Good work indeed, Else thought. Ghort showed unexpected flashes of competence. Given his head in an elite crew he might amount to something. 'Pinkus, you could make yourself the next Adolf Black.'
'I could cut my own throat here and save the world the trouble, too.'
Sensitive. 'How long?' Else hoped to get inside the city before the crown prince's captors.
What then? Become Sublime's leading field officer? That would be good. He could do so much. But the risks were rising. Those Brothers from Runch … He had to stop looking like Sir Aelford daSkees — without arousing curiosity here.
'Now,' Ghort said. 'One man at a time. Stay in the shadows, against the rocks, and go slow till you can't see the wall anymore.'
'What about pickets?' Else asked.
'Patrols haven't run into any lately. The top guys over there are afraid they'll keep on going once they get outside the gates.'
Calziran soldiers still succeeded in deserting frequently.
The band assembled at the foot of the slope. Ghort was the last man down. While they gathered, Else asked Principatй Doneto what the Brotherhood company was doing. And how the Emperor was responding to the news. Ferris Renfrow, too.
Doneto told him, 'You clearly don't know how things work. I can't just snap my fingers and have some know-all devil tell me whatever I want to know. I wish it did work that way. A man who could find out anything could rule the world.'
'You don't know anything, then?'
'I wouldn't say that. Just nothing useful.'
'I suppose not.' Else watched Ghort get the troops moving again.
The next point of risk lay a hundred yards from the base of the wall. Ghort said, 'If they're alert we will have to wait till dark.'
Bronte Doneto said, “There isn't anyone there.'
'Your Grace?'
'Look. There's nobody on me wall. No. I don't know why. Maybe because it's so damned cold. Maybe because they don't think it's worth the bother. Maybe because they've all gone to see something else.'
'You sure?' Ghort demanded.
'At this range? Look. Your eyes are better than mine.'
'Not exactly a sure thing, then. Oh, well. Follow me.'
The band pushed through brush and clutter into the mouth of the storm drain, enjoying cold, wet feet and plenty of stink. The arched drain was four feet high and five wide. It had been roomier. The floor was deep in muck and detritus washed down from above.
Else crept forward, wondering when the trap would snap. Although that drainage outlet had been hidden by ages of overgrowth, and although most fortresses and cities that were captured were first penetrated by some similar means, Else did not want to believe that Sha-lug could be so sloppy.
There were partial collapses that, however, had not impeded drainage much. The slope was steep enough to wash most detritus past the choke points. Nevertheless, many hours went into conquering the drain.
Else stayed close to Bronte Doneto, out of Ghort's way. Pinkus seemed to know what to do and did it well. Else asked, 'How are we doing, Your Grace?' He croaked his words. The fetor was overwhelming.
'They don't seem to be aware of us yet. But there's a lot of excitement. It's getting dark. I should have a better idea what's going on, soon.'
Else went forward to help move fallen stonework. He told Ghort, 'I hope I'm in half as good a shape as him when I'm a thousand.'
'How old are you, Pipe?'
Else Tage was not sure. He did know that Piper Hecht would have no doubts. 'Thirty-three. And six days. Unless my mother was a liar.'
'You just worry about making it to thirty-three and seven, not no thousand. You shitting me? You had a birthday the other day and you never told anybody?'
'It's not important.' And in Dreanger, amongst Sha-lug, it was not. There, you celebrated the anniversary of your ascension into the full rights and responsibilities of a warrior slave of the Kaif of al-Minphet.
'Shit, Pipe. I don't believe you're real. Hey! Look at this.'
'This' was a larger, taller space where half a dozen lesser drains collected. Only one was big enough to let a man through.
Ghort said, 'You're a skinny little rat, Zalno. Take a candle and slither up that drain.' Then he observed, 'This isn't looking so good, now. Unless we find how workmen used to get in and out.'
Bronte Doneto announced, 'There's a celebration starting up there. The Pramans think that having Lothar will turn everything around.'
'Where are they holding him?' Else asked. He knew al-Khazen as well as a man could from maps.
'He isn't here yet. They're in a running fight with the Brotherhood. Have been all day.'
Ghort said, 'That puts us in better shape than I hoped.
They'll all be focused on that kid and how to use him to confound the work of the Lord.'
Even Doneto seemed taken aback by Ghort's sudden passion.
He grinned. 'Got you going, eh? But am I wrong? Principatй, what we need is a way out of here. When you guys found this, back when, you said there was one.'
Zalno came sliding out of the large drain. His candle had gone out He had a gray cast to him. He did not like being in tight places in the dark. He rasped, 'That goes on for maybe a hundred feet, uphill, curves left, goes past these big cistern things. There's ladders in those. It goes on to the downhill end of a dead-end street that looks like it runs through the middle of everything.'
Ghort asked, 'Can we get out that way?'
Zalno glanced around. 'I could. Some of you would have to be greased up, though. All the water from this one long street is supposed to run down to this drain thing that's about ten inches high by three feet wide.'
'Say no more,' Ghort said. 'I've got you. Can we get into the cisterns?'
'Yes, sir.'
'Good. We're on our way.'
Fifteen minutes later Else peered out the cracked doorway of what his memorized maps labeled Waterhouse Four. By twilight al-Khazen appeared to be an abandoned ruin. Nothing bigger than a rat moved or made a sound.
'Move! Sir,' someone said behind him.
There was not much room. People were supposed to come get water and go.
Else slipped outside, followed Ghort. 'You know where we are, Pinkus? This is almost too good to be true.'
The party moved into a cramped structure that, until recently, had housed Devedian jewelers, letter writers, and moneylenders.
'Pinkus, you've done an incredible job.'
'But you're gonna take it away from me now, eh?'
'In part, yes.'
'You're the boss, Pipe.'
'What were you going to do next?'
'Me?' Ghort grinned. 'You want the truth?'
'Yes.'
'I figured whoever was tagging along, you or somebody from the Collegium, would take it away from me before this.'
'Eis's balls, Pinkus, you're the sorriest, most cynical bastard on the face of the earth.'
'Does that make me wrong?'
'No. Principatй. What's the story now? Does it look like we can steal Lothar back and make the Grail Emperor love us?'
'Yes. And no. And yes. And no.'
