By mid-morning, they had left the inn and found their way to the Lavinyord harbor. Anira walked behind her parents and led Doriyan by his reins. The salty scent of recently landed fish penetrated her nose. Several fishing boats were moored to the quay, and dozens of dockworkers were busy unloading barrels of mackerel and plaice.

They walked on until, at the end of the quay, they saw the ferry that would take them to the settler village. The ship had three masts and a man-sized anchor. The row of shells that had accreted on the ship’s hull just above the waterline told Anira that it was an old sea-going vessel. Captain Yelgar ordered his men to dismount and follow one of the cabin boys to the cargo hold and the stable below deck. One of the soldiers took Doriyan and Anira’s parents’ horses. He had to pull forcefully on Doriyan’s reins to persuade the horse to board the ship. With her gaze fixed on her horse, Anira followed her parents up the gangplank to the front deck of the ferry. She blushed when one of the cabin boys whistled at her and gave her a wide grin. He had a long scar running from his ear down along his neck. A memento perhaps, deriving from having been hit with a whip. His companions laughed at Anira’s shy expression.

Once on board, they were allocated a spacious cabin. They put down their luggage and waited on the deck until the ship’s bell was rung. The ferry was cast off and pushed away from the shore with long poles. Several shipmates climbed up the masts and hoisted the sails, which immediately caught the wind. The ship jolted and started to move.

Soon they reached the open water and left the Lavinyord harbor behind. Anira rested her elbows on the rail and leaned over. From the corner of her eye, she saw the cabin boys whispering amongst themselves, but she didn’t turn around. She watched how the unwieldy ship effortlessly cut through the water of the river Dayno. Her father came to stand next to her and put his arm around her. Anira pushed him away and stole a quick glance over her shoulder at the cabin boys.

It started raining softly. Anira stared to the west, where the sky was growing darker and darker. She had expected to be able to see the riverbank on the other side, or perhaps the White Cliffs of Varna, but she saw nothing but water. Below the surface of the water she noticed the dark shadows of large fish swimming ahead of the ship’s prow. She squealed when the fish suddenly jumped out of the water tracing graceful arcs above the water level. They were big and white, and some had long tusks protruding from their heads.

‘What are those?’ she asked her father.

‘Those are Narwhals, the creatures the inn was named after. Their tusks contain ancient powers. Some healers make powders out of them as a remedy for childbed fever.’

The animals disappeared under water and a little while later their shadows had vanished as well. Anira sighed. She looked up at her father. ‘The Gods must be really spiteful, since we only kill them for their tusks?’

‘I find that hard to imagine,’ he answered. ‘Perhaps the Gods even brought them into this world to be of use to us. After all, the Mano and Inya human races were created to be the sole proprietors of the Land of Spirits.’ A cool breeze rose up. ‘There’s a storm brewing. Are you coming to the cabin?’ Tiyodor asked.

‘I’ll go find Doriyan in the stables.’ She walked away before her father could object. At the back of the wheelhouse a door led down to the lower deck. Anira descended the ladder and found herself in a narrow passage. To the left and right were the sleeping berths of the crew, and at the end of the passage was a large mess where the soldiers of the guard were eating their lunch. The ladder went even further down, but Anira heard Captain Yelgar’s voice. She walked through the passage and stopped near the doorway of the mess. She carefully stuck her head around the doorpost and looked into the room.

The captain was leaning against a table. ‘There’s much unrest in Varna. Many people have left the settler village these past few months.’

‘Why?’ asked his son Diyur when everybody remained silent.

‘I don’t know what to believe,’ Captain Yelgar answered slowly. ‘Some people say storehouses are looted and cattle is stolen during the night. I’ve also heard that some of the loggers who fell trees for the construction of houses have disappeared without a trace.’

‘Disappeared?’ Diyur asked.

‘One day nobody returned from the forest. Neither the loggers, nor their foremen. Nothing has been heard of them since.’ The captain shook his head. ‘Whatever’s going on, Ervingal Danu is under great pressure. It’s our job to restore peace to the settler village.’ He looked around, and his expression turned gruff. ‘Are you even listening?’

The soldiers immediately got up off their chairs and stood to attention.

‘We’re going to restore peace to the settler village.’

‘Yes, Captain!’ the soldiers shouted.

In the ensuing silence, Anira carefully walked back to the ladder. The ship was rolling because of the increasingly violent storm. Just before she was out of sight, she noticed that Diyur had seen her. She quickly walked on. The ladder had over thirty rungs and led to a room where all sorts of boxes and jute sacks containing provisions were piled up. Some of the sacks had the royal crest of the King of Mano sewn on. At the back of the cargo hold she found the door to the stable.

She went inside. The horses were lined up in three rows of narrow stalls which extended over nearly fifty feet. She thought she heard something, but maybe it was just the ship’s wooden frame creaking under the pressure of the river’s current. She walked on. Almost all stalls were occupied. There had to be more than forty animals in total. Anira slowly proceeded along the middle row while trailing her fingers along the wood on the outside of each stall. Halfway along the row, she heard the noise again. Someone was coughing. Anira slowly walked on until she reached the far side of the stable. She stopped in front of the room where the straw and hay for the animals was stored. She put her ear to the door.

‘Shh,’ she heard someone mutter. ‘I think there’s someone else here in the stable with us.’ The coughing stopped for a minute but continued shortly afterwards, albeit somewhat stifled.

A peculiar scent tingled Anira’s nose. Smoke. She pushed the door open. It was dark inside the room and, all of a sudden, deathly quiet. A cloud of smoke drifted towards her. In the beams of light radiating in from the stable, she saw one of the sacks with the royal crest lying on the floor. The sack had been torn open and part of its contents–dried serrated leaves–was scattered over the floor.

‘Who’s there?’ she asked quietly.

Suddenly a hand appeared out of the dark and grabbed hold of her arm. She shrieked and tried to tear her arm loose. ‘Don’t move,’ a voice hissed.

‘Let me go!’ She kicked her attacker. He loosened his grip and Anira was able to yank her arm free, but his groping fingers caught hold of her sleeve. Anira hung her entire weight on her sleeve until it ripped, and she fell backwards onto the ground.

The cabin boy with the scar on his neck stepped into the light. He towered over her and grinned. Behind him, two other cabin boys loomed up. One of them held a long pipe in his hand.

‘It’s the girl,’ the boy with the scar said. ‘What a surprise.’ His eyes, and those of the other two boys, were red.

Anira tried to get up, but he grabbed her and pulled her back down. She turned her head towards the stable doors. ‘Help!’

‘I don’t think anyone will hear you in this raging storm.’ He got down on his knees and pushed her to the floor. He brought his face in front of hers. ‘How can I be sure that you won’t tell anyone about us?’ She felt his breath on her face and smelled a bitter, herbal odor.

‘I won’t tell anyone anything,’ she gasped. ‘I swear.’

‘Andrak? She is of noble birth. I don’t think this is a good idea,’ one of the other cabin boys said to him.

Andrak snapped his head to face his friends. ‘Do you want them to find out we’ve been smoking the King’s nightshade? What do you reckon will happen then? Well?’

‘I don’t know, but you can’t just…’

Anira had gathered all her strength and kicked her attacker in the head with such force that his eyes rolled up for a moment. He slumped next to her on the floor and clutched his head. Shaking with fear, Anira crawled backwards. The other two boys seemed in agony of doubt and didn’t move. When she managed to get up, her attacker waved his fist in anger.

Anira ran towards the stable doors and reached the cargo hold. Suddenly she found herself face to face with Diyur and couldn’t hold back her tears any longer. When the two cabin boys emerged from the stable behind her, Diyur drew his sword. ‘Stop!’ he yelled. ‘Don’t move.’

The boy with the scar walked up to them, his face contorted in pain. Clenching his teeth, he walked straight at Diyur. He didn’t stop before the tip of Diyur’s sword touched his throat. The scar on his neck had turned bright red. One of his friends put a hand on his shoulder. ‘It’s not worth it, Andrak. Come on, let’s go.’

Andrak stared at Diyur for a moment and grinned. He had a weird look in his bloodshot eyes. ‘Oh well, she’s out of my league anyway.’ He walked past Diyur to the ladder. His two friends followed him.

‘Are you alright?’ Diyur asked when they had left. ‘Have they… hurt you?’

Anira shook her head and saw the relief in his eyes. She wondered what he was thinking right now. ‘You were just in time.’

‘I’m glad,’ he said. He took her arm and led her to the ladder. ‘We’re going upstairs. Some fresh air will do you good.’

Anira let him lead her and climbed the ladder on wobbly legs. The rolling motion of the ship made her feel nauseous. When they had climbed the first ladder, she stopped and rested her back against the wall.

‘You need someone to look out for you, Anira,’ Diyur said. He smiled. ‘You can’t just go wandering around a ferry that you don’t know. And you most definitely shouldn’t do the same in the settler village.’ He bent towards her and pressed his lips onto hers.

For a second Anira stood stock-still. Then she squeezed her lips together and pushed him away. Creep!’ she screamed at him. ‘Who in heaven’s name do you think you are! Especially after what just happened?’

Diyur sheathed his sword. ‘I’ve saved you twice, Anira. And you know your father respects my father. Next time I’ll claim what’s rightfully mine, understood?’