“You mean when they are too old to work?” I asked.
He nodded and said, “Or does the master grant permission.”
“Why should he do that?” I inquired. Urt shrugged again and said, “Sometimes … as a reward.”
“Is it a reward?” I asked. “To leave the civilized lands for such a wilderness?”
“Some deem it freedom,” he muttered, then busied himself, as if he regretted that admission.
“Would you go there?” I asked.
“I cannot,” he said.
“But when you’re older,” I said. “Then?”
He said nothing, setting aside his broom in favor of a cloth, which he commenced to apply industriously. Bael had taught us something of body language and its interpretation, and I read Urt’s clear: he was uncomfortable with my questions. Even so, I pressed on.
“On the galley that brought me here,” I said, “the captain told me when your folk are old, they may remain in Dharbek, dependent on the charity of their fellows; or they may cross the Slammerkin. Which would you choose?”
Urt’s answer came muffled from beneath my bed: “I’m not old yet.”
That was equivocation, and I asked, “But when you are?”
His head emerged, nose twitching, and he sneezed prodigiously. I thought it subterfuge and was about to continue my interrogation when a thought abruptly struck me and killed the question on my tongue. None spoke much of Ur-Dharbek, save in terms of the past, and whenever I had heard the wild Changed mentioned, the speaker had soon after fallen silent or changed the subject. Even my tutors, who surely must know as much as any, avoided the topic; or, when I had pressed them, claimed to know only that wild Changed dwelt there, and nothing more. It seemed some unspoken taboo existed. Urt was obviously loath to answer my queries. I felt convinced he knew more than he admitted; and feared that did I continue, I might lose the trust established between us. I opted for tactful withdrawal and said, “Forgive me. I’d not pry, save I’d learn all I may of the world.”
He looked at me then and I saw surprise on his face. I could not at first understand why-perhaps he had grown so accustomed to my interrogations he found it startling I should give up so easily. Then he smiled, and in his expression there was genuine fondness. I shrugged myself and said, “I apologize for pestering you.”
He stared straight at me. His eyes were very dark and set with pupils of a singular blue. They were difficult to read, but his smile was broad, a most human expression for all that it revealed sharp teeth.
I frowned, confused, and said, “What? What is it?”
He said, “No Trueman has ever apologized to me.”
That simple statement robbed me of words. It was such a little thing; and an enormity. It summed up the status of the Changed and the attitude of Truemen. I had apologized unthinking, in part for fear I gave offense, and also, I had to admit, for fear I should dam the flow of information I got from him. But even so-that none should deliver so simple a courtesy? All I could find to say was, “Never?”
Urt shook his head, still staring at me, still smiling. “Never,” he said. I could not then read his expressions well, but I felt that in his gaze, in those whiteless eyes; I saw gratitude, and something else I could not define. Speculation perhaps, or hope. I could not be sure, but I felt our relationship was changed in some subtle fashion. I grinned and shrugged, uncertain what to say and curiously embarrassed, and before we had chance to speak again, Cleton entered the room.
He came flinging in with his usual enthusiasm, greeting me with a smile, barely noticing Urt.
“So, are you ready? We’ve the rest of the day to ourselves. Come on!”
At that moment I had sooner remained with Urt, that we might continue our conversation, but when I glanced at the Changed, I saw that moment of intimacy was lost. He had returned to his cleaning: returned to his lowly status. Cleton ignored him, impatiently beckoning me. I said, “Urt,” and he looked up, his expression bland, and asked, “Master?” In Cleton’s presence he always used the honorific term. Only when we were alone did he show that truer side, and even then kept a part of himself hid. I smiled and said, “Nothing. We’ll speak again later.”
“Yes, master.”
He ducked his head, turning away. I checked my purse for coin as Cleton fidgeted by the door, and we left him.
That past year had been grim. The great bloodred vessels of the Sky Lords had fouled our air too often, Rumors had spread of a new, untimely Coming; the koryphon had recruited ever greater numbers to his warband; there had been talk of conscripting squadrons of Changed, even. Fifteen nights Cleton and I had climbed to the rooftops of the College to watch the terrible pyrotechnics of opposing sorceries light the sky. On several others Ardyon had confined us to our quarters under threat of a twelvemonth of punishment. Word had come of sightings and groundings throughout Dharbek. The Lord Protector Gahan had led his own war-band against twelve fylie of Kho’rabi knights whose airboats had come down close to Kherbryn. Throughout the year itinerant Storymen had brought the College tales of battle, of victories and defeats, and whilst none of the Kho’rabi had survived, still keeps and villages had suffered horribly.
Then, with winter’s advent, the Comings had ceased. It was as though the gray skies with their skirling snowfall denied the Sky Lords crossing of the Fend. We had heard from the Sentinels that no airboats were seen, and Dharbek breathed a little easier, tending her wounds. But seasons turn, and as the snow gave way to rain and the air warmed, folk began again to speak of attack. Trevid had been busy that winter, constructing great war- engines that now sat atop Durbrecht’s walls in augmentation of the mages’ sorcery. Cleton and I had-of course- inspected them, marveling at the cunning that allowed machinery to hurl great bolts skyward, like vast bows. It was said that Kherbryn, too, was defended by such engines, and that the Lord Protector promised to see every keep in the land equipped as well. But still, as the rain gave way to the blue skies of spring, it was feared the Sky Lords should return, and folk doubted even those impressive engines could stand against the magic of the Ahn. If the Sky Lords could defeat the sorcerers of the Sentinels, they said, how should mere man-made engines halt them? It was the chief topic of conversation in every tavern and aleshop, and as spring advanced it seemed that Durbrecht held its breath in horrid anticipation.
It was a palpable mood, but there was no Coming, neither against Durbrecht nor any other place, and as spring became summer, the city relaxed. The Church, which these past months had offered prayers that the God defend us, now held services of thanksgiving. This Sastaine was to be a great celebration, for Gahan and the Primate both had decreed the Sky Lords defeated. The Ahn, so the official word had it, had mustered all their forces to attempt invasion and had failed. Their threat was done, said Kherbryn and the Church, and for that give thanks to the God and the stout hearts of Dharbek.
We of the College doubted this was so. We studied history: we knew more of the Ahn than did our fellow Dhar, and we believed it unlikely the Sky Lords should forsake an ambition held so long, so avidly. We held our peace and spoke not at all of our beliefs save amongst ourselves. Better, Decius advised us, that the people have hope, that their confidence be allowed to grow. Should we find ourselves questioned, he told us, then we should speak of victories, of past glories, not of gloomy matters. I saw then, for the first time, that the task of we Mnemonikos was more than the recording and recounting of history; that it was as much our work to firm the people’s hearts, to instill in them a faith, a loyalty to Dharbek, that they be better able to withstand the depredations of the Sky Lords.
It was a perfect summer’s day: the sky was blue and cloudless, the sun benign. The streets were bright with flowers, and pennants fluttered overhead. Bells carilloned from the towers of the churches, vying for attention with the musicians who strummed and blew and beat in the plazas. Stalls with vivid awnings sold trinkets and tidbits, favors of blossoms or ribbons in Durbrecht’s colors, skewers of grilled meat, sugary confections, votive offerings.
We fell into a portentous discussion of the various merits of our favorite taverns as we proceeded on our pleasure-bent way. We had done our best to sample them all, a program much aided by the coin Cleton had from his father. The small sum my own had given me, and the stipend we got from the College, did not stretch far in this metropolis, and I was somewhat dependent on my friend’s generosity when we went adrinking, or to the house of Allya. That had embarrassed me at first, and as I saw my hoarded wealth depleted, I had made excuses that Cleton cheerfully refused to countenance. He had persuaded me, or I had allowed him to, and so we drank and whored by courtesy of Madbry’s aeldor. Our faces were by now well known in numerous of Durbrecht’s
