An Aimless War (Greatest Thief 2)

Chapter Eighteen

The next day, we left East Draulin.

I sat cross-legged on a crate, absentmindedly watching the shore. The lands around East Draulin had quickly turned into an endless desert. Not the kind of desert around Zianna, ours was sandy and rocky, with little shrubs and the occasional tree. Deorun's desert was just sand, as far as I could see, sculpted by the wind into waves the mirrored the ocean. Only the coast seemed to support life.

Kalvahi was nearby, talking to a few of his men. He didn't have to worry about me eavesdropping because I couldn't understand a word they were saying. One of the men seemed to be the ship's captain, the others were sailors or soldiers—maybe both, it was hard to tell.

He hadn't let me leave his sight, except briefly to go talk to the knights. Luckily Acen had seen through my act, and I had been able to pass on Tannix's message about not needing help. The only thing I was worried about was not being able to deliver food, but Acen assured me they would be all right.

The men with Kalvahi all abruptly bowed, signaling the end of the conversation. I hopped to my feet just as Kalvahi turned to me.

"It seems my men don't trust you very much." He began to walk, and I fell into step beside him.

"I can't blame them, your highness. But what can I do, at this point?" I gestured at the ocean around the ship without looking at it. It was easier if I didn't look at it. "What am I going to do, kill you and swim to shore?"

"They think so."

"They'd be comforted to know that I can't swim, then, your highness."

Kalvahi laughed. "Good thing I'm not paying you for your ability to swim." He paused to shout an order to one of his men, before looking at me. "The thing is, Baisan, I don't trust you either."

"I know."

"It doesn't bother you? I could have you killed."

I shrugged. "You could have me killed even if you did trust me. I know I have to prove myself. I wasn't expecting you to instantly trust me. My skills are at your service, for what it's worth. As long as you pay me, they'll remain at your service."

Kalvahi leaned back against the ship's railing. Behind him there was nothing but water, stretching out as far as I could see. I preferred looking the other way, towards the endless desert. I couldn't drown in an ocean of sand.

"I want to see what you're capable of." Kalvahi looked at the rope ladder on his right. "Go up the shrouds."

I cast the rope ladder a quick glance. The shrouds connected to the mast in multiple places, and rose so steeply they were nearly vertical at the top. But they never leaned out over the water. Falling, for anyone unlucky enough to fall, would mean hitting the deck. It would almost certainly mean dying. But I never fell.

"How high?" I asked.

"All the way, if you can."

"I can." I grabbed the rope ladder, and stepped onto the ship's railing. As long as I didn't think too much about the water, it would be easy. I started climbing. The rope gave a little more than I expected, bending under my weight. The ship rocked. But despite everything that made the climb different, I wasn't worried. I easily reached the place where the shroud met the mast.

I hoisted myself onto the huge beam that stretched out in both directions, holding up a sail. From there, it was easy to reach a little platform on the mast, where the next set of shrouds and ropes were tied. I pulled myself up, then hooked an arm through the shrouds and took a moment to look around.

The deck was far below me, but I had been higher on buildings before, and buildings weren't usually designed to be climbed. Buildings also tended to be surrounded by buildings. The ship was alone. Even through the view was endless blue waves in one direction, and endless golden waves in the other, I realized that I loved it. Water wasn't so scary from this high up.