Chapter Five
The next morning, we were up and off early. Lough Harbor was positioned beyond some small mountains, and I left Fang and my undead army there. We wanted to keep things low-key at first. It was a big town, so if we could depart before anyone caught wind of our presence, that would give us an advantage—because, of course, anyone catching wind was synonymous with Elandriel catching wind. The Church of Light had eyes and ears everywhere.
Once we’d all dressed in civilian attire, in order to pass as merchants, I led my party down the mountain road. It had been a very long time since I’d seen the sea, and the salty whiff of the ocean carried on the gentle coastal breeze put a spring in my step. I’d been on ships a few times before but never on as long a journey as the one to Yeng would take. It was a good thing that I’d always found my sea legs quickly, and had never suffered from seasickness.
While the view of the ocean beyond Lough Harbor was a pleasant one, the view of the town was not. It had been nothing more than a tiny fishing hamlet up until a hundred years ago, but a boom in ocean trade had caused it to expand rapidly. Ramshackle buildings were crammed together with no prior planning or considerations of efficiency or livability, and houses were heaped up on top of each other, many having been constructed with the architectural skill of a child.
Gloomy alleys and crooked streets wound confusing, maze-like passages between the buildings. Scruffy beggars, shifty-eyed rogues, nervous pickpockets, and weathered hookers congregated in the shadows, staring at us with predatory looks. The first robber who tried to cut my purse, though, would get a very nasty surprise. Drunken seamen spilled out of the doorways of every tavern, puking and pissing on the street and roaring with boisterous, inebriated laughter as they sang their shanty songs and felt up the ugly whores’ saggy tits and flabby asses. Plagues of seagulls squawked noisily and wheeled around the skies in huge flocks, shitting on everything and swooping down to steal greasy food from hapless drunkards’ hands.
Despite the proliferation of unsavory characters, my party and I radiated a distinct aura of “do not fuck with us or you’ll end up with your head separated from your shoulders,” so none of the muggers tried anything. We managed to navigate our way through the confusing mess of alleys and cobbled streets, and eventually found our way to the seafront.
The harbor was one of the biggest in Prand. There were close to a thousand seagoing vessels moored here, from the smallest fishing boats to huge merchant ships, wallowing like giant hippopotamuses in the water. The sight of so many boats and ships gave me hope. We had plenty of gold with us, and if there was one thing seamen liked more than rum and cheap whores, it was gold.
“What do you think, Rollar?” I asked my second-in-command as we strolled along the harbor, inspecting the vessels.
“It looks promising, Lord Vance. Many of these merchant ships are bigger than I imagined.”
Rami and Elyse approached, the latter inspecting the vessels with some interest while the former was wide-eyed and gaped at every one of them.
“You should consider a warship,” Rami said. “There are pirates in the Sea of Storms. The ship I traveled to this continent on was attacked by them two times on the journey here. If not for the Illustrious Sails, I would never have made it.”
“The Illustrious Sails is the greatest navy in the known world,” Elyse said. “Perhaps I could use my status as bishop to commandeer a suitable ship. They are the Church of Light’s own navy, after all.”
“Thanks all the same, but that sounds like a bad idea,” I said. “Elandriel would own those men, and they’d be as likely to kill us while we’re sleeping in the cabins as to sail us all the way to Yeng. Besides, we have enough gold to buy any vessel in this harbor. It’s just a matter of picking the right ones for our needs.”
“Aye, Lord Vance, that’s it. I think this one looks good for a start.” Rollar pointed to a large merchant ship with red sails moored nearby. “Why don’t we go talk to the captain of this ship, see what he thinks about selling?”
We walked up to the ship, where some sailors were unloading what looked like barrels of wine from the hold.
“Where’s the captain of this ship?” I asked.
“Who’s asking?” one of the sailors grunted as he glared at me with suspicion.
“Someone with a considerable amount of gold at their disposal,” I answered with a smile.
The look on the sailor’s face changed immediately, morphing into a beaming, gap-toothed smile.
“Wait right ‘ere.” He set down the barrel he was carrying. “I’ll go get ‘im.”
He returned a minute or two later with the captain of the ship, a fat fellow with a bushy gray beard and a long, blue coat. He didn’t look nearly as pleased to see me as the sailor had. Perhaps the sailor had forgotten to tell his superior that I had purses bulging with gold.
“How can I ‘elp you, sir?” the captain asked warily, looking me slowly up and down. “You ‘ave the look of a nobleman about you, dressed in finery like that. You lookin’ to purchase some of the wares I’ve imported from across the sea?”
“No,” I answered. “I need your ship. How much would you be willing to sell it for? I can pay you a very generous price.”
The captain shook his head and rubbed his chubby hands together, his eyes darting nervously from side to side, as if he suddenly feared that he was being watched. Either that or he had some men who’d attempt to steal my coin.
“I’m sorry, sir,” he mumbled, now avoiding eye contact and staring at the
