“By order of the Lady of the Ice Garden, Witch of the Northern Waste, High Sorceress of Glacks Island, Lady of the Fire, the Enchantress of-”
“Get on with it!” My‑re shouted, cutting off the litany spoken by Spymaster Timshard.
“Lady Greywand has decreed no more hunting for the Lake of Mists’ monster with her vessels!” Timshard called out before an uproar from the crowd.
My‑re folded her arms as she stood on Willow Beach near the docks with a large group of Lord Protectors waiting their turn to board several craft. Spymaster Timshard, better known as Timmy the spy, stood on a crate on the docks looking down at the Lord Protectors below. He had a stern look of stone after issuing the decree from his aunt. He rolled up the scroll and left the docks. His head held up high as the wind blew his blond hair. He ignored the other protectors and moved through their mumbling ranks to leave.
My‑re couldn’t blame Lady Greywand for spoiling the boys’ fun, as the past two weeks had seen boat after boat head into the Lake of Mists with Lord Protectors, each eager to claim the head of the monster and the thousand gold bounty. However, all returned empty, with the results usually being more injured Lord Protectors needing Greywand’s healing than from a Grand Tournament with a style change potion as a prize. In addition, their boats, customarily used to ferry newly inducted Lord Protectors from the other shore, were even worse for wear, as they came back severely damaged from the other creatures in the lake agitated by their passing. She had to admit any invader would have cause to pause in attempting to cross the Lake of Mists with an invading fleet. The creatures in the lake were a formidable deterrent.
“Ah, the nine hells. I was looking for some fun and sun out on the water and a shot at that bounty,” Anusha commented to My‑re, adjusting a full wineskin around her shoulder. “I guess we can lie out on the beach.”
My‑re, too, itched for the bounty. It would put a significant dent in the funds needed to secure passage on the trade routes and return to her old family’s ranch in Sanaras in the Rirorni Empire. She then glanced at Willow Beach, which was rock-strewn for a beach, and said, “I’m not lying out there without anything short of padded leather armor.”
Anusha snorted in acknowledgment and said, “The docks?”
“Splinters?”
“What do you want to do, then?”
“I want to travel out on the water and after that fish. Today’s my day off, and I don’t wish to hang out at the Broken Sword with General Pol,” My‑re said.
“Why not? I saw your boyfriend, Almond, was working today. He’s a nice dish.”
My‑re glared at Anusha and said through gritted teeth, “Almond is not my boyfriend. How many times-”
A purring female voice interrupted. “So, you ladies desire to head out on the Lake of Mists? So do I.”
The two women turned and saw the cat-like Aruaki, Ssskah.
“I didn’t think cats liked water?” Anusha slightly elbowed My‑re.
“No, but we do like gold.”
“Splitting a thousand gold three ways doesn’t sound like a good deal,” Anusha said and grabbed My‑re’s arm to go.
“No, splitting four ways,” Ssskah said.
“You’re making it worse,” My‑re replied.
“The fourth person has a boat,” Ssskah countered.
My‑re stopped and studied Ssskah. She had a cunning look on her face, but it seemed most cats did, so it didn’t tell her much. However, with all of these Lord Protectors, many of which were vastly more skilled than herself, why would she need her and Anusha? Something didn’t add up.
“Well, I can see why you’d want a Rirorni warrior,” Anusha said.
“I’ve never cared for the Rirorni. They overbreed, exhausting their land's food and natural resources, and then move on. In fact, I’m baffled you aren’t pregnant now,” Ssskah said, paused, and looked Anusha up and down. Her eyes stopped at her midsection. Then, she continued, “Are you?”
Anusha’s eyes went wide in fury, “Did this fur-ball just call me fat or a slu-”
My‑re interrupted Anusha, “We don’t like being toyed with cat, much less insulted. What are you playing at?”
“I’m going to spay this cat,” Anusha said under her breath.
“Apologies, I don’t have what you humans call a filter. However, I do like to play. But no, I’m not seeking out the Rirorni. I’m seeking out you, My‑re,” Ssskah explained.
“Why me? There are plenty of men-”
“Women,” Ssskah interrupted. “I find men untrustworthy, and all they desire to do is eat, sleep, and f-”
“We get it,” My‑re said, holding up her hands.
“Right. Anyway, some thought they could easily outsmart me due to my appearance.” Then, trailing off muttered, “I always thought humans knew cats were cunning. Oh well, they didn’t get the better of me, so now I’m looking for women to be part of my crew.”
“Women can easily be as untrustworthy as men,” My‑re countered.
“Yes, but I’ve read your book, so to speak. I sense I can trust you,” Ssskah said.
“What do you mean ‘read my book’? The nine hells, what did Corg say?”
“Nothing. A bit. However, I’m not here to discuss that. I’m here to see if you’d like to be business partners,” Ssskah said.
“To catch the Lake of Mists’ monster?”
“More than that. Follow me to the Naida’s Nightmare, and I’ll show you,” Ssskah said, strolling down the beach without a sound over the rocks. She looked over her shoulder after several paces and asked, “Coming?”
My‑re and Anusha looked at each other.
“A cat might be handy in catching a fish. Besides, she has a boat,” Anusha said, shrugging.
My‑re nodded to the logic, and they both followed Ssskah. The three traveled some time and distance around the beach. Rounding a bend, their goal came into sight.
“This, my friends, is Naida’s Nightmare. Nightie for short,” Ssskah said as they approached an orange-painted craft tied to an aging dock.
Getting closer, they saw that the Nightie was a hundred and fifty feet long, with the main deck about thirty feet wide. Long oars jetted out from the craft's midsection, making it about twenty feet wider. The observation deck at the aft section of the ship had an oversized mounted navigation wheel. The front of the ship had a wooden figurehead of a naked woman with extraordinarily long hair riding an enormous seahorse.
Anusha commented, “How old is this thing? It looks like something my grandfather, maybe great-grandfather, would have taken to cross a river.”
Ssskah snorted, “Yes, she’s old, and she’s not sleek like the newer ferries Lady Greywand uses today, but over the decades, she’s proved tough enough to meet the challenge of any creature in the Lake of Mists.”
My‑re noted numerous patches along the hull, indicating it has seen a long service of ferrying Lord Protectors of old back and forth to the Isle of the Eye. She looked at the large number of oars. There was no way four people could get that thing moving.
Ssskah must have seen her skepticism and said, “We are going to rent out the craft and charge Lord Protectors ten gold to board and hunt for the Lake of Mists’ monster for the day. They will do the rowing. So, an average of forty protectors times ten gold calculates to four hundred gold per day.”
“What if they catch the monster? Who gets the thousand gold bounty?” Anusha asked.
“Ideally, they won’t catch it the first time out, but we can keep this going for a while. However, if they do, the protector or protectors that catch it get the bounty.”
“I’m presuming we won’t be part of catching the monster?” My‑re asked.
Ssskah shook her head.
“So, what is our purpose then?”
“You’d serve our guests tea, biscuits, and crumpets. That sort of thing.”
“Can you see the average Lord Protector sipping tea and eating crumpets on a boat?” Anusha asked.
Ssskah held up her paw in understanding. “Yes, human gladiators tend not to have refined tastes, so My‑re, I was going to use your connections to have General Pol supply the ship with alcohol. I’ve heard a rumor that a mushroom mead drink has become quite popular.”
My‑re placed her hands on her hips. “I’m a servant now at the Broken Sword tavern. Why would I trade one job for another on the Nightie?”
“Yes, you and Anusha would serve the drinks, but you’d also get a commission, of course. I put my order through you to purchase the drinks from General Pol. He pays a percentage, typically ten percent, of the cost for bringing the business to him.” Ssskah continued calculating with her paw in the air. “I think our first order will be for around a thousand gold, so that’s a hundred in commission for you. After another ten orders, depending on how long it takes to catch the monster—I’m in no hurry, mind you—you ladies will have already made a thousand gold.” Ssskah reached out, booped My‑re on her nose, and added, “And you wouldn’t have even gotten a single toe wet. So, what say you?”
My‑re and Anusha looked at each other, turned to Ssskah, and said in unison, “Where do we sign up?”