“Oh, that sounds much better than the desert,” Dania said, rolling her eyes.
“It will be,” Janik said. “It’s dry, but not nearly as bad as Menechtarun. At least something grows there, even if it is mostly brambles. You have to remember that the first explorers of Xen’drik were prone to giving the landscape some fairly dramatic names. So if we cross the Wasting Plains north of the Sun Pillars, we can enter the desert from the north, and have a shorter trek across the sun-blasted sand than we had last time.”
“I am definitely in favor of minimizing our exposure to sun-blasted sand,” Mathas said, nodding.
“In fact, if we stick close to the mountains to the east here,” Janik added, “we might even find water. I suspect that some streams flow down from the mountains before they dry up completely in the desert.”
“I don’t think we should bet on that,” Dania said. “I think most of the water will just flow down the other side of the mountain range.”
“You’re right—we’ll bring water anyway,” Janik said. “It’s just nice, sometimes, to find it fresh in a stream instead of drinking it from a skin.”
“So we need to find a ship to carry us down the coast,” Mathas said.
“Right,” Janik said. “I asked Captain Avaen if he would be willing to take us, but he declined. So we’ll need to see what our letter of credit can accomplish. Instead of hugging the coast, we could go straight across the Phoenix Basin here, then use a launch to come ashore. The problem is that it’s extremely dangerous and the waters aren’t well charted. That makes most commercial captains unwilling to try it.”
“How much time are we looking at?” Dania asked.
“We’ll be stuck with two months of overland trekking no matter what we do, just to get from the coast to Mel-Aqat. But sailing across the Basin …” Janik did some quick measurements on the map and some figuring in his head. “We might make it in … four months total? Compared to the eight months it took us last time, when we took a keelboat down the coast.”
“Trimming four months off the journey sounds like it would be worth a lot of money,” Dania said.
“I agree. But I don’t know if it will be possible. I’m willing to look into it, if you all agree it’s the way to go.” He looked around at his friends. “I’m sure this town is full of people willing to risk their lives for a small fortune. Or a large one. I hope the Keeper of the Flame isn’t having second thoughts about this letter of credit.”
“The wealth of a nation is not easily depleted,” Mathas said.
“Though I can’t imagine she’d be happy to learn that funds from the Cathedral were going to some pirate captain,” Dania added, frowning. “What are the chances of finding someone at least vaguely reputable to take us?”
Janik rolled his eyes. “You might as well ask if we could find an honest merchant in Callestan.” The inn district in the lowest reaches of Sharn was notorious for the crooked deals constantly occurring there.
Auftane laughed, but Dania glared at Janik. “You’re pretty quick to assume the worst,” she said.
“You know this city as well as I do. Maybe the city’s not run by pirates any more—”
“Or maybe it is,” Auftane interrupted. “Just dressed up to look fairer.”
“Fair enough,” Janik said. “Like I said, no commercial captain is likely to risk his ship crossing the Basin. And there are no other cities down the coast—a captain can’t carry cargo at the same time to make it worthwhile. We’re going to pay for this in dragonshards, and we’re going to get someone who cares only about the money. The alternative is going down the coast, like we did last time, and taking the eight months.”
“Let me look,” Dania said.
“What?”
“Let me look for a captain. If I can find someone I trust, we’ll cross the Basin and get there in four months. If not, we take the coast and the eight months.”
“And let Krael take a pirate ship and get there in four?”
“Just let me look.”
“Who do you think you’re going to find? A former pirate who’s got religion and given up his pirating ways, but can’t find honest work because of his checkered past? Or maybe a paladin ship captain who’ll take us because he believes in our mission?”
“If I can’t find someone, then we’ll decide what to do.”
Janik threw up his hands. “Sea of Fire, you’re stubborn!” He clenched his jaw, then sighed. “We need a couple of days to get supplies anyway. You can look tonight and all day tomorrow. But if you haven’t found someone by the next morning, I’m taking over. And we’ll use whoever will give us the best deal. Or really, whoever will take us—I don’t think we’re in a position to be choosy.”
“Just let me—”
“Yes! You can look!” Janik laughed and Auftane was quick to join in. Mathas grinned, and after a moment, even Dania cracked a smile.
“I knew you’d listen to reason,” she said.
The next morning, as Dania set off on her fool’s errand, Janik took Mathas and Auftane to gather supplies for the journey. They planned for four months of food and gear—two months aboard ship, where their only food would be whatever stores they carried with them, and two months in the wilds, where they could supplement their rations with hunting and foraging. They bought two tents, and Auftane purchased a new backpack. They joined Dania for dinner in the evening, and all four of them were exhausted from a long day of scouring the city. Dania had not yet found a reputable captain to take them across the Basin, but she refused to admit defeat.
“I’ll look more tonight and in the morning,” Dania said. “You gave me that long. And I have a good lead.”
“Whatever you say, Dania,” Janik replied.
They were all so tired that their conversation during supper was subdued. Janik went to bed early, planning the first places he would look for a captain in the morning as he drifted to sleep.
Janik slept late and stumbled out of bed with the sun already creeping high in the sky. He dressed and went to Dania’s room, knocking on her door. She didn’t answer, so he went downstairs, hoping to find some breakfast before starting the day’s work. Pushing open the inn door, he nearly bumped into Dania.
“Well, good morning!” she said, smiling warmly. “Janik, I’d like you to meet Breddan Omaar.” She gestured to the tall hobgoblin at her side. Breddan clasped a fist to his chest and gave a small bow. “Breddan, Janik Martell,” she croaked.
“Your Goblin is appalling, Dania,” Janik said in Goblin. He returned Breddan’s gesture of greeting. “Your ancestors’ swords were keen and strong,” he said formally.
“Your Goblin is very good, Janik Martell,” Breddan said in perfect Common. “It is an honor to meet you. I have heard much about you, even before I met Dania this morning. She, of course, is unstinting in her praise of you.”
“Well, thank you,” Janik said, looking from Dania to the hobgoblin. He wondered how Breddan interpreted his relationship with Dania. Just for a moment, he wondered what Dania’s interpretation was.
“Why don’t we sit down and talk, Janik?” she said. “Where were you heading?”
“I was going to look for some breakfast.”
“What are you hungry for, Janik Martell?” Breddan said. “I know Stormreach like my ancestral home.”
“Well, when I’m at home, I like a pastry.”