by Guy Antibes
He looked across the alley and saw metal and ceramic points jutting from the top of the walls. They wouldn’t have to rely on going over, and when Jack stepped over to the other side of the alleyway, he saw the same kind of sharp obstructions on the Kaseru walls. The jog in the wall seemed to offer the best approach since they wouldn’t appear along a straight wall when they teleported inside the grounds. The back alley might be guarded more heavily. He would have to make sure Namori was protected, so another look at Kaseru’s back alley was in order.
Jack noticed more irregularities in the walls. “Remember these, Grigar.”
The wizard nodded, and so did Namori.
Jack smiled. “Good. We will do a little strategizing when we get back. Will we get a plan of Kaseru’s mansion?”
“Yes,” Namori said, “but I don’t know how detailed it will be.”
Whoever set this trial up hadn’t gone through advanced training in Deep Mist, Jack thought.
“I’ve seen enough,” he said. “Let’s walk up to the palace gate and then return.”
Namori looked relieved when they walked along the alley for a few more mansions and then emerged on a side street. There wasn’t much to see of the palace up close. The grounds were large, and the wall was tall with men looking over the parapet carrying spears.
The main building behind the palace walls was significantly taller, with a set of eight tiers with wide porches jutting out at every level. Even from a distance, Jack could make out some of the carvings.
“Have you ever been up close?” Jack asked Namori.
“Once when I was little, Father was summoned by a minister of trade and given a tour of the grounds. There are government buildings inside. He took me on a tour, and a few women servants kept care of me while my father went to his meeting. He doesn’t like Yomomai.”
“For obvious reasons,” Jack said. “The emperor has your mother and brother hostage, and he is no longer welcome in the capital. The government probably wanted to make rules that they thought might be helpful, but would hurt your father’s ability to trade,” Grigar said. “It is an institutional disease in every country of the world, I imagine.”
“I’m not qualified to respond,” Namori said. “The inside is wonderful. The carvings on the buildings are beautiful, and everything is kept looking new and fresh. If you get a chance to go inside, don’t miss it.”
“We won’t,” Grigar said, but Jack could tell the wizard wasn’t serious.
They returned to the academy and sat down to sketch the walls around the house. Jack still liked the jog on the side alley as a good point of entry.
“We will keep this map to ourselves. Agreed?” Jack asked.
Namori bit her lip. “I guess.”
Grigar raised his finger and lectured the girl. “It is part of the mission.”
She nodded. “I will.”
~
The next morning, the training room had a walled-off portion with a single paper window. Okiku and Misika stood with Torii and another man.
Torii introduced Iraishi Ranturo, but Jack and Grigar had already met the man.
“Torii asked me to observe your trial. You have changed from when I last saw you, Jack Winder.”
“Sakoru Sinda is my Masukaian name,” Jack said, smiling. He gave the Pearl Mist leader a little bow.
“You will enter the room any way you wish. There is an enchanted book. Grigar should be able to find it. Bring it out and then return it,” Okiku said.
“Now?” Jack asked.
Torii nodded.
Jack visualized Eldora’s glade and felt his body rise. He opened his eyes to see Grigar was ready as well. He put out his hand for the Lajian wizard, and they teleported inside the room. The light went out.
“A darkening spell,” Grigar said, “easily taken care of.”
The dark disappeared. Jack took Grigar’s hand and teleported in front of the single bookcase. There were stacks of Masukaian books.
“Not difficult,” Grigar said. “It is this one.”
Jack put out his hand and could feel the magic, but something was wrong.
“See if there is another. This one is tainted, somehow. It doesn’t feel right.”
Grigar sighed. “You may be more sensitive to such things.” He continued to go through the books until he smiled. “This is better?”
Jack put his hand toward the second book. “Fainter but cleaner. Can you remember where it came from?”
“I can.”
Jack put out his hand but then stopped. “Do you have a glove?”
Grigar smiled. “You are suspicious, aren’t you?”
“Why would they make a test so easy? I couldn’t touch Grishel’s Feather without losing my magic. What if they have a similar spell in Masukai? You weren’t taught everything.”
Grigar pulled out a silk handkerchief and removed the book.
“Time to return. Can you duplicate the room darkening spell?” Jack asked.
When they couldn’t see again, Jack teleported back outside the room.
“Here is the book,” Grigar said, holding out the volume covered with silk.
“Are you sure?” Okiku asked.
“I’m not sure of anything,” Grigar said. He uncovered the book and almost smiled when he saw Okiku’s face fall.
“Now put it back.”
Jack held out his hand. “At this point, Namori would look through the book for the passage she sought wearing silk gloves.” He looked at Grigar. “Ready?”
They replaced the book and left the room dark, again.
“Was that acceptable?” Jack asked.
Torii and Iraishi Ranturo smiled a bit too slyly for Jack’s taste, but Okiku scowled. “You learn too well,” she said. “For your test, you will write down the passage that has Iraishi’s name and replace it. Are you capable of that, Jack Winder?”
“Grigar was as important to our success as I. He can sense magic better than I,” Jack lied, “and he was able to handle the darkening spell.” That last was the truth.
“We noticed,” Torii said. “If anything, you proved your rank, Sakoru Sinda.”
Jack thought there was some significance to calling him by his name, but he couldn’t figure out what it was. “So we passed, and now we have to prepare for tonight,” Jack said.
Okiku nodded. “Misika will give you the particulars and the mansion layout.”
Jack, Namori, and Grigar looked down at the plan. As Jack expected, the walls were straight lines that only gave the sense of the placement of the buildings on the grounds. No jog appeared on the side alley and nothing to denote the gates in the back. Jack wondered if Keneto Kaseru had prepared the plans himself.
“The back gate is the easiest point of entry,” Misika said.
“Why?” Jack asked.
“Since it is set into the wall, there is just enough space to crawl through the top.”
“No spikes of any kind?” Grigar asked.
“None that Keneto Kaseru said,” Misika frowned.
“But you don’t know for sure.” Grigar folded his arms, waiting for an answer.
The woman colored. “No.”
“Good. We can go over the gate or teleport through it, depending on the kind of lock used,” Jack said. He sensed a bit of relief in Misika’s posture. He suspected a trap at the gate, and that meant more surprises inside.
Jack looked down at the map, but it was Grigar who spoke next. “So if we come in from the back gate, where do we go? I don’t see the location anywhere on the plans.”
Misika cleared her throat. “We weren’t told.”
Grigar turned to Namori. “Is this a typical arrangement for a mansion?”
“It is,” she said. “The kitchen is in this building.” She pointed to a smaller square of buildings surrounding a courtyard. “Women’s quarters, and this larger one is for the men in the family, with the biggest building facing the entrance. The lord of the mansion takes this wing. The audience chamber is in the center
. It is also used for banquets and family gatherings. The study is to one side and the sleeping area to the other. Most books would be found in the study. My father’s mansion is set up in much the same way.”
“Could there be a library room?” Jack asked. “Or storage rooms for valuables?”
Namori gave him a knowing smile. “Treasure chambers are not uncommon. They are generally adjacent to the lord’s building.”
“Like at the end of one of the quarters for men?”
“Exactly. My father’s treasure room was…” Namori paused, “was in a different place.”
Jack nodded. “I just wanted to know what we face. The first place to look is the lord’s quarters, but it is also the one with nightingale floors and guards around to protect the lord. Am I right?” Jack looked at Misika.
“You are right,” Misika said.
“Since it is guarded, I would think it most likely the book would be in the study, but we aren’t going to be told where the book is.”
“Right, again.” Okiku smiled. “This is a trial run, not a simulation like you just performed. All I ask is that you don’t kill any of Lord Kaseru’s retainers.
“We will do our best,” Grigar said, “to keep damage to a minimum, but we will defend ourselves if we have to.”
“Do you have the plan memorized?” Jack asked Namori.
“I do.”
“Then we will prepare and leave the compound after the midday meal,” Jack said. “I don’t want to walk all the way to the Keneto Kaseru’s mansion at three hours past midnight.”
“But…” Okiku said.
Grigar put up his hand. “I agree with the boy. We will find a place to stay much closer. It is our mission, not yours.”
The older woman shrugged. “Suit yourself. We have nothing else to say anyway. You can take the plans.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
~
J ack liked dinner at the inn Namori found. The cuisine was different from what was served at the dining hall.
“This is more fattening,” Namori said, “but my father likes this style food from time to time.”
“Reminds me more of home,” Jack said, getting an unexpectedly sudden shock of homesickness. To remedy that Jack thought he would check in with Fasher and see if Penny was available. He hadn’t communicated with her since he left Deep Mist, and even then she had seemed distracted with the attention she was getting from students and teachers at the Dorkansee healing institute.
“I like it better too,” Grigar said when he ordered more of the batter-coated fried vegetables and meat.
“We will leave here one hour after midnight,” Jack said.
Namori looked shocked. “But you told them something different.”
Jack raised his eyebrows, expecting a response.
“So they won’t be expecting you sooner,” she said.
“Misdirection. If Tanner and Helen taught me anything, misdirection can be employed with a word here or a comment there,” Jack said.
Grigar nodded in agreement. “Will the manor be settled down by midnight?” He asked Namori.
“Unless there is a night of drinking by the men of the family,” she said, “or by invited guests, like us.”
“Then let us hope Lord Kaseru has elected a quiet evening,” Jack said.
They went to bed. Jack had to get up. The fried food didn’t agree with him, as much as he liked it, so he decided he would let the other two sleep and headed out toward Keneto Kaseru’s mansion.
He slipped down the alley and stopped at the jog in the wall before teleporting inside. Jack was stunned. The lord’s quarters shot up three stories. He didn’t notice the height from the tight confines of the alleys, and it was set back far enough from the front, so it wasn’t visible from the parade thoroughfare. Okiku was full of tricks, it seemed.
Jack teleported to the porch of the top story, thinking as long as he was here, he could do a bit more reconnoitering. Finding the book would present problems with Namori sleeping, but then Jack realized he could teleport to the inn and back without a problem. A smile creased his face. He hugged the wall and looked out at the grounds. There was a huddle of men at the back gate, as expected.
He entered the top floor on air slippers and floated across the floor using a series of jumps, just like he had practiced. The walls were filled with shelves containing urns, carvings, totems of some kind arranged in displays. Archaic armor covered most of the floor, but there was an alcove full of books, stacked high on the shelves.
Jack ran his hand along the spines but couldn’t detect any magic. He was disappointed. After taking a long stroll through the room, he couldn’t detect any magic protecting the mundane objects. He might need Grigar, after all.
Jack couldn’t hear any voices, so he decided to head to the second level until he heard footsteps on creaking stairs. Nightingale stairs seemed to be a thing too. He invoked invisibility and slipped into a corner of the treasury floor. If challenged, he could teleport back to the inn as a last resort, but exposure might ruin their chances to find their little treasure.
Jack recognized the voice of Torii Ishoru among two or three others. They reached the floor, which sang with each step the men took. The sound was louder than Jack had expected. Iraishi Ranturo, the leader of the Pearl Mist, held a lantern.
“You really think they will try to come all the way up here?” the man that Jack didn’t recognize said.
Iraishi Ranturo smiled. “We can wager on it, Keneto.”
Keneto Kaseru, the lord of the mansion, laughed. “Not with that confident look on your face. Four more hours will tell the tale.”
“The boy came highly rated by Ruki Sinda. He is a raw talent, but too disruptive to the Deep Mist program. Sinda was happy Sakoru left early with his wizard friend.”
“He wishes Sakoru to fail?”
Jack smiled as they used his Masukaian name.
“Not at all. The boy is Deep Mist, after all. He told us to make this test a difficult one.”
“And that is why you removed the book?” Torii Ishoru asked Lord Kaseru.
“Of course. It is under the mattress of my bed,” Kaseru said.
Jack didn’t need to listen to any more. He floated across the room as the men walked out on the balcony that ran around the entire structure and hurried down the stairs, careful that he didn’t walk into a trap. The three of them might have suspected his presence in the room, but as he descended, it didn’t look that way.
There were guards at the bottom of the stairs, but Jack only needed to see past them to teleport into the shadows of a main floor corner. Lord Kaseru’s bed was close by. Jack still was invisible when he found the book. He could sense its magic protection from where he stood. He replaced the book with another from a stack on a nearby cabinet and teleported to the inn.
Jack put the book down on the table in his room and retrieved Namori and Grigar.
“Quickly, find the passage in the book that has…”
“It is here,” Grigar said, flipping it to the proper page. “Whoever wrote the passage changed it with a spell. I can sense the magic.”
Namori read the phrase a few times and repeated it back.
“I will return in a few moments,” Jack said.
He teleported back to the sleeping area and slipped the real book back beneath the bed before returning to the inn. Jack didn’t bother to check where the guards were. Their mission was done, but there was a bit more to do.
“You can go back to bed,” Jack said. “We will stroll to Lord Kaseru’s residence at three hours after midnight.”
“To break in?” Namori asked.
Grigar shook his head and grinned at Jack. “To do a little pranking. Am I correct?”
Jack smiled back. “You are.”
Three hours later, the trio strolled down the back alley. Torches lit up one lord’s back gate. Horses were lined up on the opposite side. The scratchy sounds of Masukaian music drifted through the air as they walked past.
Lord Keneto Kaseru’s mansion was dark and silent.
“Shall we?” Jack asked Grigar.
“We shall,” Grigar said. “You have some tools?”
Jack pulled two flat metal tools from his purse and began to work on the big lock. In a few moments, the lock was opened. No one bothered to oil the thing, but it didn’t matter. Jack threw one of the two heavy doors open and looked into the bleary eyes of four guards. In a moment the number had swelled to ten or more.
“Aha!” the leader said. “We caught you!” The man looked at one of the other guards. “Fetch Lord Kaseru.”
Jack folded his arms and tapped his foot while the guards surrounded the three of them. Namori looked afraid, but Jack knew better. Good for her. Grigar leaned against the closed half of the gate and whistled something awful that sounded like it could have been composed in Masukai. Jack smiled at the winces on the guards’ faces as they endured Grigar’s musical presentation.
Lord Kaseru joined them. “You failed before you even entered my residence,” Kaseru said.
“Caught out by my little trick. I thought if I picked the lock we could sneak in without having to squeeze through the opening above the gates,” Jack said. He doubted that Grigar would have been able to make it past the narrow space. It didn’t matter now.
“I had expected better of a Deep Mist graduate.”
Jack shook his head with mock despair. “I’m sorry to have disrupted your sleep.” Jack forced a yawn. “We will return to our inn and seek out our beds. I hope you can get some sleep yourself, having had to supervise your defenses. I’ve heard that reading can hasten slumber,” Jack said, bowing to Lord Kaseru and to the guards. He yawned again. “If you will excuse us. We leave to lament our failure.”
The guards let the three of them withdraw back into the alley and walked back to the inn. Along the way, Grigar suddenly burst into laughter. “Will he pick up on your hint?”
Jack nodded. “If he did, Kaseru would check where the book was. We can look forward to tomorrow.” He sighed. “But that only means the real theft is closer and I am certain that will be as dangerous as this mission was safe.”
~
Breakfast at the inn was a vast improvement from the Pearl Mist dining hall, and that made them a little late arriving at the training hall. The practice room had already been removed, and six sitting cushions were laid out in a line on the floor facing a row of three that had a small desk in front.
