work. Then they'd run by the Capital, or where ever the leaders lived and head home. Simple.
The first snag happened when they tried to dock at the large Afrak southern port. They were willing enough to have them it seemed, based on the happy way people waved at them and called out, but the dock was dwarfed by the ship. Not wanting to unpack everything yet, since it would take several days to off load it all and then do it again in a week or two, they backed the ship off a couple of miles, so it wouldn't be in the way, and set up to fly to shore. It was about five-thirty in the afternoon when they stepped out of the magical carriage, Mutta going first, to run interference, she said quickly in Afrak. After all, the Princess didn't speak the language and the Court Jester was the Ambassador. If she didn't speak up pretty quickly women would start making offers on Tor and the Prince for marriage.
It was a joke, he thought, since she smiled when she said it, happily enough, but the very first woman to approach them looked at him and Rolph and offered ten genetically modified silk goats for the tall one and twenty for the pretty one, which, blushing, he assumed was him. Mutta cringed.
“Are you trying to start a problem? The tall one is the Prince of Noram, who will lead it one day, and the pretty one is the Ambassador to our land! Plus, look at them, they must be worth fifty times that even if they weren't. The correctly sized one there? He learned our tongue in just over a week, and is grasping genetics faster than I've ever seen any do. No, I must spurn your offer. Perhaps if you collect a group of friends you could afford to buy them together and share? A very large group of wealthy friends.”
The she turned to everyone else and bowed.
“She welcomes you and hopes your stay in our fair land is a peaceful and educational one, and expresses her admiration for you all.”
Tor tried to fight a smile from his face, which made Mutta wave at him, addressing the dock woman again.
“I told you he'd already learned the language…”
The woman, the head of the dock proper, seemed more intrigued with him after that rather than less. She kept making a point of standing close to him and touching his arm and shoulder, pretending it was casual the whole time. She wasn't bad looking, about forty he guessed and wearing tough looking clothes that might have been some kind of canvas, but didn't seem exactly like it. The colors were muted brown and green, so probably work clothes. As they talked, the woman kept moving just a little closer to him, until their shoulders touched. She did have a bright and friendly smile on her slightly round face. It wasn't fat, he could see a hint of lean muscle in it even, just the shape of it.
Mutta got them permission to keep the ship where it was, and to visit the town that evening to look around, but cautioned that the men and women on the ship, while nice people, were all giants, save a few, and that they wouldn't understand an offer to buy marriage.
Tor shrugged.
“Well, they're royals and nobles mainly, really an offer like that wouldn't be misunderstood either, but the crew will be needed to go back with us, so if any women are truly interested, they would need to be willing to relocate, men too, but from what you said the fellows won't be making a lot of offers? And if Mutta here could act as the first proxy for their mothers? Then she can get with Princess Karina, since she can act in that capacity officially, if needed.” It made sense to him anyway, the Queen could do it legally, just like the King could act as a person’s father at need. Anyone’s, regardless of their age. So here, for their people, those duties would fall to Rolph and Karina.
Mutta smiled and winked at him, something he didn't even know she knew how to do. She asked where the other flying craft could land, and found a field to the east of the… expanse. That it wasn't a city, which she'd tried to explain earlier, was absolutely correct. He had to look hard to see how the low hills were actually houses that had plants growing all over them. There was a dense spread of trees and bushes, making it look more like a sparse forest rather than a place humans lived.
It was beautiful. Maybe the most lovely thing Tor had ever seen.
The food, he saw, was right there, grown next to the houses, and in between them. Large distances had been established between each place, at least an eighth of a mile, unless there were more hidden places around that his uneducated eyes just couldn't find. Once he got used to the idea Tor could see that it was a good plan over all. Everything was there. No need for far off farms, so no transport, except for moving people to one place or another to chat. It wasted a lot less than a similar size town in Noram by far. It had the land space of a city, but the population must have been about ten thousand or less. He asked the dock boss, forgetting for a moment that men were second or third class citizens here.
That didn't stop her from answering, she even seemed please that he'd thought to ask. Tor wondered if she was flirting with him, being humoring or something, to keep his attention? That or the dock workers were just cool that way. Or maybe she just didn't think men had to be stupid and useless?
“About seven thousand. We can feed twice that without harm, but the population board has kept us stable for the last few hundred years. We don't get a lot of visitors here, not that come ashore. The Tellerand men come to trade, that and tell us of their god, but they always seem insulted when women try to buy them, instead of taking it as a compliment. Men are rare here, so we have to jump if we don't want to miss out. How is it done there, in Noram?” She seemed curious so Tor answered without thinking too hard about it. He had to be diplomatic, but she'd asked.
“Noram? For a marriage? Normally either your parents arrange it for you, or, if you love someone, a man goes and begs the girl’s parents to let them marry. Sometimes there are gifts that go to the parents, and a dowry isn't that different from buying outright, except it doesn't go to the girl’s mother, but stays with the girl herself, so that she and her husband can use the wealth to start their life together. Where I come from specifically, you can sometimes buy a wife or husband from their mother for livestock. So for me your ways aren't that different, though I already have a betrothed. She's on the ship out there.”
The boat didn't have a name he realized. Then, it was the only giant black and light blue ship on the ocean that he knew of, so it should be all right for now, a description would suffice. The woman nodded and as they moved back to the carriage approached Mutta again. They talked for several minutes before coming back.
“Hah, Court Jester! She offered to send your mother forty silk goats if you have a brother with your look and tongue skills!”
He kept his face blank while the others laughed. Then he nodded.
“If you see her again, please let her know I have several younger, single brothers. All of them very clever, will you? I think my little brother Timon may actually be better at languages even, he's ten though, so a little young. My mom might just take her up on her offer. Forty regular goats would be an unheard of price for a boy. I don't know what silk goats are, but I imagine they're rather more precious?”
Wensa was the one flying them back, and she was clearly fighting a laugh of her own all the way. When he climbed out and his head moved closer to hers she smirked.
“She could tell you had good tongue skills just from talking to you? She must be an expert in the field.” She chuckled then, so he stuck his tongue out at her. Lethal killer or not, Tor wasn't taking jibes from her without a response. He didn't have a witty come back right now, but when he thought of one he'd… regret not thinking of it earlier and not say anything.
Obviously.
Coming back six months later with it wouldn't even make sense. Instead he stared at her for a second.
“Want to try for yourself?” He said instead batting his eyes at her. Really as isolated as he'd felt on the trip, even with everyone else around, it suddenly seemed intriguing, even if she probably would kill him for suggesting it.
Instead she laughed.
“Alright. Can't turn down an offer like that can I? Not at my age. Now? How about when we're safely back home? I don't want to distract you from your work, now do I?” Her voice had gone… sweet. Polite and intrigued. Right, the rules at play. She couldn't say no outright without being rude, could she?
Tor chuckled. He should have known better than to try and fluster someone like her. If he pushed her on the topic she'd just… do it, most likely. Wouldn't even blink. Instead he bowed. At least that baffled her, it being well outside protocol for the situation. Score one for him. Half a one at least. It wasn't much of a victory actually… Sigh, he thought making sure he didn't laugh, oh sigh.
Tor was kind of tempted to just stay in his room and sleep. It was a rare opportunity, seeing Afrak, but he
