Chapter 13 (original edit)

Chapter XIII

The departure of Wavestrider didn't slow activity on Rendor even the slightest little bit. Plans and preparations for the journey of Wolf, Ordolf, Neun Ja, and Enki continued apace. Other things occupied the attention of the adventurers as well. Ordolf in particular was distracted from the cares and worries of their forthcoming undertaking. His mind was on Nynaeve. It had been years since the two of them had last seen each other. When he'd seen his old love once more, it was as if nothing had changed. She was still as beautiful as ever and as full of life. And she was a mother! That was something he had never expected or even suspected. Ordolf had known that Nynaeve was to marry. That was part of the reason their paths had diverged. Her parents had arranged for her to marry the scion of another ilvan noble family.

There had never been any no love lost between Ordolf and Nynaeve's parents once his romance with their daughter had begun, although they had been the ones to introduce the two. It had been many years before, when Ordolf had been visiting the ilvan court of Rendor on the business of the society of mages that he and Nynaeve had met. In the course of his duties, the archmage had become acquainted with Lord Steeledge, Nynaeve's father. The two of them had become cordial and one thing leading to another, the ilvan aristocrat had invited the mage to share a meal with the ilf's family in his home. It was there that Nynaeve and Ordolf had met. For Ordolf, it had been love at first sight. The attraction had been immediate for Nynaeve as well, for the minute she had laid eyes on the human mage a jolt as of electricity had rushed thrilling through her veins.

The two new lovers had been less than discreet about their feelings. They knew that such a whirlwind romance would cause a stir among the long-lived ilfs, but neither had expected the censure and reproach that greeted their romance from Nynaeve's parents and many of the other ilfs as well. Still, the displeasure of the more xenophobic members of the ilvan community hadn't deterred the two young lovers. They grew closer and closer. Soon they were talking of marriage, something that had rarely occurred between ilf and human.

Ordolf was head over heels in love. He had never experienced anything even remotely like the feelings that were thundering through every fiber of his being. The mage, much younger then, couldn't imagine being happier. His happiness was soon to be ripped from his grasp. He was after all only human.

For Nynaeve's part, while the reproach that her parents hadn't deterred her from growing closer to the human mage, it had distressed her. She and her parents had always been very close. Now a rift was developing between them that she wanted healed. Yet she loved Ordolf. It placed her in something of a quandary. A quandary that only grew worse when her parents announced to her that they had arranged a marriage between her and the son of a cadet branch of the ruling family. Worse still, the man whom they wished her to wed was a friend, a very dear friend with whom she had shared much, even a kiss or two. She wished to hurt him no more than she wished to upset her parents, but her love for the human mage could not be denied.

Still, Nynaeve's family's plans had placed Ordolf and their daughter's love in jeopardy. While their daughter was unwilling to give up her human beloved, Ordolf was either more foolish or more noble. He could see that the romance that had blossomed between he and Nynaeve was causing great woe between her and her family. He could also see just how much distress that that discord was causing Nynaeve and he could not stand to see his love unhappy, especially through actions of his. Ordolf also felt as if he was to blame for the disapproval which the ilvan community of Rendor had heaped upon the couple. After all he was the interloper, if he hadn't come to Rendor or if he had denied his feelings, Nynaeve would not be suffering the reproval of her parents and their friends. It was just that he loved her so terribly.

So the situation, bad to begin with, only grew worse. Nynaeve, caught between her family and friends on the one side and Ordolf on the other, began to grow more and more disconsolate. Ordolf, seeing her desolation, grew morose. The only time either was happy was when they were together and their passion for each other swept everything else away for a brief moment. And even those times grew shorter and shorter as the days of his visit to the court of Rendor dwindled and the pressure on the two lover's to face the future grew.

Ordolf decided that he must take measures into his own hands. He was young and foolish and in love. Determined to take care of his love, he decided that the best course was for him to break off their affair and leave. There were just too many problems for the two of them. He was human. She was an ilf. To marry him would sunder her relationship with her family. It would hurt her childhood friend. It would mean that she must needs give up her life and community here in Rendor and move far away, for those close to her would never accept their relationship. Life in Rendor would be unbearable for the two of them.

Ordolf could not bring himself to tear his love's world apart in such a manner. So he decided that when his business at the ilvan court was finished, he would slip away from Rendor without a word to his love. Although the mage suspected that perhaps the choice to end the love that he and his ilvan sweetheart shared wasn't his decision alone to make, he knew that choosing between him and her family and friends was a decision that would break Nynaeve's heart. He couldn't bear for that to happen, so, when the time came, Ordolf left in the middle of the night like a thief running from the law. He was young and foolish and perhaps a trifle overly noble and self-sacrificing. He was, after all, only human.

Although the human mage had left his ilvan love a letter explaining why he had done what he had done, it did little to heal the broken heart that Nynaeve had suffered when Ordolf had quit Rendor without a word. Time eventually allowed her to carry on. Although she did not love him, she married the ilf that her parents had wanted her to. Though he was a warrior, he was gentle and caring and understood how bereft Nynaeve had been by the traumatic rupture of her bond with Ordolf and she was fond of him. He never asked her for more than she could give and eventually, he and Nynaeve became best friends. They even had a child together, Berit. But Nynaeve never forgot Ordolf. When her husband had been slain in battle against the corsairs of Barabel, she strove to find out what had happened to her one true love.

Over the years, Nynaeve had come to learn much about her human paramour. He had risen high in the ranks of the mage-born. He was acknowledged as one of the greatest of the world's archmages and was reputed to be the greatest of the world's much-feared necromancers. Power and fame had been heaped upon him. But he had never married. When word had come that he was coming to Rendor once more, and on a mission of dire import, Nynaeve had begged Springbuck and Kahlan to allow her to be their emissary and greet her love and his companions at the port. When she had seen him once more on the docks of Rendor, for her, too, it was as if not a single moment at all had passed in all of the years during which she and Ordolf had been separated. Oh, he looked older and more distinguished. His hair had a touch of gray and their were crow's feet at the corners of his eyes. Truth be told though, thought Nynaeve, the years had treated him well. But the spark that arced between the two of them, that was as fresh and new as they day that they had first met.

Ordolf, too, had fallen in love all over again when he saw his sweetheart standing there waiting for him when he stepped off the Mermaid's Tit. Older and wiser now, he realized that decisions that he had made years gone by had not really been his alone to make. Kind though it was to wish to prevent any pain from touching his love Nynaeve, it would have been kinder still to allow her to make her own choices -- difficult though they may have been. If she could forgive him, then he was determined to make up for lost time.

As it turned out, Nynaeve not only could forgive Ordolf, she had already long since pardoned him of his sins. Their romance blossomed anew as if had never been sundered. Once again, though, time and circumstance were conspiring against the two lovers. Ordolf had a mission to complete, one on which Nynaeve could be of no help. The mage vowed to his beloved that though he must once again leave her, this time it would be different. This time he would return as soon as possible and they would spend the rest of their days together. It was a vow that he meant to keep.

To do so, he would first have to go to Barabel and search out the weapon that was reputed to be hidden somewhere among the pirates' isles. In order to do that, he and his comrades needed to assume their masquerades and travel to the buccaneers' main steading at Barabel itself. He had two days before that would happen and he was determined to make the most of that brief period by spending every moment with his beloved.

The other adventures were less preoccupied by romance -- old or new. Wolf was a bundle of nervous energy in a city without his wife around. His personality had taken on a remarkable transformation when his wife had left on Wavestrider. Instead of the calm, collected man of experience whose affability charmed all who met him, Wolf seemed to feel as if he was at loose ends all the time. The only thing helped was throwing himself into the necessary preparations. Enki had never seem anyone quite so energetic about such small details. As soon as Wavestrider had sailed, the ranger had come to her and insisted that they begin to plan their cover identities more thoroughly.

"It is all very well and good to pose as mercenaries in search of work when we go to Barabel," Wolf had asserted, "but we need to be a little more thorough in our guises than that. Where did we come from? Why Barabel? Is Ordolf going to try to pose as a sellsword? If so, I doubt he can pull it off, he has no skill with weapons and I mislike our chances of teaching him enough in the next to days to pass as a warrior. Besides, I doubt we could pry him away from Nynaeve e'en if we had the lever that Osilanik used to move the world."

Enki nodded in response. "You have the right of it I think, my friend. Ordolf can not now pass as a soldier, nor can we teach him enough to allow to do so in the time we have remaining especially since, as you say, he is unlikely to cooperate. This is what I propose, Ordolf must pose as an itinerant magician who, along with his three warrior associates, seeks employment with the corsairs. As we discussed, the four of us will pretend that we are four mercenaries who came from Seremoreh. Life there was too peaceful and we seek something a bit more lively in our existences. We have heard nothing of the fall of Ekirigilio. We sailed from one of the southern ports, say, Arekor City, and the Islands of Despair were the direction that first ship that sailed was heading. While aboard ship, we heard of the pirates of Barabel and, once we had arrived in Rendor, sought a means of getting to the buccaneers' hold. The smuggler was our first opportunity and we took it. How does that sound?"

"Not bad. We must be certain the details can be verified should some wight deem it wise to determine that it be wise to check our bona fides. Has there been a ship in Rendor port from Arekor City recently? If so, did it carry any passengers? I can check that with the port master if you like while we are here at the harbor. Also we may want Ordolf to refrain from necromancy while in Barabel. I'm not certain that the pirates know anything about us, but using a cover identity means we are operating on the principle that they do, and his skills are well-nigh unique. So, since the pirates may know of his talent in that field, we might be better off if he just used his other magical skills."

"That is true, I will speak to him about your suggestion. I am sure that he will see the wisdom in it. And if you would speak with the director of the port's operations, that would save me the trouble. Please let me know what you find out," the warrior smiled as the ranger immediately spun on his heal and set out in search of the harbor master.

It turned out that no ship had come recently from Arekor City, but one had made port from its sister city of Karakorum only the day before the adventurers had arrived in Rendor. So Karakorum became their city of origin on their trip from Seremoreh.

The next day, Enki spoke with Springbuck about their intended guise. He thought it a workable deception and he had passed the information on to his operatives in the smuggler fleet. Those worthies also deemed Enki's scheme feasible. In fact, they had informed Springbuck when he reported the plan to them, it was not only feasible but fit in well with the current recruitment drive that had been going on in Barabel. The pirates had just outfitted six new ships and they had stripped crew from dozens of their other ships to place mariners on the new vessels. They had even doubled the complement of marines on the new vessels, so that those six warships were probably the most dangerous in the pirate fleet. The removal of so many sailors from their existing fleet and the normal attrition that pirates suffered meant that the buccaneers were desperate for sailors, and mercenaries were even more in demand in Barabel than usual. The need for mages wasn't generally high, according to Springbuck's informants, but there was a rumor that one of the seven captains that ruled Barabel was looking for someone who could provide him with a potent magical arsenal.

So, Enki realized, the four seekers had their cover identities. Good ones, too, from what Springbuck's spies reported. The trick would be to find out as much as they could in Barabel about the legend of the weapon and its guardian without getting too involved with the pirates, for if the adventurers were impressed into service in the pirate fleet too quickly all sorts of things could happen and most of them were bad. Perhaps the least problematic thing that could happen was the most likely: their duties would keep them busy and they simply would not have much time to investigate. A bigger problem would emerge if they had to sign on to different crews and so were unable to coordinate their clandestine activities. Still worse would be the possibility that the ship which hired them would be sailing in the near future. Then they would either have to jump ship or go on a raiding voyage as pirates. The latter was unthinkable and the former could get them killed.

"Well then, we'll just have to make sure we don't let ourselves be hired on too quickly," Enki said to herself. "when we get there we'll play hard to get and demand that all four of us be hired at once. That should eliminate one of the possible problems and go a long way toward obviating the others."

The last day of preparations before the four companions left Rendor went by quickly. Enki spent much of her time learning as much as she could about Barabel and its denizens. Ordolf spent every moment at Nynaeve's side. Wolf was busy checking the equipment and making sure each item was in as good condition as it could possibly be in. He went from room to room and changed straps on rucksacks, sharpened swords, and inspected armor for both himself and the others.

Neun Ja watched Wolf's bustling activity with quiet amusement. She understood his worries about Brianna and his loneliness without her and that he needed to keep busy in order to survive. Ordolf, for his part, didn't really worry about why Wolf was doing all the work of preparation, he was just glad that someone was taking care of such details so his time with his beloved would not be interrupted. Enki found Wolf's industriousness a trifle irritating, and when he started to take apart her leathers in order to replace the corselet, she gently, but firmly directed him elsewhere explaining that she could look after her own armor and weapons. She felt as if she had just kicked a puppy when she saw the ranger's initial reaction of dismay, but relief flooded through her when Wolf shook himself, slapped himself in the head, smiled ruefully and apologized for fiddling with another fighter's tools of the trade.

By the time the party was ready to go, everything was as well-prepared as it could possibly be. Wolf had seen to every detail that he could think of, Enki had a good idea as to how to proceed once the group arrived in the pirates' lair, and Ordolf and Neun Ja were ready to go and find the weapon which they believed to be the Sword of Might.

The ship upon which they sailed was small but sleek. It was obvious from her lines that she was intended as a blockade runner. No other vessel would have had so much sail for so small a cargo capacity. That extra sail served the four detectives from Seremoreh well, for the trip from Rendor to Barabel was over in less than three days, when it would have taken most other ships four.

It was a clear, sunny morn when the smuggler ship first came in sight of the island of Barabel. As the craft drew closer to Barabel, Enki saw that the pirate's lair had anything but the look of a nest of vipers. The town itself was a vision of white-washed walls and red-tiled roofs set within a forest of lush, green trees and shrubs. The scene was dominated though, not by the picturesque little city, nor by the verdant woodland, but by an immense, snow-capped mountain. The peak of the mountain had a craggy, sharp-edged look to it as climbed toward the sky and disappeared into an enormous bank of clouds which shrouded most of the top third of the mountaintop.

Barabel didn't look like the home base for a fleet of marauders who had plundered nearly every town within a thousand miles and who had even fought the ilvan nation of Rendor to a standstill. But Enki knew that that was exactly what she viewed. Even if she had not researched the corsairs, Enki remembered stories of Barabel which she had heard while she and her brother had sailed with Suryn. Pirates from Barabel had even participated in the sack of Meratz Khahok, so she had something of a score to settle with them. Obviously, her first priority had to be to learn more about the weapon which she and her comrades sought, but if she should have the opportunity to do the pirates of Barabel some harm without jeopardizing that quest, she was certainly going to take it.

Now, however, it was time to gather her companions together and prepare to land at the pirate port.

As the ship drew closer to the buccaneers' docks, the four adventurers went over possible scenarios that might take place when their vessel made port. In each, Enki was to act as leader. The four agreed that her experience with Suryn and his crew made her the most equipped member of the group to deal with the pirates. All but Ordolf would present themselves as warriors when they went ashore. They were all skilled enough with blades that there should be no question of their bona fides on that basis. Neun Ja would let no hint of her magical talents become known. That way they would have an ace-in-the-hole should a confrontation with the pirates take place. They would have another in Ordolf. While the archmage would pose as an itinerant magician seeking employment, he would do so without exhibiting his skill at necromancy. That would ensure that the four adventurers had another surprise for anyone who should decide to confront them violently.

As prepared as they would ever be, the four heroes waited in silence while their ship slid up to one of the numerous piers which studded Barabel's harbor. The quay that their ship tied up at was somewhat dilapidated and it was located off to one side of the harbor, but nevertheless their ship attracted the attention of those on shore. Longshore workers scrambled toward her as she docked. The waiting stevedores came in all descriptions. There were humans, dwarves, and even an ilf or two. Enki chuckled ruefully when she realized that the caution that she and her companions had exhibited about bringing ilfs to Barabel was perhaps a bit misplaced. It was apparent that although ilvankind might not be welcome in Barabel, neither were they the instant trouble that she and her friends had assumed that they would be.

In addition to the dockworkers, there were merchants both big and small. As the ship slid into port, individual entrepreneurs dressed in all sorts of colorful garb jostled each other as they called out to the sailors offering an incredible variety of goods for sale, ranging from baubles and trinkets to more sordid commodities for "low, low" prices. When one made an offer, a competitor would immediately call out disparaging remarks about the goods of the first and offer a lower price for whatever it was that was being sold. The first would then scream in fury and respond to the insults in kind, while dropping his price even lower. These petty merchants shouted incessantly at one another and their prospective marks as they tried to lure customers to them. As far as Enki could tell, it was a wonder that anyone was able to understand anything at all with all the noise the hawkers made.

There were other, wealthier merchants at the quayside as well. Initially, they were more reserved than their less affluent brethren and they waited patiently for the ship to dock before they attempted to conduct their business. When the vessel had tied up to the dock, all pretense at dignity was forgotten by even the wealthy traders as they began to rush forward seeking the captain's attention. Each sought information on the ship's cargo and, when some item of merchandise struck one of their fancies, he or she would call out a price for it only to be immediately underbid by an adversary. Like their less distinguished brethren, the merchants of Barabel hardly let anyone else get in a word edgewise.

It was in the midst of this riotous cacophony of sights and sounds that the crowd at the dock suddenly parted like a chrysalis revealing a butterfly. Emerging from the rest of the throng who had suddenly gone silent was an ornate sedan chair swathed in luxurious fabrics which concealed its occupant or occupants. The chair was surrounded by armed human guards, and it was being carried by what appeared to be four beings who looked like nothing that Enki had ever seen before in all her travels. At least three strides tall and nearly as wide, hair covered every inch of huge, swart muscular bodies which were topped by a bullet-like head with beetled brows. Slack-jawed and slit-eyed, the beasts, or whatever they were, looked as vicious as trolls. As she studied the monsters that were approaching, Enki's examination was interrupted by a low growl which was emanating from the throats of two of her companions.

Both Wolf and Ordolf looked as if they had just swallowed a quart or so of their own bile. Both of their faces were a strange mixture of disgust and rage. In response to her inquiring glance, it was the former who looked at Enki with a scowl and explained, "Those things are mules! Crossbreeds made by a sorcerous manipulation of human, ilf and troll bloodlines long ago. Although they cannot breed, they live forever unless slain. The brutes are stupid and savage and display the worst characteristics of all of the sides of their family tree. They care nothing for other life except as when it serves as something upon which they can prey. They ravage forests and cities alike. There are few left on Seremoreh. I, myself, destroyed one of the last lairs that existed in our land. That is how I acquired this," the ranger muttered as he pointed to an enormous scar that was nearly a half-inch wide and ran down the length of his left forearm. "Their presence here can mean no good and anyone who would employ them in his or her service is, without question, evil."

"Well, from the way the rest of this mob is behaving whoever it is, is not only evil, but a power here in Barabel," Enki replied as the sedan chair made its way to the forefront of the hawkers and merchants that crowded the pier. "Look at the captain over there. He appears as if he can't get down to the wharf quickly enough to suit himself. I wonder who exactly is inside that conveyance, I misdoubt that I would be in such a hurry to close with those mules down there."

Indeed, the captain was rushing down the gangplank toward the sedan chair as if his hindquarters were aflame. Once he'd arrived at his goal, he began bowing profusely even before the curtains on the side of the chair were drawn back to reveal its occupant. Enki shook her head. The man was an undercover operative for the Rendorian royal house. Who or what could inspire such obvious trepidation in him?

Her question was soon answered, for one of the human guards who strolled alongside the sedan chair stepped over soon after the master of the smuggler ship had reached the chair and pulled back the curtain to reveal its passenger. She was anything but what Enki had expected. It was no evil warlord or wart-covered sorceress that commanded the fear of all those present. Even from this distance, Enki could see that the occupant was a woman. And not just any woman. The curtains had revealed a lovely, young, petite blonde beauty who from afar fairly reeked of innocence. Apple-cheeks glowed from beneath enormous blue eyes that were partially hidden behind long, fluttering lashes yet still dominated a face that was capped off by a heart-shaped mouth and a pert, button nose. The girl was apparently exactly who everyone else expected though, because as the drapes were drawn back all the locals present immediately fell to their knees.

The sedan chair's passenger stepped out from her conveyance and looked around. When her glance met someone else's eyes, those eyes immediately dropped toward the ground. If they did not do so quickly enough, one of the armed retainers that had accompanied the woman made sure that the offender knew never to give such an insult to their mistress again by being so brazen. As the woman scanned the crowd, her gaze eventually swang back to the smuggler's craft and lighted on Enki and her companions. The two women locked eyes. Despite the actions of the woman's servitors down below, Enki did not bow deferentially. Instead, the warrior stared back with determination as a brief, but fierce struggle of will leapt over the intervening distance. As she did so, Enki realized that the eyes which probed her own had not been either young or innocent for a long, long time.