Mainland Mahara?a, two years later.

  The rain had stopped, it must be morning. There was some light already in the sky, Atacherel remained with his eyes closed, lying on his back in his cot. He missed the motion of a ship, had for the past years. There were footsteps outside and the outside flap of his tent was lifted and allowed to flop back down again, heavy with the rainwater it had soaked up during the night. The lighter tarp of the inner door was lifted in turn and his manservant entered the tent carrying a bundle of dry wood and several small fired clay pots neatly encased one atop the other and held with strings. From behind the veils of his sleeping alcove the admiral watched the young man gingerly place the pots on the table and crouch before the little cooking stove to remove the ashes from last night, and search for some still glowing ambers. He covered them with a handful of twigs and gently blew on them. Once the first flame sprouted, he built a little pyramid of medium pieces of wood above it and half closed the little door and turned back to the table where he untied the knots holding the pots together and removed some of the lids.

  The deep voice of Atacherel came from behind the veils, all rough and sore with the night, ?This smells better than what you usually bring me in the morning Ujiv. ? He got up and parted the veils.

  ? Good Morning Sir, ? the young man replied, ? It's because this is the first broth cooked not with naval rations but with stuff they have grown on the hills above the site of the bath-houses. ?

  ? Oh, the fields I gave the galley master. I never had the time to go back and check on their progress. ?

  ? Well, whatever plant they have planted grew splendidly and the crop yield was beyond expectation. They even think to be able to make wine in a couple years time instead of the six or seven it normally takes. ?

  ? Mahara?a truly is a godsend. ? Atacherel said, lifting the lid of the last of the pots that wasn't on the stove.

  ? That, Sir, are flat plums I had baked overnight with honey and spices for you. ?

  ? Where did you find Salaarin plums down here? ?

  ? My cousin, Javi, he brought the sapling of a plum tree from home and I planted it over by my quarters... ? the young man hesitated and added, ? it's still young but it already gave many fruits. ? Taking a little cup from the shelf and a ladle he carefully lifted one glistening fruit from the jar and placed it in the cup and offered it to the admiral with an apprehensive look on his face. Atacherel accepted the offered cup and walked over to a table covered with plans and sketches and an ugly looking model of some mechanical contraption. He sat on the one stool and flicked open a little case containing a bone fork and spoon which he took and plunged in the flesh of the baked fruit. There was no word. He remembered the preserved plums from his childhood and the fresh ones he tasted on the one voyage he made to Salaarin as a second but this was beyond anything. After scooping the last of the plumb he waited until the young man poured the tea and arranged the rest of his morning collation and said, ?Ujiv, thank you for the good work you are doing for me. I have a task for you. Would you please find the best place for an orchard in this new city we are building here, and see that all manners of fruit trees are planted there. Thank you Ujiv. ? The beaming young man left the tent without a word and the admiral drank his tea in silence and ate his meal until Merorae let herself in unceremoniously.

  ? You are back! ? Atacherel said, raising to his feet to welcome his friend.

  ? Well, it's not like I was at risk of floundering traveling on land and all like I was, wasn't I ??

  ? Can I have something brought up for you? Are you hungry? ?

  ? We arrived before daybreak and were the first patrons in the galleys. They made progress in the months we have been gone! ?

  ? They are finally reaping the fruit of the land, that's why! What news do you bring??

  ? I found the water we need for our little city here and most of the aqueduct won't even need to be raised, merely dug from the side of the hills. ?

  ? This is great news! I was beginning to fear that the few streams coming down the hills around us would cease to be enough before you'd come back. ?

  Merorae took her traveling coat off revealing a leather shoulder-bag filled with rolled up writing skins and bound squares of linen.

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  ? what news from the palace? ?

  ? Well, it's all Rehev?mes and Natabs in that city, you know... Rehev?mes are all work, work, work and not fun. It's almost like they have something to make up for. ? They both laughed at the easy joke. Atacherel had missed the company of his friend and her simple carefree view on life.

  ? The Natabs, however, do the most beautiful music, wouldn't you have guessed? Anyway, I was in and out of that pompous palace they built for Her, apparently she is almost never in it, but they act as if this is The place. The lake was pretty, most time... Oh you are still working on this... ? She interrupted herself bending over the mechanical model.

  ? Why do you waste time like so, I never understand. ?

  Atacherel was smiling as he replied. ? This land was given to us by Her and we are sea people, we need our ships to able to come and go from the bay at the foot of them cliffs but unlike what the Thiriik have done in Raab it is too small to dig up and the rock is too hard to hollow out, so a crane to lift goods and material and maybe people from the ship felt like a good idea, but it need to be strong enough to empty a transport and lift stuff to city level so that the ship can be taken away back to the sea and allow for another one to take its place. Right now, we are dependent on land supplies and as long as the roads aren't finished between Haven and us and between the Palace and us, supplies from the sea are the only thing allowing us to keep on building the first Balà town in Mahara?a. ?

  ? And we still don't know what to call it... ? Merorae said sitting down. ? I talked about your little crane here, to some of the very dull Rehev?mes who administer public work and they gave me some squiggles for you to look at ?, she added pointing at her bag.

  ? Really, that is kind. I'll have a look at them later today. I have to attend some meeting about the 'Cautious Quest' and don't know the first thing about that but everybody acts as if this is of the greatest importance. ?

  ? I know, I'm invited too. ?

  ? Why you? ?

  ? Remember the voyage I did to Upper Limore some time ago? ?

  ? Yeah you were gone for whatever reason and despite being the admiral of the fleet I neither gave the orders nor was allowed to know where you and your ship went. ?

  Atacherel had been vexed by it, not against Merorae who was bound to obey orders as he was, but because he had only been appointed admiral of the fleet when suddenly orders from the White Island had come for her eyes only as if he was not to be trusted.

  ? She, She wants us to find a map of sorts.? Merorae said cautiously.

  ? You mean the orders came from Her? ? He asked bewildered.

  ? Don't be daft! They came from the Whites of course but they acted on Her wish to find a specific item. I was dispatched to some remote Limorite monastery where I only encountered puzzled monks when I asked them for ancient maps. ?

  ? You asked Triad monks for a map for her? I'm surprised they didn't set fire to your ship or held you in their jails! ?

  ? Don't be silly, we birthed in Posit and I traveled as a scholar to the Needles of Gimbre via Niurb, once there I crossed part of the Needles to that minuscule monastery where they allowed me to search their squarery. I found some stuff of peripheral interest to our quest, had it copied and went off. I travelled back the road to Niurb in the company of a young monk called Limero who had been doing some sort of census of the Upper Limorite Monasteries or something, he was really funny.?

  ? I'm glad you had fun, so why am I told of this now and not before? ?

  ? Because you were in charge of building the city, which is a large enough task and is going great, now that you have water thanks to me, and now because the Cautious Quest is not going so great. Since I was sent off none of the other questers have reaped anything of interest and She is sensing that something is coming, whatever that means... We need to find that map, Ata. Most of the Rehev?mes are on their way under Natab escort to Utesh and Gash and the remote monasteries of the Parotos; we need to send covert expeditions to those in Feroll and along the Hard Sea. I have heard rumors that the Whites have spies in the Holy Archipelago. ?

  ? That wouldn't surprise me.? Atacherel said, ?but why wasn't I told of all this? And why now? ?

  ? I told you. The city you are building was deemed the most important endeavor until now. The last thing you needed to plan for was something to bring sea trade up to the city level and I told you it is in the bag over there. You need to resume your post as Admiral of all Balà fleets and organize us into a serious search for that map thing She wants. ?

  ? How badly does She need it? ?

  ? It's getting bad. There are talks of an event, a dark coming of a force that could defeat Her power, that would defeat us. ?

  ? But we are not at war with anyone, are we? ?

  ? Some might argue that since the persecutions and the exile to the Sillaribes we have never not been at war. ?

  ? Is this what you believe Merorae? I thought you were a woman of peaceful adventures? ?

  ? You are right, war is not fun and I more than anything likes to have fun. But I am no fool, Triad if it could, would have us all gone from their perfect world. Our Veviensis is not part of their sacred texts, neither is our singular three faced god; they don't know what is happening anymore and they are scared. I for one wouldn't be surprised if they stirred the Celerins or the troops from Feroll into attacking the Nameless Towns. ?

  ? Well, let's go to this meeting thing then it'll allow you to see the inside of our covered market though the waters you keep promising still aren't coming to the fountains... ?

  ? ...yet... Aren't coming to the fountains, yet. Still as impatient as ever, admiral Atacherel! ?