“Lanport isn’t as big as I thought it’d be,” Katrin said as they approached the city.

“It’s supposed to be larger than High Cove,” Corec said. “I think it’s just spread out farther along the coast, so we can’t see it all from here.”

The trip north from High Cove had been uneventful, other than the weather continuing to worsen. The light snow that had fallen the night before had melted, leaving the road muddy, and Katrin was looking forward to reaching the city and getting a hot bath.

It took them another hour to get to the city itself, but even as the North Road turned into the main street leading through town, it stayed a muddy mess, without the granite pavers which were common in other large cities. Wooden walkways lined the buildings to either side, so foot traffic could avoid the mud.

“Why do they leave the streets like this?” Katrin asked.

Corec said, “The caravan guards who work the Lanport run say the government here doesn’t do much. They don’t do anything about bandits, so the caravans get attacked sometimes. There are pirates, too, when the traders come by ship.” Then he laughed. “I was supposed to come here once on a ship, but I got too sick, so they put me off in High Cove. I didn’t even get paid for the first half of the trip.”

“Bandits and pirates?”

“We should be fine,” Corec said. “Most of them aren’t stupid enough to attack two men in plate armor, and even if they are, they’ll be scared off when Ellerie starts burning holes in them.”

“Unless they’re those red-eyed men. They don’t seem scared by anything.”

Corec nodded. “I wish I knew where they came from. The West Road to south of Circle Bay…I can’t figure out who they’re working for in that area. Terril Forest is between there, but I doubt the red-eyes are being sent by the elves.”

As they drew closer to the city center, Katrin heard a mournful tune being played on a gittern. She could just barely make out the lyrics, sung in a woman’s voice. Listening to the words, she saw the same scene in her mind, the lament of a soldier who’d survived a terrible battle.

“That’s a bard!” Katrin exclaimed. She’d never met another female bard before. “Let’s go that way.”

“I’ll come with you,” Corec said, and motioned to the others to go ahead without them.

Katrin followed the sound of the music to a park-like square near a busy street filled with vendors. She brought Flower to a halt and dismounted behind a ring of people who stood around the singing woman. The bard was stocky, approaching her middle years, and her brown hair was starting to go gray. Instead of the fancy clothing typically worn by bards during a public performance, the woman wore a plain, sturdy dress that wouldn’t have looked out of place on any other street musician.

Corec joined Katrin after wrapping Flower’s and Dot’s reins around a nearby hitching post. They stood with the rest of the crowd and listened until the song was over, then Katrin made her way through the ring and dropped a coin in the wooden bowl the bard had set out in front of herself.

The listeners thinned out during the next song, but Katrin remained, closing her eyes as she sensed the bard’s deft touch in crafting the illusory visions.

She spoke quietly to Corec. “I’m going to stay here for a while if you want to go look for the others. I have a lot of questions I’m hoping she can answer.”

“All right,” he said. “I guess you know how to find us.”

Katrin nodded. She could track him down through the warden bond, the same way he’d be able to catch up to the others. She turned her attention back to the bard after Corec had ridden back in the direction they’d come from.

During the next break between songs, the woman looked her way. “Don’t just stand there, girl,” she said with a hillfolk accent. “That’s a harp case lashed to yon saddle, ain’t it? Bring it on down and let’s see what you can do.”

#

The group stayed in Lanport the next day to resupply, so Treya decided to bring Bobo to an almshouse if she could find one. They made a quick stop first so he could buy the last few ingredients he needed to make new batches of his salves. He’d sold most of his first batch, and the ogre attack had taken up the rest. He and Shavala had foraged for as many of the herbs as they could find during the journey north, but this late in the year, they hadn’t found everything he needed.

When Bobo was finished, the clerk looked toward Treya.

“I just need directions,” she said. “Does Lanport have any almshouses?”

“What, like where old people live when they can’t afford anywhere else?”

“Oh, no, I meant almshouses for healing.”

“Ahh, you want the healing house, then. There’s only one. Go out the door, two blocks west, then straight north for a quarter of a mile. You can’t miss it.”

“Thank you.”

After they left the shop, Bobo sighed. “Well, there goes the last of my money. I’m going to have to borrow coin from Corec again until I can mix these salves up and start selling them again.”

“I can loan you some of my share from fighting the demons,” Treya said. “Of course, if you had come with us…”

“Hah. No. I’ll leave the fighting to those that know how to do it. But I haven’t been able to find any translation or scribing jobs lately.”

“Well, I’ve got enough coin now. If we keep getting jobs like that, I can start sending some back to the Orders.”

Bobo nodded. “Well, if you can help me out with food and lodging for a bit, I’d appreciate it. I’ll start brewing the salves as soon as we’re on the road again, and pay you back as soon as I sell some. It would help if we’d camp out more often. I doubt the cook at an inn will let me use her kitchen all night long.”

“I’ll buy you your own pot, too. Katrin says the last time you made something, the taste lingered in the food for two days.”

“Did it? I couldn’t smell or taste anything after spending twelve hours stirring it.”

While they walked, Treya cast her mind around for something else to talk about, because if she didn’t, Bobo would bring up politics or philosophy again. He always took a position contrary to her own, just so he’d have someone to debate with, and she needed a break from it. Corec and Katrin never showed any interest in the discussions, Shavala barely spoke about topics she was interested in, and Ellerie and Boktar weren’t friendly enough with Bobo to humor him, so it usually fell to Treya to keep him amused.

Finally, she settled on a more personal topic. “Why are you so interested in finding Tir Yadar? Is it really just for the treasure?”

“My grandfather was a librarian before me, and he used to read me stories about treasure hunters and grand adventures. It always seemed like such an exciting, romantic life. I spent a few years learning things from books, but after a while, that wasn’t enough anymore, so I started looking for my own grand adventure.”

“Tir Yadar?”

“Not at first, but it turns out that it’s surprisingly difficult to create a great adventure out of nothing. I’m no warrior or wizard, so I needed to find a task to which I could apply my own not inconsiderable skills. I wanted to do something that could only be done by a scholar or seeker of knowledge; I wanted to leave my mark on the world.”

“I’m not sure what that means.”

“You’ve never wanted to do something that nobody else has done, or discover something that nobody else knows about?”

“Not really. I just wanted to protect people who need protecting.”

“You’re just making a different type of mark. For me, I went back to my grandfather’s stories. A lot of them were about finding ancient ruins or lost cities. The old histories discuss a number of cities that we don’t know how to find anymore. Of those, Tir Yadar is more of a legend—it’s mentioned a lot, but nobody seemed to know for sure if it really existed. And then Ellerie brought that book and asked me if I was able to read it.”

“So you stole the translations.”

“It didn’t really feel like stealing, since I was the one who’d translated them in the first place. I had a hunch about where to find the ruins, so I got greedy and took off. I didn’t find anything, but I suppose you could say I spent that time in the hills having my own little adventures. It wasn’t the epic quest I’d dreamed of, but it was certainly a new experience. And I got the chance to learn how to actually do some of the things I’d been reading about for all those years. You know the rest.”

Treya nodded. Bobo had been chased out by the hillfolk over a misunderstanding about some farming advice he’d given, and had eventually run into Corec and Katrin.

“Now it’s your turn,” Bobo said. “Why are you still here? Your reason before was to stay close in case you needed to be nearby when they found a way to end the bond…but now you’re planning to keep it.”

“I said I was thinking about keeping it. I haven’t decided yet.”

“Still, it seems like if you really wanted to, you could go off on your own while you consider it. If they figure out a way to banish the binding spell, they can always track you down.”

Treya sighed and shrugged. “You all are my friends. Maybe Shana likes journeying by herself, but I like this better, and I think I can do just as much good traveling with everyone as I could do alone. Maybe more. Besides, people keep getting hurt. Even if Corec and Boktar handle all the fighting, who’s going to heal them if I’m not here?”

“Oh, I knew why you were here,” Bobo said. “I just wanted to make sure you knew it.”

Treya rolled her eyes. “Yes. Fine. I’m here because I want to be. Are you happy?”

“Quite. This whole warden thing is fascinating business. It seems like it must have happened for a reason. Who chooses the wardens, and how? Why did they choose Corec? Or is he right, and he was never chosen at all, and somehow they got the wrong person?”

“He says Yelena had thought they were being chosen at random, but now she’s not sure anymore.”

“I wonder if she’s the one who stole the three books about wardens from the Tyrsall library. Perhaps the next time you see her, you could introduce me.”

“I didn’t realize you wanted to meet her. She’s been helpful, but she’s not really the sort of person you just…show up to talk to uninvited.”

“Well, I suppose it’s not important,” Bobo said, then stopped in front of a ramshackle wooden building. “This must be the place. I don’t know what you think I can do. My salves are gone, and so are most of my herbs.”

“If it’s anything like the places in Tyrsall, they’ll take any help you can give them. You can talk to the newcomers and see which ones can be helped without healing magic.”

#

Katrin played her harp, listening closely to the words Anise sang. The song was about a brief, tempestuous romance between Borrisur, the God of Weather, and Irisis, the Goddess of the Sea. As the last words faded out, so too did the vision in Katrin’s mind of Irisis slipping back beneath the waves while Borrisur flew up into the sky.

“Thank you, everyone,” the hillfolk woman called out to the small group that had stopped to listen. Two men stepped forward to drop copper coins in the wooden bowls Katrin and Anise had laid out in front of themselves. The ground was still wet, so Katrin had followed Anise’s lead rather than using her straw hat for tips.

“I’ve never heard those lyrics,” Katrin said to the bard. “The music is similar to something I’ve played before, but the words were different.”

“It’s popular up this way. They like the nature gods here. If you look around town, you’ll see Borrisur, Irisis, and Demesis has themselves the biggest temples. Come on, let’s go check out the street vendors afore it gets too dark.”

The smells from the food stalls lining the street had kept wafting past while they’d been playing, making Katrin’s mouth water. The two of them gathered up their things and wandered down to investigate the vendors. Katrin only bought a handful of roasted nuts, since she planned to join her friends for supper, but Anise chose shredded, spiced mutton wrapped in flatbread.

While they walked and ate, Katrin said, “I’ve never busked before. It’s fun.”

“You ain’t ever busked? How do you make money?”

“Circle Bay has laws against street performers. I’ve always played in inns and taverns before.”

“Well, sure, I’ll do that later tonight myself, but the problem is, they’ll let you play for maybe two hours, and then you’re done for the night. You ain’t gonna make much of a living that way, so that’s where the buskin’ comes in.”

“But you’re a bard. Couldn’t you play for noble houses or merchants?”

“I could, sure, but I’d have to talk all fancy-like. Besides, where’s the fun in playin’ for people who’s too stuffy to enjoy it? Is that what you want to do?”

“I hadn’t really thought about it,” Katrin said. “Bards can make good money—that’s why I wanted to be one when I was growing up. We were poor, and it seemed like a way to a new life. Only, the schools wouldn’t take me. Not the ones in Tyrsall or Circle Bay.”

Anise said, “For me, the music’s always been the most important. Sure, the bardic talents are useful, but the music’s more fun, and I like playing for people who appreciate it.”

“What about playing in a concert hall?”

“Oh, I suppose I could arrange that if I ask my old school for a reference, but I ain’t often in a city big enough to have one. It’s just not worth the effort.”

“Which school did you attend?”

“Valara. I was one of the first girls they allowed in there, nigh on thirty years ago.”

“What was it like?” Katrin asked as they found an empty hitching post to lean against.

“I was away from home for the first time, and it was a very long way away from home. Circle Bay was the first big city I ever saw, and then Valara was nearly as big. They was so different from my little village, I’d have run away if I coulda figured out how to get back on my own. And the schoolmasters didn’t like me much. Don’t know if it’s because I was a girl or because I was from the hills. They said I couldn’t talk right or sing right or play right.”

“That sounds unpleasant.”

“Well, to be fair, I suppose they was right about the singin’ and the playin’. We wasn’t very formal about music back home. It’s a wonder the elders figured out I was a bard at all. I had to learn to do it all the right way first, so I could get better from there. You don’t got that problem, at least—you don’t got any bad habits that I can see.”

“I don’t know much about my bardic abilities, though. Do you think the school in Valara would accept me? I really want to learn, and Corec and I are still trying to figure out where to settle down.”

“Well, there’s the trick. I ain’t sure how much the bardic abilities can be taught. Most of my schooling was about the music itself. Will the teachers actually be able to teach you anything? I wager you’re as strong as I was when I graduated.”

That made Katrin stand up straight. “What? Really?”

“Well, now,” the older woman said, “you can make people see the songs every time you want them to, right? And not when you don’t? And you’re pretty good at makin’ sure what they see is what you want ‘em to see?”

Katrin shrugged. “Yes, I guess so.”

“That’s about the time they let the students go out on their own, so I’d say you’re already there.”

“But what about the other things we can do?”

“Like what?”

“Like…fighting. Like, slowing down a group of ogres while they’re trying to attack, or dazing a thief so he couldn’t hurt me. It didn’t work against the imps, though.”

Anise shook her head. “I guess I’ve heard of things like that, but they don’t teach ‘em at the school, and I’ve never had much call to try ‘em out myself. I ain’t ever been stupid enough to get in a fight with a batch of ogres. Shit—I didn’t mean to say you’re stupid.”

Katrin laughed. “Well, it’s not like I was the one out there with a sword. I was on the roof of a building with some archers. It didn’t occur to me until the ogres were already there that they were tall enough to actually reach us. But they slowed down, and I think it was because of my playing, and that gave the archers enough time to take them out.”

“That sounds right useful…at least, if you’re in the habit of gettin’ into fights. I prefer to avoid ‘em myself.”

“That doesn’t seem to be my luck lately.”

“Why are you all the way up here, anyway?” Anise asked. “Doesn’t seem like you’d need such a big group to find a bardic school. And besides, there ain’t one in Lanport.”

Katrin hesitated as she thought about what to say. “We’re looking for an old city. Or, I suppose, the ruins of one. Some of the people I’m traveling with are scholars, and they think we can find it near some mountains, but they don’t know which mountains.”

“Ahh, so you’re headed to the Storm Heights?”

“Yes.”

“You’ll have to be careful not to anger the stormborn if you’re messing around in the Heights. That’s their territory.”

“We may not have to go into the mountains themselves, but we want to see them from both the east and the west, so it’ll depend on the fastest route.”

“Tarvist Pass,” Anise said. “It’s almost straight west from here, and it’s the easiest way through. Maybe the only way at this time of year.”

“Oh, thank you. I’ll tell the others.”

“You know, if you’re headin’ that way anyway, you should visit the stormborn. They may know where that city of yours is.”

“You’ve been to the stormborn enclave? I’ve seen more stormborn here in Lanport than anywhere else, but I’ve never spoken to one before.”

“Enclave?” Anise chuckled. “That’s an interesting word for it. I spent a few months there—left before the snows started. I got to share some songs with their bards, and I learnt a few new ones from them…at least the ones that have been translated to trade tongue. Most of their songs are in their own language.”

“You think they’ll know where the city is?”

“If it’s in the Heights or nearby, they’ll definitely know. If not, well, they can tell you that, too.”

“How do we find the enclave?”

“Head west through Tarvist Pass and look for a place called Snow Crown. I’ve got a map I can show you, since it might be hard to find the road with all the snow. But once you’re on the right track, they’ll find you.”

#

“No blonde today, eh?”

Vash whirled around, the big man looking so startled that Razai would have laughed if she’d been in a better mood. Despite the cool weather, Vash wore a tight, sleeveless vest which showed off the muscles in his chest and arms. His battle axe hung at his side, strapped to his belt. The people on the street had already been giving him a wide berth, and when he jumped, they did too.

“Oh, it’s you,” he said, after he’d spotted her in the shadows between two buildings. “What are you doing here?”

“You said the seaborn are hiring bodyguards?”

“I thought you were working for your father.”

“Things change. You were right—it was bad business. I take it you’re smart enough to stay away from the lords?”

“Hells,” Vash said, “I’m seventh generation, at least. Maybe more. As far as anyone in the family knows, our progenitor was some nameless nobody. You’re the only person I know who’s even met one of the lords.”

“Well, you’ve got good sense about them, at least. So, the seaborn?”

“They might be willing to give you a try if I vouch for you. How’d you find me?”

She just stared at him.

“Oh,” he said. “Right. I forgot.”

“Also,” she said, and pointed toward the docks. She’d waited for him on the most likely route between the harbor and the part of town where most demonborn lived.

“I get the point. Let’s get going or we’ll be late. Today’s a good day for you to show up—the divers are meeting to discuss business.”

They moved off in the same direction he’d been headed. As they walked, she asked, “So, where’s the blonde?”

Vash looked puzzled. “Which one?”

Razai rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Never mind. Let’s talk about the seaborn instead. Why are they hiring bodyguards?”

“A few of the street gangs have banded together and expanded into the docks. They run the whores and the beggars, and some of the gambling, but they decided that wasn’t enough. They know they can’t go after the fishing fleets, the fishmongers’ guild, or the trading houses if they want to keep their heads, so instead, they’re pressuring the divers for a share of their take.”

“Do the divers really bring in enough to interest them?”

“There are seven diver groups working the harbor and the bay, and each group makes two or three trips a day. It adds up, and most of what they catch sells for decent coin. The gangs went after them because they should have been an easy target to serve as an example to the other businesses around the docks, but the seaborn decided to fight back. The gangs are trying to save face by forcing them to back down, and a few of the divers have been killed.”

“So that’s where you come in.”

“Yes. We’re there to show everyone that the divers aren’t easy targets. Some little gang maggot tried to shoot me with a crossbow a while back, but the bolt bounced off and I caught up to him. Ripped his head off. The gangs haven’t come after me since.”

“Why not hunt them all down?”

“That’s more your area than mine, but I doubt the constabulary would appreciate finding a few dozen dead bodies. Remember, the gang members are citizens here. The seaborn aren’t, and they don’t want that sort of trouble.”

“Who says anyone would ever find the bodies?”

“Don’t go getting any ideas,” Vash said. “I need this job, and I doubt they’ll keep paying me if there’s no threat. Here we are.” He opened the door to a rundown tavern and waved her through.

Other than an attractive human woman standing off to the side with two armed guards beside her, and a tall stormborn man carrying a staff-spear, most of the people in the room were seaborn. They were gathered in small groups, talking quietly amongst themselves.

Vash approached the stormborn man. “Wotar, this is Razai. She and I worked together a time or two, and she can handle herself in a fight. Do you know if Lanii’s crew is still looking for a guard?”

Wotar looked her over. “I think so, but you know the divers are only hiring people that’ll scare off the thugs.”

Razai bristled, but Vash just said, “Wait until they run into her in a dark alley.”

The stormborn laughed, then looked at Razai more seriously. “It can’t hurt to ask, but Lanii’s not here today. You should ask Sifoo.” He waved to one of the seaborn men, whose white hair suggested he’d just come out of the water. Seaborn hair grew lighter when it was submerged, and then grew darker again the longer it had been dry.

The man approached, and Vash said, “Razai, this is Sifoo. He runs the crew that Wotar works for. Sifoo, I thought she could work for Lanii. I’ll vouch for her.”

Sifoo looked her up and down with the same interest Wotar had shown, pausing at her eyes, her ears, and her heavy, curved daggers in their belt sheathes.

“You are demonborn, yes?” he asked.

“I am.”

“The thugs are wary of demonborn after Vash killed several of them, but you are not so obvious as him, especially from a distance. It may not be enough.”

Razai shrugged. “I can kill some, too. Or I can do this.” She concentrated for a moment, then replaced her current disguise—which was just herself, but without the blue rune that had appeared on her forehead the day before—with a new one that looked like Vash. The new illusion wasn’t perfect, since she hadn’t practiced it, but it was good enough for a demonstration. “If you give me more time to prepare, I can be someone different, so they don’t see two Vashes wandering around.” Her voice was still her own. Voices took longer to learn.

Wotar burst out in startled laughter. “That’ll do the job.”

“Yes,” Sifoo agreed, “but Lanii can’t afford to pay a wizard’s rates.”

“I’m not a wizard, and I’ll work for the same rate you’re paying Vash.”

“Then I think we have an understanding, as long as Lanii agrees. You’ll need to speak to her later, though. She and her crew are heading out beyond the bay today, so they won’t make it to the meeting.”

“What’s this meeting for?” Vash asked.

Sifoo said, “I think the human girl with the bodyguards is from the Senshall family. The messenger said she had a business proposal, but didn’t bring any details. Kolei knows something about it, but he isn’t talking.”

Just then, the woman in question moved to the front of the group. “Is this everyone who’s coming?” she asked, a look of disappointment on her face.

A short seaborn man said, “If your idea is worthwhile, we’ll tell the others. If not, we won’t.”

She stared at him for a moment, then nodded. “Thank you, Kolei. For those of you who don’t know me, I am Sister Renny Senshall of the Three Orders. I asked you here so I could propose a plan for selling your catch each day.”

A sister of the Three Orders with a family name suggested she was a concubine to a member of the Senshall family rather than being born to it.

“What is the plan?” a lanky woman asked. “You’ve been bothering me for weeks, but you haven’t said anything worthwhile yet.”

“Right now,” Renny said, “you sell your take to whatever fishmonger—or jeweler, for pearls—you think will give you the best price, but those prices go up and down from day to day. What if I can give you a guaranteed price for each catch? You get the same income or higher, and you don’t have to worry about finding different buyers each day.”

“What sort of prices?”

“I’ve got them here.” The concubine handed out small scrolls to Sifoo, Kolei, the lanky woman, and one other man. Razai decided they must be the leaders of the crews that were present.

“These are low,” Kolei said.

“They’re ten percent higher than the average prices you and your friends gave me,” Renny said. “And it may come out higher still because on any given day, I’d ask you to go after a list of specific catches. Perhaps one day, a buyer’s willing to pay more for lobsters or clams, and another day, he wants sponges or sea urchins.”

“And how do you make money in all this?” Kolei asked skeptically.

“It’s like a farmers’ cooperative. By negotiating prices at a larger scale, and finding buyers who know you’ll bring in what they’re asking for that week, the overall earnings will be higher. I can pay you a steady rate that’s a bit higher than what you typically earn, and I’ll still make a profit in the long term. Some days I may lose money, but you don’t have to worry about that, because your rate is guaranteed.”

“What’s to stop others from undercutting your prices?” the lanky woman asked.

“Nothing, but how many divers are there in Tyrsall besides the seaborn? Some fishermen put out lobster traps, but they may be willing to join the cooperative too, if their normal buyers aren’t interested in lobster. My father’s a fisherman, and he’s talked to a few of the others about it—they already do something similar with their fishing catches.”

“This’ll be backed by the Senshall trading company?” Kolei asked.

“No, it’s an independent project, but I can guarantee the funds for up to a month. If it doesn’t work out, we can shut it down in a single day and you can simply go back to what you’re doing now. It doesn’t require any investment from you.”

“Will you help pay for our bodyguards?” asked a man who hadn’t spoken yet.

“Not if you want these rates, but the extra income should help cover what you’re paying them. And if you’d like, I can ask for a meeting with Duke Voss’s concubine, to see if the constabulary can pay more attention to the gangs than they have in the past.”

Vash frowned at that, but the divers seemed to approve of the idea. The meeting broke up then, with the crew leaders cornering Renny to ask more questions.

If the Senshall girl actually got a response from the duke, Razai figured the job might end sooner than she’d hoped, but it would give her something to do while she thought about a new plan.