The Prince's Mark

Chapter Twenty Five

"So... what do we do?" he asked her after a time.

"Just wait."

"That's it?"

"Yep."

And so they waited. Ina might have meant that they would just sit around and listen to people speak, but these people weren't speaking Aodehsh. They were Winlean locals and obviously speaking Winlean. Sitting around, waiting for information to fall into their laps, was not going to work.

As time passed, Ina began to frown.

"I don't get it," she said.

"Get what?"

"Why it's not working."

"Maybe we should start asking people?"

Ina shook her head. "No, that's suspicious."

"Then what's supposed to happen?"

"A man's supposed to come up and talk with us."

Oh. Tracou carefully schooled his expression to a neutral one. "Is this something you did with Nesta?"

"Mm-hm! It works every time with her and me."

Grunting, Tracou got up from the table. "Maybe you've forgotten, Ina, but I'm a man."

Realization dawned on Ina, but she didn't look the least bit embarrassed. Instead, she looked satisfied. A mystery had been presented to her and was solved in short order.

"Oh, I get it. Okay, go away for a bit."

"All right... I'll go and get some ale."

Thankfully, Tracou had kept the money Pendaer had given him back in Shalen for their supplies. He didn't have much left, but it was enough for a drink. Or it should be, as long as they took aj.

The man tending the bar stood with his weight on one leg, without an ounce of tension in his body, but his dark eyes were sharp. Every so often, he scanned the room. If anyone caused trouble, he would deal with them at a moment's notice. He must take great pride in his tavern.

Tracou's approach didn't seem to provoke any reaction in the man, which was a good sign. His presence didn't mean trouble, at least.

"I'm sorry, do you accept aj?" Tracou asked.

The man eyed Tracou up and down for a long moment. "I do," he replied with a thick Winlean accent.

Relief pooling in his chest, Tracou set a few more coins than he thought was necessary down in front of the man. Soon, he placed some ale on the counter.

"Don't see many dezmek around here these days. Used to get at least a handful every year, but that's since stopped. Probably ten years ago, now," the man commented. As someone who worked in a tavern, he must see all kinds of people. If it was rare to see a dezmek then it might explain why he had spoken to him instead of letting Tracou wander off.

As far as Tracou understood it, the Winleans had been destroying Dezmerian fishing vessels whenever the opportunity was presented to them. The navy was currently working on how to best block Winlea from the rest of the sea. Ergakan was maybe a day's walk away from the ocean and sailors tended to pass through the village twice a year, but they themselves only half understood what was going on.

"Well, I'm here with a human."

"That girl, right?" the man nodded toward Ina. Tracou turned to look at her, surprised to see two men sitting at the table already. "You're not her beau?"

"No."

"Probably for the best."

That was something Tracou could agree with, but he was interested in an explanation anyway.