the Pleasure Houses service the ordinary man. Most, however, are for the wealthy whose tastes are more refined. There is more profit in serving the wealthy than the simple man.” She divided the food, giving him more bread, and both eggs.
“Pleasure is not really a commodity in Terah,” he observed.
“Terah,” Lara said to him, “does not worship the Celestial Actuary, but rather the Great Creator. The world of Hetar is driven by profit, Magnus. Everything is judged by that standard.” She began to eat. The bread was good, the cheese mediocre and the fruit had seen better days. She wondered why a respectable inn across from the Council Quarters would offer its guests such scanty fare. She would speak to the little servant girl about it.
He gulped his portion, and Lara knew it wasn’t enough for him. He was a big man, and used to good meals.
“There are usually vendors on the street selling food,” she said.
“Good! Master Innkeeper will have to do better than this,” Magnus said grimly.
“You cannot fuss, my lord,” she advised again. “Remember, we are simple folk.”
“Let us hope the bed is not infested,” he grumbled at her.
“Come, and I will show you the City,” Lara invited.
They departed the inn, and began to move through the crowded streets. She brought him through the gates of the Quarter where she had grown up, and showed him the hovel that had once belonged to her father. There was no one now who would recognize Lara, daughter of Swiftsword, and she was plainly dressed, a dark veil over her golden hair, which she had braided and hidden beneath a dark snood. They noted how overcrowded the Quarter was.
“It was always full, but never like this,” Lara noted. “Gaius Prospero has built himself up a great army.”
“To no avail,” Magnus murmured low.
Lara smiled. “He has promised them the spoils of war, and there will be none. I am certain he intended to divide the land up for himself and his friends. Now he will have to give some of it away to satisfy the Guild of Mercenaries. If there is no enemy there is no need for a large force, and many of these men are sons of Midland farmers. To be given land to farm will well satisfy them even if it does not satisfy Gaius Prospero.” A small chuckle escaped her. “I must admit I do enjoy seeing that man thwarted in his grandiose schemes. Ah, here is the Golden District where only the most wealthy are permitted to reside.”
“Can we go in?” he asked her.
Lara shook her head. “Not unless you wish me to have the guardsmen at the gates announce me to Gaius Prospero. I’m quite certain he would be delighted to receive me, my lord, and to learn of your fine kingdom, which he would begin to consider conquering. Especially after he faces disappointment in the Outlands.”
“Let us find a market and buy something to eat,” he said. “I am ravenous, and those two little eggs, a bad slice of cheese, bread and a few grapes are not enough for a man of my appetites.” He gazed through the open gates into the Golden District. It was almost pastoral in appearance with great trees and green lawns.
“Move along!” snapped a guardsman seeing his interest.
“Your pardon, sir,” Magnus Hauk said politely. “My wife and I are from the coast, and we have never before been to the City. Who lives here?”
“The emperor and his court,” the guardsman said, his tone a touch more friendly. “Come closer, and take a real look,” he invited them.
Lara’s reluctant hand in his, Magnus stepped nearer and gawked, as he knew he would be expected to do. He could see several fine marble mansions. “’Tis grand, sir,” he said to the guardsman. “I have never seen its like before. Thank you.” He bowed.
The guardsman nodded in return as they moved off.
“You have a flair for the dramatic,” Lara noted amused.
“It is difficult to resist,” Magnus replied. “Everyone here seems to be a cock on his own dung hill. I could tell his position was important to him. I will wager if I had talked more with him we could have gotten in to the Golden District to walk around.”
“And run smack into Gaius Prospero, or his toady Jonah, who I suspect is a truly dangerous man,” Lara said.
“And Gaius Prospero is not?” Magnus was curious.
“The Master of the Merchants, or I suppose I should now say, the emperor, is more interested in acquisition and pleasure than anything else. But Jonah, I believe, seeks power.”
“Look, up ahead the avenue opens into a square, and I see kiosks and awnings. It is a market!” Magnus said, well pleased.
“I must buy a basket if we are to make other purchases,” Lara said, and with one or two queries they found their way to a basket weaver’s awning. Looking carefully Lara finally selected an open container woven from willow wands. She bargained with the basket weaver until a suitable price was agreed upon by them both. Then she turned to her husband who wordlessly brought forth the proper coin. They walked onward.
“I see here in the marketplace you are free to speak up,” he noted.
“Yes, this is a woman’s province. It is not odd for her man to accompany her here, but she is the one who makes the purchases, and bargains where suitable,” Lara explained. She next purchased a small fresh loaf of bread, some cooked meat, a wedge of cheese that she first tasted and approved. It was all more expensive than she had remembered, and it had been Lara who marketed for her family. An old woman vendor was displaying apples, pears and grapes of a much better quality than they had been offered at the inn this morning. Lara was further shocked by the price the old lady asked.
“Why are they so expensive?” she asked.
“The spring was wet, and the blossoms did not set properly. The harvest has been a poor one,” the fruit seller explained. “The trees and the vines are all old now. But when we take back the land the barbarians stole from us it will be different. We will plant new trees and vines. Food is scarce this year. It is the same all over Hetar.”
“Not quite so much in the Coastal province where we come from,” Lara told her. Then turning the subject she said, “I will take two apples, two pears and a small bunch of your lovely green grapes. As it is my husband will complain at me for the cost.” She held out her hand to Magnus who, glowering as he was supposed to, counted out the coins for the fruit, grumbling beneath his breath as he did so. Lara handed the fruit seller the coins, and received in return the fruit she had requested. Seeing a third apple she looked at the woman questioningly.
“It’s small,” the old lady said. “I won’t be able to sell it anyway. You might as well have it.”
“Thank you,” Lara said, and gave the vendor a smile.
“Well,” Magnus said as the moved away, “there is one person in Hetar not interested in a great profit.”
“The people are good, my lord,” Lara told him. “It is those in power who are overcome by their greed.” And then she stopped suddenly, for directly in her path was her stepmother, and she was staring with shock and surprise directly at Lara.
Sensing something wrong Magnus asked, “What is it, Lara?”
Lara drew a long breath, and then she said, “Susanna. You are looking well.”
Her stepmother swallowed hard, and then she practically whispered, “What are you doing here, Lara?” There was a young boy at her side.
“Is this Mikhail?” Lara asked, smiling at the child.
“Yes,” Susanna said. “You have not answered my question.”
“I do not think a public street is the place for this conversation, Susanna,” Lara replied. “We are near the Garden District. Will you not invite my husband and me there so we may speak together? Perhaps I might even see my father, if he is not preparing for the Outlands invasion.” Her tone was pleasant. She took Susanna’s arm and drew her out of the center of the walkway.
“No one can enter the Garden District now except those living there. You would need a special permit, and I do not see how you could get one,” Susanna protested.
“My magic has increased in the years I have been gone from Hetar, Stepmother,” Lara told her. “I can render my husband and me invisible. We will follow you home, and no one will be the wiser,” she said.
“Our servants will see you!” Susanna protested.
“And will they be bold enough to question you about your guests?” Lara asked her scornfully. “We will be discreet, Susanna. I have no wish to draw attention to us.”
“You will do it whether I say yes or not,” Susanna responded. Then she turned, and taking her son by the hand,
