Kyra and the Swordstress Pt. 02

Kyra eventually returned to the main highway through the Plentyful Plains and, at an inn, picked up another coach heading to the city of vices and fortune.

Galtin's Port was a city of mesmerizing size, exhibiting both the extreme height of wealth and the extreme depths of poverty, the wealth represented by the many impressive, gilded palaces situated on the outskirts of the city, but also, and most significantly, by the imposing stone cog over the city's bay, suspended high in the air by massive chain links anchored into the surrounding cliffs. Atop the Cog are lavish halls for the city's many famous guilds. In its center is a magnificent shimmering clock tower that juts up into the sky and serves as a beacon to all approaching ships.

The poverty is represented by the ramshackle tenements built into the seaward cliffs surrounding the Cog. One could see the poverty here by the number of tenements built atop one another. But what is on the cliff faces fails to show the immense poverty that writhes within the narrow passages that crisscross far within the cliffs. Inside these caves, the city's darker and, one might argue, more distinguishing characteristic, thrives. The city is a teeming anthill to most who inhabit it. An anthill where grit and self-reliance are needed to survive.

To stretch the money she had, she rented a cheap room in the basement of a brothel called the 'Mermaid's Pearl' in the bustling Fishermen's Quay district, which lay in the shadows of one of the poverty-laden cliffs.

The madam of the Mermaid's Pearl was Angelica, a fiery old lady who, in her youth, though may not have been the most beautiful, was nevertheless adored by scores of men on account of her affectatious charm. Legends have it she was courted by many men of the aristocratic circles of Merchant's Height despite her lowly pedigree. Although age had honed Angelica's charm into a sharp-bladed wit, she was more than anything else a caring mother hen to her whores, and despite her dubious profession, had a soft heart for all gentle souls who were down on their luck. When Angelica encountered Kyra at her door, she took whatever Kyra could afford for rent only on the condition that she finds her feet quickly. Kyra was grateful to her and quickly got her nose to the grindstone, with all her energy focused on tracking down the rapscallion that had cheated her out of her fair share of the treasure.

Kyra remembered what Scarlet had said about her connections with an alchemist dwarf, so, she first visited the cliffside and the cave markets to visit the shadiest Dwarven alchemists she could find. To her chagrin, dwarven alchemists were a dime a dozen. Most of them were tight-lipped. Some were downright hostile to Kyra. She was an unfamiliar face. A face that could be connected with the merchant's guild or other factions not too amenable to the washing and trading of grey and black-market coins. Everyone she talked to knew of Scarlet, but all were quick to deny that they knew her personally. Kyra realized quickly that Scarlet had too many streetwise allies here. Too many eyes and ears. And Kyra had none, except Angelica. She was entirely out of her element.

She had expended her savings much more quickly than expected, and it was rather hard for her to make any more money, despite the common belief that this city was brimming with coins. It was, in fact, brimming, but only for those with the right connections.

Angelica gave her room and board for sweeping the floors, cleaning the dishes, and making the beds, but she could not afford to pay her. So, Kyra needed to find work if she wanted enough money to fund her hunt for Scarlet. But work was hard to come by, even as a street witch.

Most were skeptical of a witch they did not know. A witch from out of town was held in the same regard as a stray dog, and for a good reason: many a traveling witch had parted good people from their coin with false spells and potions (sometimes to injurious or even deadly effect). Though Kyra may have thieved from the rich, she would never cast a fake healing spell on those ailing from sickness. Nevertheless, she could hardly convince a beggar she wouldn't cheat them.

One night, soon after Kyra had shifted her priority away from trying to find Scarlet to scrounging enough money to live on, she overheard one of the Mermaid whores chatting up a sailor at a bar about something that piqued her curiosity. The sailor told a tale of a marvelous ship that cruised city to city to provide pure hedonistic pleasure to those who could afford its princely luxuries. The size of a palace, this ship, the sailor professed, contained luxurious bathhouses, casinos, gardens, and the most divine concubines in the world. Of course, this sailor had never set foot on board the vessel, but he had recently sighted it out in the open ocean on its way to Galtin's Port. Most interestingly to Kyra, the sailor claimed that at the helm of this palace ship was no regular sea captain but a powerful sorceress.

Angelica gave credence to the story. Sitting at the far end of the counter, she said,

"I was on that ship for a time. I was one of them 'divine' concubines. It's called the 'Rose Narcissa.'"

All the Mermaid's girls and their sailor clients eagerly gathered around her to hear her story.

"It's exactly as he says. A magnificent floating palace with all the luxuries you could ever imagine. Gold lined every door and every piece of furniture. Gardens full of creatures and flowering plants you've never seen. Never even heard of. And the wine! Oh, how it flowed like a river! And the feasts! How they never ceased. They dressed me in the finest laces, taught me all the courtly etiquette, and presented me to the most powerful princes and dukes of Leinyere. Alas, a wine or two never fails to bring out the Galtin sass in me!"

"Bet you had those poor saps running for the lifeboats, eh Angie?" One of the customers shouted, to which the room roared with laughter.

"Too right!" Angelica guffawed. "You can take the girl out of Galtin, but you never take the Galtin out the girl! That's a damn sure thing! Needless to say, they didn't want nothing to do with me after one cruise. They heaved me out like a sack of rotten potatoes the soonest chance they got!"

"And the sorceress?" Kyra asked.

The room went hush. The merriment had been extinguished as quick as a candle flame being put out with a pinch. Kyra was behind the bar, rubbing a rag in a pint glass, when she asked the question. They all gave her a stare, then glanced back at Angelica to hear her answer.

"Ah yes, the mistress of the Rose Narcissa. A strange lady indeed. Now I only met her once, but you can say that she made quite an impression on me. A stunning beauty. A sight to behold. There was certainly magic behind that beauty. And certainly, there was magic behind the constant wind that filled the ship's sails and the perpetually stormless seas. Not to mention the never-ending wine. She was a powerful sorceress, and all that was good about that palace ship was undoubtedly because of her powers. Of course, there were hushed rumors of more devious magic. But they were only hushed rumors."

Angelica had everyone in rapt attention. Everyone was so keen to hear what she had to say about the sorceress that the only sounds were the muffled chatter and laughter in the streets outside the brothel. They all leaned in and perked their ears. A smile crept onto Angelica's face, and a twinkle came to her eyes. Enjoying the attention, she told her tale with a dramatic and dark voice.

"Think about it. What would a sorceress do with the most bountiful feasts, a harem full of the most beautiful women Leinyere had to offer, such as yours truly, and the freedom to commit debauchery that would make even the most debauch wine nymph blush?"

She paused and looked around the room for answers to her rhetorical question. Her question was met only with excited stares, so she answered,

"To dip her fingers into the pockets and minds of Leinyere's most powerful people, of course! Now, no one knows for sure how far her reach is. But they say every war and every peace in this realm starts and ends with her."

Kyra was struck with awe. All the assertions of this sorceress's power -- her ability to harness the wind and keep storms at bay. Her ability to keep the wine barrels constantly full and her sway over Kings and Queens -- all the sort of sorcery to make her fawn.

"What's her name?" Kyra asked eagerly.

"I know her only as Lady Bellona."

Angelica enunciated her name with a quiet and ominous air as if to speak the name too loud would have risked the sorceress hearing and putting a wrathful curse on all who heard it uttered.

Kyra knew the name. Her heart jumped with excitement, and she did an excited little hop. Bellona was one of her kind -- an elemental and a former student of the Topaz Order Academy. Her painting hung in the library rotunda, as with all alumni who have performed a 'Great Spell.'

Performing a Great Spell is a dream for the most ambitious and talented among the magic wielders of the Magical Academies. It is the pinnacle of achievement. A magician's magnum opus. And every Academy alumnus that performs such a feat is treated with the high honor of having a portrait painting hung in perpetuity in the hallowed rotunda of the Academy's Grand Library. Bellona's Great Spell was to cure a plague that raged through the women of Portoa. In many ways, Bellona was similar to Kyra. She, too, had her start as a lowly swallow child who was forced into the Academy only to be expelled just before graduating for casting a forbidden spell. Only years later, when Bellona had cured the plague of Portoa, had the school forgiven her for her crimes and subsequently blessed her with the highest honor an Academy magician could ever hope for.

The sailor that had begun the gossip of the Rose Narcissa said, "you know, they say this palace ship is supposed to pull in early tomorrow morning. It'll be a sight to behold."

That did it for Kyra. Having this image of such a wonderful place painted in her head, knowing now that at the helm of it was a Topaz Order Academy elemental sorceress just like her, she needed to get on board the ship. She needed an audience with the sorceress. She didn't believe in destiny, but this coincidence was too good. This could finally be her lucky break. If this sorceress took her in as an apprentice, she would regain the favor of the Academy, then all the doors would open for her.

Later that evening, when most of the sailors had either found a whore that tickled their fancy and took her to a room upstairs or had moved on to find another brothel or to a tavern, Kyra found Angelica in her favorite corner of the pub, smoking a pipe filled with sweet tobacco, enjoying nourishing thoughts of bygone days. Kyra interrupted her moment of tranquility.

"I want to meet Lady Bellona."

Angelica winced as she puffed on her pipe, then pursed her lips as she let the smoke stream out her nostrils.

"Why would you want that, dear?"

"I want to work for her."

"I wouldn't let you whore for me; I'll be damned if you ever do it for her. Besides, no offense, you don't have what it takes to be a concubine. You're young enough, sure, and maybe even pretty enough, but it doesn't suit you."

Kyra replied, "no, that's not what I... I mean, I want to be her apprentice."

Angelica raised an eyebrow.

"Apprentice for what?"

"Sorcery, of course. I studied sorcery and would very much like to finish my studies under her tutelage."

"You? A sorceress?" Angelica cackled. "You could have fooled me."

Kyra harumphed.

"Hey! I am a sorceress! Well, I mean, I want to be one. I studied at the Topaz Order Academy, you know, just like her, and, well, long story short, I still haven't managed to earn the title, but she could help me get it."

Angelica shook her head.

"You don't know Lady Bellona like I do, dear. She's not all that she seems. She is cunning. Devious. And those that make an enemy of her are not known to meet a pleasant end. I have a natural sense about people. In you, for example, I see a good, kind soul. In Lady Bellona, well, beneath her veneer of elegance and peeress grace, I see darkness."

"Maybe having a kind soul is my problem, Angelica. Maybe I've been kicked and pushed around all my life, and I'm sick of it. You might see Lady Bellona's darkness, but I see her as someone who can show me how to stand up for myself. Maybe I can do with a little bit of darkness, if only to show people I'm not one to push around. Please, Angelica, you and I both know I can't languish in your basement for much longer. I've had it bad for too long. You want me to get on my feet? If I can meet her and get her help, that's how I can get on my feet. If there's any way you can get me an audience with her, I would be forever grateful."

Angelica sighed. She puffed again on her pipe and spent a moment thinking, then finally replied,

"Fine. I know a merchant lord residing here in Galtin's Port who is a frequent guest on that ship. He owes me a favor or two. I'll arrange a meeting."

Kyra hugged her tightly.

"Thank you! Thank you! I promise I will repay you!"

Angelica held Kyra's hands, squeezed gently, and said, "you owe me nothing, dear, except to be careful."

Just as the sailor claimed, the Rose Narcissa appeared in the harbor early the following morning.

It was indeed a marvel to behold. Anchored in the middle of the bay as it was too large to berth at any of the shipping piers in the harbor, it was a leviathan that dwarfed the carracks and caravels that sailed around it. Its deck was as high as the masts of the tallest ships. Its many windows glittered like diamond ornaments. Its seven masts rose to nearly scratch the bottom of the Cog.

Fancy skiffs skimmed between the Merchant's Port and the Rose Narcissa, carrying guests to and fro.

Angelica arranged for Kyra to meet with her friend, Lord Mordecai Silver, a merchant of, as one might be tickled to discover, silver. He was one of the richest and most powerful men of Galtin's Port. He agreed wholeheartedly to bring her aboard the palace ship as his guest and meet with Lady Bellona privately.

Mordecai and his retinue of aristocrats were just climbing aboard one of the Rose Narcissa skiffs when Kyra encountered them.

"Ah, Kyra! The lovely sorceress apprentice extraordinaire! I was wondering when you would be joining us. Angelica told me all about you. Please come along now and sit by my side. And please call me Mordecai. None of this 'My Lord' nonsense. Now have a drink and be merry!"

Mordecai was an affable and rotund man. He was raucous, playful, red in the cheeks, and always wore the sort of smile that lifted the spirits of all in his proximity. To Kyra, he was the sort of man who was successful in life because everyone he encounters cannot help but root for his success. She felt much the same way. His jovial mood made Kyra optimistic about this meeting.

The impressiveness of the floating palace's exterior had not prepared Kyra for the disorienting amount of luxury it contained. Kyra had seen a fair share of luxuries in the houses of the upper class she had broken into in her days as a Portoan swallow, but all the grandeur she had ever seen could not hold a candle to what Kyra saw now.

As they made their way off the skiff and onto the landing deck of the palace ship, Kyra moved her eyes in wide awe across the intense spectacle of beautifully polished wood in-laid with shimmering white gold and walls full of mirrors like diamond facets that shone with the sparkling light from champagne-gold chandeliers above. Lush and towering plants, the sort Kyra had never seen before, some with fronds like giant fans, others with broad leaves as large as boats, stood in large porcelain vases.

They were greeted by a line of stewardesses, porters, and the ship's legendary concubines. The stewards and stewardesses brought trays of wine, ale, and exotic fruits and cheeses while the porters hoisted away the luggage.

As for the concubine, there was a mix of females and males to match all tastes. Some were tall, some short. Some were on the thicker side, others petite. There were, besides the humans, elegant elves, gracefully feline Anocots, and a short dwarf. One thing they all had in common was their achingly divine beauty and their seductively sparse yet ornate laced attire. A concubine went to the arms of each nobleman and woman in Mordecai's company, all seeming to know to which aristocrat they belonged. They introduced themselves with demure grace and then led their designated aristocrat to their cabins, with the porters with the luggage and the stewards and stewardesses with vases of wine and platters of fruits and cheeses in tow.

Kyra also picked up something peculiar about the porters, stewards, and stewardesses, but for a different reason than beauty (though they were also beautiful). Most of them had a dark complexion, their hair lush and raven black, and their eyes honey brown, giving them a striking resemblance to Scarlet. One of them approached Kyra with a kind smile and offered her a drink. Kyra plucked a sparkling wine from her tray and avoided her eyes. She could not bear to look into those eyes for who they reminded her, but for a moment, she felt compelled to ask, if only to know more about where Scarlet could be from, but she stopped herself. In the end, it didn't matter; the last thing she needed was a distraction from her singular purpose for being on the Rose Narcissa. Her purpose here was to become a sorceress's apprentice, on which she should focus all her attention.

"Come, Kyra! Let us meet the lovely Lady of the Rose!" Mordecai boomed as he wrapped his arms around two tittering concubine women. Kyra followed closely behind as he led them up a grand staircase.

At the front of a grand gilded door, Kyra and Mordecai were greeted by a herald in a flamboyant outfit that made him look like a tropical bird. He clicked the heels of his shining boots and bowed. In a loud golden voice, he said,

"Good morning, Lord Silver! It is always an immense pleasure to see you join us!"

He turned to Kyra with equal flair, bowed again, and said, "My apologies, my lady, but I do not believe I am of your acquaintance."

Kyra blushed as she curtsied as elegantly as she could and replied, "Kyra of, um... Portoa."

"Lady Kyra of Portoa, it is my pleasure. Without further ado, the Lady of the Rose Narcissa will receive you now."

"Very good, sir. See us through," Mordecai replied.

The herald tipped his head and pushed open the double door with both hands into an expansive room with a polished marble floor glittered beneath dazzling tangerine lights emanating from immense chandeliers.

Mostly naked concubines lounged in all corners of the welcoming hall, and stewards and stewardesses attended them. They all gazed lazily as the herald led Mordecai and Kyra to the center of the room, to the front of a tall throne, upon which sat the legendary sorceress herself.

"Lady Bellona," said the herald in a loud, melodious voice. "It is with pleasure that I announce the arrival of Lord Mordecai Silver, Merchant of Galtin's Port, and his honored guest, Lady Kyra of Portoa."

Mordecai gave a deep bow. Kyra gave a curtsy.

Lady Bellona was as regal as Kyra imagined. She sat tall on her throne. Her snow-blonde hair, done up in an intricate pouf, cascaded over dainty shoulders in delicate curls. She wore a long silver dress adorned with all the frivolities of aristocratic discernment: pearl buttons, opalescent frills at the hem of her long skirt, and a brocade that patterned her bountiful bosom. Across her lap was a regal staff. A glinting stone was on the very tip of it, the same sky blue of her percipient eyes. Kyra did not know for sure, but she felt that by the caring way Lady Bellona clutched the staff in her hands, it was precious to her. Certainly, the staff was a conduit of her legendary power.