Ted didn't intend to let Eknie's beauty distract him. He had always been so indifferent about her vain affections that it would have been both awkward and painful to change his proven methods. Still, there was a part in his malevolent mind that absolutely wanted to control her – in all ways. A marriage was too boring, dreadful with routines and official commitments, but there had to be something Ted could do about the matter.
He would get to that matter later on, though. Now, the fox bollockwort was working, and he was free to roam the deck, assisting himself with ropes and holding onto his lowered top hat. Said hats were very much in fashion. He did not want to lose it.
The urban landscape was quickly changing into trees and fields, and the cape was tapering off below them, allowing Ted a good look at the calm ocean below. It was certainly safer to fly over large masses of land, but cutting across the coast bought them some time. Ted would have wanted to take a scenery route. The mercenaries were in a hurry, though.
One man in particular caught his attention. Walking with a slight limp, the Karshaan man was skinny as a willow tree, but with a strange wiry quality in his physical constitution that suggested an inner toughness.
The man had a cross-shaped scar under his right eye, and when Ted inquired about its origin, the fellow told him it had been betting gone really wrong.
It was a fun story, completely different from the one the man had told Madorn.
Mad appeared on the deck. Something had changed about him. Slipping chewing tobacco into his mouth, he chuckled with a dark tone as he saw Ted watching the mercenary.
"Quite a piece of work. I think he's that dragon hunter, you know the tale?" Mad gave Ted a quick smile.
The first thing Ted thought about was his cult. Then he realized his Dragons were not the ones being hunted, and he was incredibly relieved.
"I don't think those dragons even exist anymore," he said.
"Oh, we do know that…but does the dragon hunter know that?" Madorn raised an eyebrow.
There was definitely something different about him nowadays. Mad was more confident, less fluid in his body language, and his walk had turned into a shameless kind of swagger that was sure to gather him the attention of many ladies.
Ted was really glad Eknie preferred men who knew how to kill. Otherwise, he would have felt a bit jealous.
"Are you suggesting I have hired an insane man who carries five guns and seven knives on him all the time?"
"I'm implying it gently, my friend. Can I call you my friend? You are paying me, after all…isn't that the basis of all real friendships?"
Ted was stunned by both the boldness and cleverness Mad displayed.
"You're a smart man, and I have not considered killing you yet," Ted replied, offering his hand to the genius scientist. "That puts you above every other person in the world."
"We're friends, then." Madorn shook his hand.
"I think we are, yes," Ted said.
He lied.
The view was amazing enough to make Ted reconsider that, though. He went back down to check up on Eknie. She was holding a strange woman who had definitely not been on the list of people that were supposed to be aboard the airship.
"This is the wife of a mercenary," Eknie explained. "She has never been on an airship before. She is feeling very bad."
Eknie gave Ted a look that suggested dislike towards the woman, perhaps due to her personality, perhaps due to her presence being unauthorized.
Ted had to agree with the general sentiment. The woman seemed somehow intrusive. Ted did not like how much space her lithe body managed to take. She had dyed her hair an obnoxious shade of copper, and her ruffles were too much for any occasion. She also seemed to be one of those girls who needed to display their entire jewelry collection at once. Her presence was altogether way too loud.
Even the heaving sounds she made sounded too regular, almost as if she had practiced pretending to be nauseous in advance.
"On the other hand, there's no need to dose her with ginger," Ted said, for a plan was forming inside his mind. Granted, it was a devious one, but that was the way he wanted it to be.
"Bollockwort?" Eknie asked. "That's…"
"No, that isn't good, I think this will be solved with a simpler trick."
Ted had something that helped with all stomach problems – when used in moderation. Branthen was a herbal booze that was considered too strong to be legally sold in Neul. It had a strong taste, but it was good for heartburn and occasionally, a sip or two helped with nausea.
The so called problem with that was how incredibly difficult it was to take just one glass of the stuff. That was why Ted would not have a single drop of it.
Either the woman would drink herself into a horrifying hangover, or she would die, but there was no way a hag like that would br able to resist branthen.
"I can give you something that can help," Ted said. "But you have to promise to only drink one glass."
The woman raised her gaze, suddenly not heaving at all. It was so easy to dehumanize a person like her. Her lustful eyes sweeped over Ted's body, revealing that she was not the faithful sort with a single expression.
Ted knew how to read those subtle cues. He knew he would be doing the husband a favor, with such a gold-digging, licentious wife, surely it was better to be rid of her.
"It's branthen," Ted said. "But you have to promise to be careful."
"I love branthen," the woman breathed. "If there is a drop of branthen on this ship, I will consume it immediately. Many thanks to you, strange cor."