by Guy Antibes
Jonny lifted his cup of wine. “I stand corrected.”
Whit thought of Varetta’s words from his last vision. He had to assume whatever he told anyone would be soon broadcast to the whole group.
“You’ll see it come out of its hiding place at the appropriate time,” Whit said.
Jonny didn’t bother him for information the rest of the way into the capital.
“Shall we go back to the inn?” Zarl asked, since he was now the second carriage’s driver.
“No,” Pin said. “We will stay at my friend’s. I warned him that if we came back, we might impose. Since we don’t know how deep Deechie’s tentacles reach at your old inn, I thought staying with me would be better.”
“I agree,” Gambol and Jonny said almost in unison.
They passed the inn and drove out to the mansion where Whit went to lunch with Pin’s friends. It seemed like they were expected, being shown to a guest wing in the house. Everyone had their own room, and the wing had its own dining room. Jonny and Ritta elected to stay with the group for a day before leaving the mansion’s protection. Whit didn’t know about that, but Pin said not to worry about it.
“I live the next floor down. My quarters are a little bigger and a little nicer. I’m sure you don’t mind. Your rooms should be better than anywhere else in Perisia you have stayed,” Pin said.
Whit thought the pleasure inn was a close second, but the furniture in Whit’s room was oversized for pixies, and he was sure Zarl would appreciate that more than he did.
After getting their bags up to the rooms, Whit disassembled the driver’s box, pulling out the golden box and setting it on the seat.
“Can I take a peek?” Jonny said strolling out to the carriage.
Whit pulled back the blanket covering the ancient relic.
“I can’t believe what I am seeing. Saint Varetta?” Jonny asked.
“We believe so,” Whit said, realizing that Varetta hadn’t acknowledged the box as genuine.
“And this goes to the king?”
Whit nodded.
“He will need it,” Jonny said. “Any shred of authority Quiller can muster is important.”
After Whit, Gambol, and Pin had washed up and changed clothes, they left for the palace.
The trio entered the small audience room to meet with the king with Whit carrying the golden box wrapped up in an ornate drape that Pin’s friend had over a cabinet in the formal dining room.
“You have something important to talk to me about?” the king said. “It couldn’t wait until I was finished with this gentleman?”
Whit was so distracted he hadn’t noticed the man standing to the right of the king with his back to Whit. He knew he had just made a protocol mistake.
“I am sorry,” Whit said.
The man bowed to the king. Whit sighed. He knew that bow.
Canis Bache turned and smiled at Whit. “You have inspired timing, Whit.”
“Lord Bache says he knows you,” King Quiller said to Whit.
“We are old friends,” Canis said.
“Is this true?” the king asked.
“In a matter of speaking. I have known Canis ever since I moved to Herringbone. He helped us prepare for this expedition.”
“Then he can stay while you reveal whatever is under that drape,” Quiller said.
Whit suddenly had an idea. “Yes, he can.” He whipped the drape off. “We found this in a remote room underground in Old Garri.”
King Quiller leaned forward. “And the decorations?”
“We believe they represent scenes from Saint Varetta’s life. Ionna can verify that and how much gold is really in that artifact. None of us think it is made of solid gold.”
The king stepped off his throne and felt the relief on the box. “The material doesn’t matter. This is part of ancient Perisia. It is mine?”
“I’d prefer it be Perisia’s,” Whit said.
Quiller smiled. “That was a royal ‘mine.’ You could use my declaration to legally remove this from Perisia. I agree that all my subjects should be able to see it, but not under the current circumstances. Ionna will be thrilled to see this, but it deserves a building to itself.”
“A museum with other artifacts that you possess could dwarf what Ornnis has in his little annex,” Pin said.
Quiller raised his eyebrows. “Of course. The display hall will need the best security. Every thief in Garri will be after that.”
Whit was glad he didn’t have to come up with the great ideas that were probably popping from the monarch’s head.
“Now how did your expedition do in the old capital other than bringing back something infinitely more valuable than the Eye parts?”
“Greeb Deechie captured half of the group. Only through the intervention of Jonny Evia did we gain their peaceful release.”
“Captured? As in tied them up and took them to a jail?” Quiller asked.
“They hadn’t gotten to the jail part before I arrived. I took a side trip with two others, and when I returned, I found them bound.”
“The human has gone too far!” King Quiller pounded a closed fist in his palm. “I will arrest them.”
“Don’t punish them, but a few weeks in a Garri jail will be wonderful,” Gambol said.
“Consider it done. I have other duties today. Since you are acquainted with Canis Bache, spend the rest of the day catching up. You can leave the covered box by my throne,” the king said.
Whit and the rest left the audience room and walked the corridors out to the doors closest to Whit’s carriage.
“What brings you to Garri?” Whit asked.
“I wanted to finish what you started with Ritta Misennia.”
“She might have you talk to Jonny Evia,” Whit said. “He is an associate.” Whit was still acting as a king’s spy, despite it all.
“I have heard the name. He has divided loyalties, if you know what I mean,” Canis said.
“He does,” Whit said. “We should talk elsewhere. There are many listeners of other interested parties in the palace.”
“I got that impression from my brief audience with the king. You know something about it?” Canis asked.
“Let’s find a quiet place. You haven’t met Piesson Nistia. He was active in government before King Quiller.”
“Call me Pin. Everyone else does.”
Canis smiled. It was always too calculated for Whit’s taste. “I’m Canis.” they nodded to each other as they walked down the corridor and outside into the sunlit air.
“Where to?”
“You can meet Ritta Misennia if you join us in the carriage,” Pin said.
They rode through the town and through the mansion’s main gate.
Canis looked impressed for the second time. “I had expected an inn.”
“Before we left for Old Garri, that’s where we would have gone,” Gambol said.
Pin showed them to the small dining room where Whit had lunch with the owner and his friends.
“I’ll get the pixies,” Gambol said.
“And I’ll introduce you to the owner, your host,” Pin said.
Canis turned to Whit now that they were alone in the room. “You have found the parts?” Canis said.
“We have. They are hidden.”
Canis nodded. “The king said you’ve been having trouble with the other expedition ever since they arrived.”
“Deechie was sabotaging us from the first, and we finally told him to leave us. Looking back, we should have never accepted him.”
“But you wouldn’t be here if you tried.”
“I’d be here,” Whit said. “It doesn’t take a Herringbone University expedition to look for the Augur’s Eye. Since we’ve been here, we’ve been archaeologists more than expeditioners.”
Canis snorted a single laugh. “All archaeologists are treasure hunters, you know.”
Whit nodded. “I suppose you are right.”
“What is the situation in Garri?”
“
Politically?”
Canis nodded. “Make it quick, we probably don’t have much time.”
“More time than you think. Pin is part of it and knows more details than I do.”
“He does, does he?”
“Yes. There are three major factions among the ministers, who are the same as the nobility in Perisia. The prime minister plays her own game. The minster of the interior has aligned with Deechie, and there is a group of younger ministers who are active but don’t have as much power. They recently executed an unsuccessful assassination.”
“The king told me about it. You deserve a medal in Ayce for that. Any other factions?” Canis asked.
Whit nodded. “The Magician’s Circle. There is one here just like the one in Herringbone.”
“Not just like the one in Herringbone. They are all different, and they have different goals, but few of those goals are what you could consider admirable.”
“Deechie fancies himself as more aligned with the Herringbone Magician’s Circle than the magic college,” Whit said.
“That doesn’t surprise me.” Canis’s words were cut off when Pin arrived with their host.
Both elves stood as the pixies entered the room. Pin made the introductions.
Gambol was next to show up, with Ritta and Jonny Evia in tow. Gambol made the introductions.
“Sit, all of you,” the owner said. “I am here to facilitate your meeting. I shall leave you and return with a light repast and refreshments.”
“I shall go first,” Canis said. “I am, for lack of a better term, an agent for the Aycean government. We have decided to expand our friendships in the world, and since Whit was traveling to Perisia, we decided to commission him to contact Ritta Misennia.” He bowed his head towards the pixie woman.
“Why me?” Ritta asked.
“You have enough of a reputation to have us notice. It isn’t Ayce’s intention to participate in revolution, but we thought you were audacious and unattached politically.”
Ritta blushed. “I am still audacious, but I’ve recently had to modify my impression of King Quiller.”
“I’m not unhappy to hear that. Establishing formal relations is not what my section of the government is interested in, but the informal gathering of more accurate information.”
Pin laughed. “You have some wise men in your government.”
“That might not be the case for all of my king’s servants,” Canis said.
“Whit may or may not have told you that he is one of my people, but his relationship with me is sporadic. He has two objectives during his trip to Perisia: contact Ritta Misennia and tell me what he observes.”
Pin smiled. “Your lad has observed an awful lot. I’m not an entirely disinterested party, but a private discussion between the two of us might lead you to a better understanding of pixie culture and our current political mess.”
“Which most people don’t realize,” Jonny Evia said. “I am not a disinterested party, but have been working with Ritta for a few years.”
Canis raised an eyebrow and turned to Whit. “I didn’t expect you to have already set up a network!”
Whit closed his eyes and shook his head. He knew Canis well enough to know that he was performing for the group.
They discussed much of what Whit had already told Canis while they were alone, but with examples and more names. Canis didn’t even take notes.
The refreshments came, and the group joined in telling their expeditionary stories in Old Garri. Canis asked Ritta about her involvement.
“You are always lucky,” Canis said to Whit.
“Perhaps. How long will you be in Garri?”
“Until tomorrow. I head directly back to Herringbone. I made my other stops coming out,” Canis said.
“I’d like you to take the parts back to Herringbone. I assume you have secure spaces in your carriage?”
Canis just smiled. “I was hoping you might have something to make my trip a little more worthwhile.”
“You know where I want the artifacts. I’ll have them wrapped today,” Whit said.
“Good. I’d like to leave earlier than later,” Canis said.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
~
W hit and Gambol walked out with the artifacts, wrapped in coarse cloth inside a plain valise. None of the parts took up much space. Whit had hidden the box with the little glass globe wrapped up with one of the other parts.
Gambol left Whit and Canis alone. “There are four parts,” Whit said quietly, out of the driver’s hearing. “One is a little glass ball. It is critical to the operation of the Eye. I was counseled to keep it close, but having it out of my hands until I’m back in Herringbone makes it safer.”
“I will deliver them personally to Torius Pott as soon as I enter Herringbone. It will be my first stop.”
Whit almost sighed with relief. “It wouldn’t surprise me to see Deechie burning our carriages to the ground to find our hiding places.”
“I would have made the offer if you hadn’t made the request,” Canis said. “Glory sends her love. She is anxious for your return, just as she is always worried about me.”
“You can say hello to her and Torius Pott. If you can remember the stories, let him know what we’ve gone through. There is more, but we didn’t want to take up all your time.”
“I came to Perisia for you. Meeting Ritta and the interesting Jonny Evia was an additional benefit. I discovered that you are still in danger, so keep vigilant and keep up on your observations.” Canis climbed into the carriage and rode out of the mansion grounds.
Seeing Canis after so many weeks away from Herringbone was a bit of a shock for Whit. He couldn’t say he was homesick, but Whit missed Glory and Pott. He walked in feeling that he had held up his side of the spying bargain. Until Canis asked him to do something he didn’t want to do, he was fine working for the Aycean king.
“Are you glad to see your friend go?” Pin said, waiting on the mansion’s doorstep.
“Probably. He has always been some kind of a rogue, to my way of thinking. More devious than Jonny, but more harmless too. That might change, but for now, I trust him to deliver our artifacts to Herringbone.”
“But why do that if that is where you are going?” Pin asked.
“He will be traveling faster than us. He knows what to do with the artifacts, and we are going to stay in Garri for a bit longer to keep Deechie wondering. I don’t think the other team would dream we’d let any parts go without us.”
“You are willing to take the risk?”
Whit nodded. “Look how easily they captured us. If we stay around, Deechie probably has convinced himself that we are merely his own personal artifact finders, and there is one more to steal.”
Pin laughed. “I think you might be right. Let’s go in and plan what we can accomplish while we are a diversion.”
~
Two days later, as the team recovered in the mansion, Ritta arrived with news.
“My revolutionary companions have split. Some are going wherever I go, and the others are aligning themselves with Lullan Gastian,” Ritta said.
“And where is Jonny in all this?”
“He has disappeared,” Ritta said. “I can’t believe he has gone over to the other side.”
Whit wasn’t so sure. If Jonny were truly a spy, it didn’t matter what faction he identified with, he was a member of neither.
“He has to make his own decisions,” Whit said. “You don’t have to tell me, but how did your half hour with the king go?”
Ritta blushed. “A little too well,” she said. “He is much different than I expected when I started all this. His problem is that he doesn’t know how to manage the rival groups.”
“I will agree with that,” Pin said, “and I didn’t need half an hour of one-on-one time to figure that out. Where does that leave you?”
“I’m not sure,” Ritta said. “I’ll have to spend some time convincing my people to change their minds, and the king will ha
ve to help me do that by initiating some minor reforms that I can announce to my friends ahead of time.”
“Proof of loyalty?” Pin asked.
Ritta nodded. “Can you come up with a different idea?”
Pin shrugged. “If I could have done something like that, I might not have had to leave Perisia.”
Whit didn’t believe the pixie, but he let the comment slide. “Will you meet with the king again?” Whit asked.
“Tomorrow and every few days thereafter until the crisis is over,” Ritta said.
Whit looked at Pin. “Has he gotten friendlier with you?”
Ritta blushed again. “That isn’t something we need to discuss. I can’t spend time here anymore, but I’ll try to contact you again.”
She left the mansion by a back gate accompanied by Whit and Pin.
“The king isn’t married, is he?” Whit asked.
“No, and he hasn’t shown a particularly strong romantic streak until now. It doesn’t take the Augur’s Eye to figure out what is happening between the two,” Pin said. “I’m sure Jonny is in even more danger if he has ostensibly thrown in with Lulu’s faction.”
Whit nodded, “Especially if it is allied with the Magician’s Circle.”
“Perhaps it is time for you to leave,” Pin said.
“No,” Whit shook his head. “We have to see this through to some kind of resolution.”
“You don’t have to do such a thing.” Pin put his hand on Whit’s shoulder. “But if you really don’t mind, I think Perisia and King Quiller could use someone creating a diversion in Garri.”
Whit couldn’t stay in Perisia for very long. They had to fake finding one more artifact. If the retrieval of the parts in other countries took weeks, he might spend the rest of his life assembling the Augur’s Eye.
He brought the team together and asked for ideas on how they could disorient the magic college team.
“They know that we found all the objects,” Zarl said.
“Do they?” Razz said. “Can they believe what anyone has told them so far?”
“Another trip to Ornnis,” Yetti said. “We can use him to spread misinformation.”
“And the prime minister?” Whit said, looking at Pin.
Pin raised his eyebrows. “That is a possibility, but we will need a good story.”
