The trip across the large and luxurious lake wasn't exactly what Noble had imagined. She had seen the boats on the mirror lake in Bastion during her brief visit there. Unlike the Stormsea, the waters there had seemed tranquil. The boats sailing across it had looked like skates moving across a smooth sheet of ice.
So although Noble hadn't gone across the lake herself in a watercraft, she did have expectations about the ease of travel.
But that was before Maelys had come into the picture.
The coral-haired Saint was commanding, and yet she lacked some of the common sense that Noble would have expected in a seasoned leader. Syrce had left the elder sister in charge of the travel while she assisted in packing up the camp.
The results bordered on disastrous.
"Get all the pink ones across since they are the heaviest," Maelys ordered as she petted one on his trunk.
"My lady," Noble cleared her throat, "shouldn't we leave at least some of them behind so that they can bring the rest of the wagons to the lakeside?"
"What?" The Saint looked at her with confusion.
"If we don't have the Pink Ones to pull the carts, then people will have to do it," Roan explained carefully.
"Oh," Maelys considered. "Change of plans, everyone! Load all of the lighter items that will fit. That will give us a good trial run to see how the rafts work!"
While the soldiers who had traveled with Syrce looked at one another in confusion, the men who had come with Lady Mae complied without question. They started dumping odds and ends on the flat boats, preparing to launch them into the water.
"My Lady?" Helie tried this time.
"Yes, Aurelia?" Maelys turned away from her workers.
"Wouldn't it make more sense if the items stayed in their crates? I assume your sister had them packaged that way on purpose." The ambassador of the court dipped her head.
Lady Mae nodded at her words. "It would be a shame to leave the crates here when we will likely need them for storage in the palace." She raised her voice. "You there! Keep the items in crates when you load them! We want them nice and orderly. Do you hear me?"
"Yes, My Lady!" Her subordinates responded in unison.
Noble jumped at how loud and in sync their answer had been. Now that the orders were clearer, the soldiers fell into an assembly line of work.
Soon, Noble and Aether were able to guide the first two rafts across the lake's surface. While the soldiers rowed diligently to transport their cargo, Noble floated above, noting any problems with the construction and making sure the raft didn't sink.
Everything ran smoothly at first.
But then the rhythmic voice of the lead oarsman became less rhythmic, causing the two sides to get out of sync. The foremost craft began to turn, stalling its progress. The second raft, unable to stop in time, crashed into the first.
The people on board both rafts fell in every direction, some tumbling over the side mid stroke. A poorly placed crate tumbled off the back of the second watercraft. A cacophony of cries filled the air.
"He can't swim!"
"Help!"
"That crate had the cooking utensils!"
While Noble could see the sense in unloading the wagons to help the crossing, she did not understand why a box of spoons and forks was so far from the wagon holding the kitchen.
Taking a deep breath, she felt for the box and placed it more securely on the raft.
Aether was already fishing people out of the water, and together the Masters got everyone on board and to the opposite shore with a minimal amount of additional drama.
"That was an adventure," Aether smiled. "I am guessing those men must not be from Syrce's hometown."
Noble looked at him strangely for a minute before catching his meaning. "They would have gone over the falls long ago." She agreed, returning his grin.
His attempts at humor were coming along, subtle as they were.
Aether's smile faded as he looked across the water. "I guess we'd better head back for the next group. Now that we know the rafts work, we can take a bigger crowd as long as they fan out and stagger the barges."
While the soldiers were still unloading the cargo, Noble and Aether returned for the next group. With gentle guidance from Roan and Helie, Maelys was directing the newly arrived wagons onto the wider barges.
The coral-haired Saint and Roan were currently positioning a wagon and tying it down. Helie was getting the next wagon in position with the help of a couple of Pink Ones, and Flint was creating an ice conduit to expedite the transport of crates to the shore.
"We are almost ready for you to go again, Lady Bel!" Maelys announced proudly.
"That works for me. Just let me get a drink of water," Noble waved before Lady Mae could give her any more orders.
Thankfully, the water cart which she sought, was far from the main action.
Still, there were people around, and one person in particular made sure to cross her path.
"Lady Bel!" Syrce was even more effusive in her greeting than usual. She pointed to the water cart. "We seem to be on similar missions."
Noble looked at her incredulously. "You are getting your own water?"
The Saint coughed. "I can do things myself when I put my mind to it. Everyone is busy, and I didn't want to burden them."
"I see." Noble moved on toward her goal. She was willing to forgive, but that didn't necessarily mean things were back to normal.
The Saint was on her heels. "Things are moving along very well, don't you think?"
Noble smiled politely. "We are making good progress."
Syrce nodded, biting her lip. "My sister..."
"I don't want to talk about Lady Mae if it is all the same to you." Noble walked faster.
The Saint kept pace. "I was just going to ask if she is leading well by the shore."
The floating Master wheeled around on her friend. "You want to check on your sister through me?"
Was this some trick to get Noble to say something she shouldn't? Or did Syrce want a compliment that she could bring back to her elder sister?
"I want the truth, and I think you are the one who will give it to me." The woman's grey eyes showed her sincerity.
Noble sighed, some of the edge falling away from her voice. "Lady Mae wanted to send all of the Pink Ones over first, which would have left you with no means of moving the wagons except human effort. Then she was dumping out crates onto the rafts instead of transporting them as a single unit. To her credit, she was willing to correct her mistake when each was pointed out."
"I see."
To Noble's surprise, Syrce didn't try to argue. Instead, she sighed.
"My sister…is behaving strangely. She has always been confident, calm, cool, and collected. I am beginning to wonder what happened to her over the sea."
"Is that why you gave her the victory?" Noble asked more frankly than she intended, but she wasn't about to take it back.
"A Transcendent shouldn't lose to a Realm Walker, no matter how amazing. Normally, it wouldn't have phased Mae one way or the other, but today she looked so fragile that she might break…"
The Saint blinked a few times, as if just now realizing she had spoken all of this aloud. She touched her forehead absentmindedly.
"Ah, what am I saying? I am sure she is just trying to recover after being gone so long. She will be her old self soon."
"I hope so," Noble would truly love to meet the woman Syrce described.
Syrce took some water from the wagon and passed a cupful to her companion. They both drank in silence for a moment.
"Bel," Syrce began, "about the competition, I am so—"
"None of that. What's past is past." Noble would not forget the matter, but she also would not dwell on it.
The Saint seemed to understand. She turned toward the water. "Seems like they are waiting for you."
It was Noble's turn to sigh. "It's time for another row across the water. I hope this group is more coordinated than the last…"
"You need a way to get across without rowing?" Syrce tapped her chin. "I may have a way to help!"