The dock resumed its hustle and bustle not long after the second murder of the day had disrupted it. It was impossible, Mintrow, thought, to go anywhere without one of Galdiff''s cronies trying to do you in. If it weren't for Nareen's concise skills as a knife thrower, he might have had to confront the cutthroat head on. That would certainly have made things messy.
Mintrow had zoned out of Tian's monotonous haggling. He didn't know or care what the rugged red-haired boatman's latest offer was.
“You can have the boat for 250 golds. Are you even listening to me, Mintrow?” Tian asked. The jetty wobbled slightly, jerking Mintrow back to reality.
“Look,” Mintrow said, “I've offered you 200, all the gold I've got with me now. That offer is more than fair and you know it. It's fifty golds more than what the little boat's worth.”
“That's true,” Tian admitted, “but you're the one who needs the boat now. I could wait for tomorrow for somebody else. You on the other hand...”
“I don't have time for this Tian. Would you like me to make you one last offer?”
“I suppose that would be nice of you,” the stubborn boatman said.
Mintrow allowed his tunic to move aside just enough to reveal his pistol tucked into its holster. Tian visibly shook.
“I never thought you'd be one to threaten me,” Tian said, “ but I suppose you can have it for 200 golds if you want it that bad.”
“Much in the same way,” Mintrow replied curtly, “I never thought you'd be one to try to cheat me out of 100 golds. As it is, you've cheated me out of fifty.”
As Mintrow withdrew the bag of gold coins from his tunic, he noted the scowl on Tian's face. It served the bastard right. He dropped the bag into Tian's open hands.
“Thank you,” Tian said. Mintrow chose to ignore him, allowing the uncomfortable silence to grow thick.
“Untie the boat, Tian,” Mintrow said. He watched satisfactorily as Tian wordlessly obeyed. The lock that tied the boat to the jetty clicked as the latch came loose, and the boat started floating a little away from the jetty. “Thank you for obliging, Tian. I do appreciate it.”
At that moment, Nareen chose to rejoin his company. Mintrow noted her deliberate snubbing of Tian satisfactorily as she strode directly up to him.
“I got one,” she said. “The manufacturer said it would only last for an hour, though, so we'd best get moving.” Her hand revealed a clear glass orb. It was small enough to fit inside her finger tips and a silver flame danced inside it dangerously. Wisps dust seemed to swirl around it, as though they were being held there by some magnetic force
“Well done!” Mintrow said. “That was pretty fast.” he paused for a moment. “Anyway, Tian, it was a pleasure doing business with you, but we must be off now.”
“The pleasure was mine,” Tian said, failing in his attempt to sound pleasured.
“Good. Nareen, let's go,” Mintrow said.
He climbed into the small boat as the sail flapped carelessly in the air. The wooden deck was small, but it was adequate for four people, and would suit Mintrow's needs very well. The hull of the boat was rounded at its bottom and would provide for excellent maneuverability. Its tapered bow would make the boat just aerodynamic enough to allow the boat to cut through the river fast enough to reach the coast of Kavaria within the hour. Yes, it would do.
Nareen handed him the charmed orb. If the magic-dealer hadn't lied, it would last for an hour. If he had lied, they would need to take down the sail and row to Kavaria themselves. He slipped it into the little pouch in the sail that was shielded by metal on the one side. A steady stream of wind began to accumulate at the unshielded side of the orb, battering the sail and drawing the boat into the deep sea.
The boat rode through the waves, dancing on the surf leaving the port-island of Vileri behind. Sprays of foam-edged water shot up onto the deck as waves collided, merging into larger waves. There were still several ferries and boats in sight, aside from the usual large ships visible in the far distance. Many of them were likely to be trader-ships, and a select few were no doubt home to sea-pirates.
Vileri was a natural location for pirate ships. Actually, the pirates tended to lurk just far enough away from Vileri to avoid confrontation with any local law-enforcers, but near enough to be able to intercept boats or indeed small ships as they passed on their paths to other large and frequently visited cities.
It was rather lucky that Nareen had been able to procure the wind-orb. Without it, the boat would have bobbed aimlessly around the sea in such temperate conditions and would have been easy prey for any prospective pirates. The sea was unusually calm, and although the waves were ferocious, they were few beneath the overcast sky.
The Vileri shore disappeared over the horizon before the flame inside the orb flickered, and then burned out. The boat started to bob aimlessly around the sea.
