Soren woke up when Tanden pushed his arm aside and got out of bed. After a moment he stretched and sat up. Tanden was standing with his back to the bed as he pulled on his pants, giving Soren an excellent view of the tattoo on his back. Not many Teltans had tattoos, and Tanden was almost certainly the only Teltish lord to have one. It wasn't small and subtle, either. It covered his whole back, the word Wanderlust in flowing script surrounded by traditional Crelan swirls representing water. Between the lines, tiny letters spelled out the names of all the cities and countries Tanden had visited. Tanden loved tattoos, that was something Soren had learned very early on in their relationship. But he had only gotten his own recently.
Soren cleared his throat. "Are you going to get Till added to your back?"
"Of course." Tanden didn't seem startled, and continued to get dressed. His back was soon covered by a dark blue tunic, and then Tanden was putting on his Crelan nautical jacket, which was also dark blue. The Tandran family wore a lot of blue, and Tanden was no exception. He turned to face the bed as he did up the buttons on the jacket. "I'll introduce you to the merchants I spoke to yesterday, and then I'm going to see what I can find out about a trip inland. And... tonight, you should take your friends out to a tavern, treat them to some drinks."
That last part was odd. Soren didn't need permission to spend time with his friends, and usually Tanden accompanied them anyway. "Where will you be?"
"I have something else I need to do. I won't be back until later in the evening, if at all."
"If at all?"
"Don't press, mate. It's nothing bad," Tanden promised. "Get up, get dressed. I'll have Ivern start setting aside the cargo we talked about last night. I'll meet you on deck." He grabbed a piece of parchment from his desk on the way out.
Soren stayed in bed a little longer. The bed was Tanden's. The room was Tanden's—the Captain's Quarters. There was no question of that, and yet, Soren had stayed in the room every night since leaving West Draulin. For formality's sake he had his own quarters below, near the mess hall. He kept some of his belongings there, but most of what he owned had made its way up to Tanden's much larger bedroom and office. It was simpler that way, and the crew already knew about their relationship. Shortly after leaving West Draulin, Tanden had made sure the crew knew, and invited anyone who didn't like it to leave. Everyone who had stayed did so with the full understanding that their captain and first mate shared a bed. At first, Soren had dreaded walking out of Tanden's quarters in the morning, but as days passed and no one gave him a second glance, he'd gotten over that fear.
Finally, he threw back the blankets and climbed out of bed. He dressed in his usual clothing, but since he was heading into the city, he also strapped a cutlass to his belt. Tanden didn't walk around with a sword, which was unusual both for a captain and a lord, let alone someone who was both. It was unusual because Tanden was really good with a sword, and could almost certainly take on anyone who might try to threaten him. But he wasn't a violent person, and preferred relying on his ability to talk his way out of problems. So he didn't carry one, but he liked it when Soren did.
Tanden was on deck, talking to Ivern. Soren took the opportunity to go belowdecks, and a few minutes later joined them with two buns in his hand. He ate one, and waited for Tanden and Ivern to finish talking before putting the second bun in Tanden's hand.
Tanden glanced at his hand. "I'm sure we can find something more interesting to eat in the city."
"Just eat it," Soren said.
Tanden shrugged, ripped the bun in two, and shoved half of it into his mouth. All while beginning to walk away. With a nod at Ivern, Soren followed him.
They spent the morning visiting the various merchants and traders Tanden had made contact with the day before. Some of them could speak bits and pieces of Teltish, and while Soren couldn't speak Morcean, he knew a few important words. They managed to communicate well enough that Soren knew he could handle the actual delivering and picking up goods in the evening.
Around noon, Tanden actually seemed to get hungry, and led Soren to a small tavern near the port. "I found it yesterday," he explained. "You should bring the men here tonight, the barkeeper speaks Deoran so Jerios will be fine."
"I don't understand how you keep all these languages straight in your head," Soren said. "Don't they ever get mixed up? How can you look at an object and know four different words for it?"
Tanden shrugged. "I don't know. It comes easily. But I do get a little mixed up sometimes, if I have to switch back and forth quickly. Not usually if I'm switching to Teltish, though. That takes no effort—" and as if to prove it, he abruptly switched to Deoran and talked to the barkeeper. They spoke for a moment, and Tanden turned back to Soren with a grin. "Let's sit down by the window. I ordered us something with eggs."
"Something with eggs?" Soren repeated, as they made their way to the windows.
"I don't know, mate. Not everything translates perfectly."
They settled down at a table. Soon enough, the barkeeper came out with their food. Something with eggs turned out to be a sort of soup with egg drizzled in it. It was pretty good, and they ate in companionable silence. When they finished eating, Tanden paid, and they wandered back outside. They walked down the street, back towards the port. When it was in sight, Tanden stopped.
"I'll see you tonight. Or tomorrow morning."
"Are you going to tell me what you're doing?" Soren asked.
"It isn't—" Tanden paused. He was so rarely at a loss for words. "It isn't something you won't like. You'll find out tomorrow, all right? Leave it alone for now, mate."
"All right," Soren agreed reluctantly. "But you'll be careful, won't you?"
Tanden smirked. "Come on, when am I not careful? I know I seem reckless and spontaneous, but I think things through."
"I know you do."
"So as I said, I'll see you tonight, or tomorrow morning," Tanden promised. He clapped Soren on the shoulder, then turned and strolled leisurely back down the street. Soren watching him for a while, until, with a sigh, he continued towards the port.
Soren didn't like handling the trading, but he'd become quite used to it. He went back to the ship to collect Ivern, and they spent the day talking to the various merchants. They sold their cargo to whoever offered the most money, and bought food and water for the Wanderlust from whoever was asking for the least amount of money. They also looked for goods to take for trading later, and ended up buying a few crates of woolen blankets.
After spending the day going to and fro in the port and markets, they returned to the ship to greet the men coming back from leave, and pay the men heading off on leave. Then, finally, when all the work was done and Soren had made notes in Tanden's various ledgers, he sought out his friends.
The three of them were sitting at the long table belowdecks, getting ready to eat with the rest of the crew. Soren slid onto the bench beside Roan. "Fancy getting drinks later, lads?"
Roan chuckled. "Fancy getting drinks later? Who d'you think you're talkin' to, mate?"
"None of us are off tonight," Ivern said. "We were off last night."
Soren shrugged. "Aye. Captain told me to take you out tonight, treat you to some drinks."
"Where is he?" Jerios asked, his gaze darting around as if just realizing Tanden wasn't around.
"Dunno," Soren admitted with a shrug. "He's planning something, I think he wants me distracted so I don't try to figure it out."
"That bein' the case, we'll go out with you," Roan said. "It bein' an order from our captain and all, aye?"
"Aye," Soren agreed with a nod. "Ivern, Jerios?"
"You, the captain and me, all off of the ship at the same time?" Ivern asked. "I don't know about that."
"It was his idea," Soren pointed out. "And we won't be long."
"Well... all right," Ivern agreed. "You're paying?"
"Aye. Well, he's paying. I think," Soren said.
Jerios gently punched Ivern's shoulder. "We can't say no to that."
"I already agreed."
"Good, then it's settled," Soren said. "Let's eat up and head out."
Tanden had to wander back into the older part of the city until he found what he was looking for. He was probably fairly close to the edge of the city when he saw a handful of men loading barrels and boxes onto two carriages. He walked over.
"Good afternoon."
The men looked over and eyed him, like they doubted Morcean had come out of his mouth. Or maybe they couldn't speak Morcean.
Tanden waited until he closer to try again. "Do you speak Morcean?"
"Yes," one of the men replied. He was a gruff looking man, but he seemed pleasant enough. "Can we help you, sir?"
"Maybe. I was hoping to head inland, and I wanted to know if there were any caravans, or guides I could hire."
The man crossed his arms. "You want to go to Tallen Tiya?"
Tanden had never heard the name before, and guessed that it was Sunland's proper name. "Yes," he said. "I'm... an ambassador, in a way. My kingdom, Zianna, has never had a proper relationship with Tallen Tiya. I would like to meet..."
"The Emperor?" the man offered.
"Yes, the Emperor," Tanden agreed. "If that's possible. At the very least, I would like to visit Tallen Tiya and learn more about the—" he paused. Speaking in Morcean was throwing him off a bit, but he assumed from context that the word they had used for the ruler of Tallen Tiya translated into something closer to emperor than king. So it wasn't a kingdom. He sort of invented a word, based on what they had called the leader. "The empire?"
The man shook his head, and said something else. The proper word.
"Oh, yes. The empire," Tanden said, repeating the word carefully. "My apologies."
"No, I understood," the man laughed. "Yes, you can visit the Emperor. But you're already in the empire."
Tanden wasn't sure he had properly understood. "I'm sorry... what?"
"Tallen Till is part of the empire," the man said.
"Tallen Till?" Tanden repeated. He hoped he didn't look as shocked and stupid and he felt, and tried to recover. "Of course, I just mean the inland part. Port cities are all pretty similar."
The man shrugged. "All right. Anyway, these carriages are heading out today. But passenger caravans go inland all the time. Our employer owns plenty of the carriages. You can go inside and talk to him about booking passage."
"Right. Thank you," Tanden said. The man nodded and got back to work with the others, and Tanden walked around them to head into the building behind them.
It wasn't really a complete building. It had three walls and a roof, but the fourth wall opened into a field with a handful of carriages. Some of them were being worked on, possibly repaired. Two hairy cows were being strapped into the harnesses of one of the carriages. Underneath the roof, piles of boxes, crates and barrels were stacked as neatly as possible. Tanden passed all of that to approach a long desk, where an older man was writing in a thick book while looking over a stack of parchment.
Tanden stepped up to the desk and cleared his throat. "Excuse me?"
The man looked up, just as startled as the men outside had been. "Zianna?" he guessed.
"Yes. One of your men outside told me I could pay for a trip inland."
"Where to?"
"I'm not entirely sure," Tanden admitted. "Would it be possible to hire a guide and rent a carriage for an unspecified amount of time? I'll be happy to pay the guide along the way."
"Hmm..." the man looked at his book. "I can't do that. My caravans have specific routes. But you could try talking to Jale. She'll probably be happy to work for you."
"Where would I find her?"
"It's better if I write you instructions." The man slid over a blank piece of parchment and dipped his quill into the ink, then paused. "Can you read Morcean?"
"I can."
The man nodded, and wrote down a list of directions. He waved the parchment to let it dry. "Here. If she's in the city, this is where you'll find her."
"Thank you." Tanden took the note and read it over. The directions lead him back towards the port, which was perfect.
He walked back, part of him wishing he had a horse. Tanden had never been much of a rider, but having a horse would have certainly made this task easier. By the time he made it to the correct location, afternoon had passed and the sun was beginning to sink towards the horizon.
The directions had led him to a building not quite in the port. It didn't have a sign, so Tanden assumed it was a private residence and not a shop. But he was sure he had followed the instructions properly, so he stepped up to the door and knocked.
A moment later, a woman about his age answered the door. She spoke in the local language, until her eyes focused on Tanden and her words trailed off. She was dressed in pants and a beige tunic, with her choppy brown hair hanging loose around her face. She didn't strike Tanden as someone who was used to living in the city, somehow she looked too wild for that.
"Are you Jale?" Tanden asked.
"Morcean? All right." The woman shrugged, and leaned against her doorframe. "I'm Jale. Who are you? We don't see many of you out here. Especially not ones who can speak Morcean."
Tanden took 'you' to mean Teltans, and also decided not to be offended by the woman's tone. "Captain Tanden of the West Draulin Navy Wanderlust," he replied.
"That's a long name."
"Regardless, I was hoping to make a trip inland. I met someone who pointed me in your direction. He said you might be willing to work for me as a guide."
Jale sighed. "All right. Where do you want to go?"
"I don't know. That's precisely the problem. I don't know anything about Tallen Tiya. Which is why I need a guide. I want to see the country, but also learn about it. And I would love to learn that other language you were speaking."
"Tallenese? You'll never be able to speak it properly. Foreigners never can. There are sounds your mouth doesn't know how to make."
"Fair enough," Tanden had actually already come to the same conclusion. "So my accent will be horrible. But I'd like to know it well enough to get by."
"I suppose you're doing all right in Morcean. But listen, if you want to head inland, it won't be easy. Huge parts of Tallen Tiya aren't civilized. You're a ship captain, I'm not sure you'll be able to handle it."
"Well, give me a chance. I'll pay well for your services, and if I can't handle it and we come back, no harm done. You'll still be paid."
Jale nodded slowly. "I'll need a few days to put supplies together." She ran a hand over her face. "I take it you'll need proper clothing. That coat isn't going to work."
"Whatever we need, I'll pay for it. You can stop by the Wanderlust tomorrow and we can discuss it further, if that gives you enough time?"
"Is your ship that easy to find?"
"We have blue sails," Tanden said. "And we're flying two flags. The West Draulin flag, blue and white with a black helm. And underneath it, the Ziannan flag."
"I'll come find you tomorrow," Jale said. "I hope you're as wealthy as you look."
Tanden smiled. "I am. Maybe you can help me with one more thing before I leave you for the evening."
Jale raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"
"I would like to visit a brothel. Preferably a very high class one."
Jerios called over to the barkeeper, asking for another round of drinks. Roan was drinking ale, as usual, but much to everyone else's delight Till had kalay, the fancy drink they had first tried in Morcea nearly a year earlier. It was similar to wine and made with some kind of berry, giving it a rich red colour. Ivern and Jerios had encouraged Soren to try it when they were visiting the pot city of Eith.
The barkeeper brought over a tray and placed the drinks in front of them, chatting with Jerios in Deoran the whole time. Soren picked up his delicate glass of kalay and stared at it thoughtfully. He wasn't much of a drinker. He hadn't been since the night he had met Tanden. If he had to pick the most important night in his entire life, that would be it, and he couldn't even remember it. Since then, he had been cautious about drinking. He would get a few drinks on the occasional nights off he had with his friends. Or he might have some wine with Tanden. But he would never again drink enough ale to lose control over himself and forget a whole evening.
Roan shook his head as he pulled over his new tankard of ale. He didn't like kalay. Soren wasn't sure Roan had actually ever tried it, but he knew Roan didn't like it. Roan was a typical Crelan. He had dark hair and green eyes, skin tanned by a lifetime at sea, and curling Crelan waves tattooed down one arm. He was older than Soren by about six years, which made him the youngest of the trio. Jerios and Ivern were in their early thirties. Aside for the trio being a Crelan, a Teltan and a Deoran, they had very similar backgrounds.
All three of them had grown up in lower middle-class families, and began working on ships when they were boys. Like Soren, Ivern and Roan had grown up in West Draulin. Jerios was from Hoask, one of the larger port cities in Deorun. They had all signed onto the Wanderlust for better pay, as well as the promise of adventure. They had all worked on the Wanderlust longer than Soren had. In fact, most of the crew had been around longer than he had.
"Roan, mate," Soren spoke up. "Eventually, you'll have to try kalay."
"Don't see why," his friend chuckled. "Perfectly happy with my ale, I am. You lot sip on your teeny tiny expensive drinks. I'll drink like a proper Crelan."
"He's hopeless, Soren," Ivern spoke up. "You'll never convince him."
"So, are you excited about heading inland?" Jerios took a sip of kalay. "You must be a little nervous."
"Aye, I am," Soren admitted. "It's going to be strange to be away from the ship. Also gotten really used to the Captain being able to talk to everyone we meet. It'll be different in Sunland, so that sort of makes me nervous, too."
"Ah, he'll figure it out," Ivern said with a shrug. "It's what he does."
Soren nodded. "Reckon so. Are you nervous about being in charge of the Wanderlust?"
"Maybe a tad, but we've got a good crew," Ivern pointed out. "And these two will support me. They'll be my first mate and quartermaster," he joked.
The other two glanced at each other. "Who's first mate?" Roan asked.
"Oh. Jerios, obviously," Ivern said, with a laugh. "Soren, did you realize it's been a year since you were made first mate?"
He hadn't realized it, but Ivern was right. And Tanden's suspicious behaviour suddenly made a little bit more sense. "Great Roe, you're right. Should I do something? Get him a gift or—"
"You didn't marry him, mate," Roan said. "You don't have to buy him an anniversary gift."
Jerios had been about to take a sip of kalay, but he paused. "You didn't marry him, did you? You would have told us."
"What? No," Soren shook his head. "No, I didn't marry him. But the day I became first mate was the same day I agreed to..."
"Be courted?" Roan chuckled.
"I wasn't courted, mate." That term seemed too proper, too noble, for what Tanden had done. Noble men courted women they wanted to marry. They gave the women gifts, met with their families. In Soren's mind, proper courtship involved little to no touching, maybe a rare hug or shy kiss. By that definition, Tanden definitely hadn't courted him.
"All right, leave him alone, Roan," Ivern said. "Even if you were going to get him a gift, what would you get?"
Soren's mind was blank. He tried to think of things Tanden liked. It wasn't a short list, but the problem was simple—most of what Tanden liked weren't things that could be given as gifts. He liked experiences and knowledge. He liked tracing his fingers along Soren's tattoos. He liked it when Soren went along with his schemes, and he liked it when Soren reined his schemes in. He was confusing on purpose; just as often as he was confusing by accident. Then the perfect idea popped into his head.
"I need to find a cartographer," he announced to the table.
Jerios and Roan looked at him blankly, but Ivern nodded. "Finish up your drinks, boys. We need to find a cartographer."