A Country Falls (Greatest Thief 3)

Chapter Seven

It was about another week before we were ready to leave. We woke up so early that morning that the air was still chilly. Mist hovered over the lake and port, only making me more miserable as time wore on and my clothes got damp. I could have gone inside the captain's quarters on the Thief Queen, but instead I waited on deck and watched the docks. Tannix and Mayah were still at the castle, along with Acen and Jalor. Evrik, Joen and Mandell were hovering around on deck uselessly while Ender and Kor put their sailors to work.

Not too far off, I could see the ship that would be accompanying us. Kor had pointed it out, and I wouldn't have noticed anything about it otherwise. It looked like a normal ship, similar to ours in size. Nothing too fancy. Kor explained that Queen Navire and a handful of her generals would be travelling aboard it. It was hard to imagine Queen Navire on such a simple little ship, but I guessed that was exactly the point. Although it wasn't too common, there were pirates around the Pitten-Pax islands, and it was better for the Queen's ship to not draw much attention.

She didn't draw much attention when she arrived in the port. Even though I had been looking out for the procession, it still caught me off guard. I recognized Tannix, Mayah and our knights first, simply because of their Teltish clothing. Queen Navire was harder to pick out, because she was dressed exactly like one of her women knights. She spoke to Tannix and Mayah for a moment, then started across the port towards her ship. Most of the Navirians in the group followed her, but three stayed behind.

I jumped to my feet. "Ender! They're coming!"

He shouted a nearly indecipherable order to his sailors. The knights gathered around the gangway with me. After a moment Kor and Ender joined us, arguing in sharp whispers. We had barely been on the ship and already their Crelan accents were stronger. It was actually fascinating to listen to them, and I might have, if Tannix hadn't stepped onto the gangway.

Ender nudged his way through us to greet Tannix. "My lord, welcome aboard." He spoke to Tannix, but he was watching the three Navirians who were coming up the gangway after Mayah. "Lady East Draulin," Ender added, bowing to her.

Mayah gave him her usual dazzling smile. "Thank you, Captain Korender." She moved aside to stand beside Tannix.

None of us knew how to greet the Navirians. Of the three, we already knew Angelys. The other woman and the man were strangers. Once Acen and Jalor had finally joined our circle, Tannix spoke up.

"Gentlemen, allow me to introduce our guests. General Valerios from Kafei is representing Navire's army."

When General Valerios spoke, his accent was so thick I wouldn't have understood a word without reading his lips. "You have met my sister, Valari. She has spoken highly of you all. Any man who can hold his own against Valari is a soldier to be feared." He didn't look much like Valari, and I thought he was probably a much older sibling. His hair and beard were dark, but speckled with gray. A scar cut his left eyebrow in half and narrowly missed his eye. He wore a sword on his belt, as well as one of the bent knives Valari fought with.

Acen and Jalor had been on duty, so they were dressed up in their armour. The other knights were wearing more casual clothes for the trip ahead. In contrast, the general was wearing thick armour and an orange cloak that wrapped around his shoulders. I wondered how long it would be before he stripped down to something more comfortable.

"And this," Tannix continued, "Is Captain Sylvaine from Kyste. She is representing Navire's navy."

Captain Sylvaine nodded as she was introduced. Her accent was clearer, closer to how the Queen sounded. "I never imagined we would be boarding a Deoran ship. I thought you would be sailing in a Crelan ship."