Pirate's Honor, page 28
Torius bit his lip. "We should go, but please keep your eyes open and your hands on your pouches."
"I must say that I'm quite ready for some fresh air." Ekhan glanced around the galley as if the walls were closing in on him. "I need to stretch my legs."
"I regret to say that Katapesh is not the city for fresh air." Torius gave him a sheepish grin. "But you will get your exercise, of that I am sure! Please, come!"
Torius tried to watch both Ekhan and his surroundings as they wound their way through the bazaars of Katapesh's Lower City. Four of his strongest crewmen carried a chest containing five thousand newly minted platinum sphinxes, the payment for the Star of Thumen. With four, they need not strain under the weight, but they still drew covetous stares. Six additional sailors acted as guards, though Grogul's menacing scowl was probably the best means of staving off unwanted attention.
Ekhan stared openly at the myriad shops, tents, inns, and brothels, his eyes flickering around like twin hornets. He mentioned visiting the slave markets, reminding Torius that, due to his carelessness, he had to replace Pok-Nal. Torius avoided the detour by reminding the merchant that he had no collar to control a slave, and he dare not trust a stranger with his safety. When they passed several open-air eateries, the merchant tied his face cloth up to keep the heavy smoke at bay. Torius kept his face covered for the entire trip, and muttered a silent thanks to Gozreh when they reached Jhamaal's shop without being accosted or recognized.
"Now, Master Ekhan, when you speak with Jhamaal, you should—"
"I know how to negotiate, Captain Akhiri," Ekhan snapped. "I don't need lessons from the likes of you!"
"Of course." Torius bowed, suppressing his flush of anger at the merchant's deprecating tone, and held aside the curtain of beaded strands for Ekhan. They entered to the chime of the brass bells tied to the bead curtain, and Torius dropped his face cloth.
"Captain Akhiri!" Jhamaal called out, bustling forward with a smile. "It has been some time indeed since you last visited me. Come in, come in!" The bells chimed again, and Jhamaal's eyes glittered with avarice at the sight of the four men carrying the heavy chest into his shop. "You and your companions are most welcome in my humble establishment."
"Thank you, Master Jhamaal. May I introduce my most illustrious friend—"
"Benrahi Ekhan of Azir." Ekhan stepped past Torius, executing a perfect bow of greeting. "I've traveled a very long distance to do business with you, Jhamaal."
"I'm honored by your presence, Master Ekhan." Jhamaal clapped his hands. "Mahalla! Refreshments for our guests! Please accept my hospitality while we do business."
"I'm pleased to accept." Ekhan flashed a gregarious smile and took a seat upon one of the plush pillows. Torius followed suit.
Jhamaal sat down. "And just what might I interest you in today, Master Ekhan?"
∗ ∗ ∗
"They're gone!" Snick announced, peeking out of the captain's cabin door. "Come on!"
Celeste slithered after the gnome, following her down the corridor to Benrahi's door. She nodded to Windy Kate, who stood guard at the sterncastle door just in case Torius and Benrahi returned unexpectedly. Snick slipped a spare key into the lock and ushered Celeste into the merchant's cabin. Celeste stayed near the door where she could glance out to see Windy Kate while the gnome began to examine Benrahi's things.
"Man, he's got some nice clothes!" The gnome held up a brushed-silk shirt that probably cost fifty scarabs. "I could sell his wardrobe and retire!"
"Just look at the locksss, and let'sss get out of here!"
"Not just here to practice on his locks." Snick fingered the shirt's lapel and rifled through the others that hung in the locker. "Got to check through his stuff so that when I have to do this in a hurry, I won't run into any unpleasant surprises. Once knew a merchant who kept a pretty coffer full of asps in his room. Fed 'em mice through a slot and shook 'em up to keep 'em angry. It's my hands at risk here, not yours." She giggled. "Oh, right—you don't have hands."
"The chestsss! He's not going to hide the Star of Thumen in his clothes locker, Snick! He'll put it in one of the locked chests!"
"You think?" Snick closed the locker and knelt beside the merchant's bed to examine one of the chests, picking out the smallest one first. She ran her slim fingers all over the surface, her tongue sticking out the corner of her mouth. Finally, she chose two of her lockpicks and went to work. The lock lost the battle with a quiet click and the gnome grinned. She lifted the lid a crack and passed a thin metal strip around the edge before opening it fully. She looked inside, her eyes as big as hen's eggs, and gasped, "Ooh, pretty!"
Despite her nervousness, Celeste was curious. "What?"
Snick held up a pair of brilliant red silk shorts. "Fancy underpants!"
"Snick!" Celeste glared, yanked the shorts out of the gnome's grasp with her magic, re-folded them, and put them back in the chest. "Just check for traps and let's go! We've got no right to—"
"Hey, when someone sets the whole Osirion Navy on my cute little behind, it gives me every right to go through his things!" Though Snick's voice still carried its mischievous lilt, her large eyes were harder than Celeste had ever seen. They glared at one another for a moment before Snick looked back into the chest.
"Besides," she continued as she expertly rifled through the contents, "you never know what you might find. Gotta check everything! Let's see: cologne, extra razor, some bottles, and a set of combs and brushes. Your turn."
Celeste cast a quick spell and peered at the arrayed contents. "Two of the bottles are potions, and the razor has an enchantment."
"A magical razor?" The gnome made a curious face and unfolded the razor. "I wonder what—"
"Snick!"
"Oh, all right." With another glare, she closed and relocked the chest. "One down."
Celeste's tail twitched as she watched Snick invade every single chest and trunk, pulling out then carefully replacing their contents as she went. Celeste checked everything for magic, but detected nothing else. She and Snick spoke little, and the uncomfortable silence made Celeste even more nervous. They had always had a close, easy relationship until this.
"Stars be kind," she muttered, trying to suppress the butterflies that fluttered in her stomach. Torius wasn't the only one who would be upset if she decided that she couldn't uphold her part in the plan.
∗ ∗ ∗
"Did you pick up any tips in there, Captain?" Grogul whispered as they exited the shop.
"I've never seen anything like it." Torius shook his head in awe. Benrahi Ekhan was indeed a master merchant. Though Jhamaal was no novice, Ekhan had counter-offered, cajoled, and charmed his way to a better deal than Torius had imagined possible, sweetening the offer with promises that he would keep in contact through one of his many agents for future business opportunities.
"I told you he was good," Twilp said with a quirky grin.
Moments later, Jhamaal and Ekhan emerged, laughing and bestowing on one another the traditional cheek kisses between friends or close associates.
"So you will keep an eye out for those items, and contact one of my agents if they come into your possession?"
"Most assuredly, Master Ekhan." Jhamaal smiled and bowed before reentering his shop, a happy merchant.
"I must say, Master Ekhan, I'm impressed." The squad of pirates surrounded them and they walked away from the shop. "You've made a fast friend of Jhamaal. He'll be grateful for your business, and an invaluable contact."
"You think I actually intend to do business with that little weasel?" Ekhan scoffed, jerking away from a street vendor carrying a stack of flatbread balanced on his head. He shook his head and blinked hard, then continued. "Tell them what they want to hear and they'll follow you anywhere. As long as I get what I want, what do I care what I have to promise to commoners like him?"
Now it was Torius's turn to blink. It was all an act! He looked at Ekhan's smug expression and felt a chill despite the torrid heat. The pirate captain prided himself on reading people, but he had not doubted the merchant prince's sincerity once during the exchange. Ekhan was a master, all right—a master of lies. His contempt for the man deepened—Torius might lie on occasion, but Ekhan seemed to treat people as if they were merely disposable assets. He was glad to have an excuse to leave the merchant's company.
"This is where, much to my regret, I must leave you, Master Ekhan." He paused at a crossing of streets. "I must deal with cargo issues. Be assured that my crew will return you directly to the ship, safe and sound."
"Very well, Captain." Ekhan waved him off, barely breaking his stride. "Do what you must."
Torius and Grogul exchanged a meaningful glance before the half-orc hurried to catch up with Ekhan. He had his orders: get back to the ship with no detours and no interruptions. Two sailors stayed with Torius, and he led them through the maze of streets and bazaars until they arrived at a small shop built of sturdy bricks, with high, barred windows too small to admit even a halfling.
"Stay out here," he ordered his escort, pulling down his face scarf as he ducked inside. "Master Vinosh. So very good to see you after so long!"
"Hello ...Captain Vin? I hardly recognized you!" The dwarf's bushy gray eyebrows rose in surprise, but he bustled from behind his workbench and shook Torius's hand. "You shaved off your whiskers! No man should have to shave off his whiskers!"
"I'm afraid I had no choice, Master Vinosh." He grinned at the fellow and winked. "Jealous husbands around every corner, you know."
"Ha! Not that I'd be knowing about such problems, being as wrinkled and ugly as a warthog!" That was no exaggeration: Vinosh had more wrinkles than Torius had sea miles, but that didn't change the fact that he was the most skilled jeweler Torius knew. "You're here for your order, of course."
"Yes. Any difficulties?" Torius followed the dwarf to his workbench.
"None of import. Finding the right stone was challenging, but a cousin of mine is a supplier. And old Jhamaal was wary about letting me examine the original, but I finally convinced him I wouldn't run off with it."
Vinosh squatted down by a locked chest, fiddled with a complex mechanism on the front, then opened it and retrieved a leather pouch. Motioning Torius closer, he pulled a glittering trinket out and laid it carefully atop a black velvet pad on the bench: the Star of Thumen—or so it appeared.
"Look closely, Captain. Beautiful, no? It's as close to a perfect match as you'll get, right down to the flaws and scratches. Only a truly skilled jeweler would be able to detect the differences from the original, and only if they're examined side by side."
"And the magic?" He peered in awe at the beautiful necklace; he would not have been able to say that it wasn't the true Star of Thumen.
"I contracted a wizard to enchant it with a simple magical aura." The dwarf shrugged. "It doesn't do anything, mind you, but it'll fool a cursory magical inspection."
"Perfect! Master Vinosh, you're a marvel!" Well pleased, Torius pulled out his pouch. "Now I believe I owe you some money ..."
∗ ∗ ∗
"A toast to our most excellent guest, a prince among merchants, Master Benrahi Ekhan!" Torius stood and raised his glass, urging the others to their feet. "May his contracts flourish and his purse grow ever heavier!" Thillion and Twilp stood and toasted Ekhan. At his side, Celeste stumbled as her dress caught on the bench, and he feigned a scowl of disapproval.
She'd had some misgivings about her role in the carefully orchestrated dinner, but Torius had insisted. Long-planned, it marked the beginning of their final assault on the merchant's mind. By the time they reached Sothis, he'd be barking mad. The commander of the Eyes of Sothis, the city's illustrious guard company, wouldn't believe a word out of his mouth.
"Thank you, Captain Akhiri." Ekhan sipped his wine, and the celebrants drank—all save Celeste, who had no glass.
In fact, only a small pewter plate lay before her, in contrast to the others' place settings of finest porcelain, crystal glasses, and ranks of gleaming silver forks, knives, and spoons. Torius cast a sidelong glance at her as they sat back down; she looked absolutely beautiful tonight, clad in a low-cut red dress that clung to her human curves like a second skin. Ekhan' eyes examined her rather boldly, Torius noted, considering she was another man's property—or, at least, was acting as another man's property. Celeste adjusted her dress, and Torius caught a glimpse of one of the illusion scrolls she had secreted in the folds of crimson cloth.
This is going to be good.
Snick stepped up and slid a broad silver platter onto the table, removing the cover with a flourish.
"I have spared no expense for tonight's feast, Master Ekhan! Seven culinary masterpieces made especially for the occasion. The first is our appetizer: plump, juicy, deep-fried scorpions from the Salt Hills of Osirion." Torius grasped several of the crunchy morsels with a pair of silver serving tongs and put them on the merchant's plate, then doled out servings to everyone else ...except Celeste.
"Scorpions?" Ekhan peered at the crusty creatures and flinched. "Aren't they poisonous?"
"Oh, they're quite deadly when alive, Master Ekhan!" Torius laughed, skewered one with a fork and bit off the tail, crunching it happily. "But the poison is neutralized in the cooking process, and adds a distinctive, piquant flavor!" He took another bite and slid the uneaten portion from his fork onto Celeste's plate.
"Thank you, Master," she murmured.
He watched expectantly as Ekhan pinned a scorpion to his plate with his fork, then cut it into bite-sized pieces. Tasting one, the merchant chewed and smiled. "Quite delicious!"
Torius felt his smile slip and glanced over at Celeste. She was pinching tiny pieces off of her morsel and eating them delicately with her fingers, the illusion scroll unused in her lap. She was supposed to have cast the spell, sending illusory scorpions skittering from Ekhan's plate into his own lap, but hadn't.
Suddenly he realized that Ekhan was talking to him. "Excuse me?"
"Your slave ..." Ekhan waved a fork at Celeste. "What is her name again?"
"Celeste, Master Ekhan."
"That's right. She is quite beautiful. This is the first time you've brought her to table. I must say, her presence adds a certain ambiance."
"I thought you might appreciate a change in scenery." Torius looked sidelong at Celeste and ran the back of his fingers along her neck just above the golden collar, brushing her luminous curls. She shuddered at his touch and he smiled. "She doesn't get out much, so please forgive her table manners." He chuckled at his own joke.
"She certainly enhances the company." Ekhan skewered a scorpion and, smiling directly at Torius, reached across the table and flipped the morsel onto Celeste's plate.
Everyone froze.
Celeste stared down at the crispy piece of food as if it might come back to life and sting her. Torius looked at her plate and then back at Ekhan, his teeth clenched in a tight smile. The merchant held his gaze, still smiling, a shrewd gleam in his eye. The man knew his action was a horrible breach of etiquette, and was all but daring Torius to call him on it, reveling in the protocol of hospitality that forbade the captain from insulting his honored guest.
"You don't mind, do you?" Ekhan asked smoothly, the muscles at the corner of his eye twitching spasmodically.
"Of course not." Torius gave a casual wave of his hand. "Eat, Celeste. Don't insult our guest."
"Thank you, Master." Although her words should have been for Torius, her eyes were fixed upon Ekhan. A shy smile crossed her lips, answered by a minute nod from the merchant.
Torius clenched his teeth again as he bent over his plate. He knew it was all part of the act—Celeste playing up to Ekhan—so why did it make him so uneasy? It was one thing to consider her actions in the few minutes she stole with the merchant every few days, but it was quite another to watch their exchange right before his eyes.
Snick approached with the second course, an artfully garnished nest of soft-boiled razorscale eggs. Torius announced the dish and glanced at Celeste.
Nothing happened.
Torius nudged her under the table as he served out the large eggs, placing each one in a special cup that Snick placed on their plates. The illusion should have sent Ekhan scrabbling away from the table as tiny lizards cracked out of their eggs and hissed at him, but the scroll in her lap remained unused.
"The razorscale is a reptile?" Ekhan cracked the thick shell with a deft motion of his eating knife.
"Yes." While the merchant was occupied peeling back the broken shell, Torius cast another surreptitious glance at Celeste. Her eyes were downcast, fixed upon the scroll in her lap. Why doesn't she cast it? He nudged her again as he continued to speak to Ekhan. "Large desert lizards. Their scales are sharp enough to slice the skin off a man's hand. But their eggs ..."—he removed the top of the shell from his egg and dipped a silver spoon into the green-tinged interior—" ...are delicious."
"Mmm, they are!" Ekhan agreed, eating with relish.
Torius smiled as if pleased, but cast another glare at Celeste. Her eyes remained down, the scroll gripped tightly in her hands.
The meal proceeded without incident, much to Torius's building vexation. The curried cuttlefish tentacles did not writhe out of Ekhan's soup bowl; the fried swamp-worm larvae did not squirm in the salad. And with each course, Ekhan placed a portion upon Celeste's plate. The man was actually enjoying the dinner that was supposed to drive him into a paranoid frenzy.
Soursop had just placed onto the table the main course—a large calopus rib roast too heavy for Snick to carry—when Celeste spoke quietly.
"I beg to be excused, Master. You honor me with your invitation to eat with our most noble guest, but I am unused to such rich fare." She bowed her head submissively, but Torius saw that her knuckles were white on the unused scrolls. Her plea to be excused was their agreed-upon cue: her last transformation spell was about to run out.
"Very well, Celeste." He nodded curtly, dismissing her with a wave. He fished a key from his pocket and tossed it to the Snick. "Flick, escort her to my cabin. And lock the door."
