The Supreme Warrior *2014 ABNA Contest 2nd Round*

CHAPTER 14: The Spider of House Mycelere

Gods! We’re just one small chip in a mercantile hurricane.

Once caught in the Dryhtern, all kinds of watercraft crammed the canals: transport barges moving between markets or to and from the docks, small personal dinghies, gondolas and rafts for everyday shoppers, and the elaborate yachts of rich traders conducting business. At many intersections, boatmen jabbered at one another—arguing right-of-way. Other canal junctions hosted amiable passengers chatting across the water during the frequent traffic jams.

At one crossing, a bulky launch rammed Cal’s small skiff into a bloated gondola, momentarily trapping him between two larger vessels. Annoyed, the gondola’s agitated owner rose from his cushioned seat. His anger faded when he spotted the offending launch that had created the jam.

“Roncar, old friend. ’Tis good to see you. Where have you been?”

A careworn, but prosperously dressed merchant, replied from the launch, “Trapped in Horgeond. The Barons have been fighting all summer.”

“So I hear. I’ve never heard anything like it.”

“The fighting started after the Fair in Dannik. It’s like the whole crazy lot of them have lost their minds ever since.”

A startled Cal stared up at the middle-aged merchant standing at the prow of his launch. He looked vaguely familiar. Where have I seen that man?

“What happened?”

“No one really knows. Hell, I was in Dannik, right when it started, and I don’t even know.”

“What did you see?

“The first sign of trouble was when a panic hit Dannik’s fair and the Baron shut down his market. Soon after, a stableboy found Helvig’s daughter trussed up like a bale of hay. She accused Baron Chulert of trying to kidnap her, hoping to block her coming marriage to Grelig’s son.”

WHAT!?! Why did she tell that tale?

“Then she disappeared into the Temple of Abbindi. Before anyone could get an answer from her, she disappeared. Her and all o’ the Helvigs.”

Clever girl! Father could hardly attack her family after Alynde proclaimed her desire to marry Henrick. But, how did they escape? I suppose the priestesses protected their own.

For the first time in weeks, he could let himself think of her without an overwhelming sense of guilt. No matter how many times he told himself that he could have done nothing else, he still felt that he had betrayed her. Now, admiration and relief pushed those feelings aside.

Maht-Hildis be praised!

The unnamed merchant shouted, “Ha! The traffic clears. Send a messenger to my House, old friend, and we’ll sup together. I want to hear all of your tidings from the North.”

Galfir help me! Clog the canal. I beseech you!

Cal’s prayer, however, was vain. The gondola’s boatman poled the large vessel with surprising speed into the clear channel ahead.

                                                                 *    *    *

The oarsman could not fight his way through traffic to reach House Mycelere until a quarter hour before noon. As the man docked his boat on a large island, Cal peered at the massive edifice that loomed over the island’s skyline. Clearly, he had arrived at the nerve center of a commercial empire—House Mycelere. Bizarre beams that resembled stone spider legs extended from the Guildhall’s massive walls. The odd arachnoid structures fascinated Cal.