“Ready to go, Cap?” her quartermaster, Alfer Boharn, said in his gravelly voice. She’d chosen to take the old Five Kingdoms veteran ashore with her because he had a few connections within the guild of Clerics. He was also as steady as a rock no matter how dicey the situation might become. Not that Elaina expected any trouble.
“Aye,” she said with a smile. “Rovel, you have the ship. See about hiring on a couple of new crew, eh?”
“Aye, Cap,” Rovel said. Elaina’s first mate had been outspoken of late in his desire for some good old-fashioned piracy. Unfortunately, Elaina had her orders from her father, and Tanner had decreed that she would take no ships on her diplomatic mission. Whether that was to speed her journey or ensure her arrival, Elaina didn’t know, but she knew better than to disobey her father with so much at stake.
Wandering down the gangplank with Alfer just behind her, it occurred to Elaina that none of her crew had asked for shore leave. It was true enough that they had only a few bits each to their name, but she wondered if the lack of piracy in the last few months had dulled their physical desires. Perhaps she would lounge around in Larkos’ port for a couple of weeks and give her crew an advance, to show them how much she appreciated their patience.
A number of merchant assistants had already crowded around the pier, and they were busy trying to get Elaina’s attention, no doubt clamouring to find which goods she’d procured and how cheaply they could procure them from her. Most of the assistants were fat, well-dressed, and sweaty despite the chill in the air. Elaina ignored them all and instead looked towards the harbour master, who was lounging on a nearby stool, a small ink-tipped feather pen walking across his fingers.
“Name?” the harbour master said without looking up.
“Elaina Black.”
“Odd name for a ship,” he said with a chuckle that no one nearby took up. “Still the Starry Dawn, is it?”
“Aye.”
“Do I need to ask your profession?”
“Ambassador,” Elaina said.
The harbour master laughed. “I’ll put that down just because of how absurd it sounds. Length of stay?”
“Couple of weeks, I reckon.”
“Two silver bits now and another twenty upon departure.” The man finally looked up from the pen walking across his fingers. He gave Elaina a wide grin and set about making notes in his book. He was a handsome young man, and sure of himself. Elaina considered taking him back to her cabin and convincing him he had nothing to be so sure about, but she had more pressing matters.
“Who’s in charge of the docks these days?” Elaina said as she reached into her purse and pulled out a couple of silver bits.
“Still the Clerics.” The harbour master stopped his jotting and leaned back in his chair, looking Elaina up and down with a grin. “At least for another couple of moons. That’s why the price for docking has gone up. They’re squeezing out as much coin as they can while they can. Never know where they might be next.”
Elaina nodded along. Larkos had a strange set of laws designed to equalise the power of the thirteen guilds that ran it. The city was split into thirteen districts, twelve public and one central one closed to the general populous. Each of those districts was governed by one of the guilds, and every five years the whole system was shaken up. For five years the Clerics had held the docks, one of the most profitable of the districts, but in just a short time they might find themselves running the slums or the Breakers, and there was very little coin to be made in either of those.
Once a week the representatives of the guilds met in the central district and the Council of Thirteen decided upon any matters of importance. That was where Elaina would need to be heard, and the best way for her to get in would be as an invited guest of the guild that ran the central district.
“Who’s in charge of central?” she said.
“The Blades,” the harbour master said. “I could knock five bits off your docking fee for a couple of… favours.”
Elaina looked down him. He leered back up at her. “I could cut your empty head off your fucking shoulders for free,” she said with a grin.
He shrugged. “Your loss.” He went back to walking his little feather pen across his fingers. Elaina conquered the urge to grab it from him and snap the stem.
The city was bustling with life. The sheer size of Larkos put most cities to shame, and even Chade was small in comparison. Slaves were everywhere, either carrying goods to or from ships or standing around as their masters haggled and secured trade. Despite the chill in the air, the poor bastards were afforded no more clothing than they were when the sun was baking down, and Elaina wagered their iron collars got right uncomfortable in the cold.
The merchants were as easy to spot as their slaves. Even those who weren’t overweight and sagging were obvious in their finery. The docks were a place for sailors, and sailors rarely wore anything other than linen. The rich folk in their silks and other expensive fabrics were somewhere beyond obvious, and that made them pretty targets.
Thievery and other criminal enterprises were as ubiquitous in Larkos as they were in any city, and the punishments for being caught ranged from severe to final. The Clerics were fairly light-handed in dealing with criminals, and often a thief could get away with a flogging and some community service. Other guilds were less forgiving, none less so than the slavers guild, who would simply slap an iron collar on a criminal no matter how severe their crime. It served them both as a method of punishment and a form of income.
“Where to, Cap?” Alfer said. “Wouldn’t mind me some downtime if we find ourselves with some spare.”
“Ever been to Larkos, Alfer?” Elaina asked her quartermaster, already knowing the answer.
“Aye,” Alfer replied with a laugh. “Don’t reckon there’s many places I ain’t been.”
“Then you should know the chance of having time to find yaself a brothel is somewhere south of low. I’ve got one destination, and that would be the central district. I need to win myself an audience with the Queen of Blades.”
Alfer let loose a laugh, but quickly stopped at a glare from Elaina. “Fuck. I really hoped you might be spinning a tale, Cap. That Drurr bitch don’t see anyone.”
“She’ll see me,” Elaina said, setting her jaw and starting the long walk.
The sky had turned dark, and folk were busy lighting street lamps by the time Elaina and Alfer reached the wall that separated the central district from all the others. They’d long since passed out of the docks, and though Elaina had seen a good few Clerics, she’d had no cause to talk to any of them.
A large barred gate lay in front of them, with a wall extending from it that curved around out of sight. The central district was completely separate from the rest of the city, and very few even knew what it looked like within those walls. As they’d approached, Elaina had been able to see the tops of many buildings, and the guild hall used by the Council of Thirteen was without a doubt the largest of those, but they gave little indication as to the state of the rest of the district.
There was a small guard hut nearby, with a number of shadowy figures inside. In front of the gate stood no fewer than four Blades, resplendent in sky blue steel armour and each carrying at least four swords. It was well known that the Blades were trained in a style of combat used by the Drurr, and it was strictly forbidden for those styles and techniques to be taught to outsiders. The Queen of Blades was one of the few Drurr that the Inquisition allowed to live among humans. Elaina wondered if such a privilege was due to a deal struck, or simply the Inquisition’s fear of starting a war against the free city.