Little did Elyre know that, since Mage Ademon had so much exaggerated Fierce Wind's importance, he would give anything to catch her because his reputation was at stake now...
Her conversation with the other mage in Wild Wood had been the only warning for her. The soldiers she'd seen in front of the Sun Manor had indeed been looking for her. Once they'd understood she was not there, they had left... but it was clear she could not stay there, at least for some time. It turned out that mage had been right.
...You could say that perhaps it was destiny to have to leave Wild Wood at this particular time... But... how much exactly was this "destiny" influenced by certain people?...
***
The next morning she was at the docks together with all her fears, excitement, curiosity and worries... and Phyllada and Lyssandria. It was her first time leaving Wild Wood and going so far away. Everything around was new and interesting – the sea, the gulls, the jellyfish in the waters.
"I have never imagined the sea would be so beautiful!" Phyllada exclaimed, spreading her hands in the air.
"Have you never seen the sea indeed?" Lyssandria said in disbelief.
Phyllada squatted and dipped her hand into the water, which felt strange and very unlike the fresh river water she was used to. She carefully tasted it, and discovered it was salty (she had heard some tales about that), then she frowned.
The three of them were close to the widest part of the harbor, where the largest vessels were usually anchored, and the bottom of the sea could not be seen at all.
They soon found themselves a few meters away from a small tavern. In front of it, as far as the eye could see, ships were moored alongside many piers.
"Maybe you could wait for me here," Elyre suggested. "I will go in and ask about ships bound for Vahara Arta."
***
Near the tavern, there was a shade where a few horses were tied. One of them was a black, pure Arabian horse. Its coat seemed soft and shiny like velvet and there was a natural seriousness to his expression. Phyllada looked him in the eyes and exclaimed,
"Hey! I know that horse!… Where have I seen him?"
Lyssandria glanced at her in surprise, "What are you talking about?"
"Well, horses have their unique facial features." Phyllada explained. Her memory was divided into only two parts: "horses" and "everything else." Meanwhile, Elyre went into the tavern.
Phyllada continued, "I saw him in Wild Wood not too long ago…"
***
Who would have thought that when Elyre entered, the first person she bumped into would be again... that mage. He was just sitting at a table. He looked up at her.
"Are you stalking me?" he said in a level voice.
"No, I am not stalking you," she rolled her eyes. "I will be traveling."
"If you want to ask about ships, you need to speak to the old captain. He is in the basement now so you have to wait," the mage informed her.
"Thank you. I will wait here. Are you waiting for him too?"
"No. I am going to Vahara Arta so I don't have to speak with him," he said.
What?! He was going to Vahara Arta? ...Of course he was going to Vahara Arta...
"Why?" she exclaimed. "Doesn't he have information about ships bound for Vahara Arta?"
"Are you going to Vahara Arta, too?" he exclaimed as if surprised, "...I spoke directly with the captain of the ship bound for Arta... He just left the tavern." The mage casually pointed in the direction.
Elyre left the tavern and went after the captain. Two people followed her: Lyssandria and Phyllada.
The archmage remained at the tavern's doorstep. He observed them~~
***
Leritte, his pet eagle, who was not far away, with its eagle eye and perfect hearing could understand very well the conversation between the captain and Elyre.
"Excuse me. I wondered if you were traveling to Vahara Arta?" Elyre asked politely.
The captain slowed his pace to a halt and looked at her, "Yes."
She continued, asking if he could take more people on board. He glanced at Phyllada and Lyssandria, and so Elyre added that she would be traveling alone.
Having been good enough to listen to her, he replied in a level voice,
"No, I don't take any more passengers on board. Excuse me."
Elyre, of course, promised to pay for the voyage. She was a little surprised at his refusal. After all, it was a big ship, wasn't it? And she wasn't so heavy!
"I do not take random passengers, miss. This is not a cruise. People embark on a journey to Vahara Arta only if they have important business there. Excuse me," the captain smiled, but firmness could be read in his eyes.
Elyre felt he wouldn't change his decision.
He turned his back on them and continued down the road. What was worse, Elyre had heard only one ship was traveling to Vahara Arta. How could there be just one ship? As if someone had banned the other ships... ... ...
Leritte observed quietly the situation from the archmage's arm.
Leritte was quite confused. The bird knew both the captain and the archmage. They were acquaintances.
If the archmage had made such an effort to bring Elyre here, why would the captain work against him? It was impossible. Unless...
The bird was surprised and puzzled,
"...Why would you do that?" Leritte asked Aristhaeus. The archmage had obviously told the captain not to take Elyre on board!
"Didn't you tell me to make sure people would be looking for her in Wild Wood? You wanted to chase her away from the forest... Didn't you want her to come here?"
"Because, Leritte, if she ends up aboard thanks to me and not the captain, she will owe me a favor… And what could she do to return the favor?"
"You think she will give you the amulet willingly?" Leritte wondered. "However, it seems to me that she is attached to it. She always wears it…" The eagle shook his snow-white head, "There is no way she'll ever give it to you as a gift."
"…Oh, there is always a way… when a person wishes for something hard enough," Aristhaeus smiled slyly.
"I know you can't just take it directly because of the protective spells it probably has. But you can cast a counter-spell quite easily, can't you?"
"Yes, but it is not that simple. After a counter-spell, even if I take the amulet, I will have to put constant effort into controlling the amulet's energy. It will become too wild," Aristhaeus replied telepathically. "By the way, Leritte, have you managed to understand what happened to Ademon after Fierce Wind's escape? What was Queen Lyneanne's reaction?"
"Yes," the eagle replied, "I was surprised but he was given no punishment, at least none that I know of."
"No punishment?" the archmage whispered. "Leritte, you just ruined my wonderful day."
***
As Aristhaeus's plan was working just fine, he took a few steps in the direction of the docks.
Elyre was still looking desperately at the captain's back as he got on board when the archmage neared her.
"Hmm... if the circumstances are such, maybe now you will consider my offer," he told her.
She looked at him. This mage certainly knew that the captain was stubborn and wouldn't agree to take her on board. He obviously thought in this way he could force her to accept his offer. Well, whatever offer he had, she was not negotiating with him.
The moment she saw him for the first time, she thought he appeared extremely and extraordinarily cunning. This was so noticeable it seemed to be written into his features. He wasn't old enough to possess such artfulness! It was the type of guile that belonged to the more experienced in life. But it was as if he'd had it in him even as a little child. Because of this feeling, she immediately ignored his offer without second thought.
"Thank you," she said. "Very kind of you to tell me where the captain is and then to offer some help after that. But I don't need your help to get on board."
He raised an eyebrow, "Very well, then." And he continued down the pier where the ship was anchored.
"Why are you leaving? How are you sure she's going to come?" Leritte asked the archmage.
"You will see, Leritte. She just needs a little... persuasion."
***
Suddenly, there was some noise on the streets and the three women instinctively hid behind some barrels nearby. Some of the Queen's soldiers were looking for Elyre a.k.a. Fierce Wind.
"Impossible," Elyre whispered. How could they be looking for her at the harbor? Why were they here? Did they know where she was going?
"It is strange," Lyssandria added. "They aren't even looking for me here. And I was an important prisoner."
"Oh, don't worry," Phyllada smiled. "I am sure they're looking for you somewhere else."
"Ha-ha," Lyssandria whispered. "So *not* what I meant."
Elyre realized she didn't have much choice. There were soldiers looking for her everywhere. She had to get on board.
Perhaps getting the help of that mage wouldn't have been such a bad idea...
"I can't believe we're not allowed to spread posters," one of the soldiers said.
"It must be because Mage Ademon hopes he can hide his failure and Fierce Wind's escape," the other said.
"Mage Ademon is not the one to blame. Really, how could Fierce Wind escape twelve magi guards? She must be some kind of a witch. Anyway, posters shouldn't be prohibited. This makes our task of catching her even more difficult."
"On the other hand, posters are perhaps unnecessary in a way. Since the criminal ended up to be the second miss of the Svetlidaris family.... They are very well respected in Wild Wood and I doubt that anyone would turn her in, with or without posters."
"Yes, but we are not in Wild Wood now. Somebody could've helped us... if we had posters. With our immediate reaction, it's a miracle she still manages to lurk in the shadows and avoid traps."
"She will soon be caught."
Was it possible? She'd just arrived at the harbor and they had come to look for her immediately?
Once the soldiers were gone, Elyre, Phyllada and Lyssandria felt a bit calmer.
"Elyre, what are you going to do?" her sister asked.
"Phyllie, can you teleport me?" Elyre said. Sure, the Sunstone could be used for teleportation, but...
"You know teleportation in Vahara Arta is forbidden," Phyllada said.
"Not in Vahara Arta... on board," Elyre said.
"I can do it," Phyllada said ...But it is not a good idea.