Salvation's Dawn (Eve of Redemption Book 1) by Joe Jackson

Author:Joe Jackson [Jackson, Joe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: k'12
Published: 2015-07-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter XI – Uncertainty

The journey to Tingus was uneventful, and the crew of the Coastrunner seemed anxious to get their half-demon passengers off the ship as soon as possible. Unlike Captain Galdur and his crew, the sailors of the smaller vessel lacked the courtesy or accommodating nature Aeligos and his companions had gotten used to over the length of their previous voyage. It led to a very boring and tense trip, and the group passed most of the time reading in their hammocks, as they didn’t want to be underfoot on deck. They arrived in the port city of Tingus after a little more than ten days, and when the ship docked around midday, the half-demons and their two human companions were the only ones to disembark. The ship left port again immediately after, on its way to Northport.

Tingus was quiet for a port town, and only a few other ships were in its sizeable harbor when the group disembarked. Unlike the other ports they had visited on their journey, Tingus wasn’t built on a hill, but instead extended into grassy plains. The docks themselves were clean and well-maintained, and there were armed, uniformed guards stationed at the end of each pier while others patrolled. It gave Aeligos hope that the city wasn’t as rough as Flora was reputed to be, or as unwelcoming as Riverport had been. At the very least, the guards were of varied races, from human to terra-rir to shakna-rir, which said the city wasn’t likely a bastion of Gaswell sympathizers.

The Silver Blades received many a strange stare from the locals when Aeligos led his siblings and two human companions to the nearest inn, but he shrugged it off as curiosity. The closest inn to the docks was a three-story hotel called The Sand and the Strand, and Aeligos motioned for the others to head inside. Aeligos lagged behind and scanned the docks and piers in both directions to see if anyone was watching them. Other than the dissipating curious glances of the guards, there didn’t appear to be any obvious trouble. He nodded to the nearest passing guards, who returned the gesture, and Aeligos stepped inside with his siblings.

The inside was spacious and cheery, with the windows left open to let in the smell of the ocean breeze, and the pleasant aroma was augmented by the scents of baking bread and roasting meat. There were several dozen other patrons within, and each spared the large group a glance, several eyebrows rising in surprise before they returned to their own conversations. Like the guards, the patrons were of many different races, which reinforced Aeligos’ initial assumption. Aeligos spotted a couple of empty tables near one of the front windows and motioned for his siblings to push them together and sit while he approached the innkeeper.

The proprietor was shakna-rir, and the green-skinned rir looked over the approaching half-demon with a measured, red-eyed gaze. His hair was dark brown and a little longer than shoulder-length, tied back in a high conservative tail.

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