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At the docks, the familiar brine of the sea greets us, as well as a line of ships, all in different sizes and levels of wear. At thefar end, something catches my eye. A large ship, looking a little worse for wear, with tattered red sails. I elbow Morrow. "That ship look familiar?"
He grins, and we point it out to Xande. "Let's go speak to that ship, shall we?"
Approaching the ship, I see a familiar figure leaning against the railing, looking down at the dock. Her wide hips and graying red hair stand out against the blue of the sky. "Kira!" I shout. She squints down at me, then laughs.
"I'll be fucked, Mace Nightroot. Damn, let me get Jaz."
Xande looks at us with a raised eyebrow, but before he can say anything, Jaz jumps over the railing and crashes into the dock. Their curly hair is shorn even closer to the scalp now, and even though it's only been a month or so since we've seen them, it's nice to have a semi-friendly face again.
They pull Tulip into their arms with a pat on the back. "Tulip, glad to see you kept yourself alive."
"Likewise," Tulip says with a smile. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, it's the damnedest thing," Jaz says with a smile. "I was in Colris picking up some steel, and wouldn't you know it, a sweet little voice started whispering in my ear that Viola needed me. So I loaded up the ship and took off as fast as possible. We just got in this morning."
Jaz can't take their eyes off Plume, who is flushed red. "Glad you got my message, Jaz. Nice to see you again."
"You too, Plume."
"I hate to break upthis touching reunion," Xande says, arms crossed. "But these fae here are trying to tell me we've got a God who's trying to take out another God, and they want some of my people's artifacts to do that."
"That about sums it up, yeah," Jaz says with a shrug. "Where's Vi?"
"She went to Ytopie to get the high priest of Winter's journal," I say without inflection.
"Ah, makes sense. Divide and conquer and all. She coming back here?"
"We believe she'll be back soon," Tulip says with a smile.
Xande holds his hand up, once again interrupting our conversation. "I'm just trying to figure out if what they are telling me is true."
Jaz rolls their eyes, arms crossed over their chest. Today, they've got on a blue tunic that moves in the breeze and tattered black pants tucked into high boots. Many knives glint from a belt around their waist. "Ask anyone on these ships, man. This is the real deal. The Frostweaver is trying to change Krillium, and the Shadowweaver is trying to get the other Gods back to save it. Get them what they need."
I clap Jaz on the shoulder, and their eyes soften as they look at me. "I'll stick around until Vi gets here, okay? If it was important enough for Plume here to somehow send me a message in the air, I think I'll make myself available should the Shadowweaver need some transport."
"That's very kind, Jaz." I smile. "We'll be in touch as soon as she arrives."
Xande stillseems unconvinced, so he takes Jaz's advice and asks someone from every boat we pass back to the city. All of them confirm that either they or a family member watched the Shadowweaver perform magic and that they believe in her. Eventually, Xande realizes he can't deny us anymore and pulls us into a hidden ally.
"Look, okay, it's clear you lot are the real thing. I just need you to be aware that what I am going to tell you is a huge fucking secret that even half of our citizens don't know about. On the edge of the city, you'll find a little white stone house with a red door. Living there is a man named Brillian. If anyone has this, it's him. But you cannot mention him to anyone except the Shadowweaver, do you understand me?"
The cloak and dagger routine has us confused, but we all affirm to Xande that we will keep the secret. "And," Xande adds, "I didn't tell you about him. Please. He is dangerous. So this information did not come from me."
Chapter 13
Mace
After a quick stop at the inn to grab our things, unsure of what's awaiting us at this mysterious home, we head towards the edge of the city. The small home comes into view, and we stop outside the door.
"Why was Xande so fearful of us saying we found out about this man from him?" Plume asks, worried. "Can this man be that scary?"
"No idea," Morrow replies. "But even if he's not, I doubt this is going to be an easy conversation."
I raise my fist to knock on the door, but I jump back before I can as something crawls across my feet.
My eyes are playing tricks on me.
But there it is again, an iridescent black blur in the dirt, circling around my feet.
