. It actually had a superstructure above the water and although there was room for cargo on the deck, the majority of the boat looked like it was dedicated to carrying passengers. The riverboat was nicely painted, and looked in good repair along its almost one hundred foot length. I could see the ports on the side where oars would be deployed but they were all closed. Painted on the front in gilded letters was the vessel’s name. Pearl of Kollavik. Looking at the boat, I felt pretty good about the money I had dropped on the bribe back at the bar. It seemed like money well spent.
“We sail in the middle of the morning tomorrow,” Captain Benedek said. “Make sure you are here early. Since you have already paid, it would be a shame to leave you all behind.” Then, he reached into a pouch at his waist and drew out fourteen metal tokens engraved with the boat’s name. “Show these to the guards tomorrow and they should let you back into the port without a problem.”
“Thanks, Captain,” I replied. “I know we will be in good hands.”
With a wry snort of amusement, he turned around and quickly headed back to the bar. We, on the other hand, started the laborious process of exiting the port. We only had to dodge death or serious injury two or three times on the way out, so that was a bonus.
After we let the port, we headed back towards the inn. When we walked in, none of our group was in the common room. I hoped they were not out wandering the streets. Bad things can happen to people in unfamiliar cities. When we went up and checked out the rooms, though, everyone was present but Keti and Davit. Apparently, they had gone to gather whatever meager possessions they managed to accumulate during their time when they were homeless. We had a day to waste but I didn’t really feel like doing a whole lot of sightseeing. The encounter with the gang had soured me on this city and without our local guides we had no idea where it was safe to travel and where things got dangerous.
I was a little afraid that Keti and Davit had decided to cut and run. Giving up everything you have ever known is so very difficult. I wouldn’t blame them for having second thoughts, even if those misgivings were shortsighted and they might end up getting hurt or killed. I didn’t have to worry for long, though, because within and hour or two they had arrived back at the inn, a couple of small bags in hand. I don’t think that it was coincidental that it was almost time for lunch.
I sent word to everyone, asking that they meet me on the street outside the inn in a few minutes. Before long, everyone had filtered out.
“We have some time to kill,” I said. The idiom must have not translated correctly because I saw looks of confusion on several faces. “Do we want to eat at the inn again or do we want to try someplace different?”
I was met with a chorus of “someplace else.” My plan for the day was to get us all cleaned up a little to make us all a bit more reputable looking than when we arrived at Kollavik. Many of our group needed haircuts, myself included. My time on the island had not done wonders for my grooming standards. Also, we could probably all use a clean and new set of clothes to look presentable.
“Keti and Davit,” I said turning to them. “Do you know someplace we can get some food, get our hair cut, and buy some clean clothes, hopefully without wandering through half the city in the process?”
“Well, we could go to the main market,” Keti said. “There are tailors there, barbers, and lots of food offerings. Of course, there are also swindlers and pickpockets.”
“Do we have to go through any more sketchy neighborhoods to get there?” I asked.
“Not really,” Keti replied. “It’s about a twenty minute walk down this road back towards the river.”
“Alright, you heard the lady,” I told the others. “Secure anything you don’t want stolen from you.” Then I walked from person to person and handed them each a couple of gold pieces so they had money to spend, telling each person to tuck away their money somewhere safe.
“Will taking our dog with us be a problem?” I asked.
“Not if he behaves,” Keti said. “If he causes damages, you will be responsible for paying for them.”
“Kadar’s a good boy,” I said. Then I glanced at Mero. “Make sure that Kadar stays a good boy. I don’t want to be bankrupt before we get started.”
“He’s used to people,” Mero said with feigned confidence.
“Lead the way,” I told our guides.
The walk to the market was through relatively safe neighborhoods and we arrived unmolested. The market itself was a huge public square. Permanent businesses surrounded the square but the market itself was a maze of tents, wooden stands, people selling produce from wooden carts, and a few more permanent looking establishments. The place was teeming with people and had a festive air. There were street performers busking for tips and the smell of dozens of different types of food hung heavy in the moist air.
“Let’s get lunch and do our business first,” I said. “Then, I will give you all time to wander a little. Here’s the rule, though. When you wander, it is in groups no less than four people. And each group will have someone who can fight with them. Do we have a deal?”
Everyone quickly acquiesced to my plan.
“Where shall we eat?” I asked Keti and Davit.
“There was always one place we wanted to try but we never could afford it,” Davit answered.
“How expensive is it?” I asked.
“Less than the inn I would imagine,” he replied.
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“Let’s go,” I said.
He led us around the perimeter of the square to an open air restaurant that looked like its main fare was savory meat pies of some sort. By meat pies, I don’t mean something like pizza. They seemed more like oversized pot pies or empanadas. We were able to find two adjoining tables that were large enough to accommodate our group. Then, I went up to the counter because the place did not employ waiters or waitresses. I looked over the menu. The prices were actually fairly inexpensive. They had nine different types of pies on the menu board posted at the counter. I ordered two of everything and some drinks. The total bill was around five gold. This establishment obviously catered to the working man instead of the rich. That was great by me. I was working class deep into my bones.
It took very little time for my name to be called. I took a couple of other people up to the counter with me to help me carry everything and than we all tucked in. The food was delicious. We demolished the order. Everyone seemed happy, even Kadar who kept patrolling around the table being fed scraps by everyone.
“That was a good recommendation,” I told our new compatriots. They beamed at the compliment.
We quickly took care of our other business. Places to cut hair were plentiful and not all that expensive. Even though a couple of people looked reluctant, I told them that haircuts were not negotiable. Soon, that business was concluded at it was on to clothing.
There were a number of stalls selling clothing and some more permanent businesses did tailoring around the square as well. I honestly didn’t see any one business that would match everyone’s individual preferences. So, it was back into the money pouch, handing three more gold out to each person.
“You’re responsible for your clothing,” I said. “Nothing too garish, please.”
We split up into groups. Anxo, Helvia, Mariam, Xeng, Mero, Keti and Davit were in one. Everyone else was in the other. That meant we got stuck with Werner. Joy of joys. I couldn’t wait to hear about all the things that he could do better than everyone else around us. “Meet back here around sundown,” I told everyone and then off into the market we headed.
I wondered how we were going to find someplace with clothes sized for Sathebeena but I needn’t have worried. We actually ran into a stall run by a dwarf with clothes sized for dwarves. When Sathebeena saw the other dwarf, another woman, she ran over to the stall as quickly as her short legs could carry her. It had likely been a very long time since she talked to another of her race. She immediately started bombarding the poor shopkeeper with questions and soon they were in an animated discussion. I wandered over to the stall.
“Sathebeena,” I said, “can you make it back to the meeting place on your own?”
“Of course,” she replied. “This is not my first city market.”
“Alright, it looks like you have a lot of catching up to do,” I said. “So I am going to immediately break my own rule. You know when to be back.”
I turned to walk away but noticed that Werner had crept up beside me. “I’ll stay with her,” he said. I nodded at him. That was a winning proposition as far as I was concerned.
The rest of us wandered deeper into the market. Finding suitable clothing for humans was easy. After all, humans were the predominate race here. Of course, getting them tailored to fit right took a little more time. We were all fairly satisfied with our outfits by the end, though. They were clean and not very fancy but most of us weren’t fancy people. A part of me shuddered to think about what Helvia might try to buy.
After we were done shopping for necessities, nobody felt like looking for anything else. We would have to carry anything we bought, and we had enough to carry as it was. Instead of continuing deeper into the market, we grabbed a table at a beer garden close to our meeting spot. The company was enjoyable, and from where we were sitting we could here a couple of street musicians playing together. It was relaxing and we all had a good time. When the sun started to set, we headed over to our meeting place. Within a few minutes, everyone had returned and nobody seemed the worse for wear. Once in a while, things just work out.
We headed back to the inn, grabbed dinner, and went to bed. The next day, everyone was rousted from bed early and we headed down to port. By showing the tokens from the riverboat, the guards let us through into the port without any extra taxation. Staying together was a challenge, but we eventually made it to the riverboat, everyone mostly intact.
There were guards at the bottom of the gangplank. After showing our tokens, we were allowed to board. I had forgotten to mention that we had a dog the previous day, and getting him on board took a little negotiation and some more gold. We were led to a series of small staterooms along a narrow hallway. The rooms themselves were nothing grand. They were barely large enough to contain narrow, triple-stacked bunks. It was clear that there would be no frisky time for Aleyda and me out on the water, especially since Mero was our roommate.
After we got settled in, we went back up on deck. Our group was fairly subdued. The reality of where we were headed and what we hoped to accomplish was starting to sink in. We stood there for perhaps an hour, people lost in their own thoughts. Then, lines were cast off and we started floating downstream. Soon, however, the ports on the side of the vessel were opened and the oars were run out. Slowly, we turned in the middle of the water and then started making slow progress back upstream towards Kollavik.
It took us a couple of hours to clear the rest of the city. Frankly, what we could see of it from the river was not very interesting to look at. It was all piers, warehouses and industrial areas. Still, nobody was talking much and the silence was starting to get oppressive. I needed to do something to boost morale or I was afraid there would be people bursting into tears by the middle of the afternoon. I just didn’t have any great ideas for what to do.
Eventually we made it out of the city out into the fertile farmland of the river delta. There was less to see, but what was visible was more interesting. I started quizzing Anxo about the crops that were growing out in the distance. He knew what some of the things were but admitted that he didn’t have a clue about others. Off towards the horizon, where the ground started getting a little more hilly, I could see terraced vineyards. I briefly wondered whether the wine from this region was any good.
Finally, I had enough of the chill silence that surrounded me.
“Mero,” I said. “Did you bring any of the dice from home?”
“Yeah,” he replied. “I brought a few.”
“Could you go get them please,” I said.
He scampered off down to his cabin and quickly returned with a couple of sets of dice.
“I want to teach you all a dice game,” I said. “It’s called Yahtzee and is the traditional way my people waste time on long voyages out on the water.” Alright, the traditional part was utter bullshit but I had to do something to break the tension. And as far as Aleyda and Bowen knew, what I said was true. I had told Aleyda that I would never lie to her again over something important, but this wasn’t important.
We had enough dice for two simultaneous games. I quickly explained the rules. Then, because some people hadn’t been paying close enough attention, I had to explain them again. After answering a series of clarification questions from Werner, I felt like we were ready to play. Because Werner asked so many questions, I told him he had to keep score.
Within a short time, people were laughing again. Never doubt the power of the dice. We weren’t the only passengers onboard and I noticed that a small crowd had gathered around us watching what we were doing.
“Would you like to play as well?” I asked the onlookers. Several admitted that they would like to give it a go. What the hell, I thought. The more the merrier. Generating a little goodwill with our fellow passengers couldn’t be a bad thing, right? Diplomacy through dice games seemed to be my thing.
We played until we were all called in for dinner.