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Anders caught his reflection in the window of the medium sized shop. That was a rare thing, for the part of the world he was in and the bubbled glass was distorted and warped enough that it was difficult to make out what, exactly, his face was saying at the moment. Instead of seeming mildly happy, or at least relaxed, the young man in the glass looked oddly hard. As if he might just fight, at any given moment.
It didn’t really fit with what he was going for at the moment, which was just getting to the docks, not far away, with a load of goods. He had four rented donkey carts, plus ten men hired to offload for them. That didn’t count the fact that there were, fully, fifty men and women coming with them, from the palace of Sula Darian, for the trip.
A thing that he hadn’t counted on at all, naturally. It was enough that he’d had to go to the coast early, riding out with Daren Willet and Demo Gull, to try and raise coin from the bottom of the ocean to pay for everything that would be needed.
Especially since he’d had to call in another boat, to travel with them. That, interestingly, wasn’t one of the ones he’d worked with before. Captain Enna had sent both of the other craft, which he owned in part, off in different directions, hauling legal cargo. A thing that Anders and the old man he carried in his head, Farad, both agreed on as far as business went. The men on those ships were less than half a year away from having been pirates, after all. That meant doing things like having them work real jobs wasn’t a bad idea at all. Plus, given they hadn’t wanted to wait for most of a month for one of them to reach a dock they could get a message to, they’d had to do something else.
Which had meant Enna hiring the Limpet. It was a larger vessel than the Sea Leopard, and not that run down, though clearly geared toward carrying cargo for a living, not people. Which meant getting in as many creature comforts as possible for two ships, instead of just one.
So, for five days, he, Demo and Daren had sat on the coast, finding treasures lost at sea with their minds. Then, carefully, and with no small amount of pain, pulled it from the vast depths. In the end they had four large boxes, which were strong and sturdy, but not proper chests at all, filled with coins and gems. He’d done most of it himself, but the other two had managed to contribute a full container, between them.
A thing that, when he stopped to think about it, caused Anders to smile. Feeling proud of the two men. Daren had worked for half a year, in an almost insane fashion, learning every kind of magic that Anders could teach him, with aid from several others. Gull, on the other hand, had learned how to do the new magics in the saddle, as they’d traveled to the coast. Even with that impediment, the Istlan castle guard had managed to pluck as much from the vast sea as Daren had.
Part of that was due to the man being slightly stronger in magic, of course. That wasn’t the whole of story, though. He’d also simply forced himself to keep up, fighting to go on into the night, several times, so that he wouldn’t be doing less than the other man.
Regardless, they were both wealthy, now. Enough that they probably wouldn’t have to work too hard again, for the rest of their lives. They wouldn’t have to do that, if Anders wasn’t planning to push them both like a monster for the rest of the trip home. Then he was, at least with Daren, heading to the front line of the battle against Yanse. That part was leaving him feeling tense, since the warmer spring weather was about to come to that part of the world, which meant that the real fighting was going to continue again.
A thing that he wasn’t going to be able to do anything about, if he couldn’t get there in time.
He blinked at the glass window of the port shop. Then he turned and waved at Prince Alpert, who had come walking up, dressed in travel clothing. Things in bright colors, but sturdy fabrics. Fine things that marked him as wealthy, without being too easily damaged. Anders was, technically, in finer garments. They were in Barquea still, if the most northern point of that vast land, so he was, as tradition required, in a robe. One with loose flowing trousers underneath, since wearing a dress around was annoying. An idea that had him feeling sorry for the women he knew, suddenly. They had to put up with things like that all the time and while they looked attractive in them, things like running or even moving quickly required a lot more work than he was used to.
It had to leave them subtly stifled and crippled, as they went through their lives.
The Prince, seeming grave, but fighting a smile at the same time, walked over to him. There was a firm, commanding cadence to his steps. He managed to seem as if that town, in a land far away from his own, was his natural place in the world. People on the street watched him pass, probably not knowing why they did it. He was clearly a man of a different place and wealthy, but there were nearly forty others there who were dressed in fashions that spoke of the same thing. Some being much more decorative.
He had golden hair, which was rare there, but Anders did as well, and few enough were staring at him. A thing that Farad found kind of them. He’d been shy, in life, after a fashion. If he hadn’t been speaking an ancient history, being watched too closely had always left him feeling strange and over examined.
Still, when the Prince, his father, if not officially, got to him, his voice was pleasant sounding. A deep tenor that sounded so practiced it was almost musical.
“Anders! I see you’ve done some shopping? Picking up trinkets to give as gifts? Princess Aisla and I took two days to do that in the grand market in Lo’usa Tet, before we could begin to travel. I hate to take the time, but arriving home without some gifts would seem as if we didn’t care for those we left behind.” The man swallowed then, looked away and tensed.
It was cheating, but Anders read his intent, if lightly. It was an easily seen thing, once he used a bit of magic to understand what was being thought. There were people who wouldn’t have ever thought that Anders Brolly needed to give them anything, as a mere cast off bastard, who could suddenly use the fact that he’d been named a Prince of Barquea to punish him in court circles, if he arrived without proper gifts. Those, thankfully, didn’t have to be large or expensive things.
Just signs of the journey that he’d taken. A thing that Alpert hadn’t thought to mention before. He also wasn’t certain how much of his remaining coin his child had spent, the Prince not knowing that the trip had been successful as far as fishing for wealth had gone.
The truth was, Anders hadn’t even thought to purchase anything except for food, drink, and soft blankets and other bedding, so far. Given that, he laughed a bit.
“Ah? I need to go into the shops here again then. We’ll eat well enough, but I must admit, I haven’t considered gifts, at all. I should get something for a few people. Senna Grace, in the kitchen, since she’s a teacher of mine. Master Tolan... The men in the bowery and fletcher’s shop. Am I missing anyone?”
He was, of course. All of the Ambassadors, some of their people, the new Princess and her staff. Princess Peri and her daughter, Princess Mathia. Some of the servants, as well. It was going to have to be small things, given all of that. He wouldn’t have room in his bags, otherwise.
Suddenly seeming serious, the Prince frowned.
“That... Yes, of course. My mother and father, as well. Not as the King and Queen, it...” He shook his head then. “You would be inside your rights to ignore them, but it will be noticed if you do. Father didn’t allow me to marry your mother, which altered the course of your life greatly. A slap there could be delivered by ignoring this kind of thing a few times. Is there coin available for such things? You have many carts here.” The man looked at the slight bustling in the background, as men from the docks loaded the hired carts. Some of which would be taking three or even four trips to the two ships.
Anders shrugged, a thing that was too lazy, given he was addressing a Prince.
“We pulled four large boxes of gold and silver from the sea. Some gems as well. One of those is the property of Daren and Demo, however. It’s enough that both of them are wealthy, now. I also have most of what I had left. Food costs, but it isn’t gold jewelry or fine metal work. I was thinking of gifting one of the cases to Duke Lister, if we can do such without it being an insult, that is?” He looked away then, feeling awkward about the idea.
Captain Ford had become a Duke and was to marry Princess Jasmin, from Barquea. The thing there was that his lands were poor ones, which had few people on them, and were in the far north, in an area that would probably be overrun by attackers from Dora, as soon as they moved to attack in the late spring or early summer. As a Duke he was required to meet certain marks of men at arms and bowmen, in time of war, but there was no time to prepare soldiers and levies from the area. Not even for the standard sixty-three days of fighting required per year in dire times.
Alpert, instead of cuffing him on the ear for impudence, smiled. It was a grand thing, that lit up his entire face.
“Ah? That’s amazing! A very fine wedding gift, indeed. There are no troubles with finances then? I knew that the plan was to find some things, but it seems that you three did well enough. It’s three times what you took last time?”
Anders shook his head.
“No. It’s... I haven’t counted, but each of the boxes is many times larger than what I used before. I should probably break those up into bags or containers I can actually move on my own. It’s enough for the coming years, I have to think. I... don’t really know how to handle coin well, still.” He shook his head. “Now, I see no need to stint anyone. I just don’t want to give a gift in the wrong place, and have it be an insult in the giving. That or seem to be claiming to a station I don’t hold. How do I manage that?” The question was, it suddenly felt, too direct.
It was also a thing that needed to be asked, and they were speaking in Istlan, so no one looked at them strangely, not understanding what he was requesting of the adult man, directly in front of him. His father, which given how similar they looked, was probably understood by those who watched them, covertly, in the distance. That or he might be thought his elder brother.
The Prince nodded, seeming sage, suddenly. Understanding what would be needed, from both lessons and long practice.
“As a boy of Istlan, you wouldn’t be expected to give much, or anything on arrival. As a foreign Prince, a gift to the King is always a good idea, though not required. The trick is that, as family, in noble circles, such things would be expected and noticed if they were missing, coming from any prince. You, personally, can get away with a few gifts, to people you feel are important to you. Your instructors and personal friends, as well as my parents.” His voice softened then. “Possibly something small for Robarts and Peri? You’re close to them, of late? I know that Princess Peri spoke of how polite and well-mannered you were, when she offered herself to you, in payment for her daughter’s life.” The last words held a smirk, as if teasing were about to come. Then the man shook his head a bit and sobered. “Which... Honestly, I think you won her over with that, more than anything else could have. At least after saving Mathia and those others from the red plague. She was, rather, lobbying for you to be given special favors, with father, at the time.”
Anders snorted a bit, and smiled.
“Well, I should get something for all of them, then. Lady Martya, as well. If I give enough to other people, that will seem right, as well as showing that I didn’t forget about her?” She held the mind of his old student, Ganges, in the same fashion that he held Farad.
Except that she was over five hundred years old in her own person and a potential threat to the entire world. Hoatha Eta, who was Ganges himself, having never bothered with dying, even over fifteen hundred years, had suggested he woo her, if possible. A thing that a thirteen-year-old boy wasn’t going to be doing easily.
Still, gifts, tokens and possibly spending some time with her, was all possible.
A thing that Alpert understood, having been in on the planning sessions. They weren’t even planning to hide that they knew who the woman was. She would, sooner or later, simply read their minds and know that they knew. Instead, they all simply focused on the kind and gentle idea of trading Anders to her, in exchange for their world not being destroyed. A thing that might not work, of course. Ganges had made good inroads toward taking over the world, a thousand years before, after all. That same mind was in Lady Martya, without having grown tired of such things, as of yet, like the man himself had.
If that wasn’t a lie.
Then, if it was, they were all probably going to die or be enslaved, in short order.
There was a smile from the Prince, and if it was a bit dark and gloomy, no one would think much of it. Possibly that his child had said something which was slightly annoying.
It wasn’t about that. Not that Anders didn’t have his moments that way.
The Prince looked down the street as he spoke.
“You should do that. Something that is special, but not so much that it seems you plan to openly court her or seek her for your bed in the coming weeks. Do you know what kind of things she might enjoy?”
He blinked, but nodded.
“She claimed to enjoy books, in the form of stories, once. I could rewrite one, from memory? That’s not a fine gift though, from a far-off land.” He had several new ones in his head, having placed them there in the Sula’s library, before leaving.
Just getting to the docks had taken him and the others most of a month. The Sula had asked them to stay on for a bit, while he readied his people to travel. Anders had suggested they be ready in a week. It had taken nearly a month and a half. That was, in the end, due to who they had with them.
Not just Princess Jasmin and a few servants, though they had those good people in the mix as well, but also Princess Javina, Princess Lissa and much to Aisla’s annoyance, her sister Salina. Anders hadn’t understood why the women, one of them a literal girl, were all going with them. Even if it was only supposed to be for some months. No one had mentioned that idea to him at all, but his plan was to work them on magic so much that they were probably going to all hate him by the end of the boat trip. That, and on speaking Istlan.
The girls could use a bit of training in magic still, if they were going to be useful in passing messages around. It occurred to him that, having them go to the court of King Mathias for some months would also allow them time to learn people they could send messages to, directly. Again, no one had told him of that plan. Then, they didn’t have to. The Sula had ordered them, and one of their mothers, to go with them, so they did.
Really, it might even have been a special pleasure trip, as a reward for their hard work. That or to show the foreign King how trusted he and his people were.
Shaking his head a bit, Anders forced a smile.
“That’s too much, for now. Writing a book for someone by hand isn’t a normal thing. Some trinket that would look pretty on her, perhaps? If I do the same for Senna Grace and get some nice knives for some of the guards and maybe Erold?” Which would mean the other gifts were needed, of course.
The Prince sighed.
“We should see to that, then? Do you need to be there to see to loading this first? We have some time to shop, right now, before night comes?”
They did that, though it meant him running, literally, robes flapping, to the docks proper, where he found Captain Enna, standing by the gangplank.
The man called out to him, in Scara, which was the language of the land they were in. The man had an accent, being from further west, in a different kingdom, but it was very understandable.
“Anders Sona! Is there an attack?” The man looked past him, as if to find a reason he was moving with such haste.
Panting a bit, he huffed, and smiled. Then shook his head.
“We have a load of goods incoming. I need a trusted man to see to the delivery over to the Limpet. I was thinking we could get Kreed to handle that for us? He’s solid.”
Instead of wondering at his poor choice of man to watch expensive goods, the fellow simply turned and called out, yelling back at the ship.
“Kreed to the dock! Kreed to the dock!”
That was called out by other voices on the ship, which had the man himself arriving, not five minutes later, looking more than a bit upset. His black beard was a bit messy, and his hair, too long, was wild. His clothing was brightly colored, but had patches and worn spots on it in places. His shoes needed to be polished, if he was going to be a functionary for them that day.
He rather stomped, as he moved down the gangplank, glaring first at the Captain, then over at Anders.
A thing that Farad didn’t understand until he spoke, clearly resisting the urge to spit on the wood at their feet.
“So, I’m being set off?”
Enna actually smiled.
“Not this time. Anders Sona has a large shipment of goods to be loaded on the Limpet and wants someone he can trust to stand watch on it. So, he asked for you. By name. He wasn’t even acting like you were afraid of him or anything. Just saying that you could do the job, for real.”
That got the man to look puzzled, then he shook his head.
“That’s just foolish then, isn’t it? I’m a thief and a liar... A thing you know, Anders, having had to fight me over that very thing, directly. You could get someone better, like Breegs or maybe Fisher?”
Anders laughed but tried to keep it gentle and friendly.
“You’re up to this. We have a lot more fine types on this cruise, so I need you to step forward and lead the other men, at meals and all that. Matt will be in charge, in part, but we have to do a bit more of a show, this time. We have two ships, as well. Do you think you can work in, over on the Limpet? They’re a hired ship and sound like good men, but I can’t be on both ships.”
The man looked hard, for a moment. Almost angry.
“I can’t cook. Not even a little. How are we doing that, if we have high people with us?”
Anders had an answer for that one, thankfully.
“Sula Darian sent several fine cooks with us, so that the Princesses won’t starve, having to eat my cooking the whole time. We have that part taken care of. We need you to manage the servers and all that. The Limpet will have most of the servants, so we need someone to make sure they aren’t abused or insulted. I’ll try to be over, in a dingy, at times, but it will mainly be up to you, if you take the task.”
The man seemed almost stuffed and like he was going to refuse, for a moment. Until Captain Enna spoke. It wasn’t even barking out that the man had his orders, or fingering his knife, suggestively. Just a pleasant sounding set of words.
“That’s a pretty big promotion, Kreed. I agree, you can manage this. It won’t be easy, and you need to keep a calm head, the whole time. If I take the meaning here, Anders Sona is putting you up to stand for Istlan. We work for them, now, so that’s not wrong.”
Anders nodded, since regardless of where any of them were originally from, that was simply the truth.
“Let me see to your clothing? Something nicer than last time. You need to seem wealthy and important in such things.” The words could have given insult, especially to a prickly man like Kreed.
Instead, the man stood still, and didn’t even balk when Anders used magic to trim his hair and beard, then clean the man totally. The hardest part was brushing the now short hair, using new terms to organize threads and hair. It worked and didn’t pull, but he had to be very careful and, embarrassingly, had to recut the hair, since he’d left part of it too long, the first time.
In all, he stood there for ten minutes, making the fellow ready.
Then Anders smiled.
“That should work. You look ready to meet with a Sula or King, even. I need to run back into town. I have to... Shop more, if you can believe that.” He waited, expecting laughter, since that wasn’t a real task, but Kreed simply bowed, doing it a bit roughly, but no worse than the servants of the palace often did. It was in the Barquean fashion, with arms out to the sides, his palms up.
“Very good, Anders Sona. I’ll go and see to the arrangement of goods on The Limpet? Perhaps have a word with the First Mate, about what might be needed, for the comfort of our passengers?”
The voice wasn’t going to trick anyone into thinking he was a cultured man, but the words were right. If he sounded a bit like a sailor putting on airs, he didn’t seem like a pirate pretending to the same thing.
“That would be wonderful, Kreed Sona. I’ll check in on you, using magic, to make sure that there are no issues. Thank you for accepting this task.”
Then, without waiting, he turned and moved away at a controlled run. A slow one, but something that he wouldn’t have managed nearly as well, even a half year before. He was breathing hard again, when he entered the shop he needed, to find several Princesses were already inside, picking things out. The clerk, who was laying items for them out on the front counter, seemed worried, for some reason. It was obvious enough that Farad caused himself to drop into a trance, emptied his mind, and reached out to the fellow. Examining him in a manner that probably would have started a physical altercation, if the fellow had realized it was taking place.
He was older than he looked, being over five decades and seeming only to be late into his third, which was impressive to notice, that having happened without magic. His skin was dark, and his smile strained, due to the fact that he wasn’t certain how to bargain and haggle with Princes and Princesses. They were selecting enough to be impressive, but if they demanded too tight a price, he couldn’t actually say no to them. That might mean losing his livelihood or at least years of hardship, if things went wrong in the next moments.
Lissa smiled at him, and sighed, her face seeming cute, in the light through the window.
“I should present a gift as well, to the far-off King and his wives, but I wasn’t sent with much, by way of riches. I have a bit, but if I spend it now, I might miss it later.”
The words had Princess Aisla, who was busily selecting things across the room, nodding, and a rather sour face coming from Salina. Jasmin seemed bemused, but also nodded.
Each of them had similar thoughts in mind. They were all wealthy, but they were going to a far-off land where walking down the hallway and asking their father for gold with a wheedling smile wasn’t going to be happening. Aisla could ask her husband, but Jasmin understood that Captain Ford wouldn’t have a lot, to begin with.
Javina and Lissa had ten gold each, which was a lot, but not, as had been mentioned, to waste. They might need it to survive, in the coming months. Sulana Meegan, stood in the back, seeming almost affronted by the whole process. She was a Queen, more or less, so had more coin, but didn’t know what her place would be, as far as presenting gifts. It wasn’t expected in Barquea, after all.
Anders simply bowed. Toward the shop keeper, which got attention.
“I’ll be paying for all of this? I need to select some things out myself.”
That had Aisla waving at him.
“I’ve been doing that? I already have the gifts Alpert and I need to see to. This is all for you.” She didn’t tense up at all, outwardly, but Meegan, the attractive older woman, glared at her, as if she’d overstepped her place, greatly.
Even if to everyone there, including the shop keeper, she was simply his mother. A side mother, but that counted as the same thing, there in Barquea. Which technically meant that Sulana Meegan, who was about to be mean, as was her way, and scold the Princess, was actually doing it to guard him. Her grandchild, to her own way of thinking.
Anders stopped that, by grinning.
“Perfect! Thank you, Princess Aisla. Sulana Meegan... You shouldn’t need specific gifts, I don’t think, but you should make some selections, in case things come up. I have enough coin on me, I think. If not, I’ll send for more.” Or run and get it, himself. At the moment Gull and Daren were literally both sitting on the boxes, to prevent theft. That and practicing magic, and going over spell components.
That or talking about women. Something like that. It wouldn’t harm them to have a few moments to relax each day, of course.
The older woman, who had gray in her hair and lines beside her mouth and eyes, made a soft sound that seemed a bit derisive.
“Should we beggar you for our own entertainment, then, Prince Anders?” The woman seemed to mean it, and almost ready to insist they leave and not do any such a thing. Jasmin took a deep breath and looked down, her gown fine enough to mark her as a princess, even if no one had spoken the words out loud. Then, all of the women were dressed that way.
Meaning someone had done Sulana Meegan’s gown for her that day. The others could all see to themselves that way, using magic.
Anders simply nodded. His face was left serious, however.
“Of course! At least this time. Clearly, I’m currying favor with you, so that you’ll like me best, Sulana. With these others, it’s mainly that I’m planning to work them so hard over the next days and weeks as we travel that I have to seem kind now, so they won’t stab me in my sleep, later. All of you will have language lessons, of course. Except for Princess Aisla. Then, she has the little Prince to see to. That will take up much of her time.”
That, traveling with a baby, was going to be different. The boy, Leopold, wasn’t with them at the moment. Probably being in the care of servants, since several had come simply to see to that task.
Mean and conniving or not as a habit, Sulana Meegan simply grinned at him. A thing the attractive face seemed to mean, which was surprising to him.
“I see, then. Well, if you are gaining my favor, I suppose I can spend some of your coin, after all.” She, rather playfully, if in a regal fashion, made a dozen selections then. Most of them were small metal work things. Including finely engraved oil lamps, with clear glass hoods, and some interesting rope works, that were artwork, woven out of knots, in a clever fashion.
Anders, for his portion, simply bought every knife and sword in the place. They were, on average, too plain, being fine, but meant for real work, not to be decorative. He could use magic to dress them up, however, which would be easier than making them himself. That was possible, but he wasn’t certain that he truly had the skill down yet, not enough to make a truly strong blade of steel.
That was down to a lack of study on his part, of course. He could shape metal and form it well enough. Even sharpening blades was simple for him now. The trick was in making the metal hard, in the right portion, without being brittle. Doing the work to make the correct shape wasn’t outside of what he held in his mind at the moment. Creating the right structure inside the metal was the portion he hadn’t personally studied in an extensive fashion, yet.
A thing he needed to do, now that it had occurred to him.
Anders mentally marked that on the list of such things he kept in his head. There were twenty other such items to work on, at the moment. He tried to get to one or two a day, when possible, which of late, hadn’t really been a thing he managed too well.
They shopped for about an hour, and hit three different places, with him overpaying at each, if only by a little bit. Enough that the people keeping the shops all felt pleased with them having come and no one was going to have to worry about how to feed their children for a while. Not that people with shops that had glass windows were on hard times.
Still, it was important for the people of Istlan to not seem too poor. After all, their land was as rich as the one they were leaving, while still being different which might be a shock to the people traveling with them, when they saw it.