Daughter of Ice and Fire

Twenty-Four

Lihleih stared at the chaos in front of her. The docks were an absolute madhouse and the noise was deafening. She wiped her hands on her trousers, the sweat staining the fabric. Her mouth had gone dry, and she swallowed with difficulty. How was she ever going to maintain her disguise with all these people crowding around? Never mind the constant worry about safeguarding her stash of coin.

After leaving the farm she had angled back towards the main road, keeping to the wooded areas whenever possible. She had only stopped in one village, telling Warshade to stay behind as she went in search of a weapon. She missed her knives and would gladly have bought another one but a purchase like that would bring unwanted attention. Instead, she settled on a small paring knife that could easily be tucked in her bindings.

She also bought fresh bread and some hard cheese. She had been living off root vegetables she dug up and leftover fruit she found in the newly harvested orchards. Warshade hunted but since she was unable to skin or gut the prey he had bought back, she instead thanked him then told him he could have it. The little knife would allow her to at least prepare smaller game for roasting and along with the bread and cheese, it would seem like a veritable feast.

Once she reached the main road, she joined the throngs of people heading toward the small town of Shipsmouth. Warshade kept close to her side, showing no interest in the people around them. She concluded that constantly traveling on the prison wagon had made him used to strangers and she often praised him for remaining calm while they walked.

What faced her now, however, made her nervous. Extremely nervous. She had never seen anything like this in her life. She had never actually laid eyes on the Great Inland Sea and had envisioned a very, very large lake. What lay before her was not at all what she had expected.

The Sea filled the entire horizon. She could see small specks in the distance and assumed they were ships ferrying goods and people to the different ports that dotted the coast. She knew the Sea was huge, having heard the stories while in Swanhaven of people who traveled to the coast and back. She also knew that goods were shipped from port to port all the time and figured Westhyl's port was the largest of them all. What she now saw told her that however large she had thought Westhyl to be, she had almost certainly underestimated it. Shipsmouth was far larger than she expected.

The docks spread as far as she could see. Ships of every size and shape were tied up at the piers that stretched long fingers into the Sea. Gulls screamed overhead, darting among the bobbing ships or even into the market to snatch whatever they could. People were yelling, a variety of animals bellowing, and dogs were barking. The last caused her to warn Warshade to stay close, her hand gripping the piece of fabric she had tied around his neck. He gave her a look as if to say he had no intention of leaving but she held on tightly just the same.

"Not going to find passage standing here," she muttered. Pushing forward, she descended the hill and entered the throng.

After forcing her way through the crowds, she suddenly found herself in the open. The stench was overpowering, and she wrinkled her nose in disgust. Approaching the edge, she peered over the seawall and fought back the gag. Dead fish in varying states of decay floated amongst the hulls, bobbing along with the waves that slapped against the stones. But it wasn't just the dead fish that caused her stomach to revolt. It was everything else. Rats, dead birds, and other things she didn't want to think about were mixed in with the fish. The smell was even worse. Hastily backing up, she turned and began walking while trying to figure out how she was going to find a ship.

Reaching a pier, she stopped and watched the parade of people making their way down it. Several carried satchels or had bags slung over their backs. Falling in step behind a young man dressed slightly better than she was, she followed while keeping her ears open.