Chương 38: Chapter 37
The party of the four and the cat rode through the island city, the houses here did not look like houses, there was a greasy sort of texture to the streets and walls and it all seemed very hectic and sad around the place. There was a lot of money to be made in this small city but for that same reason life here was difficult, a lot of big merchant companies had come here over the years and now all of them fought each other for power and money, and in the fights the local people usually became the puppets. They had lost the aspects of their own culture and all that was left was a bunch of slaves and servants working for the fat rich merchants.
"Are those slaves?" Ron asked looking at a pair of men and woman with chains around their ankles and very shabby clothes. "Isn't that illegal?" asked Ron.
"They must be in debt, and to pay their debt their master asks them to wear the chains and become their slaves and pay off their debts, we can't do anything about it if they are doing this on their own choice," said Isanna solemnly.
"Come one, hurry up, we need to be at the dock, and meet my contact, Nefar would have figured out by now what we are doing here," said Derek.
Near the docks, the streets turned into swaying wooden boards rather than still hard stone. The salty smell in the air increased suddenly, the horses didn't like to walk on the swaying grounds at all.
"Let's go on foot from here," said Derek, and they got off.
There were a lot of ships at the docks, new and old, small and big, made of wood or metal.
"Who is this contact of yours?" asked Isanna when they stopped near the dock and Derek looked around.
"You'll know when you see him," said Derek with a small smile for once.
"Don't tell me," began Isanna.
"Over here, you knuckleheads," said a voice from somewhere ahead. Ron looked, a short and thin man was standing at the dock near a ship, he was wearing sailor's clothes and had a big smile on his face. His hair and clothes were dirty like a sailor's were usually but he was too happy for the whole surroundings.
"Mart, how are you?" greeted Derek shaking the man's hands. Only when he reached closer did they see that he was middle-aged, because from afar because of his small stature he looked like a young boy.
"Isanna, long time no see," the man hugged Isanna and she hugged him back.
"Marty, I thought you would be lying dead at the bottom of a mead barrel by now," she said.
"Hey, there isn't a lot to do at the sea, we have to pass out time somehow," he said and then turned to them "And who are these youngsters, and a cat, cats aren't welcome on my ship you know," he said. Just then the cat turned into Rin in front of their eyes, Marty looked more shocked than anyone.
"Never a dull moment with you Derek, is it?" come on then let's get on the ship and then we'll talk, I heard there was some matter at the gates?" he asked as they headed for the ship.
"Yeah, someone has hired assassins to kill Derek, The Black Hand guild at that, and you know who was with them, Nefar and Ester," said Isanna.
"Nefar..." Marty said that name a couple of times before his eyes got big.
"That fucker! And Ester too?" he asked loudly.
"Calm down," said Isanna.
"Fuck me, it's like a little reunion isn't it, is he still a lunatic, I bet he is an even bigger one now, we once saw a cut-off hand in his room you know, the teachers didn't believe us though, there were rumors that someone in his family was a barbarian," whispered Marty.
"How is your ship? Is it fast?" asked Derek.
"It's not about being fast or slow, my man, just like a sword," he did some movements in the air "It's about how you use it, my little slive can go anywhere and can outrun anything if the rules can be broken and let me tell you this now, out in the sea there are no rules," he said grinning showing his yellow teeth. Ron didn't know whether to like or dislike the man, he seemed to have a good and joyful personality, but he just didn't like him for some reason.
"But you have to tell me where are we going first," said Marty.
"South," said Derek.
"Hmmm lately fewer and less ships are coming from there, and nobody knows why, but I have heard some rumors," said Marty.
"I have heard rumors too, but that's why we need to go and see which ones are true," said Derek.
"and if they are true?" asked Marty.
"Then we will have to deal with them," said Derek.
"You are kidding, what's one ship going to do, you are a good fighter Derek, but only on land, there are much bigger forces out in the sea, you need a proper plan to make a dent in a fleet of ships," said Marty.
"It will be difficult but we will get support from the other end as well, we will have to think of something to widen that dent," said Derek.
Marty's slive was old, rusty, and slim like him. The name suited it, it looked like a blade floating on water.
"Dwarf built, I paid them all my life savings, lost a bit in gambling otherwise it would have been a bit bigger," he said.
It was the first time Ron would be going out into the sea on a ship and it looked like it was the same for Fiona and RIn as well, Rin as curious as always climbed the mast of the ship and sat atop the highest point of it, and went to sleep, her balance impeccable since she was a cat. Fiona and Ron had to take some time to get used to the constant swaying and the strong smells. The rooms inside the ship were also different, they were small and smelled bad, there were no beds and instead, hammocks hung on the walls, which swayed opposite to the ship.
"Some of you will have to share a room, it's a small boat, I have a crew here too," said Marty. The crew was just a bunch of skinny men, who made Marty look like a clean nobleman.
Derek wasn't going to share a room, and he took the farthest room with the least noise. It was pretty noisy for now because they were still at the dock and the ships kept thinking constantly, but there was noise coming from the bottom part of the slive too, from the kitchen and the hull where the crew worked to sail the ship. Fiona and Rin got a room together, but it was clear that Rin wasn't going to stay in it much. Isanna and Ron took the last one. Ron was fine because it didn't look like they were going to stay in the rooms much anyway.
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