The ability to distinguish truth from lies and reality from illusions will always serve you well. If a practitioner does not conquer the lures of the world, no matter how far they progress in the art, they will never become a master.
DAIPUNA: THE ART OF COMBAT
Noa Whiteel plucked the message from the courier’s shaking hand, scowling before the boy ran away. The little urchins always wanted a tip, and he was in no mood for charity. The door to his office closed with a slam, and he scowled.
The message was from one of the informants he had stationed at ports and in crews around the world. Ani and her treacherous brother had been chased out of Rosira, and their ship, the Hekili, was last seen heading west northwest. Odd. He’d have thought they would have sailed back to Raun to beg the mercy of their vicious mother and possibly negotiate a change in his contract. But they must know that King Pia never changed her mind. So where were they going?
Some abandoned island maybe? Doubling back and sailing north to Udland?
No, they wouldn’t find safe harbor there among the Icemen. And if they planned to head to the far west and hide out in the Lincee Isles, then their route was off. They’d hit the Okkapu first and navigating that quagmire would be foolish.
Noa squinted at the message.
He recalled the last state dinner he’d attended with King Pia and how he’d drunkenly declared that he would never be so reckless or greedy as to set sail through that cursed section of the sea again. Ani had laughed at him—she laughed at everything, the insouciant child—and all but call him a coward. He was no coward. He’d lost his diesel clipper in that crash, and two or three crewmen besides. The ship was no great loss. It had been noisy and inefficient like everything not built by Raunians. But the fact that he could afford the costly fuel and upkeep had been a point of pride.
The look of derision on Ani’s face as she had mocked him still made his blood churn. Oh yes, he would teach her a thing or two about respect when she was his. After three years of his particular attention during her training, the girl would be as pliable as the leather of a whipping cord. All that fire and flame would be doused. He couldn’t wait.
He crumpled the message and sat at his desk, shouting for his second-in-command. Noa had put the bounty out on his apprentice at the king’s suggestion, but he’d been land-side for several weeks. It would be quite a bit cheaper to simply give chase and collect his property himself. Why pay others when he was perfectly capable? He’d take the Rialoko, the fastest ship in his fleet, and catch up to the ancient Hekili in a matter of days. Once he had his apprentice, he’d deal with her irreverent brother. The Summerhawks needed to learn to honor their agreements.
The door to his office opened and a strange man entered. Not his second but a foreigner, green eyes glowing from a pale face. His white-blond hair was thin and wispy, appearing as if it wanted to escape his scalp. Yalyish, if Noa wasn’t mistaken.
“Noa Whiteel?” the man asked.
He rose to face the newcomer. “Who are you? What do you want?”
The man slowly walked over, never taking his eyes from Noa’s. His smooth face had an ageless quality to it, but a weariness in his eyes belied his youth. He could be anywhere from twenty-five to fifty. “I wish to hire you.”
Noa waved him off. “I don’t take on passengers personally. You can see one of my under-captains if you’d like to hire a fishing vessel or go for a sightseeing cruise. How did you get in here, anyway?”
The man shook his head. “It’s not a cruise I seek. And I need a man with your particular skill set.”
Anger grew within him at the man’s persistence. “I run a large operation and am not available to ferry around foreigners.”
“Not even for fifty thousand runas?”
Noa froze, reassessing the man in a moment. He wore a thick red cloak, inappropriate for the tropical Raunian weather, but the wealthiest men were often the most peculiar. “And where, exactly, do you want me to take you for fifty thousand runas?”
“The Narrows. I seek something within its waters. And I believe something you seek will be there, as well.”
Noa gave a cold smile. Now this was a negotiation that would go his way.