Moonshadow (Book 1 of the Torrent Skies Saga)

Chapter Three: Second in Command, Pt 1

870 PC, Early Goahm (Summer) O'siaris, Itrea.

She was finally off the damned ship. It had been the hardest thing she had done so far in her short and quiet life, she thought as she sat on the docks—waiting for a powerful wave of dizziness to leave and for her muscles to stop aching. The ship's healer had given her a different concoction of herbs than usual as they were docking the ship, so she sat watching people pass her by as she waited for it to start its work.

As she studied the place, she was not sure what to think. The town was tiny, and all of it would have fit in a single district of Hearth-Home. It even would have fit in the smallest one, with plenty of room to spare. O'siaris looked like an army camp turned into a permanent dwelling. The port had only two docks, which seemed as though they had been hastily constructed. The buildings were stone and wood, simple as could be. Some were even tilted at haphazard angles—a sure sign of the fact that they were not much more than a shelter to keep their residents mostly out of the rain and wind. In the distance, she could see two or three fully stone buildings with a stone wall around them.

Further up the single muddy road filled with ruts, she could make out maybe four nicer buildings,taller than the town's houses, with straight timbers and decent looking roofing. They must have been shops or similar buildings, and she hoped one was an inn.

Just up from where she sat, a surprising number of market stalls were set up, with people selling the fruits of their labor. Fish, fruit, grain, arrowheads and weapons. Everything you could want in a place like this, she supposed. Despite the small size of the town, people were everywhere, and they were all working. Even the children were busy pulling carts and carrying tools. They all seemed worn, tough, and they appeared to be used to the laborious work they did. No one dressed in fancy clothes or wore any kind of jewelry. All she saw were simple garments in pale colors. Even the guardswomen and men, in their black and teal uniforms, showed signs of wear and tear.

Katerin had a strange feeling. She liked this town. Maybe because it had let her depart from the ever-pitching ship, but she found this place comforting. It was a far cry from the bustle of Hearth-Home, but every person she saw seemed vibrant. She sighed and got to her feet. All I have to do is find one person in a tiny town, she thought. Then I get to go back home. She refused to think about that fact that she would have to find another ship, or even what she might say when she found Sulea, as she offered one last wave to the crewmen of the Lounging Dove.

Winding her way unsteadily down the street, she approached one of the taller, nicer buildings she had seen. It had a hitching post, a small porch, and a rickety wooden sign that read "The Hobbling Leper," with a carved image of a man wrapped in bandages from head to toe. The man was missing one leg, but he was smiling as he held a frothing mug of ale in one hand.

It was early afternoon, and only a few people sat inside the comfortable inn. It was a large open room with a bar running along one side, that ended half way down, leading into curved to a hall that housed what she presumed to be the kitchen and storerooms. Another door was shut at the far end, only half visible behind a rather tall and wide patron.

A man of average height and thinning hair sat on a stool on the opposite side of the bar, polishing an already clean mug. He looked up as she entered, and his features immediately brightened as he turned to her. "A newcomer!" he said as he straightened and put the mug away. "Come, have a seat!"

She nodded shyly and made her way to an open seat at the bar. The bartender was far from the only other man at it.

"Ah, you're a quiet one." He smiled wider and grabbed yet another clean mug, setting it atop the bar in front of her. "Welcome to The Hobbling Leper. What can we get for you?"