The Broker watched Maya with wide eyes as she finished talking and sat back, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“Is that sufficient?” Maya asked.

“If I couldn’t tell that you were telling me the truth, I’d call you a liar,” the Broker said. “Yggdrasill is one of the worlds most dangerous dungeons. Your parents must have been some serious heavy hitters to be able to guide people through it. Not to mention that they got killed by none less than the most powerful man to walk the lands in centuries. I knew about his meteoric rise to power about fifteen years ago, but I never realized how it had happened.”

“Don’t memorize it too much. Sorrow won’t keep his position for long. I’m going to kill him. Him and his crew,” Maya said. Her eyes were cold.

The Broker swallowed. The presence the young woman put out was nothing like it had been moments ago. It wasn’t that she’d gotten stronger, but something about the way she held herself. It oozed confidence and danger.

“I don’t know why, but I believe you,” the Broker said. “And I’ll admit that story was worth much more than I thought it would be. I almost feel bad asking you to do anything for me in return.”

“Then we won’t do it,” Maya said with a shrug.

“Weasel,” the Broker said, raising a hand and smiling slightly. “But, if you don’t mind, could you tell me why you waited so long to leave Ashwind? With the World Tree’s immense power covering your tracks, there was no reason for you to stay there.”

“Because I was scared. I had no Essence. I can’t kill Sorrow if I’m dead. But dealing with the Ashwinds…enough was enough. Axel had always been a prick, but he’d never tried to kill me before. I’ve got nothing to lose,” Maya said.

“But a lot to prove,” the Broker said thoughtfully. “You’re going to need a much bigger crew if you want to even think about taking on Sorrow. The man has ten warlords in his crew, not to mention he’s got half the world in his pocket.”

Maya shrugged. She stood up from the table, pushing the scroll containing Cyll’s information back over to the Broker.

“One step at a time. The first thing I need is my Life-spark back. I fulfilled my end of the bargain. It’s your turn. Unless my story wasn’t fascinating enough to pay for some worthless ring?”

“Harsh, Maya. Harsh,” the Broker said. He rose as well. “But fair. I won’t make you seek the ring out. It was a fake anyways. I just wanted to send a message to the noble. Here’s your information. The Ashwind family was indeed looking into you. They hired the Redthroat guild, a minor thieves guild with bases in several towns and cities within the South Sea. Bulsen is one of them.”

“What were they hired to do?” Maya interrupted.

“Kill you, mostly. I’m sure they reported their first failure to the Ashwinds, so after our conversation, it might benefit you to get out of here soon,” The Broker replied. “Now, the Redthroat guild are a bunch of minor thugs. Just ignore them, they’ll raise their rates since your crewmate killed one of them and the Ashwinds will stop paying soon enough.”

“That’s good, I suppose,” Maya agreed. “And the Life-spark?”

The Broker pulled a thin leather scroll holder from his belt. He popped the cap off and removed the scroll within it, pushing it flat across the table. It was a hand drawn map. In its center was Bulsen. Several other port cities had been labeled along the edge of the map.

A big red circle had been drawn around an outcropping of rocks about a week’s travel from Bulsen. It was in the middle of the ocean. The Broker tapped the circle with his pointer finger.

“This is where your new Life-spark is. If you hadn’t told me such a fascinating story, I likely would have left it at that. However, one good favor deserves another. There is a whirlpool at the center of the outcropping. It’s full of jagged rocks and all around looks like it would wreck anyone’s day,” the Broker said. “You need to sail straight into it.”

Maya blinked.

“I’m sorry? You want me to sail my ship straight into a whirlpool full of sharp objects?”

“If you want a replacement for your Life-spark, yes. There is a natural artifact at the bottom of the pool. It’s to violent and dangerous to be useful to most people, so it isn’t worth much. However, it just might replace your Life-spark.”

“I’m having a little difficulty with the first part,” Maya said. “My ship is not going to survive sailing into a whirlpool, forget my crew and me.”

“Your ship might not,” the Broker agreed. “Your crew will. But you trusted me with your story. I promise this information is true. It’s your choice to believe it or not.”

With that, the Broker gave her a sharp nod and strode out of the door, back towards Cyll and Penny. After a moment of thought, Maya rolled the map up, put it back in the leather holder that the Broker had put on the table, and followed after him.

A few minutes later, Maya found her crewmates waiting impatiently for her within the beautifully decorated room. A flash of relief crossed Cyll’s features before he got himself under control. He raised an eyebrow at Maya, ignoring the Broker.

“Well?” He asked. “You ready to go steal a ring?”

“That won’t be needed anymore,” Maya replied. She tapped the leather pouch that she’d attached to her belt. “The Broker and I worked out a faster method of payment. It’s time to go replace my Life-spark.”

Patty and Cyll fell behind Maya as they started back up the dark stairwell leading to the Blue Swan. Maya lifted a hand in farewell to the Broker, who returned the wave to her back as she left the room.

“So, what’s the plan once we get out of here?” Cyll asked. “I’m sure it’s in a dungeon.”

“We sink our own damn ship,” Maya replied with a grim smile.