Imager's challenge ip-2

by L. E. Modesitt

  To our left was an expanse of grass, surrounded by the ancient oaks, and farther west were the armory and the building holding the various workshops. Before long, we reached the houses for the married imagers. The larger dwellings fronted the river on both the east and west sides of the isle, but all were of two stories, and of solid granite with tile roofs, and with garden courtyards behind them and stone lanes flanked with grass and hedges between. While the exteriors were similar, from the window hangings, flower boxes, and various small touches, the sizes varied somewhat, and it was clear that those who lived there had very differing tastes. I wondered which might belong to Master Dichartyn.

  “That’s where the imagers with families live. The larger dwellings are mostly for the senior masters, but they’re not nearly so grand as NordEste Design,” I said with a smile.

  “They have a great deal more privacy, Rhenn.”

  “I can see that, and there are a few that are spacious.”

  Seliora stopped. So did I. She looked at me. “They’re built so that imagers can live safely with their families, aren’t they?”

  “Yes.”

  “Could an imager . . .” She didn’t finish the thought.

  “It’s rare, but I once lit a lamp in my sleep. I was dreaming, but thought I was awake.”

  She nodded thoughtfully.

  North of the houses was the park with the open grassy spaces for play and walking and, of course, the hedge maze. I would have liked to have played in one of those as a boy. Most of the time I’d walked there, I hadn’t seen many people, but perhaps because it was a Samedi afternoon, there were at least half a dozen families there. Four or five children were running through the head-high boxwood maze, occasionally shrieking and having a wonderful time.

  We reached the northern tip of the isle, where there were several shaded benches with a view of the gray waters of the River Aluse. Seated on one of those in the middle were Shannyr and his new bride. I couldn’t remember her name. Although I hadn’t seen her before, he’d told me about her. He’d also been more than friendly at the time of my difficulties with Johanyr, one of the few seconds who had been truly supportive.

  “Shannyr?”

  He turned, then rose. “Master Rhennthyl.”

  His wife stood almost immediately as well. She was slender, but with a round face and pale green eyes washed out somewhat by the dark blue woolen coat. She grasped his hand.

  “I haven’t ever had the honor of meeting your wife.” I smiled, looking at her. “I have heard him speak most flatteringly about you.”

  She flushed ever so slightly as Shannyr said quickly, “Ciermya, this is Master Rhennthyl.”

  “I’m pleased to meet you, sir.” She smiled, a trace apprehensively, I thought.

  “And I you. This is Seliora,” I said.

  Seliora offered a warm smile, then said, “I’m glad to meet you. All I’ve seen here are men.”

  “This is the first time she’s really seen Imagisle,” I added. “How are you finding it, Ciermya?”

  “I like it very much, sir. Our quarters are lovely, and it’s a short walk to work . . . so long as I keep working, leastwise.”

  “You do . . . drafting, is it?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “She’s outstanding at it,” added Shannyr proudly.

  “I’m sure she is.” I could tell Ciermya was not exactly at ease, so I smiled again. “We won’t keep you, but I did want to meet you after all Shannyr said. He won’t tell you, but I appreciate all that he did to help me.”

  “I just did-”

  “You did more than anyone else then, and I won’t forget it.” I could tell he was embarrassed, but I wasn’t about to let him minimize his actions.

  As we began to walk along the west side of the isle, I looked to Seliora.

  Her eyes met mine, and she nodded.

  “What was that supposed to mean?”

  “He’s older than you, a good five years or more, but he respects you. She fears you.”

  “Am I so fearsome? I didn’t do all that well at the Council, and now I’m pounding the stone pavement of L’Excelsis with patrollers.”

  “You did very well at the Chateau. It could be that you did too well.”

  I almost missed a step as the combination of her words and what Master Rholyn had said earlier struck me. Did Master Dichartyn-or Maitre Poincaryt-worry that my inability to conceal my imaging might unsettle the Council? Or had I been removed as a purported disciplinary action to show the Council that the Collegium did not approve of “accidents” occurring to foreign envoys, regardless of provocation?

  “Frig . . .” I barely murmured the words. It made far too much sense.

  Seliora stopped, still looking at me.

  “I just realized something. I’m going to have to be far more circumspect than I’ve been before. Master Rholyn hinted at that earlier today, but what you said made me think about it in a different way.”

  “How so?”

  “What I did at the Chateau was too much a reminder to the Council of how powerful an imager can be, and the Collegium does not want that.”

  “Wasn’t it acceptable, in protecting them?”

  “I’m sure it was. Once, or very occasionally.”

  She nodded again.

  I pointed across the river to the west where the gleaming white walls of the Council Chateau, sitting on its hill, almost sparkled in the fall afternoon light. “We do have a good view of the Chateau.”

  South of the park was the armory, set almost next to the gray stone river walls on the west side of the isle. The massive gray-walled building with the workrooms was next.

  “What’s that?”

  “That’s where we’re headed. My studio is a small converted workroom, on the northeast corner-right there.” I pointed.

  “Do they all have outside doors?”

  “Most of them, and they’re all lead-lined, with leaded glass windows, and leaden sheets in the center of the doors.”

  “That’s not true of the houses, is it?” She frowned.

  “Just one sleeping chamber, I’m told.” I led the way to the studio, where I opened the door and gestured for her to enter.

  Once Seliora was inside, as I closed the door, she glanced around the studio, her eyes alighting on the sheets of paper that held the various design sketches that I’d worked on earlier. “Can I see?”

  “Be my guest. I wasn’t happy with any of them, and I decided that I needed to have you here to do a decent design.”

  Then she looked to the uncompleted portrait of Master Rholyn. “I saw your study at the Guild Hall, but this is the first portrait I’ve seen.”

  “It needs more work.”

  “It will be good, better than he deserves.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “There’s a cruelty there. I can see it, even now. You paint what you see and feel, Rhenn. Isn’t that so?”

  Cruelty? I studied what I’d portrayed so far. Perhaps there was a hint of that. Certainly, there was a hardness to the set of his eyes that combined with the strong jaw and the too-full lips to create an image of . . . what, I still wasn’t sure. When I finished the hair and forehead, and the one side of the neck, I’d know more.

  “This afternoon is for your portrait, not his. I’d like to work on some more sketches. If you’d take off the scarf and drape it loosely over your left shoulder . . .”

  “Like this?”

  “That’s good.”

  From there on, I began to sketch.

  The third design had something, but it was too head-on; so I did a fourth . . . and the angle was perfect.

  “Good. Just hold that.”

  She didn’t say a word.

  I called a halt when I realized that the bells had rung half past second glass. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize . . .”

  “That’s fine.” She shook her head, then shrugged her shoulders, trying to loosen them. “Posing is hard work. How much did you get done?”


  “The design, and I got that all on the canvas, just a light outline, as well as the lines of your face, the eyes, the cheeks. It’s a very good start, but it could take several months because I’ll need you to sit, and we can only do that on end-days.” I began to clean up, not that I had that much to do, because I hadn’t used any oils, just the fine-lined drawing pencil.

  “How about tomorrow?”

  “I can’t. I’m the duty master, and I really shouldn’t be this far from the administrative building.”

  “Oh . . .”

  “I’m sorry. I should have told you.”

  “That’s all right.”

  It wasn’t, but her tone was forgiving.

  “I owe you a dinner for all your hard work.”

  “First, you owe me some time on horseback,” she reminded me.

  “Can we go to dinner afterward? Somewhere like Chaelya’s,” I suggested. “That would be family-approved, would it not?” I followed my words with a grin.

  “Aunt Staelia would be pleased, and the food is good.”

  “You have some reservations? Or were we supposed to meet Odelia and Kolasyn somewhere?”

  “No . . . they’re having dinner with Shomyr and someone he’s interested in. Haelya is her name.”

  “You’re more interested in torturing me on horseback, is that it? Or do you have a feeling it wouldn’t be good to have dinner there?” That was a guess, but with Seliora’s Pharsi farsight, that was always a possibility.

  “Not farsight . . . but a feeling.”

  “Azeyd’s, then? We went to Terraza last week.”

  “That might be better. Next week we could go to Chaelya’s with either Odelia and Kolasyn or Shomyr and Haelya.”

  “Besides, I’m growing very fond of Pharsi fare, all kinds of Pharsi fare.” I didn’t quite leer.

  “Rhenn . . .” She laughed and shook her head.

  For a number of reasons, including my inability to hold shields for long, we walked over the Bridge of Desires and hailed a hack on the west bank of the Aluse. The wind had turned chill during the course of the afternoon, and Seliora’s jacket wasn’t that heavy. She was shivering by the time we got into the coach. As the coach crossed the Nord Bridge, I looked out at the river, its dark gray water topped with whitecaps, thinking that we might be in for an early snowfall.

  Back at NordEste Design, I got a lesson in saddling and putting a bridle on a very gentle mare, who snorted only once or twice at my incompetence. Then I managed to mount and ride around the courtyard until my thighs ached and my ears were numb, and my nose began to run.

  Finally, my task-mistress relented and let me dismount, but I still had to stall and unsaddle and curry the mare. Then I had to wash up as well. We were both cold by that time.

  It was well past sixth glass when we finally ended up at a cozy corner table at Azeyd, close enough to the hearth that Seliora stopped shivering, but not near enough to roast me.

  “Do you want some hot mulled wine?” I asked.

  “No, I’m already warm enough. A red Cambrisio, please,” she told the server, a black-haired Pharsi girl several years younger than Khethila, “and I’ll have the harvest greens, and the lamb pastry roll.”

  “The red Cambrisio also,” I added, “and the harvest greens, but I’d like the cumin-cream lamb with the rice.”

  “Yes, sir.” The server smiled and slipped away.

  “She’s cheerful,” I offered.

  “Her parents wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  “She’s the daughter of the owners?”

  “Martica and Chelaom are much stricter than Mama and Papa.”

  I offered a wince.

  Seliora laughed softly.

  Once our wine and greens arrived, I began to explain, keeping my voice very low, what I’d learned over the week from Master Dichartyn, Maitre Dyana, and Master Rholyn, ending with, “. . . in short, I’ve been told that my problems with Ryel are mine and mine alone, and that I need to resolve them by myself and without any tracks leading back to the Collegium-or to you and your family.”

  “My family? Oh, because too many people know we’re close, and that would lead back to you?”

  “I don’t think we need both the Collegium and the High Holders after you and your family.” I tried to keep my tone dry. “Although I did hear from Lieutenant Mardoyt that you were more than capable of protecting yourself.”

  “Grandmama said that would come up.” Her words were not quite defiant. “When did he tell you this?”

  “This last week.” That was a bit of a stretch, but not that much.

  “He’s an evil man and not to be trusted.” She offered a wry smile. “But it is true. Ricardio attempted to take some liberties with me. He ripped my blouse right off me. I shot him in the shoulder. Then I told him that if he said a word about it, he’d never say another. He said I was a bitch.” She sighed. “I didn’t want to shoot him. That’s why I had to.”

  “What?” I didn’t understand that.

  “I kept trying to discourage him gently. He wouldn’t discourage. I even warned him. He laughed and lunged for me. Some people only understand force. It’s best to avoid those altogether . . . if you can.”

  “Because, in the end, you have to use force to stop them?” I asked.

  She nodded.

  By that token, if I’d had any sense, I should have avoided Johanyr totally-except he hadn’t given me that choice.

  “Do you think I’m terrible for that?” Seliora asked quietly. “I suppose I should have told you, but . . .”

  “You hoped I’d understand, and feared I wouldn’t?”

  She nodded again.

  “Dear one . . .” I smiled. “If anyone understands being pushed into doing something necessary and unpleasant, I’m certainly getting to that point. Sometimes, there aren’t any alternatives.”

  “There are always alternatives,” she replied, “but if we accept them, we become less.”

  I’d thought about that, if not in her case.

  “What can I do to help you?” she asked after a moment, a question that also asked if we could leave the shooting behind.

  “Could you find out what you can about Ryel’s commercial enterprises, especially in L’Excelsis? I’m fairly certain he has interests in or control of the Banque D’Rivages.” I paused. “But I’d rather have no information than have anything leading to you and your family.”

  “I can see that. I can ask, and we’ll talk it over.” Seliora nodded slowly. “Can I ask what you have in mind?”

  “In a general sense. I’m trying to figure out what might be called misdirection. I can’t wait too long, because the greatest pressure Ryel can put on me is through my family. If he presses your family right now, he offers an opportunity he doesn’t want to give.”

  That was clear enough to me, because Seliora and I weren’t even betrothed, let alone married. If Ryel acted against them, now, they certainly could use their taudis contacts against him and his family, and it was unlikely that the High Holder-his heirs, especially-would get much support for attacking a crafting family not involved in his feud. That also meant that I had to deal with Ryel before I could even consider marrying Seliora.

  “I see that. Still . . . I should tell Mama and Grandmama to be prepared if he does act against us.” Her smile was cold.

  There wasn’t much more to say about that, not really, because I had only a vague idea of how I would actually attempt to carry out what I had in mind. So I looked at Seliora and smiled. “How are your greens?”

  “Good. And yours?” The mischievous smile reappeared.

  “Excellent, if not quite so good as those prepared by those in a certain kitchen off Hagahl Lane.”

  We would enjoy the rest of the evening. About that, I was determined. I was also relieved to have heard Seliora’s words about the shooting. It did confirm what I already knew. She wasn’t about to be demeaned or abused, regardless of the cost. Her reaction also strengthened my own feelings about dea
ling with Ryel.

  23

  Because I was the duty master on Solayi, I could do more thinking and reading, and planning, but not much else. The day was uneventful, except for having to get up early. No would-be imagers appeared. No one reported any imagers killed or missing, and the dining hall was so deserted at midday that I was the only master there.

  Even though I’d already told Shault that I’d delivered his coins and message on Meredi evening, I did motion him aside after lunch.

  “How are your studies with Master Ghaend going?”

  He didn’t quite meet my eyes.

  “You’re having trouble with the reading?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  I didn’t know how to respond to that because, to me, reading had come almost naturally. “Is it the letters or the way they sound?”

  “No, sir. It’s the words. I can sound them out, but there are so many that I don’t know what they mean.”

  “Haven’t you heard of a dictionary?”

  He looked absolutely blank.

  “Come with me.”

  As we walked, I began to explain. “A dictionary is a book that has all the words one could ever use, and it explains each word in smaller words, usually, anyway. . . .”

  While the library was dark, as it always was on Solayi, I found a dictionary and signed it out to Shault, cautioning him that he’d have to pay for replacing it if he lost or damaged the book. Then I sent him on his way, but he seemed almost relieved.

  A dictionary-something so simple that it was obvious . . . except to a very bright boy from the taudis and one who was still fearful enough that he didn’t want to ask anyone, and who would seemingly tell only me, and only if questioned.

  Thankfully, that was the most eventful happening of Solayi.

  I did have to get up earlier on Lundi to fit in both Clovyl’s exercises and sparring, as well as report on the duty to Master Schorzat. But I managed to arrive at Third District station before seventh glass in time to meet Alsoran before the morning patrols began.

  Alsoran had definitely been picked for his patrol round on the basis of physical appearance and capability. He stood a good ten digits taller than me, and his shoulders were far broader. There wasn’t the faintest trace of extra flesh or fat around his midsection. His black hair was cut short and still faintly curly below his visored cap, and his eyebrows were thick and bushy, almost meeting above his nose.