The Ambassador's Mission

“He got it straight,” the big man said.

Now the Administrator looked at Anyi. “And were you there?”

“No,” she replied.

“Have you observed this woman performing magic?”

“Yes. I first put eyes on her an hour or so before S—... Black Magician Sonea caught her. She was watching Forlie being caught. I thought it a bit odd. Then I saw her using magic to kill some birds that were making so much noise fighting they might’ve drawn attention to her. I knew she had to be a rogue, too, so I went to get Black Magician Sonea.”

The Administrator looked thoughtful, then regarded Cery, Anyi and Gol in turn. “Is there anything else you can tell us about either of these women?”

“No,” Cery replied. He glanced at his daughter and bodyguard. They were shaking their heads.

The Administrator turned to regard the Higher Magicians. “Any questions?”

“I have one,” the magician in white robes said. He must be the High Lord, Cery recalled. Sonea had told him the High Lord’s robes had been changed to white after it was decided the Black Magicians should, logically, wear black. “Have you ever seen anyone with the same physical characteristics as this woman?” The man gestured toward the rogue. “Aside from her gender, of course.”

“Maybe once or twice,” Cery replied.

“Do you know where those people came from?”

Cery shook his head. “No.”

The magician nodded, then waved a hand at the Administrator to indicate he had no more questions. Relieved, Cery found he was looking forward to leaving this place. He might be a powerful man in the city’s underworld, but he was not used to being scrutinised by so many people. A Thief works best unnoticed. Better to be known by reputation than by being the centre of attention.

“Thank you for your assistance, Cery of Northside, Anyi and Gol,” the Administrator said. “You may now leave.”

Sonea ushered them out again. Once the Guildhall doors had closed behind them, Cery let out a sigh of relief.

“Did that help?” Anyi asked.

Sonea nodded. “I think it will. They now have witness accounts of the woman breaking the law. The only magic she used within sight of magicians was arguably in her defence, when I captured her and took her to the Guild.”

“So if she has broken the law it is excusable to read her mind?”

“It was already.” Sonea smiled grimly. “But now they won’t feel so bad about it.”

“Will you do it?” Cery asked.

Her smile vanished. “It’ll either be me or Kallen. I suspect they’ll choose Kallen, since he’s had much less involvement in the search and hasn’t been disobeying rules.”

Cery frowned. “Are they going to give you trouble for that?”

“I don’t think so,” she said, her brow creasing with worry. “Kallen doesn’t seem too pleased. He hasn’t had the time to raise the matter so far, but he will eventually. Nobody else has brought it up, but I’m sure someone will.” She sighed and took a step back toward the hall. “I had better return. I’ll let you know what happens.” She paused, then smiled. “Oh, and Lorkin contacted me. He’s alive and well. I’ll tell you all about it another time.”

“Great news!” Cery said. “See you then.”

She waved, then pushed one of the doors open wide enough to slip through. Cery looked from Anyi to Gol. “Let’s see if the carriage is waiting for us.”

They grinned, and followed as he set off back to the front of the University.

When Achati, Dannyl, the other Ashaki and Unh reached the road, they found that the slaves they had sent ahead had the carriage and horses ready and waiting for them. The Ashaki helpers turned to face Dannyl and bid him farewell.

“You have our sympathy,” one of them said. “It must be annoying to have your assistant seduced away from you.”

“Yes,” Dannyl replied. “But at least I know he went willingly and is in no danger – or doesn’t believe himself to be. And... I apologise for his behaviour again. He led you all into danger unnecessarily.”

Another shrugged. “It was worth it for the chance to finally attempt to do something about them, or find their base, even if it led to nothing.”

“But... surely you could not have followed the Traitors much further without them being forced to kill you,” Dannyl said.

The Ashaki exchanged glances, and suddenly Dannyl understood their apparent lack of concern. They did not want to admit that they had been hopelessly outnumbered, or had failed in their task, so they pretended otherwise. In truth they had been well aware and fearful of the risk they had been taking. It would be rude to make them say so aloud, however.

“Well, Ashaki Achati tells me we got further into their territory than anyone has managed to go before,” he said, putting pride and admiration into his tone.

The Ashaki smiled and nodded.

“If you change your mind about retrieving your assistant, let us know,” the more talkative of them told him. “The king would not have much trouble gathering together a small army for the purpose. We are always looking for an excuse to weed them out.”

“That is good to know,” he assured them. “And much appreciated.” He turned to look at Unh. “I know he has good trackers to call upon, too.”

The tribesman inclined his head slightly, but remained expressionless. The Sachakans said nothing, then the quieter of them cleared his throat. “What do you think the Guild will do about Lord Lorkin?”

Dannyl shook his head. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “But they’ll have to send me a new assistant. Hopefully they’ll be better at choosing one than I was.”

The Sachakans chuckled. Then the talkative Ashaki rubbed his hands together. “We had all best be on our way, then.”

So farewells were uttered and the Sachakans rode away. Unh nodded once at Dannyl, which was somehow more meaningful a farewell than the Sachakans’. The group’s passing stirred up dust as they left. Dannyl and Achati climbed into the carriage and Achati’s two slaves took their positions on the outside. The vehicle jolted into motion, and began swaying gently as it rolled along the other road.

“Now this is better,” Achati said. “Comfort. Privacy. The promise of regular baths.”

“I’m definitely looking forward to a bath.”

“I suspect our helpers are as keen to get home, despite the fact that they didn’t get a chance to rid Sachaka of a few Traitors.”

Dannyl winced. “I apologise again, for causing so much discomfort and risk for no reason.”

“It wasn’t for no reason,” Achati corrected. “You were obliged to search; I was obliged to help you. A young man could have been in danger. The fact that he wasn’t made our journey no less important.”

Dannyl nodded in gratitude for the Sachakan’s understanding. “I suppose I’m apologising on Lorkin’s behalf. I’m sure if he’d been able to tell us of his decision earlier he would have.”

“He may not have decided what he was going to do until just before he spoke to you.” Achati shrugged. “It was not a wasted trip. In fact, it has been educational, both in how Kyralians think and how you think. I made assumptions about your determination to find your assistant, for example. I thought it might... go beyond mere loyalty to a fellow magician and Kyralian.”

Dannyl looked up at Achati in surprise. “You thought we were...?”

“Lovers.” The man’s expression was serious now. He looked away. “My slave is young, good-looking and quite talented. He adores me. But it is the adoration a slave feels for a good master. I envied you your assistant.”

Unable to stop himself staring at Achati in surprise, Dannyl searched for an appropriate answer and found