hadn’t pointed it out, I certainly wouldn’t have.” She sat there like a bump on a log, staring at the bridge. That bridge was a game changer. “Tran, call the others up here. We need to talk about this.”
It took barely a minute to call them up. She sat heavily, the others following suit and finding space on the decking to sit as well. When they were settled, she looked at the curious faces surrounding her. In short, clipped tones, she explained what she’d seen.
Fei and Rune joined her, adding in a few details that she hadn’t been able to make out over the distance, but which they apparently could. Just how good were their eyes, anyway? When they were done, they sat in a circle and just stared at each other, minds whirling.
It was Sylvie who broke the silence with a long sigh. “I get it now. This is a war of finances. They barely have the funds as it is to build a bridge with. But a trade monopoly between three of the most influential guilds in Robarge and Wynngaard would be economically devastating.” Sylvie steepled her hands in front of her, obscuring half her face. “And with no trade specialty to offer, they have little bartering power to change the situation with.”
“I’d have more sympathy for them if they weren’t sending assassins after people,” Siobhan growled irately.
Sylvie grimaced agreement. “Still, their initial plan is not wrong, a direct connection to Wynngaard will help them a great deal.”
“I’m not sure if that is truly the case any longer, not after what they did,” Markl disagreed. “Iron Dragain is the trading guild of Wynngaard. They unofficially set policy for all the trade on the continent. Framing them for an assassination has not endeared Orin to Iron Dragain.”
Sylvie’s open palm acceded the point. “It was a poor choice.”
Siobhan sighed. “I wish we knew which guild it was that is actually over all of this. We know the bridge is being built from Coravine, but is that simply because it’s the shortest distance to Wynngaard?”
“Even if this isn’t Fallen Ward’s idea, I can’t imagine that they aren’t a major part of the planning,” Sylvie volunteered. “You don’t build something near someone else’s city without their approval and help. Fallen Ward is the only guild of any influence in Coravine; it must be them.”
“Does it matter if it’s them or not?” Denney asked, scratching at one cheek with an idle finger. “I mean, the bridge isn’t really an option anymore, right?”
“Even if the bridge is no longer a usable option, I think Fallen Ward will be forced to continue down this path.” Sylvie sounded unhappy with her own words. “Bridge or no, a trade monopoly will cripple them. Orin already struggles economically. They can’t afford any loss in trade.”
As a native of Orin, and Coravine, Sylvie would understand that better than anyone.
“So what do we do?” Rune asked.
Siobhan made a split second decision. “This doesn’t change our immediate plans. We still go into Coravine and find out the guild that’s behind all of this. But we gather more information about the bridge as we go. We need to know how much time it’s going to take to build that thing and just where they’re trying to build it to. We’re here to get information, not make decisions that will affect the four continents.” Fortunate, that. She didn’t even begin to want to make those kinds of decisions.
“And if we can’t find it out easily?” Markl asked quietly.
Siobhan met his eyes. “Two days. We’ve got two days. I don’t think that we can afford more time than that. The rest of the world needs to know about this bridge and quickly, otherwise it’s only going to become more dangerous.”
“You…is your head there just to add to your height?”
“You chapo! Do you find breathing bothersome? Eh?!”
Siobhan let her head fall back and she groaned aloud. She was on top of the forecastle but could clearly hear both Wolf and Tran arguing below. Of course, both men could be thunderously loud when they were of a mind to be. From the sounds of it, they were about ten seconds from letting fists fly. She asked the sky, “Wasn’t someone supposed to remind me that putting Wolf and Tran in a small area, for any length of time, is a bad idea?”
Sylvie answered the rhetorical question with a lackadaisical tone. “But they’ve been behaving recently.”
“They’ve been behaving because they were both keeping an eye on Rune,”