Shi’chen flushed. “Sorry,” he said softly.
Lai shook his head. “Don’t apologize. You obviously have something on your mind.”
Shi’chen shook his head. “Just… nervous.”
“I know, you haven’t seen him in almost two weeks, he might have forgotten you by now,” Lai teased as the carriage stopped in front of a block of shops, one of which seemed to be a tavern. The sign over the door readVayalla Oren. Lai jumped down, and Shi’chen followed close after him. He suddenly found himself more than a little anxious. What if A’bbni truly was not here? What if something had happened to his ship, or he had been discovered by the guards? He felt Lai’s eyes on him, and then the half-elf’s hand landed lightly on his shoulder, making him expectedly jump at the contact. “It will be okay,” Lai said reassuringly. Shi’chen nodded slowly. “Come on.” Lai adjusted the warm hat he had on that covered his short ears, and then pushed open the door.
The warmth and scent of some sort of beer met his nose, and Shi’chen pushed his hood back so he could see better. The tavern was crowded, with a mix of goblins and elves, most of whom seemed to be middle-class from what he could tell, maybe merchants and tradesmen. Most paid them no mind when they entered, and he swept his eyes around the crowd. Lai let him lead as he moved amongst the patrons, looking for the familiar shape of his twin. But he did not see him, and his heart began to pound a little harder in his chest. He turned to Lai with a worried frown. “I don’t see him here.” Not that he expected A’bbni to just be sitting out in the open in a place like this for days on end, but he had no idea what else to look for.
Lai glanced around, then took Shi’chen’s arm to steer him toward the bar where a goblin with a large moustache was pouring drinks into glasses. Lai said something to the man in Cserethian that Shi’chen knew was a greeting, and then the half-elf was speaking at a fast clip to the man, of which Shi’chen only caught the word “goblin” and “friend.” The bartender glanced at him and then turned back to Lai, asking a question.
Lai turned back to Shi’chen, switching back to Hanen-shii. “He says a Lord Kella left a note for a sailor who was supposed to be arriving and wants to know if that might be you?”
Shi’chen remembered Rell giving A’bbni a note, telling him it was for Lord Kella only. “Yes!” he said in Cserethian.
The bartender grabbed a piece of paper from under the bar and held it up but did not give it to him. Lai pulled a coin from his pocket and handed it to him. The bartender took the coin, then glanced at the envelope with its black wax seal and crest and said something else to Lai in Cserethian. Lai rolled his eyes, pulling two more coins from his pocket, which he tossed on the counter instead of offering them, and the bartender handed the letter over.
“Come on,” Lai said, grabbing Shi’chen’s shoulder to pull him along. “Let’s get out of this crowd so you can read it.”
“Would he not have given us the letter if you had not given him the money?” Shi’chen asked curiously as they threaded through the crowd toward the door.
“Probably not,” Lai said with a shrug.
“Even though the letter was not for him?”
Lai laughed as he stepped out into the cool air again and moved over to a stone bench nearby. “You really have never had to rely on money, have you?”
“No,” Shi’chen admitted, sitting down next to Lai. He resisted the urge to snatch the letter when Lai held it out. Even though the envelope was blank, it was a good quality parchment, and the black wax seal was that of the Arvay family crest, the rich elven family whose business for ferrying people between Hanenea’a and Kendarin was well-known. He broke the seal and pulled out a single sheet of paper, written in elegant Hanen-sha.
Greetings, we hope you experienced safe travels. I have a guest at my home who is eager to meet you. Please come at your earliest convenience, where you will be most welcome.
There was an address at the bottom, and Lai glanced around when Shi’chen showed it to him. “That’s not far from here. Close to the passenger docks. We can walk there within an hour.”
Shi’chen was on his feet before Lai even finished speaking, already heading down the street in the direction Lai had indicated. The half-elf had to jog to catch up with him, and Shi’chen reluctantly slowed a little to let Lai take the lead again. “You trust this?” Lai asked, gesturing to the letter.
Shi’chen shrugged. “What choice do I have?”
“I guess that’s true,” Lai replied.
“If it turns out to be a trap, I have a very talented swordsman to defend me,” Shi’chen pointed out with a grin.
“You haven’t even seen me fight,” Lai replied, rolling his eyes.
“No,” Shi’chen admitted. “But I can tell from the way you handled that dagger against Jaa’jen that you knew how to use it.”
Lai shrugged. “Any idiot can hold a dagger.”
“Sure, but not every idiot stands in defense like you did,” Shi’chen replied with a grin.
Lai laughed softly at that. “I should have guessed you’d see that, Captain.”
Shi’chen rolled his eyes. “You figured out I was a guard just from me wielding a mop.”
“Which you still need to teach me, by the way,” Lai reminded him.
“I’m pretty sure you know how to mop a deck,” Shi’chen replied with a grin.
Lai gave him a playful shove. “Asshole.”
