The Yellow Silk - Don Bassingthwaite [36]
"That's longer than Altumbellans have been hating elves," mumbled Tycho around a mouthful of pie. In his mind, though, he was kicking himself. Pirate treasure! What had he been thinking?
Li just nodded. "A few hundred years longer. Most recently, though, the Kuang have also been traders, selling the silks of Keelung to all of Shou Lung. Recently, the heads of all the silk families in Keelung made a decision that the time was right to expand our market beyond Shou Lung. They formed a trading society for that purpose and assembled an expedition that would take Keelung's goods west to Faerыn." His voice changed, becoming bitter. "In charge of the expedition was my elder brother, eldest son of the eldest son of the most respected family in Keelung. His name was Yu Mao."
Tycho swallowed before replying. "Yu Mao? You said that last night while you were raving."
Blood flushed Li's face. "I did?"
"Well, maybe not so much 'said' as 'screamed.' What happened to him?"
"What do you mean what happened?" Li asked hotly. Tycho gave him a suffering look.
"Something must have happened to Yu Mao or you wouldn't be looking for him. It doesn't take much to see that."
Li hesitated and nodded again. "You're right." He took a breath, calming himself. "The expedition left Keelung under good omens on a fine day in early spring three years ago, traveling west through Shou Lung to the province of Ch'ing Tung, where the Silver Road becomes the Golden Way leading to Faerыn. The elders of Keelung received a letter from the expedition just before it passed beyond the borders of Shou Lung. It was the last word from the expedition until early last summer, when a message arrived for my father. It bore the signature of Tieh Fa Pan, an old friend, and related grave news, of how the expedition had reached Thesk and the city of Telflamm, of how there was great interest in the silks of Keelung." Li's jaw tightened. "And of how Yu Mao decided that the expedition should extend its reach and travel just a bit farther west before the winter-a late autumn voyage across the Sea of Fallen Stars to the markets of Sembia.
"En route to Sembia, the ship on which the expedition sailed was attacked by pirates. Of the members of the expedition, only Fa Pan escaped-he was one of what we call spirit folk and blessed with the ability to breathe water. He found refuge in the sea."
Tycho found himself leaning forward. "The pirates- Brin's old ship?" Li nodded once more. "What happened to the other members of the expedition?"
Li drew a deep breath. "They died," he said. "Put to the sword. All except Yu Mao." Li looked down for a moment then up again. "Fa Pan saw Yu Mao taken aboard the pirates' ship as a hostage."
"Ah." Tycho sat back. "And Fa Pan?"
"He was wounded," Li said harshly. "What could he do? He swam for shore. Through the fall and winter he stayed with fishing folk who found him. In the spring, he made his way back to Thesk. Weakened by his ordeal and unable to travel farther, he sent the letter to my father." He closed his eyes for a moment then opened them again. "It took a year to reach Keelung. By the time my father presented it to the elders of Keelung, the members of the expedition had been dead for almost two years."
"What did the elders do?" Tycho asked.
"They put on their mourning clothes and decided that the time was after all not yet right for trade with the West." Li's fist, resting on top of the table, clenched. "My father, however, wanted to know the fate of his eldest son.
I was summoned back to Keelung from my position in the bureaucracy and dispatched to the West, tracing the expedition's route to Thesk."
Tycho's eyes went wide. "I've heard that's a fantastic journey!"
Li shrugged. "It has its wonders. I was in such haste that I barely noticed the months go by. I arrived