traveled as the ones leading up to the southern gate so they were in slightly better condition. Turning north, they followed some of the paths that wound through the fields for several hours before turning again and connecting in with the road that led to the port nearly due north at this point. Shienhin still towered over the plains behind them, but it had lost its original awe inspiring grandeur once it had been examined up close.
To the north the port town grew in size until they could make out the individual buildings. Situated as it was on the Silent Sea, there was little strategic value in the port. Most of the traffic in and out was made by the small fishing vessels that hugged the coastline. Even the larger trading vessels that traveled the coast were infrequent. There weren’t any ports along the Outlands worth visiting. The elves were understandably not interested in trading and the only other coast line was under draconic rule and the dragons were more interested in burning ships than anything else. The only purpose that the port now had was to offload the cargo the fishing vessels brought in and to outfit ships for supplying the southern army. It was only a couple weeks to make the trip to the south if the winds held. From there, the goods could be moved inland with relative ease compared to traversing the entirety of the midlands and the Draeld.
When the duo had made it within a few miles of the port, they stepped off the road into a stand of trees and waited for the sun to finish its circuit to the horizon. After an appreciable level of gloom had fallen, they left their hiding place and entered the port within the hour. There were a few fishmongers about, although it was mostly just soldiers tasked with loading and unloading the ships. Not that they dirtied their hands with such manual labor. That task was delegated to the serfs who worked for enough coin to keep their families and themselves alive.
“There is a lot more troop ships out there than I had been told. Most look like repurposed fishing vessels to tell the truth.” Urake mused to Emeck as they casually strolled along the wharf. There were easily enough ships to move half of Reigns’ army down south of the Princess’ position in the Outlands. From the looks of the tent camps set up outside the port, it looked like Reigns intended to do just that.
“So what is the plan?”
“First we find a spot up wind. The breeze is going from inland out to sea so it should hold steady for a while. From there I will get to a good vantage point while you keep me apprised of any guards in my whereabouts.” Urake found Emeck a spot on the outside edge of the port and waited for it to finish getting dark. After the stars came out, he pulled the hood up on his cloak and began working his way towards the ships. Finding one that was against the dock he slipped aboard and climbed the mast. Finding a spot on the secured mainsail he waited until the dock workers had finished their tasks for the night. Emeck contacted him a couple times to let him know that sentries had started patrolling the docks and when they neared his position, but they never noticed the shadow that lurked high above their heads. They would make escaping a little more risky, but Urake was sure that they could be handled easily enough then the time came. There was also the good chance that they would be occupied at that time and wouldn’t even notice his escape.
Urake waited until the camp fires had started to die down in the army camps. A few isolated pockets of soldiers were still hanging around the last remaining fires and their occasional laughter drifted up to the silent listener. Eventually, even they moved off to their tents.
Urake had already removed his pack and had the arrows laid out in front of him tucked into a fold in the sail. Each one had a palm long, two thumb wide vial fastened with thin wooden splints around the arrow head. Tusul had fashioned them so they could safely be stored wrapped in soft rags until they were needed. At that point, they could be slid over the arrow head where the barbs caught and secured it into place. As Tusul described it,