Sara glanced nervously to her side, trying to catch a glimpse of Reza. Sweat beaded on her neck and brow, despite the chill of the morning still clinging to the shadows of the courtyard. Did she notice? Did she see? Sara, Reza, Zets and about a dozen other girls were lined up in the shaded courtyard near the entry to the guild.

Sara had been attempting to increase the density of the charge in one of her rods when Reza had burst into her room, claiming that they needed to get down to the courtyard immediately for an 'Assembly'. She would definitely betray me if she had seen. Reza had not even given her time to wrap her ankle before jamming a tablet in her hands and dragging her out of the room. Sara was too nervous about the potential for discovery to worry about the throbbing joint though.

The assembly was for an unscheduled arrival of a noble, a High Noble, Lady Voreli. Lady Voreli was apparently in need of a magiker scribe, and had come to the guild to rent one for the day.

"What about this one? I thought I asked for Ladies only." Lady Voreli asked, jolting Sara back from her thoughts. She and the headmistress, Lady Tulen, stopped in front of Sara. Sara was forced to stop her surveillance of Reza and focused on the Ladies after a bow. They were both dressed finely, their dresses embroidered with complex patterns, making Sara's new tunic feel abnormally plain.

"I thought so too." Lady Tulen said. "Name?" It took Sara a moment for her to realize they were talking about her. The only one not in a dress.

"Eraralina Sulkutt." Sara said stiffly, trying not to blush under the scrutiny.

"A Barbarian, huh?" Lady Voreli mused, inspecting Sara with a critical eye. Sara did her best to glare back after her last comment.

"Just a moment..." Lady Tulen scrolled through a few scrolls before finding what she was looking for. "Here we are. Came in two days ago, Thurgian."

"I can see that." The High Noble said looking down her nose at Sara. "What is her lineage?"

"Ahm," Lady Tulen flipped to another scroll. "She's...a cross of course, Sulkutt, Torungi and Bass." This guild knows even more Thurgian ancestry than the last! I may not be able to stay here the full ten days.

"Hmm. Torungi. They talk to the trees, don't they?" Lady Voreli asked.

"The Sulkutts and the Torungi." Lady Tulen said. "Do you have any charge, child?"

"I have two rods, both at half charge." Both rods were charged as full as they could be, they were just too broken to hold any more.

"Hm. That should be enough for today. I'll take her." Lady Voreli said and turned back to the entrance.

"Of course, Lady Voreli." Lady Tulen said. Unsure what to do, Sara started following Lady Voreli before Lady Tulen grabbed her arm, giving her a severe look. "I know you are new," She hissed. "But next time try to dress more appropriately, yes?"

What is wrong with the way I dress? "Of course." Sara said with a bow. "My luggage is simply a little delayed."

Lady Tulen seemed mollified. "Very well then." She released Sara's arm, giving her a shove towards the entrance, and Sara followed Lady Voreli out.

* * * * *

The closed-top pusher was spacious enough for Sara and Lady Voreli to sit apart from one another. Lady Voreli did not seem interested in making conversation, so Sara also refrained, despite her curiosity about their destination. The pusher moved slowly through the streets and Sara stared blankly out of her window at the bustling city outside. Sara thought there was quite a bit of traffic for such a warm day that the day was turning into, but she was glad she did not have to navigate the busy streets on foot, since her ankle was still sore.

The ankle had not improved much since the baths, and she was starting to wonder if she had done serious damage to it. The heat did not help the discomfort from the swelling. The further from the guild they traveled, the more concerned Sara got about her ankle. They had traveled to a district entirely unfamiliar to Sara before she decided to try and do something about her ankle, in case mobility was required after exiting the pusher. She pulled one of the rods from her holster as silently as she could, and pretended to take interest in something outside the window as she slowly reached her arm down to touch the rod to her ankle.

She tried feeling out her injury magikally like she had in the baths, but without the Shadu-sight, it was difficult to tell if anything was wrong, despite the swelling in the joint. She closed her eyes and pulled an amount of magik small even by Fraw's standards. It did not do her much good though, like the Shadu she had originally tried, it just flowed off her ankle. Instead, she tried something else, thinking back to her fight in the alley with Lama. She used her ankle to pin the rod against the door of the pusher, and moved her hand to the inside of her leg, drawing the magik through her ankle. It works! She could feel the soothing relief of coolness flood her ankle almost immediately as the magik moving through pulled the heat from the swollen joint. Sara found it did not take much magik to create the cooling effect, and she slowly increased it until she could feel the whole bottom of the pusher cab cooling. She sighed in relief.

The sigh twinged her injured ribs, and she decided to use the little magik pooling inside her to do something about the ribs. The extra ball of magik collecting inside her was already near the ribs, so she simply shifted it to the correct area, where the magik was quickly absorbed. It was like the area hungered for more. Am I really healing myself? She tried increasing the draw across her ankle but her ankle was now starting to ache from the cold. She decided to stop despite her excitement so she would not accidentally overdo it.

Sara did not know how long she had been leaned over for, but when she leaned back into her seat she felt a small groan escape as she fought her stiffened back muscles. Once her back was straight she decided to send a roving, scouting glance towards the High Lady to see if she had noticed her magik experiments. Lady Voreli was staring straight at her. Blasts! Sara looked away immediately, but she could feel herself blushing. It was during her blush that Sara realized the whole cab was cooled, not just her ankle. Despite the cold she could feel her palm gripping the rod turning sweaty. She wanted badly to tuck the rod back into its holster, but not while Lady Voreli was watching.

"Good idea." Lady Voreli said, and Sara squawked in surprise, her body a big ball of tension.

What is a good idea? The healing? Could she see that? Or the not moving to avoid being caught? Or the sitting upright? "Yes, Lady..." Sara agreed reluctantly.

"We will need to look collected for our meetings. Let's keep ourselves cool until we arrive." Lady Voreli said.

"Of course, Lady Voreli." Sara said, some tension finally releasing. Then the words sunk in, and Sara did a silent mental check to see just how much magik she had used. Over half the original charge was gone, and Sara's heart sunk. She could probably keep the fish pits frozen with that amount of charge, but it would be much more difficult to keep a drafty pusher cab chilled when on the move in the growing warmth of midday. Sara could already feel the wispy drafts of heat snaking in from the cracks around the doors and windows.

Sara was so focused on maximizing the cooling of the cab with the minimum of magik that she did not notice any of the rest of the ride until her bubble of cool was shattered by the footman opening the door. "Let's go." Lady Voreli said as she let the footman help her out of the pusher. Sara got herself under control and quickly scampered out, shutting the door quickly as she was hit by the moist, warm, salt-filled air. They were at the docks.

* * * * *

Sara ignored the pain in her thawing ankle to keep up with Lady Voreli's pace as they moved from the pusher across a small gangplank bridge to a small cluster of relatively clean warehouses. There was no-one else in sight, but Sara was not eager to be seen on the docks. What would Lady Voreli think if someone recognized me? And what do I do if Lama shows up with another link collar. "This will be a private meeting." Lady Voreli said when Sara tried to follow her inside the large warehouse where she was headed.

"Of course, Lady Voreli." Sara said, using a small bow to scan in all directions for anyone who might recognize her. Because you are paying so blasted much for a scribe to not take any notes!

Sara turned back to face the pusher. She stood near the wall of the building, trying to make herself as small as possible in the thinning shadows of late morning. She debated whether she should take the risk of crossing the open ground alone to get back to the pusher, but her thoughts were interrupted by a figure emerging from one of the timber yards.

Lama! The figure was too far away to tell if really was Lama, but Sara decided not to chance it and shuffled deeper into the shadow of her building. I am still too exposed! Sara searched for another building to enter, and her eye caught a storefront in an adjacent building, with a row of chairs near the windows. She skittered across the street as a sign over the door with the engraving of a boat creaked in the gentle breeze.

The door to the boat-signed shop was unlocked and Sara found herself immediately facing an empty, well-built counter. There was not a lot of clutter, but the quality of the interior finishes made it feel sharp and welcoming. "Hello?" Sara called tentatively but there was no response. Perfect! Sara only waited a short moment before plopping herself down in a chair. After a sigh of relief and a quick glance to ensure she could not be seen, Sara moved another chair over to prop up her swollen ankle and hunkered down as low as she could. Much better.

"If you are here to see the logs, I am afraid I can't let you do that." Sara looked up and saw that a man had appeared, rigidly poised behind the counter. His long sharp nose emphasized his severe posture, like a bird of prey brooding over a nest. His hands rested on the counter in front of him, holding tightly a large leather-bound book.

Sara jumped awkwardly up onto her one good foot. "Oh hello. Um..." Sara tried to figure out what the man had said. "I guess I am not here to see the logs then...?"

"That would be for the best, but then I would have to ask why you are here."

"Right." This guy talks more riddles than Tess. "I am here...about a boat?" It is the docks, and there is a boat on the sign!

Some of his stiffness seemed to leave him. "Ah. Very well then." He moved the large tome under the counter and brought out a wax tablet. "What kind of boat?" He stood, ready to take notes in the tablet.

"Um...Bigger...ish?" Sara tried reading his expression for hints but he gave nothing away.

"Biggerish?"

"Bigger, for a smaller size...so almost medium?" All this time work working on the docks, and I can't describe a blasted boat!

"Uh huh." He said, setting down the tablet without making a mark. "Oars or sail?"

"Sail!" Sara said quickly, but he showed no reaction. "...And oars?"

"Sail. And oars." He repeated. "Interesting. Military or commercial?"

Sara started wondering what she had gotten into. "Commercial?"

He looked down briefly at the blank open tablet and finally shut it, still unmarked. "I see. Well. We currently have four hulls under construction. Three are warships, and two of those are on hold due to our recent...difficulties overseas. The other ship, also on hold for non-payment is The Tasty Turtle. Bigger end of a small craft. Single mast, but can use oars. Enough room to do reasonable trade."

"Perfect." Sara said, happy there was some information to cling to. "I'm here for the Tasty Turtle then."

"Alright then, step this way, Lady, and we can take look. Most of the hull has been lain, but there was a delay in finding an appropriate mast, so if you want to-"

"Oh! Um, I don't really need to see it. Right now." Sara cast a nervous glance out of the windows towards the warehouse that Lady Voreli had disappeared into, wondering how long she would be in her clandestine meeting for.

"Then what are you here for? You want to restart production without viewing the current progress?"

Sara tried to think of a way out. "Well, I was actually just wondering what the pricing would be like for something like that."

He cast his own glance out of the window. "Well, I believe we have already made our price options more than clear to Lady Voreli, and we do not haggle. We are The Royal Shipyard after all." He raised his hawkish nose in the air.

"Of course!" Sara said. "It is just that...Lady Voreli is not interested in restarting the production at this time."

"Ah, of course." He gave her a wink. "And who is interested?"

"I am." Sara said, straightening her back. "I think."

"And you are?"

Sara paused. Lama would track me down if I used my own name. "Resada Bromon, of Western Erada." Sara knew there was more to the name, but she could not remember it all.

He quirked an eyebrow at her before he took a pamphlet out of his back pocket, looking down his nose at the pages. "Alright Lady of Erada. It will be two golds to reserve the Turtle, another six to restart the production, and another thirty-five upon delivery of the vessel." He pulled the original tome out from behind the counter. "Shall I put you down as reserving it today then?"

Sara choked. Forty-three golds! By the gods! "Ahm. Let me check how much I have with me." She took out her moneypouch, heavy with the leftover silvers from the arena and placed it on the counter. Sara already knew it was just over two gold, but she was reluctant to give him all her savings, since she still had to buy supplies for her trip.

Sara stalled, counting out her silvers into piles on the counter when she heard voices outside. She turned to see Lady Voreli saying her goodbyes to someone in the door of the warehouse. Sara leaned towards the window, trying to eavesdrop, but the voices came into the shop muffled. Cursing silently Sara turned back to the counter to cancel her order and exit, but when she turned back her money was gone.

"Just enough, Lady Erada." He held out her deflated moneypouch to her and Sara snatched it from him ready to demand a refund when there was a knock on the window. Sara turned again to see Lady Voreli waving at her to get out of the shop. Sara waved back with a bow, growling. "Shall we send the progress reports to Lady Voreli, then?" He asked.

"No!" Sara jammed her pouch into her belt. "No. I'm...at the Sorren Guild. You can contact me there."

"Very well then." He said and turned the tome towards Sara. "If you could just sign here," he pointed to the bottom of the page, "everything will be official." Sara quickly scanned the page, there was only one other name, but repeated many times down the page. Sorpental Shipping. She found the open line at the bottom and signed her name.

He gave her a receipt as she pushed the oversized ledger back at him. "There you go, remember, six more gold within ten days and we can get the Turtle going again. The Royal Shipyards thank you for your business." He started bowing but Sara was already racing out, afraid of making Lady Voreli wait any longer.

* * * * *

"What did you discover?" Lady Voreli asked as soon as they were back in the pusher.

"Lady Voreli?"

"Well, I imagine you did not go in the Shipyard office to purchase a ship."

Sara was not sure how to respond. "Ah, precisely, Lady Voreli." Sara tried to figure out what she had learned. "There are four ships that have been started in their yards, but only one is currently being worked on."

"Old news." Lady Voreli said flatly. "Anything else?"

"Um. I saw their logbook? Only one company has visited, officially at least, in quite some time. Sorpental Shipping."

Lady Voreli fixed Sara with her gaze when she said the name. "Really. You are sure it was Sorpental Shipping?"

"Yes, well that was the name written, and each entry was in the same handwriting, even though the signature was for someone different. Quite odd."

"And how many times did they visit?" Sara felt pinned by her gaze.

Sara took out her tablet and nervously carved as many entries and dates as she could into the wax. She was not able to fill them all completely, but she handed over what she could remember to Lady Voreli. "That is what I recall."

"Very interesting." Lady Voreli said, almost to herself, as she scanned the list.