Chương 16: Chapter 15

The sights and sounds and smells of Olin were overwhelming. People from around the Arcadian Empire crowded the streets, hawking their wares or arguing over larger business transactions. People in the garb of servants and messengers ran to and fro, leaving chaos in their wake. Everyone shouted to be heard despite being packed together like fish in a net, and spittle and sweat flew everywhere as people gestured frantically to be understood.

Everyone was focused on their needs and desires, seeing those around them only as blurry obstacles to push past or oblivious to them entirely. To Shaya's rogue-honed senses, everyone here was an easy mark. The environment was ideal for skilled pickpockets—but utterly lethal to any who fumbled their sleight of hand. The crowd's density could turn into a liability if a thief was called out and plenty of guards patrolled the streets.

Each guard had a truncheon at the ready and wore gambeson in Watur's style: a coiling gold sea serpent in a sea of green. Dozens of unfamiliar scents of flowery perfumes and potent spices assaulted Shaya's nose, drowning out even the sour stench of sweat and leaving her with a devastating headache. Her head swam with the sensory overload and she possessed an almost bestial need to escape the press, which was shared with the gryphlet she cradled in her arms.

A few years away from the Imperial City had eroded her acclimation to these conditions, which she hadn't realized until just now. Her new home was just so small and sparse compared to this duchy, and especially this city. She saw more people crammed into her immediate vicinity than she had likely seen in all of Mangdae since Lumir adopted her a few years back.

"Gods!" Shaya shouted at Krebo just to be heard, despite their armoured shoulders rubbing as they walked along the bazaar's street.

"We really are bumpkins out in Mangdae!"

"Aye," he replied, his deep baritone cutting through the noise better than hers.

"The bumpkins amongst bumpkins, given Imperial regard for the entire Kelahk kingdom. Mangdae will reach this state someday, though, your father will see to that." I hope you're right, Shaya thought, taking in the sights around her. I also hope we survive the next Titan War, and don't have to start all over yet again.

"I can't believe we couldn't find a healer that could mend Quill's leg," Shaya yelled. Shaya and Krebo wandered through Olin's markets to see the sights, with Quill along for the ride in Shaya's arms. The other members of their group sought buyers for the rest of their haul, hoping to liquidate what they could and perhaps procure other items for trade back home. Or more food, in Gaz's case. Despite their size and armour, Shaya and Krebo did not carve a path through the crowd as they usually might.

In one of Kelahk's largest cities, plenty of people with as much or more giant-blood walked about, and nephilim from nearby parts of the empire could be seen that exuded dominance over the space around them—alongside their armed and armoured bodyguards. This meant that Shaya and Krebo had to muscle their way through the crowd like everyone else. While Olin was far grander than any city within Mangdae, perhaps even all of the cities within Mangdae combined, it still paled in comparison to her memories of Arcadia.

The grandeur of it still seemed… mortal. The use of magic present, but not ubiquitous. Shaya marvelled at the buildings around her. Very few were raised with the mundane touch of a mason, instead magically moulded by the stoneshapers Kelahk was infamous for. They were Amber mages like she and Krebo, but they were also Animists who insisted on connecting to spirits of the land and channelling elemental powers, which the Imperial Church deemed to be treading dangerous ground akin to worshipping the Titans.

Yet another doctrine they turned a blind eye to when it was politically expedient to do so, however. Head clearing as they moved further from the chaos of the bazaar, Shaya was able to appreciate the surroundings even more. Magically shaped stone had no weak points or oversights, which wasn't possible with masonry, and she wondered just how strong Olin's walls were. And how expensive it would be to draw some of Kelahk's stoneshapers to Mangdae.

Why hasn't Lumir hired some already, given how much reconstruction our duchy is in need of? As they entered the dock district, the crowd and noise picked back up, to Shaya's chagrin. It was almost like walking into a different city—or a slum. The buildings favoured mundane masonry and carpentry, the crowd contained more working folk and fewer nobles and merchants, and the scents shifted from perfumes and alchemical substances to sweat, alcohol, and fish.

It's like returning to The Blight, Shaya thought, a shudder running through her as adrenaline pumped to keep her alert. No, stop it, that won't be necessary here. But instinct was difficult to sway, and she began to pick out bellicose drunks and possible pickpockets despite herself.

"Hey!" A familiar, booming voice caught her attention, and she turned to see Gaz waving at her with a skewer of fish. She could barely make out the tops of Lorral's and Pelark's heads in the crowd next to him. Krebo returned the wave, and the two of them moved to reunite with the rest of the group.

"There you are!" Pelark said, grinning with uncharacteristic joy.

"You two missed a good show!" If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"Pel was a ruthless negotiator—we basically robbed these fancy folk for our parts!" Gaz bragged before inhaling an entire skewer of what looked and smelled like greasy, breaded fish.

"A man is his honour, eh, Pel?" Shaya turned to the shorter man and cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Nothing dishonest about bargaining." He crossed his arms.

"Besides, you won't judge me when you see your cut." Shaya stared aghast as Pel pulled out a fat sack of jingling coins right then and there, pouring them into another pouch for her. There was nary a glint of copper in the stream of electrum and gold coins, and more than a few eyes turned to spy what was going on. He put his pouch back into his doublet and tied hers shut before holding it out to her.

"Here, hold Quill for me," Shaya said, handing the gryphlet to Gaz now that he was done with his food. The kitahm took them with a sour look on his face, but didn't say anything. With her hands free, she took her cut from Pel and crouched over her backpack. As she pulled items out of her pack, she used a bit of sleight of hand to slip the pouch of gold into her brigandine and drop a decoy into her pack. Just in case.

"Thanks, Pel, how much did you just hand me?" she asked.

"In hushed tones, please. I don't want to fend off thieves the rest of my stay here."

"Forty gold and twenty electrum," he replied in a chastised huff. More than most peasants would make in a lifetime. Shaya sighed inwardly. And he handles it in the open like it's nothing. More than they'd make in ten other hunts combined too. My life really has changed.

"Awesome," she said, keeping her thoughts to herself.

"Now where did you get those skewers? I'd be a fool to pass up the chance to eat some!"

"Right this way." Lorral smiled.

"Also, I got each of you one as a sampler to hold you over."

"Lorral," Shaya said, placing her hands on her friend's shoulders, "you are the absolute best. Never change." Her friend giggled, unwrapping two skewers and handing one to Shaya and Krebo. The skewers were as delicious as expected. Rich batter with a hint of spice added weight to the soft, buttery meat within, all of it just melting in her mouth.

"Oh gods," she moaned, as they approached the stall selling them.

"What are these?"

"Lobster balls!" Lorral grinned.

"They're a common dish here—Pa and I get them whenever we're close to the Jade Sea."

"Whoa—you're feeding me insects?" Shaya said in mock indignation.

"Isn't this a peasant's food?"

"Yep!" Lorral laughed.

"I think the nobility is really missing out on this, and with any luck they won't learn of it. I'd hate for these to become insanely expensive!" Their group grabbed another skewer each—except for Shaya and Krebo, who bought three each. Quill's whining ensured they bought them a snack as well, the vendor happy to sell them some raw fish for the chance to see a gryphon up close.

"Alright." Shaya's smile was wistful.

"I guess we find me a boat." Gaz chuckled.

"With our luck, only the last boat we come across will be going to Imperial City." +++++++++++++"I can't believe you jinxed us like that Gaz," Shaya complained.

"We've been walking for hours!"

"It's not my fault!" Gaz returned.

"There were a few ships going to Arcadia back there!"

"Yeah—in weeks!" Shaya ran her hands through her mane of hair in frustration, thankful it was Gaz's turn to carry Quill again.

"There has to be a boat heading that direction sooner than that. I don't want to be late if anything goes awry."

"Calm down," Krebo said.

"Right, right," Shaya said, taking a deep breath to calm herself and stop the doom spiral within her brain.

"Focus on what I can control… there are a few boats left, but if those don't work out then I'll just have to find an inn." They kept walking along Olin's enormous dockside, Gaz handing the gryphlet back to Shaya after the next boat looked to be heading south to Vayeira. The boat after it was one of the turtle ships that Kelahk was renowned for and often stood as the first line of defence against waterborne Titans.

Though the fully enclosed and spiked vessel definitely wasn't looking for passengers, the sight of it filled Shaya with joy.

"Wait, what's a turtle ship doing on the Jade Sea?" she asked.

"I thought the Archon made sure it was depopulated of large monsters at the start of Her reign." Krebo shrugged.

"Posturing, most likely."

"It looks old—I think I spy ballistae in there," Pel said, then added, "Krebo's right, it was likely retired from service and sent here to live the rest of its days as an icon."

"Its soldiers look drilled though." Gaz nodded at the small company of them at the end of the dock. Shaya admired the ship and her crew. The ship itself was over a hundred feet long and made up of two decks, with the top deck fully enclosed with a spiked shell—giving the ship its name. Two sails rose from the shell to give it propulsion, but oars poked out the sides of the lower deck as well. The upper deck had plenty of armoured portholes, but fewer than Shaya had heard.

She suspected Pel was right—this was an older version of the ship, designed for the broader ballistae. The odd part was that the soldiers weren't the lightly armoured marines Shaya expected to see for boarding actions. Instead, the group was the standard combined arms group of the Kelahkese forces. Heavy infantry in iron lamellar armour with thick brimmed helmets practiced manoeuvres with their pavises and glaives, with alchemists tucked in closely behind them—bedecked in explosives to turn the tide of any battle.

Around them stood the archers Kelahk was famous for, strong men and women wielding composite bows for skirmishing in Kelahk's rough terrain made up predominantly of mountains and forests.

"Those aren't marines," she mused aloud.

"I wonder if they're off to support one of Watur's allies in some dispute."

"Perhaps." Krebo nodded at the company's officer clad in bronze plate and Watur's colours.

"Those are all too common between the Titan Wars, as people manoeuvre to advance their personal agendas while there's territory to grab."

"I guess that's the problem with having nephilim rule the kingdoms," Lorral sighed, as they kept moving.

"Immortality does make it difficult to advance in a stagnant hierarchy."

"Tell that to everyone who turns down Lumir's offers." Shaya shook her head, thinking back at how stressed he looked during their last meeting.

"Nephilim are immortal, not invincible," Pel added, crossing his arms.

"They have a lot to lose if they take any risks with their life."