Guild Wars: Sea of Sorrows (35 page)

Cobiah tensed, watching Grimjaw out of the corner of his eye. The charr shifted in his seat but showed no sign of leaving. She looked at Cobiah questioningly, and he gave her a smile. There was no opportunity to tell Isaye what he’d found aboard the
Brutality
, and even if he could, it would only worry her as it had Macha.

“This council was called to vote on the future of the city’s monetary concerns.” Nodobe reclined comfortably in his chair, looking for all the world as if he were addressing a room filled with his personal followers. Yesterday, it had rankled Cobiah to see Nodobe act like he was in charge. Today, Cobiah had far too much on his mind to try to compete. Nodobe continued. “Thanks to Yomm—excuse me,
Captain
Yomm—the city’s treasury currently has enough gold to address some significant issues.”

“Like finishing the fortress,” Hedda chimed in.

Tarb said, “Or building a bank! By my golematronic grandmother, can we talk about that? I’m tired of keeping my money in my ship’s hold. I’m a sailor, not a banker.”

Laughing softly, Nodobe held up his palms. “We could do any of these things, assuredly. But we cannot do them all. The question before the council is, which should we choose?”

“Should we vote first?” Cobiah said quickly. “It seemed we were tangled in argument yesterday. I’m curious to see where the council stands this morning. If we have a tangible majority, then it will save us time spent flapping our jaws.”

“An excellent point, Captain Marriner,” Nodobe agreed. “Shall we vote on the primary allocation, then?”

“All those in favor of spending the majority of the money on our city’s defense—more guns on the northern cliff, finishing the fortress on Claw Island, and increasing the city guard—raise your hand.” Cobiah lifted his as he spoke, holding his palm above his shoulder.

Moran’s hand shot up. “I’ve seen what those undead freighters can do. I don’t want to take any chances.” Hedda raised hers more slowly.

After a moment, Nodobe said, “Three. Very well, all those in favor of using the revenue on necessary internal upgrades: a bank, better roads into Kryta and through the Shiverpeaks, more buildings to house shops and trade.” He lifted his hand, looking around the table expectantly.

Tarb was the first to join him, which was no surprise at all. Yomm’s hand waved pointedly in the air as the shopkeep puffed up in smug contentment. Grimjaw made a show of pretending to consider both sides, rubbing his whiskers and flapping all four ears. At last the charr captain lifted his hand in affirmation, claws glinting in the sunshine that streamed down through the high windows.

“Isaye?” Tarb asked. “Your vote?”

“What does it matter?” Grimjaw jeered. “Four to three in favor.”

She exchanged a glance with her second, and Henst put his hand on her arm reassuringly. “I think Lion’s Arch needs upgrades in multiple areas if the city is
going to thrive. I don’t see why we can’t split the money between the two.”

“An abstention is still four to three.” Grimjaw lowered his hands to the table, claws sinking into the thick wood. “We win.”

“One moment, one moment, let’s hear her out. If Isaye casts her vote in agreement with us,” Moran argued, “we’d be tied at four to four until someone changes sides.”

“That could take weeks!” Tarb groaned. “I have a vessel to run. Shipping deadlines to make. If I’m stuck here until Wintersday, how’m I going to pay my crew?”

The charr rumbled angrily and turned toward Isaye. “Look, Isaye, I know we’ve had our differences, but as you’re the one that started the fight that landed my crewmen in the clink this morning, I figure you owe me some consideration.” Grimjaw forcibly relaxed his fists and placed his pawlike hands on the table. “I want a word with you about your concerns, to see if you and I can come to a compromise. Then we’ll have another vote. This time, no abstentions.”

Nodobe tapped his fingers together. “Fine. We’ll recess for five minutes. But let me tell you this, Grimjaw.” Nodobe leaned toward the snaggletoothed charr and put ice in his voice. “If you bully her . . . if I hear one
whiff
of trouble . . .” The Elonian narrowed his eyes. “I’ll see you in chains, pulling at my ship’s oars. Understood?”

Visibly disturbed at the thought, Grimjaw nodded brusquely. He rose from the table and gestured to Isaye to follow him toward the front of the pavilion.

“There he goes,” Macha hissed. “It’s
Isaye
! We have to follow her.”

Cobiah’s breath caught in his throat. “What? It can’t be Isaye. She wouldn’t blow up her own ship—especially not while she was on it. She wouldn’t leave me here to die.”

“Maybe you care a lot more for her than she does for you, Cobiah,” Macha said bitterly. “She’s Krytan, remember? She works for Baede. I bet
he’s
behind this. C’mon, we have to follow them.”

He’ll be king of Lion’s Arch
. Cobiah considered the thought fleetingly and then shook his head. “Isaye loves me. That was
her
ship. Verahd was her friend, and that bomb killed him. It doesn’t make sense; there’s no possible way it’s Isaye. Grimjaw’s going to come back into the room and then leave again with the real traitor. If we go after him now, we’re giving ourselves away. I trust Isaye, Macha. We just have to be patient.” Refusing to consider the alternative, Cobiah crossed his arms and settled into his chair. Around them, the other captains had broken into small talk and pleasantries, discussing the weather and their next trade runs.

Macha tugged harder at his sleeve. “Maybe I’m wrong, but can we take the chance? Get up, Coby. We can’t stay here.
Please,
Cobiah!” A bead of perspiration ran down the asura’s forehead, trickling across her temple and vanishing into her braids. Cobiah’d never seen her so jittery. Something was definitely wrong.

“Calm down, Macha,” he said, taken aback.

“No, really, trust me—get up, we have to go. To follow them, I mean.”

He twisted in his chair, staring at Macha in confusion. Why was she so insistent? Unless . . .

She wasn’t just worried; she was panicking. A similar image leapt into Cobiah’s mind: Macha, racing down the dock just before the bomb exploded, the same frightened look on her face. She said she’d merely followed the messenger, but when Macha was running up the
Nomad
’s gangplank, she was yelling a warning.

“Macha.” He gripped her arm. “How did you know about the bomb?”

“There’s no time to argue, Cobiah. They’re getting away. We have to go after Grimjaw . . .” Her voice trailed off urgently.

“The package on the
Nomad
. How did you know it was dangerous?” Instead of answering, Macha stammered, and Cobiah tightened his grip on her arm. “It was just an ordinary brown-paper package, Macha. It could have been anything. It didn’t look like a bomb. Why were you in such a panic if you
didn’t know what it was
?”

“Cobiah, you’re wasting time.” She trembled. By now, everyone at the table was staring at them. Macha yelped as Cobiah’s hand clenched her wrist. “Isaye could be in danger—”

“
You
were Grimjaw’s courier. You snuck onto Isaye’s ship and placed the bomb in front of her cabin. You must have seen my coat on the pylon as you were leaving. That’s when you realized I was aboard. That’s when you started yelling for me to get off the ship.”

“Cobiah, I’d never do anything to hurt you.” Macha twisted in his grasp. The others couldn’t hear the whispered words, but they could see that Cobiah’s face was flushed with rage.

“Not me, maybe. But Isaye?” Cobiah’s mind was racing. He jerked the asura closer, growling in rage. “By Dwayna, now I understand! Without Isaye, I don’t have any reason to stay in Lion’s Arch. In fact, I’d
want
to leave. Isn’t that what I told you the morning before the bomb was set?” He shook the asura roughly. “Are you behind all this, Macha?”

“No!” Macha protested. “But I know who is. And yes, I helped him. But that’s why we were arguing; I changed my mind. I was going to tell you the truth. You have to believe me, I didn’t know there was a bomb here! He was willing to kill me, too.” Tears ran down the asura’s cheeks,
falling on her robin’s-egg-blue robe. “Please, Coby, you have to understand. I wanted to get out of this stinking city. I just wanted our life back—sailing on the
Pride
with all of our friends. Like it was before Isaye.”

“Who sent the bomb, Macha?”

With tears still running down her cheeks, Macha pointed across the room. “
He
did.” Cobiah turned to follow her accusatory finger and saw Isaye and Grimjaw, headed out the front doors of the pavilion, their seconds at their sides. Isaye. Grimjaw. Grimjaw’s second, Krokar, and Isaye’s second, Henst. And just like that, everything fell into place.

My grandfather was a member of the Ascalonian nobility.

Mr. “I’m the prince of Ascalon.”

He’ll be king of Lion’s Arch
.

Cobiah hurled himself up out of the chair, still gripping the asura’s wrist. “Isaye!” he shouted. The small group paused at the doorway. “Henst sent the bomb. He was trying to kill you and inherit your seat on the Captain’s Council. If you let him leave the room, we’re all going to die.” Everyone in the room froze in surprise, and Hedda let out a little gasp. Isaye stared at Cobiah in utter disbelief.

Nodobe was the first to speak. The dark-skinned captain said slowly, “That’s a serious accusation, Captain Marriner. Do you have any evidence?”

“Yeah. Looks like I do,” Cobiah said, pulling Macha forward. He rounded on the asura. “This is your one chance, Macha. Explain, or I swear, I’ll sit down, Grimjaw will blow that bomb, and we’ll all become fizzy-widgets in the Eternal Alchemical . . . thingy.”

“The Eternal Alchemy,” Macha breathed, dabbing at her tears. “Oh, Coby. You
were
listening.”

“Spill, Macha!”

Macha jumped nervously. “It was his idea!” she said,
pointing at Henst. “He made a deal with the king of Kryta. If Henst could take over Lion’s Arch, King Baede would recognize his authority as a fellow royal and lend him troops and ships to secure the city and drive out all nonhumans. Lion’s Arch would become a ‘new home for displaced Ascalonians,’ and Henst would be their king.”

Cobiah prodded her again. “Now the part about Isaye, and the bomb on the
Nomad.
”

The asura’s shoulders slumped, and her voice fell. “Henst told Grimjaw to make the bomb that was supposed to take out Isaye. My job was to put the bomb on the ship, because I could get there without anyone seeing me.” To the asura’s credit, she looked as chagrined as she did bitter. “Originally, Henst was going to buy a ship and get his own seat on the council, but one vote wouldn’t have been enough. He needed more. So we came up with a plan.

“Henst gave his money to Yomm to buy a seat instead, and then he planned to kill Isaye. Henst was her first mate; he’d inherit her seat on the council. With Isaye dead, I could convince Cobiah to leave the city. Henst, Grimjaw, and Yomm could all vote against spending more money on the city’s defenses, and once Lion’s Arch was unprotected, King Baede’s troops would sweep in and declare Henst king of the city . . .”

“What was Grimjaw getting? How did Henst convince him to help?” Cobiah pressed her ruthlessly.

“Henst made Grimjaw a deal. Once Henst took over the city, he’d use Baede’s backing to give Grimjaw ships, and Grimjaw would convince the nonhumans leaving Lion’s Arch to crew them. He’d get what he wanted—an armada to go attack Orr. I’m betting neither Henst nor Baede would give a flap at that point if those ships were successful, so long as they left Lion’s Arch.” Macha’s ears wiggled despondently. “Henst also promised to give
Grimjaw the
Pride
.” She shook her head. “Stupid charr believed him.”

“This is all ridiculous!” Grimjaw bellowed from the other side of the room. “The asura’s lying. Not a word of it is true. If Macha put a bomb on the
Nomad
and she wants to admit it, then that’s her concern. I had nothing to do with any of it, and neither did Henst.” For his part, Henst stood silently by Isaye’s side, looking like a thunderous storm cloud. He kept his hands on his sword hilts, and his eyes glittered with anger.

“Henst wasn’t going to give you the
Pride
anyway, you drooling git. He was going to give it to King Baede.” Macha snorted derisively.

“The
Pride
was mine! He promised!” Grimjaw said, his temper flaring. “You take that back!”

In the echo of his words, Cobiah felt rather than heard every person in the room turn to stare at the charr. “And there, ladies and gentlemen,” Macha said, gesturing with a flourish, “I give you the ancient asuran legal tradition of Testimony by Idiot.”

“You can’t prove anything,” Henst snarled. “You have no evidence.”

“Where were you when the bomb was placed on the
Nomad
?” Cobiah said accusatorily. “You were off-ship, weren’t you? Because you knew the ship would be attacked.”

“Most of the crew was off-ship. We were on shore leave,” Henst retorted.

“True. But I’ll bet ‘most of the crew’ didn’t take their rucksack ashore that night. Unlike you, they were planning on coming back to the ship. But you knew the
Nomad
would be on fire, didn’t you, Henst? So you took all your important possessions off the ship and stored them somewhere safe.” Cobiah’s eyebrows knitted together
with anger. “Unluckily for you, I saw your bag at Yomm’s shop, though I didn’t connect the two at the time.

“Nodobe, Tarb—Henst stays here.” Cobiah directed them. “Moran, go to Yomm’s and search that rucksack. If Macha’s story is true, we’ll find proof there. Letters, I’d imagine, signed by King Baede.”

In an instant, Henst drew his swords. “You are too clever by far, Cobiah Marriner.” Grimjaw’s weapons followed in the blink of an eye, a dagger in one hand and a pistol in the other. Isaye stood trapped by a field of weapons, her jaw tensed and her face pale. “Not a move, Captain Isaye. I wouldn’t want to spill blood on the council floor.” Henst spoke quietly, raising one of his swords to Isaye’s throat as his eyes flicked to Cobiah and the others. “We’re going to back out of the room, and you’re going to let us—or I’m afraid she dies.”