Shadows in the Smoke - 5 - Boarding the Karan Queen

"The River Karan used to delineate much of the western end of the southern border between the Republic and the Empire, only moving away from it when it turned south towards the fortress city of Vass Karan. However, since the Empire's vicious attack on the Republic, culminating in their treacherous use of high sorcery at the Battle of Grathbridge, it has sat some way inside the Empire's territory. Despite the Empire's best efforts at driving them out, many loyal citizens of the Republic still labour under the cruel yoke of the Empire's so-called 'immortal' queen. One day they shall be liberated in the name of the People."

The Struggle for Freedom by Bjarne Midthun

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Ester hurried through the streets of Vass Karan, leading her heavily laden horse behind her. The surly looking groom had said it was called Stardust, which seemed like a silly name for a horse, especially one that seemed so disinterested in the world around it, but what did she know about horse names anyway?

The delegation to the Republic was leaving from the docks. They'd start by going down the Karan towards the Republic and then head north overland to Nilrava, the Republic's capital. So at least that meant she was hurrying downhill rather than having to drag Stardust upwards.

The street were already full of people of course, getting in her way and slowing her down. Stardust's reluctance to move at anything faster than a walk also wasn't helping. If she didn't hurry up, she was going to be late!

Ester did her best to tug the recalcitrant horse on. She was going to have to have words with Pupli when she got back. Surely he could have found her a better horse than this? It wasn't like she'd learnt much about them as a weaver's daughter in Trevayn or at the Academy, but even she could tell Stardust wasn't a very good one.

By the time she was close to the docks she was sweaty and feeling extremely annoyed at the world. It had probably been hilarious for Sir Vitaly to leave it so late to ask her, but it wasn't funny at all for her! Who did he think he was anyway? Other than an Inquisitor who spoke with the voice of Her Eternal Majesty. Obviously. But that wasn't an excuse to cause trouble for a loyal subject like her!

With a start Ester realised she was going to arrive, dragging a horse along behind her and looking like she'd run halfway across the city. No, absolutely not.

She came to an abrupt halt and then looked Stardust over. She hadn't ridden because of the weight of the saddlebags on the horse, once she joined the delegation she could offload her luggage onto a cart after all. Well, that and she didn't trust herself to ride the thing through a crowd. Now that she was almost at the docks though…

With a grimace Ester gripped Stardust's saddle and then awkwardly hauled herself up. The horse shifted under her and she nearly didn't make it, but after a few seconds Stardust settled down and a kick to her ribs got her moving.

The docks presented a chaotic scene when she reached the final slope leading down to them. She headed towards the the centre of it, frowning slightly at the sight of the riverboats. She'd never been on a boat and she wasn't sure she liked the idea. What if it sank?

Just before Ester reached the pier, a scowling, leather-clad man ran up to her. "You coming for the mission? " He didn't wait for an answer. "You're late! Get moving! How the fuck we're going to get that horse on board without holding things up I don't know."

He gestured Ester forward and turned away with a grunt before she could even get outraged at his tone. After a moment Ester pursed her lips and spurred her reluctant horse forward. There was no point in getting annoyed, she probably was late.

Another man came up to her with an armed and armoured House Rutane guard behind him, holding a sheaf of paper. "Name?" He might not have been fuming, but he certainly didn't sound impressed.

"Ester Mazar."

He nodded and scanned down the list before doing a double-take and immediately bowing low. "Welcome, my lady. You're assigned to the Karan Queen," he pointed to the largest of the river boats. "Please make yourself comfortable on board. Your horse and luggage will be loaded for you." He paused. "Will your staff be far behind you my lady? It's just that…"

"It is just me, I am traveling by myself." Had Pupli been right? No, she was a Mage, she didn't need staff.

"Of course, my lady." If the man disagreed he didn't show it, simply bowing again. There. She was right. With a small, self-satisfied smile, Ester climbed off Stardust and handed over the horse's reins.

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As soon as Ester reached the top of the gangplank she stopped. The boat itself was almost as chaotic as the dock, with swarms of barefooted sailors running around doing Spirits only knew what. Slower moving servants were carrying things too or attending to finely dressed nobleborn. What was she meant to do here? There was nowhere obvious to go, no one that looked like they might help her either.

"Lady Ester!" The enthusiastic, familiar voice broke through the hubbub. Ester looked over to see Velxe weaving his way towards her.

"Lord Velxe, nice to see you here." She did her best not to let any of her excitement at going on the mission show.

"It is nice to see you too, but what are you doing here?" He genuinely looked confused and Ester's smile widened into a grin. Finally, something he hadn't known about before her!

"I am accompanying the delegation of course. The Governor himself asked for me to join it." It was a slight exaggeration, but he had signed the letter with her orders.

"Really?" Velxe seemed to be struggling to process that for a second before he broke out into a big grin of his own. "Well that is excellent. I am delighted! Which quarters have you been assigned? The boat is not very comfortable you know. I shall have to introduce you to everyone. When did you find out you were coming? Have you met the Ambassador yet?"

As Velxe bombarded her with excited questions Ester let him draw her along in his wake. It was nice to feel so welcome.

The first place he took her was the raised area at the back of the boat. There, a bearded man was alternating between shouting orders and speaking to a taller, olive skinned, grey haired man wearing a fine, red and blue embroidered coat. The style reminded her of home in fact, far from the more subdued colours that seemed to be in fashion in Vass Karan.

To Ester's surprise, Velxe didn't just jump straight in and speak to them. Instead he waited quietly until the grey haired man turned to him.

"Lord Velxe, can I help you?" His voice was smooth and friendly, with the ring of Trevayn to it.

Velxe bowed to him. "My lord, may I present to you Lady Ester Mazar, Chartered Mage. Lady Ester, this is Count Nozar Hatami, the soon-to-be Ambassador to the Republic." Ester's breath caught at that. So, this was the leader of the expedition. Likely the most important person she would meet on this journey. She immediately bowed low, matching Velxe's show of respect.

"Lord Hatami, I am pleased to meet you."

The Ambassador smiled warmly. "And I you, Lady Mazar. It is good to have a second Mage on this expedition and of course your reputation for problem solving precedes you. We shall be in safe hands indeed." Ester had to stifle a nervous laugh. Had he just acknowledged her… she yanked her attention back to him when he didn't stop speaking. "I hope that the short notice of your departure was not too much of an inconvenience, sometimes the demands of Her Eternal Majesty can be more difficult than we might hope."

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"Not at all, my lord. I am very much looking forward to this." Ester wasn't even lying. She was more than excited about what was to come.

"Excellent, I am sure we shall get to know each other better en route to Nilrava, but for now there is much to do and I am already imposing on Captain Amre's patience." He smiled and nodded to her. It was a polite dismissal, but a dismissal nonetheless.

"Of course, my lord. Captain Amre, a pleasure to meet you too." Ester gave the bearded sailor a much shallower bow.

"My lady." The captain bowed back, a little deeper than she had, before suddenly shouting loud enough to make Ester jump. "What do you think you're doing, you sun-blinded idiot?! Don't tie that rope there. Great Spirits, did the fish eat your brains?"

Lord Hatami seemed completely unfased by the captain's shouting and after a second Ester and Velxe exchanged glances and backed away.

Ester was surprised at how many important people there were on the boat. It felt like they were all blurring into one as Velxe introduced her to various members of Vass Karan's noble houses, a smattering of lords and heirs, along with an array of second or third sons. Then, unaccountably, he stopped, his lips turning down every so slightly.

"And that man over there is Jahangir Amini." He gestured vaguely towards a middle-aged man. Grey streaked his temples, but he looked fit and alert as he spoke to a noble, gesturing enthusiastically with his hands as he did.

"The Jahangir Amini?!" Ester's jaw dropped. She'd read his seminal work from cover to cover four times during her years in the Academy. She was going to have to speak to him! No one else knew as much about the Empire as he did. He must have traveled to every corner of it, spoken to so many people. They said he was one of the few people outside the Imperial Administration to have been granted a face-to-face audience with the Queen! "Why is he here though?"

Velxe was frowning slightly for some reason. "Apparently he wants to write a new book on the Republic and so he has inveigled his way into this delegation."

That made Ester pause slightly. "Oh, I would not have thought he would be interested in writing about the Republic." He seemed rather too patriotic for a peaceful delegation to it. Spirits knew, even she was not keen on how accommodating they were being to the Republic.

Velxe shrugged at that. "Who knows what that man wants."

Ester glanced back at Jahangir, who seemed to have made his point and was now leaning against the boat's guardrail and listening smugly to the noble. "He seems very passionate."

"Yes, I'm sure he is." Ester tore her eyes away to look back at Velxe.

"You do not seem very keen on him. I thought you liked reading."

"I do like reading." Velxe definitely sounded unaccountably irritated. "I just find his writing uninteresting."

"But…" Ester stopped herself, she didn't want to get into an argument with Velxe about what was and wasn't worth reading when they hadn't even started their trip. A repeat of the journey to Grathbridge didn't bear thinking about. "As you wish, no one can be to everyone's taste." She'd just corner Amini later and let him know how much she'd enjoyed his writing.

"Indeed." Velxe paused for a second and then his smile was back. "Come on, there are still a few more people to introduce you to, most of them far more interesting than Jahangir Amini."

Ester returned his smile, ignoring the glint in his eye that promised some sort of argument if she took the bait of arguing about the writer. "Thank you Lord Velxe, that would be nice."

Despite the number of people on it, they'd already covered most of the boat. It had seemed huge from the dockside, but now that she was on it it felt surprisingly small. Less than a hundred paces from end to end. There were hints of magic to be felt around it, which suggested there might be Schemas worked into its frame, but if there were, they were dormant now. Anyway there'd be plenty of time to look for them later. The boat did seem quite unwieldy though, even for a river as large as the Karan, maybe it used magic to help it on its way.

Velxe led her directly away from Jahingir Amini and over to a very tall man. Velxe was about her height and he towered over both of them.

"This is Lord Jaen Nemsu, heir to House Nemsu. My lord, allow me to present Lady Ester Mazar, Chartered Mage."

Lord Jaen turned to face them. He was a young man, perhaps only a few years older than Ester and Velxe with the typical pale skin and red hair of Vass Karan. His steely blue eyes flicked over the two of them and he gave Ester the briefest of nods. "Pleased to meet you, Lady Mazar." He didn't sound it.

"Pleased to meet you, Lord Nemsu." Ester returned the greeting politely, despite his distant reaction.

Velxe seemed to be oblivious to it though. "Jaen and I go back years. Our families have many common interests. I suspect we might even be relatives by law if uncle had had a daughter of the right age. Unfortunately, as it is, Jaen here has snared himself Metli Velia."

"Oh." Ester blinked. "Congratulations, my lord, you must be very pleased."

"Indeed." Was that why he was being so cold to her? She'd thought that the air between her and Metli had been cleared following their first, tense encounter. Had she been wrong? She hadn't seen the woman since, other than at a distance. If it hadn't been her first ever ball she might not even have remembered the woman, anyway Count Velia certainly didn't seem to be hostile to her.

Velxe happily burbled on. "Yes, Lady Metli's a real beauty, I think everyone's jealous of Jaen. Daughter of a Great House and a stunning beauty, if only we could all be so lucky."

What? Anger spiked in Ester. Why would he say something like that? She supposed Metli was pretty enough, in a pale, blonde kind of way, but she wasn't at all nice and what had she even achieved in life other than looking good? Was that all men cared about? Fluttering eyelashes and a nice smile? No, not just that. Money and breeding too.

Gritting her teeth, she smiled politely. "Of course, I remember meeting Lady Velia. She was most charming and very beautiful. You are indeed a lucky man Lord Nemsu." With an effort of will she got her temper back under control. "Lord Velxe, you said you had more people to introduce me to?"

"Hmm? Oh yes, I'll see you later Jaen." They received a curt nod from the man before he turned back to watching the workers on the dockside.

"That was a little rude, do you not think?" Velxe whispered to Ester as soon as they were out of earshot.

"He did seem disinterested in speaking to me." At least Velxe had noticed and it wasn't just her imagination! Still, it couldn't quite stifle her irritation at the way he'd spoken about Metli. "Perhaps he was too distracted by being away from his love."

Velxe shrugged. "I doubt there is all that much love involved, at least not yet, but she would be rather distracting." He grinned, practically leered in fact. "He has done well for himself."

"I am sure." Ester ignored Velxe's confused look. "I should find my cabin and make sure that everything is safely stowed in it for the voyage."

"The voyage? It is only three days before we land and go north."

"Nevertheless." Ester cast around for an excuse. "I need to check on my things."

"Do you not have a servant for that?" Ester felt her cheeks heat. Obviously someone like Metli would have brought a servant, probably several. She should have listened to Pupli.

"I have many dangerous and mystical items with me, a servant would be more trouble than they were worth." She ignored Velxe's sceptical expression; that had sounded ridiculous even to her. "I should go."

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The sailor led Ester down, to just above the rowers' deck and stopped in front of a small, wooden door. It looked like any of the others down the corridor, but he seemed very sure that it was the one.

"Milady," he bowed low, "this is your cabin for the voyage."

"Thank you, goodman." Ester nodded politely as she reached for the handle and pulled it open. "I am sure it will be more than adequate."

Her eyes widened as the room came into view. It was tiny. A bed high up, at almost chest height, with some of the space below it empty and some occupied by drawers, along with just about enough floor space for her to turn around. The ceiling was low too. She was tall, for a woman, and her head would almost brush it.

It took an effort of will not to ask whether that was really all she was getting. It was the sort of thing someone like Metli would ask and Ester didn't want to seem like a spoilt nobleborn. Still though, she couldn't help but wonder whether this was some kind of insult.

She glanced behind herself at the hovering sailor. He seemed to sense her displeasure because he bowed again, even lower.

"There ain't much space on a boat like this my lady. Only the highest ranking lords and ladies even have their own cabins. Everyone else's sharing." He paused, looking worriedly at her face. When no explosion came he pressed on. "I hope you'll find it comfortable my lady. Your luggage will be delivered to the cabin."

With that he headed away, leaving Ester frowning slightly as she looked after him. It wasn't that bad, not really. Probably like her childhood, although she was a lot bigger now than when she'd first gone to the Academy.

It was more a question of whether or not she was being insulted. If the sailor was telling the truth then it was fine. She didn't really need the space anyway, although she'd miss having a desk for the days of their journey down the river. However, if she'd been given a bad cabin as a sign of disrespect then that was quite another matter. Although she wasn't sure what she could actually do about it.

With a sigh Ester hauled herself onto the bed and started thinking about whether she needed to make some kind of ward to make sure no one interfered with the cabin while she was on the boat. There were so many people traveling to the Republic, she could barely remember everyone she'd been introduced to. And this wasn't even the only boat! She knew there was at least one other Mage going and he was on one of the others.

Perhaps she'd just make something small to discourage petty theft.

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