The hatch opened, exposing a man's face to the daylight. 'Yes?'
Randur held up the coin. 'I'm looking for someone called Papus.'
The man's gaze was fixed on the coin. 'Hang on.'
The door opened with the doorman gesturing for him to come in. The doorman wore a black cloak, underneath which Randur could see a dark, tight-fitting uniform, almost military in its design.
'Wait here,' the man instructed, and walked away.
The room was dark, but Randur could make out elaborate wood panelling, a few framed sketches on the wall. Incense burning gave a strangely comforting feeling about the room. It wasn't unlike the church of Bohr that had been built on Folke in the name of the Empire.
The man shortly returned with a chubby blonde woman dressed similarly. The pair of them searched Randur for weapons, then sat him down on a wooden stool.
They asked his business in Villjamur. And questioned his request to see Papus.
He held up the coin again, explaining how she had given it to him. The pair looked at each other.
'She's busy right now, but if you want to wait here, we'll enquire if she can see you sometime,' the woman said.
They left him slumped on the chair in that cold dark room. As his eyes became accustomed to the light, he had started to see the framed sketches in more detail. Diagrams of devices that he supposed to be relics, strange lettering surrounding each. He couldn't read Jamur as well as he could speak it, but this must be some older form of the language.
He waited there for the best part of an hour before he was finally summoned.
*
He was led into a large stone chamber that obviously served as an office, judging by the books and papers that littered the shelves and floor as if it hadn't been tidied in years. Tiptoeing around the clutter, he was told to sit on a chair by the large pointed-arch window. It seemed these were the chambers of Papus. The two leading him used the bizarre term in reference to her: the Gydja of the Order of the Dawnir. A bit much, really…
As he was left alone, staring through the window, a strange blue creature caught his eye. It flew down from one of the balconies on some higher level, arced awkwardly out of sight, then back into view briefly before banking up to one side.
The ancient chamber had a musky smell, with broken bits of masonry here and there. He knew the city was old, but had never imagined buildings like this would still be standing. Everywhere, there were books littering the shelves and even the floor. Mouldy with their broken spines, pages stuck together, sprouting sheets of paper exposing diagrams and equations to the air. There were pieces of equipment too, strange unrecognizable masses of metal, mechanical-looking insects, precise and advanced shapes.
Seeing all of this accumulated wisdom generated a feeling of inadequacy about his own education. He knew he was intelligent, but here was a more structured knowledge: ancient languages, history, the names of rare flora and fauna, whereas he mostly knew about swords and dancing and women. He had his wits, though, and you couldn't find every answer in a book – some were out in the real world.
The door opened, and a woman stepped in, garbed in the same outfit as the other two cultists. Her hair was darker than he remembered, and she was leaner.
'Who wants to speak to me?' Her voice was deep, her blue eyes dazzling.
Randur walked over to her, drew out the coin.
She took it and studied it. 'Yes, I remember. Folke, 1757. You're the little boy that saved me.' She handed it back, and gave him something like a smile. The severe lines on her face suggested that this was a rare gesture. 'You've grown, I see.'
'It happens,' Randur murmured, placing the coin back in his pocket. 'You said, at the time, if I ever needed a favour to come and find you.'
'You have had a successful journey then, so far.' Papus walked over to the table, and began to shuffle some papers. 'Well, what is the favour?'
'I need to find a cultist who can stop someone from dying, or else bring them back from the dead.'
Regarding him seriously, she put down the papers she was holding and took a step closer.
'I did save your life,' Randur said lamely. He thought at this point it might be an appropriate reminder.
'Yes, so you did – but you're making an incredibly serious request, you realize? I mean, why would you want to live forever?'
'It's not for me. It's my mother.'
'Oh, I see.' Papus perched on one end of the table. 'Could you just wait here for a moment?'
'I'm used to that by now.'
Papus reached under her cloak with her right hand-
– and vanished in a flash of purple light.
Randur jumped up, as if scalded, and stepped towards the table. He scanned the heaps of books and papers as if they'd offer any clues. 'Now how the hell did she do that?'
*
Randur was back in the seat by the window, trying to fathom one of the books that he clearly didn't understand. He decided that he liked the diagrams aesthetically, however.
The door opened. Papus re-entered.
'I see you're using the door now?'
'Look,' Papus said, 'I do owe you a major favour, and I've talked it over with a few of my colleagues here, but I fear I must tell you that what you've asked for isn't really where our expertise lies.'
Maybe he was naive, but this was getting frustrating. 'You're magicians, aren't you?'
'No,' she said, briefly.
'No?'
'No, we're much more than that. It isn't simple magic. There's a whole craft involved. We devote years to studying the subtleties of our technology.'
It sounded like a speech recited many times before.
'You made a promise. So what d'you suggest?'
'Well, I'm referring you now to another sect. You've got to understand that we normally have nothing whatsoever to do with them. I'm not placing you in any direct danger, but you must be particularly careful. I'm only doing this, remember, because of your service to me all those years ago. I would not be doing it for any other reason.'
'They sound pretty unsavoury,' Randur said. 'I'm not sure I like where this is going.'
'Let's just say that this is a tough time for the orders. Relationships are strained.'
'So I gather your lot and this other group don't like each other.'
'That is putting it mildly.' Papus laughed. 'But I'm now handing you over to them, and that is my favour to you in exchange. I don't think you'll ever understand just how big a favour it is.' She paused, then explained. 'We have radically different ways of thinking.'
'How so?' Randur enquired, noticing the anxiety in her expression.
'They – the Order of the Equinox, they're called – like to… take the world apart. We prefer to put it back together. That's as easy as I can make it for you.'
'Make it harder,' Randur said. 'I'm curious.'
'They want to take the world to pieces, to find out all its secrets. To know how everything works, and they won't let anything like ethics get in the way. They're ruthless, cruel and destructive. Whereas I like to unify, to keep order, observe a high level of morals. We give our help to the Council of Villjamur, and the Emperor, whenever they need us. But, nevertheless, it is to the Order of the Equinox that I must take you, if you're ever to find that which you seek.'
'There are two sides to every coin.' Randur had the token in his hand again. 'How do I know that you're not just finding an easy way of getting rid of me?' He flipped the coin in the air so that it shimmered in the light.
She grabbed it even as it span, and handed the coin back to him. 'Come,' she said. 'I'll take you to meet them.'
'Who exactly?' Randur said, his head tilted slightly.
'Dartun Sur,' Papus replied, turning to leave the room. 'He's the Godhi of the Order of the Equinox.'
