Legon Ascension (16 page)

She nodded. “Who said we were dreaming?”

Chapter Nine

Coreum

“All seek the most common denominator in life. In that is great strength and weakness.”

-Articles of the Mahann

Sydin scowled. “This doesn’t make sense. You can’t mentally link when you are unconscious, or even half asleep for that matter.” He paused to think. “This is something to look into. Maybe there is something different with you Legon, coming from both human and Elvin decent, though I find it unlikely.”

Sasha knew there wasn’t any point pursuing the subject anymore. Sydin was just as stumped by the dream as they were, and it hadn’t happened again.
 

This air was thick and heavy. They were almost to the rendezvous with the fleet that would escort them to Seeon. Once again, she was thankful for magic. The cooling spell she was using made the hot moist air feel good on her skin, and it kept her from sweating.
 

“Sydin,” she started. “Can you tell us more about the ship? How does it respond in a fight? I’m interested.”

His face relaxed, no longer having to figure out dreams. “Sure thing. Where to start, where to start… Oh yes, well, as you have been told, there is a central crystal, but the ship has other features as well. You know some of them, but others you likely don’t.”
 

They were taking another tour of the ship and learned how it was able to stabilize itself so it didn’t capsize no matter the weather. They also learned about its ability to feed from the ocean like a water plant to provide them with food and clean water. Elvin ships could stay at sea indefinitely because of this feature. The ocean is full of nutrients, so all the ship had to do was collect them, which it did with roots that drifted from the belly. She was interested to find out about the bow, which was an alloy, including high amounts of platinum that kept it from corroding.
 

Sydin told them that during the War of Generations, Elvin and Iumenta ships would ram each other and send spells and bolts from ballistae. The ships could even fire upon dragons with some level of success, though not as much as a dragon firing on another dragon.
 

“You will love the carriers, they are truly something,” Sydin said.

“Carriers?” Legon interrupted.

“Yes, there are large ships that carry Dragons, they are called Dragon Carriers. Simple, I know, but the ships are massive, holding up to ten dragons. In a fight you won’t see the carriers get into many battles. They tend to hang back, being difficult to maneuver.”
 

Sasha tried to picture the carrier in her head, but couldn’t quite figure it out. “Sydin, were you ever on one?”

“A carrier? Yes, many times. Most dragons have been though. Ise doesn’t like them as much as most.”

Legon was fidgeting when Sydin said something about Ise. Sasha tried not to show her amusement. He liked her, and Ise liked him, and because Sasha was the one who pushed the relationship so much, she figured if they ended up together she got credit.
 

“Is it hard being away from your wife?” Sasha asked, sensing the question in Legon’s head.

Sydin considered the question for a moment, and after glancing at Legon, smirked a bit. “Yes and no. We’ve been together for a long time, so even with a great distance, if anything major happened I would sense it. But yes, I do miss her. At the same time, most couples don’t go long without being around each other in our society.”
 

* * * * *

Arkin closed in on the city of Coreum. The tops of buildings grew from the plains as he crested the horizon. Coreum was one of the largest of the southern cities, located next to one of the sizable bodies of water, Coreum lake. Arkin enjoyed the city with its all wooden construction and bustling streets. Despite its size, it still had a small-town feel about it. Everyone seemed to know each other or they had a friend or a family member that knew someone. It was for this reason Coreum was the perfect place to recruit talent, and it was still one of the only major cities that was still outspoken about its distaste for the queen.
But when you are the hub for most of the agriculture in a country, you can do just about whatever you want,
Arkin thought.
 

He passed through the main entrance without any issues. The streets were clogged with end of day travelers. To his left, he could hear an open market where people were buying whatever they needed for dinner and wholesalers were wrapping up deals and leaving for the day. Arkin made his way to the White Dragon, an inn he knew well. Above the door was an elaborate carving of a white dragon standing on something black and scaly. He shook his head as he walked in the door.
How much more blatant could they be
? The White Dragon was an ideal place to stay in if you were an Elvin spy, for the simple reason that no one in their right mind trying to blend in would stay in a place that screamed “I hate the Empire.” It was for this reason the government didn’t think much of you if you stayed there.
There really is something to be said for hiding in plain sight
. He walked through the packed dining area, not recognizing anyone, and stopped at the counter.
 

A man with a long white bead walked up to the bar. “What can I get ya?” His voice was rough.

Arkin stared for a moment. “Richard?”

“Nope, I’m not fer sale, but my wench of a wife is if you want.” He turned his head. “Wench! Come here and show this chap a good time!”

A woman at the other end of the bar, who Arkin knew to be Richard’s wife Ivy, made a rude hand gesture and went back to what she was doing.

Richard pointed at her and leaned in. “See what I have to deal with since you left Arkin?”

Arkin smiled. “You remember me, huh.”

“Yes, I do. You still owe me money, and don’t think I haven’t been adding up interest.”
 

Richard rummaged in a pocket and pulled out a worn and abused piece of parchment that at first glance looked like a shopping list, but was actually a list of names and amounts owed. Arkin rolled his eyes. “It’s been what, fifteen years? You have kept that for fifteen years?”

“No, of course not. Some people pay. I’ve just transferred names. Do you want to pay your balance, or do you want Ivy?”

Arkin glanced at Ivy, who obviously remembered him. She smiled and pointed at the door, indicating for him to leave. “How about a room and I’ll pay off the debt, how much is it?”

“You sure you don’t want her? Well, ok. We’ll just tack on an extra five pieces and that should cover it.”

Arkin was dumbfounded. “And that’s with interest?”

“Yes. And don’t think I’m going down any.”

“Richard, that’s what, two beers?”

Richard looked up, doing the math. “Yep, about right.” He turned to his wife. “WENCH! This pecker needs a room.”

He looked back at Arkin. “I’ll come see you tonight. I’m sure you’re not here for any good, but I want you to pay up front. I’m not a bank.”

Arkin made his way to his room and settled in. He woke to the sound of a knock at the door. It opened and Richard and stone-faced Ivy entered the room. They sat at a desk across from the bed.
 

Ivy spoke first. “Where have you been the last fifteen years, huh?”

He smiled. “Busy. I see you two still hate each other.”

Richard smiled. “It’s the best front we’ve found, huh wench?”

Ivy didn’t respond. “We deserve answers, Arkin. I swear I will chuck you out…”

He held up his hands. “I was in deep. I’m sorry if I worried you, it was never my intent to hurt anyone.”

She snorted. “So how deep were you that you couldn’t send word to your aunt?”

This wasn’t a topic he could bring up easily. “Have you heard anything new lately?”

Richard piped up. “We heard Evindass has a new head, and that he’s behind some serious raiding action, but I suppose you already knew that, didn’t ya, if you’re here?”

Arkin smiled. “Well, you know what I’ve been doing now, don’t you? I can’t talk about that now, I have work to do. Are you still in the game?”

“Which one?” Ivy asked.

“Tell me the run of the land. I’ve been out too long.”

Richard sighed. “It’s been hard getting things across the border, as you know, but once they are here it’s simple.”

Arkin interrupted. “How is Coreum still the center for trade?”

“Well, at one point in time, Coreum was the center of the human lands, wasn’t it? Even after the war trade went relatively unhindered with the free lands, Hoelaria was too busy consolidating power to worry about where food moved from and to. By the time she got around to addressing the problem, it was too late. Coreum was reestablished. It took her another thirty years to truly hinder smuggling, and by then the farm communities were wise to her and came here to trade. You know this, why do you ask?”

“I want to make sure I’m in a hub, and a safe one.”

Ivy spoke up. “You are, but not if you want to get something across the border—that won’t happen, too much military. Even the trade in smuggling refugees has all but come to a standstill. It’s making for a lot of idle hands, if you know what I mean.”

He did. If there wasn’t the business that there was before, crime would rise and other problems would arise, but that also meant that there were a lot of skilled smugglers and mercenaries waiting to be recruited.
 

He explained his plans to his aunt and uncle. They took it better than he thought they would, and even knew a few people to talk to.
 

“Is there going to be anything else we need?” Richard asked after a few hours of talking.

“We will need a route into Manton so we can get money from Evindass until we can support ourselves with front companies. We also need to set up a better network to communicate with our minds. The relay system just won’t do for something like this.”

Ivy agreed to figure out the network issues and Richard would make sure they could move funds from Manton securely. Arkin was relatively happy with how it went and was looking forward to a few days of recruiting before heading to Salez to talk to house Grey. Ivy would make a great communications leader. Richard and Ivy were perfectly placed as well. If things got too hot they could leave. No one suspected them after all these years; Richard was just a barkeep that dabbled in setting smugglers up. Ivy was just the unpleasant person Richard had been forced to marry, or so people thought. Both came off rude and a bit dim, but neither was, and Arkin knew his aunt to be a certified genius, having taught him almost everything he knew.
 

* * * * *

Legon stood on the bow of the Propero. He was waiting to see the main envoy come into view. Shortly after their encounter with the raiders, Sydin told Legon and Sasha that it was customary for the head of house to sail in the house ship, but due to Manton’s proximity to the Empire, this was a bad idea. The house ship would be accompanied by many warships, and that was the problem. Unguarded, it was a tempting target, but with its escorts it was too aggressive, so now Legon waited, anticipating House Evindass’s ship, the Lux.
 

Sasha came up next to him, expectant, looking forward to seeing the Lux as well. Her hair swirled around in the sea breeze and she smoothed out the turquoise fabric of her dress. In the distance, his ears heard the telltale thud of a dragon’s wings, and he knew that dragons were flying over the Lux’s armada. He wasn’t surprised to see flicks of red and brown surrounding the Propero as two huge figures dropped from the sky, glittering in the bright sun. The two dragons began to fly circles around the Propero, keeping pace with it and guarding it from the sky. They had made it to the armada.

As they came alongside the armada, a sleuth and frigate broke from formation to skirt around the Propero, bringing it into the safety of the armada. Legon couldn’t help but be awestruck with the fleet before him. Toward the back was a ship with two hulls and atop each were five massive masts. It was long and odd-looking.

“It’s a carrier,” Sydin said, coming up next to them.

Sasha gawked. “How many dragons are on one again?” she asked.

“They hold ten.”
 

She pointed to the ship in the center. “What is that?” she said, amazed.

“That, my dear, is the P. E. S. Lux.”

The Lux rose from the water, graceful and brilliant. The white hull sparkled in places and Legon took in the four-masted ship in all its glory. The Lux towered over them as they came alongside. From the gold-gilded rail a plank extended until it rested on the deck of the Propero.
 

Sydin spoke again. “Sasha, I will help you up the plank. I’m sorry to say it wasn’t designed with humans in mind.
 

That it wasn’t. It was steep and undulating sea would be hard for non-Elves to traverse. Legon watched as Sasha attempted to walk the ramp with little success. Finally Sydin put his hands around her hips, steering her up. Legon crested the railing and stepped onto the deck of his ship. They were greeted by many Elves, all in robes of the deepest purple. Sasha stood next to Legon and in unison all of the Elves aboard the ship knelt. He turned to Sydin to find him also kneeling. As his gaze swept the decks of the fleet, all the Elves on each ship knelt, facing the Lux.
 

Legon was supposed to say something, but he didn’t want to. This was one of those times when everyone was looking at him, and he’d have rather swam to Seeon. He cleared his throat. “Thank you, it is an honor to be with you,” was all he could think to say.

They rose and a man with brown hair approached him. “Un Prosa, it is we who are honored. It has been too long since the Lux was put to its proper use, welcome aboard.”

A woman with bronze hair walked to Sasha. “Un Prose, I am Elna. I will be your handmaid while on board.”
 

Sasha responded warmly. “You don’t have to do that, I can manage.”

Sydin spoke softly to her. “Sasha, this is Elna’s job. While it may seem odd to you, refusing her service would be a great insult.”