The High Road (On Hold)

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

They woke the next morning to commotion on the docks. Jevar quietly belted on his stolen shortsword and opened the door, looking out. The whole harbour was crowded with people from all over, men, women and even children who spent their whole lives at sea, along with those merchants who came to the docks to get the best deals on merchandise. Fortunately, no one was making any move towards the shed, and so Jevar slipped out and into the crowd.

He moved about the people, silently hoping that no one would recognize him as the escaped prisoner from the day before. If they did know him, fortunately they made no mention of it to anyone, so he was able to continue walking about unnoticed. He thought about buying some food for himself and Elicia, but he had no money on him and he did not know whether she did or not.

The docks were the busiest location in the entire city of Cross, which was saying a lot, as it was one of the largest cities on the continent. The hustle and bustle of the masses moving about the dockyard distracted any who were looking for him. He made his way to where a boat was docked, and two men stood talking with a finely dressed merchant. It was a large carrack, a three-mast ship made for trading and speed.

Jevar reached the two men, who were dressed in heavy woollens and cloaks, despite the warmth of the morning, just as the merchant left in a huff. These were men from the north, from Enok based on the caps they wore. “Ho there, boy!” one of the men called to him, the larger one of the two who wore a thick grey beard on his chin. “Are you looking to trade?”

Jevar shook his head. “No, friends,” he replied, “I’m looking for passage on board your fine ship, for myself and my sister,” he said, making a story on the spot. “To where do you next sail?”

The two tall Enok men exchanged a glance. “We’ll be sailing upriver next, for trading in Craerock. We don’t take passengers on, though. All her cabins are full up of crewmen, and, no offense intended, but you don’t look the sort who can afford to buy up our own cabins.”

Jevar frowned. “We only need passage for a ways north, so we can get a few miles out of the city. Around the bend from God’s Glory, and we would get out of your way for good and all. We could stand up on deck the whole time, if need be.”

The large man shrugged. “The only problem I can see is getting you back down to shore. Why do you need to go out of town by river anyway? The gates work just fine, and it’s a more direct route to wherever you’re going if you take the road.”

“It’s more of a hassle going that way. My uncle’s farm is just a ways off from the river past God’s Glory, and it would take a much shorter time. So? Can we or not?”

“It’s fine by me,” the Enok man said. “What do you think, Troi?”

The other man said nothing, merely nodding his head in agreement.

“It’s settled, then,” the first man said. “We sail in an hour’s time, so make sure you and your sister are ready by then. I’ll ask you to bring five silvers, for the ride.” He saluted to Jevar. “See you then…. What is your name, anyway?” he asked.

“Relar,” Jevar lied, taking on the name of Reman’s father. He saluted back, then turned and left with a smile on his face. As everyone in the city knew, the men who inspected the ships were bored and uncaring people, who let any ship pass through. An enemy army invading the city could enter by ship, and no one would be any the wiser, much less two young criminals. They would get out of Cross safely. First, though, he had to get Elicia.

Unfortunately, Jevar had entirely forgotten where she was. As far as he knew, Elicia was still in the old shack, but he could not recall were that building had been. Retracing his steps, Jevar slowly made his way back to the shed they had spent the night in amidst dense crowds of people, to find the door swinging open. He entered into it cautiously, seeing no one. There was nothing inside, but for the discarded junk of people who knew nowhere else to put it. There were no signs of Elicia in the shack.