Chapter IV

  The Sailor’s Guild fought Wan over the rights to a ship and crew. They argued that they needed all their ships on hand. After holding meetings the previous day, it was decided the barrier dome was laid down as a means of cutting off escape. They firmly believed that one of the other islands was planning an assault and wanted every one of their ships in the harbor or scouting Mauve’s perimeter.

  “Is there precedent for this?” Wan said to the unfortunate beetle-man guild member sent to placate him. “Why would you believe this even a remote possibility? The last record of a conflict between islands happened nearly a century ago. From all accounts, the Prismatic Archipelago has a vast history of peace and alliances.”

  “Have…you not heard of the pirates?” the beetle-man said. His mandibles quivered. He clearly did not enjoy the confrontation with the Hon Emperor’s right hand.

  “Of course I know of the pirates. But those are rogue factions. A miniscule force unable to muster any true assault. Not entire island nations like you seem to believe are threatening you.” Wan hesitated, eyes narrowing. “Unless you know something about the pirates that isn’t public knowledge?”

  The guild member fidgetted. Mitsuko recognized that body language. A movement that transcended species. He knew something. But he said nothing else to Wan, refusing to open his mandibles until they eventually made their way out of the guild hall.

  As they exited, Mitsuko noticed several of her fellow shipwreck passengers eyeing her new clothes, likely wondering where she’d disappeared to yesterday. But she said nothing to them. A few others were missing, likely they also had connections throughout Crocus City. She saw nothing that required her.

  “Will you save my papa?”

  Mitsuko nearly tripped over the young boy in her path. He looked up at her with round eyes. Now filled with worry rather than the terror she’d seen while the ship sank.

  “I’ll do what I can. ”

  “Thank you,” he said miserably.

  She left the guild with Wan who walked beside her scribbling in a notebook..

  “A friend of yours?” he asked, not looking up.

  “Just a random kid. Really dumb one, honestly. His father asked me to save him as the ship was sinking. That’s how I ended up separated from Holly.”

  Wan’s lips twitched into a slight smile. “That sounds about right.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It simply sounds like a likely situation you might find yourself in. It’s one of the reasons Sasaki trusts you.”

  Mitsuko decided to shift the subject away from her. “So what are we going to do about the ship? Do you have a plan?”

  Wan finally glanced up from his book. “Yes. I have considered a number of alternate methods. I’ve learned to foresee Sasaki’s bad ideas before he comes up with them, so most of what I’ve considered is reckless and idiotic.”

  “Such as?”

  “Hiring an elementalist to freeze a road across the ocean to the next island over.”

  Mitsuko grinned. That did sound like a Sasaki plan.

  “Or attempting to tame a local sea monster and having it carry us across the sea on its back.”

  “Could we build a boat?” Mitsuko asked.

  “Building an outrigger canoe is hypothetically possible, I do have the basic knowledge required to create one, but it is realistically unfeasible due to lack of skill on my part and the available time on hand. Not to mention dangerous. Mind you, not ‘throw your life away dangerous’ like a plan Sasaki might suggest, but still not within the safety parameters I prefer.”

  “So what is your plan?”

  “A classic solution. Bribery. I have money. People want money.” He revealed the page he’d been scribbling on. “Here I have listed all the captains and their ships. I’ve also tacked on every piece of information I’ve happened to overhear on the subject.”

  Mitsuko scanned the list of names written in immaculate penmanship.

  “I don’t know how helpful knowing that Captain Juan likes olives will be to us,” Mitsuko said dryly as she read.

  “I know of an olive farm of unfathomable quality that I could hypothetically get him in contact with if I chose to approach him. Fostering a trade negotiation for his shipping route would not be especially difficult.”

  Mitsuko continued to read the list.

  “If you want to go with bribery, then we need to be careful who we choose to go to. If we talk to the wrong person, we’ll get blacklisted and it will be even harder to get off the island.”

  “And your suggestion?” Wan asked.

  Mitsuko pointed at a name.

  “Here. Captain Alina. Her ship is known as…The Terror.”

  “Why her?”

  “She consistently travels into the harbor at night. That’s the only note on her. Well, and there’s her ship’s name. I’m willing to bet all my doubloons she’s a smuggler, which is exactly what we need right now. And she has to be a good one if the Sailor’s Guild hasn’t detained her.”

  “That’s leaping to conclusions. It could be her spotless record is more evidence that she’s not a smuggler despite her suspicious schedule,” Wan pointed out.

  “It’s the best lead I see on the list. Let’s go find this Terror.”

  The ship wasn’t difficult to spot. It was moored alone on the far edge of the port. Its wood was a dark brown, almost black, and the figurehead resembled a reptilian bird monster with its wings outstretched. Its red eyes followed them as they approached.

  Wan hesitated in front of the gangplank. The pink water bubbled below them.

  “You’re certain this course of action is wise?”

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Does it look like the kind of ship that will rat us out for using it to cross over to another island?”

  “No. It does not,” he admitted.

  “Good. Then it’s what we need. Come on.”

  The ship’s crew turned to glance at them as they boarded, but none of them moved to stop them. In fact, one man jerked his head in the direction of the captain, bidding them forward, before spitting a wad of something black he’d been chewing.

  Mitsuko held her head high as she strolled across the deck. Far better to show false confidence than any measure of concern in a place like this. Wan looked far more hesitant. He was hunched over, shielding his notes with crossed arms across his chest.

  “Why are you worried? You’re literally immortal,” Mitsuko hissed at him.

  “Death is not the only concern in life,” he retorted back. “Besides, you can die. Am I not allowed to show unease on your behalf?”

  “Not if it heightens the risk of me getting stabbed. Act normal, Wan.”

  Before Wan could reply to that, Mitsuko knocked on the captain’s door.

  “Enter.”

  Captain Alina lounged on a plush red chair, her legs raised on her desk. A large cigar was clenched between her teeth and her eyebrows rose as they approached.

  “Not who I expected. What do you want?”

  “We offer coin in exchange for passage,” Wan said diplomatically.

  “Where?”

  “Ah, the destination is…unknown. We hoped you might be able to help us with that.”

  “Seriously?” The captain guffawed. “What is this? A treasure hunt?”

  “Of a sort. My friend was recently separated from her companion. I wish to pay to have them reunited and both returned here safely.”

  Mitsuko frowned and glanced to the side at Wan but said nothing.

  “Separated where?”

  “The barrier dropped and their ship sank. My friend and her companion were on different lifeboats. Hers came here, the other was taken by a current.”

  Captain Alina took a long drag of her cigar and then released a cloud of smoke into the air between them.

  “A current at this time of year? Likely to Ashen, then. Not a trip with a lot else for my crew to do. And the Sailor’s Guild ordered us to remain in the harbor. Are you truly good for the funds?”

  “I am sponsored by Emperor Sasaki of Hon.”

  “Hm. Big name. Do you have a big bag of gold to go with it?”

  They spent the next few minutes haggling. Mitsuko stopped listening and inspected the room. There was a nasty looking cutlass hanging on the wall and a stuffed parrot on a bookshelf otherwise full of atlases and maps. A black curtain over to the side screened the sleeping area from view, but failed to hide the corner of a large trunk wrapped in chains behind it.

  “Do you know how to use that sword?” Mitsuko asked, interrupting the negotiations.

  “What?”

  “The cutlass. Can you wield it?”

  “No. I’m a water elementalist specialist. That thing on the wall is a decoration. Something we recovered.” She scoffed. “Who still fights with swords?”

  Mitsuko frowned, disappointed. She had briefly considered challenging Captain Alina to a duel for passage to save Wan money. Or even just for fun. Too bad.

  The two others finally settled on a price.

  “We’ll set sail tomorrow. Normally, we would depart after sundown, but since that’s not possible at the moment, we’ll have to make do without the cover of night. One of my crew will linger in the harbor and provide a distraction.”

  “Very well.” Wan shook the captain’s hand. “Anything else to be aware of?”

  “Hm.” Captain Alina took another draft of her cigar while she considered. She eyed Mitsuko with a frown. “What’s her name? And what’s she capable of?”

  “My name is Mitsuko. I’m not a mage.”

  The captain blinked at her. “Mitsuko? Sounds familiar. Wasn’t someone asking about you recently?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  “Hm. Drag more trouble on us than promised, and I’ll triple the costs. Understand?”

  Mitsuko rolled her eyes. They finished up their business and departed from The Terror, returning to the streets near the dock.

  “You only bartered for my passage. I take it this means you’re not joining me?” Mitsuko asked Wan as they walked.

  “Of course not. Why would you think otherwise? I have important duties and research to attend to here. And if the barrier does disappear, I must be present to report to Emperor Sasaki when he arrives.”

  “Do you have anything you want me to do between now and when I leave tomorrow?”

  Wan rubbed at his chin while he considered the question. “I left a number of books and supplies behind in the embassy. I don’t suppose I could convince you to go retrieve them for me? There was an insect infestation and they won’t allow me back on the premises.”

  Mitsuko nodded. “Fine. Ember centipedes, right? Heard about them yesterday. You just get me a list of what documents you want and I’ll go fetch them.”

  Wan scribbled a list and directions on a page of his notebook and carefully ripped it out. Then they went their separate ways through the city

  The mood of the city, while still stressed, had returned to a measure of normalcy. Stall owners hawked their goods and people shopped while children played and laughed. Mitsuko noticed a gaggle of children surrounding a poster on the side of a brick toy store. A wolf Kemon child pointed and babbled at something scrawled at the bottom. She peered over their heads. A circus performance was scheduled to start tomorrow and a note tacked to the bottom insisted that there would be no delays. Beast tamers, acrobats, mages, and, of course, clowns. Mitsuko smiled slightly and shook her head. She remembered the first time she’d seen a circus, back in one of her first missions from the Emperor. Honestly, they were overrated in her opinion. But also she wasn’t a nine-year old who’d never seen an elephant or fire juggler before.

  The embassy was unremarkable, a plain wooden structure with few glass windows and a single front door. A human guard stood guard outside the front door. She leaned on her staff, dozing.

  Mitsuko debated waking the guard, but decided it would be simpler to not get her involved. Instead she opted for a more subtle method. Mitsuko approached one of the embassy’s glass windows. It had been opened slightly, probably to allow for circulation. She pushed the pane further in, and, with a glance over her shoulder to make certain no one was looking, slipped through the opening.

  The inside of the embassy was equally unimpressive to the exterior. Scuffed wooden floors with ugly brown couches. Uninspired art hung on the walls. She stared at one flat painting of an empty desk and lopsided chair and failed to understand why anyone would think it worth painting. But she wasn’t there to be an art critic.

  Wan had been staying on the second floor so she made her way up there, careful to navigate around the few other windows.

  She rounded a corner and froze in place.

  In her earlier discussions about the insects, she realized she’d never heard someone mention how big they were. In hindsight, asking about that might have been wise. A centipede the size of her leg chittered on the floor. Its red chitin smoldered and its antennae twitched in her direction as many, many legs skittered on the floorboards to face her.

  Mitsuko swore softly and flicked her wrist, ready to kill the disgusting creature as it charged at her, mandibles open.

  Then it spat fire at her.