The next morning, I walked out of the Inn to bright sunlight stabbing my eyes. Seagulls squawked overhead, either greeting the day or plotting murder. I rolled my shoulders, testing for the pain I expected after pushing myself fighting the brigands. Nothing. Not even a twinge. Must be the health blessing. A cheat code in a world with no restarts.

  Down at the harbor, my eyes were drawn to a large pristine cog, its brand new blue and white square sail snapping in the wind. Its hull gleamed with fresh pitch and polish, painted carvings decorating the stern. Next to weathered merchant vessels, it looked like a noblewoman among fishwives.

  After a light breakfast, our party marched toward the ship waiting for us. The sailors were wearing clean clothes and had the posture of soldiers. While they helped our entourage load the wounded, the carriages and the horses aboard, I enjoyed the morning air, salty and fresh, from the squeaky clean deck.

  Reshma showed me around, her lithe body at ease on the slightly swaying ship. I, on the other hand, moved around like a drunkard. She seem to glide, while I was already beginning to feel nausea creeping up my throat. Still, I had the presence of mind to notice the intricately engraved brass fittings, gold trim on the ceiling and the plush interior. This wasn’t some merchant’s vessel.

  I took a gamble and asked her, “Her Majesty’s own ship?”

  “It is,” she replied, her eyes dancing.

  I sighed. They didn’t unfurl the red carpet for some nobody. Good thing she understood how valuable of an ally I could be. I just hoped this wasn’t a lure to a trap.

  We set sail in favorable winds. The moment we left the relative stillness of the harbor, the ship began to sway in earnest. My stomach lurched.

  Reshma didn’t fail to notice.

  “Not used to the sea, Excellency?”

  “No,” was all I could answer.

  She laughed softly. Then her tone shifted.

  “It’s a shame we couldn’t capture one of the brigands alive. You must have theories who sent them.”

  I did, but before I could evade the question, my stomach did the job for me. I quickly leaned over the railing and vomited my breakfast into the sea.

  Mortified, I excused myself from the deck and holed myself up in my cramped but luxurious cabin. The polished wood and silk cushions mocked my misery. Hours blurred into retching, cursing and half-sleep.

  By the morning of the second day, the sea had mercifully calmed down, and so had my stomach. I climbed up to the deck to see the orange sky of dawn receding behind an endless blue horizon.

  Light footsteps echoed on the deck behind me. Reshma bowed slightly, approached and stood right next to me, as though she belonged there.

  “I hope you are feeling well, Excellency?” she asked me softly with genuine concern.

  “Yes. Thank you for asking,” I smiled back.

  “Forgive me. In all the politicking,” she said brazenly, “I forgot to ask about your family. That was rude of me.”

  “It's fine. We are… estranged at the moment. I have a lover but I am officially single.”

  “Oh?” her voice pitched up with curiosity.

  “Ties by marriage are often more powerful than any signature on a treaty," I said, taking a gamble.

  “Are you proposing to me, Excellency?” she asked in an icy tone.

  “No!” I said abruptly before noticing the sparkle in her eyes.

  “Do you pull pranks like this on every foreign dignitary you meet?” I asked her, not bothering to mask my annoyance. This is what having a little sister must feel like.

  “No,” she said, a hand hiding a barely restrained smile, “only the interesting ones. Alas, there are so rare few of them.”

  Her gaze lingered on me, too assessing to be mere flirtation. “So you are open to an alliance by marriage.”

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  “Under the right circumstances.”

  “And what might they be?”

  “I wouldn’t tell them to someone I'm most definitely not going to marry,” I parried back.

  That drew a genuine laugh from her; a pleasant sound. “Oh, Excellency. The court will eat you alive if you’re not careful.”

  Before she could press further, the lookout shouted, “Land ho!”

  Aldersthron emerged from the morning mist in layers; first the wooden shanties crowded the shore, packed so tightly they looked like shells stuck on a rock.

  Behind them rose the Outer wall, towering above them all, a gray ribbon of stone. Then the Inner wall, taller, white and clean, displaying the status of its inhabitants.

  Above them all rose a lone mountain, on whose peak sat Hohenburg Castle. Its keep, a tall skyscraper of stone, watched over the city like a stern parent looking at its children.

  I hoped its mistress would be similarly just, if not benevolent.

  As we glided toward the harbor, the air turned foul from the city’s waste being spilled into the sea by the river Glimmerau; fish guts, smoke and humanity’s less pleasant aromas.

  The ship moored at a private berth, away from the main docks. Those piers were crowded with heavy merchant ships; wealth born from geography.

  I disembarked from the ship as soon as the gangplank touched wood. Even the uneven planks were a blessing. After agonizing minutes, the soldiers managed to disembark the carriages and horses, who weren’t in the best of moods. They had to be bribed with apple slices to follow instructions. I sympathized with the poor beasts’ suffering. Shame nobody was offering me any treat for going through the same ordeal.

  A procession of mounted guards in gleaming armor soon arrived, making me cringe. Attention was the last thing I wanted right now, but their armor reflecting the sun and perfect discipline ensured it. As they formed a square around us, they might as well have used bugles to announce our arrival to the whole city. I just hoped they were pageantry, not jailers in disguise.

  The clatter of hooves on wooden planks turned to thuds on cobblestone, as our procession navigated through the smelly and crowded harbor district. Fishmongers loudly hawked seafood of all kind, women haggled loudly, children darted through alleys and disheveled drunk sailors stumbled toward their destinations or lay slumped on the streets. Smells of old catch, sweat and god-knows-what were in the air. It was chaotic, filthy and alive.

  Soon we were at an imposing gate in the Outer wall. Relieved to be free from the stink of the harbor, I pulled back the shutter of my carriage to look around, and was sorely disappointed. The new smells weren’t particularly appetizing either. Overripe fruit, leather and open gutters.

  The edges of the avenue were packed full of merchants hawking exotic fruits, pets of all manners in cages big and small, bolts of cloth, tools, utensils, and on and on.

  As the Inner Wall began looming above us, it became clear that the city was the financial center of the country, even though it was far south to its geographical center. Stalls and cramped storefronts gave way to bigger shops, wares more refined; imported fabrics and exotic spices too expensive for most.

  All thanks to the Glimmerau. It was generous enough to calm down halfway to the ocean; a boon to the otherwise mostly rugged Nanon. Being the last node at the end of this free highway and the first node to sea trade made Aldersthron rich and powerful.

  A great shadow fell upon us as we crossed the massive gate of the Inner wall. Inside was a very different world. No dilapidated buildings here, but sprawling manses with manicured gardens peeking out from the streets.

  The main avenue was lined with high end shops, glass windows displaying intricate dresses, tableware and flashing jewelry made from the finest materials. Each piece would probably cost a commoner more than a year’s worth of income, not that they would even be allowed to enter these shops. All of which should be in the reach of most. I drummed my fingers on the sill of the window, as my thoughts raced ahead to the distant future: trains, steamships and cities that didn’t need walls.

  Let’s first secure our present. I reminded myself.

  As we approached Hohenburg Castle, the central keep dominated the view. I had to make sure to not crane my neck and gawk like a tourist. The fifteen story tall structure screamed: This is where power lives. A flicker of red appeared on the taller stories, then quickly disappeared. Odd.

  I forced my chin level. I am the leader of an equally powerful people. Give us a few years and we will surpass this.

  The beating of the horses’ hooves stopped as our procession came to a halt in the castle’s massive courtyard. It was surrounded by walls that must be at-least six stories tall and looked like they could survive any siege.

  My mouth dried. I let my thoughts wash away the rising panic.

  Despite all this, they are scared of Zoran, and I am the solution to their problems. I just need to ensure they agree to buy my knowledge, not steal it from me through torture.

  As I came out of the carriage, Reshma was waiting to greet me, and no one else. We were important enough to warrant a decorated escort, but not enough to be greeted by the Queen herself. I suppose she had to keep her distance in public since we were the killers of a Count of hers.

  The lithe woman was a professional again. “I will leave you here, Your Excellency. The stewards will show you and your men to their quarters. I must apprise Her Majesty of our journey.”

  She hesitated for a moment. “You have my apology for the unfortunate incident… and my eternal gratitude for saving our lives.”

  I smiled in return. “Please tell Her Majesty I look forward to our meeting.”

  She bowed low and slipped away.

  Before the stewards would separate us, I gathered my men close.

  “Don’t forget what is at stake. Keep your mouth shut and your possessions closer. You are not here to have fun. No wandering, no private conversations. No drinking and no fraternizing.”

  The men nodded sharply.

  “Even if the most beautiful woman in the world offers to let you drink from her teats.”

  Smiles and restrained laughter erupted in response, but every face understood the gravity of those words. I exhaled as they left with a steward.

  Unlike them, I would have to engage in every sort of revelry to look like a gullible fool if the Queen turned out to be hostile.

  But at the moment, all I cared about was a hot bath and a good night’s sleep.

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