Chapter 405: Maritime Negotiations
The summer warmth did not reach the frozen Northern Lands. Grey clouds blanketed the sky and snow fell in slow waves. The sun had already dipped below the horizon, taking with it the little warmth left in the land.
The drow blood coursing through Mary took the edge off the cold winds, but it did little to prevent the heat from leaving her body as she trudged through the knee-high snow. She usually wouldn’t be this far north, her patrol area ended a good twenty miles south, but after spotting the odd trio, her duty demanded she follow.
Mary had first seen them when they had stayed at a lodging in the village she was posted at. They had mostly kept to themselves. Mary had never seen them before and kept a close eye on the strangers. That was when she noticed the flick of a deep-blue serpentine tail from underneath the tallest of them. A lamia, she realized.
The recent reports mentioned a lamia companion of the Ebon Aspirant. After learning who the lamia was Mary had quickly deduced the identities of the other two, though why Callum Veres and a dwarven mage were traveling this far north she didn’t understand.
The Order considered the Ebon Aspirant a potential Class 1 threat and his companions to be a Class 2 threat until any further action. This was above her jurisdiction, but Mary couldn’t simply ignore the strangers.
For the last two days, Mary had been secretly following them from a distance, using the snowstorm and her black magic as cover. The trio seemed to move with purpose, only staying at village taverns for a single night before moving on the next morning. Their trail had finally led them to one of the port villages on the shores of Hoarfrost Bay.
As usual, the trio made their way straight to the village’s tavern. Unlike the landlocked villages, several taverns were lining the port. The Veres scion led his companions to the largest of the inns.
Mary followed from a closer distance, casting a shadow spell to hide her within the shadows of the buildings.
Over a hundred pairs of eyes stopped and looked at the trio the moment they stepped through the door. Sailors and dock workers stared at the cloaked strangers suspiciously, but made no move against them, and simply sipped at their drinks.