Tariel leaned against the wall and sighed. “We could try to talk to the captain anyway. We are in disguise, and as long as we can tone down our accents, we should besafe.”
Calrain shook his head. “If we try to bribe the captain, it will draw suspicion, especially if he says no. We need to find anotherway.”
The three of them took refuge in a nearby tavern, repasting on roasted mussels and oysters while they waited for Yarim and Riann to return. About an hour later, the two walked into the tavern, and Tariel waved them over to their table in the corner, their backs to the wall so they could see everyone exiting andentering.
“Soldiers are crawling all over the docks,” Riann said in a low voice as he joined them. “It would seem that Sir Jerrold has managed to convince the home guard that we aretrouble.”
“Indeed,” Wellion said darkly. He eyed the purse tied at Riann’s belt, which seemed significantly heavier. “I assume you got thereward?”
“We did,” Yarim confirmed. “Lord Raffis was not at all happy to learn his brother was behind his near-demise, and at first he refused to believe us. He plans to convince the home guard to let him conduct a search, and hopefully turn up that stolen ledger. I warned him to be on his guard, as Mostil will certainly try to take him out beforethen.”
“I just hope nothing happens to Natha,” Tariel said. “Did you see herthere?”
“I did,” Riann said with a smile. “She looked happy and well cared for. Raffis said he was going to hire guards, so I think they will be fine, so long as he can convince the king that his brother is the truevillain.”
“Good enough,” Wellion said. “As far as I’m concerned, we owe him nothing more. We need to focus on figuring out how to get to theEmpire.”
“I wish we could just confront Sir Jerrold and the home guard,” Tariel said with a sigh. “I am so tired of that evil man constantly dogging ourheels.”
“That would not go well,” Yarim pointed out. “Especially since he does have you three on horse theft. Roisen also happens to have plenty of acolytes here, some of them in high positions, so there is no guarantee that the justice system here would protect you even if you weren’t guilty of acrime.”
“Not to mention that Mostil is likely to do anything he can to destroy us as witnesses,” Wellion growled. His eyes flashed as he sipped from his tankard of ale. “It would be best for us to keep a low profile and get out of here as quickly aspossible.”
“But we’ve already ruled out gaining passage aboard a ship,” Tariel said. “Even if we hid here for a few days with disguises and waited until the passenger ship is ready to leave, some of those guards at the docks could be armed with those strange wands. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had someone there with one now, to check anyone who tries to leave formagic.”
“Just because we cannot use any of the ships here does not mean that we cannot set sail from another port,” Yarim pointed out. “There are several others farther south that we might make use of, if we can only get tothem.”
“That might be our best bet,” Wellionagreed.
Calrain sighed. “It is a good thing we didn’t have time to sell our horses yet.” He leaned back in his chair. “We’re going to needthem.”
