“Hammerdown is a harbor I am always happy to visit. I’ve met some of the best people there and some of the worst. Luckily, I met more of the former than the latter. Only, I don't know which description best fits those two troublemakers.” - Walter Cooke, Explorer

  ~*~

  Mirza didn’t have time to waste on the soldiers who followed him like worried pups. It seemed they were most afraid that Mirza would inform the Sultanah of their incompetence having let the assassins into Hammerdown, but also having allowed them to escape.

  Red Rock did not have high walls or an ocean, yet they managed to escape the Hammerdown just as easily. Mirza thought of how Hammerdown could have closed them in but lacked the proper signaling. A simple bonfire standing by, ready to light, would have informed every soldier, every common guard, of the trouble they had.

  Mirza growled at the thought of how close he was, but the gibbering and excuse-blabbing guards took it as a sign to stay quiet and leave him be.

  Rahele watched the Captain walk into the Hammerdown stables while Balthasar was led to the stores to procure supplies. That left her to ask the guards questions and get as much information as she could. The Red Guard would be in the Hammerdown a few hours longer.

  “Then it’s back to sleepless riding,” Rahele thought. “I don’t know how those two do it, but I find my eyes...always…”

  Rahele shook her head and slapped her cheeks. She marched immediately to the records keeper to learn more about the ones who entered the city.

  Abasi and Basim watched all this, before returning to the alleys and small streets.

  “Captain Mirza, scary as always,” Basim said. “It’s no surprise that he found them so quickly, he doesn’t look like the sleep-on-the-job type.”

  Abasi could sense the nervousness behind Basim’s jocular words.

  “Athia and Bayek will be fine,” Abasi told him. “Those two are more experienced with fighting than we are.”

  “I know...we would only slow them down...but still, I-”

  “I know. I feel the same way.”

  The two walked on in silence for a moment, and then Aida swooped down surprising them both. Basim moved his head, giving her room to land on his shoulder. He dipped a little.

  “She’s getting a little too big to be doing that,” Abasi noted.

  Basim held out his hand and let her stand on his forearm. He smiled at Aida, stroking her feathers until he lifted his arm for her to take off again.

  “I’ve been thinking,” Abasi said.

  “As always.”

  “Instead of taking a ship down the coast, we go someplace else.”

  “Where? The Other Lands?”

  “It’s an idea. There is plenty of opportunity there for us and we won’t bump into anybody who knows us. That much is for sure.”

  Basim thought about it, but some sadness still clouded his mind. He knew why he was feeling down, but he couldn’t let it rule over him. The more he looked at the ocean, the more excited he became. To visit lands where adventure could be found as easily as water.

  The longer Basim thought about it, the more invested he became in the idea. With a sigh, he decided.

  “To the Other Lands, then,” Basim nodded, ready to run to the harbor. Abasi smiled. “Let’s sell the camel and find a captain.”

  ~*~

  Mirza had picked which camels they would take to pursue Athia and Bayek. Having lined them up, he began shifting their things from their tired camels. He had chosen a mean-looking black camel to be his mount, it looked the most ready.

  Rahele returned, but what she had to report was of little consequence to him.

  “-using fake names,” Rahele continued. “This ‘Uhp’ and ‘Tonah’ are still in Hammerdown, they no doubt have a connection to the assassins. We can search-”

  “It’s not them,” Mirza told her. “That girl, she is the one I saw escape Red Rock, along with that man in black...he is the one who killed the Sultan.”

  Mirza pulled hard and the strap dug too deep into the camel. The camel let him know and he immediately loosened, letting out a furious sigh.

  “How could you tell?” Rahele asked.

  “I saw their eyes,” Mirza said simply. “She isn’t a killer, I don’t know what she is. But him...he can kill.”

  Having finished her report, Rahele moved to help Mirza prepare the camels. As he was taking her things, she took his and slung them over his camel. As she tied it to the camel, she noticed the sword he carried had a pale clay pommel, painted dark with swirling colors and symbols.

  The largest symbol was familiar, a god symbol. He placed his hand on the sword, but not before she finally recognized it.

  Ash.

  Mirza had noticed her stare.

  “Do you still pray to the gods, Rahele?” he asked her.

  Rahele was unsure how to answer. Every soldier she worked with still prayed to the gods. Despite this fact and the fact that Mirza carried a mark of Ash, she couldn’t help but reply honestly.

  “No, sir,” Rahele told him. “Not since I joined.”

  “Good,” Mirza said. “Neither has Balthasar.”

  “Is that good?”

  “Most Red Guards are well-trained, they fight with conviction, but they also fight with their gods by their side...at least they think so. Not Balthasar, nor I, have prayed to a god. When we swing our sword, it is our strength behind every strike, every victory is our victory.”

  “If you don’t pray to the gods, why carry that symbol?” Rahele thought.

  “I carry this as a reminder,” Mirza said, drawing his sword, and showing the medallion carefully. “Of a time when the gods actually meant something.”

  “You never prayed to Ash?”

  “It would be pointless if I did,” Mirza muttered. “The gods are…I can see you’re tired, we will take a few hours to get our energy back before we continue the chase.”

  Mirza was offering Rahele some kindness, despite his determination. Somehow, this thoughtfulness coming from him raised her spirits substantially and she would not accept the break that was offered.

  “That won’t be necessary, sir,” Rahele replied. “I’m ready to travel.”

  Mirza looked back at her and for a brief moment, she thought she saw him smile.

  Balthasar was ahead of them, still gathering supplies, but mostly shouting at Hammerdown guards for the shoddy way in which they stored their equipment. It seemed Mirza and Balthasar were of the same mind when they saw how poorly Hammerdown was protected. Upon seeing Mirza approach with the camels, Balthasar ordered the lesser guard he was yelling at to attend to the store room.

  “Descriptions and drawings are being made as we speak,” Balthasar told Mirza. “Copies will be sent to every city in a few days.”

  “Good, but let’s see if we can catch them before they even reach a city,” Mirza replied, already picking up supplies Balthasar brought and packing them onto the camels.

  Balthasar was in shock.

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  “Sir, don’t you think we should take a moment to gather our energy?” the war adviser asked.

  “That depends on you, Balthasar,” Mirza said with amusement in his voice. “Rahele and I are ready to travel right now.”

  Balthasar looked at Rahele and back at Mirza, a smile already spreading across his face, parting as he laughed a deep laugh.

  “This is starting to feel like the old campaign days, captain,” Balthasr said, aiding Mirza’s efforts. “That’s fine! Let us ride through the nights and catch the fiends!”

  ~*~

  The sun was starting to set and the sky over Hammerdown was now shades of pink and purple. After the chaos that transpired, people were just starting to calm down and gossip. Workers in the harbor hurried to finish their work and return home or search for evening entertainment.

  Ships and boats rocked gingerly on the ocean as if the sea had also settled with them. Clouds could be seen far ahead, just above the horizon. These clouds sparked with lighting but would calm into nothing when they reached the Everlasting Desert. It was a scene that seemed to put everyone who lived by the sea at ease.

  Yet, it was a scene of little interest to Basim and Abasi, who were walking along the harbor looking at ships as if they were going to purchase them.

  “What about this one?” Basim said, pointing to a narrow ship painted black and with green edging that waved near the end like a snake. The sails were triangular and sleek, it certainly looked like the one to reach their destination quickly. “I imagine we can reach the Other Lands a lot faster in that.”

  “But I’m told it won’t be as comfortable as the bigger ships,” Abasi said. “Besides, we don’t need to reach the Other Lands that quickly. A big ship, like that one, should work!”

  Abasi pointed to one much larger, painted red with orange accents. Its sails were square and much larger to match the ship, with a golden lion as its figurehead. It certainly looked the most desirable to travel aboard.

  “I think that’s too big,” Basim said. “Too many people as well. You must remember that we aren’t average travelers either. Something more exciting!”

  Their options were fast running out, but together they spotted a ship that suited them both. It was not brightly painted but simply varnished. The sails weren’t decorated with a fantastic image but were plain white. Although, it was patched on some sails. The crew was working to load provisions on the ship, each looked interesting enough, many were scarred and tattooed, and all were muscular and experienced seadogs.

  The ship was much like them, in that it seemed simple, but it had its fair share of scars. It was experienced, but sturdy. In short, everything about the ship had the character that Abasi and Basim didn’t know they were looking for but were happy they found.

  “That’s the one, Basim,” Abasi said.

  “You don’t need to convince me,” Basim said. “What a fine vessel. It looks like it means to sail. We should find a way onboard soon or it will leave without us.”

  “But look at the fairs written on the boards…”

  Of the list of ships, every fare was a lot more than what they got from the sale of their camel. At best, one could board a ship and travel to the Other Lands with the count they had, but not both.

  It goes without saying, that was not an option for Abasi and Basim.

  “Maybe we could offer our services to the captain,” Abasi suggested.

  “And if the captain refuses? What then?”

  “Then we have no choice but to stow away.”

  As they pondered how to board the ship, they saw a thin, old man walking towards it, a satchel over his back. He didn’t look like a shiphand, so Abasi and Basim stopped him.

  “Hello, are you boarding that ship?” Abasi asked.

  “Yes, the Laughing Lynx,” Walter Cooke nodded. “Do you wish to board her?”

  “Her? Uh, yes, we do. We want to travel to the Other Lands,” Abasi continued.

  “Ah, more adventurers. I’m afraid you will have to take it up with Captain Khaa, although I wish you luck. Even if you have enough coin for the trip, she is known for turning away passengers, as well as throwing them overboard if they annoy her!”

  With that much information, Abasi and Basim’s hopes were significantly lowered. They continued to drop as they watched Walter walk up the gangplank.

  “Maybe let’s try another ship,” Abasi said.

  “I’m still up for stowing away,” Basim told him. “Look there, some crates we can hide in.”

  “We’re taking a big chance by doing that,” Abasi told him. “Being thrown overboard doesn’t sound like a fun in the middle of the ocean-”

  “When will you stop thinking,” Basim cried. “There’s always something wrong with my plans, but never with your plans.”

  “Because your plans always involve doing something incredibly risky that never works out in the end. I wish a week would pass when we wouldn’t be getting in trouble because of your ridiculous ideas.”

  The two bickered amongst each other until they finally reached a decision; they would hide in the crates, but if they got caught, all blame would be placed on Basim. It was the best compromise Abasi could get from Basim. With that, they both crept towards the crates, sticking to the shadows, completely unaware of who was listening to their plan and watching them closely as they chose their crate to hide in.

  An hour passed before the Laughing Lynx was loaded with provisions. The merchant, Khnem waved to Walter and the captain from the harbor. It was the first time he was completely satisfied with a supplier and he once more began to take stock of all his merchandise as it was loaded into one of the warehouses he rented.

  There was one crate in particular that needed to be noted and he searched for it, listening more than looking. When he could not hear anything, Khnem started to go through all the crates again, from one side to the other, searching for his prize and panicking as he searched.

  After a moment, Khnem realized that it was missing, stolen. He looked to the people of Hammerdown and recalled the confusion as all the guards ran about in a panic. Someone could have sneaked away with something, but not something so large. It had to be someone in the harbor, someone who knew what they wanted.

  The bell in the lighthouse rang.

  Khnem turned slowly around and looked towards the distant ship, retracting all his niceties, and his politeness and he sent a torrent of curses towards the Laughing Lynx, waving his hands as if he was in battle with the captain herself.

  Speaking of the captain, Khaa watched all this through her spyglass, grinning and chuckling to herself. Her plan could not have gone better. It was as if all luck was on her side when the fight broke out. Every guard and civilian was distracted, which made it that much easier to take the crate right from under Khnem’s nose.

  “It was nice working with you, Khnem,” Khaa thought. “Well, as nice as it could be. We could have made a lot more gold working together, but I think this covers anything I could have lost in our future deals.”

  Khaa looked to her left, the panther sitting in the crate stared back at Hammerdown. It seemed calm enough, but Khaa kept looking at it to make sure. It was so docile around her, that she immediately started thinking of a name.

  “Hmm,” Khaa hummed, getting the panther's attention. “Silver? No, okay, then how about...Saber? Oh, how about Shade?”

  The panther did not react to any name Khaa suggested, so she decided to hold off on the naming until she thought of something suitable. She reached towards it, slipping her hand into the crate, and patted it on the head. Its eyes glared up at her, but it did nothing to stop her. Perhaps it was the wild look in her eyes that gave it reason to hesitate, or simply accept her. Whatever the reason, it made Khaa smile to see such a beast behave in her presence.

  “Captain, where is our heading?” asked the first mate who had the helm. His eyes were firmly fixed on the storm ahead, already mentally preparing for what the Captain had no problem enduring.

  “We sail to the Kingdom for now. We keep this back-and-forth up a little longer, and then we should have enough to set a course to the East. Have Cooke manage navigation, he knows where we’re going.”

  “What about Khnem? He won’t be happy to see us return.”

  “We will pick him up something nice to make peace.”

  “Fair enough, but there are easier ways to get your hands on a big cat, Captain.”

  “We’re all allowed to be a little impulsive at times. Is everything stored away? It’s going to be a long trip.”

  “Everything is secure, captain,” he said, looking at her. She stood nearly a foot taller than him, eyes now focused on the same storm that concerned him. As the wind lifted her blonde hair, which was made lighter and rougher by the sea air, she smiled, but not about the storm.

  “Best deal with them now then.”

  Captain Khaa descended from the helm and entered her quarters. The room was splendidly decorated but made messy by an abundance of trinkets and other sentimental treasures. All the clutter made it difficult to navigate, especially as the sun was just dipping below the horizon.

  Khaa moved around her quarters, lighting the candles and lanterns. Once done, she turned her attention to the crate in the middle of the room. She approached it, withdrew a key from her person, and unlocked the padlock she placed on it earlier. With it removed, she walked back to the desk and spoke to the crate.

  “You two really should take a good look around before you make plans like that,” Khaa said. “But, you’re aboard now. Just as you wanted. Come on, I’m not gonna bite.”

  The lid of the crate lifted. Abasi and Basim’s heads appeared. Both had hoped to see someone who looked reasonable, or at least gullible, but what they saw was a muscular woman, scars across her arms and a look that promised neither reasonable conversation nor gullible acceptance of what they had to say.

  “Abasi and Basim, right?” Khaa began. “You really should have just asked me, I would have let you work aboard my ship...well, maybe not…”

  “We needed to get out of Hammerdown,” Abasi began. “The guards would have started looking for us, they know our faces.”

  “Brave of you to assume that I won’t turn you in now that I know that,” Khaa said. “Do you think I am the caring type, who would help criminals like you? If you are the reason behind that big ruckus in Hammerdown, I might get a good reward for taking you back now.”

  Abasi and Basim looked like they had just met Nef and Khaa did her best to make it seem that way, from the face she pulled to the tone she used. Really, she just wanted to see how much she scared them. Having done that, she folded her arms, satisfied with the result.

  “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna do that,” Khaa said. “Not out of pity, but because you said such nice things about the Laughing Lynx.”

  Abasi and Basim showed their relief, but only to a certain degree. There was more to what she was saying.

  “Talk with Marcus, the one at the helm,” Khaa said. “He will sort you out.”

  As Khaa said this, the Laughing Lynx rocked suddenly, Abasi and Basim struggled to stay in their crate, falling out at the captain’s feet as the front of the ship rose. Basim felt the waves throw him off balance more, his stomach churning as the ship continued to rise and fall.

  “In thirty minutes, we will be sailing into a storm,” Khaa explained, looking at them on the floor. “Marcus will also show you how not to be washed overboard...I would pay attention when he does. Now...get moving!”

  Abasi and Basim scrambled to their feet, looking in every direction, but followed her finger which pointed to the door.

  “This is why I hate listening to you,” Abasi said. “My plans never end this way!”

  “Quit whining! We’re not dead!”

  The two went out onto the deck, which was already soaked as waves started to crash around them. The sea ahead did not look any better.

  “We’re not dead yet!” Abasi corrected.