The solid planks of the quay that jutted out from the city of Kaldor Harbor felt good beneath Kilthanis’s feet. While the two day journey from Caranth had been smoother than his voyage on the Great Southern Ocean, he was quite firmly convinced that he was a landlubber. The only dismaying part about his arrival in Osh’riyo was that he knew he’d be leaving the island all too soon. That was the problem with islands, Kilthanis decided.

He shaded his eyes and peered north into the city. Rising above the other buildings were the tall spires of Laris’s palace. Although, on reflection, fortress would be a better term for it. Much of the building remained from the original keep built by Laris’s ancestors when the island was first settled. Although they original colony on the island was located at Coren’s Landing to the southwest, Kaldor Harbor had quickly become the main city on Osh’riyo.

Given the constant state of war the Empire faced in its infancy, and the lack of griffin cavalry, it was no surprise that the defenses were stout here. The keep’s west wall was located along the river, providing protection to one side. In Kilthanis’s inexpert opinion, the only better defended fortress in the Empire was the Imperial Capital of Dhekar itself. Although, come to think of it, he wouldn’t want to launch an assault on Desanth, and not just because it was the home of the Church. But the home of Laris Rychart looked like it could hold off a good portion of the Imperial infantry if needed.

It also gave the impression that it housed a truly impressive set of dungeons in its cavernous foundation, and with a start, Kilthanis realized that until recently, those dungeons had housed his clients. In fact, they might still. In his near-constant state of panic since fleeing his home, he had forgotten that Laris had been put in charge of interrogating the desert folk to try and uncover evidence of a plot against the Empire.

He gulped as he thought about that. Here he was, on his way to start exactly such a plot. If that came out, he could very well find himself enjoying the same “hospitality” that had been extended to the desert folk and sent him down this road in the first place. What would Laris do to him if he suspected the truth of his mission?

Still, there was no helping it. His funds from Gilead had been exhausted booking passage to Osh’riyo. The only way he could complete his journey to Et’alash would be with Laris’s help. He had to trust that their near kinship would buy him good will and allay any suspicions that Laris might have.

Hesitantly, he placed one foot in front of the other and prepared to enter the home of the man they called “Laris the Cruel.”