Two Pieces of Tarnished Silver Read Online Free Page A

mar on the eldritch craft of the archmage Nex himself, created fifty centuries ago in the Age of Destiny. Imagine discovering a perfect Azlanti statue carved by the finest artisan of that bygone kingdom of legend, preserved for thousands of years just as its creator intended. Then imagine chiseling the crude face of your sallow-cheeked daughter over the original, simply to satisfy your own sense of vanity and pride. It is an affront.”
    “I kind of like it,” said Aebos, mouth full.
    “Indeed,” Korm added. “An indelible symbol imprinted by a long-dead famous hero. It adds a sort of mystery to the ship.”
    “The ship has plenty of mystery of its own,” scoffed Creeg.
    Iranez nodded. “One such mystery is the cause of your rescue, and the price of your freedom.” She smiled as Korm and Aebos turned to her with a start. There had been no prior discussion of a fee.
    “The Orb seems to believe that the two of you represent the best chance we have to remedy a wrong that has brought much grief to the seas of Nex.”
    “Wait,” Korm asked. “You speak to the Orb?”
    “The Orb speaks to me. ‘Whispers’ is perhaps a more accurate term, for its words are meant only for my ears, and cannot be heard by others.”
    “That’s convenient,” said Aebos.
    “I have found it to be so,” she admitted. “On more than one occasion the Orb has saved my life, or led me to a decision that enhanced the fortunes of the Council, the nation, or its people. Over long years I have learned to trust its declarations.”
    Aebos cut to the point. “You speak of a grief upon the seas. You mean the stillness of the water? The lack of wind?”
    “The same,” she said. “Tell me, Korm, in your travels along the River Road, did you ever hear about the demon ships?”
    Korm’s eyes narrowed at the mention of demons. “Can’t say that I did,” he said, monotone.
    “They date from the last days of the Age of Destiny, when the archmage Nex turned to conquest upon the seas to broaden the scope of his kingdom. Unwilling to bow to the might of storms or the whims of the wind, Nex sought a method to propel his fleet to military victories regardless of weather.”
    Creeg spoke up, interrupting his mistress. “He found his method by binding the souls of powerful demons into enormous, perfectly cut glass lenses, which he bonded to his ships in a supreme act of arcane mastery. While imprisoned within the false reality of the lens, the demon’s essence suffused every element of the ship, from its navigation to the fine details of its appearance. In a very real sense, the ship became the creature’s skin, though its mind remained forever hidden away.”
    “In all of our rich history,” Iranez continued, “no demon has broken free from its lens or betrayed its captain. Until now.”
    “Let me guess,” Korm said. “The Relentless is one of these demon ships?”
    “Indeed it is,” said Iranez. “And until recently it had been an unusually docile specimen of its kind.”
    “But then something happened,” said Aebos, “and the demon’s control extended to the waters around the ship. This whole business is your fault.”
    “This business is the demon’s fault,” Creeg corrected. “It simply decided to rebel for reasons of its own that we have not yet been able to discern. That is why we turn to you. You must resolve the situation with the demon at the heart of the ship. The disruption to trade must not be traced back to the lady.”
    Korm furrowed his brow. “And how, exactly, do we get the demon to change its ways?”
    Iranez lowered her left arm toward the floor, from whence she hauled a fine linen bag and placed it upon the table. As it landed with a loud clink, the lip of the bag dipped below the considerable bulk of its contents, revealing the glimmering edge of a crown and the sparkle of a scepter topped with what appeared to be a large emerald. Aebos’s eyebrow lifted.
    Iranez spoke softly, her golden eyes perfectly