The oar bearer closest to the Tempest used his tool to push us away from the vessel. They then both dipped their oars into the water and rowed hard and fast, cutting through the water like the oars were knives. I twisted around and watched the shoreline come closer and closer.
We came up beside one of the smaller docks, and the captain tossed a rope to a workman, who caught it and deftly tied the coils to a thick post. Torvus hopped out of the boat as deft as a goat on a mountain. He turned and offered me his hand. I was even more glad for the assistance this time, as the boat bobbed along the gentle waves that pushed off the sandy shore. Ramaro scurried up one of the posts and joined us on the dock.
The captain turned to his two sailors. “Fetch the supplies on the list and take them to the ship. I’ll find other transport.”
“Aye, Captain!” they answered as they climbed out.
The men hurried to obey their leader’s commands, but Torvus himself leisurely walked down the planks with me. “So what would you like to see? Or do you prefer to taste Rynek?”
“Rynek?” I repeated.
“The name of both the island and this city,” he told me as he nodded at the hodgepodge of a town. “It’s an old word for marketplace, as it’s centrally located between the capital and the far eastern reaches of the Sea of Cynnes.”
“Torvus!”
A huge six-and-a-half-foot-tall man marched toward us, his heavy boots pounding against the boards. His chest was broader than one of my arms, and his short blond hair was mussed by sweat. He was about forty with sharp brown eyes and a frown that made the men on the dock move out of his way. He grasped a paper in one huge hand, and Torvus’ two sailors hurried behind him, trying to keep up with his long strides.
The captain was unfazed and merely bowed his head to the giant. “Good morning, Varga. What can I do for you?”
Varga shook the paper at him. “Your name’s no good here.”
“Is my coin still good?” Torvus countered.
Varga crossed his thick arms over his broad chest. “Doesn’t matter. You’re not getting anything until you fix what happened the last time you were here.”
Ramara scurried up to the captain’s side and flicked out his tongue. “I told you they wouldn’t take us. You made too big a mess, and we don’t have that big of a purse.”
“Your purse would never be big enough,” Varga insisted as he jerked his head over his shoulders in the direction of the city. “If you want this list filled, then you’re going to have to go talk to her.”
Torvus’ eyes flickered to me, and he stretched a little taller. “Very well.” He looped an arm through mine and nodded. “We’ll go see her.” I blinked at his suddenly affectionate posturing, but he ignored my bewilderment, opting to bow his head to the huge man. “We’ll be back in a short while.”
The captain slipped us past Varga and down the dock toward the city. Ramaro scurried along at our feet. We passed the two sailors, and Torvus dropped his voice to a low whisper. “If I’m not back in four hours, you know what to do.” The men’s lips tightened, but otherwise they didn’t acknowledge his command.
I had a feeling talking wasn’t a good idea on the docks or the wharf, so I waited until we were on the dirt road in the buildings before I spoke my peace. “What in the world are you getting me into?”
He grinned. “Don’t you like a little adventure?”
“I think I’ve already had all the adventure I can handle for a while.”
Some of the humor fell from his face as he stared ahead of us. “This one can’t be avoided if we’re to get those provisions.”
Ramaro sidled up to my feet and glared at the captain. “I told you not to mess with her the last time we were here!”
My eyes flitted between the pair. “Who do you guys keep talking about? And what happened the last time you were here?”
The lizard nodded at Torvus. “This brilliant fellow thought it would be a good idea to try to steal something from the local witch. The one who makes the charms for all the dock workers.”
My face drooped. “What were you trying to steal?”
“I was only going to borrow it,” he protested as he scowled at Ramaro. “The task might have succeeded if the thief hadn’t bungled his part of the mission.”
Ramaro wrinkled his snout. “How was I supposed to know those cookies were a trap?”
“The plate was right in front of the box holding the item.”
“But it was in the kitchen!”
“A plate of cookies on top of the cabinets?”
