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Part One: Journey
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The voyage to Calimport took nine days, and only because she’d paid handsomely for a single stop route by Waterdeep. The cabin was cramped but private and afforded her a desk to pen letters she could send back to Sundren on the stop over. Some were business matters; most were instructions for Julian during her absence.
The voyage was mostly calm and Evelyn couldn’t help but entertain the notion that Valkur’s favor still lingered over her head. Since the fateful events in the eye of Umberlee’s tempest more than a month ago, the heavy amulet - proof of her patron’s benediction - hung heavy against her breastbone, the only tangible proof that the experience had been real and not the dying dream of a half-drowning woman.
Sometimes, in the night, she could still feel the rush of divine presence in her blood like some heady drug, filling her body with unbearable ecstasy until she woke, cold and empty and craving. The memory of it haunted her waking hours, every quiet moment overwhelmed by the gnawing void of being only ordinary, merely human. Her fingers trembled as she composed her daily letters, food and drink lost their savor, and smoking was no longer a pleasure but a necessity to soothe what nerves she had left.
She had tried to drown out the ache by redoubling her efforts rebuilding the Port. It worked too well, perhaps. The city was barely recognizable compared to the shanty town it had once been, and merchants were slowly trickling in from Waterdeep, Neverwinter, and points further south. Streets once flowing with mud and refuse were cobbled and paved, sun-bleached stones gleaming brightly in the sun. A shining temple of Selune rose, and Waukeen’s bank, and high above the docks Valkur’s rightful tribute was chanted in vespers and burned in perfumed smoke.
Still, it was not enough to distract her from the longing, and the pangs only increased as the Port required less and less of her attention... Until mercy arrived in the form of a letter from Calimshan.
Rashid Naji was a professional information-gatherer in Calimport who Evelyn had met during her first trade mission to the region, back when she was still apprentice to Captain Richard Ironmark. Rashid could find out anything, from which crops in Cormyr were expected to face blight that season to what some Sembian counselor’s mistress regularly ate for breakfast. His methods were a trade secret, but judging from a set of polished knives at his belt and his subtle grace of movement, Evelyn guessed they often involved underhanded tactics. Richard regularly employed his skills to secure trade information and better prices at market, and Evelyn still kept in touch for her own use from time to time. It seemed to suit Rashid just fine.
She had been struggling with a cigarette and a damp match when the correspondence arrived one evening. The letter had been penned in haste, unlike his usual sloping handwriting, but he’d still found time to seal a fragrant oleander blossom within the envelope. As she read, the hollowness in her chest became a distant complaint as her mind seized upon the promise in these few words:
Hayati,
Your friend Jazim makes landfall in Calimport in two weeks. Best you’d get here if you want to say hello.
- R
Evelyn held a corner of the letter over a meager candle. Fire sprouted, and she let the flame dance a bit, blacken the edge of the thin parchment before sticking the end of her cigarette in the wavering light. A suddenly steadied hand brought the slender roll to her lips, and she breathed, the sweet, savory vapor filling her lungs.
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To be continued...
-----
The voyage to Calimport took nine days, and only because she’d paid handsomely for a single stop route by Waterdeep. The cabin was cramped but private and afforded her a desk to pen letters she could send back to Sundren on the stop over. Some were business matters; most were instructions for Julian during her absence.
The voyage was mostly calm and Evelyn couldn’t help but entertain the notion that Valkur’s favor still lingered over her head. Since the fateful events in the eye of Umberlee’s tempest more than a month ago, the heavy amulet - proof of her patron’s benediction - hung heavy against her breastbone, the only tangible proof that the experience had been real and not the dying dream of a half-drowning woman.
Sometimes, in the night, she could still feel the rush of divine presence in her blood like some heady drug, filling her body with unbearable ecstasy until she woke, cold and empty and craving. The memory of it haunted her waking hours, every quiet moment overwhelmed by the gnawing void of being only ordinary, merely human. Her fingers trembled as she composed her daily letters, food and drink lost their savor, and smoking was no longer a pleasure but a necessity to soothe what nerves she had left.
She had tried to drown out the ache by redoubling her efforts rebuilding the Port. It worked too well, perhaps. The city was barely recognizable compared to the shanty town it had once been, and merchants were slowly trickling in from Waterdeep, Neverwinter, and points further south. Streets once flowing with mud and refuse were cobbled and paved, sun-bleached stones gleaming brightly in the sun. A shining temple of Selune rose, and Waukeen’s bank, and high above the docks Valkur’s rightful tribute was chanted in vespers and burned in perfumed smoke.
Still, it was not enough to distract her from the longing, and the pangs only increased as the Port required less and less of her attention... Until mercy arrived in the form of a letter from Calimshan.
Rashid Naji was a professional information-gatherer in Calimport who Evelyn had met during her first trade mission to the region, back when she was still apprentice to Captain Richard Ironmark. Rashid could find out anything, from which crops in Cormyr were expected to face blight that season to what some Sembian counselor’s mistress regularly ate for breakfast. His methods were a trade secret, but judging from a set of polished knives at his belt and his subtle grace of movement, Evelyn guessed they often involved underhanded tactics. Richard regularly employed his skills to secure trade information and better prices at market, and Evelyn still kept in touch for her own use from time to time. It seemed to suit Rashid just fine.
She had been struggling with a cigarette and a damp match when the correspondence arrived one evening. The letter had been penned in haste, unlike his usual sloping handwriting, but he’d still found time to seal a fragrant oleander blossom within the envelope. As she read, the hollowness in her chest became a distant complaint as her mind seized upon the promise in these few words:
Hayati,
Your friend Jazim makes landfall in Calimport in two weeks. Best you’d get here if you want to say hello.
- R
Evelyn held a corner of the letter over a meager candle. Fire sprouted, and she let the flame dance a bit, blacken the edge of the thin parchment before sticking the end of her cigarette in the wavering light. A suddenly steadied hand brought the slender roll to her lips, and she breathed, the sweet, savory vapor filling her lungs.
-----
To be continued...
