### 49

You leave the Tower of Truth and pass along a wide stone ramp that gently descends to the great canal that encircles the city of Elzian. Few of the city’s Vakeros natives are abroad at this early hour and the streets and avenues are empty and quiet. A warm mist wreathes the barges and ships that are moored along the canal bank and, in the pre-dawn twilight, these vessels take on a ghostly appearance.

By the time you find The Azan, the sun has broken through the mist and the city is beginning to stir. Captain Jenkshi and the crew of the Suhnese trader are busily preparing their ship to sail, yet they immediately stop their work to welcome you and Lord Rimoah aboard. Jenkshi is a lean, yellow-skinned man with wide almond eyes and a small blunt nose. His slick black hair is tied in a knot atop his head in the Suhnese style, a fashion that is also favoured by all his crewmen. He orders one of his men to show you to your cabin at the prow, but before you go you bid Lord Rimoah farewell and thank him for all that he and the Elder Magi have done to aid your quest.

By the time The Azan is ready to sail, the mist has vanished. Having inspected your cabin you return to the foredeck where you settle yourself in the sun and enjoy the ever-changing views of the lush farmlands and Vakeros settlements which border upon the canal. For 90 miles this waterway cuts a wide furrow through the southern jungle of Dessi. To the east the horizon is dominated by a solitary mountain, and you marvel at its snowy peak which is the steepest you have ever seen.

‘That’s Kas-kalahmout,’ says one of the friendly Suhnese crewmen. ‘In your language, I think it has the meaning: Chair of the Heavens.’

By midday you come to the estuary of the canal and The Azan heads out into the open waters of the Gulf of Tentarium. Captain Jenkshi joins you on deck and offers to share some of his food. While you eat you learn from him that the voyage will take little more than three weeks to complete, including visits to ports of call along the way. You ask him about the notorious Shadakine pirates who plague these waters and he answers you with a shrug of his muscular shoulders.

‘Relax and enjoy the journey as best you can, my friend,’ he says, jovially, as he finishes his food and wipes his mouth on his silken shirt sleeve. ‘You’re in safe hands. I and my crew have sailed these waters all our lives and we’ve yet to meet a buccaneer we can’t outwit or outrun. Breathe easy. You’ve nothing to fear from those mangy curs.’

Turn to 277.