'Stay where you are. Look imperious. We have to be invited ashore first.'
The armed men they had seen from further out were ranged along the wharf now, in two ranks, facing the wolfship. They all had their shields slung ready for action and their hands hovered close by the hilts of their swords. An officer detached himself from the line and strode towards the wharf's edge. Svengal recognised him.
'This is the bantam rooster who ambushed us in the town square,' he said, in what he thought was a whisper. Halt glanced at Svengal sardonically.
'I'm sure he's thrilled to hear you say so,' he replied.
The tall Arridi warrior stopped now, a few paces back from the edge of the wharf. Halt studied him keenly and came to the rapid conclusion that this was a man to be reckoned with. There was an air of assurance about him. Halt sensed that this was not a man to bluster or bluff. He knew what he was doing and he exuded a quiet confidence. He would bear watching, the Ranger thought.
The Arridi gave them the traditional desert greeting, touching his right hand to his lips, then his forehead, then his lips again. The gesture was borne from the old tribal-saying on first meeting, Halt knew: We will eat. We will consider. We will talk.
The correct protocol was to return the gesture but Svengal didn't know that. He waved his hand vaguely in the air in a clumsy parody of the man's graceful movement.
'You're back, northman.' The tones were deep and cultured. The voice was calm and unruffled. Its owner had learned the skill of projecting his words without seeming to shout them.
'I've come for the Oberjarl,' Svengal said. He wasn't one for the niceties of protocol or beating round the bush. The Arridi smiled. 'Svengal, isn't it?'
Svengal nodded pugnaciously. 'Aye. It is. But you've got the advantage of me.' He felt uncomfortable, standing below the other man, forced to look up to him. He wondered where the Arridi had learned his name and decided that Erak must have mentioned it to him. In their previous encounter, there had been no introductions. Svengal and the crew had been held prisoner separate from Erak, until the day of their release, when the Oberjarl gave Svengal his instructions about the ransom.
'I am called Seley el'then by my people,' the Arridi told him. 'Foreigners usually find it more convenient to shorten the name to Selethen. I am a captain in the Arridi Guard.'
'Well… enchanted,' Svengal replied brusquely. He recalled the word from some dim memory of lessons in politeness that he'd been given when he was younger. He assumed it was appropriate. Selethen's face remained expressionless but Will was sure he could see a trace of a smile in the dark eyes.
'We didn't expect you back so soon,' Selethen said. Then he gestured to the long pennant that still floated lazily in the slight breeze. 'Nor did we expect you in such company. Surely you haven't had time to return to your home country? Whose flag is that flying at your masthead?'
Halt thought it was time somebody gave Svengal a spell. The Skandian was a master at navigation and seamanship, but his negotiating skills were limited to brandishing an axe and bellowing, 'Hand over everything you've got.' A smoother approach was called for here.
'Captain Svengal is a friend of the Royal Family of Araluen,' he said, stepping forward. As he spoke, he slipped his cowl back so that his face and features were no longer in shadow. 'That pennant is an Araluan Royal Standard, belonging to my lady here.'
He indicated Evanlyn, who was doing her best to look disinterested and condescending at the same time. The Arridi glanced at her and she felt his keen eyes on her. She thought a contemptuous toss of the head might be in keeping. She tossed it contemptuously.
Selethen switched his gaze back to Halt.
'And your lady is?' he queried.
'My lady is prepared to negotiate the terms of the Oberiarl's release with your leader,' Halt told him smoothly. 'Erak, too, is a close friend of the Royal Family of Araluen.'
He felt it was best to keep the captain guessing as to Evanlyn's real identity and position. Uncertainty such as that could work for them. And there was no real need to reveal her title to an underling.
Selethen considered this fact for a few seconds. Obviously, it was an unexpected turn in proceedings. His face, however, showed no sign of the rapid thinking and evaluation that was going on behind his calm, unflustered look. Eventually, he spoke again.
'Unfortunately, the Wakir is not available today,' he said. He faced Svengal again. 'As I said, we did not expect you to return so soon. Unless… ' He let the thought tail off.
'Unless what?' Svengal wanted to know. The Arridi inclined his head apologetically.
'Unless you had gathered some of your countrymen and came back here to release him by force,' he said.
Svengal grunted. 'The thought did occur to me.'
This time, they all saw the smile on Selethen's dark face.
'I'm sure it did. However, the fact remains that it is impossible to arrange a meeting with the Wakir at such short notice. We could not contemplate such a thing before tomorrow.'
Halt nodded agreement. 'Tomorrow will be fine.' He hesitated. 'Could we perhaps see Oberjarl Erak in the meantime?'
Selethen was already shaking his head before he finished the request. 'Unfortunately this is not possible either. But I can offer her ladyship comfortable quarters until tomorrow. We have a guesthouse that will certainly be more comfortable than a Skandian raiding ship.'
He indicated a substantial two-storey building set back a little from the quay. Unlike the solid, featureless warehouses along the quay, it had shaded balconies and wide doorways and windows on the upper floor.
'There is room there for your ladyship and her immediate party,' he said. 'The ship's crew will have to remain on board, I regret to say.'
His even tone told them that he didn't regret it too deeply. Halt shrugged. No town would want thirty fully armed Skandians coming ashore. He was certain that the bulk of the Arridi soldiers currently on the wharf would remain there to keep an eye on things.
'Fine by me,' Svengal said gruffly. There was no way he would be willing to leave his ship empty and undefended while he was in a potentially hostile port. He'd rather they kept an eye on Wolfwind. Any Skandian ashore was always mindful that his ship was his only line of retreat.
'Then if you would follow me?' The Arridi captain gestured in the direction of the guesthouse and began to turn away. Evanlyn's crisp voice stopped him.
'Captain Seley el'then! Aren't you forgetting something?'
He turned back, impressed by her tone of command and by the fact that she had mastered the full form of his name perfectly, after having heard it only once. He bowed deeply.
'My lady?' he asked and she strode forward to the rail of the ship, holding out her right fist to display a large signet ring on the second finger.
'Surely you'll need to convey my seal to your Wakir before he can consent to our meeting?'
Again, her pronunciation was perfect as she managed to add the slight guttural sound to the initial letter of Wakir. Selethen nodded apologetically and produced a small wax impression box. It was about the size of a box that would contain a ring. It was made from gleaming ebony and had a snap-hinged lid.
'But of course, my lady,' he said. He passed the little box to Halt, who hinged back the lid and handed it to Evanlyn. Inside was a layer of firm wax. She pressed her ring into it now, leaving the clear impression of her hawk device. Then she snapped the lid shut to protect it from damage and handed it back to Halt. The Ranger passed it back to Selethen, who tucked it away into a pouch on his belt.