In moments, the inn managed to do what it hadnt when Lucious had been the one fighting: it erupted into a full-scale brawl. Men who had been content to stand by while Thanos and his brother traded sword blows now threw punches and drew knives. One grabbed for a chair, swinging it at Thanoss head. Thanos sidestepped, hacking a lump from the wood as he redirected the swing into yet another of the patrons.
He could have stayed to fight, but the thought of the danger Ceres might be in pushed him into a run. Hed been so sure that he could stop the invasion if he only got to Lucious, and then there would be enough time to find the truth about his parentage, discover the proof he needed, and make his way back to Delos. Now, there was no time for any of it.
Thanos sprinted for the door. He dropped and skidded under the grabbing hands of a man who tried to stop him, scraping a shallow cut across his thigh. He ran out into the streets there
straight into some of the worst dust Thanos had seen since hed come to the city. He didnt slow. He just jammed his twin blades into his belt, pulled up his scarf against the dust, and pushed forward as best he could.
Behind him, Thanos could hear the sounds of men trying to follow, although how they hoped to see him well enough to catch up in this weather, he didnt know. Thanos groped his way along like a blind man, passing a merchant who was packing away his cart, then a pair of soldiers who were cursing as they huddled in a doorway against the dust.
Look at that madman! Thanos heard one of them call in Felldusts tongue.
Probably hurrying to join the invasion. I hear Fourth Stone Vexa has started to send more of a fleet, while the other three are still plotting. The First Stone has stolen a march on them.
Always does, the first replied.
Thanos was away into the dust by then though, seeking his route by the vague shapes of the buildings, watching out for the signs that hung above the streets, lit by oil lamps. There were stone carvings too, obviously intended so that the locals could find their way from the street of the carved bear to that of the knotted snakes by touch if they needed.
Thanos didnt know enough about the system to be able to use it, but even so, he pressed on through the dust.
There were others doing the same, and several times, Thanos stopped, trying to make out whether the booted feet he heard were those of pursuers or not. Once, he pressed in behind the curved iron bulk of a windbreak, his swords finding his way into his hands, certain that those following from the inn had caught up.
Instead, a team of slaves raced by, faces wrapped against the dust, carrying a palanquin from within which Thanos could hear a merchant urging them on.
Faster, you curs! Faster, or Ill have you impaled. We need to get to the harbor before we miss the spoils.
Thanos watched them, tracking along behind the palanquin on the basis that those carrying it probably knew the way better than he did. He couldnt track it too closely, because in a city like Port Leeward, everyone kept a watch for would-be robbers or killers, but even so, he managed to follow it along the length of several streets before it disappeared into the dust.
Thanos stood there for a second or two, catching his breath, and as quickly as it had come, the dust storm lifted, giving him a view out over the harbor.
What he saw there made Thanos stand and stare.
Hed thought that there were plenty of ships in the harbor before. Now, it seemed that the water was full to brimming with them, until it appeared that Thanos could have walked to the horizon on their decks.
Many of them were warships, but many more now were merchant craft or smaller vessels. With the main fleet already gone from Felldust, the harbor should have been empty, yet it seemed to Thanos that there wouldnt be enough room for another boat there. It seemed that everyone in Felldust had come there, ready to take their piece of what was to be gained in the Empire.
Thanos started to see the scale of it then, and what it meant. This wasnt just an army invading, but a whole country. Theyd seen an opportunity to take lands theyd long been denied, and they were going to acquire them by force now.
Regardless of what it meant for those already there.
Who are you? a soldier asked, coming up to him. What fleet, what captain?
Thanos thought quickly. The truth would mean another fight, and now there wasnt the welcoming veil of the dust in which to hide. He had no doubt that he was as coated with it as any of the natives, but if anyone should guess who he was, or even just that he was from the Empire, this would not end well.
He briefly wondered what they did to spies in Felldust. Whatever it was, it wouldnt be pleasant.
Whose fleet are you with? the man demanded again, this time in a harsh voice.
Fourth Stone Vexas, Thanos shot back, making his voice equally harsh. He tried to inject the sense that he had no time for such interruptions. It wasnt hard to do right then, when he had so little time to get back to help Ceres. Please tell me its not true about her fleet leaving already.
The other man laughed in his face. Looks like youre out of luck there. What, you thought you could sit around, saying farewell to your crews favorite whore? You waste time, you waste your chance.
Damn it! Thanos said, trying to play his part. They cant all be gone. What about other ships?
That got another laugh. You can ask if you want, but if you think theres not a crew thats full right now, you havent been paying attention. Pickings like this, everyone wants a place. Half of them can barely fight. Tell you what, though, maybe I could find a place for you on one of Old Forkbeards crews. The Third Stone is taking his time. Id only ask half of any share you get.
Maybe if I cant find the lads Im supposed to be with, Thanos said. Every second he was there was a second in which he wasnt sailing back toward Delos with the one crew there who wouldnt try to kill him the moment they found out who he was.
He saw the other man shrug. Youll not get a better offer this late.
Well see, Thanos said, and set off amongst the boats.
From the outside, it must have looked as though he was looking for one of the rare boats from the fleet hed claimed, although Thanos hoped that he didnt find one. The last thing he wanted was to find himself pressed into service in Felldusts navy.
Hed do it, though, if he had to. If it meant getting back to Ceres, if it meant being able to help her, hed risk it. Hed play the part of some Felldust warrior, eager to catch up. If it had been main fleet sitting there, he might even have made it his first choice, trying to get as close to the First Stone as possible in order to kill him.
Now, though, if he drifted along with this second fleet, he wouldnt get there until it was far too late. He certainly wouldnt be able to help. So he walked the planks between the many ships, watching warriors carry on barrels of fresh water and crates of food. Thanos cut cracks in at least three casks, but no amount of petty sabotage would stop a fleet like this.
He kept looking, instead. He saw men and women honing weapons and chaining oar slaves into place. He saw dust-covered priests intoning prayers for good luck, sacrificing animals in ways that made the dust into blood-colored mud. He saw two groups of soldiers under different banners arguing over which of them got to go along a wharf first.
Thanos saw plenty that made him angry, and more that made him scared for Delos. There was only one thing he couldnt find among the chaos of the docks, and it was the one thing that hed come there to find. There were hundreds of boats there, of every shape, size, and design. There were boats filled to the brim with tough-looking warriors, and boats that looked like little more than glorified pleasure barges, there to take people to see the invasion as much as participate in it.