Kaz didn’t even notice when Raff let the horses go. They were there when they entered Cliffcross, and gone by the time they signed up for the tournament. Raff said someone would find them, ‘steal’ them, and sell them again. Kaz felt a little guilty, wishing he could be so certain. In his experience, such large animals would feed a tribe for several days, and if no one was there to say they weren’t food, they would soon become so.
Still, there was nothing he could do about it, and when they reached the ‘barracks’ where visiting combatants could sleep, he realized it was just as well. Some people ahead of them had horses, and they were loudly arguing with a female about where those horses would sleep. Apparently, it cost money to have the horses stay in a hut designed for them, but the beasts could be stolen or become ill if left outside.
“C’mon, Blue,” Raff said, walking past the angry males and pinch-faced female. Kaz was beginning to believe that humans spent most of their time angry. At least, that seemed to be the way of things within this city.
The building they entered could have been used as a kobold den. The ceiling was low, barely high enough for Raff to stand up straight, and it went on until the shadows obscured the far walls. There were only a few windows, and they were narrow and high on the walls. Their purpose seemed to be to let in light, not to allow the humans to look in or out.
As they walked in, a male looked at them with a flat, bored gaze. He held out a hand almost as large as Raff’s. “Registration,” he said.
Raff handed over the papers the female had given them earlier, and the bored male glanced at them, then gave them back to Raff, along with two wooden circles with holes driven through them. On each circle was a rune, and Kaz recognized them as numbers, though he wasn’t sure what number they were. Something greater than one hundred, certainly. He was fairly certain there was a three in Raff’s.
Pointing to a metal spike pounded into the end of a nearby bed, the male said, “Hang your tag on any bed that doesn’t already have one. No switching tags, and no moving once you’ve picked a spot. If there’s any argument about who gets what bed, everyone involved gets kicked out, and they won’t be allowed back in. Once you’ve been eliminated from the tournament, you can’t stay here any more, so make sure your paperwork gets stamped after every fight.”
Raff shrugged and nodded, then said, “Food?”
The other male grunted. “One meal a day, after the matches are done. Only for people staying the night. Don’t be late. It’s over when the food’s gone.”
Grinning, Raff said, “Sounds good. Pellis’ blessing.”
The male’s brows lifted, and the first spark of interest showed in them as he looked at Raff more closely. “You a true Mariner? There’s a few of your sort down at the end, near the far door. I like ‘em. Keep their space tidy.”
Raff’s grin widened and a spark of interest lit his eyes. “Not much space on a ship, eh? Anything not tied down tends to find its way overboard, anyway. Thanks again.”
Kaz trailed along as they made their way through the long, dim room. There were four rows of beds, with barely enough space between them for Kaz and Raff to walk. Most of them already had a tag on their spike, and a good number of those were occupied either by sleeping people or piles of goods.
To Kaz’s surprise, he saw several of the short, wide people who looked like pale, hairy husede. Almost all of these had beds together, and watched the humans around them with suspicious gazes. There were also a few tall, thin people with ears almost as pointed as a kobold, and one or two who looked a bit like beasts, but mostly like very hairy humans with tails. None of them resembled kobolds other than the large amount of fur.
By the time they reached the far end of the room, Kaz had a million questions, and Li had exactly one.
Kaz refrained from reminding her that she literally spent the first part of her life inside a dark mountain with small, tight passages, and simply stroked her back beneath his cloak. The dragon had only been able to fly freely for a few days, but she was extremely loath to return to being trapped, or even forced to remain on Kaz’s shoulder. Kaz understood completely, but he could already tell that Raff was right, and the human city was no safe place for her.
she said, sensing the thought.
And what if you run into someone like Lianhua? Someone who can tell you’re there? he thought loudly. Or you run out of ki just when you need it most?
She hissed softly, and Kaz resisted tightening his arms around her. She said she would stay with him forever, but how long was forever if she already wanted to leave?
A tiny tongue tickled his hand.
Kaz chuffed a laugh, peering down as if he could see the dragon peering right back up at him. Raff had to nudge him to get his attention.
“Hey, Blue. This looks like a good spot,” Raff said, and Kaz had a feeling it wasn’t the first time the male had spoken.
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Kaz looked over to see that their tags had been hung on two empty beds next to a short series of tagged beds with identical blankets. The blankets were heavy, but not thick, and were tucked very tightly across and under the large, flat cushion Lianhua had called a ‘mattress’ during their brief stay at the inn in Wheldrake.
Raff was also looking over these beds, and nodded as if he’d confirmed something. Glancing over at Kaz, he said, “I’d bet Imperial gold that those belong to merchant guards, here to show that anyone who ships cargo with their vessel can rest assured it’s safe. Most Mariners are born and raised at sea, usually on a family ship, and they all learn to be neat and keep only the things they find most precious. This lot has been trained and issued the same supplies, though.”
“And who are you?” a deep voice asked, causing Kaz and Raff to turn.
There, standing immediately behind them, were five males who looked like they could have been Raff’s brothers. Their skin was a few shades darker, and their hair ranged from black to brown, but they all had a similar shape to their jaw and nose. They were a good bit shorter than Raff, however, with the tallest of them reaching only to the large male’s chin.
Raff gave a version of his easy grin that might have been convincing to someone who hadn’t just spent several weeks with him. His mouth opened, and words spilled out, but Kaz didn’t understand any of them. After a sentence or two, the other male’s eyes widened, and one of them started to duck his head, only to halt and jerk it back up so he could stare at Raff.
When Raff stopped, the other five just stood, mouths slightly agape. Several beats passed, and a few of the people in the beds around them were beginning to take notice when the male who had spoken before managed to do so again. His words were shaped oddly, as if he was speaking them too far back in his throat, but Raff obviously understood them because he immediately waved his hands, cutting the other off. Raff spoke again, shortly, and then they all stared at each other.
Finally, the speaker turned to Kaz and thrust out a hand. “Tollus,” he said. “Master Defender for the ship Pellis Blessed.”
Kaz looked at Raff, who quickly reached past him and clasped the male’s wrist. Tollus looked startled, then awkwardly squeezed Raff’s forearm before letting go very quickly. Understanding that this was a ritual greeting, Kaz put out his own hand, having to slide it awkwardly out of the opening in his cloak so no one would see Li. She could, of course, make herself invisible if necessary, but it would be better if she could simply stay hidden.
One by one, the other males introduced themselves as well. Cynric had a small scar by his mouth. Milton was the shortest. Keane was almost entirely one color; brown skin, brown eyes, brown hair, brown clothes, all the same shade. Wakeman had only one and a half ears, and the half remaining looked more like it had melted rather than been cut off. All had at least a little mana churning in their central dantians, though Milton had the most.
“We’re here for the team tournament,” Tollus said when the introductions were over.
Raff shrugged. “Guess we’ll see you there, then, unless one of us is eliminated first.”
People kept saying ‘eliminated’, and it was starting to make Kaz nervous. So far as he could tell, this tournament was something like the mock battles warriors engaged in for training, but when someone lost one of those, they simply tried again or moved on to a different partner. Surely these fights weren’t to the death? If they were, why did everyone seem to find the idea entertaining?
Li complained. She had been mumbling about this for some time, but now Kaz was fairly certain she actually meant for him to hear.
Kaz, too, was starting to regret his decision. He had thought the large male planned to skulk and hide while trying to discover where the missing females had gone. So far, Raff hadn’t asked a single question, and instead of remaining as anonymous as possible, he was signing them up for some kind of battle and introducing them to strangers.
Just as Kaz thought this, though, all six males shifted back to that other language, voices lowering as their faces went blank and their eyes shifty. They spoke for several long minutes, during which the beds around them were slowly claimed by more and more newcomers.
As the light streaming in through the narrow window slits began to fade, Raff finally nodded. He smiled as easily as ever, but his eyes were thoughtful. Reaching out, he clapped a hand to Kaz’s shoulder, startling Li, who had begun to drowse in her dark, warm hiding spot.
“Turns out Tollus here is a distant cousin on my mother’s side,” Raff said. “Small world, eh? He has some ideas on where to look for what we need, too.”
Kaz looked from Raff to the grim-faced males, and said tentatively, “Good?”
Raff reached up to run his hand through his curls, then let his arm fall as he remembered he’d cut them short. “Good indeed,” Raff said, then reached out and gripped Tolllus’ arm once more. “Pellis grant you luck, cousin.”
“The same to you,” Tollus replied, and five sets of brown eyes watched as Raff led Kaz away, leaving behind nothing but the two wooden discs marking their beds.
As soon as they stepped out into the waning sun, Raff held up his hand toward Kaz, scribbling a rune onto his palm again. Kaz quickly complied, and a dome of ki fell around them, muffling their words. Raff stepped to the side of the road, into a small gap between two houses, and began to speak.
“Tollus and the others work for the Khoros fleet, which was Mother’s before she married Da. I’d hoped they might, when I heard there were Mariners here. Mother’s family began to strengthen their ties to Holiander in general and Cliffcross specifically after she married Da, so most of the Mariners who come here are related to or work for us somehow.”
He drew in a deep breath. “That said, Tollus hasn’t been able to get in to speak to Mother since Jinn and Princess Reina went missing. Mother and Da are basically under house arrest, and not even my brothers have been able to see them other than for official business.”
Raff shook his head. “Da is King Maleim’s first cousin. They grew up together, for Pellis’ sake! I don’t know what could have happened to make Maleim believe Da betrayed him, but he obviously does. The way he’s acting, it’s like he’s just waiting for enough proof to allow him to arrest a noble of such high rank. There’s no way this is just about Jinn and Reina running off together for an adventure.”
Sighing, Raff scrubbed his hands over his face. “Most of the Mariners who were in Cliffcross at the time were questioned, then encouraged to leave town. These five claimed they were here for the tournament, so they were allowed to stay. Since they’re ‘just’ guards, they’ve mostly fallen through the cracks at this point. Tollus said he’s been doing a bit of his own poking around, trying to find out where the girls went, or at least figure out a way to get a message to Mom, see if she needs help. Maybe even a rescue.”
His breath hissed out between his teeth. “My mother, in need of rescue? I never thought I’d see the day.” Worried eyes met Kaz’s. “Blue, we need to find my sister and get that princess back on her throne where she belongs. There’s something very, very wrong in Cliffcross.”