these intelligent young women might discover a mistake which would betray Yen Olass as an imposter.
And then?
Yen Olass could only imagine the kind of punishment which might befall a slave who impersonated the Silent One. If she got off lightly, they might let rats eat her breasts, then take her out and burn her alive. On the other hand, if they decided to be vindictive…
Pushing such thoughts out of her mind, she turned her attention once more to the Indicators, the Casting Board and the Book of the Sisterhood, struggling to master delicacies of technique and interpretation which had once been second nature to her. It had indeed been a long time.
That evening, Yen Olass slept alone for the second night in succession. She found it hard to get to sleep in her lonely bed. She yearned for Monogail. That, indeed, was part of the reason why she had filled her day with so much talk and work – it helped take her mind off the pain of separation.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
After sailing some distance south, the good ship Ebonair turned east, on a course designed to take it to Iglis. Before getting there, they were intercepted. A sleek patrol boat overhauled them and challenged them. The Ebonair hove to and was boarded. The swaggering Collosnon intruders came to order promptly when Yen Olass emerged from her stateroom in the guise of the Silent One of the Sisterhhood, and, carrying off her role with an enviable degree of panache, called on them to obey her and do her bidding, in the name of the emperor.
Soon the patrol vessel was on its way to Iglis to announce their imminent arrival; the Ebonair, rolling like a drunken pig in the heavy sea, trudged along in its wake, and had soon lost sight of the white-winged envoy.
Yen Olass, thrilled with the ease at which she had handled this first encounter, began to toy with fantasies. What if Celadric was dead? What then? Would it be possible for her to continue this pretence and play her role for real? If Hearst's quest proved impossible, and the Rovac warrior returned to the Lesser Teeth empty-handed, could Yen Olass Ampadara step into the shoes of the Silent One and live out her days in state and power in Gendormargensis?
The thought of her child Monogail recalled her to her senses. She had her own home to go back to, as soon as this madcap adventure was over – and the sooner the better. Now that her moments of madness were over, she coldly calculated her chances of surviving an extended stay in the Collosnon Empire, and found them worse than slim. In Trest and Estar, uncouth garrison provinces far removed from the imperial court, no doubt she could hold her own. But if she ever reached Gendormargensis, she would encounter people who, at the least, would know the Silent One by her voice.
Then what about Meddon? And York? There was a slim chance that one of those formidable killers would remember the true voice of the Silent One. Or, alternatively, the voice from behind the veil might remind York of the oracle he had seen give a reading in Gendormargensis on the day that Lonth Denesk and Tonaganuk fought to the death. Or, considering that so many people passed through Gendormargensis at one time or another, it was possible that-
Yen Olass realized she was not doing herself any good at all by trying to calculate the odds against success. She consoled herself with the thought that Hearst and Watashi were not fools; neither of them would put their heads inside a dragon's mouth unless there was at least a sporting chance that they would be able to withdraw before the jaws closed.
Once more, Yen Olass turned her attention to the Indicators, the Casting Board and the Book.
Arriving off Iglis, the Ebonair was delayed by plague. Warning flags cautioned them against going ashore; a hoarse-voiced signaller calling from the deck of a pilot cutter warned them that the surrounding countryside was in the grip of cholera. Watashi, speaking as the nominal leader of their party, stressed that their need was urgent; the reply was that orders banning all movement had been issued from Garabatoon, and could not be countermanded by Watashi, even though he claimed to speak in the name of the emperor.
For three days they were anchored off Iglis. The text-master Eldegen Terzanagel treated them to a sepulchral rendition of the tale of the cholera epidemic which had claimed his master when he had been slave to a wizard; Morgan Hearst lamented the absence of his friend of many adventures, the healer Miphon, now in exile in Sung.
Then they received landing permission. They could not enter Iglis, or take their ship up the Hollern River to Garabatoon, but they could come ashore on a deserted part of the coast, and transport would be arranged from there. Their route would take them through the countryside without bringing them into contact with any of the plague-stricken communities.
This outcome had its attractions, at least for Yen Olass, as it spared her the danger of being identified as an imposter. On the other hand, these rigorous quarantine measures made it impossible for her to gather intelligence, which was her main task on this mission; she could not meet any oracles resident in Iglis to review their readings and to find out what the current concerns of the community were.
When they landed, they were met by men with horses and ox-carts. They travelled with all possible speed toward Garabatoon, the town the Collosnon Empire had built on the site of Lorford. At nightfall, Yen Olass conferred with Hearst, Watashi and Eldegen Terzanagel. They agreed that if she felt they were under suspicion, she should feign sickness. Once they were immersed in the formal protocol which would attend their arrival in Garabatoon, it might be difficult for Yen Olass to meet with the others, but news that she had fallen sick would travel fast, warning them that they should abandon their mission and flee.
Which left Yen Olass with at least one unanswered question: under such circumstances, how would she escape? When Hearst failed to come up with any satisfactory answer, she forced him to commit himself to several formidable oaths, guaranteeing that in the event of her death he would dedicate himself to Monogail and Mono- gail's future.
On a day of wind and sunlight, the convoy entered Garabatoon. They were led by Watashi, who was playing himself; he was accompanied by Yen Olass, posing as the Silent One of the Sisterhood: Morgan Hearst and Eldegen Terzanagel, dressed in formal grey robes, were travelling as courtiers from Watashi's court. With them were twenty-six men. Some, Collosnon deserters who had been in the employ of Morgan Hearst for years, were passing themselves off as soldiers from Celadric's entourage; the others were dressed as what they actually were, soldiers and sailors from Stokos.
They were met on the outskirts of Garabatoon and were told that a reception had been prepared for them. Messengers, breaking plague quarantine, had brought news of their impending arrival some days previously. After the reception, there would be a formal banquet; to celebrate their arrival, and to celebrate the fact that the plague had not spread to Garabatoon, there would be a river festival the next day.
Yen Olass welcomed this news. Thanks to the festivities, no serious business would be discussed for at least two days. In that time, she should be able to interrogate at least some oracles, and learn whether anyone suspected Watashi of deceit. Naturally, Meddon and York would hesitate before handing over a substantial ransom to a stranger; if Yen Olass could achieve a good rapport with the oracles, and convince them that she, the Silent One, vouched for Watashi's good intentions, then anyone who consulted an oracle for guidance would probably get a reading indicating that it was best to hand over the ransom.
With growing confidence, Yen Olass thought of the days ahead, and began to delight in the subtle challenge awaiting her. And quite apart from that, she was excited by the thought of a river festival. She hadn't seen one for years – for more than half a decade, in fact. She'd always loved river festivals, with their boating duels, horse-
