"Why did he want a city way out here?"
"At that time, they were having alot of trouble with raids from Trigador, an island nation some two hundred leagues south. Dayise was originally an outpost city and naval base, to discourage raiding."
"I still don't see why some other king just made a new decree," Dar fretted.
"Because of us," Keritanima said smugly. "Queen Maria tried to do that, but the Wikuni threatened to embargo Shace if she carried through with it. By then, the Shaceans were absolutely dependent on the gunpowder we sell them to protect themselves from Trigador and what was then Rauthym. Maria really didn't have a choice, so she killed the decree. After Rauthym flew apart in a civil war and Trigador was mauled by Arathorn, they tried again, and Wikuna embargoed them."
"Blockaded them," Dolanna corrected as she, Faalken and Azakar joined them. "The Wikuni blockaded Shace from all seaborne trade, and attacked Shacean ships. It was called the Veiled War, because no formal declarations had been made by either side. The Wikuni triumphed, and Shace agreed to drop the attempts to tax Dayise. But the ultimate result of that was the weakening of Shace as a whole, and the undermining of the kingdom's rule. It caused a revolution about ten years later, which is what caused the eastern duchies to break free from the crown and join what was left of Rauthym's duchies. By the time the Crown regained control, it had weakened its position. That position has weakened to its current state, where the king has authority only within his capital city, and the outlying aristocracy rule however they wish. Shace is but a candle flame from igniting into another civil war."
"That's how you see it," Keritanima sniffed. "Wikuna had an absolute fortune tied up in Dayise. We had to protect our interests."
"I have noticed that Wikuna often protects its own interests with no regard as to the damage they cause to others," Dolanna said with a calm look at the princess. "No less than five revolutions, the collapse of Rauthym, and the destruction of Trigador can be traced back to the Diamond Throne."
"You make it sound like the Wikuni are bullies," Azakar said.
"They are," Dar said. "And they've gotten alot worse over the last few decades."
"Blame that on my father, not on me," Keritanima said defensively.
"You all should be packing your belongings," Dolanna told them. "We will be leaving the ship as soon as we dock."
Leaving. Tarrin turned and looked back at the old galleon, a legend on the Sea of Storms. He hated being stuck on it, but it had served his group well. Kern had delivered them to Dayise, more or less on time, and things looked to be going well. Dolanna didn't know if this Renoit was still in Dayise, but at least Kern had gotten them there in enough time to make it possible, rather than certain, that he was gone. Some of the delays hadn't been his fault, after all. Being iced in in the Stormhavens had thrown a chunk of time into their trip, but Kern had pulled them through. He had alot of respect for the grizzled sailor, even if he didn't entirely trust him. Kern was, after all, human, and that was more than enough to make Tarrin stay on his guard.
But it had been a good trip, all things considering. They were still alive, at any rate, and that had to count for something.
Going below, Tarrin and Dar packed their sparse belongings in relative silence. Tarrin didn't own all that much, and his staff was now in Azakar's hands. The Mahuut Knight couldn't look like a Knight, and the staff would help the disguise of an Arakite merchant. Arakites were always armed, and well known to carry around either elaborately decorated walking sticks, canes, or staves, which doubled as weapons should they be under attack. Dolanna had dressed up his Ironwood staff to go along with the very expensive silk robes she had made for him, the robes of a successful Arakite merchant. Dolanna would pretend to be one of his wives, and the rest of their group would be his hirelings and bodyguards. An Arakite merchant would certainly be travelling with either wives or concubines. Faalken would be his bodyguard, for it was also common for Arakite merchants to travel with such men. Dar was Arkisian, and because of that, he would serve as Azakar's doman, or heir, a youth in Azakar's trading house that was learning the business from his elders. Allia would be Azakar's maidservant, wearing a heavy robe with a veil that would effectively hide the features that marked her as Selani, and would instead only let the onlooker see the dark skin that would make him assume she was Arakite. Dar spoke Arakite, which was still the national language of Arkis, and had extensive education in economics, which would reinforce the illusion and help cover Azakar's mistakes. Tarrin and Keritanima also spoke Arakite, and it was going to be their job to translate any Arakite dealings for the others. He was going to ride in Miranda's satchel, but either Keritanima or Allia would be close enough to listen should he need to say something to them. Keritanima and Miranda would also be merchants, but Wikuni merchants, with Binter and Sisska serving as their bodyguards underneath Illusions created by Keritanima and Dolanna. For Wikuni and Arakites to travel together was not unheard of, especially if the Wikuni were courting the Arakite for the rare silks, chaba wood, gems, salt, or spices that Yar Arak exported.
It was a very effective ruse Dolanna had devised. Azakar's sheer size and his ability to intimidate would allow him to avoid the majority of attempts of others to talk to him, and Dar would be there to help him through any forced conversation with real merchants. Because Arakite merchants travelled with such large retinues, and dealt so much with Wikuni, it would allow them to travel together without raising too much suspicion.
"Catch, Tarrin," Dar said in Arakite, which caused the Were-cat to turn around in time to snatch a sheathed dagger from the air. It was Tarrin's, the dagger he'd won at the fair just before leaving Aldreth, which he had lent to Dar some days ago. Dar grinned at him. "I see you're not getting rusty," he continued in Arakite.
"I don't get rusty with languages, Dar," he replied in flawless, fluent Arakite. "It's a knack."
"That accent is not a knack," he criticized. "It's atrocious."
"Blame my father. He sounded the same way."
"Then I'll have to have a long talk with him when we get back to Suld," he said, closing his pack and tying it shut. "I'm ready. I hope we'll have time to buy some new clothes."
"Who knows how long we'll be here?" Tarrin shrugged, tying closed his own pack. Tarrin only owned a few sets of clothes, the dagger, and a few other small personal items. He didn't really need a great deal of excess baggage slowing him down. That made his own backpack very light. He slid it onto his back and settled the straps into a comfortable position on his back, then changed form to make sure the backpack would go into that elsewhere the same as his clothes. It did so, and, satisfied, he shifted back to his humanoid form. He touched the shaeram around his neck, remembering a time when he almost took off his own head to get rid of it. How things had changed. It meant much more to him than a collar now, it represented the Goddess, and it was something that never failed to send a little electric tingle through his fingers when he touched it. It still represented a little bit of captivity, to the Goddess if anyone else, but she had already proved that she was the gentlest of mistresses, and someone whom he could tolerate for the time he would be subservient to her.
There was a knock on the door, then it opened. Azakar looked a bit silly in the robes, and the look on his face made it apparent how much he disliked Dolanna's plan. "Mistress Dolanna wants us up on deck. We're starting to get ready to dock."