Tzirret wished he could breathe a sigh of relief when the slavers closed the hatch to the hold they were packed into, but he was afraid that if he breathed out too quickly, he would not be able to breathe in again. He lowered himself down to be seated between Ma'tanza and the man in front of him and maintained shallow breaths.

In response to Ma'tanza, Tzirret tried craning his head around. Even if he could see around everyone else's heads, it was too dark to make out faces. [i]"This one tried to see him while we were walking. He could not see him."[/i] Tzirret whispered in Ta'agra with his voice noticeably wavering. [i]"Tzirret thinks that he might be on the other ship."[/i]

Tzirret tried looking up and only saw slivers of dim light through the ceiling. He tried taking a deeper breath and found that he indeed did not have room. His already shallow breathing became constricted. [i]"Ma'tanza?"[/i] Tzirret's whispered words began including some panicked squeaks, [i]"This one never liked confined spaces..."[/i]

[hr]
Above decks, Gallus continued watching as the chained lines of clanspeople were lead into the wooden bellies of the ships. He almost betrayed a wince as one of the less patient slavers struck one of the clan for talking, but it was not violent enough to warrant intervening.

When the 'slaves' were accommodated and the supplies began getting loaded, Gallus considered following Meesei to make sure the next phase of the plan was clear, but they had plenty of time. He had already handed in his hammer and larger daggers, keeping two others well hidden on his person. Without taking his eyes off the porting crew, Gallus leaned his head to one side and spoke. "I'll come by once we've cast off."

It took roughly an hour before there was virtually nothing left on the shore. There were no serious complications so far. Satisfied, Gallus pushed of the railing of the top deck and made his way to Meesei and Colours' room.

Gallus knocked on the correct door before stepping inside and closing it behind him. "We are away. Everything is going according to plan." A small smile crept onto Gallus' face, betraying exhilaration at the risk that just passed.