Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (cont'd)

“Oh?” Aleth looked at him with a small smile. “Is it worth the read?”

"Certainly. Spicy stuff. And fascinating things about the lands beyond this continent. But I won't spoil anything."

“I look forward to it.” Aleth looked back at the page. “The shore we departed from yesterday has already faded from sight. Consequently, I’ve no capacity to judge which way we’ve come from or which way we’re headed. I remain in awe of the skill shown by these experienced seamen. I think that is all to note for the day, but I mayhaps add to today's log should something of significance happen between now and the morrow.”

Emery leaned back, tilting his head thoughtfully. "How far ahead in time is the next entry?"

“… a week, by the looks of it.” Aleth cleared his throat and resumed reading. “How is it that a week has already passed? Perhaps i will not be as faithful about keeping a log as I originally had hoped. But I will endeavor to update this journal at the very least once per week.

“My son remains miserable and I feel great sympathy for the lad. His condition has improved only slightly. He is now able to keep down his meals, but he very rarely ventures from his bed, and he is entirely gloomy at all moments of the day. It is my hope that he begins to feel the same affinity for the sea as I do.

“Although, I will admit, the longer I remain aboard this vessel, the more disenchanted I become. It is one thing to know that the sea will stretch out in front of you for an eternity — it is an entirely different thing to be staring at the same glimmering water for days on end. I am already growing bored of the monotony.”

"Poor bastard." Emery closed his eyes. "Have you ever gone sailing? It doesn't seem as bad as all that."

“No,” Aleth answered. “I don’t much like the idea of being in a situation I can’t get out of, if I wanted to… would be rather hard to get out of sailing, if you were in the middle of an ocean, you know?”

"I do." He nodded sagely. "I can't swim. Can't imagine I'd make it if there were enemies on the ship and I had to jump." Smiling, Emery sat up. "Good thing I live here, eh?"

“Aye.” Aleth returned the smile. He’s learned to swim against his own will. His father had decided it was a vital skill and kept pitching him in a lake until he could make it out on his own. “Not too much swimming to be had in the North.”

"Not when all the lakes are frozen, no," he said cheerfully, and took out his ball of chain to roll it between his hands. "It's a wonder anyone managed to survive up here, honestly. How do you think they did it?"

“I imagine it was pure stubbornness covered with blankets.”

Emery chuckled at that and glanced at one of the Librarians who hovered nearby. "I'd wager that's about right, knowing the Northerners I know. Lord Gaius would fit right in back then, I think. Lord Tarr, too, though for different reasons."

Aleth also glanced at the librarian, but turned his gaze back on Emery. It’s not like he was doing anything wrong — he wasn’t actively trying to squeeze information out of him. They were just chatting. “How so?”

"Well, Lord Gaius is a natural-born leader. He's clever. Calculating. He knows what people need. And Lord Tarr is a warrior. Not a leader so much, but definitely a fighter, and that comes in handy when there are white bears and mountain cats prowling. There's a reason his family sigil is a wolf."

“That makes sense,” Aleth agreed. “It’s helpful to have a diversity of skills to draw upon. Not all leaders. Not all warriors. A mix of everyone.”