It was a rough, jolting eight-day journey by carriage to the coastal city of Baylay. Had he taken it before, Li would have been quite curious about the lands and towns he passed through, but his guards and the curtained carriage windows gave him little chance to watch the scenery if he had truly wanted to. Instead, he spent most of his time staring at the rough wooden floor of the carriage or sleeping fitfully, having finally been overcome by his exhaustion.

His dreams were plagued by Ash's lifeless body, and of his very alive one laying once again in Li's arms. They were dreams that left him brokenhearted and withdrawn. The dreams of Catarene left him feeling much the same. He knew she was the one responsible for Ash's murder, but he could not prove it, nor would proving it do anything to undo what was done. Ash was forever gone from his life.

The dreams faded somewhat in the month he was confined to the Baylay jail awaiting his sentence. He ate only because he was forced to, did his daily guided exercises in the yard because it felt good to move his body. It did not matter to him if the exercises were meant to make his life on the privateer more manageable. He would have welcomed death if it had offered itself to him.

"Get up," the guard commanded, somewhat earlier than usual. "Your ship's come in."

Li obeyed. He allowed himself to be bound and led from the prison to the docks, still unwilling to appreciate his surroundings. He did, however, look for a long moment at the ship he was being led to. It was the largest of all the vessels at the docks, boasting three towering masts, though the sails were rolled up in a rather neat way. At the back of the ship was a large flag that also stirred very little, though its colors brought to mind the gold-and-blue flag of Mahlon. The ship itself was dark in color, though showing hints of red in the sun. Its rails and winged cat figurehead shone gold.

People moved about the ship, bringing up cargo and offloading it to the wagons on the docks with ropes and pulleys. There was little shouting of orders. It seemed the crew knew what to do. They were all dressed as he had imagined sailors to dress, in a mix of dull and bright colors. Few wore shirts in the heat of the summer, they all wore short pants, some with scarves around their waists, others with the same covering their heads. Few wore hats. Many at least seemed to be wearing shoes.

His guards took him to a middle-aged man who was overseeing the offloading process. He wore a wide-brimmed black hat, loose scarlet shirt, tan pants, and black boots. At his hip was a sword. He wore three earrings in each ear, as well as a fine gold necklace and multiple rings. He did not look at all pleased to see Li and his guards.

"My new recruit I assume?" he asked, his voice gruff.

"Yes, Captain," one guard replied, handing over a set of documents.

The captain briefly scanned them. "Lishalnir. You must be from the interior. No coastal parents would use such a mouthful of a name."

"I go by Li," he replied, his voice rough with disuse. It was no business of this man where he was from.

The captain didn't acknowledge him. Instead, he read on, abruptly stopping. "Why am I taking in a murderer?" he quietly asked the guards.

One of the guards handed him a small bag. Li assumed it must contain money.

"The magistrate chose the sentence due to particular circumstances that do not need to be addressed. He believed this one to not be a concern to you. The criminal was judged more likely to toss himself over the side than do further harm."

The captain sighed. "At any rate I will need to have him watched. He won't be any use to me dead before the end of two years."

Li attempted to ignore how strange it felt to be talked of as if he wasn't standing beside the men, hearing every word. There was much he considered saying, but thought it pointless to do so.

"Ardlac!" the captain called, turning from them and folding the papers. "Take charge of your man." He glanced back at Li and his guards. "I have work to continue. Ardlac will see to the new addition."

As the captain stepped away, storing the papers in his shirt, another man approached. He was closer in age to Li's twenty-eight years, though that was all they seemed to have in common. Ardlac was nearly a head taller than Li and somewhat broader. His hair was long and dark while Li's was short and light. His eyes were piercing blue while Li's were cool gray. His clothes were more plain than the captain's but his ears were pierced in multiple places, his earrings an arrangement of simple studs and loops, and one appeared to hold a green stone. While the other men on the ship had skin that was tanned from the sun, Ardlac's skin was perhaps a shade darker than most of the others'.

The most striking thing about him were the marks on his skin. Li had heard that those who went to sea, as well as those from the neighboring land of Nairiume, marked their skin with needles and ink in a process called tattooing. Ardlac's included one line that extended from the base of his left ear to the center of his throat, a vertical line an inch long below his right eye, an X halfway down the right side of his neck, and a vertical line in the center of his chin that was partly hidden by stubble. When he lifted his left hand to motion for the guards to release Li, his sleeve fell back to reveal a twisting line around his wrist. There was the hint of other tattoos beneath the sleeve, but Li didn't have the chance to see them. One appeared to suggest a fish.

"Captain Mond has made us partners," he said, his voice carrying an accent that was nearly musical to Li's ears. "That means I am to teach you everything about being on the ship. If you have questions, ask them. It will look badly on me if you fail."

Li had known he would get little kindness here, but the tone of Ardlac's voice still bothered him. With no other choice, he simply nodded. He waited for the guard to remove his shackles and was surprised when another guard handed him a small bag.

"You have been supplied with two changes of clothing and a blanket," the guard explained. "All other needs will be met by the captain of the ship."

Li assumed he would have received the same in prison, over time. He nodded but felt no need to thank them.

Ardlac motioned for him to follow as he began making his way toward the ramp leading onto the ship. "When we are next in port you will be assisting with the offloading," he explained. "For now you will learn."

The tour of the ship seemed quite short considering the size of it, but Li was happy to know the layout was fairly simple. He saw the captain's quarters and those of the officers so he knew what place on the ship to avoid wandering to. He met the cook and saw the galley. His stomach growled at the idea of food in the future. There was even a room for bathing, much to Li's surprise.

"There's much work being done by the healers in Nairiume," Ardlac explained. "They've suggested filth leads to disease. Captain has agreed to aid them in their studies. The healers' college there fit the room for the ship a year ago. It has reduced illness among the crew significantly."

"And the smell, I imagine," Li added. That was why he had always been a lover of bathing.

Ardlac grunted and continued the tour. Li was awed by what Ardlac called cannons, great metal wheeled contraptions on the deck and in ports below.

"They use a powder to shoot deadly balls of metal at other ships," Ardlac explained. "They're also a fairly new addition. Two years ago we spent months in Orma learning to use and care for the guns. They've been expanding in popularity among navies and privateers. Soon the necromancers from Dyrai will learn to use them, and the pirates."

Though Ardlac still seemed uninterested in being friendly, he at least seemed willing to talk about the ship. Li decided that, if it was to be his fate to be a member of the crew for two years, provided he didn't die first, he should know what he could.

"What is the purpose of the privateer fleet?" he asked as they crossed the busy deck. "Of course it's to defend Mahlon's shores, I know that, but how?"

Ardlac stopped at the side of the ship, gazing out over the harbor and to the sea beyond. "In times of war, it is to act as the navy, which I'm told Mahlon can't afford to keep in service during peace. At other times it's to fight the pirates that attack trade, and also to attack any ships belonging to Dyrai. They have begun to colonize many of the islands near them. The necromancers are still holding power, but they have begun looking outside their own land for resources, both material and mortal. Building a worldwide empire seems to be on their mind again. We attack their trading vessels moving between islands, and any ships of war we find. They have also allied themselves with growing nations they have not already simply taken over. We attack their vessels as well. The necromancers are a blight on the seas and we must contain them."

Li studied Ardlac for a moment. He knew many of those from Nairiume had magical abilities that they used to fight necromancers. Their magic was a precise counter-power to the necromancers'. He wondered if Ardlac was one of those, or simply someone otherwise personally affected by the actions of the necromancers.

He shook his head. It was foolish to ask personal questions, especially when Ardlac seemed so unfriendly.

Moments later, Ardlac led him back below deck, this time at the front of the ship, what Ardlac called the bow. Here were numerous rooms, each numbered to prevent confusion. Ardlac pushed open the door marked 32 and Li followed him inside.

The room was small, barely large enough for a bunk, two locked cabinets, and two small chests. There were a few items below the bunk Li couldn't quite make out. The bunk was against the wall which appeared to be the wall of the ship itself, and seemed barely enough space for two people to lay on their sides.

"This is where we stay," Ardlac explained. "You will sleep against the wall." He kicked one of the small chests. "Put your things in here. Don't touch anything else."

Li nodded and set his bag in the chest, watching as Ardlac removed the key from the second cabinet and put it in a pouch at his waist.

"You are only here because you need to be," Ardlac continued. "I don't wish to share my space."

"I'll take up as little as I can," Li assured him.

Ardlac grunted. "Let's find you a sword. I'm sure you've never touched one before."

Li sighed and followed him from the room. He did not expect any aspect of this to be anything less than pure misery.