“We could move on,” Doreen suggested. “We can buy supplies for ourselves and for the townspeople in Barret’s Hold. It’ll add a week or so to the trip, but it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.”

“I don’t like it,” Marjory answered. “We don’t know why the Whites attacked us, which means we can’t guarantee that the Shapers there won’t attack as well.”

“And Barret’s Hold is home to the Whittaker family, which has the Magus Pattern.” I added. “I really don’t want to test the Swift against a Firelord.”

“Could we go to your people, Marjory?” Mable asked hesitantly.

“We could, and whatever reason the Whites have for attacking us probably won’t matter to the dwarves. But it’s a six month trip on foot, which means at least a month of sailing in each direction. I hate leaving my brothers in the hands of whoever took them for that long.”

“Not to mention that the people from Gerald’s Rest don’t have enough food to survive that long,” I added. “I think we need to enter on foot and try to find out why we were attacked.”

“Now that sounds like a great idea!” Marjory snorted. “They just attacked us with Bowmasters, so we should definitely walk in on foot!”

“We just need to take care that nobody associates us with the Swift. There are hundreds of people coming and going from Whitecliff every day. How many people can even recognize us in there?”

“The Swift was kind of a big deal last time we were here, and blue haired dwarves are rare enough in our own cities that we tend to be recognized instantly. In a human city? There’s no way people won’t recognize me.”

“So you aren’t going,” Doreen cut in. “But nobody could possibly recognize me, and a city of this size has enough warped in it that I’d be able to just walk in.”

“But you’re still likely to be shunned,” I argued. “Not many people would talk to a warped stranger, even in the pubs. I’ll go with you. I wore my Attire for the entire time I was in Whitecliff, and between Marjory and the Swift, nobody was even looking at me when we landed. The only one likely to recognize me is Simon, and I have no intention of getting near him”

“There’s no way we’re letting you stake your life on that…”

“And if you’re wrong? Nobody can sail the Swift other than you, if she even stays around if something happens…”

“You can’t go…”

None of the three girls was happy at the thought of my going into Whitelcliff, and I raised my hand in surrender at the triple onslaught.

“So what do you suggest? Marjory and I can’t go, and nobody will talk to Doreen.”

“Mable can come with me. Nobody would recognize her, since she’d never been to Whitecliff. And people like to talk to a pretty girl.”

There was no answer from Mable, but a single glance at the purser was enough to assure me that just the thought of getting off the Ship was enough cause her to tremble in fear, and that going into Whitecliff might be too much for her to handle.

“I can send the Marine with you,” I offered. “It looks different enough from the Deckhands that it won’t be recognized, it’ll be enough to protect you from most threats, and I’ll be able to ride its senses and see what was going on.”

That was enough to calm her down enough to agree to go with Doreen, and she ran back to the galley to retrieve the list of provisions she meant to buy in Whitecliff. The three won’t be able to get everything on the list, but she meant to at least try and get what she considered necessary.

On our first trip to Whitecliff, there was no way to land the Swift unnoticed in any location closer than two days’ walk from the city. News about the destruction of Gerald’s Rest, along with the lack of traffic to and from the ransacked town, however, were enough to greatly reduce the amount of people on our side of Whitecliff, and it only took half an hour of scouting before I found an abandoned farm to set down in.

Doreen and Mable left, with the Marine marching behind them, and Marjory and I took advantage of the wait to explore the area.

The farm had been abandoned several days before we got there, and it was clear that the inhabitants left hastily. A herd of cattle was abandoned in the pastures, and there were enough wheat and fresh produce left in storage to feed us and the survivors from Gerald’s Rest for at least a few months.

I felt bad about taking the food, and even worse at butchering the cattle for meat, but I had no doubt that the cows would be long gone and the vegetables spoilt by the time the owners returned. I still left behind anything other than perishables, knowing that restarting the farm would be difficult enough even without having to replace them.

With the Swift restocked, I took her back up to a safe height, and settled down in my bed to send my consciousness into the Marine. We were far enough from Whitecliff that Doreen and Mable still had a few hours of walking before they reached the foot of the cliff, and I spent much of that time getting used to the Marine’s body.

It was a different experience from using the Hawk, since the body itself was human. With the Hawk, I could let the Shape control most of the movement and just direct it wherever I wanted it to fly. But the Marine had a human body, and I found that my instincts got in the way of letting the Shape move, while at the same time it was different enough from my own body that if I didn’t concentrate enough I tripped and fell. It took most of the walk to Whitecliff before I felt comfortable enough in the Shape to move normally, and by the time we reached the lowest part of the city I was walking almost as well as I would in my own body.