God damn it, Quill. I said no stupid promises.
Letty crossed her arms, trying not to look as angry as she felt.
Finally, the crowd silenced.
“And lastly, the least of us. I am Quill, and due to lack of any real competition, have been accorded a place as Caspia’s poet. I will speak or recite at any salon which might want me,” Quill finished, quickly, with an embarrassed look.
“Speak a little truer, young man, you are blessed with words,” Silius replied.
Quill rubbed his neck nervously before finishing, “We are a city poor in luxuries, but rich in matters of mind and aesthetic. These are the treasures we offer, and I hope they are received in the spirit with which they are given.”
Silius smiled. “You know how to touch our hearts, young Caspians. We welcome you!” Silius bellowed, stirring up another cheer.
They stood and waved for a long time before their escort approached and ushered them towards the Secular.
“What was that, Quill?” Letty snapped, as they left the crowds behind. “I said no stupid promises.”
Quill shook his head in vexation. “I didn’t know what else to do. They wanted gifts!”
Staza disagreed. “It was the right move. Without that quick thinking they might have supposed us spies from Pythia.”
“That’s probably true,” Emma interjected, “and Quill got us off the hook, as far as gifts go. I can give fashion advice all day.”
“Yeah, I have to debate with these people, who probably do it for a living,” Dean complained. “But that was quick thinking. I didn’t realize how well you speak.”
Staza elbowed Quill. “He’s shy about it.”
“I’m sorry for all this, Letty; it will slow us down,” Quill said.
“Maybe not,” Dean replied. “We’ll have access to the most powerful people in the city; they might be able to help us.”
“Yeah, but then they’ll know we aren’t just here to be diplomatic,” Letty replied.
“They don’t believe that now,” Dean replied.
“Why don’t we just say that Andy is another Caspian, and we’re also trying to find him? Say that we have two missions,” Emma whispered.
Everyone stared at her in surprise.
“What? That bad?” she asked.
“No. That’s exactly what we’ll do,” Letty said.
As they came closer, the tall doors of the cathedral were thrown open. Banners hung down over the fluted stone arches that towered ever so narrowly to their peak.
“This place is huge,” Letty said.
“It’s the largest structure in the city, unless you count the pillars,” Belmani, the woman covered in tools, said to them, after sneaking up from behind. “With the crowd service out of the way, we can get down to business.”
They were led through the massive Secular proper, down a side hall, and then off through several calm and mossy cloisters, before finally arriving in a spacious meeting room.
The Exegesuits walked to the far side of a table. Letty and her friends followed and stood by their chairs, not sure if it was polite to sit.
“Oh, look,” Emma said to Letty, pointing at the person hunched over in their rags.
The faceless representative of Heart stood up straight and disrobed. A moment later, there stood a woman, tall, trim, and utterly unlike the character she had been portraying moments ago. She took her hood off, and the newcomers were startled by her harsh beauty. Her skin was a soft shade of blue-green, and her pinkish eyes settled angrily on the newcomers. Under the robes, she wore simple cloth wrappings that did little to hide her physique.
“Onya, I didn’t recognize you,” Silius said to the woman.
“You are a blustering dilettante, Silius. Now call us to seats, and let’s get on with this farce.”
Silius coughed in embarrassment and was interrupted by Ventalus.
“Just a moment, please, Silius. We have to observe the forms; it’s been so long. Deacon! The Blade please.” Ventalus watched in annoyance as a younger man, in similar clothes, rushed up with an ornate sword laid across his hands. Its grip, guard, and scabbard shone with gold, ivory, and sparkling rubies. “Hold it up for me now; I’m only a builder.”
“Yes, sir,” the Deacon said, holding the sword up for all to see.
“The Blade is Sheathed. Let it remain so,” Ventalus said firmly, and the Deacon placed the blade on the table.
“Ah, yes. To seats!” Silius said.
Everyone sat, and Onya immediately launched into a tirade. “Look, you snake spawn, we know what you’re up to! That heathen woman will not interfere any further with our city!”
Letty’s eyes nearly fell out of her head at the sudden attack.
“Onya, please! Good form—” Ventalus raised a paw, but she ignored him.
“Good form is for theists! Haven’t the Archatians taught you anything? Straight at the enemy, and overwhelm them with the force of argument! Now listen, we will spare your lives if you tell us every detail of Pythia’s plan. How will she strike at the Cogito, now that we’ve captured you?”
“I—” Quill tried to speak.
“You what? Spit it out, boy!”
Letty stood up so quickly that her chair toppled. “We don’t know what the hell you’re talking about!”
Onya looked like she might leap over the table at Letty.
“More respect! On all sides, or I’ll terminate this meeting,” Silius commanded, suddenly quite stern.
“Do it, you parasite! I’ll have them bleeding in the gutters before the hour is out!”
“You are expelled, Onya! May the Heart be ashamed of this behavior and strike you as a leader!” Silius yelled, pointing at the door.
Onya scoffed and grabbed her bundle of rags. “The sanctity of secularism is not debatable, not by any of you. Mind your tongues out there, there are listeners on every corner,” Onya leveled the last command at the newcomers before turning and leaving.
Letty shared a nervous look with her friends.
Silius sighed and looked ashamed. “She is right on one point. Any talk of the God that failed, or the one who might not have, can be a death sentence in certain parts of the city. Those parts are anywhere the Heart has listeners.”
Letty was silent, as was the room.
“I hate to echo Onya, but will you please tell us why you are really here?” Vegus finally asked, his polite tone a sharp contrast to the bloodthirsty accusations of a moment ago.
Letty looked at her friends and then to the Exegesuits.
“Ah, I had her pegged as the leader,” Ventalus muttered.
“The speaker named her as leader, mouse, or weren’t you listening?” Belmani asked.
Ventalus scowled at the woman.
Letty waited for the awkward exchange to end, before speaking. “We have lost one of our pupils. He is dear to us—”
“To Pythia, you mean,” Vegus interrupted.
Letty’s face sharpened. “Yes, to our Mistress as well. We know that he was captured by a certain ryle. We have come here in the hopes of learning more.”
“And we’ll need to use the portals,” Emma said.
Letty glared at Emma so harshly that Emma nearly fell out of her seat.
“What? They’re going to follow us around anyway,” Emma complained.
Silius laughed. “She’s right.”
“Portals are expensive, young lady,” Ventalus said, pulling on a whisker. “But, that’s beside the point. The real question is: Do we arrest these potential saboteurs, or do we give the people what they were promised?”
“With yesterday’s skybreak and all the unsubstantiated claims of a rogue Seer, I say we give the people something wholesome to replace the religious gossip. There is room for us all to gain here, as long as we keep an eye on them.” Silius replied.
Oort, who had been silent, if not huge, rumbled a whispering series of clicks into his goblin’s ears. “Right, so, is we to take it that there won’t be any of the fun times
and follies and such, mentioned at the official greetings?”
There was a sudden mumbling between the Exegesuits.
“Well, let’s make a deal,” Ventalus said. “If you Caspians agree to gift our city in the ways that were mentioned, we will provide you with food, lodging, proper attire, and a security detail—eh,” Ventalus’s ears flattened in consternation, “in case Onya follows through with her, particular brand of zeal. However, it cannot be thought that we would supply you with funds for something as blasphemous as portal creation.”
“Will you agree to our terms?” Silius asked. “You must provide the gifts specified, and we will arrange a schedule of events and provide the services promised—”
Letty interrupted, “We need time to conduct our business as well.”
“Yes, time for your business as well. But the caveat stands: If you are involved in any such—” Silius coughed nervously, “religious warfare, Onya and the Heart will not hesitate to exterminate you—for the good of the city, of course.”
Letty paused only for a moment, before agreeing.
“I am alarmed by these claims of a rogue Seer wielding the Argument and walking the streets naked, with his eyes out for everyone to see,” Belmani said, and those around rankled at the words. “It has been more than a week with no verification, but your sudden appearance is suspicious. If there is any connection between that alleged Seer, and you, it will violate this agreement.”
No one disagreed.
I wonder if that’s Andy—It can’t be though; he’s been captured by Ziesqe. How could he be here?
Silius got to his feet. “Very good then! I’m looking forward to the dinner. All the socialites will want to see you! A few brutox queens might attend—careful Oort.”
Oort clicked a long and suggestive click before lumbering to his feet. “Oort says there isn’t a pherimony factory around what could make him forget his zeal to the AOE,” Oort’s goblin said dramatically, as Oort made his way to the door.
The high Exegesuits, save Ventalus and the diplomat Silius, left the room. A few deacons with parchment, ink, and quills, arrived.
“Can we hear of your tale?” Ventalus asked. “Please, do not be scant with the details; you come from far.”
I better tell it. We can’t have anyone slip up and accidentally let them know that three of us are from the surface, and I’ll have to make up something about my supposed visit to the surface.
“We left Caspia about a week ago; it’s been crazy on the road,” Letty said, before telling about their trip to Sentinel’s watch from Caspia.
“Why go by the faithful builders? They should be bad company,” Silius asked.
“Well, they were, but we couldn’t take any chances going pacwards from Caspia. The ryle who control the lands outside our city are hostile. We had to go a bit norwards to get around them,” Quill chimed in.
Silius nodded. “Did you notice anything else when you were passing through the mouse country?” Silius asked, offhandedly.
Letty paused.
“What, like how their fortress was destroyed?” she asked sharply.
Ventalus nodded, his ears flattening. “Just a verifying question, dear; no need to get upset. It was for the best, in the end. Most of them retreated here. Hopefully they will forget their old follies and join us in the new era of cooperation. The Argument and Counter have been nothing but a blight to the Netherscape, and adherence to either will eventually wither away. They are failed designs.”
So, the mice all came here? I wonder if Titus and Taptalles are with them? We should try to find out.
“Pardon me, Ventalus, sir,” Emma interjected. “I was wondering why you look so different from the other mice that we’ve seen. You must be three feet tall.”
Ventalus narrowed his brow sharply.
“Emma, that’s a rude thing to mention,” Quill said. “Please forgive us, it’s just simple ignorance.”
“No, that’s fine,” Ventalus replied, his whiskers still on end. “It’s rather difficult to be taken seriously at barely a hands width of height. So, I used much of the wealth I had earned trading over the years in the Panforum to tinker with my own design.”
Silius chuckled approvingly. “Some would call it vanity, but I’ve always found that a few improvements pay for themselves many times over, even if Onya and her type wouldn’t approve.”
Ventalus agreed, “Indeed, it isn’t as noticeable on Silius here, but he is nearly as old as myself, well past a century, and he looks like an ychorite of only four decades. He is also hewn from stone, the robes obscure that, and don’t think all that wit didn’t receive a polish.”
“More than a polish, Venty; I just reread some old speeches I wrote before my first Myr step. Whew! I was worse than a one Sici initiate!”
Ventalus laughed heartily, his whiskers twittering with mirth.
“What’s a Myr step?” Letty asked.
Silius was still chuckling. “Nothing much, just the means to near-immortality and endless self-improvement! Though far more expensive than a portal, and not, strictly speaking, the most secular activity.”
That might explain all the beautiful people walking around.
Ventalus finally calmed himself. “A healthy sense of humility, that’s why I like you, Silly. No one else on the council has learned this simple truth: Life is better if you don’t have a ten-foot pole—” Ventalus sputtered and burst out laughing.
“Now, now,” Silius said. “Oort isn’t as bad as the others. Let’s get back to business here,” and then ignoring Ventalus, and looking at Letty, he started rambling, “So you saw the ruins of Sentinel’s Watch burning, yes, yes, one more page turned, another stone crumbles. You then traveled sur, sur-pac, through Vichy lands?”
Letty nodded.
“Stop me if you want to add anything. But then you met some Elazene?”
“Yes,” Letty said, trying to get Silius to stop for a moment. “They’re being hunted down by a cult!”
“The cult of Supthoi, out of Yyonvere,” Quill added.
“Yes, they need help. Degoskirke is huge, bigger than I expected, and if we sent out word, they could come and hide here,” Letty said.
Silius and Ventalus shared a wry look.
“Was that their idea?” Ventalus asked.
Surprised, Letty shook her head.
“I didn’t think so. The Elazene have a love-hate relationship with their land,” Ventalus said, looking at Silius like he was getting ready for another joke. “Not unlike us here, with the Archatians.” He paused for a quick giggle. “This type of relationship is often bloody, but Elazene culture is tied to that land, like our city is sewn together with equal parts abstinence and debate.”
Silius nodded, and the scribes happily scratched away, recording the meeting.
“Why do you even raise the point, girl? I thought you were here about a lost pupil,” Silius asked.
Letty frowned. “I didn’t think helping the Elazene was possible, and then we ended up sitting with the most powerful people in the city. I figured I should at least ask. They were very good to us.”
Her friends nodded in agreement.
Ventalus tugged on a whisker before speaking carefully, “Well, sad facts are what they are, and I hope you become inured to likelihoods; you may be facing a bleak one again. If you do not find your brother pupil, please do not let it sour all the positive rapport we have built here. Young, smiling, and skillful people like you will do a great good in the city. You might even calm the Archatians enough for the paint to dry between their various parcels.”
Silius took a heavy breath. “May calm heads prevail—there is one last detail. You were seen entering the city with a blue mouse, my report suggests that he was a local.”
Letty blinked. “Blue,” she said, checking her shoulders, and then looking over at her friends. “I haven’t seen him since we entered the city.”
“He stays so quiet most of the time that I forget he’s there,” Dean said.
/> “I see,” Ventalus said. “Check your purses and bags. Some of the locals aren’t the most honest.”
Letty wondered where the mouse had gone and if he had abandoned them.
Another robed deacon entered the room and approached Silius with a piece of parchment.
“Ah, yes, your timetable.”
Letty felt herself cringing as they poured over countless details of the schedule.
“Right!” Silius said, standing. “You’d better get dressed. You all have a very full dance card.”
Chapter 5
Ithmene
Andy rolled under the covers, stretching and yawning, before opening his eyes. The Infiniteye shimmered softly on the ceiling. He felt like it was staring down at him. Andy sat up and felt uneasy about how comfortable he was.
I wish I could just stay. This place is like a Seer hideout. I could just live here and practice with that book. I might go down the street for supplies; I still have money.
Andy got up and walked around the room, paying attention to the writing on the wall.
“Ryle running the Greylapse, mind the arches.” “The Usurper will be the end of us, unless we fight back!” “Killing ryle in public will damage our legitimacy.” “Study first, so you don’t die second.” Another comment, next to the last, read: “This is a silly saying!” Andy looked to another wall. “Don’t forget to bring a builder! Many chapter houses are locked by mouseport!” An arrow pointed to the floor under this last message.
Andy followed the arrow. It pointed to a bunk. Shifting the bunk and rolling up the carpet beneath, Andy spotted something.
Another trapdoor.
He tugged on the ring that attached to the trapdoor in the floor.
It stuck tight. Andy found his Argument and put on the Silversight.
The trap-door was attached to a mechanism that disappeared into the wall. There was a small, but deliberately carved mouse-hole in the wall.
Andy leaned in and saw tiny carved letters on the arch above the hole. They were Latin.
Murum Portu.
Andy scowled.
Damn Latin. Well, it’s mouse sized.
Andy heard a bell tinkling near the ladder that led down into the hideout. He leaped to his feet and involuntarily summoned the blade.
The Immortal of Degoskirke Page 9
