Captain Akula was a weathered and aged but handsome man. His loose, lavender linen shirt and tailored cream pants made him look like he could own the whole town, and Grey suspected any captain who had been as successful as he was probably could. He rarely wore combat leathers anymore, and Grey wasn’t sure if it was because he was one of the sharpest swordsmen on the Myriad or he was aged enough to have a different sort of relationship with death than she did. Sometimes, she wished he would trade his fine clothes for his old ripper gear, but, for better or worse, she would likely never tell him that.

  He was essentially the same height as Grey, though at a few inches from six feet, she was tall for a woman. His peppered black hair and sharp features suggested he was from southern Etos, but without knowing his history as she did, there was not much to give him away. He was one of her oldest friends and mentors, but even as close as she was to him, she only had a loose idea of what part of the world he came to the Myriad from.

  Grey sighed. The Myriad looked good on him. His blue eyes and black hair went well with his sun-abused skin, giving him a unique look on the islands. He always caught the attention of the locals in port, but by Grey’s social standards, he generally kept to himself. It had been a long time since Grey wanted anything to do with men, but she could certainly see the appeal for the rest of Etos.

  She had found him as she usually did, pouring over maps in the back of his chosen Inn’s pub. He had funds enough to book a room to make an office in, but he’d always liked working around people, even if he didn’t often interact with them. The captain had spent his whole life on a ship, and it was ingrained in him to be comfortable in tight, bustling spaces. It was also ingrained in him, at this point, to have a regularly delivered tankard of ale.

  Grey cleared her throat to pull him away from his work. Akula looked up and smiled, “How was muster? Did we lose anyone in the night?”

  Grey smirked. “They all managed to drag their flea-bitten asses up the ramps this morning, Captain.”

  “Well, sit down. You can help me take a look at this next route, and we’ll decide on this quartermaster. Rollins. Maybe it’s time we head into a larger city for a replacement. I’m increasingly tired of checking behind him.”

  Grey pulled a heavy wooden chair around the worn table. Akula had a direct view of the entrance, but she could at least keep it in her line of sight. Two old rippers in a crowded space.

  After months on lightweight, shoddy ship furniture, Grey enjoyed the solid construction and thick wood of the seat beneath her. Some sailors craved the sea the moment they were off their ship, but Grey had never been one of those.

  Grey considered the incompetent quartermaster, but not for long. “Best to get rid of him, Captain. All it takes is one slip-up from a quartermaster to turn a whole crew. He never should have sold himself as one, but that isn’t our problem. Order forbid we run out of rum barrels on a passage to the mainland, we’ll welcome Chaos as sure as that.”

  The captain grunted at the thought, and Grey continued, “Speaking of ass-chafed sailors... I’d like to put in a request you front half-pay to ranks grounder and down. They’re restless to blow all they’ll make, as is their nature.”

  The Captain also barely took a moment to reply. “The brothels would surely thank us, though I wish it were the chest officials.” His eyes remained down, scanning his maps.

  Akula was referring to Etos’s banking network, which had representatives even in as small a town as this. While there were several companies that controlled their own chest network, the sum of them was responsible for safeguarding the majority of gold in the Eastern continents. Of course, looking after a sailor’s account came at a price.

  After a moment, he continued, “I will front a quarter of their expected payout, if you will personally front the other quarter you’ve requested. We can settle the differences once I’ve totaled the haul. Let’s put some of your skin in the game.”

  “Yessir.”

  “Alright. I’ll have the purser come up with the figures.” Akula slid a map across the table while he spoke. “Now that your stray dogs are settled, let’s move on to actual business.”

  It would have been a second mate’s place to help with the larger plans of a ship, including the route, but Akula never kept one. Grey let herself have the delusion that it could be her had he not valued her so much as a ripper. She knew the reality, though, was that at twenty-six, she was too young.

  Ten years of experience on a ship was still not enough to be a second mate to a captain running deals as large as Akula. When Grey met the captain, he had not been much older than she was now, which meant that he was a very young captain. He was also sailing a far smaller ship, trading teak, sugarcane, and other goods with low profit margins.

  The decade she had been on had seen his business grow rapidly. He now captained a serious operation with dangerous enemies and real consequences.

  For a ship like the Paso Fino, and the trade routes they ran now, it would be a mistake to promote a favorite too early. Obviously, hiring a second mate off the street could be downright catastrophic. Better to not have one at all.

  Grey studied the parchment under her, “This is a map of Mayacar.”

  The statement felt stupid, but she was shocked. There was no reason for there to be a map of this country under her nose.

  He slid more maps into place.

  The first to her right was of the Etosian mainland and its coast. Included was the island, Eel Cay, where they were currently docked, and the surrounding Myriad. It was a version of a map they often used. Their trade runs usually involved the Etosian mainland and its closest chain of islands in the Myriad Sea.

  She could see their location marked, and a charted route line extending West. She followed the overlaid route from their location on Eel Cay onto the next map. This map was a complete portrait of the vast Myriad Sea and all of the Etosian islands it encompassed.

  Their next proposed destination was the largest city in the Myriad, Saphir. This stop was somewhat predictable. They needed to bring on more sailors, and there was no shortage of new trade deals in the sprawling coastal city.

  After that, their proposed route continued west. This wasn’t outright abnormal; there were other islands they may trade with further into the Myriad. The measured line stopped at a few, including one of her favorites, Barlosa. Had her concern not been building, she would have been excited at the prospect of visiting the charming seaside town.

  Barlosa was widely considered the last civilised stop in the Myriad, and, normally, their course would turn back east after stopping at the relatively small island.

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  Instead, the line did something it never would. It crossed the western border of Etos.

  This landed her back on the first parchment he’d handed her. It was a detailed map of the continental country of Mayacar and the chain of islands that were scattered east of its mainland. Their route continued through these islands and then West and North around the coast of Mayacar’s central landmass. It stopped on a mark at the country’s capital city of Marisombra.

  Grey was sure she was misunderstanding something. The first thing that came to her mind didn’t nearly encompass all she was thinking, but she said it anyway. “We just purchased the Paso Fino, why would now be the time to try a run into Mayacar?”

  Akula’s reply was immediate. “Did you not question why I hunted down the Paso Fino? I paid over-market for a ship we didn’t need for Etosian routes. Surely, you had to wonder why.” He stared at her, smiling.

  Grey ignored the easy response and started again, “I’ve been with you over ten years, and we’ve never bothered with Mayacar. All you’ve ever said is that it’s more trouble than it's worth. That it was a stupid risk.”

  Grey paused, unsure of how far she should push her point. “In fact, we’ve had a fair share of laughs over pride-blind Captains taking up a west-bound contract and sinking their ships. If they make the journey the first time, they become over-confident… greedy… and won’t make the second. It’s never long until they remove themselves from our competition pool completely.”

  Mayacar was a hotbed of political unrest. The smaller, poorer country was positioned as close to the center as possible between the two world powers of Etos and Talcot. While the two powerhouses were not currently in outright war, they were also never at peace.

  There were other routes for Talcot and Etos to get at each other’s throats, but Mayacar was the easiest. It was comprised of a chain of islands and a large, mostly temperate, seabound continent. The southeastern shore of the mainland, including Marisombra, signified the end of the clear blue Myriad that led to Etos. The continent’s western shore was the start of the vast and dangerous Umbra Ocean, which must be crossed to reach Talcot.

  The only part of the mainland that wasn’t war-torn was the mountainous north. The climate and terrain were too difficult to deal with, and the ocean straight between Mayacar and the Boreynaya Taiga was almost impassable.

  The chance of being caught in a military skirmish in the rest of Mayacar was sky-high. If a ship managed to avoid being sunk in the fray, the complications of defending itself against one country or the other may land its sailors on a short plank.

  If that wasn’t enough, criminals flocked to the country’s shore either to disappear into the chaos or take advantage of the constant conflict. Some wouldn’t even be called criminals outright, but government-sponsored merchants and nobles with a diplomat’s parchments. If anything, these were more dangerous.

  If a ship ran into trouble, they may as well not bother looking to the country’s officials for help. Mayacar seemed complacent in the unrest if you were a racist dullard, but Grey and anyone with more than two thoughts banging around in their skull knew their lack of response was due to the constant interference in their government. If their officials hadn’t been blatantly placed there by one side or the other, they were controlled by hefty bribes or macabre threats. At this point, most chose the carrot over the stick, especially the royal line in Marisombra.

  This was all to say, only fools or idiots sailed an unsponsored trade to Mayacar.

  The Captain responded before Grey could continue working herself up. “I’ve been chasing an opportunity for a big, big payday, Grey.”

  He sighed and met her eyes. “ I know you’ve no interest in retiring yet, but this kind of money would set the officers up... you, me, Lotti, Nessa, shit..the whole crew, to chase whatever fate they wanted afterward. If we set the route and learn how to do it safely, we could even make a regular trade out of it.”

  Grey clenched her jaw. It was hard to hold her frustration back. She was trying to choose her words carefully, but struggled and gave up. “How can you sound young and old in the same breath? You want to engage in a reckless, high-stakes trade, and you want to retire happy with a full bank account? I’m clearly missing something. We’ve been successful because we’ve stuck to Etos, not even leaving the Myriad but a few times to charter nobles. We’ve never left to chase Dreamsand, and certainly never to Mayacar. Your bank account is already full for that very reason.”

  There was no way a risk this big wasn’t about Dreamsand.

  Grey knew she was being a little too informal, and too argumentative, with the Captain. Their relationship was strong, but it was still one of a leader and a subordinate.

  He must have thought the same because, for the first time during their conversation, a hard look crept onto his features. His blue eyes flashed into sapphires. “If you think I need someone to detail the history of my own career, you’re more thick-headed than I give you credit for.”

  They stared at one another. Grey fought down the urge to retaliate. She took the correction and looked away first.

  Akula paused and sighed; there was a silence, and then his mild temper melted as quickly as it had come. “I appreciate your concern, Grey, but I’m getting old.”

  He paused, and when he spoke again, it was low and sincere. “I’ve been craving something to wake me up again. A challenge worth my boots hitting the deck in the morning.”

  He waved his hands towards the patrons of the inn. “I can’t keep milling around these same islands, trading dream to wave-swept addicts and wealthy nobles on their rum-fueled trips through the Myriad.”

  Grey tried, but she didn’t understand in a way that she imagined she wouldn’t until she was pushing 40 years herself. Dreamsand trading was good business, even locally. While Akula sometimes muddled in some less-than-legal deals, for the most part, they were above board, and the Seawardens left them alone. While it was certainly more dangerous than trading pots and pans, the extremely lucrative nature of the substance made up for the risk.

  Even if your intel wasn’t right on the nose, offloading your haul was never a problem. Everyone enjoyed dream, from the poorest urchin, cutting it with anything that resembled the fine grain, to the nobles piling pressed tablets in basins at their grotesquely extravagant banquets and balls. There were even rumors that a few world leaders were constantly under the sway of Dreamsand.

  Over-ambitious crews often went wrong and tried to trade dream across the border. There was too much value in the stuff, and sailors were a greedy lot. But trying to move it between countries made opportunities for either border wardens to get involved, military skirmishes to interfere, or pirates to hit in the less populated crossings. If running a normal trade to Mayacar was bad, running dream was doubly so. Of course, the overall payout would be higher contracting between countries. With the huge discrepancy in market value, a Captain could net a generous profit for their crew.

  Worst of it all, Akula was suggesting one of the riskiest plays, moving product out of Mayacar.

  Grey realized there was another piece of important information that she hadn’t seen on the maps.

  “Where are we selling it?” She was loosely in touch with market value in the major port cities and feared she already knew his answer.

  “Sablehaven.”

  The capital of Talcot.

  He continued as Grey’s eyes cast down. “The entire operation should take a little under two years... if Lotti chooses to stay on, and Order herself looks kindly on us. The Umbra crossing from Marisombra to Talcot will need to be timed perfectly, and it could be that the weather doesn’t agree.”

  Lotti was their Wind Sage and one of the best in the Myriad. Her job was to influence the wind in their favor, often saving them days on the sea. Lotti had even been able to influence at a distance, sabotaging enemy sails. Grey and Lotti had a rocky start, but even then, she could admit she’d never met a better whisper.

  The Captain continued, “Look, every one of you needs to really sit with this operation and make your own decision. I’ll get my expected numbers to you and the other officers after I handle the current haul. Probably en route to Saphir. I’ll be able to replace the quartermaster and any sailors who aren’t interested there. In turn, they should find it easy to get employment on a new ship in the larger port.

  He paused then, appearing to consider his next words. “Grey, if you choose to stay, I want your input on the route and timing. The grounders will need some serious sharpening, and many of the officers look to you for guidance. There will be more on your shoulders, but I think you know that this expedition is a fate changer.”

  He paused, and she looked up. “Don’t you want more than warm ale at salt-soaked taverns and short nights with rum-drunk women?”

  Grey wasn’t sure she did.