his friends, who weren't totally convinced they couldn't take her.
She opened the bag of holding at her side and called, 'Skeins.'
The raggamoffyn fluttered up through the opening and formed a striking serpentine shape that hovered on the wind. The men backed away at once, terror on their faces.
'Don't,' Sabyna said coldly, 'let me see you again.'
Without another word, the men grabbed their friend from the rutted road and took off.
Releasing a slow, taut breath, Sabyna stepped into the apothecary's shop. Skeins retreated into the bag of holding.
The shop stood small and tidy beneath a swaying ceiling that had seen its best days pass it by. Wheel- shaped candelabras hung from the ceiling. Handmade shelves, added as needed and not with a uniform design in mind, stood against the left and right walls.
Glass bottles of all shapes, sizes, and colors mixed with jars, canisters, and small boxes to cover the shelves. Open vases held sticks of spices and rolled herbs. Cheesecloth pouches of pipeweed sat on barrels.
Some of the herbs had been dried and left in their original shape, lying in jars, in thick clusters, or hanging from strings strung around the room. Other herbs had been ground into meals and powders, grains separated from the chaff.
'Hail and well met, lady.'
Fazayl stood behind the battered counter at the end of the shop. Long gray hair hung to his shoulders, but the top of his head was bald. Gray chin whiskers jutted out in disarray. He wore a homespun shirt and worn breeches. A long-stemmed pipe was in one hand, and the rich aroma of cherry blend pipeweed filled the shop.
'Hail and well met.' Sabyna crossed to the counter. 'You have the herbs and other things I asked for?'
'Aye,' the man replied. 'That I do.'
He reached under the counter and brought out a small wooden box. Inside were a dozen vials, jars, and bottles of different colors. Bundles of herbs and incense sticks took up more space.
Sabyna took the bottles and herbs out one by one, checking each.
'I've gotten some new stock in, lady,' Fazayl stated, waving his arm generously around the small shop. 'If you'd care to take a look.'
'Thank you. I will.'
Despite the danger inherent in being in the town of Agenais by herself, Sabyna found she was reluctant to return to Azure Dagger so readily. While aboard ship she was consciously aware of Jherek's absence. She left the small box in the apothecary's care and crossed the room to the potions and oils.
Two small children, no more than six or seven, entered the shop amid gales of laughter. Dressed in made- over clothing patched in dozens of places, they pushed and shoved each other in playful sibling rivalry. The children stopped at the counter and peered up at Fazayl.
'And where do you rapscallions think you're off to?' the apothecary demanded.
The children didn't answer, simply peered over the edge of the counter with their big eyes. Dirt stained their wind-reddened cheeks, and they wiggled in excitement.
Smiling, Fazayl reached under the counter and brought out half a dozen hard candies. The children scooped them up, yelled quick thank you's, and scurried for the door. The old man laughed at them, then caught Sabyna looking.
'Bless the children, lady, for they see only the good things in this world.'
'Are they your grandchildren?' Sabyna asked.
'No, lady. My boys and my grandchildren live in Ches-senta. The Whamites turned out far too small to keep them from roving. Still, most of the children in town know I and the missus can be counted on for a few pieces of sugar candy without too much of a fight.'
The shop door opened and two rough-looking men stepped through. Both of them walked with the rolling gait of professional seamen and wore cutlasses instead of long swords.
'Shopkeeper,' one of the men roared. 'I've got a list of goods here we'll be needing.' He reached inside his blouse and took out a scrap of parchment.
'If I can,' Fazayl replied. 'Some goods are in short supply these days.'
The two men swaggered to the counter and gazed around at the shop. One of them looked directly at Sabyna, and the ship's mage recognized him in an instant as one of Vurgrom the Mighty's crew of pirates that had captured her in Baldur's Gate and fled with her down the River Chionthar.
She readied her spells in the event that he recognized her.
After they gave their list to Fazayl, they turned to the barrels where the apothecary kept live fish, salamanders, frogs, and newts that he used to make some of his powders, potions, and oils.
Returning to the counter, still watching the two men, Sabyna quickly paid for her supplies, then shoved them into the bag of holding. Skeins sensed her tension and tried to ease from the bag. She pushed the raggamoffyn back inside, thanked Fazayl, and headed for the door.
Without looking back, she crossed the rutted street that cut through the heart of Agenais and took up a position beside a sail maker's shop. From the alley she had a clear view of the apothecary.
When they left, she followed.
XV
29 Flamerule, the Year of the Gauntlet
'You're an excellent player,' the captain said.
Jherek glanced at Captain Tarnar across the inlaid marble chessboard on the small table between them in the captain's quarters. The pieces were done in dark red and white, matching the board, carved in figures of king, queen, priests, horsemen, castles, and kneeling archers.
'You're very gracious,' the young sailor responded.
Steadfast cleaved the water as she was named, pulling full into the wind now.
'No,' Tarnar replied, 'I'm not. I don't like to lose.'
He poured another glass of wine for himself, then offered the bottle to Jherek, who politely refused.
The captain had invited Jherek to join him for dinner, and the young sailor had reluctantly accepted. Jherek preferred his own company, but he was loath not to show good manners in light of the situation.
'I find it more disturbing that you beat me three times in a row-' Tarnar paused to sip his wine,'-in light of the fact that you're distracted.'
'I'm not-'
'A woman?' the captain asked, interrupting politely.
Jherek didn't reply. To speak of Sabyna so casually would be dishonorable.
'Of course it's a woman,' Tarnar said with conviction. His eyes bore into the young sailor's. 'The only other interest to so bewitch a man's soul would be an object of greed, and you aren't the type to covet physical goods.' The captain started setting up the chess pieces again. 'You threw yourself into the sea without so much as a bag packed those days ago.'
Jherek set up the pieces on his side of the board, appreciating the smooth feel of them.
'Is it the ship's captain I saw you with?' Tarnar persisted. 'The half-elf? Or the young red haired girl that seemed so upset by your leaving?'
'I'd rather not speak of this,' Jherek said.
'Nonsense. Men at sea always talk of women,' the captain persisted. 'First, they speak of their mothers, then of lovers, then of women they've left in different ports. When they start speaking of wives, you'd best start looking for another crewman.'
Candles lit the room and filled it with the smoky haze of herbs that eddied out the open windows in the ship's stern. A generous portion of the room was given over to the large bed that extended across the stern a good eight feet. Shelves and closets occupied the remaining space along the wall on either side of the bed.
There was a large rolltop desk that held map scrolls and nautical plotting and marking tools. Ship's journals sat neatly ranked on one side. The current journal occupied the center of the table, open to the entry Tarnar last
