Chapter 31
“Ah, there he is.” Velden’s face lit up with a grin as he led Gaeren and a handful of others from their group to the back corner of the fourth pub they’d tried that evening.
He stopped at a table where an eerily still lump of clothing and shaggy hair remained affixed to its chair, the half-full mug in front of it the only evidence that it might truly be a man.
“You’re alive.” The gruff words escaping the man managed to sound pleased, and Gaeren caught a glimpse of shiny brown eyes between strands of hair.
If he stood, he’d likely rival Holm in height and girth, but it was hard to tell if his size was due to an abnormally large number of layers of clothes or actual muscle and fat.
It made Gaeren sweat a little more, uncertain why anyone would voluntarily suffocate themselves in the heat of southern Vendaras.
Velden slapped the other man on the back. “You sound surprised. Everyone, this is Barny.” He gestured toward the lump of clothes. “Barny, meet everyone.”
Aeliana and Cyrus each gave a small wave, but Sylmar and Riveran simply pulled out chairs and sat. Lukai brought a chair from an extra table, passing it off to Kendalyhn, so Gaeren did the same for Aeliana before claiming one for himself.
Velden flipped one around and straddled it, leaning in close to his friend. “Where’s old Ludo? I figured he’d beat you here.”
Barny grunted and lifted his mug to his lips.
“It’s that wife of his, isn’t it?” Velden asked. “Ludo always swore he’d never become like our stuffy professors. And look at him now—married, staying home, and teaching all the young bucks down at the naval academy.”
This time Barny’s grunt sounded more like a laugh, and his layers of fabric shook. “He’ll come,” was all he said.
Velden grinned and raised a hand to hail a waitress. “Barny’s a man of few words, if you couldn’t tell.”
As the waitress came and took their orders, Barny slowly scanned the newcomers.
His eyes narrowed when he took in Gaeren, but he didn’t say anything.
Gaeren could have kicked his father’s advisors for insisting portraits of the royal family be placed all over the continent.
Would he have to start wearing a hooded cloak or shear his hair?
On the flip side, Barny’s lips lifted as he took in Riveran’s X.
Maybe that would be a sign of honor down in these parts.
Just as the waitress took their final order and gave Velden a wink, the door to the pub creaked open. Several shouted out greetings to a man with greying hair and a grin that rivaled Velden’s.
The half-Sayhleen jumped to his feet. “Ludo,” he called out.
The other man’s grin grew impossibly larger and the two ran at each other, their reunion looking more like two schoolboys roughhousing than old friends meeting up. Gaeren glanced at Riveran, feeling a strange sense of gratefulness that they were back in each other’s good graces.
“As slimy as always. And I see you brought friends.” Ludo wiped his hands on his trousers and scanned the group in surprise. “Lots of friends. I didn’t think you were capable of having so many.”
“And I didn’t think you were capable of snagging a wife.” Velden jabbed the other man’s shoulder.
Despite the low lighting of the pub, Gaeren caught a blush rising in the other man’s cheeks. “I was just waiting for the right woman. One who cooks me dinner, turns in early, and still lets me come to the pub at night.”
Barny’s clothes jiggled again, and Velden shook his head. “You still became everything we despised when we were young. No matter how you paint the picture.”
“I seem to remember you giving it a try once,” Ludo said. “Besides, it could be a worse life.”
He took Velden’s chair for his own, studying everyone a little closer while Velden grabbed a new one. Just like Barny, his gaze settled on Gaeren a moment longer than the others, his silence speaking more of an enhanced alertness than a dismissal of Gaeren’s heritage.
“Now,” Ludo drawled. “Tell me why we’re having a party tonight.”
Velden introduced everyone around the table, making no effort to hide Gaeren’s identity, but instead heralding the way he’d defied his parents to protect Emeris’ daughter.
Sylmar’s staff jabbed Velden a few times when his lengthy introductions spilled more information than they should, but the longer Velden talked, the more Ludo and Barny relaxed.
He left Cyrus for last, because most of their plan centered on a half-lie they’d concocted about his quest for truth.
“Cyrus here is a priest-in-training, but he has little to no starblood.” Velden stretched his webbed hands out toward the fidgeting younger man.
“That explains why I can practically see through him,” Ludo squinted at Cyrus. “His freckles are unusual though. Where’re you from, lad?”
Cyrus’ smile faltered, and Gaeren inwardly groaned. His priestly nature was going to ruin their story. Cyrus had tied his hair in a knot and hidden it under a cap, but the moment he opened his mouth, it would all be over.
Gaeren leaned forward, drawing Ludo’s and Barny’s attention.
“Would you believe me if I said the royal family has a strange obsession with collecting those with little starblood? I suspect my ancestors watched for them each time they tested the people’s blood for their children’s bonding ceremonies. ”
It wasn’t a direct lie, and he said it with such earnestness that even Aeliana looked a bit rankled.
“Wouldn’t surprise me one bit,” Ludo admitted. “They probably take satisfaction in surrounding themselves with people they think are far lower than themselves.”
Gaeren did his best to hide his wince by gripping his knees a little tighter.
The man was only saying things Gaeren had said about his own family.
It shouldn’t bother him to hear others say it too.
Aeliana’s hand twitched as if she might place a steadying hand on his arm, and his bond mark twinged its disapproval that he wished she would.
“Because of Cyrus’ lack of starblood,” Velden went on, “he’s become a bit of a historian and collector. He’s out to prove history’s veracity. Which brought us here.”
“Velden says you two know where to find everything on the market,” Cyrus said. “Every kind of market.”
Gaeren wanted to smack his hand over Cyrus’ mouth at his lack of subtlety.
Barny took a long swig of his ale, and Ludo let out a guffaw. “He’s not one to beat around the bush, is he?”
Velden rolled his eyes. “It’s more a lack of social grace than efficiency.”
“So you’re actually a group of treasure hunters,” Ludo said. “That’s what you’ve become now, Velden?”
Velden shrugged, his lazy grin returning. Ludo and Barny didn’t seem at all put out by the idea.
“What treasures do you seek? The Fearsome Pirate Redwood’s lost ship? Queen Amaya’s crown jewels?” Ludo’s gaze strayed to Gaeren again. “I suppose if he doesn’t know where they are, no one does.”
“Anything, really,” Cyrus said. “Send us to the best contacts with information on the oldest of artifacts—even the starbridges themselves.”
Gaeren tensed. They’d agreed not to bring up the starbridges, but in Cyrus’ nervousness, of course he’d gone and done exactly that.
This time it wasn’t just Barny’s clothes that jiggled. His entire body shifted, his laughter finally audible. He shook his head and took a long draw of his ale.
“Well, that would keep you busy for the rest of your lives.” Ludo slapped the table in his glee. “Assuming you didn’t give up when you realized they didn’t exist.”
Gaeren was tempted to pull the golden arrow from his pocket. These men may have been Velden’s friends, but their banter was currently more irritating than fun.
“I guess there are worse things you could have come back for.” Ludo’s eyes held regret the moment the words left his lips.
A dark look passed over Velden’s face, something so foreign he almost looked like a stranger. “Be grateful they convinced me to come back at all.”
Ludo pursed his lips, eyeing each member of the group as if weighing their worth.
Perhaps he assumed they were all swindling Velden, or maybe he thought they were blackmailing him, but when his gaze finally settled on Cyrus, who nonchalantly leaned back on two legs of the chair before managing to spill not only his ale, but himself, all over the floor, the old naval officer grinned. “I might have a few leads for you.”
They spoke well into the night, gathering a list of museums, collectors, and black market traders in the area who might have heard rumors about ancient artifacts.
The starbridges weren’t brought up again, and Lukai and Kendalyhn even spent a fair amount of time referencing dragon bones to misdirect their focus.
Barny’s contributions came in one-word grunts that Ludo translated, which was the only evidence that the quiet man was equally invested in helping Velden. The list was overwhelming as it was, but as they said their goodbyes, Ludo added, “Stubs might have some more ideas if we can find him.”
Velden’s smile fell. “It was a shame to hear about Dirk.”
Ludo’s eyes held a new heaviness. “We can’t all live to be ancient.”
“How did it happen?”
Ludo and Barny exchanged a glance. “Just a freak accident at sea,” Ludo mumbled.
“It’s even worse that Stubs took it so hard,” Velden added. “It’s like you lost two friends instead of one.”
Ludo’s grin returned. “Which is why it feels so good to get one back. Even if it’s temporary.”
As Gaeren and the others rose to leave, Ludo sat back down, calling the waitress over for another drink.
“You know where to find us if those leads are dead ends. We’ll keep cheering you on from our place here.
” He lifted his nearly empty cup, and Velden responded by squirting him in the face with water from his hand.
“Your tune might be different if we’d promised you part of the spoils.”
“Rightly so.” Ludo passed that same cautious gaze over their group and settled it warily on Gaeren. “But something tells me I don’t want any part of what you all are up to.”
Velden spun his chair on one leg until it faced forward once more and tucked it under the table. “I knew getting married made you less fun.”
Ludo raised his cup higher. “You all take care of my old friend. I don’t want to wait another twenty-five years before I see him again.”