The Yellow silk r-4

by Don Bassingthwaite

  Up on the dais, the old man winced at the banging. "Thank you, Dorth. Why have they been arrested?"

  The man with the rod glanced at a parchment. "For brawling, sir. Assault on the Captain of the Guard. Kuang Li Chien-" He pronounced the name carefully and with a haughty glance at the lead guard. "-is also arrested for forcibly entering a private residence and for impersonating an official of a foreign government. Tychoben Arisaenn also for moral corruption of Laera Dantakain."

  "Moral corruption?" The magistrate sat up a little. "I haven't heard that one in a while."

  There was a slight snicker from the guards present. Bang! went the rod. "Respect for the magistrate! Captain of the Guard Mard Dantakain will present his case!"

  Mard Dantakain stepped up from behind them. He was dressed in a full and ornate guard uniform, immaculately clean. He related the events of the morning in a blunt, matter-of-fact tone, leaving nothing out and neither exaggerating nor diminishing anything. Li felt his heart sink.

  Considered in hindsight and with a cooler head, what he had done was nothing short of stupid. Barging into Mard Dantakain's house wearing clothes stolen from a drunk, trying to pass himself off as an ambassador of Shou Lung when half the population of Spandeliyon apparently couldn't distinguish a Shou from an elf it was, he realized, lucky they were getting any kind of trial at all. If Li had been in the magistrate's place, he probably would have left them down in the darkness of their cell!

  By the time Mard had finished speaking, he felt sick.

  "Prisoners Tychoben Arisaenn and Kuang Li Chien will respond!"

  Li swallowed and stepped forward, ready to confess to everything. Tycho, however, was faster. He took two steps forward, poking Li again on the way past, and made a graceful bow that hardly seemed hampered at all by his bonds. "Magistrate Vanyan," he said in a very grand voice.

  The magistrate gave a thin, slightly confused smile. "Have we met before?"

  "Your name precedes you, sir. Your wisdom is well known in dockside. If it please you, I will speak for both myself and this esteemed gentleman of Shou." He gestured toward Li. "During our imprisonment, we discovered that we share a common tongue and I was able to discuss the situation with him. This is all really a terrible mistake stemming from his imperfect understanding of our language."

  "Wait," protested Mard Dantakain, "he understood Common perfectly well when I spoke to him. He spoke it back to me!" Tycho glanced at him and raised his eyebrows.

  "Did he, Captain Dantakain? Your testimony to the esteemed magistrate was remarkable in its precision. Did you rehearse it?"

  "Yes."

  "Master Kuang did the same with the appeal he presented to you this morning. If I asked you to tell me right now in the same detail what happened to you yesterday morning, could you?" Li saw Mard look to Vanyan in confusion, but Tycho gave neither of them time to reply. "I didn't think so." He looked to the magistrate as well. "The same thing happened with Master Kuang, sir. He perfected a limited speech, but was flustered when Captain Dantakain began to challenge his appeal for help. Please, sir, I'm afraid Captain Dantakain has overestimated Master Kuang's comprehension."

  The magistrate's eyes narrowed. "Indeed." He turned to Li. "Master Kuang, have you understood what is happening here?"

  Both TVcho and Mard turned to look at him as well. Li swallowed again and cursed silently. Tycho's mouth was twitching just slightly. Was that supposed to mean yes or no? It seemed as if TVcho wanted him to play dumb. "No," he said, guessing.

  Tycho winced. Vanyan sat back. "The elf-blood understands enough to know that he does not understand. It seems to me his exchange with the captain this morning was less complex than what takes place in this chamber. Lack of comprehension does not strike me as sufficient excuse for his behavior."

  "Sir, he was also confused," Tycho replied quickly. "He had by his own admission just been savagely robbed and was also, I have learned, desperately hungry. In that state, he was focused on only one thing and would say anything to obtain it. I believe if you test him further, you'll find that even the basic comprehension you assume is lacking." The magistrate frowned and look at Li again.

  "What is my name?" he said slowly and with emphasis. Tycho turned as well. This time his eyes flicked over his shoulder and toward the dais. His right hand made a tight shaking motion. No, a rapping motion.

  Li put on a pleasant smile and bowed. "Your name is Respect," he said in an accent so thick it made him cringe. "Respect the Magistrate!"

  The guards chuckled immediately. On the dais, Dorth slammed his rod down. "Respect for the magistrate!" he said automatically and flushed. In response, Li folded his arms and bent in an even deeper bow.

  "Respect the Magistrate!" he repeated.

  "No, respect/or him!" Dorth pointed desperately at Vanyan. "Respect hinil

  "Yes," Li agreed. "He is Respect. Respect the Magistrate!"

  Dorth was practically shaking with frustration. Mard was red. The guards were desperately trying to hold in laughter. Even the magistrate seemed amused. Tycho was suppressing a smile. "That's enough," he told Li in Shou. "They got the point."

  "If we get out of this," replied Li in a pleasant tone, "I'm going to beat you senseless."

  "I'll worry about that later. Pretend I'm telling you Vanyan's real name now."

  Li changed his smile to an expression of surprise and horror, bent into the deepest bow yet, and switched back to Common. "I am very sorry, honored sir. Your name is Vanyan. Vanyan the Magistrate. I am very sorry."

  "You see, sir?" Tycho told the magistrate. "And this morning he didn't properly understand what Captain Dantakain was saying to him either. When the captain asked him if he was an ambassador from Shou, he completely misunderstood. He is in fact a member of the Shou imperial bureaucracy and so it could be said that he does represent Shou Lung. He called on Captain Dantakain because it seemed proper at the time to go to the most senior member of the Guard. And in his confused state, he mistook me for someone else. When I replied that I didn't know him, he took my words for an insult and was justifiably very angry. It was all just a misunderstanding. Indeed, we have already made our peace." Tycho clapped an arm amiably around Li's shoulder's.

  Mard Dantakain practically exploded. "Now hold on," he sputtered. "That's not right!" He thrust a finger at Li. "Magistrate, I swear to you that when I talked to this man this morning, he absolutely understood everything I said. Everything! And now you expect me to believe that it was all just a clever imitation like… like a talking parrot!" He spun to glare at Vanyan. "I demand you put an end to this!"

  The magistrate just tilted his head. Dorth, on the other hand, drew a shocked breath and raised his rod, ready to rap it again. Vanyan reached out and caught his arm. "I think we've had enough of that, Dorth." He looked down at Mard. "Very well, captain. I will end it." He pushed himself to his feet in front of the heavy chair of his office. "I have heard the testimony of both parties," he said formally, "and I am satisfied by what I have heard. It seems to me that no harm was intended and no damage inflicted that has not been resolved. Under the laws of Altumbel and Spandeliyon, I find no reason to hold Tychoben Arisaenn on the charges of brawling and assault nor Kuang Li Chien on the same as well as forcible entry and impersonation."

  Mard howled in protest even as Dorth finally brought his staff down again and proclaimed "The magistrate has ruled!" At Li's side, Tycho let out a whoop of triumph. Li, however, grabbed his arm out of the air.

  "You're forgetting something!" he hissed in Shou, nodding toward the magistrate's dais. Vanyan was still standing and he was looking back at them again.

  "There is," the magistrate said somberly, "the matter of the additional charge against Tychoben Arisaenn: moral corruption of Laera Dantakain." He seated himself once more. "I have not heard your testimony on that charge, Master Arisaenn. It does seem to me that Captain Dantakain has a legitimate complaint against you."

  Mard swung around to glare at Tycho, vicious victory on his face. Tycho b
linked, but swept into another grace ful bow without hesitation. Li found himself holding his breath as the singer smiled and began, "Honored sir, Cap tain Dantakain has simply never before seen the famous 'vigorous harp' technique of Waterdeep

  "Tycho, is that really how ladies of quality play the harp in Waterdeep?" asked Li as they walked out of the guard station and into afternoon sunlight.

  "If they don't, they should learn. It sounds like an interesting technique. If I ever get to Waterdeep, maybe I'll teach them." Tycho drew a deep breath of cold, fresh air. It smelled very good. He hitched his coat around himself and adjusted his strilling under its leather flap. True to Jacerryl's word, everything that had been taken from them-or rather from Tycho since Li had nothing to take-had been waiting for them when they walked out of Magistrate Vanyan's chamber. The little tin tube of beljurils included.

  Tycho had sighed with relief, given it a quick shake, and sighed again at the sound of muffled rattling within. It had been hard enough worrying about getting himself and Li out of jail without worrying about the gems and their now belated delivery as well!

  Li was looking back at the jail with a certain amount of frustration. Tycho stopped. "What?" he asked.

  "That guard-Desmada. It doesn't seem right to walk away without revealing her corruption. She took Lander's coin to look the other way. In Shou Lung, she wouldn't get away with that!"

  "You're telling me that there isn't one guard in Shou Lung who accepts bribes?" Tycho shook his head. "Desmada works for Brin, Li. If you had tried to bring up her corruption, we'd still be sitting in that cell."

  "Does everyone in Spandeliyon work for Brin?"

  Tycho grimaced. "A lot of people do," he said. "But only a few people do it willingly." He slapped Li's shoulder. "Don't worry. Some people work for his rivals!"

  "That's very comforting."

  "Tycho!" Mard Dantakain's voice echoed on the street and Tycho flinched. He turned slowly. Mard was stalking down the steps of the guard station, each pace tightly controlled as though he might fly to pieces if he let his guard down. That probably wasn't far from the truth. Tycho took a deep breath and stood his ground.

  "What is it, Mard?"

  "I owe you pay for this morning's lesson." He reached out and took Tycho's hand, turning it over and slapping coins into his palm with such force that the bard winced. TVcho looked down. Two gold coins stamped with circled dragons. He glanced up at Mard.

  "Coins from Waterdeep." "Indeed," replied Mard coldly. "It seemed appropriate. They'll also be your final payment. Laera's lessons are now finished. I don't want to see you at my house again." His eyes glittered and he leaned close. "In fact," he said, "I'd recommend you take care that I don't see you again at all." He glared at Li as well. "Either of you."

  He turned sharply and marched away. Tycho glowered after him, but slipped the coins into his pouch anyway and sighed. Li looked at him. "I cost you your job."

  Tycho shrugged. "Waves roll in; waves roll out." If he had still been traveling, he might simply have boarded the next ship to leave port and moved on to richer pickings in another town. He might have lost the pay from tutoring Laera Dantakain, but there was still the Wench's Ease and-if he could find another discrete way of meeting Jacerryl-he'd still have his delivery runs. The little tube of beljurils wouldn't be the last thing Mard's brother would bring into Spandeliyon. It would all work out. "Waves will roll in again."

  Li looked glum. His stomach growled audibly again. This time Tycho's grumbled in response as well. He rubbed his stomach and smiled at Li. The beljurils were already late-they could wait just a little while longer. "Come on, let me buy you something to eat. There's a place close to here." He began leading the way through the snow.

  The place was a pie shop, not especially good, but cheap and friendly. Usually friendly. The shopkeeper's face clouded as Li follow Tycho inside. "No elves," he grunted, pointing at the Shou. "Get out."

  Li flushed. "He's not an elf," said Tycho. He reached up and grabbed Li's head, twisting it around and pulling his hair back to the man could see his ears. "Do those look pointed to you? " He let Li go and scowled at the shopkeeper. "Two fish pies-no, three. With two mugs of hot soup. And this man deserves more than just an apology, so that soup had better be on the house!"

  The shopkeeper muttered something indistinct and busied himself behind the counter. Tycho led Li to a table, the Shou rubbing at his scalp. "What is it with you people and elves?" he demanded.

  "Altumbel was founded by humans who left Aglarond when the coastal settlements stopped fighting the elves of the inland forests and made peace with them. A lot of people in Altumbel still don't like elves."

  "How long ago was this?"

  Tycho stretched out. "About three hundred years. People around here are stubborn. Most have never even seen anyone with elf blood unless they happen to be former pirates and have traveled. They just have this vague idea of what elves are supposed to look like." He looked Li over. "Unfortunately…"

  "Shou look that way, too." Li sighed and pressed his lips together as the shopkeeper came over with a platter bearing three fat pies, each a handspan wide, and two big mugs. The man plunked them down and got away again with unseemly haste. Li reached for one of the mugs and raised it to Tycho. "I'm sorry we began badly, Tycho. You're the only person in Spandeliyon who has given me any help at all." He hesitated and added. "Would you be willing to help me some more?"

  Tycho paused with his mug lifted halfway to his lips. "After all this, you still want to find Brin?"

  "No, not Brin."

  "Right." Tycho nodded and blew across the steaming surface of his soup. He remembered what Li had hinted at back in the King's Chamber. "Brin's just a link. You're after his treasure."

  "Treasure?" Li blinked. "I'm looking for my brother."

  CHAPTER 5

  Throughout Shou Lung," Li explained as they ate the pies, "my home city, Keelung, is known for two things: tea and silk." He spoke in Shou and the words rippled off his tongue with honest pride. "The Kuang family has worked in the silk trade since the earliest days of the city. We have been spinners, weavers, and dyers. We devised the unique yellow dye that made Keelung silks famous. Since that time, eldest sons have followed their fathers in the family tradition. My father, Yu Chien, is the direct descendant of the founder of the Kuang and head of the family. Records of Keelung show that Kuang have done business there for eighteen generations and family legends say that we were working with silk many generations before that."

  "That's longer than Altumbellans have been hating elves," mumbled Tycho around a mouthful of pie. In his mind, though, he was kicking himself. Pirate treasure! What had he been thinking?

  Li just nodded. "A few hundred years longer. Most recently, though, the Kuang have also been traders, selling the silks of Keelung to all of Shou Lung. Recently, the heads of all the silk families in Keelung made a decision that the time was right to expand our market beyond Shou Lung. They formed a trading society.for that purpose and assembled an expedition that would take Keelung's goods west to Faerun." His voice changed, becoming bitter. "In charge of the expedition was my elder brother, eldest son of the eldest son of the most respected family in Keelung. His name was Yu Mao."

  Tycho swallowed before replying. "Yu Mao? You said that last night while you were raving."

  Blood flushed Li's face. "I did?"

  "Well, maybe not so much 'said' as 'screamed.' What happened to him?"

  "What do you mean what happened?" Li asked hotly. Tycho gave him a suffering look.

  "Something must have happened to Yu Mao or you wouldn't be looking for him. It doesn't take much to see that."

  Li hesitated and nodded again. "You're right." He took a breath, calming himself. "The expedition left Keelung under good omens on a fine day in early spring three years ago, traveling west through Shou Lung to the province of Ch'ing Tung, where the Silver Road becomes the Golden Way leading to Faerun. The elders of Keelung received a letter from the expedition
just before it passed beyond the borders of Shou Lung. It was the last word from the expedition until early last summer, when a message arrived for my father. It bore the signature of Tieh Fa Pan, an old friend, and related grave news, of how the expedition had reached Thesk and the city of Telflamm, of how there was great interest in the silks of Keelung." Li's jaw tightened. "And of how Yu Mao decided that the expedition should extend its reach and travel just a bit farther west before the winter-a late autumn voyage across the Sea of Fallen Stars to the markets of Sembia.

  "En route to Sembia, the ship on which the expedition sailed was attacked by pirates. Of the members of the expedition, only Fa Pan escaped-he was one of what we call spirit folk and blessed with the ability to breathe water. He found refuge in the sea."

  Tycho found himself leaning forward. "The pirates- Brin's old ship?" Li nodded once more. "What happened to the other members of the expedition?"

  Li drew a deep breath. "They died," he said. "Put to the sword. All except Yu Mao." Li looked down for a moment then up again. "Fa Pan saw Yu Mao taken aboard the pirates' ship as a hostage."

  "Ah." Tycho sat back. "And Fa Pan?"

  "He was wounded," Li said harshly. "What could he do? He swam for shore. Through the fall and winter he stayed with fishing folk who found him. In the spring, he made his way back to Thesk. Weakened by his ordeal and unable to travel farther, he sent the letter to my father." He closed his eyes for a moment then opened them again. "It took a year to reach Keelung. By the time my father presented it to the elders of Keelung, the members of the expedition had been dead for almost two years."

  "What did the elders do?" Tycho asked.

  "They put on their mourning clothes and decided that the time was after all not yet right for trade with the West." Li's fist, resting on top of the table, clenched. "My father, however, wanted to know the fate of his eldest son.

  I was summoned back to Keelung from my position in the bureaucracy and dispatched to the West, tracing the expedition's route to Thesk."