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Highness.” Owen smiled. “Though had she known I would be meeting you, she would have endured the journey.”
    “I’m certain your wife would be delightful company.”
    “You’re very kind, Highness.”
    The Prince’s eyes glittered. “Shall I gather that if I wanted to know any Norillian court gossip, she would have been a good source?”
    “Her one failing, Highness.” Owen sighed. “She told me a great deal before I left, but I did not pay attention. No matter; it would all be old.”
    “And given my aunt’s often mercurial personality, it would likely have changed, or changed back, since you sailed.” Vlad laughed. “There are times when the ocean is welcome insulation from her guidance.”
    Owen smiled politely, not knowing what else to do.
    The Prince waved him forward. “Come, let us get you cleaned up. I can do at least that. Eli, my wurmwright’s son, serves as my squire and will get most of the mud off your coat. Those breeches are beyond salvation.”
    Owen ascended the short ladder onto the walkway. “Please, Highness, I appreciate the offer but will decline. Colonel Langford will take some pleasure in seeing me thus.”
    “You mustn’t tell him that Mugwump did this. The man has forever desired to see the wurm. Petty, I know, but denying him that pleasure is one of the few means I have of irritating him. I suspect that speaks well of neither of us but, as vices go, it is hardly the worst.”
    “I will tell him I paused by the river and slipped.”
    The Prince smiled as they closed the doors to the wurmrest. “Clever man. You might actually succeed in your mission.”
    “Thank you, Highness.”
    “I think you will find, Captain Strake, that my assessment will make your life more difficult than you imagine.”
    “Highness?”
    The Prince matched his stride as they headed to the front of the estate. “Let me ask you… No, no, let me tell you: You are a clever man. No need to deny it or hide it. You have a goal. You have a reason for coming here, one beyond your orders. You’re too smart to be looking at this as a grand adventure—though you do realize it will be the greatest adventure of your life. There is something more there.”
    Owen shivered. The image of his beloved Catherine swam into focus. “Yes, Highness.” He almost continued speaking. He almost told the Prince his reason, but in glancing to the side, he saw a steely glint in Vlad’s eyes that told him whatever it was, it was unimportant.
    “Mark my words, Captain Strake. Your mission and its successful completion will be the first step in determining the future of the world.” The Prince’s eyes narrowed. “There will be many who do not want you to succeed, but for the sake of the world, you must.”
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Chapter Five

    April 27, 1763
    Bounty Trail
    Temperance Bay, Mystria
     
    O wen stopped by the Benjamin River to wash wurm-mud off his clothes. His jacket and waistcoat had gotten the worst of it, so he scrubbed them as best he could, and washed the grime from his boots. He splashed water over his breeches and, after removing his shirt and boots, waded into the river to clean the rest of him.
    Whereas others might have been disgusted, Owen smiled. He almost shouted out happily, but refrained. The unspoiled wilderness didn’t need his voice disturbing it.
    All the stories he’d heard and read about Mystria had not prepared him for the pure delight of the land. In just one day he’d seen so much. There will be many more strange adventures before I am home again.
    A crashing in the brush off to his left brought him around. He swam back to shore and reached for the horse pistol. Owen brought the gun up, his thumb resting on the firestone. He looked toward the sound, steadying the pistol with his left hand. Images of stalking jeopards filled his mind.
    Idiot. That predator would be the whisper of death.
    There, thirty yards away, a massive beast on long legs emerged from the brush and onto a small sandbar jutting into