-No children that we know of.
Precise description:
Height: 5 feet even
Build: lean
Age: 18, maybe 20
Hair color: black
Eye color: brown
Skin color: gold
Occupation:
Sewing and embroidery trainee, Saikai village
Seamstress, Imperial Palace embroidery trainee
Seamstress and embroideress, Princess Shinkokami and princess’s ladies student, Eastern-style embroideries, royal embroiderers
She is Princess Shinkokami’s seamstress and chief embroiderer, sewing and caring for the Yamani gowns Her Royal Highness brung with her. She sews and embroiders most beautifully. If there are messages in her stitches, no one can make them out. They seem to be only embroidery, so she doesn’t pass word to her contacts that way.
Habits of speech:
Very polite as the Yamanis are, looks at the ground when she speaks to the nobility, looks aside when talking to the rest of us. Her Common is very good. When she talks here in the palace she has an accent and fumbles for words, but Sparrows in the city report she speaks well enough when she is shopping or talking with men in the streets. Not that she goes with men. Sparrows say she is interested more in women than men, but she goes with no one.—Stabler
Physical habits and skills:
Like all the Yamanis, she bows often, deep for the nobles, not as deep for the wealthy, just a little deep for the rest of us. She walks in tiny steps.
Combat skill:
She can play the fan-throwing game, even the one using the fan with blades for ribs. Sparrow Ghost reports that sometimes the princess will ask her to dance with the blade fan, and Yoro whirls it all around her body, open and closed.
Magic:
None seen so far. Numair detects none.
Everyone who sends me reports believes Yoro is a spy for the Yamani emperor. Hostler Bifu says in his report that the imperial spy service trains its people in the palace, where they practice detecting spies placed on the emperor. Yoro has the perfect cover. She doesn’t have much heavy work for the princess, so she can study Eastern threadwork with the ladies, and wander and ask questions. No one is curious because she is foreign. She is even allowed to go to the market to buy cloth, thread, and notions. Hostler Spear with the royal Progress says Yoro often talks with soldiers and servants. Those she talks with say she asks about who’s who, and what nobles own the fiefs they pass, and what the court is like, and how things are done.
Let’s keep her. Keep her, find how she stays in touch with her Yamani masters, and read their letters. This is our first chance to get near a Yamani spy, and one trained up to it from a child at that. Grab the chance. Do everything we can to feed her false sweets to send home and keep her with us. She might lead us to other Yamani spies, too. And we can read the emperor’s letters.
—Stabler
From the Whisper Man
To Stabler and John Juggler
August 23, 457
Regarding Kuni Yoro
I agree. Let’s keep this one and see who she leads us to. Do what you and John Juggler see fit to put a watch on her, keeping in mind the problems we’ve had with imperial spies in the past. Check with Owl—mayhap we can place some watch spells on her. We shouldn’t use lesser mages for this.
From Owl
To the Whisper Man, the Singing Man, and John Juggler
September 30, 457
Regarding Kuni Yoro
Forgive me, my friends, but magic is not an option. She wears some manner of token on her person, and the same is placed among her belongings, which deadens any spells completely. From its structure it seems to be multiple layers of spells, locked together in such a fashion that it would take weeks for me to pick them apart, if I even could. If I tried, I am certain that she would be alerted to my meddling. She would certainly know if I tried to smash it. I know of no other mage in Tortall who could do even that.
My deepest regrets, of course. If there ever comes a time when subtlety is no longer preferred, I would like to examine those spells at leisure.
From the Whisper Man
To Stabler and John Juggler
With regard to the response by Owl
October 15, 457
Regarding Kuni Yoro
Well, that’s that, then. We’ll go at her the old-fashioned way. Let’s see about getting some female Sparrows around her own age among the servants in the Progress and working around the princess’s suite when they return.
Report compiled by the Chancellor in January–April 458 H.E.
Name: Padraig of haMinch
Also called: Stone Fist by men who served under him in the army
Date subject first reported seen in Tortall: native born
Homeland:
Tortall, duchy of Great Minch
Family:
-The haMinch clans of the northeastern mountains
-Hanaa al Naz of the Bazhir tribe Oldest Tale, wife—dead with two children, pox epidemic 451
-Duke Gelban, oldest brother, married Jennett of Aili
-Suvanna, sister, married Duke Cammare of Marqueran, Galla
-Gillin, brother, married Honorine of Marqueran, Galla
-Padrach, nephew
-Deava, brother, married Amorelle of Anak’s Eyrie
-Mairgred, sister, married Lord Slaiden of Nicoline
-Deonaid, sister, vowed to the Goddess as Mother, the City of the Gods
There is more family, but you may check the haMinch books for it—his brothers and sisters have given him plenty of nieces and nephews.
Precise description:
Height: 6 feet 2 inches
Build: hard, muscled
Age: 55 in 459 H.E.
Hair color: gray and black, worn in a horsetail
Eye color: brown
Skin color: tan, weathered—an outdoor man
Occupation:
Page, 414
Squire, 418
Knight, 425
Captain in command of foot company, 425
Captain in command of armored company, 428
Colonel in command of division, 432
General in command of southern army, 437
Retired from service, 441
Habits of speech:
-northern mountain burr
-occasional Bazhir expletives
Physical habits and skills:
-great walker, hiker, mountain climber, fisherman
-cannot hunt well, traps
-knows how to survive in the mountains and in the southern desert
-knows plants for medicine and food in both
-knows desert’s dangerous spiders, lizards, serpents, sand traps
-has fought spidrens, hurroks, two giants (before escaping, he says), and killer unicorns—witnesses confirm one giant, hurrok flock, and two unicorns. He and the pages were escorting Her Majesty and her ladies when the killer unicorns attacked.
Combat skills:
-broadsword, longsword, two-handed sword, war hammer, double-bladed axe
-maces of all sorts
-scimitar
-longbow, crossbow
-boxing, wrestling
Magic: none
Belongs to the powerful and conservative haMinch clan but has very little interest in politics. Prefers to spend idle time with Shang warriors, Princess Shinko and her ladies, or any Bazhir in Corus.
Served in the army with honor, mostly in the desert—he is well thought of in military circles, even if they feel he went a little “sand-happy.”
Has many friends among the Bazhir and took a Bazhir wife—when she died with their daughters in an Itching Pox epidemic, Padraig lost heart for desert life and retreated to his house on family lands in the north, leaving when summoned to be training master.
Those who have approached him for intrigue on either the conservative or Their Majesties’ side have both come away empty-handed.
Correspondence between Hostler
Veery and Uline of Hannalof, Shadow name “Capriole”
There will be a packet of letters passed to you at the Guild party tonight. Your signal to your contact is to dance only the Lover’s Knot, turning aside any other invitation. In return, your contact will offer to assist you with your cloak. This contact is not trained and may drop the papers or show them openly, but necessity dictates her use, and I trust you can cover any mistakes. I need the originals, and a set of copies passed to agent Bluebird, as soon as may be.
Message received, will obey, but the Lover’s Knot? Do they even play that fussy old thing anymore? I’m afraid I don’t recall it.
They will play it tonight, and many dances begin in the same or in a similar way, so keep a weather eye. Couples take hands to form a large circle of four-person rings, see the diagram. All step in, toward the middle of their ring of four, and raise their hands up by their shoulders. All step out and drop their hands by their sides. This figure is repeated. Then all release their hands, turn to their own partner, and take right hands. The gentleman turns the lady under his arm as gentleman and lady switch positions. All four take hands and step in and out again. Now each gentleman takes right hands with the lady of the other couple and turns her under his arm as they switch positions. At this point, each couple is now standing where the other couple began.
Each couple then adopts the dance hold, which, far from being fussy, troubled a number of marriages when it first became popular: Partners face each other. The gentleman’s right hand is at the lady’s waist, and her left hand rests on his shoulder. His left hand supports her right, out to the side, and they move their feet in a one-two-three, front-side-together pattern while turning, while at the same time progressing sunwise around the larger circle. (If that is not dizzying enough, in a smaller hall they form two circles, one inside the other.) After eight counts, the couples take hands with their new neighbors to form a four-person ring again. And it progresses in this fashion.
From Hostler Veery to the Whisper Man
Trainee Capriole did very well last night, finding reasons not to dance without slighting anyone who asked, quickly hiding the dropped papers with her skirt, and including, unasked for, a shrewd report on her contact when she turned the letters over to me. In my opinion, she can be sent safely to the Yamani court and used in low-level work such as this.
December 3, 441
From Sparrow Hearth
To Nursemaid Beehive
By your order, I enclose selections of Master Hobart Cusyner’s personal diary, which I have tested for the standard invisible inks. There are none. Likewise, no hiding spells gave themselves away to my inspection using the magicked stone you lent to me. I enclose it in this packet, with thanks. I also reviewed the diary for hidden codes as I copied these pages for you but found none. Perhaps a more crafty code breaker would see one where I failed.
Truly, I believe that whoever suggested to the Shadow Service that Master Hobart might be a spy must have spent a night or two in the Master’s wine cellar. Yes, he deals with many foreign merchants, but this is because he is forever coming up with new dishes with which to do Their Majesties honor and make their court famous. During those times when I have accompanied him to market and to warehouses, I have never seen him pass over any sort of message. While he can cut up a beef so precisely that no shred of meat is left on the bone, in dealings outside the kitchen his hands shake badly. He could not pass a note to a stranger and I not see it.
Master Hobart is an annoying, carping, exacting old fussbudget, but he is a brilliant cook, perhaps the best in the Eastern Lands. He is utterly devoted to the Crown. He has also been more than kind to my family and to the families of those who work under his supervision. I felt vile in reading his precious diary and copying his secrets. Please say I shan’t have to do it again.
Copies of assorted pages from different parts of the diary of Master Hobart Cusyner, Master Cook at the Royal Palace in Corus Taken by Sparrow Hearth at the request of his Harvester, Beehive
June 1, 441 H.E.
They want a great feast! I cannot believe it! The realm still suffers from the famine caused by overuse of the Dominion Jewel. I know the Jewel saved us during the events on Coronation Day. It kept the realm from tearing itself to pieces in last year’s great earthquake, yet there was a famine last summer as the price. And now, with people near starving as they wait for this summer’s crops to ripen, I must prepare a feast to impress ambassadors and guests from other realms. It is a way to help them believe that Tortall remains proof against her enemies despite our troubles.
A royal command is a royal command, and this is the first such request Their Majesties have made of me. Mithros who commands the fire and the Goddess who governs the kitchens witness it, my staff and I will not fail Their Gracious Majesties!
June 2, 441
Of all my undercooks, Mistress Judita has offered a good idea for a subtlety. It is a cockatrice—
a monster that combines a rooster with a pig.
It is said by philosophers that cockatrices result when a wyvern lays an egg and a griffin hatches it. The beasts were claimed to be deadly, since their gaze could turn even a man in full armor to stone. To craft one for table we could sew half a chicken to half a suckling pig, with the seam hidden under wreaths of rosemary and bay leaves. Our “cockatrice” will be covered with a glaze made from egg yolks and saffron, and then baked in our roasting ovens. It is a most excellent thing the real cockatrices were exiled to the Divine Realms, so we need not worry that they will attend the banquet and criticize our creations!
If they are successful, once we have introduced our cockatrices at the high table, I shall employ them again at the tables for lesser nobles and those of the merchant class. They will be amusing at Midwinter, I know.
June 3, 441
Trouble again! A scullery maid was carrying one of my baking pans to the sink for washing. Unfortunately, some beef-witted lout had spilled grease on the floor! Time after time I tell my staff that spills lead to accidents. Do they heed me? That poor girl slipped on the grease and went head over heels. One of my best ceramic pans was shattered. Shards flew everywhere. We tossed a pot of soup for fear that sharp pieces had fallen into it. Worst of all, the girl broke her leg. She will be of little use for several weeks. I must hire and train a new wench to keep her place for her, and buy a new pan.
June 4, 441
I have designed an illusion dish. I will take the uncooked eggs of many birds—not just chicken eggs, but those of quails, geese, swans, and so forth, so my eggs will be of various sizes and colors. I will then make holes in the shells with a pin and blow out the contents, saving them for other dishes. Into the hollow shells I will have Mathy the undercook place a mixture of sweetened almond milk and gelatin. We shall leave the filled eggs in our cold room to set for a day. Peeled, we will have white, yolkless “eggs” that seem perfectly normal until they are tasted. Then let visitors marvel at how sweet and mild our birds are!
June 5, 441
Urchins are a good side dish, but we cannot have sea urchins. The capital is too far from the sea to risk their transport. We shall serve “land urchins.” Instead of hedgehogs, which are scarce, ours shall be made of pork. The undercooks will chop it very fine, then mix it both with sweet spices—cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and mace—and raw eggs. Next they will sculpt the mixture into small land urchins about the size of a child’s fist.
For spines, we slice almonds lengthwise into slivers and set them in the “urchins’” back and sides. Eyes are made with cloves. Then we bake the whole in a hot oven while our clock ticks off three-quarters of the hour. I would defend that device with my own life, at need. I thank King Jasson of glorious memory for loving his supper so much that he graced the palace kitchens with it when he captured one.
June 6, 441
How can I produce a feast on a pittance? On one hand, they want me to serve a meal that will be the talk of the Eastern Lands. On the other, they require I do not overspen
d. They cannot have it both ways! Does our seneschal think rare spices grow on trees? Well, actually they do, but not here, which is why they cost so much. He even said, “Fear not, Master Cook, you will think of something. You always do.” He is right, I always think of something, but this time I am not certain Their Majesties will approve. They are young. What if they are like His Majesty’s late father and mother, and not overfond of surprises?
June 7, 441
Now the butchers say they cannot get me a good suckling pig until the month’s end. It will be too late then! What can I use in its stead?
June 8, 441
The new spit boy fell asleep while he turned the beef roast for tonight’s dinner. Luckily, Judita saw and woke him before half the meat was burnt and the other half raw. She gave him a scolding he will not soon forget. She does very well in her work as an undercook. I must keep my eye on her. Normally Undercook Ingeram is in charge of meat and would watch the spit boy, but I sent him to talk to the royal huntsmen about game needed for next week. The spit boy took advantage of his absence. I instructed Judita to put him to scrubbing pans in addition to his other duties.
June 9, 441
As well as suckling pigs, I cannot get enough of any one small bird—quails, pigeons, doves, larks, ortolans, partridges—to make pies for everyone. I will use a mix, and call the resulting pies “a medley of small birds.” Our guests will believe I have done this on purpose and not because I could not obtain enough birds. To the mix I will add a bit of the new southern spice, cumin, that I bought in secret last month. Most of our diners will not have had it in their food before. If I am careful with the amount, it will be pleasantly new, not unpleasantly so.
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