The Reunion of Eden
Their path took them north along the wide banks of the Grey River, they stayed close to the eastern shore and traveled upstream, which made their trip a lengthy one. The wooden skiff was exceptionally seaworthy for a vessel in the second age, cutting through the murky water with ease. The small dark grey sail flapped steadily in the wind from the center of the ship, dragging the wooden craft steadily along their route.
The skiff had the plain appearance of an old and mundane peasant craft, an incredibly unremarkable sight on the rivers of The Scavenger Lands. The navigator stood at the rear of the ship holding a long bamboo shoot that connected to the rudder below the waterline and allowed him to steer the nimble vessel through the shallow waters. A line of tall oak barrels was strapped along the rear of the ship, which the navigator was forced to stand on top of, and also added weight to the aft which lifted the nose slightly out of the water. Even with the supply barrells taking up the bulk of the rear of the ship, there was plenty of room for the four passengers aboard to sit comfortably for their long journey.
They had entered Marukan territory just before dawn, the rising sun on their right would be at their back to any Marukan scouts keeping an eye on the River. Though the humble skiff wouldn’t likely raise an alarm even if they were to spot it. Still several hours from their destination, The Marukan Redoubt, they would be forced to approach the fortification in broad daylight as their mission dictated that haste was of the utmost importance. The Redoubt had become an increasingly important structure in the politics of The Scavenger Lands over recent years, as The Mask of Winters increased his military and political power in Thorns, expansion was inevitable. Standing against that rising tide was The Marukan Alliance, by far the City of Death’s closest neighbor. The horse lords of Marukan had few naturally defensible locations, to the North there was the capital city of Celeren, to the east there was only open fields and The Redoubt.
What made their mission unusual, and why it required the subtle touch of The Grass Spider’s, is that their client for this mission originated in Lookshy. The staunchest supporters of The Marukan Alliance, they wielded immense power over the territory and even greater influence over military installation such as The Redoubt. In fact there would likely be as many troops from Lookshy within the fortress as there were from Marukan. So why exactly were The Grass Spiders hired to eliminate someone within a territory that Lookshy essentially controlled? Well, some questions even The Grass Spider’s didn’t get to ask…
Whitaker didn’t spend much time contemplating the task at hand while navigating the ship through the river towards their destination, instead he took notice of his companions, Circle-mates, sworn brothers and sisters, whom he got to spend time with so rarely these days. Especially all at once! It had been a long time since the five members of The Minstrel’s of Eden were gathered in one place, even longer since the whole circle had been assigned to the same mission. So long in fact, that Whitaker could not recall what it had been.
“When was the last time we were all gathered to complete a mission?” Whitaker broke the silence with the genuine, casual tone that was common for him. He broke even the heavy silence of dawn with ease.