“There it is,” Tibek said happily. “Home, sweet home. Mind the reefs there and there and bring her around to starboard.” He pointed at the places he mentioned.

  Mira concentrated intently on the sea before her, but she spared a glance for the port they were approaching. The island was a large one, but it was cone shaped and had a flat top, like a giant ant hill. Plant life was abundant there, as was usual in Aldon. The southern side of the island was surrounded by treacherous rocks and reefs and a deep bay was situated on the shoreline right in the middle of it. The port city looked like a sprawling village with only a few larger structures. They didn’t even have a very big wall. It was a timber palisade that looked like it wouldn’t keep a drunkard out, much less a determined enemy. Mira was definitely not impressed. At a very slow speed, she guided the Blade through the treacherous waters to the far eastern side of the port where she saw an empty pier. Mira scanned the ships carefully and noticed that they were all long and sleek predatory ships. Not a single one was a merchant vessel. Her expression showed she wondered if she was making a big mistake in coming here.

  Jamor and Tibek went out on deck to handle the ropes when they docked. Mira noticed right away that there were large numbers of men manning the other ships, which was unusual in ports. They were all well-armed, too. It must be a very lawless place if a captain had to rely on his own men to guard his ship. Perhaps it would be prudent to wear her weapons openly when she debarked. Mira slowed the ship to a snail’s pace as they neared the pier, then put it into the first reverse setting on the throttle to stop the ship completely. As soon as she stopped the Blade by the pier, she moved the throttle to the idle position. Jamor and Tibek jumped to the pier and tied off the ropes, securing the Blade to the dock. Mira went downstairs to her quarters to snatch up her weapons belt. As she strapped on her sword and dagger, she went out onto the deck and opened the large door to the Blade’s hold where the three T.U.R.D.s were stationed. She commanded them to guard the deck from all intruders and followed them back out onto the deck to find Tibek locking the heavy mechanical gangplank into place.

  “So, what’s first?” Mira asked Jamor.

  “A good, home cooked meal and some wine, of course,” Jamor said, smiling. “I know just the place.”

  “You’re talking about Mama’s Kitchen, I presume?” Tibek asked as they debarked.

  “Of course,” Jamor said. “Best cooking on Kraken’s Rock.”

  “And right across the street from Mama’s Maidenhall,” Tibek said, grinning fiercely. “I can hardly wait!”

  “You mean I didn’t tire you out too much last night?” Shawna asked.

  “Sure, you did, but today’s a new day. I need a little variety,” Tibek said.

  “Ah, whatever,” Shawna said. “Maybe I’ll find a little variety tonight, too.”

  Mira kept her thoughts to herself. She was a “one guy at a time” woman, and this sort of frivolous relationship that Tibek and Shawna shared was not to her taste, but she felt that if it worked for them, then it was their business. They certainly didn’t need her approval. Mira put it out of her mind. She had thoughts only for Jamor.

  The buildings they passed on the way were small, seedy looking taverns built of wood desperately in need of paint. The boards the buildings were constructed of were all weathered, split, and warped by the elements until they were gray underneath the peeling paint, and they looked as if the next errant breeze would blow them over. There were a few drunks passed out in the dirt road next to puddles of their own vomit and the trash that littered the town. Children eyed their money pouches hungrily. Some of the other children were outside the taverns, searching the trash heaps near the back doors, and occasionally finding a bit of food that they immediately ate. It broke her heart to see it.

  Mama’s Kitchen, or just “the Kitchen,” as it was commonly called, was situated at the docks in the center of town. It was a large, three-story structure with no other buildings attached. There were unpaved, sandy streets on all four sides, just like everywhere else in the town. It was very close to a few other large buildings, one of which was a square, stone keep. The Kitchen was fairly well maintained compared to some other buildings they passed. Meaning that it had a coat of paint that hadn’t begun to crack and flake off yet, and that it didn’t have visible holes in the roof. There was a wide, covered boardwalk that surrounded the building where a few scantily clad women lounged enticingly under the protection of bored guards with chainmail shirts. I don’t think these guards would have lifted a finger to help one of the prostitutes even if one was stabbed. Maybe if it was financially worth their while, they would. By the looks of the men strolling about town in various states of drunkenness, someone probably stabbed one every day.

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  The four friends strolled through the double doors at the entrance past a couple of guards that looked only slightly more alert. Inside, they found the place to be a little more polished than the outside. Except for the floor, that is. The floors were very dirty, and Mira spotted a pile of fresh vomit near a table close to the door.

  “I have my doubts about the food here,” Mira said under her breath.

  “Oh, nonsense,” Tibek said cheerfully. “It’ll be fine. You’ll see.”

  The interior of the building was split in half. On one side was the tavern area where men were in all stages of heavy drinking. Some had already passed out at their tables despite the early hour. Maybe they just hadn’t started their day yet. On the other side of the building was a dining room with small and large tables. It was open to a second-floor balcony, where prostitutes leaned seductively against the railings outside their rooms wearing even less than the women outside. Everywhere she looked, Mira saw women serving tables and flirting with patrons, and every woman inside and outside was wearing an iron collar around her neck. The men here were all very rough looking with unkempt beards, food-stained clothes, and they all wore shortswords or daggers. She wouldn’t trust any of them to so much as scrub her deck. One of the prettier girls came over to greet them.

  “Welcome to th’ Kitchen,” she said with a warm smile. She wore a loose-fitting, extremely low-cut yellow dress with nothing under it accentuated by a collar made of iron riveted shut around her neck. She couldn’t have been more than sixteen years old. Her neck was rubbed raw by the collar, and her eyes were dull, showing the effect of repeated abuse. “Drinkin’ or dinin’?”

  “Dining first,” Jamor said.

  “This way, please,” she said. She led them to a table on the far side of the room. “We’ll be right out with the special of the day. Beer, wine, or somethin’ harder?”

  Everyone ordered beer as they were getting situated. Tibek leaned back in his chair, already scanning the inventory of prostitutes above them. Jamor and Shawna looked very comfortable here and Jamor tapped the table in time with the tune the minstrel was playing.

  “Are you all regulars here?” Mira asked.

  “When we’re in town, yeah,” Shawna said.

  “My dear,” Jamor said with a flourish, “this is where you come if you want to live life to the fullest, to feel the greatest bliss or the greatest excitement life has to offer.”

  “Uh huh,” Mira said.

  Seeing she wasn’t convinced, Jamor said, “Kraken’s Rock’s where all the boldest people come! Life’s exciting here! You can find pleasures of every kind and have every whim catered to. All it takes is a little money.”

  “We love this place,” Tibek said. “It’s got something for everyone.”

  “Give it a try,” Shawna said seductively. “You’ll like it. Besides, you need to loosen up a little, captain.”

  Making eye contact with Mira, Shawna slowly reached over and undid the top two buttons of Mira’s blouse. She would have kept going, but Mira stopped her, clearing her throat noisily.

  “I think I’ve loosened up too much already,” Mira said. She was about to rebutton her blouse when she noticed Jamor’s interest. She decided to live a little dangerously in the moment, and left the buttons undone. She caught a knowing smile from Shawna.

  The waitress came back with four mugs in one hand and a tray full of plates in the other hand. She set the tray down on a neighboring table and began passing out the beer, purposefully leaning over the table to give everyone a good view of what was underneath. She then passed out the plates of food, which was seafood chowder of some kind. It could have been a human head and Tibek wouldn’t have noticed, he was so intent on looking inside the girl’s dress. She held out her hand palm up with a small smile. They all retrieved a silver coin out of their belt pouches and placed them in her hand. She performed a small curtsey with a practiced, wooden smile and moved on to other customers.

  “Let’s spend a few days here and I’ll show you the ropes,” Jamor said, using an old sailor’s expression.

  If someone else had said that Mira would have been cautious, but it was Jamor. Mira looked in his handsome face and her reluctance melted. She was truly in love. In that moment, Mira felt she could trust him with anything.