sooner they’d find Joseph.
Stay out in the open, Newton had told them. The whitecoats will take any excuse to arrest you, so don’t make a scene. That was all very well for him to say. He’d disappeared not long after dawn, saying there was something important he needed to do. It made Tabitha angry just thinking of it. Why did he have to be so mysterious? And what could possibly be more important than looking for Joseph?
The crowds pressed closer all around them. Tabitha had to dodge as a chamber pot was emptied from a first-floor window, then again as a procession of cartscame trundling over the cobblestones. She gasped as she saw that the last of them was a wooden cage on wheels, and inside it was a beast as big as a horse, with a curved beak, furred hindquarters, a feathered breast and wings. A griffin! It lay at the bottom of the cage, watching the world outside without interest.
Tabitha was about to turn away when her gaze snagged on something beyond the cage. No – someone. A pale face that seemed familiar. A pair of watching eyes. But when she looked properly, whoever it was had gone.
A little shiver ran down her spine.
She hurried after her fellow watchmen, rounding a stack of crates to see that Hal and the twins had already accosted a large man wearing a blue sash and sweating heavily.
‘’scuse me, mate,’ said Paddy. ‘We’re trying to find a ship called the Dread Unicorn. ’
The harbourmaster drew a small leather-bound book from his pocket, casting a curious glance at the trolls as he did so.
‘It would have arrived yesterday,’ said Tabitha, as he flicked through his book. ‘Or maybe the day before. It had a friend of ours on board – a mongrel boy, half human and half goblin.’
‘Can’t promise nothing,’ said the harbourmaster.‘This is Azurmouth, sweetheart, not some little fishing village. Hundreds o’ ships dock here every day. Besides, we’re busier than usual right now, on account o’ the Contest of Blades.’ He jerked a thumb at a peeling poster attached to the side of a nearby cart. It showed a crude drawing of two men in the middle of a sword fight, and above them the words:
The Azurmouth Contest of Blades!
A Corin’s Day tradition
By order of The League of the Light
Do YOU have what it takes to best the finest
swordsmen in all the Old World? If so, enter
the Contest of Blades! Enrol at your nearest
fencing house, and perhaps YOU will lift the
much-coveted zephyrum Dagger of Victory!
Also needed: SURGEONS, to assist on the day of the contest.
‘Contest of Blades?’ said Paddy, his voice muffled by the scarf.
‘Aye, the opening ceremony’s at noon, over in the House of Light. Then there are bouts in the fencing houses for the rest o’ the day, and the finals tonight,back at the House of Light. Not that it’ll be much of a show. Lucky Leo barely even knows which end of the sword to hold, but the other fighters are all frightened to death of his pa, so they let him win.’
‘This ship we’re looking for—’ Tabitha began impatiently.
But the harbourmaster was well into his stride now. He leaned in close, with a gust of fishy breath. ‘One year there was this fella from the countryside who didn’t know that, and beat Leo black and blue. The old Earl of Brindenheim had the fella strung upside down and left for dead. Wanna guess how long he lasted?’
Tabitha wrinkled her nose. ‘We’d rather you told us about the Dread Unicorn . We need to find our friend, remember?’
The harbourmaster tutted and went back to his book, running a finger down a page. ‘Here it is! Aye, the Dread Unicorn was here.’
‘Was?’ said Hal.
‘It’s gone now. Set sail before dawn.’
Tabitha wanted to scream. Hadn’t she told Newton they should have been out looking for Joseph as soon as they arrived in Azurmouth?
‘What now?’ said Hal, scrubbing at his spectacles with a handkerchief, as the harbourmaster strode off.Tabitha noticed dark bags under his eyes,
Stay out in the open, Newton had told them. The whitecoats will take any excuse to arrest you, so don’t make a scene. That was all very well for him to say. He’d disappeared not long after dawn, saying there was something important he needed to do. It made Tabitha angry just thinking of it. Why did he have to be so mysterious? And what could possibly be more important than looking for Joseph?
The crowds pressed closer all around them. Tabitha had to dodge as a chamber pot was emptied from a first-floor window, then again as a procession of cartscame trundling over the cobblestones. She gasped as she saw that the last of them was a wooden cage on wheels, and inside it was a beast as big as a horse, with a curved beak, furred hindquarters, a feathered breast and wings. A griffin! It lay at the bottom of the cage, watching the world outside without interest.
Tabitha was about to turn away when her gaze snagged on something beyond the cage. No – someone. A pale face that seemed familiar. A pair of watching eyes. But when she looked properly, whoever it was had gone.
A little shiver ran down her spine.
She hurried after her fellow watchmen, rounding a stack of crates to see that Hal and the twins had already accosted a large man wearing a blue sash and sweating heavily.
‘’scuse me, mate,’ said Paddy. ‘We’re trying to find a ship called the Dread Unicorn. ’
The harbourmaster drew a small leather-bound book from his pocket, casting a curious glance at the trolls as he did so.
‘It would have arrived yesterday,’ said Tabitha, as he flicked through his book. ‘Or maybe the day before. It had a friend of ours on board – a mongrel boy, half human and half goblin.’
‘Can’t promise nothing,’ said the harbourmaster.‘This is Azurmouth, sweetheart, not some little fishing village. Hundreds o’ ships dock here every day. Besides, we’re busier than usual right now, on account o’ the Contest of Blades.’ He jerked a thumb at a peeling poster attached to the side of a nearby cart. It showed a crude drawing of two men in the middle of a sword fight, and above them the words:
The Azurmouth Contest of Blades!
A Corin’s Day tradition
By order of The League of the Light
Do YOU have what it takes to best the finest
swordsmen in all the Old World? If so, enter
the Contest of Blades! Enrol at your nearest
fencing house, and perhaps YOU will lift the
much-coveted zephyrum Dagger of Victory!
Also needed: SURGEONS, to assist on the day of the contest.
‘Contest of Blades?’ said Paddy, his voice muffled by the scarf.
‘Aye, the opening ceremony’s at noon, over in the House of Light. Then there are bouts in the fencing houses for the rest o’ the day, and the finals tonight,back at the House of Light. Not that it’ll be much of a show. Lucky Leo barely even knows which end of the sword to hold, but the other fighters are all frightened to death of his pa, so they let him win.’
‘This ship we’re looking for—’ Tabitha began impatiently.
But the harbourmaster was well into his stride now. He leaned in close, with a gust of fishy breath. ‘One year there was this fella from the countryside who didn’t know that, and beat Leo black and blue. The old Earl of Brindenheim had the fella strung upside down and left for dead. Wanna guess how long he lasted?’
Tabitha wrinkled her nose. ‘We’d rather you told us about the Dread Unicorn . We need to find our friend, remember?’
The harbourmaster tutted and went back to his book, running a finger down a page. ‘Here it is! Aye, the Dread Unicorn was here.’
‘Was?’ said Hal.
‘It’s gone now. Set sail before dawn.’
Tabitha wanted to scream. Hadn’t she told Newton they should have been out looking for Joseph as soon as they arrived in Azurmouth?
‘What now?’ said Hal, scrubbing at his spectacles with a handkerchief, as the harbourmaster strode off.Tabitha noticed dark bags under his eyes,
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