generally helping the people. A couple wagons are unloading sacks and boxes of food to waiting people.
When they arrive at the gates, Illan hollers to one of the guards, “Shoen!”
Shoen looks up from where he’s supervising the others and breaks into a smile when he sees who just addressed him. “Illan!” he cries as he moves toward him, extending his hand. “Didn’t expect to see you for quite some time.”
Illan takes his hand and gives it a firm shake before saying, “Can’t stay and talk I’m afraid. We need to see about a ship to take us across the Sea.”
“There’s a couple at anchor, I know,” he informs him. “But don’t know whether they’ll take you all the way to the other side?”
“We have a letter from Lord Pytherian requesting any and all to aid us,” he explains.
Nodding, he smiles and says, “That should make some merchant happy.” They both begin laughing hard at that, several others standing around who hear that join in as well. “Good luck!” wishes Shoen. “It was good to see you.”
As Illan begins moving to pass through, he says, “You too, Shoen.”
Shoen waves them on through, then goes back to making sure the traffic continues to flow smoothly through the gate.
Illan leads them through and once on the other side, takes the street heading down toward the docks. “Let’s see about a ship first, before they have a chance to get away,” he tells them. “Once we have one to agree to take us, we can find an inn should we have the time.”
“Alright,” agrees James.
You’d think Illan had returned a hero the way everyone greets him as he moves down the street. He handles it all well, only slowing when absolutely necessary. “He sure is popular around here,” observes Miko as he watches Illan wave to the people on the streets.
“He’s well liked by everyone who knows him,” Uther comments when he hears Miko. “Never sure why he joined up with us, but I suppose he has his reasons.” Lowering his voice, he continues, “Some of us believe he lost his wife during the war and wants revenge. But no one knows for sure.”
Miko stares at Uther’s back and nods.
Looking down to the end of the street, they can see the water of the Sea and the masts of the ships at dock. The few buildings bordering the docks have the look of warehouses and Illan continues on past and stops at a small building sitting at the entrance to the docks. “Dockmaster,” he tells them as he dismounts. James and Jiron dismount as well, the others remain on their horses.
Illan steps up to the door with them right behind and pushes it open. Inside, they find a man sitting behind a desk covered in a disorganized pile of papers. He looks up from where he’s making notations on one of them and a smile breaks across his face when he sees who it is.
Getting up, he says, “Illan! What brings you back here?” Moving around the desk, he gives Illan a big hug, careful not to get the ink on his fingers on the back of Illan’s shirt.
“Marko,” he says, returning the hug, “didn’t know you were the new Dockmaster.”
Releasing him, Marko says, “Have been for a year now, ever since Yeurn got married to that woman from the City.” Stepping back two steps, he continues, “It’s good to see you again.”
“I’m afraid I can’t stay long,” he explains. “We have need to reach the other side of the Sea and were hoping to be able to get someone to take us.”
His smile fades somewhat as he says, “Nothing serious I hope? The Empire isn’t on its way here is it?”
Shaking his head, he says, “Nothing like that. Our forces still have them on the other side of the Etterling River.”
“That’s good news,” he says with relief. “We haven’t had much news lately about the war. Just what the refugees tell us as they pass through.”
Gesturing to the ships at the dock outside, he asks, “Which one of those would be our best bet?”
“You might try the Sea Strider, it’s the one all the way at the end,” he says. “Derrin Nellix is the captain, and he’s leaving shortly for the far side. Don’t know if he’ll take on passengers, but you can try.”
“Okay, we’ll do that, thank you,” he says as he holds out his hand to his friend.
Taking the hand, Marko shakes it vigorously and says, “You’re welcome. If you’ll be staying in town, I’d love it if you could come and have dinner with me and Pauline.”
“We’ll see,” he replies. “Probably have to dine with my family first, though. They’d never let me hear about it if I didn’t.”
Marko laughs at that. “I think you’re right. Well, good luck.”
Illan nods his head and then turns to leave. James and Jiron back out, giving him room to pass through the door.
“Why didn’t you tell him about Lord Pytherian’s letter?” James asks. “Wouldn’t that have expedited it better?”
“Why use it if we don’t have to?” he asks. “Besides, he’s not the one we have to convince.”
Returning to where the others are waiting, he says, “Might be in luck, you just wait here while we go down to the ship to arrange things.”
“Alright,” Uther says for everyone. He gets down off his horse, the others following suit. “If we’re to wait longer, I’m not going to do it on horseback.”
“You got that right, man” agrees Jorry.
Illan leaves them behind as he, James and Jiron walk down to the end of the docks where sailors are busy transferring cargo from several wagons onto the ship resting against the dock.
Coming to the wagons, he catches the attention of one of the seaman returning from the ship for another box and asks, “Is Captain Nellix on board?”
The sailor doesn’t even pause as he replies, “Yes he is.” Grabbing another box, he starts to return to the gangplank.
“Can we speak with him?” Illan asks the sailor.
“I’ll ask him,” he says just before reaching the gangplank.
They watch as several other sailors leave the ship as they continue the transferring of cargo. The sailor they’d talked to returns to the top of the gangplank and begins walking down it to the dock. When he comes to where they’re standing, he says, “The captain said for you to go ahead and come aboard. You’ll find him at the cargo hatch going over the bills of lading.”
“Thank you,” Illan says.
He just nods and grunts before taking another box off the wagon.
Illan glances at James and asks, “Shall we?”
James nods and then follows Illan as he moves toward the gangplank. They pause at the bottom while two sailors leave the ship before walking up it to the ship’s deck.
They see a man, obviously the captain in question, standing at the cargo hold hatch going over the bill of lading just as the sailor had told them. He glances over to them as they begin walking over to him. “Yes?” he asks. “You wanted to see me?”
“We were hoping to book passage for us and our friends over to the other side of the Sea,” Illan explains.
“Don’t take on passengers,” the captain says. “They just get in the way.” A sailor comes on board with a box and pauses a moment while the captain checks it off. He gives the sailor a nod who then carries it on down into the hold.
“But our need is great,” insists Illan, “and we’d be willing to pay.”
“Don’t care,” he says. “I hate having people on board. Now, if you’ll get off my ship, I have work to do before we sail.”
“But,” James begins, “we have a…”
Illan shakes his head and waves for him to stop.
Confused, but willing to follow his lead, James doesn’t finish.
“Let’s go,” he says to them as he makes for the gangplank.
James and Jiron follow right behind. When they’re off the ship and have moved a short ways past the wagons, they stop. “Why didn’t you want me to mention the letter?” asks James.
