Casax frowns at a sailor at the bar who's making a lot of noise. The sailor shuts up.
"Anyway they won't come after her in Twelve Seas," says Casax. "So you don't have to worry."
I move a little closer to Casax.
"The Society worry me as much as the Brotherhood. Which is to say not at all."
"You hear that, Karlox?" says Casax. "We don't worry him. Better take care not to upset such a tough guy."
Karlox grins. I've had some run-ins with him in the past. He's dumb as an Orc but good at violence.
"What did Glixius want?" I ask, not really expecting a reply.
"To talk to a sailor about a missing item."
Casax points to a figure at a table, just discernible through the perpetual smoky gloom inside the Mermaid. I wonder if Glixius Dragon Killer has been looking for the Ocean Storm on behalf of the Sorcerers Guild. Lisutaris said she'd sent out some people. But Glixius isn't trustworthy. More likely he's working some angle of his own.
Casax loses interest in me. He doesn't care about me questioning the first mate. Maybe he figures it would be wise to cooperate, with the Sorcerers, the Civil Guards and Prefect Drinius all buzzing around. Or maybe he just feels like being polite because he's looking forward to the card game. He's not a bad player, Casax. Sharp as an elf's ear, or near enough, and difficult to read.
I sit down next to the sailor. His eyes are dull and they don't light up when I appear.
"I don't know anything about the Ocean Storm," he says, before I can even frame a question.
"How d'you know I was going to ask you about it?"
"Everybody else has. The Prefect. The Civil Guards. The Sorcerers."
His voice sounds weary. Perhaps the result of his arduous sea voyage. More likely he's midway between doses of dwa.
"What happened to Captain Arex?"
"He disappeared. We just made it into harbour, and when we got there, no Captain Arex."
"He just disappeared?"
"That's what I said."
"I saw the ship come in. The weather was calm. He couldn't have been washed overboard. Where'd he go?"
The first mate shakes his head. He doesn't know.
"You feel anything strange? Sorcery maybe?"
He shakes his head again. Of course, there are plenty of spells that can't be sensed by your average citizen.
"Tell me about the Ocean Storm."
"I don't know anything about it."
A waitress passes. I order a beer and sit in silence till it arrives. My companion doesn't volunteer any more information. He doesn't seem worried. He doesn't even seem interested. I sip my beer.
"When these people asked you questions—the Guards, the Prefect, the Sorcerers—did any of them offer you some financial reward for your trouble?"
This gets his attention. He looks straight at me.
"Now that you mention it, they didn't."
I take out my purse.
"None of them really know how to investigate," I tell him. "They're amateurs. Just get in my way, really."
I take out two gurans and lay them on the table. It's more than I'd normally pay for information in a place like this.
"Why did you go to the isle of Evoli?"
The first mate slides the coins off the table and into the pocket inside his tunic.
"To take on water. Not unusual."
"But something unusual happened?"
"The captain disappeared inland with a few sailors and he came back with something in a bag. Didn't say what it was and he didn't tell me where he'd been. Later the sailors told me he went to see some old monk. An Elf. I didn't know there was anyone on Evoli, it's just a rock in the sea really. A few trees and a stream."
"Was it on your normal trade route?"
"No. We made a diversion."
"Strange time to make a diversion, with the stormy season due."
"It was. We were lucky to make it back to Turai."
"So what happened to the captain?"
The first mate shakes his head.
"I don't know. I was busy working a pump when we came into port. We were shipping so much water we damned near went under."
I stare at him.
"I didn't pay you to tell me the same story you told the Prefect. I've been at sea. I don't imagine a ship's captain ever disappeared without someone on board knowing where he went. And I don't believe he was spirited away by a spell either. Where'd he go?"
The first mate looks at me pointedly. I slide another guran across the table.
"He has a woman in Silver Lane."
"Then give me the address and I'll be on my way."
He gives me the address. I finish my beer and depart, satisfied. Having cleared up any foolish notions of mysterious disappearances, I've more of an idea what's been going on. The captain might have been in negotiations with the Sorcerers Guild but he's obviously got an idea of how he might earn himself more than they were willing to pay. I'm guessing he's had a better offer from elsewhere, and has dropped out of sight while he tries to do a deal. Theft and greed. I'm back on familiar ground.
Silver Lane isn't far away. It's one of the many small streets In Twelve Seas with tall tenements crowding in on each side, dwellings which are never comfortable and often dangerous. The landlords bribe the city officials to look the other way while they build them up too high. Every year there's some disaster when one of them collapses and there's an outcry in the city for a while, but it never changes. I'd expect a sea captain to live in a slightly better area, but if he's on the run it's not a bad place to go, though the Guards or the Sorcerers would have found him soon enough if they weren't so dramatically bad at investigating.
The stairway is narrow, dark and dirty. I walk up three flights and knock on the door. There's no reply. Maybe they're out. Maybe they're not keen on visitors. I speak a minor word of power and the door swings inwards, easily enough. I'm pleased. I always am when any of my small knowledge of sorcery pays off. The hallway is neat, with a small table and a clean rug. The captain's lady keeps a nice slum. I can smell freshly baked bread. I glance in the first room, which is empty. I look in the second, which is not so empty. There's a few sticks of furniture and two dead bodies. One male, around my age, face somewhat gnarled, probable effects of a life at sea, stabbed in the back. One female, younger, rather plump, wearing the sort of dress a poor woman buys to greet her lover. Also stabbed, and also dead.
It's a depressing sight. The neatness of the room makes it worse. The woman lives in the poorest part of town but makes an effort to keep things tidy. Her lover arrives back with a plan for making some money, presumably to take them somewhere better. Soon afterwards they're both dead. Not such a great plan, all in all.
I take a look around. I'm not expecting to find anything and I don't. If the captain had the Ocean Storm on him, it's long gone. In the tiny kitchen there's a loaf on the table, newly baked. The captain's woman was skilful in the kitchen. He should have stuck with his homely comforts instead of trying move up in the world. I tear off a hunk of bread, cram it in my mouth, and close the door on my way out.
After I leave I feel downcast. I've spent too long sorting out problems in this city. With the Orcs outside the walls, I wonder why I bother. A beggar holds out his hand as I pass by. He's dressed in rags, and suffering in the cold. When winter is harsh, the beggars die. Maybe this year they'll make it through to spring. I should question him. He might have seen someone coming out from the tenement. But I hurry past, suddenly uncomfortable from the feeling that I'm going to end up like him, destitute and on the streets. The way my life has been going for the past few years, I wouldn't say it was impossible. My mood worsens when I pass a tavern at the foot of Moon and Stars Boulevard which has a quarantine sign outside it, a large black cross painted on the white door. The winter malady is starting to spread.
I'm not too far away from the tenement where Tanrose's mother lives. I could go and question her. I hesitate. Having just encountered two corpses I'm not really in the right state of mind to launch into a fresh investigation. But time is short, and I need money. I sigh, and head over to visit her.