TILLFAY

As the sailor had promised, the waters calmed down remarkably about halfway through the night, and by morning the seas were downright placid. Still, Aster went about in a daze for the better part of the day, keeping as far away from the ship’s railing as possible and remaining belowdecks whenever he could. He did start eating, though, and even managed to keep most of his meals down. The sailors seemed to hold him in a little higher regard, although he wasn’t sure if this was genuine respect or simply some sort of cheap fun for them. And, it dawned on him, he really did feel more comfortable on the ship, though it didn’t hurt that the deck was barely rocking at all compared to the previous day. And that night, he got the first decent sleep he’d had since boarding the vessel.

The whole group awakened in time for sunrise, which they actually got to see this time. The previously omnipresent clouds had scattered and rolled off to the north, and they were treated to a spectacular display as the sun broke over the horizon, chasing the morning star.

“We’ll make landfall this evening,” said one of the sailors. “Should see the delta ‘round past noontime.”

“That’ll be nice,” said Gavin.

“Hey, no worries,” the sailor said. “We’re through the tough part. Just watch the pretty waves.”

He left them to commune by themselves. “It is quite a beautiful sunrise,” said Linnis.

“Especially since we almost didn’t live to see it,” said Aster.

“You’re fine,” Gavin said. “...And we should get back to work. We’re gonna lose all the credit we got from the crew last night if we hang around all morning.”

They began to disperse and look for work to do on deck. Kestra lingered for another moment, leaning heavily on the rail and gazing out to sea.

“It really is alive, isn’t it?” Darren asked, hovering by her and watching the waves. “Even without the Crystal.”

“It’s restless,” Kestra said. “Especially where it comes near the other Forces. That’s how water is.”

“I can see why your people identified with it,” he said. “But then there’s yourself.”

Kestra straightened, frowning at him. “What about me?”

Darren shrugged. “You’re the only Blue Mage I’ve met, so I can’t say for sure. But I’ve had this feeling every now and again that it’s your own kind who unsettle you most.”

She glanced down at the deck. “...It’s just easier,” she said. “The further I get from them.”

“Fair enough,” said Darren. “But a lot of who they are goes for you, too. There’s only so much you can run away from.”

Kestra frowned, suddenly suspicious. “...Did Aster talk to you?”

“Give me some credit,” Darren said, smiling. “You’ve been running away since I met you.”

Kestra shook her head, smiling modestly. “How did I let you get to know me so well?”

“Carelessness,” said Darren.

“Well,” Kestra said. “Like you say. I can’t run from who I am, but at least I can fight it on my own terms.”

Darren raised an eyebrow. “If you say so.” And he left her be.

The rest of the voyage passed uneventfully. They spotted a green line of coast after taking the noon meal, and soon after other ships began to come into view; the six passengers made sure to find as many tasks as possible that allowed them to gaze over the railing as the Meridiem glided into port.

The Arden was clearly quite a river; its delta was so enormous that it could hardly be recognized as such. (The fact that most of them had ever seen a river delta save drawn on a map helped with the wonder of it.) At their narrowest, the branches of the river were wide enough that a ship could sail through it and be outside shortbow range of both shores. The shores, for their part, sloped sharply upward to grassy plateaux some ten yards above sea level.

It was this landscape that made Tillfay so impressive. Its architecture was simple, its buildings speaking more to Cardinal’s red-brick architecture but not standing particularly tall or seeming especially grand. But where the town approached the shore, it had been built into tiers like giant steps; the docks were at the lowest level, with platforms built out into the sea and cargo crates secured by the wall to the second tier; above this were plazas lined with shops, and at the top level were hotels, diners and the rest of the town. In the distance, a set of hanging bridges, incredibly long but apparently sturdy enough to run wagons over, had been strung across the islands to connect one side of the river to the other.

There was also a smaller dock located on one of the outermost islands of the delta that caught their attention for a different reason. There was only one ship there presently, along with a ferry or two; it was a sleek, dangerous-looking cruiser with red sails that matched the flag flying atop the dock’s watchtower.

“Okay, that’s a warship,” said Aster. “There’s a naval port here?”

“You didn’t know?” asked Kestra.

“No one said anything about a naval port,” Aster insisted.

“It’s the Arden Delta,” Kestra said. “The river gives you access to all of north Cardinal — and it’s a slow one, so you can sail up it. Of course they’d be guarding it.”

“We’re along Cardinal’s Northern borders now,” Darren added. “Their war with the Dwarves won’t be far from here. We should get used to seeing soldiers again.”

“But it won’t be a problem for us just now, though, right?” asked Gavin.

“Shouldn’t be,” said Kestra. “Just don’t do anything fugitive-like.”

“Good advice,” Aster said, faux-contemplatively.

“‘Ey!” called Lorssen from the other side of the ship, loudly enough to make them jump. “We’re makin’ dock any minute. You’re all with the unloadin’. Then you’re with the loadin’ of the new cargo we’re taking on. Then you take the night on the town, an’ be back noon tomorrow for when we sail to Marindrôn. Got it?”

They all nodded. “Got it,” said Gavin.”

“Good, ‘cause I’m not sayin’ it again,” said Lorssen. “If you need me, I’ll be busy with my real crew, so ask someone else.” And he headed off to tend to something else.

“O...kay,” said Aster. “Was he just trying to make us do all the work and then get rid of us?”

“I don’t really blame him,” said Gavin. “I mean, we’re not on his crew, and this isn’t exactly a passenger ship. As long as he doesn’t take off in the middle of the night and leave us here or something, I’m fine.”

“We’ll see how you feel after the unloadin’ and the loadin’,” said Aster.

The ship glided edged into the dockside, with the crew striking its sails and hauling lines to dockhands who tethered the ship to ground, then hauled them in. Then a few of the Meridiem’s crew instructed them on which pieces of cargo were to be unloaded; most were on the deck, but a few they had to raise from the hold, using a pulley system that Gavin actually found quite fun. There were considerably fewer crates to be loaded than unloaded, which Kestra explained would help the ship ride higher in the water when it went upriver. As it turned out, they were done in time for dinner.

Finally, they were released to go ashore, and happily did so — though when Aster hopped onto the dock, he nearly fell over. “Woah,” he said. “Why does it feel more like I’m on a ship now than when I was on the ship?”

“You’ll walk it off,” said Kestra. “C’mon, I know a great diner here. You wouldn’t believe what they can do with seaweed.”

They weaved through the crowds gathered along the walking lane to the nearest set of stairs, and up to the top tier that overlooked the docks. There were signs that directed them toward the more reputable establishments in town, and Aster found that the hard brick pavement felt a bit odd after spending so much time on dirt roads or the rocking deck of a ship. Every now and again, he’d spot a Guardsman walking about on patrol, though he guessed the group looked enough like sailors not to attract attention. Once, a Guardsman even caught his eye and nodded respectfully, which threw Aster off considerably.

“This is different,” said Lazarus.

Aster jumped. He’d known that Lazarus was with them, but had thought the Black Mage was standing somewhere other than directly behind him. “Huh?” he asked, looking back.

“This town,” Lazarus repeated. “It’s not like the others.”

“It’s another port city,” said Aster. “Like Jagraan. I mean, it’s a bit more upscale, but...”

“There’s more order,” Lazarus said. “Everything’s been organized here. But the people aren’t being orderly.”

“Hmm,” said Darren. “That’s as good a description of Cardinal as any I’ve heard.”

“Few Nobles go to Jagraan,” Linnis told Lazarus. “I’m sure it’s a town of importance to those who live in the West, but I doubt a great amount of city planning was done in its construction.”

“Yeah, Nobles don’t care so much about what’s a mess if they never have to see it,” said Aster. Linnis didn’t answer, but didn’t look annoyed.

“Black Mages value the disorder, don’t they?” Darren asked. “You don’t try to restrain it.”

Lazarus looked at him, cocking his head. “But you do. You control...not just what is done, but how it’s done?”

“Sometimes the process defines the outcome more than the outcome itself,” said Darren.

Lazarus gave the impression that he was frowning at this; Aster still couldn’t figure out how he did it. “...I don’t understand,” he said.

“Yeah, I’m with him on that one,” Aster agreed.

“It’s difficult to explain,” said Darren. And if he was going to try, he was cut off before he had the chance by the entrance of a trio of individuals directly into their path, just in time for Gavin to bump into them.

“Woah!” he said, jumping back. At first, he hadn’t seen them at all, this attributable mostly to the fact that the tallest of them only came up to his elbow. They were stocky, and their skin was dark, but more notable were the long, braided beards that stretched down past their waists, about to Gavin’s knees. Two of them wore sturdy leather caps framed with a metal circlet, while the third wore an intricately crafted metal helm, complete with what appeared to be real horns. All of them were glaring up at Gavin. “...Woah. —Sorry, I...didn’t see you.”

“Not that there’s any special reason why he wouldn’t see you,” said Aster. “—I mean, there is. Because we were distracting him. That’s the reason, not...anything else.”

“Not helping, Aster,” Gavin muttered out of the side of his mouth.

The three strangers glared at them for another moment. Then the first one hmphed, and the other two followed suit. Then they shouldered through the group and on down the path.

“...Okay,” Aster said, when they out of hearing range. “Those were Dwarves.”

“No kidding,” said Gavin. “What was your first clue?”

“I suppose it isn’t unheard of for Dwarves to venture into the Northern lands of Cardinal,” said Linnis. “But it does seem...quite odd.”

“How much of what’s happened to us in the last month doesn’t seem ‘odd’?” asked Aster.

Linnis’ glares at him were evolving from exasperation to amusement. “This is odd in a different way,” she said.

“I dunno,” Aster replied. “Who wants to wager we’ll get out of this city without seeing them again? Because I’ll take that.”

“Pass,” said Gavin. “And weren’t we getting food?”

Kestra pointed further down the path. “This way.”