"And what would that be, Lady Dolanna?" Renoit asked, giving him a curious look.
"He is a Sorcerer, Renoit, whose aptitude in the art of Illusion is quite profound."
"Yes, that is a skill any carnival would jump to possess," he agreed. "As you know, Lady Dolanna, bringing your group aboard is not safe for me. I must insist on the full amount we bargained, up front. And there is the matter of lost revenue if we leave tomorrow. Vordeaux does not expect us for another ride."
"Vordeaux is not on the travelling manifest, Renoit," Dolanna told him. "Because of our haste, we can only stop twice, and only then to allow the newcomers the chance to perfect their places in your performances. You will be compensated for the missed bookings."
"Where would you like to stop, then?" he asked curiously.
"Tor, and Shoran's Fork," she replied. "Both are large enough to take on all the supplies we will need, and provide enough of an audience for our new performers to become accustomed to performing before crowds."
"I will have to send a letter of regret to Countess Jiselle," Renoit said with a sigh. "Jan, show our new members to quarters," he called. "Lady Dolanna and I have some business to discuss."
A young woman, tall and slender, a bit flat-chested and narrow-hipped, scurried over. She had the body of an acrobat, all wiry toned muscle and exacting movements. She was rather pretty, with tawny hair that reminded him of Triana and a narrow face with a small nose and eyes. A very faint scar ran over her left brow. She wore plain trousers and a canvas shirt tied at her ribcage to expose a midriff of knotted muscle. "Certainly, Renoit," she said in a Tykarthian accent. "If you'll follow me," she said, motioning towards the sterncastle and the stairs going below decks.
"I am not going to dance," Keritanima promised in a hissing voice. "I won't! I'll jump overboard first!"
"Good luck changing his mind," Jan told her with a chuckle. "Renoit has a miraculous eye. He can always spot what someone can do best right off. If he says you'll do best dancing, then you're probably a very good dancer."
"Of course I am, but I'm not going to dress in a skimpy costume and shimmy my tail for the enjoyment of drunken lechers."
"You make it sound so dirty," she giggled. "It's alot of fun. I wish I could dance, but Renoit keeps me with the acrobats. He says I don't have enough chest to be a dancer."
"I never realized that dancing invoved your breasts," Keritanima said in an icy tone.
"I'm sure it doesn't, but it's what we'd call window dressing," she said, looking back and winking.
"This from the same Wikuni that wore dresses low enough to show her belly button at the bottom of the neckline," Tarrin noted to Dar.
"That's entirely different, Tarrin," she said waspishly. "I wasn't jiggling my breasts in your face either."
"Poor me," Tarrin said with a wink to Dar, which earned him a punch in the shoulder from the Wikuni.
"All these cabins are empty," Jan announced, pointing down a hallway that Tarrin realized was where the hold should have been. But since the ship carried only people, they had converted the hold into more quarters. No doubt that they only had enough hold to carry the materials they used in their carnival. "Everyone can have a room. They're not luxurious, but they're big enough."
"Thank you, Jan," Faalken said to the young girl. "Alright people, pick a room, but leave the ones closest to the intersection open."
Tarrin took a room between Keritanima and Allia, staying as near to his sisters as possible. They always seemed to do things that way, even when they weren't thinking about it. The room wasn't all that big, but it was clean, it had a sturdy, good-sized bunk built into the side of the wall, and a table and chair which were bolted to the floor. A large chest stood in the corner of the room, also nailed down to keep it from sliding during rough seas, which was more than large enough to hold everything he owned with plenty of room to spare.
He sat down on the bunk, feeling its firmness, and wondered about what they were doing. After trying to stay inconspicuous, now he was going to be performing before live crowds. He still wasn't sure how to take that. It didn't make him nervous, but he didn't know how he was going to react to it. He really didn't. He was certain that he could do it, in his natural form, he could out-tumble any human alive, but he wasn't sure how it would feel. He had never done it before, showed off to people who had paid to see him do it.
Then there was the other thing. They didn't know what he was, at least yet. He had no doubt that Dolanna would warn Renoit, who would then warn the others on the ship. He didn't really care anymore what other people thought of him, but the prospect of spending another two months trapped on a ship didn't appeal to him. Especially with a bunch of strangers who would make him edgy when they were around. Another group of humans to distrust. And he was just getting to the point where he could tolerate Kern's men. He almost liked Kern. The man had certainly proved himself in Tarrin's eyes. But he didn't know Renoit, and he had the feeling that Renoit was going to be as different to Kern as night was to day.
The door opened, and Binter entered. He looked funny with that Illusion hiding his true appearance, but at least the illusory mask fit him. Stern, grim, unbending, that was the way he looked, just like the real Sisska. "Sisska," he greeted as the massive Vendari closed the door.
"You need to talk to her Highness," she said calmly. "She is almost to the point of throwing things."
"Why?"
"Because she does not wish to dance," she replied. "She finds it unacceptable."
"I don't see why she's going nuts about this, Sisska," he said. "She's shown more to perfect strangers than she would in a dancing costume, and she could really be a good dancer."
"I think it is the fact that she would have to dance before crowds that disturbs her, Tarrin," she told him. "Keritanima doesn't like being put on public display. She has hated it ever since she was a child. Dancing for spectators would certainly be the same thing."
"She knew this was coming, Sisska," he said, standing up. "Dolanna told her."
"I think she would have been happier doing something less, noticable," she said delicately. "Keritanima is a good dancer, and that will draw every eye to her. She knows that."
"She'll just have to live with it, Sisska. We're not in control here."
"And I think that is what annoys her more than anything else," she told him. "Her Highness is not used to being in such a subservient position."
"It's all water under the bridge," he said dismissively. "I'll be over in a minute. So long as she doesn't throw anything at me, I'll be happy to help."
"Thank you," she said, then she nodded to him and left.
He finished settling in and came out, to find himself staring face to face with a small red lizard-like creature, with reptillian wings beating at the air. It had a maw full of needle-like little teeth, and its yellow eyes were lucid. "Chopstick, come back here!" a male voice called, a voice that had the most curious warbling in it, almost like the man wasn't sure what tone of voice to use. Tarrin stared at the little creature. It was a drake! A very small drake, a little reptile that looked like the Dragons of legend, only much, much smaller. This one had red scales, iridescent and polished, and a narrow muzzle and little black horns that swept back behind its eyes. It couldn't be more than two spans long from nose to tail, and would easily fit in his cupped palm, if he were in his normal form. A thin man in a gray robe with white symbols sewn all over it came around the corner, wearing the most ridiculous conical hat that had to be nearly a span long. His hair was white, but his face and skin was more approapriate for a young man who just left home. "Oh my, you must be the new people," he said, beckoning to the little drake with a hand. The little drake fluttered over to him and landed on his shoulder, regarding Tarrin with those staring yellow eyes. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Phandebrass the Unusual, sage, explorer, student of the arts of Arcane Magic, and prestidigitator extraordinary." He gave Tarrin a steady look. "I say, have you seen my familiar?"