At first it was just a few dots of red and white, but then it grew in size, becoming a city of grand buildings and towers, with a long wall facing the pale sand. They began to see distant fishing boats, and old men and boys with poles in their hands staring with naked curiosity at the huge trireme.

Dion heard Cob murmur behind him. ‘I still don’t see why you had to come yourself.’

He turned to face his old friend. As their destination neared, both men were now gravely serious. ‘They say he’s calling himself Palemon, and claims to have returned from across the sea.’ Dion met Cob’s eyes. ‘I need to find out the truth.’

‘Why?’ Cob scowled. ‘What purpose does it serve?’

‘Even if he’s just using Aleuthea’s legend to gain power, he’s shown he has teeth. They say he took Malakai in the first assault. You can’t tell me that doesn’t disturb you. The Aleutheans defeated the eldren – at a time when the eldren were far stronger than they are now. They had magical abilities.’

‘Stories.’

‘Then why are you so worried?’

‘Because my king and friend is putting himself in harm’s way, for no other purpose than to satisfy his curiosity.’

‘We’re flying merchant colors. We’re a trading ship. We’re bringing supplies to a city that needs them, and our motive is simple: profit. However’—Dion gave a grim smile—‘in addition to our goods, we have a hold full of soldiers. They’ll see a trading vessel, but in truth we’re equipped for war.’

Cob steered the Liberty toward a distant pier jutting from the shore, long enough for deep-keeled merchant vessels to dock in safety, though at present there was only a tiny rowboat tied alongside the wooden platform, bobbing in the waves.

The old man muttered and shook his head. ‘This is a bad idea.’

Dion navigated the crowded hold, weaving around archers, armored infantry, and constantly moving oarsmen. He finally found Finn among the stores, making scratches on the sides of barrels.

Long-haired and slender, Finn was now Dion’s master of trade and treasury. With his sharp mind and network of shady contacts, the former purser of the Free Men had helped bring wealth to Xanthos. Together Finn and Cob had transformed Fort Liberty, once a haven for pirates, into a successful trading outpost, a place where the Free Men enjoyed as much liberty as they had before, without the risk of reprisal that pirating had once carried.

‘You didn’t see the sunken city,’ Dion said.