difference to me. I try and avoid all of them.
The Kerul used to be pretty well thought of. They’re more local to Tamaranth, holding loose ownership over much of the south parts of the western continent with the exception of a few free cities that stand on their own. They’re pretty spread out, not very well organized, and I’m told they spend a lot of time talking over things like trade policies between one trade federation and the other without actually getting much done.
In the current war, which is basically the Akarii against everyone else, different families are reacting in different ways. In the north, the Fjilosh are pretty staunch. They keep to themselves and kick most everyone else out of their lands, but they don’t seem to want to help anyone else out. To the far South, the Solingi are pretty much off on their own, and no one really seems to bother them. In the middle, the Kerul seem to debate on and on, and have left city governments to deal with Akarii incursions on their own. While that means more work for people like me, if there wasn’t an immense ocean in between the two big continents we’d probably all be living and working for the Akarii by now.
“Blackwell’s an interesting name,” she says.
“I’ve been called a lot worse.”
“What’s with that thing your drone mentioned about dogs?”
I shake my head and dodge the question. “Kjat’s a partner. I’m not into that drone thing.”
“She’s pretty young.”
I nod, and leave it at that. She doesn’t really need to know anything about Kjat. “So the three of you—sorry, four—were stealing a ship from the Akarii? What made you think a plan like that could ever work?” I grin.
She smiles back, and it’s a hell of smile. “You swear you’re not with the Akarii?”
I shake my head. "I'm not."
“I have this sense that I can trust you, Blackwell. Ercan’s been setting this up for almost a year. We bought Akarii identities, got ourselves hired onto the Retriever ship. With Ercan’s money, it was easier than you might think—even the Akarii don’t really want to go to Tilhtinora unless they have to. This was our third trip out. Fehris has some... ideas... about this ship. So we decided that this was our time.”
“They don’t want to go in to Tilhtinora. But they’re happy to wait for things to come out to them. They’ll be tracking the storm’s trajectory and watching the closest towns, you know.”
She nods. “I thought of that. Haven’t figured out what to do about it, though.”
“Me either. What was that comment you made about Hulgliev and the Akarii?”
“So you are one, aren’t you. A Hulgliev. I was right?”
I nod. “In the fur.”
“And you’re avoiding that question about the dogs, aren’t you.”
“I am,” I grin.
“One answer for another, then. I was just speculating that there are factions within the Akarii that would be really interested in meeting a Hulgliev right about now. You know the stories of Dekheret and Farsoth? How they unified all of the families together during a time of major wars?”
“Some of them.”
“Well, I’m sure there a bunch of well-placed Akarii leaders who would like to look like Dekheret these days. I’ve met a few, actually. And probably more who would like to keep others from looking like Dekheret, too. With the war, and old Golokhobiat getting very, very ancient, there’s a lot of maneuvering going on. You could probably be very rich or very dead, if you wanted to be. And the two aren’t mutually exclusive.”
I’m not exactly sure how to respond to that. Like I said, politics are not my specialty. And rich and dead aren't exactly on my list of career goals.
We’re walking around the small plateau. There are towers at two ends, where the cliffs drop down to the sea, and we’re heading toward the larger of them. “Now you,” she says.
“Dogs seem to have a particular aversion to me,” I say.
“How particular?”
“Chasing, biting,
The Kerul used to be pretty well thought of. They’re more local to Tamaranth, holding loose ownership over much of the south parts of the western continent with the exception of a few free cities that stand on their own. They’re pretty spread out, not very well organized, and I’m told they spend a lot of time talking over things like trade policies between one trade federation and the other without actually getting much done.
In the current war, which is basically the Akarii against everyone else, different families are reacting in different ways. In the north, the Fjilosh are pretty staunch. They keep to themselves and kick most everyone else out of their lands, but they don’t seem to want to help anyone else out. To the far South, the Solingi are pretty much off on their own, and no one really seems to bother them. In the middle, the Kerul seem to debate on and on, and have left city governments to deal with Akarii incursions on their own. While that means more work for people like me, if there wasn’t an immense ocean in between the two big continents we’d probably all be living and working for the Akarii by now.
“Blackwell’s an interesting name,” she says.
“I’ve been called a lot worse.”
“What’s with that thing your drone mentioned about dogs?”
I shake my head and dodge the question. “Kjat’s a partner. I’m not into that drone thing.”
“She’s pretty young.”
I nod, and leave it at that. She doesn’t really need to know anything about Kjat. “So the three of you—sorry, four—were stealing a ship from the Akarii? What made you think a plan like that could ever work?” I grin.
She smiles back, and it’s a hell of smile. “You swear you’re not with the Akarii?”
I shake my head. "I'm not."
“I have this sense that I can trust you, Blackwell. Ercan’s been setting this up for almost a year. We bought Akarii identities, got ourselves hired onto the Retriever ship. With Ercan’s money, it was easier than you might think—even the Akarii don’t really want to go to Tilhtinora unless they have to. This was our third trip out. Fehris has some... ideas... about this ship. So we decided that this was our time.”
“They don’t want to go in to Tilhtinora. But they’re happy to wait for things to come out to them. They’ll be tracking the storm’s trajectory and watching the closest towns, you know.”
She nods. “I thought of that. Haven’t figured out what to do about it, though.”
“Me either. What was that comment you made about Hulgliev and the Akarii?”
“So you are one, aren’t you. A Hulgliev. I was right?”
I nod. “In the fur.”
“And you’re avoiding that question about the dogs, aren’t you.”
“I am,” I grin.
“One answer for another, then. I was just speculating that there are factions within the Akarii that would be really interested in meeting a Hulgliev right about now. You know the stories of Dekheret and Farsoth? How they unified all of the families together during a time of major wars?”
“Some of them.”
“Well, I’m sure there a bunch of well-placed Akarii leaders who would like to look like Dekheret these days. I’ve met a few, actually. And probably more who would like to keep others from looking like Dekheret, too. With the war, and old Golokhobiat getting very, very ancient, there’s a lot of maneuvering going on. You could probably be very rich or very dead, if you wanted to be. And the two aren’t mutually exclusive.”
I’m not exactly sure how to respond to that. Like I said, politics are not my specialty. And rich and dead aren't exactly on my list of career goals.
We’re walking around the small plateau. There are towers at two ends, where the cliffs drop down to the sea, and we’re heading toward the larger of them. “Now you,” she says.
“Dogs seem to have a particular aversion to me,” I say.
“How particular?”
“Chasing, biting,
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