“Not here,” he says and then motions for them to follow. He leads them through the door that the other man had passed through and into the room on the other side. A woman and two children sit on a bed pushed against one wall and eye them as they pass through. Neither they nor Perrilin say anything. From a table near the bed, Perrilin picks up one of the candles burning there and takes it with him.
Once they’ve passed through into the hallway, he leads them down to a doorway on the left. Opening it up, he indicates for them to precede him inside. The doorway is twice as thick as the average door and made of solid wood. As James and the others move inside and Perrilin shuts the door, he notices that all noise from outside of the room is gone.
“Quiet room?” he asks.
Perrilin nods as he takes a seat at one of the chairs sitting around a lone table. The others take seats as well. “We found that such a room comes in handy when you wish not to be overheard,” he explains.
“Is it magical?” asks Reilin.
Shaking his head, Perrilin says, “No. Just built very thickly.”
“Now what is going on around here?” Jiron asks.
“Let’s just say that some of my associates and me don’t exactly have the good will of the powers that be,” he says.
“What do you mean?” Jiron asks, obviously not satisfied with the answer.
Perrilin gestures to the Empire type clothes Jiron is wearing and says, “As someone who himself is trying to not draw attention, I’m sure you’ll understand if I decline to say more.”
“Your business is your own,” says James. “Though I would like to know why you gave us the note.”
“Earlier I saw you going into the slaver compound,” he tells them. “And then later when I saw you leave, you had the look of someone with a great deal on their minds. So I had a boy I knew give you the note and hoped you would take the chance and come.”
“Why?” asks Jiron. “Sounds as if you have enough troubles without getting yourself involved with ours.”
Perrilin gazes at him a moment and says, “There was a time when I was in trouble and someone came to my aid. Can I do less to repay the debt I owe?”
“You don’t owe me any debt,” James tells him. “Your help in introducing me to Ellinwyrd was payment enough.”
“Nevertheless,” he replies, “I still feel onus to help you now.”
“Maybe he can help,” suggests Reilin.
Jiron looks to James who nods. “It can’t hurt and I definitely trust him,” James says. Then turning to Perrilin, he adds, “We need to talk with the slaver named Buka.”
Perrilin grows quiet at that. “Why?” he finally asks. “Do you plan to kill him?”
Shaking his head, James says, “No. All we want is some information.” He then goes briefly into the final dream he had of Cassie and Tinok, what she said about the fate hanging over him, and of the trail they’ve followed thus far in search of their friend. When he finishes, he has Jiron take out the necklace and show it to him. “This is all we have to go on,” he concludes. “The last person we talked to said that he got it from Buka a slaver here in Cyst. Now, we need to find out what Buka knows.”
“Do you know him?” Jiron asks.
“Oh yes,” he says with a nod. “He is the Guildmaster of the slavers in this area. A very powerful person whom it isn’t wise to cross.”
“Can you think of a way for us to talk to him?” James asks.
“It isn’t as simple as you are making it out,” he says. “No one simply goes up and talks to Buka. Very few around here have even seen him.”
“We heard he is presently within the slaver compound here in Cyst,” states Jiron.
“That well may be true,” nods Perrilin. “From what I’ve heard, he doesn’t leave here often.”
“Can you be of any help?” asks Jiron. “If what James was told in the dream is true, then Tinok has less than two weeks to live.”
Shaking his head, he says, “I don’t have any connections within the slaver guild I’m afraid.”
“Do you know what he looks like?” James asks.
“Yes,” he replies. “But I don’t know how that is going to be of any help.”
Jiron looks to James. “Is it?” he asks.
“Maybe,” he replies. Removing his mirror from its pouch, he says, “I’ve never done it quite this way before.”
“Done what?” Perrilin asks suspiciously, his gaze upon the mirror.
“Try to find someone,” he explains as he sets the mirror on the table between them.
“With magic?” he asks.
“How else?” James says.
“Is it going to hurt?” Perrilin asks.
Shaking his head, James replies, “No. What I want you to do is to visualize Buka in your mind, close your eyes if you need to.”
Perrilin nods his head and closes his eyes. When he has Buka’s image clearly depicted, he asks, “Okay, now what?”
“Nothing,” replies James. “Just keep the image in your mind as clear as you can until I tell you to stop.”
“Alright,” he says, eyes still closed.
James then turns his attention to the mirror on the table and concentrates. The magic begins to build as he formulates what he wishes it to do. And that is, to find the person Perrilin is concentrating on.
“Is this going to work?” Reilin asks Jiron.
“Shhh!” Jiron says irritably. “Don’t disturb him.”
James lets the magic flow and it almost seems as if a thread of it attaches itself to Perrilin’s forehead. Of course it doesn’t actually do that, it just feels that way. Then all of a sudden, the image in the mirror coalesces and they see a large man gone to fat sitting on a bed in a room with two naked young women.
“Is that him?” James asks.
Perrilin opens his eyes and nods. “Yeah, that’s him,” he says.
“I can see why he doesn’t get out much,” Reilin states. Jiron nods his head in agreement.
“You can stop thinking about him now,” James tells Perrilin, “I’ve got him.”
“Now what?” he asks as he gazes at the people in the mirror.
James begins scrolling the image in small increments and then moves the image upward until the room disappears and an aerial view of the slaver compound comes into view.
Jiron pays extra close attention to the image, committing to memory the exact location of the room in which Buka is in. Finally he says, “I’ve got it.”
“You sure?” James asks.
“Oh yeah,” he replies. “I can find that room now.”
Canceling the image, he replaces the mirror back in his pouch.
Reilin gets a sly grin on his face and says, “From the looks of things, I’d say he’ll be in there for awhile.”
“Looks that way,” agrees James.
Perrilin glances from Jiron to James then back again. “You aren’t thinking about going in there are you?” he asks.
“Can you think of a better way to find out what we want to know?” responds Jiron. Then he turns to James and says, “Shall we?”
“Yes,” he replies as he stands up. To Perrilin he says, “I appreciate your help in this.”
Perrilin rises and looks to them for a moment. Then says, “You’re welcome. Just be careful.”
“We will,” James assures him. “Now, can you lead us out?”
He nods and moves around the table to the door. Opening it, he steps into the hallway and leads them back the way they came. A young man is now within the room with the woman and two children. When Perrilin enters the young man stands up and says, “It’s all clear.”
“Thank you,” he replies.
The young man moves ahead of them to the door they originally entered the building through and throws the bolt open. Then he swings the door open for them and stands there holding it as they pass through. Once they are
