Najeem woke up feeling awful.

The mattress under him was lumpy and stiff. And his bones ached as though they were overly stuffed with marrow. His mind was as fuzzy as his vision and his limbs screamed with pain as he tried to push himself up.

He fell back, soaked in sweat and staring at the yellowed ceiling of whatever chamber he’d been dragged to.

He smelled the air and listened closely to his surroundings.

He was in an unfamiliar place. The noise of shouting and bartering told him he was near a marketplace. The scent of fish meant he was in a port city of some kind.

He heard faint bits of music come through the floor, accompanied by...laughter. When Najeem really tried, he could smell the bitter scent of wine.

Najeem was in a tavern.

“Najeem?” a soft voice came from the end of the room closer to the foot of Najeem’s bed. “You’re awake.”

Najeem tilted his head up and saw her. Princess Shahla, wrapped in the dress of a common woman.

“P-Princess?” the Asasiyun groaned. “Where are we? What happened?”

“You got shot by those crossbowmen!” Shahla hissed. She wore a scarf that covered her face just enough to hide the evidence of her Plague Scars. Najeem remembered she’d gotten those.

“Crossbowmen? I didn’t even know Ali employed crossbowmen.”

“That’s your reaction?” Shahla asked.

“How long was I out?”

“You lost a lot of blood. You’ve been asleep for nearly a week.”

“A week?” Najeem exclaimed.

“It’s alright, though,” Shahla promised. “I managed to join a merchant caravan. They’d been picking up refugees and escorting them for a small fee to Marizz. Which is...here. I plan to get us a ferry through the canal, then to Koinelia.”

“Hold on, princess. What’s the end goal with all this? Why go all the way to Koinelia? We should go to the Al-Kubra and your tribe,” Najeem asked.

“Prince Ahmed is personal friends with a Senator there. Florentius, I think his name is,” Shahla said. “He’ll lend us the power we need to rescue the Prince.”

“But why are we going south? Has Ali captured the whole of the north?”

Shahla nodded. “I feel it may be too risky to even try the canal. In that case, we will have to go through Nikan to go West. But, outside of Qahtan, no one important knows our faces.”

Najeem sighed. “This entire experience has been a humiliation of me as an Asasiyun. I apologize, my lady. If you wish to punish me or let me go, I understand.”

“Oh, please. You have nothing to apologize for. You did everything you could,” Shahla said. “Also, I won’t be able to make it out there without you.”

“Now that I think about it, how did you escape, Lady Shahla?”

“I...I’m not sure myself. I used some kind of power or magic connected to the moon. I have tried to do the same thing other nights, but I haven’t been able to. Perhaps because it wasn’t a full moon…” Shahla muttered.

“You have Plague Scars, but you don’t seem sick to me, Princess," Najeem mentioned.

Shahla shrugged, “I haven’t felt the least bit off aside from the pain I felt that night.”

“What do you make of this, my lady?” Najeem asked. He studied magic during his years training to become an Asasiyun so he could counter it in combat. But he’d never heard of any sort of lunar magic before, as there was no such thing as a lunar Shedim.

Shahla shook her head, “I’m not quite sure, as I’ve never seen...anything resembling this. And you’ll have to stop calling me ‘my lady’ or ‘princess’ eventually. I don’t want anyone knowing I might be someone of influence.”

Najeem nodded, “Yes, my...er...what should I call you, then?”

“Just Shahla is fine.”

“As you wish, Shahla…”

It felt...improper. Formality and professionalism was a requirement to be an Asasiyun. Especially to one’s monarch.

“Still too formal, but we can work on it," Shahla shrugged.

“I must say, my l-er, Shahla, I am genuinely impressed you made it this far on your own and lugged me around as dead weight," Najeem chuckled.

“That almost sounded like an insult. But thank you," Shahla smiled.

Najeem took a deep breath and pushed himself up again, fighting through the pain of his wounds. He looked down at his bare chest and saw that they were actually bandaged and well treated. “Did you have a doctor come in and see me?”

“I actually handled your injuries myself," Shahla grinned, a hint of pride on her lips. “How do they feel?”

“For three bolt wounds, not bad," Najeem said. “Do you have my armor still?”

“Oh, yes!” Shahla ran over to a table in their room and grabbed his brigandine vest and bracers.

Najeem took one of the bracers and reached into a hidden pocket sewn within the underside, producing a small metal badge shaped like the head of a falcon. “You said something about getting a ferry through the canal, yes?”

Shahla nodded, “Though, the canal does run right through what is currently Ali’s territory. I’ve heard tell that they’re getting ruthless with their checks at the border.”

“Well, whether or not we take the canal, the Asasiyun still have some influence here. I suspect my badge will come in handy," Najeem said. “If we don’t want to take the canal, we could go to Jambudvipa.”

“I think they’ve fallen off as a trade destination since the war,” Shahla scratched the back of her head. “It may be difficult to find a willing ship.”

“But it’s better to have to travel a few additional months rather than an additional year," Najeem said.

Shahla nodded, “That is true.”

Najeem forced himself up and out of his bed, stumbling for a second, but catching himself before he fell.

“Are you sure you’re well enough to walk?” Shahla asked.

“I’d rather suffer some aches while we still have time rather than have Ali breathing down our necks," Najeem said, grabbing his white shirt from the room’s desk and tying his armor on. He opted to simply enshroud his face like a hood with his turban rather than tying it. “Come. Let’s hire a boat.”

“With what money?” Shahla asked. “I sold off all my jewelry already.”

“I don’t need money. The implicit threat of steel that comes with this badge will be enough," Najeem said.

___________________________

Marizz, being closer to the sea, was far more naturally wet than the typical Qahtanad town. While they used common Water Shedim to wet their crops and such, the already present rainfall allowed the city to be populated by palm trees and other various flora. The combination of verdant colors with Qahtanad stonework was a beauty to behold. If they weren’t in a hurry to get to Koinelia, Najeem would have wanted to stay here for a while.

He loved the charm of coastal towns and was dead set on living out his last years in one.

That is, if he ever grew old enough.

The city streets were far more packed than other settlements, thanks to the sense of security the city’s governors had provided. People shopped in the Souq as though there wasn’t a plague spreading around.

Life carried on as usual. Merchants from all over the east sold their goods in makeshift stalls all up and down the dirt roads.

But he could see that Shahla was disturbed.

“I agree with your sense of caution, Shahla," Najeem muttered just loud enough for her to hear. He could see many guard patrols around. More than were needed. Likely to stop anyone with Plague from spreading it. “Perhaps we should leave today, now that I’m up. Not as though we have much in the way of belongings.”

The two of them made their way through the marketplace, which drew Shahla’s attention.

“Should we get supplies?” she asked.

“I can’t go around flashing this badge to every lowly merchant," Najeem asked. “If we need food, I’ll steal some for us.”

Shahla looked about ready to protest, but stopped herself.

The harbor of Marizz was a small sliver of docking in comparison to the city at large, that contrasted the city’s skyline with unvaried flatness. Fishing boats and merchant vessels occupied most of the docks, with more coming and leaving constantly.

A dock house made of stone sat on the edge of the harbor.

Najeem and Shahla entered the building through the arched doorway, met with a man reading a small pocket book.

A short exchange with Najeem got the man to run through his ledgers for a Jambudvipi ship. Fortunately, there was one on dock thirteen.

They counted the docks until they reached thirteen. The boat docked there was a long, narrow wooden ship with three masts and Jambudvipi roofing over the deck to shield it from the sun.

“This is perfect," Shahla said.

“Can I help you two?” a voice speaking heavily accented Qahtanad asked.

Najeem whirled around, nearly tripping. The man behind them was a head taller than anyone Najeem had seen before. He had a skin tone very much similar to Qahtanads, but his eyes were narrower. He wore simple linens and pointed shoes.

“Hello, sir," Shahla said cheerfully. “We were wondering if you would be so kind as to allow us onto your boat as you sail back to Jambudvipa.”

“Two pounds of gold and silver," the man growled.

Two pounds? For a ferry?

The Asasiyun sighed and drew his emblem. “We’re on official business of the Order of Asasiyun. I suggest you waive that fee.”

The man scoffed, “Or what, you’ll kill me? If they confiscate my boat for bringing two stowaways, I might as well be dead. I have a family to feed, you know.”

“O-of course!” Shahla shoved Najeem’s arm down. “We’re sorry. We’ll get you the gold, just-”

“Trust me. It’s not worth it.”

Najeem glanced to the right, finding a figure leaning against the stairs that led down to the harbor.

It was a woman with very dark skin, big brown eyes and silky black hair. She wore a bright orange mantle over a black tunic, a style common from northern Jambudvipa. Her crossed arms and tilted chin gave an air of aloofness, but certainty in any of its forms seemed like an attractive quality to Najeem right now.

“Piss off, Shakti!” the man bellowed.

“He pays the dock house extra to send travelers over to his boat and makes them pay way too much to sail with him," Shakti said, ignoring the man.

The man gritted his teeth, “Why, you…”

“Come with me if you two wanna find a fair price,” she beckoned to them.

“A pound!” the man said.

Najeem looked to Shahla, “I say we go with her.”

Shahla nodded. They followed Shakti as she started up the steps.

“Half a pound!” the man’s voice echoed behind them.

Shakti led the two back into the town and towards the bustling Souq, through the slow-moving crowd and into a doorway on the left.

Inside, was a lounge, fogged up by smoked hashish and formatted like a claustrophobic labyrinth of wooden screens and bright colored pillows. People of all nationalities laid on the pillows or in small private nooks, enjoying beer and Qahtanad prostitutes.

Najeem frowned. He didn’t like the look of this place. The sheer degeneracy might cause him to be damned just by being near them.

They were led up the stairs to a floor of private rooms, completely closed off from the rest of the building.

Then one of the doors slammed open. A furious, nude Qahtanad woman stomped out, covering herself with a sheet.

“I don’t know what kind of back alley hellhole you come from, but that is not okay here!” she screeched before rushing past them.

“Gods damnit," Shakti sighed.

“What do you mean it doesn’t happen here? It happens everywhere!” A rather plump man with light brown skin and a head of long, curly black hair stepped out of the door frame, dressed in nothing but a loincloth.

“Vai, what the hell?” Shakti hissed.

“What?” the man asked. “Sodomy happens everywhere whether they want it to or not.”

Shahla let out a small gasp.

“Vai!” Shakti gritted her teeth. “Can you not see the two Qahtanads right next to me?”

“Oh! Uh, sorry. But I mean...it does," Vai shrugged. “Why’d you bring them?”

“They need a ferry," Shakti said. “And I want something from that one," she pointed at Najeem, “I saw that badge in your hand.”

Najeem’s finger rested on a hidden dagger in his vest.

“Shakti, you can’t just keep going around asking all the interesting people you see if they want a boat ride. The last one you brought tried to mug us and the time before that, I almost lost Hokule’a to arsonists!”

“Oh come on, do these two look like criminals to you?” Shakti asked.

“I guarantee you that the Asasiyun has fifty more blades on him than what you can see. Criminal isn’t the point. Danger to me and my boat is.”

“Excuse me, but who are you two exactly?” Najeem asked. “As in, what do you do or where are you from?”

Shakti sighed. “I’m an artist. He’s an asshole.”

“I’m not an asshole. Not all the time," Vai said bitterly. He put on an enthusiastic smile for Najeem. “How are you? I’m Vai, an Aotearoan navigator.”

“Aotearoan?” Shahla asked.

“They’re an island people who managed to sail the Eastern Sea and populate all its islands before anyone else knew they existed," Najeem explained. “They can navigate the sea without a compass, I hear.”

“That’s right," Vai grinned pridefully. “And I’m the best navigator of them all. I sailed here all the way from Moatihe’a.”

“Is that far?” Shahla asked.

“Further than you could imagine, sweetie.”

Shahla frowned at Vai.

“Vai knows his stuff," Shakti said. “And he’ll take you for free.”

“He will?” Najeem raised his eyebrows.

“I will?” Vai frowned.

“Yes, because you owe me for the incident in Lehia," Shakti said firmly.

“Fine, fine," Vai rolled his eyes.“But I have things to do aside from ferrying people.”

“You? You have things to do?” Shakti raised an eyebrow.

Vai did not look amused. “I have to stop by one of the islands at least once within these next two weeks. Aotearoa is in the middle of an important festival and if I miss it, the gods will capsize my boat.”

“Aotearoa is always having an important festival," Shakti sighed. “Can’t you just make this run first? It’s just a quick trip over to Jambudvipa.”

“No," Vai said firmly.

“Quick trip?” Najeem asked. “The gulf takes weeks to sail.”

“That’s quick in naval time, unfortunately," Vai said.

“We can afford a small stop, can’t we?” Shahla asked.

Najeem sighed, “I mean...I guess a week or two isn’t really going to matter that much in the long run. Whatever. Fine with me. Though I do have to ask. You claimed you would take us free of charge and I chose to pass over the comment when you claimed to want something of me. What else do you want, then?”

“Oh, uh...well, it’s a bit complex-”

“We can digest it," Najeem said.

“Alright, well you’re an Asasiyun. I thought maybe you could do me a favor in exchange?” Shakti made her request into an uncertain question.

Najeem sighed, “Who do you want dead?”

“No one!” Shakti quickly replied. “I just need you to check on someone when we get to Jambudvipa. She’s really good at keeping trespassers out.”

“Najeem, your injuries…” Shahla said.

“It’s fine, m-Shahla. I’ll be better by the time we get there," Najeem assured her. “I can handle some basic reconnaissance.”

“You sure?”

Najeem nodded.

“Then we accept your offer," Shahla turned to Shakti and Vai.

“Good. We leave at sun up tomorrow," Vai said. “Now, if you all don’t mind, I’m going to find another whore who doesn’t delude herself into being a prude at the same time.”

“Gross, Vai," Shakti muttered.

If nothing else, Najeem mused to himself, these two would make for some decent entertainment during their journey.