“Was it me?” Al asked once they were back on the street. “I didn’t think I was pressuring him too much. I hardly asked him what he was doing away from us.”

“Alpine, I don’t think it was you,” Telbarisk said.

He furrowed his eyebrows, then looked at Anla, who was leaning against a wall, hugging her torso and looking down. When he looked back at Tel, the grivven was shaking his head.

“Why would someone deceive his friends like Raulin did?” Tel mused.

“Are we his friends?” Al asked bitterly.

“Don’t doubt that, Alpine. Why would he leave that flower for Anla if he didn’t care about her? I think it is safer to assume that he felt warmly towards us at least a few hours ago. And since none of us have done anything to cause him to change his mind, he is acting in what he thinks are our best interests.”

“Why do you think he’s doing this?”

“I don’t know. My guess is that he had to make a choice that he knew we would not agree to.”

Al let out a sigh and wiped his face. “All right. Have any of us changed our minds about wanting to be with Raulin? I mean, he’s yet again acted like an ass, so I understand if any of you want to go your separate way…”

He thought this was an obligatory question, but he noticed that neither of his two friends answered quickly. This actually frightened him. For the past year, over a year, he’d been with them. Since Raulin’s revelation, he had put zero thought into any other future. If either of them said “no”, he’d have no idea what he would do.

“I feel that kouriya is pointing me in that direction.”

Al relaxed a little. Anla was still thinking, though.

“Are you angry with him?” he asked.

“I am. He promised me that he’d never hurt me again. He broke that one. He promised me that we’d be together no matter what happened. He’s broken that one as well.”

“So, you’re thinking that you want to part ways, to let him go?”

She shook her head. “No. We exchanged our vows. I plan on keeping mine. My choice isn’t to be with him or not; I know what I’d say to that. My choice is between him or Garlin.”

“Oh,” he said quietly. “Anla, I’m sorry.”

There was a look of pain that crossed her face. “Damn him for this. Yes, let’s go find him.”

“Good. Okay. Well, first we need to think of where he went. Wait. Maybe someone knows something.”

Al walked the three of them back across the street to the compound. He rang the bell as quietly as he could and waited. A few minutes later, the window slid open. “Alpine?” Isken asked. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“Whatever you can tell us about what happened to Raulin and where he’s going.”

Isken looked to either side of him before leaning in closely. “He left with Atelo, a trivren. That’s all I can say. I wish you good luck.” He closed the window slowly.

Al stepped back and thought. If he left with a trivren, then that meant he was escorting him to another headquarters. Would they be going to Riyala or somewhere in Noh Amair? Where would they choose? Then he realized it didn’t matter. Like he had suggested to Raulin back in Cataya, when they were trying to figure out where Garlin had been taken, any place Raulin chose to go would need a ship.

“We need to go to the wharf. Anla, lead us to the booking offices.”

She nodded and turned them south. After a few miles of walking, they turned east to the sea, the smells of briny sea filling their nostrils. They passed the fish market where those who didn’t want to walk a little farther could by fish from mongers at a markup.

“There are a few companies,” Anla said. “There are three major ones and three or four minor ones.”

“Do you know which ones are local and which trans-oceanic?”

She shook her head.

“Okay. We’ll just start with the one closest.”

That was Breman Brothers, a small shop with a plaque outside picturing a ship sailing into the sunset. Al entered with Anla. The clerk, a very young man who looked like he’d just gotten his first straight razor last week, looked up from the books. “May I help you?”

“Yes. I was wondering if you might tell us if a friend of ours booked passage and where.”

He shook his head. “We get the lists of passengers and cargo right before the ships sail. Before then, you’d have to go to the ship you wanted to book passage.”

“Really?” he asked, dismayed. There had to be at least thirty ships in port. “There’s no way you’d know if, say, a trirec booked passage on one of your ships?”

“That would be of note, but unless you drank with the captain at a bar, you’d know when I did.”

“Thank you,” Al mumbled as they left.

He immediately said, “We’re going to have to split up. See if you can find the captain or first mate of the ship and talk with them. Check if it’s a ship that takes passengers; ask that first so you don’t waste time. I’ll take ships whose name starts with the letter A through H, Anla you take I through P, and Tel you take Q through Z.”

Telbarisk was impressed with Al’s enthusiasm. He watched his friend march right up to the first mate of the Brequenchoir and ask the first mate about his passengers. It wasn’t the boldness that surprised him; it was the ease of the conversation. A year ago he would have twisted the man’s arm to get what he wanted. Now, he eased into it, laughing and giving a small wave to the man as he left.

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Most of the ships he saw didn’t have names that began with the letters he was responsible for. There was one called the Shallow Waters, but it was quite obviously a barge that didn’t take passengers. So, he walked the wharf and contemplated the lie he had told his friends.

He hadn’t felt kouriya tell him to what to do in a long while.

Tel had listened to Raulin’s solid yet hypocritical advice about putting his wants aside and doing what was best for the greater good rather than himself. And when he did that, he started notice the sway and pull of kouriya come less and less. He felt no need to move rocks and sticks around, he didn’t leave coppers in odd places, he didn’t look in strange places for things that might be there. When he had stood and said he would take twenty of Raulin’s lashes, it had been because he didn’t want to see his friend die, not because of some whim that told him to do it.

It felt a little sad to him. None of the others saw what he did, the little permeations rippling into others lives. Al had acknowledged it a few times, when some strange plan came to fruition, but he hadn’t even paused to note the silk thread’s need in Tektorn or the salve being to help heal their wounds. It was something that amused him, but he didn’t need it. People would go on living their lives without the ordered chaos.

In the moment that he sighed and accepted that he would no longer be a part of these wonderful little changes, he heard his name being called. He turned and saw a man enthusiastically waving with his arm, a knitted cap flying in his hand. Tel almost thought it was an unmasked Raulin for a moment, since the man was of similar height to his friend, but he would have had to have grown a beard overnight.

The man jogged up to Telbarisk, wrapped his arms around him, and said, “You owe me nine.”

“Jormé!” Tel said, laughing. He’d had a little difficulty recognizing him behind the beard. “It’s good to see you again. The men in the office said you were a captain?”

“Captain indeed! Did you see my beard?”

“I did. You are in port, then?”

“For two more days. See that beauty down yonder, the one with the man in white on the mizzenmast?” he asked, pointing. “That’s the Tempest Free and she’s mine. Or, not mine as in I own her, she’s the company’s, but I captain her.”

“She is beautiful, Jormé.”

“Thank you. She’s not glorious, but she’s capable. They have me doing small loads and passengers right now. I’ll get something more substantial after a few years.”

“Passengers?” he asked.

“Yes, I have eight cabins. Having trouble finding people who want to travel to Kitstuar, but we’ve filled some. We might have to add stops in Arouk and Thrayis if we don’t get everyone. Now, you must tell me about the last year. How was Gheny?”

“Gheny was very interesting,” he said as he began to think.

“’Interesting’?” he asked, laughing. “That’s far too brief.”

“Jormé, I have some friends I’ve met who need passage to Noh Amair. Would you be willing to take us?”

Jormé’s smile dropped and looked thoughtful for a few moments. “These are good friends of yours?”

“Yes. We’ve had quite a few adventures over the last year.”

“How about I meet with your ‘friends’ before I make a decision. Tonight at five o’clock at The Rushing Stag. We can talk about your time in Gheny as well.”

“I’ll be there.”

“Good,” he said. “If you want to go without them, come see my on my ship later tonight.” He turned and left before Telbarisk could tell him

* * *

Jormé was already there, coat and hat shucked, when they arrived a few minutes to five. Tel sat next to the captain in the booth seat and Al and Anla took chairs. They all shook hands and introduced themselves. Jormé gave an appreciative look to Anla, who then made an obvious gesture of tapping her cheek with her ring finger. He looked a little disappointed.

“So, you’re the people that have been journeying with Telbarisk for a year?” Jormé asked, lighting his pipe.

“Yes,” Al said. “Can we get you anything to drink? Chapman’s Water or some wine? I can recommend the…um…never mind.”

“I’m all set,” he said, taking a few puffs. “Telbarisk says you with to book passage to Noh Amair?”

“Yes, for the three of us, and another.”

“Another?” He turned to face Tel. “You didn’t mention a fourth.”

“It’s a bit complicated,” he answered.

“How so?”

Al spoke. “We need you to secure his passage, and that of a man he’s traveling with, from another ship. He’s going to Noh Amair as well, but he doesn’t know that we know that.”

“Maybe this man doesn’t want to travel with you anymore.”

“He doesn’t,” Al admitted.

“So, why should I help you three with this issue? I feel badly for you if he stole your money or owes you something, but I don’t want any trouble aboard my ship.”

“Because he’s my husband,” Anla said.

“Well, ma’am, I’m sorry then that your husband has decided to leave you and I don’t think it sounds like a good idea to trick him into a reconciliation.”

Al frowned and shook his head. “You don’t understand…”

“I don’t, and I don’t need to. You’re asking me to take you three to Noh Amair. That’s fine. You have money, I’m sure, and you can pay your fare. Telbarisk would be free; he would work for his board and I know he wouldn’t use a cabin anyway. But, meddling with someone else’s passengers is not something I’m willing to do. I mean, maybe I know the captain and he owes me a favor or he’s a good friend, but likely not. Likely, I’ll have to inquire with another company and why would they help me out? I’m sorry about your friend, but there’s nothing I can do.”

Al sighed, his shoulders slumping. Tel stuck his hand out and enveloped Anla’s. “We’ll keep trying. We can still ask the people on the ships.”

“I know,” she said. “It just seems…” She looked up at Jormé. “Thank you for letting us take up your time.” She would have said more, but she noticed he was staring at Tel’s hand and puffing on his pipe.

“Out of curiosity, how did you three meet?” he asked.

“Tel was falsely accused of murdering the mayor of a small town. Al pretended to be a lawyer and got the charges acquitted.”

“Really?” he asked, still staring.

“Since then we’ve looked out for him.”

“Must have offset his costs somehow.”

Her eyebrows furrowed. She had caught something in his tone that sounded like anger. No, not anger, indignation. She tried to understand what he was thinking, but she wanted to answer his question first. “Telbarisk was invaluable to my husband’s work. He assisted him when he could. I’m not sure if you could put a figure to it, but I’m sure what we paid and what he gave were even.”

“And what was your husband’s work?”

She lowered her voice. “He’s a trirec.”

Jormé pulled his pipe away from his face. “You married a trirec?”

“Please,” she said. “We can’t let anyone know about it. His order doesn’t allow him relationships, never mind to marry.”

“Well, I know that. Our secret to keep, then.” He puffed a few more times, then turned to Tel. “This wouldn’t happen to be your trirec friend that you met in Nourabrikot?”

“Raulin Kemor. Yes, that’s him.”

“So, you four bumped into each other and decided to travel together, with a trirec, for a year?”

Al pulled the chalice from his backpack, now invisible to everyone there, and set it on the table. “It’s a long story,” he began.

Even with only the highlights and plenty of omissions, it still took a half-hour for him to tell their tale. Jormé sat back and took it in, occasionally looking at Tel. When Al finished, he asked only one question: “So, you didn’t take advantage of Telbarisk?”

“No,” Anla said, giving Al a break. “I mean, we didn’t fully understand what binding him to the chalice would do, but that was ignorance, not malice. Tel is our brother; we’d never hurt him intentionally.”

“Ohhh…” he said, brightening and sitting up. “I misunderstood. Though I don’t know him all that well, I’m sort of fond of Telbarisk. I thought you must have exploited his naivete or abilities somehow.”

“No!” she said, choking on the word.

“Well, that’s different, then. I’ll take care of everything. There’s only about five vessels out there, beside my own, that are taking passengers. I know the captains to three of them well enough that this won’t be a problem.”

“You’ll bring him aboard your ship?” Anla asked.

“Yes. And don’t worry about their fare; I’ll take care of that, too.”

“Thank you,” Al said, grasping his hands. “We appreciate this.”

Jormé stood and paid for the drinks. “The Tempest Free sails the day after tomorrow at four o’clock. I’d recommend trading coins at the bank and stocking up for a long journey. And, for your scheme to work, I’d keep out of sight as much as possible.”