look forward to it,’ said Teclis. ‘I can’t imagine anything could be worse than this.’
A few fishing boats rode at anchor in the harbour along with a vessel that dwarfed them like a whale alongside dolphins. It was an elven clipper, part trading vessel, part warship, long and sleek and three-masted. It had a huge eagle head carved on the prow. There was a massive ballista on the aft deck and near the prow. Sailors swarmed through the rigging and moved across the deck with purpose. A set of planks had been laid from the midships to the pier, wide enough for horses to be led up.
The messenger bird Lady Malene had sent must have got through for they were expected. The ship’s mistress waited at the docks to greet them. Much to Tyrion’s surprise she reported to Lady Malene and not to Korhien; she seemed to find the enchantress a much more important figure than the White Lion. The flags fluttering from the ship’s masts bore the same device as the bodyguard wore on their tabards. House Emeraldsea owned this ship and the lady was the highest ranking representative of the House present.
‘Are we ready to depart, Captain Joyelle?’ Malene asked. She cocked her head to one side and sniffed the air. ‘I smell a storm coming in and there is magic on its winds.’
The ship’s mistress nodded. She was even taller than Lady Malene and if anything looked sterner. Tyrion was starting to wonder if all the women of Lothern were so hard-faced when he noticed some of the female sailors were staring at him. They were younger and much prettier. As was his habit, he smiled back. Some of them met his gaze boldly. Others looked away shyly. It seemed that sailor women were not so different from the hunter-girls of the hills with whom he had experience.
‘The Eagle of Lothern is ready to sail, Lady Malene. We can catch the tide if Captain Korhien and his men can get their horses aboard quickly.’
The horses looked restive. They had obviously been aboard ship before and had not much enjoyed the experience but they were elven steeds and they obeyed their riders. One by one they allowed themselves to be led up the gangplanks and lowered by a small winch into the hold. It seemed that all had been made ready for them, for the mangers were full of fodder and the act of eating seemed to settle the beasts.
Tyrion noticed that the captain too was staring at him as he helped Teclis up the ramp. At first he thought he had committed some sort of faux pas by not asking permission to board. No one else had, but presumably they were already known to the ship’s mistress. Then the thought crossed his mind that perhaps she was unsettled by the sight of Teclis. His brother’s infirmity often had that effect on his fellow elves. They were not used to the sight of illness. When he glanced back the captain had stopped staring and said something to Lady Malene in a low voice.
The mage nodded agreement and then walked over to them.
‘The captain has had cabins assigned to you.’
‘What else was she saying?’
‘Nothing of any great importance,’ said Lady Malene, a little too casually. Tyrion remembered Teclis’s suspicions about her. He thought about the upcoming voyage. How many people would notice anything or say anything if they were to vanish over the side during the voyage south to Lothern? He told himself not to be so suspicious. There was almost certainly an innocent explanation for the mage’s attitude.
Nonetheless, he resolved that he would keep his eyes open and the door barred. Despite his fears he could not keep his heart from soaring when the ship raised anchor and headed out of port a couple of hours later. The sun was sinking behind the mountains, and he could not help but think about his father once more.
He wondered if any of those tiny lights on the mountainside belonged to their home and he wondered how long it would be before he saw it again.
‘This is cosy,’ said Teclis. He looked around the cabin thoughtfully. It was tiny, like all such chambers on ships. There was just room enough for a couple of narrow bunk beds and a couple of sea chests. Between them the twins did not have enough to fill even one. There was a tiny porthole that let in some moonlight.
‘Two of the junior officers gave this