NOVEL NEXT Chapter 168: Ripples
Consequences were a strange beast, sometimes obvious, sometimes hidden, more often than not different to those expected.”
Mitchell Hogan
A couple of months later, in Libeccio
The captain strode into the reception room, “Welcome back, courageous Captain Kashif. You seemed to have sailed well though I confess I have not seen much of you at all this year. My vizier is looking forward to catching up with you.” Emir Ishtul stood up to greet the captain pulling him close for a strong embrace. It was a power play of sorts. Kashif could not withdraw until he was allowed and lacked the strength even to make the attempt.
Ruling from his minaret-covered palace, the Emir could forgo endurance in favour of vitality and strength to make a strong first impression on his guests. He also had the benefit of nobility to inflate his stats further. Becoming a captain had been the biggest boon to his stats since he plateaued as an adult. He couldn’t imagine the benefits or the number of individuals it would be possible to receive for being an Emir. Such was life, the rich grew richer while the poor, for the most part, stayed where they were unless they were willing to get their hands dirty and had to fight every step of the way.
The Emir wore an indigo silk turban wrapped around his head while gold earrings dangled from each ear. His fingers displayed gem-encrusted rings of every colour, one for each kingdom. Cerulean blue sapphires from Ponente, vibrant green Emeralds from Maestro and Golden yellow citrine from Tramontana. Orange Fire Opals from Greco, Red Rubies from Levante and Pink Spinel from Scirroco. Finally, iridescent diamonds from Ostro and purple amethysts from Libeccio. It was not impossible to unearth the gemstones in different countries, the world was not so strictly divided, but that is what the countries were famous for.
Each finger held a different colour flaunting the full spectrum of the compass kingdoms and their attributes. The Emir sat back down, confident the captain would follow his movement lead, leaning forward over the table and interlacing his fingers as he now waited expectantly for the Captain’s report on his absence for so long.
“Oh, honourable Emir, I have sailed far and wide searching for a suitable gift for your eminence. Why only this last month, I . . .” Captain Kashif began.
“Stop the sycophancy, Captain. Where have you been? What have you sold? And why might I ask, have you been purchasing so many slaves and selling so much salt?” The Emir cut short his speech, showing he was not in the mood for flowery flattery. It also showed that he was relatively well informed of recent developments regardless of the captain’s failure to report in person.
“The gift might help explain . . .” Captain Kashif started once more
“The gift can come later. I’m awaiting the facts of the matter. Where, what, and why?” He questioned suspiciously. Gifts in his mind often came with hidden costs for receiving them. His coastal duchy along the southwestern shores of the Compass kingdoms was close to the border with the militant kingdom of Ponente. He wished to know where precisely his captain had been disappearing to this last year and what he might have done in his name. Libeccio already had a history and name for piracy, and he did not need his own linked to it any further than it already was.
Captain Kashif hesitated again, but the Emir’s wait was cut short when he deployed his skill. “Tug truth.”
Captain Kashif was forced into accepting that he would not be able to start with the gift and unwillingly started to speak, “I was paid for the direct transportation of a beastkin warrior from Ostro. We travelled from the border of Ostro at the southern edge of Libeccio to the westernmost pioneer island of Wester Ponente.”
“Map.” Emir Ishtul snapped his fingers, and a second later, the appropriate map had been placed in front of him to peruse. “Continue.” He gestured while plotting Safina's course to get there.
“When we arrived on the island, our first stop after a long sail, I had hoped to . . .” he began to elaborate once more but found himself swiftly stopped with a reminder.
“Captain,” Emir Ishtul raised an eyebrow as he began to deviate from the facts of the matter.
“On Wester Ponente, our slaves were liberated, and we were recompensed with their weight’s worth of salt.”
“Ha!” The Emir laughed, “You might not have realised it, but you are now responsible for a new phrase, Worth his salt, though the salt sellers of the north and slave sellers of the south curse your name in equal measure. Your purchase of slaves has driven prices up across the county while selling such salt quantities has equally devalued it in the north. It will balance out in the end, but your name is not popular in certain circles Captain Kashif. Continue.” He directed once more.
“The profit on the salt was large enough to ensure return trips which I made quickly and quietly in an attempt to avoid losing my new market either to other competitors or to their attempts at piracy.” He continued his recount of the year.
The Emir smiled in agreement, “They have been looking but only to the north and south along the coast. No one suspected that your departure due west was anything more than an attempt at deception, not your actual true bearing.” He chuckled at the fact that the truth had protected Captain Kashif more than a deception would have. “Carry on.”
Captain Kashif hesitated once more, attempting to phrase the next part without angering his former patron. The raised eyebrow of Emir Ishtul reminded him to hurry up, or else the words would once more be pulled from him without his choice.
“On my last trip to sell slaves for salt and deep sea pearls, I met merchant Mercurio of Ponente and realised he worked for the Lord and Lady Silversea of Wester Ponente. The Lord of Wester Ponente agreed to become my patron and hopes to reimburse the Emir Ishtul with a gift for my departure.” He finished as he placed both the sea silk and the set of deep-sea pearls on the table in front of the Emir.
The Emir raised his hand for silence as he contemplated both the final statement and the gifts he had received. He turned the fine golden silk over, feeling the fine weave and the smoothness of the fabric between his fingers before he picked up deep sea pearls to get a feel for the weight and then stared, seemingly distracted by their opalescent shimmer.
“As far as I can recall, Pioneer islands have no Lord or Lady. A ruling forced upon the Western Lords by the Eastern to hinder any growth of their power.” He finally began to speak after returning the gifts to the table. “Where have they come from?”
“I believe they were born on the isle.” Captain Kashif answered
“Age?” The Emir quizzed.
“The Lord is still a child, and the Lady not yet an adult.” Captain Kashif.
“Ah, the hundred and first lord.” He mused, seemingly coming to a realisation of his own. “They have no slaves?” he questioned pointedly.
“No, all slaves are freed on arrival as soon as they set foot on the isle.” Captain Kashif answered.
“Yet they pay their weight in salt. Is their policy ethical or practical?”
“Perhaps both. I would not have returned had my ‘goods’ been stolen.”
“They wish to acquire a Libeccian Merchant alongside their Ponentian? That is an odd arrangement.”
“They seem unfettered by the antagonism of the mainland kingdom and are happy to follow the profit. Though the Ponentian argued strongly against my acceptance.”
“I suppose not. They are far from any border clashes, and the only visitors who would get that far out are those sailing for their specific wares, the odd pilgrim on a circumnavigation, and only the well-off ones at that. Were they not worried about angering me in agreeing to become your patron? Were you not worried?”
“I believed and convinced them that the gift would be worth you relinquishing a merchant. You have many more under your house and would not miss one such as myself too much. Besides I believed that you would welcome the opportunity to forge new relationships with a lord and lady of Ponente. Plus, such a trade route would not be blocked by the tariffs of the kingdoms. They are a pioneer island, and the Lodestar Church backs their freedom from such rules and regulations.” Despite the derailment of his planned speech, Captain Kashif finally arrived at what he felt would convince the Emir of the value of his plan. Firstly, new relationships and secondly, potentially worth far more was a route for trade goods into and out of Ponente without taxation and embargoes.
The Emir was silent once more as he considered the captain’s arguments. “I would indeed be interested in forging new friendships, and a way around the border clashes would benefit all our people. A bold course to have taken but not entirely without reward.”
“Thank you, your eminence. Will you recognise their patronage and relinquish your own.” He asked the most important question and the sole reason for sailing so far south once more. He could have never returned, but without a clean break with the Emir, he would have been declared outlaw and pirate before too long, and the southern section of the Azimuth Ocean would have soon become too dangerous for him to sail alone.
Once more, the Emir was silent as he calculated the benefits and detriments of accepting the captain’s plan before finally deciding. “Yes, I will.” The Emir replied to Captain Kashif’s relief. “Not only that, but these are princely ‘gifts’ worth far more than your patronage. I dislike being in debt to a new relationship and will have to find a suitable gift to exchange.” Captain Kashif seemed to relax now that the meat of the matter had been resolved. “That does not mean that you do not need to see my vizier on your way out. You have, I believe, only just begun to sail under their symbol. There is still the matter of your back taxes to pay if you wish to have a foot to step back on deck with before you leave.” The Emir reminded the captain of their respective positions and how close he had been sailing to the wind and rocks with his absence from court for so long.