Warded Mage (Reawakening Saga) (17 page)

“No, I am from the nation of Farlan.” Thad said dismissively as he took another bite but his eyes were locked onto the barmaid searching her for any clue as to why she was acting oddly.

The barmaid took a seat opposite him lacing her fingers tighter with her thumbs revolving around each other. “Farlan, I heard some of the sailors talk about it. They say it is a land where wealthy women keep men as pets.” The barmaid’s voice was so offhand that Thad knew she had said it thinking it was mere rumor.

“That’s not too far off the truth. In Farlan only women can inherit, so most men are not viewed in a high light and many become branded slaves.” Thad’s voice was cold with little inflection making the barmaid jump slightly in her seat.

The barmaid trembled slightly as she raised her hand and lightly brushed her fingers across the double moons tattooed on Thad’s forehead. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know that those stories were true. I thought that it was just the sailors telling stories.” Her voice was soft and caring making Thad’s stomach tightened in remorse for his harsh words.

“Having a morning chat are we?” Brianna said from behind Thad startling him.

The barmaid quickly rose from where she was seated. “I need to return to work. I hope we get the chance to talk again.” The young woman darted off, leaving Thad confused and facing a very unhappy dwarf.

“What was that about?” Brianna asked her voice as cold as ice.

“I don’t know, after she brought my food she started asking me questions. I didn’t see a reason not to respond so I answered her.” Thad said slightly confused, not understanding why Brianna was mad. 

Brianna crossed her arms
, her icy stare still fixated directly at Thad. When the barmaid returned to take the other two’s order. Brianna’s stare intensified, sending a cold shiver down Thad’s spine. While Thad was unsure why Brianna was mad, he knew that if he turned his eyes toward the barmaid that his life would be in danger. “I think I will go to the docks and check on a ship to Farlan.” Thad said his voice slightly trembling as he looked at Brianna who simply continued to glare at him.

Once outside the inn Thad let out a heavy sigh. His body felt heavy now that the tension had left his body. Rotating his head slightly Thad took a deep breath. Hoping Brianna would calm before he returned to the inn later
, Thad set off in the direction of the pier.

After asking around it wasn’t hard to find out where the dock masters office was. Thad was soon standing in front of a large two-story building with a large sign depicting three large sails. Large amounts of sailors were gathered in front of the building talking. As soon as he drew close to the entrance, all the eyes seemed to focus on him. Thad knew that he would draw a certain amount of attention no matter where he went due to his left eye, but the feeling he was getting from the sheer amount of eyes on him was unnerving. The feeling didn’t disappear once he was inside instead, it seemed to increase.

Inside the building looked much like that of an inn, with a large common room designed to serve as a gathering place that seemed to serve both food and drink to the guests. Thad surveyed the large room until he found a large older man sitting idly behind a desk, looking exceedingly bored. As Thad drew near, the man looked up at him his eyes narrowing dangerously. “What do you want boy?”

“I am looking for a ship that can carry me to Farlan.” Thad replied confidently.

The man pulled a thick book from under the desk and began to flip through the pages. “Looks like your best chance will be the Rose Runner. It should be coming back into port within the next few days. Write down the number of passengers you wish to take along with you and the inn you’re staying in and I will have a runner notify you of when they arrive. It’s up to the captain if they wish to let you board. I know the captain, for a few silver I can put in a good word for ya boy.”

Thad wasn’t sure if the man was lying or not but in the end it didn’t matter. He had plenty of gold, and if spending some would help
ensure his passage he was more than willing to take the risk. Thad dug into his pouch and pulled out three gold coins that had once belonged to the slain Brotherhood soldiers and tossed them on the desk. “Make sure you put in a really good word.”

The man looked at the coins sitting on his desk and smiled, his overall demeanor changing instantly. “I will do my
best for you young master.”

CHAPTER XXI

Thad sat in his room, his hand in the pouch on his side that held the ring he had bought a few days beforehand. He wanted to give the ring to Brianna as soon as possible but she was still acting coldly toward him. Thad might not understand why she was mad but he knew it had something to do with the barmaid. The only thing that came to mind was jealously, though he wasn’t sure why she would be jealous from him simply talking. To be safe he had made sure to stay out of the common room, taking his meals in his room or eating at different places within the town.

Thad was getting inpatient of waiting for the Rose Runner to come to port. Each day he waited anxiously of news of its arrival. His nerves had been on end since the day before. He felt as if he was being watched by someone but no matter what method he used, he couldn’t detect anyone. 

A knock at the door startled Thad making his heart race. Quickly he jumped to his feet and rushed to open the door. A young boy no more than thirteen stood on the other side. As soon as the door was open, the young boy tried to enter the room but his foot hit the invisible shield that protected the threshold. “Can I help you?” Thad asked dismissing the confused look on the boy’s face.

“Borah told me to come down ‘ere and tell
ya the Rose Runner is coming inta port now.” The boy said smiling and holding out his hand.

Thad shook his head slowly side to side as he pulled a handful of coins out of his pouch. He watched as the boy’s eyes lit up at seeing the mix of copper, silver, and gold. Thad flipped through the coins until he found a copper then tossed it to the waiting boy. The child looked at the single copper than back to the small fortune in Thad’s hand and grunted, “Skinflint.”

Thad quickly went to the adjoining room and was pleased to find that Crusher, Arianna, and Avalanche were all waiting in the room. “The ship is coming to dock, let’s go down and meet with the captain. Crusher go get Brianna and meet us at the Three Sails.” Thad turned and walked out of the room quickly followed by Avalanche and Arianna with Crusher lagging behind cursing over having to go play fetch.

How long are you going to keep this pointless fight up with that dwarf of yours?
The voice in his mind seemed to have a twinge of laughter laced into a serious tone. “When she is ready to stop being mad.” Thad answered back snidely.

“
Avie says you’re in a bad mood.” Arianna squeaked from beside him as she rode Avalanche like a horse down the narrow street.

Thad was surprised to see Arianna talking to
him, she had said less than ten words to anyone since she had started tagging along. “You can tell Avalanche that I am ok, I just have some things on my mind.” Thad replied trying to force a smile on his face. Arianna didn’t say anything more, she just started whistling. Thad had often listened to the Nadirie’s when they walked it was always a light and enjoyable tone that seemed to wash away the built of tension and fatigue in his body.

Once they were in front of the Three Sails, they didn’t have to wait long before their two dwarf companions joined them. The icy look that Brianna gave him sent chills down Thad’s spine letting him know that she was still far from being in the mood to forgive him for whatever it had been that had made her mad. Without saying a word, Thad entered the building and went straight for the dock master’s desk.

As soon as the man saw him, he gave Thad a welcoming smile. “The Rose Runner already made it to port and a few of their crew are already drinking in the pub. The Captain is most likely being held up with cargo. Head back to the third room down the hall to your left. As soon as the Captain comes to report in and pays the dock due’s I will send ‘ere back to ya.”

Thad slid another gold coin on the table, he knew it wasn’t suspected but the better the mood of the dock master the better the
chances for them to gain passage. The room wasn’t very large but it was more than large enough to hold ten to fifteen people without feeling too cramped. The air in the room grew tense fast with Brianna still glaring at him and Thad unable to say anything to alleviate her anger. When the door to the room finally opened, Thad was so relieved he could have kissed the feet of the people on the other side.

An older lady in her early to mid-thirties wearing a tight fitting red dress entered the room with a slightly younger well-muscled male following behind her. “You’re the ones that want to book passage on my ship to Farlan.” The captain’s voice was neither cold nor
warm, it was as if she was completely bored with the meeting already.

“Yes we require passage to Farlan.” Thad replied evenly trying to math his tone with hers.

The captain sighed heavily and shook her head. “I don’t know if you can afford the price boy. Right now both Farlan and Abla are paying top prices for supplies. Unless you can offer me more than I could make from carrying cargo of the same weight and size there is no way I can allow you on my ship.”

Thad was surprised to hear that Farlan was paying hard gold for supplies, had something happened while he had been gone. He wanted more information but Thad was worried that the longer the discussion went on the less likely they would be afforded passage. Thad cursed himself for not checking the standard far for passage before the meeting. Not
wanting to insult the captain, he rummaged through his pack until he found the largest sapphire he had. It was a little smaller than his clinched fist but even then Thad was sure that it should be enough to buy a fair sized ship let alone passage on one. Thad watched the captain’s eyes closely as he lay the shining blue gem on the table, and was not disappointed when the widened in greed. “Will this be enough to ensure our passage?” Thad asked in an offhanded manner.

The captain locked eyes with Thad for a few brief heartbeats before breaking down into a fit of laughter. “I must say, when I saw you and that fancy eye of yours I was hoping to earn a bit of gold. I was hoping for a nice
negotiation where I could drive a good price for your passage but I never expected you to offer such a treasure. We leave at first light; I would suggest you board tonight so that you don’t miss the departure.” The Captain scooped up the large sapphire and left the room.

“You hea
rd her, let’s get our belongings and head to the ship.” Thad’s voice could not help but expresses his relief of the successful negotiations.

EPI
LOGUE

Thad stood on the deck of the Rose Runner staring out at the open sea. The first few days of the trip the heavily salted air had assaulted him, stinging his eyes and burning his throat, but now he was growing accustomed to it. Crusher and Brianna were in their rooms below deck having little love for the open water and not faring well thus far. Arianna and Avalanche were also below deck though they often came up to the main deck to play with the sailors.

In around thirty days, he would be back in Farlan. It seemed like a dream, though some of the news from the sailors had worried him. Abla was in the middle of a civil war, though giving the county’s warlike nature it wasn’t surprising. It was the news that the princess of Farlan had declared open rebellion on the queen and had amassed an army in order to wrest the throne from her mother. From the stories he had heard, it seemed that the princess had the support of the people and armies of Farlan so the queen had requested aid from Rane.

Thad gripped the rail of the ship so hard the feeling was lost in his fingers. With the news, Thad had also started to reflect more on his dreams. Were they forewarning of what was happing while he was gone. As much as it frustrated him, he would have to wait until he reached Farlan to learn the truth.