Arkat Alumnus

8: Discoveries

Return to Normalcy - Asking For Help - Waiting - Breaking Curfew - Returning - On The Run
Messages - Uncle Bojek - House Of Shadows - Slipping Out - A Question Of Trust
Reluctant Allies - Maid and Mistress

~oOo~

After the dramatic events that had unfolded since the field trip to the Graveen Marshes, Eren finds the prospect of returning to the relatively safe predictability of her studies strangely unsettling.

Master Jayron had taken her and Exalian to the headmaster, who readily accepted the apprentices' explanation of their absence. He told them that her attempted abduction was being "treated with the utmost seriousness" and assured Eren that she had nothing to fear so long as she stayed within the walls of the College. This was the first hint she had of the restrictions that had been imposed upon all Imperial students, confining them to the College grounds and imposing a strict curfew. In spite of the headmaster's assurances, she retired to her bed with grave misgivings about what awaited her the following day.

At breakfast the next morning, whispered rumours about the murdered apprentice abounded. Eren only half-listened, but gathered that there were several theories about that had happened to Fabian. One theory had it that he had fallen foul of one of the Syndicates - Syran's shadowy criminal fraternities - while another insisted that he'd been killed in a duel. Someone even suggested that he'd been slain by a demon. She caught several of her peers staring at her and whispering too, but everyone seemed to have decided to give her a wide berth for the time being. Increasingly distracted by this and her troubled thoughts, she'd tried to in vain to concentrate on her lessons, but by evening she'd had enough. After wolfing down her dinner, she fled to her room, hoping to find refuge there.

Sitting on her bed and cradling the Orb in her hands, she tries to calm down. She welcomes the subtle wave of energy that seems to flow from the mysterious object, but soon finds her mind whirling again.

Eren really wishes that Kiki were around to talk things over with - it is amazing how quickly she'd come to appreciate the other girl's perspective.

Lacking that outlet, she finds herself pacing around her room muttering "It just doesn't make any sense, he went from frantic to calm, from worried to assured. People just don't do that without reason. There has to be a reason, but what?"

Kiki's continued absence and Master Jayron's curious behaviour aren't the only things troubling her, however. Who were the men who'd tried to abduct her? Had they also been responsible for the disappearance of Pavel's sponsor, Carrick? Why had Vey been helping them? Were they connected with Stockfish and the 'nest of vipers' - an evil conspiracy of sorcerers - that the fugitive in the marshes had talked about? And what could a mere apprentice do when confronted with such enemies? And why were they even interested in her, anyway? It just didn't make any sense...

Finally she announces to herself "What really doesn't make sense is asking myself questions that I obviously don't have answers for. I'm not going to find the answers in my room. Not that I'll probably find the answers anywhere, but at least I can get myself ready for the next batch of dratted questions!"

Heading along the main corridor towards the Library, she almost walks straight into into a master, who is hurrying in the other direction. Dusty and travel-worn, he is limping and clutching a battered-looking knapsack close to his body. "Watch where you're going!" he snaps at her, before continuing on his way.

With a start, Eren belatedly realises that it is Stockfish.

"Oh, you're back!" exclaims Eren in delight, belatedly remembering to add "Sir."

Master Stockfish did not look like he wanted to talk, but Eren had been missing Kiki so much she couldn't be bothered to stop herself from babbling. "Kiki told me about the expedition she was going on with you, did it go well? Is she back at her school now?"

It is only then that another train of thought catches up with her, reminding her of the warnings of the man in the swamp. Eren suddenly feels cold and her eyes dart around for any witnesses to their scene.

Stockfish turns slowly to face her. Eren see that the master's clothes are torn and his face is covered in scratches.

"No," he says coldly, with no trace of his trademark smile on his cracked lips. "It did not go well. And no, Kiki is not back at her school. The foolish child ran off into the woods, pursuing the unicorn that we had been intending to study together. I tried to follow and spent all day yesterday searching for her, but to no avail. I fear the worst," he adds, looking like he might burst into tears at any moment.

"Now, if you'll excuse me," he says. "I must go and report this to the headmaster."

He is about to leave, but then turns back seeming to remember something.

"Forgive me," he says, frowning. "I have a good memory for faces, but names sometimes elude me. Your name is Eren, yes? Tell me, were you very good friends with Kiki?"

"Yes, Eren...." confirms Eren distractedly, as she chews over Master Stockfish's question. She has to admit that it actually is a good question; while she'd like to claim Kiki for a good friend, it would hardly be logical to define her as such on short acquaintance, no matter how eventful the acquaintance may be. Snap friendships may happen in the Saint Plays, but Eren is hardly a candidate for heroine of a play!

After chewing her lip for a few seconds she expounds with great seriousness: "I'm not sure that we _are_ good friends, but we might _become_ good friends. We met through the joint teaching program, and have worked on certain projects together, and we started going to the same staves practice. We seem to rub along pretty well together. I guess I'd like us to be good friends, but no I don't think we are there yet."

Eren can't help but add some defense of Kiki: "I'm sorry she ran off on you, I guess she can be kind of impulsive, but I do really like her. She makes everything seem brighter and nicer somehow."

Only after admitting all of that does it occur to Eren that maybe Stockfish's question is not one of honest curiosity--although Eren doesn't know how she could tell one way or another. Still she blurts it out at the end of her spiel: "Why did you want to know?"

Stockfish shrugs. "I just wondered if you might know her family," he explains. "Someone will have to go and tell them that their daughter is missing and quite probably dead, and I fear that sorry task will fall to me. Anyway, first I must go and speak to the headmaster."

He turns on his heel and stalks off, leaving Eren to mull over the grim implications of his words.

Determined to think about something else, she goes through her mental 'to do' list, but the restrictions that the headmaster has imposed - banning students from leaving the College and a strict curfew - seem to render most of them impractical for the time being. She might be able to send a message to her parents when she next goes to church, but that's almost a week away. Going to see Salazari also seems impossible - unless she is prepared to sneak out of the College. Learning to defend herself better might be feasible - perhaps she could ask about joining the College militia?

The one thing she could do now is try to speak to her sponsor, Adept Hermeclus. He's a rather distant figure, only meeting with her once a term to discuss her progress, but he has always maintained that she is welcome to come and talk to him if she needs help. In the past, however, that has proven difficult, as he spends so much of his time travelling outside the city. She's not quite sure that she wants to speak to him yet, but it would be useful to know whether this is one of those rare occasions when he is actually around.

Casually walking past his office, she sees that the door is open, but the room is dark. Another adept - a reputedly brilliant researcher called Harigan - is just leaving the room across the corridor and notices Eren looking into the room. "You after Hermeclus?" he says. "I think he's in the Library..."

Eren relaxes a bit: she can go to the library and do some work, or at least think, or study her orb... That's it!

She hurries to the library. Outside its door she pauses to catch her breath, and to pull out the orb. Once she has composed herself as best she can she slowly strides into the library.

She tries to achieve some of that presence that her father projects on stage, the way he can draw eyes without saying anything or appearing to do anything. Surely seeing her--seeing her with the orb--would draw some reaction from Hermeclus?

What Eren hadn't really thought through was the reaction that her grand entrance would draw from the other occupants of the Library.

The first groups of students that she encounters, mostly neophytes, stare at her in apparent awe, which gives her confidence a boost. When she catches sight of the next group, however, her heart sinks. She immediately recognises Agnetha and Aldeth amongst them, the former scowling at her and nudging her friend when she catches sight of the orb. Eren recalls that it had originally been a gift from Agnetha's father, who is apparently furious with the headmaster for giving it away to a student.

Eren's heart sinks further when one of the other students turns around to see what Agnetha and Aldeth are looking at. It's Oren.

"Well, well, well," the boy sneers, regarding her with unmistakeable contempt. "If it isn't 'fraidy-cat Eren. Felt safe enough to come out of your room, did you? Don't worry, the boogiemen can't get you here, not now the headmaster has us all locked up for our 'own protection'!"

He emphasises his evident irritation with this state of affairs by throwing the book that he'd been reading onto the table, the sound of the impact echoing throughout the otherwise silent Library. Eren gulps as she sees all eyes in the room turning towards them. She has come to think of the Library as a place of refuge, even a source of strength, but suddenly it feels like hostile territory.

Oren hasn't finished with Eren yet. "If it wasn't for your cursed ghost stories, we wouldn't all be stuck in here. " he begins. "Why couldn't you..."

"Stop it, Oren," Aldeth snaps, cutting him off. "You know as well as I do that the curfew is because of what happened to Fabian."

"Don't you believe it!" Oren retorts. "I heard the masters talking about it this morning. One neophyte turning up dead wouldn't make them shut down all the schools in Syran, even if he was a blessed Adamarl. They were already jumpy 'cause she made up some story about 'evil sorcerers' trying to snatch her. As if anyone would really be interested in her!"

Eren is caught so off guard that she doesn't know how to react as the attack starts. She finds herself continuing to stride steadily into the library as they continue to talk. Then it hits her that maybe this is her best course of action, just to ignore them, or to at least act like she is ignoring them. After all, what would her patron think to see her arguing with them like so many fishwives? Surely it is best to not stoop to answer?

If she can just keep her step steady, her head up, and her eyes dry....

Mustering all her strength, Eren moves regally through the Library, completely ignoring Oren and his cruel taunts. If only I could feel this strong all the time, she thinks, marvelling at her own self-possession. Perhaps it is some positive influence of the Library, or perhaps she has simply gained more from her recent experiences than she had realised, but whatever the reason, her tactic seems to have worked. Oren and his cronies have already lost interest.

~~

"Nicely handled, young lady," a familiar voice rumbles softly. "I can see that you have done a lot of growing up since I last saw you."

Adept Hermeclus regards her with sharp eyes and a wry smile. A tall, heavily built man with an impressive beard and extremely bushy eyebrows, he's sitting in one of the side alcoves, the table in front of him piled high with papers and books. He gestures at a chair.

"Please, Eren - come and join me. And tell me, what was that rude young man talking about when he mentioned 'evil sorcerers' trying to snatch you?"

"Oh, I, ah, thank you sir!" stammers Eren, a bit flustered by such a kind reception. Finally she remembers to pull out a chair and seat herself. As she does so she frantically pummels her brain, trying to decide how much to reveal of her recent adventures.

"The sorcerer? I don't think you need to concern yourself, sir, the College already seems to being doing something about it. The other day a couple of men tried to drag me out of the college, they wouldn't say why. I... I thought they were after the orb that I won in the disputation, but I don't really know for sure." Eren relaxes a bit after getting out that part-truth.

It seems to get easier to give an edited version of events after that. "One of them used magic, the other just seemed like a street tough. But the colleges defenses triggered while they were dragging me out. While that distracted them another student helped me get away from them."

Eren gives a small shrug and concludes "I guess the college is pretty concerned that somebody was able to get into the gardens near here, and then that other student disappeared, so they are really going into siege mode. I don't think the whole college is really under attack, but since it should help keep people away from me I don't mind much.....I'm more worried about my friend Kiki, a scribbler, something apparently happened with her when on a field trip with Master Stockfish."

Trying to interpret the expression of her sponser, she squeaks one final comment "Sorry for babbling so much, sir. I didn't mean to take up so much of your time."

The adept, who had been frowning deeply, hastily dismisses her apology. "Oh, not at all, not at all!" he says, smiling broadly. "I was meaning to seek you out anyway - you've saved me the trouble."

Then his expression turns serious again. "But I am rather concerned by what you were telling me. I'd heard about that dreadful business with the murdered boy in the park, and understood that to be the Headmaster's reason for placing the College under curfew. But no-one mentioned an attempted abduction - and within the grounds of the College itself! Please, tell me more about the malefactors. You say that one of them used magic - what sort of magic? Why did you think that they were after this orb, of yours? And what did you mean when you mentioned the 'college defences'?"

Eren's heart sinks. It's obvious that Hermeclus is not going to be satisfied with her attempt to gloss over the details of the attempted abduction, and he hadn't even registered her mention of Kiki and Stockfish. But how much should she tell him?

"Sir, really....." She can't tell him 'I don't know if I can trust you or if you'll trust me' so she settles for: "More people getting involved might just make things more complicated? But I understand wanting to know what is going on, so I'll try to explain. But I need to go back some time to fully explain"

It is then that she realizes that this is a performance. Closer to story-telling than being on stage, but the essence is the same. She forces herself to slow down her speech a bit, to enunciate, and to adjust tone and cadence as appropriate.

"After I won the disputation I was of course thrilled to have won, and excited to receive the prize, the glass orb. But the orb itself was a bit of a mystery. I knew I'd have to investigate it, but that this might take time. I didn't want to damage it--could you imagine winning such a thing and then breaking it! Nor did I want to swan around with it, so I left it in my room...." She proceeds to tell about the sacking of her room, the scorched marks, and how the orb magically nipped Kiki.

"After that I got a pouch I could wear around my neck, to keep it with me. On the day of the attack I heard odd voices by my room, so I avoided it. I'd fallen on the stairs, so after going to matron to get patched up I decided to come to the library for a while, and I cut through the garden."

She doesn't know why she is editing out Vey, but somehow it seems wrong to possibly set this powerful man against a student when she doesn't understand what Vey's role really is. So she tries to keep him edited out, counting on the flow of the story to cover over the gaps this creates. As for the ragged man in the swamp, she certainly doesn't want to go into that.

"It was there that I saw the men. They clearly were trying to capture me. I tried to run, and I tried to fight back, but it didn't work. You asked about the magic they used..." she proceeds to tell what she can recall of their brief exchange of magic, including what she can recall about the scripting on the parchment that the mage had used.

"Coming through the hallways there was a discraction, a master passed at a distance but somehow didn't seem to understand what was happening. I begged the college itself to help, where its staff hadn't, and it responded. I think they are called Spectral Guardians? At the same time another student came by, a boy from Naval College that I've met through the joint teaching program. He saw I was in trouble and helped..." She describes the confrontation, or at least the more magical parts of it, as best as she can remember, leaving out Vey again.

"Once all of this got reported, it did cause a stir. Of course those who weren't there are a bit doubtful. I'd think it sounded like a tale myself, if I'd not lived through it!"

Feeling a bit guilty about her editing she adds "I don't know that it was about the orb, of course. Maybe I saw someone or something or did something that led to all of this, but I'm just trying to do well with my studies, not cause trouble. If I saw anything, I don't know what it was."

For a moment, the adept's troubled expression makes Eren fear that her artfully-tweaked story has raised his suspicions.

"By all the Saints, Eren!" he exclaims. "That certainly is a tale and a half! From any other apprentice, I might suspect a fabulation, but the details of your tale ring true, even though they stretch credulity to the snapping point. I still can't believe that any adept - even a black-hearted sorcerer - would have the nerve to snatch an Imperial apprentice from within these hallowed halls!"

"Quite frankly, I'm astonished at your equanimity after such an ordeal," he tells her. "But I have long known that there is more to you than meets the eye..."

He pauses, regarding her intently for a few moments before continuing.

"I'm sure there is more to your tale than meets the eye too," he says. "But I can't quite put my finger on it. I can see why you made a connection between this orb and your would-be abductors, but I'm not sure that there is necessarily a link there. And the spell that you describe makes me fairly certain that the adept was a gloomer, but that does nothing to explain why you were their target. And that is the key here, clearly."

"But I'm starting to ramble now," he chides himself. "Listen, Eren, I know that you have already made the College bigwigs aware of this, but I'm cursed if I'll just sit idly by and leave them to pursue it. I fear they may already have forgotten about your ordeal in the furore that has arisen over the death of the Adamarl boy. So what can I do to help?"

Eren sits stunned for a few seconds. He wants to help? She can't help but thinking that staying out of it might be the best help he could give... then she realizes that she is staring at him slack jawed, and really could use some help, so tries to pull herself together.

"Thank you, thank you so much Sir. For certain help would be good..." She trails off as she tries to compose her thoughts. Possibly to keep her eyes from being silly, too--there was clearly no reason to cry just because someone was offering to help.

She starts ticking thoughts off on her fingers. First finger: "It wouldn't make sense for me to rely on the guardianship of anyone else, because nobody can be with me all of the time, and if the attackers can get into the College then they can probably find out when I'm alone and when I'm not."

Second finger: "I don't know much about protecting myself. Not against magic, not against physical force. Oh, there are our basic principles in magic that can help, and I do my basic staves practice. But aside from being hard to carry anywhere I shouldn't rely on being able to protect myself against a real attack right now. I'm going to learn how to protect myself, I swear I will" her eyes flash with passion at that statement "But I can't pretend I know how to right now, or that I can learn in a day or two."

Third finger "If we knew enough to go after the attackers, it would be done already. Wait, that might not be true." She pauses for a moment to work out this thought, then continues "I'm sure I didn't notice as much as I could have, and that some of what I noticed I don't really... understand? Recall? If someone had a suspicion and asked the right questions, it is possible that I know some clue that nobody has recognized. Or that V, I mean Pavel noticed something. Still, right now we can't attack the attackers."

Fourth finger: "So I think the best help I could have would be some way to call for help?"

Then she adds her thumb to the list: "Then again, I'm worried about so much I might not be thinking my best. Some way to protect my room, so that I don't have to worry about being attacked, or my stuff trashed again..." she fingers her somewhat ragged robe and admits "I don't think my robes can take much more abuse, the laundress does her best... anyway, just being able to sleep more securely would be nice, and to have a safe spot to go where I knew I could relax. And someone to ask after Kiki."

She looks up at him, worried "But I'll be OK, really! It is just you did ask..." she bites her lip, worried she's said too much. She does have that habit she knows.

Hermeclus smiles. "I did, didn't I? Very well, let's work our way through your list."

"You're right to be leery of relying on someone else to protect you," he begins. "No-one can honestly promise to guard you all the time, even if they were prepared to try. But there are some measures that we can take to help you protect yourself - and with immediate effect. And I can certainly do something to protect your room. But let's leave that for a moment..."

"A way to call for help is a good idea in principle," he continues. "But it relies on the proximity of someone who is able - and willing - to help you. You may not realise it, but you already have the means to call upon aid from Master Atlan via your apprentice bond. And if you managed to invoke the Spectral Guardians, then you already know about the aid that the College itself can provide. But that doesn't help you if you run into trouble outside the College."

"As regards your attackers, I think this is the part that I find most galling. If we knew their identities, or even their intentions, then we could take the fight to them, instead of trying to work out how to protect you from an unknown menace. I wonder..." he muses, his eyes focussing on something unseen.

"You say that you invoked the Spectral Guardians, yes?" he asks. Eren nods. "And presumably they attacked your would-be abductors? Good. If nothing else that may give us the etheric signature of this gloomer adept. The Guardians are non-sentient essence constructs," he explains. "They don't 'think', as such, but they are bound to follow a set of logical rules that determine their actions - just as a Sigil of Warding of a Sigil of Alarm can be constructed with a set of rules that govern their activation."

This reminds Eren of her recent experiences in the secret basement, where the strange entity that called itself Praxis had talked about something similar. Hermeclus misinterprets her glazed expression and hastily concludes his digression.

"Anyway, I seem to remember reading about an incident, back in the early days of the College, when the then Headmaster was able to track down an enemy adept who had stolen a manuscript from the Library. I'm sure the Guardians were involved somehow."

"If nothing else," he adds with a sudden smile. "The blackguards who tried to abduct you will be hard-pressed to try the same trick again. Once they've identified someone as an enemy or a rulebreaker, the Guardians are very reluctant to let them enter the College grounds again. As many a misbehaving apprentice has learnt to their cost..."

He pauses for a moment, lost in thought.

"Ah, but we were going to do something to protect your room, weren't we?" he says at length. "Come along then..."

Later, as Eren settles down on her bed and looks back over her day, she finds herself feeling relaxed for the first time in days. Hermeclus had not only placed a Sigil of Warding on her door, to prevent anyone but Eren from entering her room, he'd also promised to create a talisman for her to give her a bit of "personal protection".

"Come and see me in my office tomorrow evening," he'd concluded. "That'll give me time to prepare the talisman and to see if I can find that reference I was talking about. If I were the Headmaster, I'd already have someone trying to identify these intruders, but Alphanus doesn't always share my sense of urgency on matters such as these."

When she finally drifts off, it is into a deep and dreamless sleep.

~oOo~

At the time of Eren's encounter with Stockfish, Kiki had been sleeping in her mother's bed, still desperately weak from her wounds.

Three days later, she awakens in another bed, feeling rested, but still delicate. It takes her a moment to remember where she is: back in Syran, as the guest of Lady Amelyn in Hightown. Prudence, the maidservant who'd been tasked with looking after her, is nowhere to be seen. Impelled by a painfully full bladder to leave the delicious warmth of the bed, Kiki starts across the room toward the door leading out into the hall, then catches sight of another door in the corner of the room. Investigating, she finds a small antechamber, complete with chamberpot.

When, a short while later, Kiki does step out into the hall, she finds an unfamiliar servant with a rather vacant expression waiting for her.

The middle-aged woman bobs a quick curtsey. "Beg pardon, miss," she says, her voice sounding hoarse. "Prudence asked me to wait on ye - she's with the missus, y'see. Follow me, if ye please..."

Leading the young apprentice along the hall, the servant takes her down a back-stair towards the kitchen. As they walk along a narrow corridor in the cramped servants quarters, Kiki catches a glimpse of Alasdair - who she takes to be the household's steward - talking to another man: a rather anonymous-looking fellow, who nevertheless seems strangely familiar...

In the kitchen, Kiki finds Father Pedone, who is chatting with the cook while she bustles about and occasionally barks orders at another servant.

"Ah, Kiki. So you've finally returned from dreamland, then?" the liturgist says, with a grin. "It's nearly noon - we were starting to think you'd sleep all day."

He explains that their host is somewhat preoccupied this morning - something to do with rescuing her impetuous younger brother from some trouble of his own making - but that she has promised to give them her full attention this afternoon.

"In the mean time, she's asked us to keep ourselves out of the way," Pedone adds. "She has visitors, apparently." He turns to the cook. "Martha, is there somewhere that Kiki and I can speak in private?"

A few minutes later, alone in a plain but comfortably-furnished room, the old man turns to Kiki with a deep frown. He hesitates before speaking, and when he does it is in a whisper.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" he asks. "This... plan of Amelyn's, I mean. It sounds like madness to me - and I'm not saying that because it puts me at risk too!" He pauses. "Well, not only for that reason, at any rate. Curse it, Kiki!," he hisses. "I brought you here because I thought this was a job for an adept, not a clapped-out ex-demonologist. But I'm starting to wonder what exactly our adept is expecting to accomplish here - and why she agreed to help you. She certainly bears me little love..." he adds, looking troubled.

He takes a deep breath. "What I'm trying to say is: you can still back out. Leave. Run away and hide. Go back to Sister Clareta. You understand?"

Kiki smiles "Yes father I understand my position. I have not changed my mind since the convent. It is not in my nature to sit back and do nothing. Problems always should be tackled squarely. If only to decide how far and fast you need to run."

Kiki tilts her head to the side as she looks at him "Anyway are you that keen to get back to the village?"

He shakes his head. "Not especially," he admits. "But I'm starting to appreciate its dullness - I'd forgotten just how infested this cursed city is with intrigue and hidden agendas. I'm guessing - hoping - that Amelyn agreed to help you because it serves her purposes to expose Stockfish, but I'm not convinced that she really has your interests at heart - or mine for that matter. Your comment about playing 'the hunter's lamb' may be uncomfortably close to the truth. Oh, I'm not saying that she is intending to sacrifice us in order to achieve her goal, but it's a fair bet that she won't be thinking too carefully about our safety. We must look after our own hides..."

Brows furrowed deeply, he chews his lip. "It's a long shot," he says at length. "But is there anyone in the city that you trust? And I mean trust completely - trust with your life. If there is, then perhaps we might get a message to them..."

Kiki thinks on the fathers request, chewing her lip as she does so.

"Eren... I trust Eren. If I can't trust her I might as well go and join the forest folk. In any case I realy should get a message to Eren to let her know I am all right. Here is her room number at the college"

"Another apprentice?" Pedone comments frowning. "Very well - although I'm not sure how she might be able to help. You'd better think about what you want to say to her - we have to be very careful, in case the message fell into the wrong hands. Anyway, there's no point sending it until we know what - if anything - Amelyn has arranged about Stockfish."

Fortunately, they don't have too long to wait. After eating a hearty lunch in the kitchens, Pedone and Kiki are summoned upstairs by one of their host's maidservants. Kiki initially thinks that it is Prudence, but is puzzled by the woman's silence and confused when she fails to return her smile. Pedone must have noticed Kiki's confusion, because he whispers to her as they follow the maidservant up the stairs: "Patience, not Prudence. They're twins," he explains. "This one doesn't speak - vow of silence," he adds.

Kiki doesn't have long to ponder this interesting tidbit of information, however, as Patience quickly leads them to the room where her mistress is waiting. Amelyn is pacing the room, her face dark with anger. Her expression softens slightly when she sees her guests, but her agitation remains.

"Trouble with your brother?" Pedone asks.

"Yes, curse him!" the adept snaps. "The fool's only gone and challenged someone to a duel! And to make matters worse, I've just discovered that his opponent is using a professional duellist as a proxy! And the insufferable man refused my offer to buy him off! Now I have to hire another duellist as a proxy for Everard and persuade my idiot brother not to fight the duel himself!"

She sighs deeply. "But this is none of your concern. You'll want to hear what I have discovered about Stockfish. According to my sources, he has been back in the city for a couple of days and he's claiming that Kiki ran off into the forest, chasing a unicorn." She turns to address Kiki directly. "He's been telling people that he 'fears the worst' for you, which may suggest that he thinks you're already dead - although I wouldn't count on that."

"But that's not all I've learned about Master Stockfish," she continues. "While you were away, an Imperial apprentice was murdered - and in circumstances reeking of sorcery, which has provoked a rather panicked reaction from the Schools. Now, I happen to have a special interest in this incident, as I shall explain in a moment, but until you related your story, Kiki, there was no reason to connect it with Stockfish."

She turns to Pedone. "Tell me, are you familiar with carrion demons, Father?" The former demonologist nods, his expression grim. "Well, I had an uncomfortably close encounter with one last week and have been trying to find out who was responsible. If my sources are right, then Stockfish raised the demon and was trying to use it as a weapon. Even worse than that: he employed an apprentice - the boy who was subsequently murdered - to wield that weapon!"

"But that's... monstrous," Pedone breathes, the colour draining from his face. "And you're saying that this... weapon was aimed at you? Hells, woman! No wonder you were so keen to help Kiki!" He frowns. "But what does this mean for us? Do we still need to confront Stockfish? Or do you have enough evidence now to convince other people that he's a sorcerer?"

Amelyn shakes her head. "We still don't have any concrete evidence or substantial witnesses. Kiki and I can testify about our demon encounters, but I can't prove that Stockfish was responsible for the carrion demon and Kiki... well, her story may be dismissed as fantasy. However, as I suggested yesterday, if Stockfish were to acknowledge his complicity in front of a more credible witness..."

"I hope you don't mean me!" Pedone comments.

Amelyn smiles. "No, Father. I was thinking of someone whose opinion is a little better respected than yours. But what I was..."

"Ha!" interrupts Pedone. "'Better respected'. That's a good one. But listen - I still don't see how you expect us to extract a confession from Stockfish," he continues, ignoring the adept's icy glare. "Surely we'd be better off trying to get hold of some... some... what did you call it - 'concrete evidence'? If Stockfish really did raise a carrion demon, then he must have left a trail a mile wide..."

Amelyn and Pedone argue about her proposed strategy for some time. Kiki watches, fascinated, as the woman's exquisite features are distorted by a series of raw emotions. She can understand irritation, perhaps even anger, but there's the occasional flash of something else: fear.

In the end, the old liturgist grudgingly concurs with Amelyn's analysis. As Pedone himself had noted, Stockfish has apparently managed to conceal his sorcerous activities from his fellow adepts for years, which suggests that he is either very good at keeping secrets or that some - maybe even all - of his brethren have been persuaded to overlook these activities. Either way, the prospects of obtaining some hard evidence without attracting his attention seem slim.

Amelyn seems to have taken inspiration from Pedone's argument, however.

"It occurs to me that we don't actually need the hard evidence," she muses.

"Eh? What does that mean?"

"Well," Amelyn continues. "If our objective is simply to get Stockfish to confirm his use of demons in front of a concealed witness, then we don't actually need to have any hard evidence, provided that he believes we do have it. And who better to convince him than a demonologist?"

"Former demonologist," Pedone growls, but it's obvious that he can see the potential of what she is suggesting. "Very well," he says at last. "I'm almost certainly going to regret this, but... I'm with you. If Kiki is still willing to go along with this scheme, then I'll play my part too. But I want to choose the venue - and I want to know the name of this 'witness' of yours."

Amelyn's face darkens briefly with anger, but she clenches her teeth and nods once.

"Agreed. I need to talk to my witness first, but I'm confident that he will jump at the chance. Name your venue, Pedone and I'll make the arrangements."

"Not so fast," the liturgist counters. "I want a private word with Kiki first, to make sure that she knows what she's getting herself into. Give us ten minutes."

Amelyn glares at him, but leaves the room without a word. Pedone turns to Kiki.

"Right," he whispers. "I'm not really going to ask you all over again - that was just a ruse to get our hostess out of here." He produces a scrap of paper and a pencil. "If you still want to send a message to your friend, you'd better write it now. And if you have any idea where this meeting could take place, I'm all ears."

I don't know the city all that well as I was not born here. But there is a grave yard that might be suitable for our proposes. Plenty of cover and I know an "odd" escape rout from it if needs must.

When Kiki describes the graveyard that she has in mind and the tomb where she proposes to meet, the father nods.

"Yes, I know the place," he says. "I'm curious about this escape route of yours, but we can talk about that later."

Then Kiki scribbles out a note, illuminated with a drawing of a unicorn at the side to give some credence of who it is from.

Dear Eren,

Despite what you may have heard, I am still with the living. Sorry to worry you but now I have just about recovered from my attempt to flee Stockfish's demons."

She sketches one of the demons in question.

Your fears about him were correct - he deals with demons. And he cut the horn from the Unicorn he set me to find. You have no idea how that makes me feel. Or I hope you don't it's not nice. Anyway, I intend to face him and flush his activities out into the open. It will be dangerous, so please consider very carefully before you think about getting involved as well. Either way I wish you well. The man who carries this note will know where to take any reply.

Kiki

"Please see that this gets delivered, father."

Pedone reads the note with evident misgivings. "We're taking a huge risk by writing all of this information down," he warns her. "If it fell into the wrong hands the consequences could be disastrous. But I guess we'll just have to trust the fellow that I'm asking to deliver this..."

This comment sends a chill down Kiki's spine as she remembers her mother's words about trust, and the unicorn's starker echo of her warning: "Trust no-one unless true friends." But Pedone is already leaving concealing the note and leaving the room and, well, Eren really is a true friend, isn't she?

Amelyn is waiting for them. "Well?" she demands. "Are we all set?"

The liturgist nods. "We are. Our proposed venue is the North Street boneyard in Newmarket, beside the tomb with the boar statue. And I'd rather not meet at night, if it's all the same to you."

"I was thinking of tomorrow at dawn," the adept replies. "My idiot brother will be fighting his duel at the same time - this will ensure that I'm not tempted to interfere."

Amelyn takes a deep breath and gives a quick nod of her head. "Right, then. I have a great deal to arrange and precious little time in which to accomplish it." She turns to Kiki, her gaze surprisingly gentle. "I suggest that you get some more rest, child. With luck, you'll be able to put this dreadful business behind you after tomorrow."

Then she turns to Pedone. "The witness that I have in mind is Archdeacon Varanal. I trust you have no objections?"

The father looks slightly taken aback. "None," he says quickly.

"Good. Then let us hope that he agrees to take part in this scheme of ours. I'll know by this evening. Now... Alaisdair?" she calls, turning away from Kiki and Pedone. Her majordomo appears obediently. "Ah, there you are. I shall be out for the remainder of the day. Please ensure that our guests are afforded every comfort. Until this evening," she concludes, and then she is gone.

~oOo~

After their conversation with the headmaster, Jayron had bid Eren goodnight, but asked Exalian to accompany him back to his office.

"Pavel will be waiting," the adept told his apprentice. "So I'll make this brief. I have been reluctant to tell you any more about the nature of my... project until I was sure that I could trust you, but now that you and your friends have stumbled upon the basement, I have little choice. I know that Eren, at least, has been into the room where I've been working. I don't know how much she's told you, but I hope you'll hear my explanation before you leap to any conclusions."

Exalian nods, but says nothing. Eren had told him what she and Kiki had found in that work room: a portal inscription featuring some very dubious runes and symbols. This confirms his own suspicions that his master has been dabbling in underworld magic, as he'd seen a book on Jayron's desk with one of the standard ideograms for Hell inscribed on its spine.

"However," Jayron continues. "This is neither the time nor the place to discuss such things. That's why I want you to return to the room where I just found you, after lights-out tomorrow night. You'll need to keep your wits about you, though - the headmaster is serious about this curfew and has various people patrolling the grounds at night. But you're a resourceful boy..." he adds with a grin. "Say, did you ever find that book I mentioned to you? You did? Excellent. Now..."

By this time they had reached the door to his office.

"Now, I need to escort young Pavel back to the Naval College, and you need to go and get some rest. Until tomorrow night, young man. And not a word of this to your friends..."

At breakfast the following morning, everyone seemed to be talking about the murdered student, but Exalian is lost in his own thoughts, planning what he needs to do to keep his appointment with Jayron that evening...

~oOo~

After his adventures in the basement of the Imperial College, Jayron had escorted Pavel back to the Naval College and concocted a plausible cover story to explain his absence. The tale that the adept had spun - that he Pavel been consorting with various other students in an effort to learn some forbidden cantrips - actually has a grain of truth in it: although Pavel hadn't actually helped Exalian to decypher the Homework Club book, the other apprentice had told him all about it while they were trying to decypher the Praxis pedestal. Pavel wondered how Jayron had come so close to the truth...

He'd been a little vexed with the adept's insistence on sharing this pretext with the Principal, as he was already in trouble after his performance at the Disputation, but it seemed better than trying to explain what was really going on and in the event the Principal seemed more relieved to have his missing student back safe and sound, having feared the worst after hearing about the murdered Imperial apprentice. Besides, Pavel has more important things to worry about, such as the whereabouts of his sponsor, Carrick, and the very real possibility that he too could be under threat of abduction.

When he had mentioned this to Jayron, the adept's advice had been simple: concentrate on your studies, stay within the Naval College grounds and leave it up to him to find out what happened to Carrick. Not a very appealing prospect...

Pavel cannot keep his meeting with the strange vagabond out of his mind. He is also unable to stop thinking about Meredith. When he walks into the Academy library and sees the girl sat poring over a dusty old tome, it is almost pure instinct that makes him walk over and sit at the same table, grabbing a random book of his own to place on the table.

He decidedly does not look at the girl, though. Instead, he takes out a rolled up parchment from within his robe and unravels it, placing it within the leaves of the book. Salazari's wave drawing. He stares at it intensely, at first, as if hoping to find some meaning, but soon his mind wanders and his eyes lose their focus.

"Pavel!" whispers Meredith urgently, after a few minutes. "Where have you been? Master Carrick told me that I had to talk to you before noon yesterday, but then you weren't here and I didn't know what to do! And he said it was really, really really important... Otherwise you might think that he had been... had been... you know..." she looks around fearfully, then mouths the word 'abducted'.

"Anyway," she continues, frowning as she tries to remember what Carrick had told her. "He said to tell you there's been a development and he's had to leave the city for a while. And... to remember what he said about trusting no-one. Oh, and not to use the envelope that he gave you unless there's immediate danger - otherwise it may make things worse."

She looks up at him with a troubled expression, biting her lip. "Does that all make sense? Oh, I do hope I remembered it right! What's going on, Pavel? Did you hear about that boy who was m... m... murdered? I'm really scared..."

Well," says Pavel, ignoring the girl's distress and deciding that he may as well stop trusting anyone right now, "I'm afraid it's a bit late for all that. Tell me," he opens the book to where the stolen image lies. "What do you make of this?"

Frowning, the girl looks at the wave picture.

"Oh, I don't know," she says crossly. "What does this have to do with anything?" Then, looking at it more closely, she gasps. "Pavel! Where did you get this? It's... it's... amazing! I can almost feel the spray coming off it! I've never seen anything like this in our library before. Makes the pictures in our usual textbooks seem so... flat."

This echoes Pavel's own feelings about the image. It seems to have captured the very essence of the wave, pinning it to the page like a live specimen. His own school has nothing like this, and yet they are supposed to be masters of the element. If students at the Naval Academy had resources like this to help them with their studies, then perhaps it might revitalise the school, which has become increasingly hidebound.

Then he notices that Merry is frowning. "It seems a bit sad, though," she says. "Don't you think? It's almost like the wave is trapped in there..."

On the face of it, this seems a rather silly remark, but it has a surprising effect on Pavel. Suddenly he understands what has been bothering him about the picture. He'd already realised that the image had somehow captured some of the essence of the wave, but he hasn't really thought about what that means. If the artist was able to capture the essence of a wave simply by painting it, then what else could they capture? He shudders, remembering the man in the swamp and his missing shadow...

The only person he can think to ask about this is Salazari, but something tells him that the cartographer might not be very forthcoming when he learns that Pavel had stolen the picture from his book. However, thinking about Salazari reminds Pavel of the complex web of connections that the man had drawn, and the way the map seemed to have a life of its own. Was that like the wave picture?

Going to see Salazari suddenly seems like a good idea. Maybe if they added some more details to the map - Praxis, for example, or the link between Jayron and the hell-portal - it would be able to tell them more. And then there was Kiki - Salazari had said he might be able to locate her using his magic. Perhaps he can work out where Carrick is too. And if that all goes well, then maybe Pavel could ask him about the wave picture...

On the other hand, there's someone else that he'd really like to talk to: Uncle Bojek. The fugitive in the swamp had not only claimed to know Pavels' father, he'd also mentioned Bojek by name and implied a similar comradeship with him. Perhaps Bojek would be know more about the mysterious man. Understanding who he is might be the key to all this.

Then Pavel remembers two other things that he needs to resolve before he does anything else.

Firstly, there are the restrictions that have been imposed upon all apprentices, which mean that he and all his peers are forbidden from leaving the Academy grounds and expected to be in their own Hall after dusk. If he wants to go and see Salazari or Uncle Bojek, then he's going to have to figure out a way to get around these restrictions.

And then there's Merry. As Salazari had observed: "Anyone who comes into contact with this fugitive in the marshes, or with the message that you carried back from him, is liable to be perceived as a threat by these conspirators." Glancing at the pretty girl sat opposite him, who is still studying the wave picture with a mixture of wonder and disquiet, he cannot escape the conclusion that this group of people includes Merry. Should he warn her?

"Merry," Pavel says quietly but firmly, looking at the book as he quickly rolls the wave painting up, "I think if we just wait around, like we've been told, then we'll get into trouble." He looks up at the girl and is about to tell her what Salazari said, then that thing - that thing that makes it hard to talk to Meredith - makes him stop.

"I think," he lowers his voice to a whisper, "I think we both need to be very careful, and we should try and be together. I need to see my uncle, and...someone else. Perhaps the best thing is to see my Uncle first."

"Merry, we need to get out tonight, both of us. This thing is really important, and I need your help. There's no two ways about it. I'll get the Ropemasters to help us. We can say your father is ill, or..." Pavel goes blank as he tries to remember what her father does for a living, "or he's got a really big splinter or something," he says feebly. "No, I know, both of them, my uncle and your father, are scared for us; they want us home. That way we can act."

"I think," he concludes, "someone painted that man's shadow and stole it. I think they stole his soul or something."

The girl gulps and turns pale at this, but she seems willing to go along with whatever Pavel suggests.

"But what should we do first?" she asks. "Talk to the Principal and try to get him to let us visit our families? Or did you want to send a message to the Ropemasters before we do that?"

In the end they decide to do both, with Pavel sending a message to Bojek via one of the Academy staff and Merry appealing for leave to visit her family. Her tearful request is granted, but the Principal seems a little wary and insists that she arranges a suitable escort. "Leave that to me," Pavel tells her.

Thankfully, Uncle Bojek wastes no time in responding to Pavel's message, tipped off by the use of their private codeword for "urgent". Pavel doesn't beat around the bush: he calmly tells his uncle that he's in trouble - serious trouble - and explains how it all seems to have started, with the mysterious vagabond that he met in the marshes. Bojek doesn't recognise the fellow from his physical description, but when Pavel describes the man's tattoos, the Ropemaster's face turns pale.

"Him!" he breathes. "Hell's teeth! I thought he was dead." He runs a shaking hand nervously through his hair. Pavel is surprised: he's never see Bojek so rattled. "Are you quite sure about this, boy?"

Pavel nods, then goes on to recount everything that he can remember about the fugitive, including Carrick's revelation about the significance of the triple rope tattoo. "Is that true?" he asks. "Was my father really a galley slave?"

"Aye, lad," his uncle tells him, with a heavy sigh. "He was... But if you want to know more, you'll have to ask your old man about it yourself. I can tell you one thing though: this man was certainly telling the truth when he claimed they were comrades. Garan introduced him to me as the sort of man you could trust with your life. But they weren't exactly friends..."

He pauses for a moment, frowning at some freshly revived memory, then turns back to Pavel. "But you said that you were in trouble. What kind of trouble? And how is... this man involved?"

Feeling strangely unsettled by his uncle's obvious reluctance to name the man, Pavel relates the events since he returned from the marshes: delivering the vagabond's message, the abduction of Bastian, Eren's narrow escape, and Carrick's disappearance.

"Although it seems now that he might not have been abducted after all," he adds, remembering Merry's message from his sponsor. "But I still think we're in danger," he concludes. "Me and Merry, that is. That's why we need to get out of the Academy..."

He quickly explains about the curfew and is pleased to see Bojek nodding when he explains why he wants to break it.

"You're right, my boy," his uncle says. "No sense in being a sitting duck. But what about the girl? Will she come willingly, d'you think?"

Pavel nods. "She's already asked for leave to go and visit her family. Just needs an escort to make sure she gets there safely..."

Bojek taps the side of his nose. "Say no more," he smiles. "But what about you, though? Have you...? Ah, well then, don't worry about that. Just leave it to me. Old Harman owes me a favour..."

~oOo~

Kiki had been expecting the afternoon to pass very slowly indeed, waiting around for Amelyn to return with news. Pedone had disappeared soon after Amelyn left, presumably to find someone to deliver her note to Eren. Mindful of Amelyn's advice, Kiki had returned to the bedroom where she'd spent the previous night, intending to get some rest, but with her mind still buzzing with questions she'd found it impossible to sleep.

She had been so deeply lost in thought, in fact, that she had failed to notice that someone had entered the room until they thrust a piece of paper under her nose.

"What's this, then?" demands Amelyn's maidservant, Prudence.

As Kiki glances at the paper, her heart sinks. It is the note she'd written to Eren. She looks up at Prudence, trying to read something from her demeanour, but the young woman's face is an implacable mask.

"Well?" the maidservant prompts. "Your friend the father had procured the services of some young ne'er-do-well to take this somewhere, presumably to this Eren person, but I didn't get any details out of the fellow. So perhaps you can tell me where he was supposed to take it and why you felt the need to go behind my Lady's back in sending it."

Calm thinks Kiki don't rise to the bait and stick to logic.

"I had not realised I needed permission to send a message to a personal friend, whom I could be putting in danger by my actions. Though as your Lady needS to be careful, we best both bring it before her without delay. That way there can be no misunderstanding between us."

With that Kiki stands up ready to go. "Is that a problem?"

Prudence pauses, holding Kiki's gaze for several seconds, her face unreadable.

The she grins impishly. "Old Mother Clareta is right," she says. "You really are a feisty little lass."

Her smile vanishes abruptly. "But this is serious business, Kiki. You must know that! What would have happened if your enemies had gotten hold of this note instead of me? Merciful saints, girl! You practically spell out your supposedly secret plan to discredit Stockfish! That little snotrag that Pedone paid to carry this note to your friend might not have been able to read, but I'd wager my best bonnet he'd have showed it to someone who can before he delivered it where it was intended. And like as not that someone would have seen the coin he could make from it..."

"Why was it so important to send a message to this friend of yours, anyway?"

"I am afraid that she could be in this as deep as I am. She tried to warn me about Stockfish before I left with him. Unfortunately I did not take her seriously at the time. So she could easily be in danger and she is probably worrying about me."

Kiki stops and thinks.

"But you are right - writing a message is probably risky. Would a picture be OK? A picture paints a thousand words, as they say?

With that Kiki starts sketching a series of fast drawings.

"Would it be OK to send this" ? She asks.

Prudence nods enthusiastically.

"Brilliant! Can't see how anyone could figure out what that means. I'll make sure it gets to Eren, even if I have to deliver it myself. Just promise me that you'll stay in this room and keep out of trouble while I'm gone - the mistress would kill me if she knew I'd left you and the Father unguarded."

She pauses, as if waiting for Kiki to say something, then shrugs.

"Right, I'll be off then," she says, and leaves.

It's only after a few minutes have passed, during which Kiki has had time to digest what the maidservant had said, that the young apprentice recognises the significance of Prudence's off-hand remark about "Old Mother Clareta". That was the name of the Mother Superior at the Obscurist nunnery, which she'd visited with Pedone before coming here!

What is the connection between the maidservant and that elderly nun? And how did Prudence know that Sister Clareta thinks Kiki is a 'feisty little lass'? It's pretty obvious that Prudence and her twin sister Patience are more than just maidservants, but what exactly are they? Father Pedone had said something about a 'vow of silence'...

Kiki's train of thought is interrupted by the sound of someone calling her name. She pops her head out of the door of her room and sees Pedone coming up the stairs.

"Ah, there you are," he says, looking flustered. "Quick - come with me! We need to get out of here - fast!"

Kiki scribbles without looking at what she is doing, as is her habit. "Why Father, what is wrong? Surely we are safe in this house as anywhere in this city?"

"That's what I thought too," the liturgist tells her. "But it seems we were wrong. Come on! We're not safe here, not until Amelyn returns this evening, anyway."

"We need to go now? Just a second my bag is ready." Kiki picks up her bag and goes to Pedone. "Ready now." She takes his hand and leaves the room. Carelessly she leaves her sketch behind in her rush to leave.

They leave hastily, but manage to avoid the attention of the servants. As he leads her through the streets of Hightown, Pedone explains his sudden decision, speaking quickly and quietly as they hurry along, glancing anxiously about as he does so.

"I gave that note of yours to a fellow I thought I could trust," he tells Kiki. "And told him to deliver it to your friend. But an hour later he came skulking back with some tale about being waylaid on route by someone who knew he was carrying a message... and who took it off him! He insists he didn't tell them anything about where he was taking it, but still..."

Kiki knows exactly who intercepted the message and is about to tell Pedone, but the old liturgist hasn't finished.

"And if that wasn't bad enough," he continues. "While I was trying to get some sense out of the fellow, I spotted someone watching us! He made himself scarce as soon as he realised I'd noticed him, but let me tell you, it sent a chill down my spine!"

Kiki can feel him shuddering now.

"And that's what got me thinking," he tell her. "If that note of yours has fallen into the wrong hands and there are suspicious characters watching the house, then there's no way I'm going to wait around a moment longer! We can come back this evening, when her ladyship will hopefully have returned, but in the mean time we need to find some way to lose whoever it is that's been watching us..."

Very soon they find themselves in the bustling piazza of Summit Court. Pedone aims for the most crowded area...

~oOo~

Eren has a hard time staying awake, between the excitement of recent days, lack of sleep, and finally feeling secure. Still, she manages to scrawl two quick notes before collapsing into hopefully-not-too-odd dreams.

First, for Pavel, saying: "Danger: Do Not come into Imperial before we talk outside."

Second, for Salazari, saying: "Took a strange turn, now College is locked down. Talk with Master Atlan?"

She looks at them with some disatifaction, they leave out so much! But she is too tired to write more, and perhaps it is better not to say so much in this case. She seals the envelopes, and collapes into slumber.

She wakes up in the pre-dawn, too disturbed by her dreams to sleep easily. Could that node network she dreamed of floating through be connected to that horrible summoning portal? She doesn't know, but she doesn't want to go back to that dream.

She digs all of her meager coins from their hiding places, takes her letters, and heads off to the kitchens; Agatha will be up, baking.

Although her stomach is growling Eren insists that she is not there to mooch an early loaf. "I have a couple of messages I need to send, but you know us students aren't allowed out. Could I ask you to try and find someone to deliver them?"

She presses the letters and her coins onto the matronly servant, and gives instructions. "This one with the Lake Salfester rune on the front should be easy, it is just going to naval academy, should be easy to find a kid to deliver that, his name is on there so once it gets to the academy they should be able to get it to him."

"This other might be harder, though. It is for a master who doesn't room at any of the schools, Salzari. He talked to me after the disputation, asked me to do some research for him, and I can't get out to deliver the results right now. I don't want him to think I quit on him, I could sure use his payment! So I want to let him know why I haven't come." Information is payment, Eren justifies to herself, and he did talk to her after the disputation just not right after.

Eren braces herself, then plunges from from edited truth to outright lies. "The problem is we were supposed to meet in the courtyard of one of the temples, and I don't know exactly where he lives, just the district we were supposed to meet in. I was hoping that in the markets someone would know who buys his food or does his laundry, and they could pass it along. If it takes a couple of days to get to him that would be fine, still better than sending no word I hope. Never know with their Nobs how they'll be about work that is late."

Agatha is reluctant at first, but she has a soft spot for Eren and is obviously pleased when she sees the coins that the young apprentice offers for her help.

"I can't make no promises," she says, counting the coins carefully. "But I'll do my best. Now, which school does this Master Salazari come from? I'm sure I never 'eard is name 'ere at Imperial..."

"Oh, sorry - he's from Kiki's... I mean, he's an Iconographer. But like I said, he doesn't have rooms at the school."

"Oh, I know that, dearie," the servant tells her. "But I 'ave a cousin who works at Sacred Image - maybe she'll know 'ow to get a message to this master of yours."

It's a slim hope, but better than Eren was expecting. She showers Agatha with thanks, then rushes off to breakfast.

~~

The next couple of days pass slowly and Eren finds it hard to concentrate on her lessons. Her spirits are briefly lifted when she visits her sponsor, Adept Hermeclus, and receives the defensive talisman that he has prepared for her, but they take a serious knock the next day when she asks Agatha about the notes that she gave her to deliver.

"I sent my youngest to the Naval Academy with your note," the servant tells her. "But they told 'im this Pavel wasn't there - he's off visiting family, my Tomi said. But they said they'df give 'im your note when 'e comes back."

"As for the other note," she continues. "I asked my cousin about this Salazari - did you know 'e's famous for making maps or somesuch thing? Anyway, she wa'n't sure 'ow to get a message to 'im, but said she'd ask one of the fellows. Might take a while, but you said it wa'n't urgent, di'n't you?"

Feeling disappointed, Eren thanks her for her help, but privately worries about what might have happened to Pavel and wonders whether her note will ever reach Salazari.

Then, on Fireday afternoon, she is suprised to hear that she has a visitor with a message for her. Rushing down to the porter's lodge by the main gate, she can barely contain her excitement wondering whether it is a reply from Pavel or Salazari. It turns out to be neither.

The visitor is a serving maid, who is standing outside the gate chatting to the day-porter. She smiles when she sees the young apprentice approaching.

"You must be Eren," she says. "I have a note here from a friend of yours. She asked me to wait for your reply."

Numbly receiving the note, Eren opens it and gasps. Kiki's drawings are unmistakeable, but it takes her a while to understand their import. She looks up at the messenger, confused and begins to ask "But why did she...?"

"It's a puzzle," the young woman explains brightly. "She didn't want to let anyone in on the secret," she adds with a grin. "Afraid that you-know-who might find out, you see..."

For all her cheery manner, Eren can sense that there is a serious message in the woman's words. She looks at the drawings again. There's a fat fish holding a bag, out of which is emerging somethimng improbably large. Of course! That must mean Stockfish! But what about the smiling demon behind him? And the unicorn with a broken horn? Presumably the girl with the bandaged head is Kiki - does that mean she's been injured? Ah, but she's smiling, so she must be alright.

Eren looks up at the serving maid. "You said you could take a reply?" she asks.

The woman nods. "Yes, that's right. She wanted to ask if you're still able to help, even though there's a danger of you-know-who finding out." She places a subtle, but discernible stress on the word 'danger', but accompanies the words with a wink.

The day-porter has been listening with amusement. "You apprentices and your schemes," he chuckles. "Never a dull moment, eh?"

Eren thinks for a minute, then says ""It is not easy to get permission to leave the college right now; do let her know that a student recently turned up dead and security is high. I'll try to get out for the discussion of ` macrostructures,' so she could leave word for me there if she can't come to the college."

After leaving the portal, Eren realizes that she is going to have to take her chance and leave the college. She can't just sit here, not knowing what is going on, not doing anything. It is nice to feel safer, but if she was any good at making the safe choice she'd still be with her family's troupe.

She does a circuit around the exits that she knows of in the college, seeing if it looks feasible to slip out any of them. For good measure she stops by the kitchen's to see if Agatha is there yet, and whether she's heard anything.

There is side exit beside the masters' stables, but that is normally kept locked, as is the back gate. The front gate is currently kept locked as well, and is watched day and night by the porters. There is another possibility: the delivery entrance, where food for the kitchens is delivered. Eren know that the college servants also use this entrance, so it is a theoretical possibility that she could do the same. Perhaps she should ask Agatha...

"Nothing yet, dearie," the kitchen maid tells her when she asks if there's been any word from Salazari. "But I'm going to see my cousin tomorrow, so I'll ask her if she's heard anything about Master Salazari. Was there something else?" she adds, seeing Eren hesitate as she turns to leave.

Agatha looks worried when Eren asks about the delivery entrance.

"You're not thinking of sneaking out of College, are you?" she whispers. "Wouldn't you be frightened, what with that poor boy being murdered and all? Well, I dare say you could get out that way, if you were dressed different - like a servant, that is. But I might get in trouble if someone found out I 'elped you..."

Eren tells her not to worry about it, but privately decides that this is one option that she could definitely consider.

But her thoughts keep turning to the one door they never opened in the underground tunnel, the one that she thinks was pointed out of the college grounds... could it be a hidden exit? What danger would she be under from the wards on it? Could she even get back down there without getting caught?

The curfew is still being enforced, so she could be in trouble if she tried to visit the basement after dark, but during the day and early evening there are no restrictions on apprentices' movements within the college grounds. But could she sneak in there without being noticed at that time? And would Master Jayron find out if she went down there again? He had made them all promise not to go there without him.

Eren sits and has a hard think about it, and concludes that her best bet is the servants entrance. It will take some planning and probably Agatha's help or at least acquiescence. The kitchens will be too busy now, and later when it is quieter Agatha will be gone, and the streets probably dangerous. The logical time to do it would be in the pre-dawn, when Agatha and some others come in to bake bread and generally get things started. The brightening sky should give her enough light to travel the still fairly quiet streets on the way to Salzari's. As for the graveyard... well it should be dawn by the time she gets there, and if not she could wait near the edge, she's rather not go through it on her own without a hint of sun in the sky.

~oOo~

Principal Harman had been happy to accept Bojek's offer to act as escort for Merry and didn't object when the Ropemaster announced that he was taking Pavel away from his classes for a couple of days.

"I only hope that you can instil some sort discipline in your nephew," the master had commented. "A duty, I might add, that his sponsor seems disappointingly reluctant to perform."

Later that afternoon, Pavel and Merry follow Bojek through the gates of the Academy, drawing curious glances from some of their peers.

"You're going to have to tell me about this vagabond, you know uncle." Pavel looks straight ahead as they walk, "I think things are at the point where there's no point in hiding things from me. Or from Merry, for that matter. After all, it seems our lives are at risk."

Bojek says nothing at first, but after walking along in silence for a few minutes, he sighs heavily.

"You're right, lad," he admits. "But let me get you two somewhere safe first. I'm going to need a drink before I tell this tale..."

Bojek leads the two apprentices through the bustling city streets to Portside. As they pass through Rivergate, Pavel notices that Merry is looking pale and tense; it takes him a couple of moments to realise that she is terrified.

His uncle's house smells like home. Pavel helps himself to some bread and cheese while Bojek pours himself a large brandy and seats himself at the kitchen table. Merry rather nervously joins him.

"So," Bojek begins. "Let me tell you what I know about this... what did you call him? Ah, yes: vagabond. I knew him as Ugo, an ex-soldier that your father met on the galleys, but we later learnt that this name - and quite probably most of the other things he'd told us about himself - were false. But I'll come to that later..."

"This 'Ugo' claimed that he'd been sentenced to the galleys for killing a man in a brawl, then - like your father - he'd been pardoned for 'services to the City' after the Blockade Wars. Garan persuaded me that he'd be a fine addition to the Ropemasters - and he was right. He was the sort of man you could trust. Not the most friendly of characters, granted, but dependable - loyal even. And definitely the sort of cove you'd like to have at your back in a fight, rather than on the opposing side."

"He worked with us for the best part of a year and I had no complaints. But then..." Bojek sighs and falls silent for a few moments. "Then we had a... special commission," he says, placing an emphasis on the last two words. "A highly unusual one."

Pavel knows this phrase: it's how the Ropemasters refer to those occasions when they are paid to 'look the other way' while something dubious takes place. It's not something they do very often, because it would tend to undermine their reputation. But in a city like Syran, with all of its competing factions and special interests, there are times when it is impolitic to refuse such a commission, when the consequences of turning it down would be far worse than having an irate merchant demanding to know what happened to his precious cargo.

"Anyway," his uncle continues. "Ugo was on duty and he had no problem when I explained about the... commission. Your pa was in on it too, and glad of the extra coin. But when the time came, Ugo cocked everything up. Worse than that: he dug us so deep into the shit... Oh, beggin' your pardon miss," he says hastily, drawing a smile from Merry. "I mean, he made such a mess of trouble for the Ropemasters that we're still hurting from it now, nigh on a decade later. And he dragged your father into it too, up to his neck."

"Now, I honestly don't know all the details - Garan always said I was better off not knowing. But the simple fact of the matter was that they - Garan and Ugo, that is - took off with the very thing that they were supposed to be guarding - or rather, not guarding, if you catch my drift. Took the blessed boat - and its cargo - and headed off into the night. "

Bojek pauses to take a gulp of brandy. "Your father came back with the boat a week later, but there was no sign of the cargo, and no sign of Ugo. Garan took the blame, even though he insisted that it was really Ugo's doing. Said he could have stopped the man if he'd wanted to, but he owed him a blood debt and now the debt was paid."

He shakes his head, remembering. "I asked him where Ugo had gone and what they did with the cargo. He said something that has stayed with me ever since. 'There is no Ugo, nor ever was,' he told me. 'That man played us false, all of us. But now he's dead, or as good as. And the cargo is lost. Better it stays that way.' And that was all he would say."

"I don't mind telling you I was furious with him. What was I supposed to tell the... well, the ones who'd given us the special commission. They weren't - aren't - the sort of people you want to cross, not if you value your life. So what could I tell them? Garan just said: 'Leave them to me'. And I did. I don't know what he told them, but it must have worked, 'cause we both lived to tell the tale. But it cost the Ropemasters dear..."

Bojek sighs, staring at the table. "It cost your father still more, though - a debt he's still paying off today. And I'm not just talking about the work he was obliged to do for them, or the sacrifices that entailed. Whatever happened with Ugo, it kindled a cold fire inside him, the kind that'll hollow a man out."

Another gulp of brandy. "I've asked him about it, of course - many times. But he's made it clear that he doesn't want to talk about it. The only time he has referred to it, he's been blind drunk, and it's never made much sense. He raves about 'the other city' and 'dancing ghosts'."

He looks up at Pavel. "But I tell you this, lad. If your father finds out that Ugo - or whoever he really is - is still alive, then I wouldn't want to be in that man's shoes."

Pavel takes all this in with litle emotion. After all, his father never showed him much and they are discussing his father, albeit tangentially. "What was this object?" the boy asks in a matter-of-fact fashion, "And who were the clients?"

Bojek shakes his head.

"I've no idea what the cargo was, lad," he tells his nephew. "I never saw it. Might have been a single object or a stack of crates, for all I know. Garan never told me and I don't think anyone else saw it. Couldn't have been huge, mind - the boat was little more than a skiff."

"As for the 'clients'," he continues. "Well, the fellow who owned the vessel was a foreign salt [1] called Maillard. He must have been friendly with the river coiners [2], 'cause they sponsored his claim against us in the Guild Court - curse them! Cost us a pretty penny in reparation and lost us a lot of custom into the bargain..."

He looks at Pavel, trying to interpret the boy's blank expression.

"Ah, but did you mean our other 'clients'? The ones responsible for the special commission?" Bojek looks very uncomfortable. "That's a perilous question, but I can see why you'd want to know. At the time, I didn't think much of the commission - everyone knows the Houses have their fingers in a lot of pies. But I hadn't had any dealings with this one before, and didn't know how much influence they had until later...

He shakes his head, looking pale.

"They blamed the Ropemasters for the mess that happened with Ugo, and made it clear that we owed them a big debt - and demanded it in service rather than coin. When we tried to welch on it, they exacted a penalty in blood. We're still beholden to them, even now, although it's been a long time since they asked for payment. It's much worse for Garan, though - they practically own him..."

"I tell you, boy, you don't want these people as your enemies. I know you are already in trouble, so it may already be too late, but if you take my advice, then you'll avoid having anything to do with House Heligan."

~oOo~

Naturally, Pavel ignored his uncle's advice.

Bojek had refused to help at first, but when it became obvious that his nephew couldn't be dissuaded, he had told Pavel what he knew about House Heligan.

One of the original twelve noble houses - the so-called Old Houses - of the city, Heligan has never played a prominent role in Syran's history, but it always seems to be mentioned alongside the likes of Savaran, Gavon and Adamarl in the history books. From his experiences with the House and its agents, Bojek has concluded that this apparently subsidiary role is a deliberate strategy: Heligan prefers to pursue its interests quietly, lurking in the shadows and leaving the other Houses to fight over the more conspicuous trappings of power.

The present Lord Heligan is an examplar of his House: rarely seen in public and little known, even amongst the Syran's elite, but instrumental in the recent elevation of the Council of Noble Houses, which has been the de facto ruler of the city since its 'declaration of independence' from neighbouring Tortun. A widower, he has a number of children, but no obvious successor. Their family home - a large, but unostentatious mansion in Hightown - almost never plays host to the social gatherings that are the stock and trade of the other Houses.

But the Heligans often receive a different sort of visitor. Pavel's father has often visited the place and Bojek himself has been on a couple of occasions. Most of the affluent noble houses receive a constant stream of tradesmen, messengers and servants, so this sort of traffic tends to go unnoticed in Hightown. In Heligan's case, however, this activity is not associated with the endless stream of balls, luncheons and dinner parties that occupy the other Houses. Rather, the frequent visitors to their tradesman's entrance are, according to Bojek, predominantly occupied in the altogether more shadowy business of intelligence-gathering.

"I want to go there," Pavel had announced suddenly.

So it is that Pavel findshimself staking out the ancestral home of the Heligans, wearing the garb of a domestic servant instead of his normal apprentice robes. It had taken Bojek a day to obtain Pavel's disguise and a plausible errand to ease his passage into and around Hightown. He spends the best part of the following day walking back and forth past the house, following a variety of routes and doing his best to watch the place without broadcasting his interest.

Bojek's advice had been simple: "If you keep moving and look like you have somewhere to go, then you'll be as good as invisible. Try to hide or linger too long and you'll be in trouble."

Pavel finds this surprisingly easy. He isn't really sure what he's looking for, but is certain he'll know it when he sees it. Even so, his conviction is starting to wane by evening and he is just about ready to give up when he notices two more visitors arriving at the house, unusually using the front entrance.

At first glance, they are nothing special: an older man leading a horse, accompanied by a young boy who is presumably his servant. But the man has the look of a priest - not a common visitor to House Heligan - and the boy... well, on closer inspection it turns out that the boy isn't a boy at all.

It's Kiki.

~oOo~

Upon further thought, Eren realizes that anyone, including Agatha, might be reluctant to help her slip out. The problem is that she is pretty distinctive amongst students, and it would be fairly hard to claim that one did not know who she was. But with her height, and her father's shoulder—and to be honest some of his girth too—she had the size more of most men than most women. One more young man going in or out, that would be easier to claim ignorance about.

Besides, in the Saint Plays women dressed up as men all the time for various dramatic and romantic reasons. Of course, it usually ended badly for them, but then again most things end badly for most people in Saint Plays, that was rather their point, so she shouldn't be deterred by that. Not that she'd ever been overly into creating costumes, but she'd seen her mother do it many times, albeit from a better selection of starting material. Still, it wasn't like she was trying to fool her own mother or anything, just seem rather more boyish.

Sometime later she didn't have a lot of bedding left, but she was bound tightly in some places and filled out in others, some carefully applied speckles of soot hopefully looked like the start of stubble, her sleeves were bound back away from her wrists, her only gloves had lost their fingers to make a workman's half gloves, her hair was hacked somewhat shorter then bound up under a cap, and the sash and ties over her robe were whitish, breaking up the black of a student's robe. She wished she had the magic to show herself her image, or even more outlandishly a mirror big enough to see oneself fully in, but she hoped it would pass well enough.

Finally she prepared her Puff of Smoke and Throw Voice spells and the note. After all of this she had time only to sleep fitfully for a few hours in a sitting position, not trusting herself to wake up in time if she lay down.

At last it was time, time to creep through the darkened hallways, one hand brushing the walls to keep her from getting totally turned around, the other clutching her staff. Fortunately she knew the route to the kitchens well, and had often slipped down not much later than this to beg the first of the baking.

The plan was clear in her mind: find Agatha and beg her to help; have Agatha spot a quiet moment and go talk to the one guard; use her Throw Voice as distraction to pull the guards attention off one way; slip just out the door, then present herself as a messenger delivering a note (addressed to Eren); leave the note with the guard and walk away innocently. The guard would be easier to handle if distracted by Agatha, and Eren's disguise more apt to hold up if Agatha acted like she knew the delivery boy, and she didn't have to somehow totally escape the guard's watch, just have him not notice she'd come from inside.

As her mother was fond of saying, however, 'The best laid plans of beasts and men stray oft awry'.

This first problem was finding Agatha. As (bad) luck would have it, the first person she bumped into was one of the other servants, who immediately started scolding her and demanding to know what this 'grubby-faced young ne'er-do-well' was doing in her kitchen.

Fortunately, Eren was able to persuade the woman to take her to Agatha, who did an admirable job of disguising her shock when she finally realised that this person claiming to be a messenger boy with an urgent message for Eren was, in fact, the apprentice herself. Agatha hurriedly took her off to a quiet corner, where Eren quickly explained her plan. Agatha was obviously unhappy to be drawn into Eren's scheme like this, but she nevertheless agreed to help.

"I can see that I'm not going to talk you out of this," the servant told her, scowling. "So I'd best make sure you don't get us both into trouble."

This proved to be another challenge. While Eren's Throw Voice trick had the desired effect on the guard, who seemed to be half-asleep anyway, he turned around before she could sneak into position outside the door and angrily demanded to know what she was doing there.

Fortunately, Agatha had been waiting around in earshot and rushed out to lend a hand. Her hasty explanation - that Eren was her half-witted nephew, who'd been sleeping in the kitchens after having a fight with his mother - eventually mollified the guard, but he gave both of them a scolding and threatened to report Agatha to the college steward if he caught her abusing her position again.

"Now get out of my sight, lad," he told Eren. "Before I give you a thrashing you'll never forget!"

With a look of sincere gratitude at Agatha, Eren bobbed her head and ran off into the dark streets.

~oOo~

Pavel had been too startled to react quickly when he saw Kiki, so he hadn't been able to do much more than watch as she entered the house with her male companion. He had long enough to confirm that the man was a stranger - not, as he'd initially feared, the Imperial Master Stockfish, with whom she'd apparently disappeared. But this chance sighting renewed his sense of purpose and made him all the more determined to watch this place like a hawk.

The next morning he sees two more unusual visitors, each escorted by a servant. The first is a dandy with a rapier by his side; the second, an adept in the robes of an Iconographer. The sight of latter gives him a strange sense of deja vu, but he still can't place the man. Neither man stays long and each departs separately and alone. Of Kiki and the other man, there is no sign.

Then, around lunchtime, the man he'd identified as a priest emerges briefly and apparently concludes some business with a messenger boy, who has been hanging around for several minutes. Although tempted to follow the messenger, Pavel hangs back and is rewarded with the sight of someone else pursuing the boy: one of the female servants from the house. He doesn't see what transpires, but the maidservant returns a few moments later, with a scrap of paper in her hand and a frown on her face.

Bemused, Pavel continues his to-and-fro routine, feeling footsore and tired. When the messenger returns and heads for the tradesman's entrance, he can't resist following. Sure enough, he has met with the man he'd seen with Kiki and they are arguing. Creeping closer, Pavel tries to eavesdrop, but then the priest-like fellow notices him.

Cursing his luck, the young apprentice hastily leaves, wondering if now is the time to end his surveillance. Before he can come to a decision, however, he sees the man emerging from the house once more, this time with Kiki in tow. They both set off at an urgent pace, glancing around nervously. More cautiously this time, Pavel follows them, but quickly loses sight of them in a crowded piazza. He is about to give up when he hears a familiar voice.

"Pavel? Is that you? What happened to your robes?"

He turns and sees Kiki, calling to him from a narow side alley.

"What in Arkat's name are you doing, Kiki?" the man accompanying her is demanding. "Wait - do you mean to tell me that you know this person?"

Later, feasting on sweet pastries in a quiet corner of a local shop, Pavel and Kiki exchange stories, while the man - who Kiki has introduced as Father Pedone - listens with growing agitation.

"By all the saints!" he breathes, when the two apprentices have finished swapping tales. "It's even worse than I feared! If this plot goes wider than Stockfish, then I can't see how we can ever be safe in this city! I have own my doubts about Amelyn, but I thought I could at least trust her to look after her own interests. And if what she told us is true, then Stockfish may have been responsible for her own demon troubles, which would certainly mean that she had an interest in exposing him."

He turns to Kiki. "But I can't make this decision for you, child," he tells her. "What do you want to do? Should we give Amelyn the benefit of the doubt and go along with her plan? Or join forces with your friend here and see if we can find another way?"

After a pause Kiki simply replies "Yes..."

"But yes to which?" asks the Father.

"Why yes to both. We should give Amelyn the benefit of the doubt and we should also see what else we can do to support our aims."

Pedone sighs deeply, but his mood seems to have improved.

"Very well," he says. "Then I suggest that we return to the house as soon as possible, Kiki - we'll need to be there when Amelyn returns. If all has been arranged as we discussed, then the meeting with Stockfish will be tomorrow at dawn. Amelyn and Varanal should be there as witnesses, but I'm not sure I trust them to make our safety their highest priority..."

He turns to Pavel. "What do you think, boy? Do you know this place in the boneyard that Kiki suggested?"

Pavel nods, remembering the other confrontation that had happened on the same spot[3], and the strange path that they had taken from there to reach Salazari's hidden tower. Perhaps the cartographer would be a dood person to talk to...

"Well, then," Pedone continues. "Can you mobilise your allies and have them close to there, at dawn? They'll have to keep their distance or be well-hidden, mind, otherwise Stockfish will smell a rat..."

"I could try to raise an ally or two," Pavel replies. "Although Kiki might have more of a chance with one of them."

They arrange for Pavel to return later that evening.

"Go to the servant's entrance and ask for Martha," Pedone tells him. "She's the cook, and a friend. I'll leave word with her about the plans for tomorrow and you can pass on word about your allies. I trust that you can read and write? Good. Fortunately, Martha cannot, so you can safely leave a note with her."

"Now go, and may the Saints grant us good fortune for the morrow. We are certainly going to need it!"

~oOo~

Pavel decides to visit Salazari first, although he's very doubtful of securing his help.

When he arrives at Salazari's tower, an unfamiliar boy - apparently only little older than Pavel himself - answers the door. The boy flatly refuses to let Pavel in, demanding to know his business with the cartographer. Salazari, having heard the sound of raised voices, eventually comes down to the door himself.

"That'll be all, Inglenook," he tells the boy sternly. "You can go back upstairs." Inglenook obeys, but not before giving Pavel a sharp look.

The adept turns back to Pavel. "My apprentice," he explains. "I'm afraid he can be a little over-protective. Now, you'll have to be quick - I was just on my way out to the theatre..."

This draws a surprised look from Pavel. He's heard of the Lantry Theatre, of course, but it's in a decidedly dodgy area of the city and has been officially condemned by the Ecumenical Council for 'moral corruption'. He had heard rumours that some of the upper classes had taken to attending the theatre in disguise, but he wouldn't have expected Salazari to be one of those people.

The cartographer is pulling a face himself. "No, no, don't ask me why - I have been asking myself the same question. A damned fool errand, that's what it is. Now what did you want? And where is Eren? I was expecting you both back on my doorstep before now."

Pavel quickly explains the events of the past few days, glossing over many of the details, but making sure to give a full account of Kiki's perilous predicament. By the time he has finished, Salazari has sat himself down on the doorstep with his head in his hands.

"Hells, boy!" he exclaims. "Why are you cursed apprentices so determined to drag me into this? Didn't I tell you that I'm no good at heroics?"

Pavel points out that they're only asking him to be a witness, but Salazari snorts at this.

"And can you think of a better way to make enemies?" he demands. "You want me to stand before the blessed Consistory Court and tell them that the eminent, respectable Master Stockfish is a cursed sorcerer? Given my reputation, they'll either laugh at the irony or damn me for my hypocrisy. No boy, I'll make a lousy witness. What you want from me is something quite different: someone to save your skins if your other allies prove false. I don't know this Lady Amelyn, so I can't tell you whether you can trust her, but you're doubtless wise to be wary of her motives."

"But what can I do?" he adds, heaving a deep sigh. "What can I do?"

He breaks off, staring into space. Pavel wonders whether he should bring out the wave picture at this point, but can't see how that would help. What else might persuade the cartographer? Before he has a chance to ponder this further, however, Salazari takes a deep breath and stands up.

"All right, then," he declares. "I'll do it. I'm undoubtably going to regret this, but if this conspiracy is as broad as it seems, than there's a good chance your enemies will connect me with you soon enough, in which case I'll be dragged into this mess whether I like it or not."

"I'm making no promises," he adds. "But tell me where and when this meeting is to take place. I'll keep my eyes and ears open, and help if I can - just don't expect me to step in and fight a horde of demons on your behalf!"

When Pavel tells him that the meeting place is one of the waypoints on the cartographer's secret path, Salazari nods and smiles.

"Well at least I won't have any trouble finding it, then. Right, now I really must go. Tell Kiki to be careful, won't you?"

Uncle Bojek's reaction is much the same, but unlike Salazari he is not willing to get involved.

"Curse it, Pavel!" he says. "Do you realise what you're asking? I already told you that the Heligans were not someone you want to cross. No, lad. If you want to take this path, you'll have to tread it on your own. I'm no match for sorcerers and I sure as hell don't want to attract the Lady Amelyn's attention. And if you take my advice, you'll stay out of it too!"

~oOo~

Bidding Pavel farewell, Kiki and Pedone return to the Heligan mansion. The rotund cook lets them in via the servants' entrance, greeting Father Pedone with a scowl.

"Errrr... why don't you go back to your room and get some rest," the liturgist tells Kiki. "I just need to have a word with Martha here..."

Kiki isn't really surprised to find Prudence waiting for her in the bedroom.

"Where have you been?" the maid demands angrily. "I thought I told you to stay put!"

When Kiki doesn't answer immediately, Prudence sighs heavily and her expression abruptly changes from angry to weary.

"Well, anyway, I delivered the message to your friend Eren. She said it would be hard to get permission to leave her college at the moment, as there's a curfew on, but she is planning to get out for a 'discussion of macrostructures', and said you could leave word for her there if you can't reach her at the college. I assume you know what she was talking about..."

Kiki nods. The only person she's heard using the word 'macrostructure' is Salazari, so Eren must be planning to visit him.

She wonders how much she should tell Prudence about where she's been and what she'd discussed with Pavel and Pedone. On the one hand, the maidservant seems to be anxious to help, and she evidently has delivered the message to Eren - the oblique reference to Salazari is confirmation of that - but does that really make her trustworthy? Kiki recalls her earlier thoughts about the maidservant. Just who is she, and how is she connected to Sister Clareta, the Mother Superior from the Obscurist convent that Pedone and Kiki had visited on their way to Syran?

When she poses this question to Prudence, the young woman blushes.

"Yes, I'm sorry - I really should have explained myself or kept my mouth shut," she admits, smiling apologetically. "It's a failing of mine. Sister Clareta contacted us - me and my sister that is - and asked us to keep an eye on you. We may be Amelyn's servants, but we also have a higher calling..."

Prudence goes on to explain that she and her twin sister are members of the Order of St Errolan, trained at the convent and belonging to a special sub-order know colloquially as The Silent Sisters. They are employed by Amelyn - who is fully aware of their affiliation and training - as combined maidservants and bodyguards, but their first loyalty is to their Order. This doesn't usually conflict with their loyalty to their employer, but it does occasionally involve tasks that go beyond their normal duties.

"Anyway, I just wanted you to know..." the maidservant begins, before she is interrupted by the sound of a door slamming downstairs. She breaks off and her eyes go wide. "The mistress is back!" she breathes. "I have to run!"

Kiki doesn't have long to ponder what Prudence had been about to tell her - Pedone knocks on her door a few minutes later. "Come on," he urges her. "Amelyn's back and she's asking for us."

When they are ushered into their host's presence, Kiki notes the deep frown that furrows Amelyn's forehead and the haunted expression in her eyes. Clearly the adept has had a difficult afternoon.

"It is arranged," she tells them shortly. "Stockfish will meet you at dawn tomorrow, in the place that you proposed. And Varanal and I will conceal ourselves nearby, to witness what he has to say."

Pedone looks pale. "You really mean to go ahead with this, then?"

"We are most certainly going ahead with it," she snaps, eyes flashing with sudden anger. "If all has gone according to plan, then Stockfish will be expecting you at this meeting, Father, and I do not intend to disappoint him."

She goes on to explain that she has used a series of intermediaries to make the arrangements, each of whom had instructions to keep the identity of Kiki's mysterious ally a secret - unless placed under duress. If Stockfish were to demand this information from them, however, they were free to tell him that the individual in question is Pedone.

"Concealing a lie can lend it the appearance of truth," Amelyn concludes. "If Stockfish has to work hard to uncover the 'truth', then he'll be more inclined to accept it as such."

"But what's to stop him from simply disposing of both of us?" Pedone demands. "Why should he talk to us, when he can simply eliminate us?"

"Thankfully, you already thought of that when you made the arrangements," Amelyn tells him, with a sardonic smile. "You told him that written details of Kiki's story and your validation of its details have been left with a trusted third party, with instructions to deliver them to the Consistory Court if you should fail to contact them."

Pedone scowls. "Thought of everything, haven't you?"

"I doubt it," Amelyn snaps. "But I think this plan has a decent chance of succeeding. But you must play your part, Father. Stockfish needs to convinced that you have enough evidence to damn him, but he must also believe that you can be bought off... otherwise he'll see that he has nothing to lose if he dispatches both of you."

"In that case," says Pedone. "I will need to know more about this carrion demon..."

Kiki listens distractedly as Amelyn tells the liturgist about the demon that she had encountered beside the river in Newmarket park, and the ill-fated apprentice who had apparently been controlling it. The boy was the one that had later been found murdered, Kiki recalls, prompting the schools in Syran to keep all of their students under curfew. Amelyn thinks Stockfish had raised the demon many days earlier and kept it hidden, then left it under the boy's control while he travelled outside the city with Kiki.

Her evidence for this is very sketchy, however - there's no obvious link between the dead apprentice and Stockfish, and nothing to prove that the adept was responsible for raising the demon. However, there was a mysterious incident in a slaughterhouse, right at the start of the year, which had been noted by many watchful eyes in Syran. Amelyn is convinced that this was when Stockfish raised the demon.

"But that means he kept it hidden for two weeks!" Pedone exclaims. "How is that possible? And where could he have hidden the cursed thing - you told me it was huge!"

"I think he hid it in the Narrows," Amelyn tells him, referring to a deep section of the city's waterways near Newmarket Park. "As to how... well, I'm no demon expert, but Stockfish must have discovered some hideously potent magic that empowered him to compel it. The talisman that I retrieved from the apprentice reeked of it. Here - see for yourself."

She produces a small object from her pocket and hands it to Father Pedone. It is a grisly figurine, carved from bone and representing some nightmarish creature. The liturgist examines it carefully and then offers it back to Amelyn with a shaking hand.

"No, you keep it," she tells him. "You may need to show it to Stockfish. Why, you look like you've seen a ghost, Father," she observes. "I take it you recognise this?"

"Not exactly," Pedone tells her. "But I have seen something very similar - once, long ago - and had hoped never to see its like again."

The liturgist briefly describes an incident from his youth, when he was still a novice. His master, a venerable and renowned master of demonology, had been called upon to help in the apprehension of a group of Boristi sorcerers, who had been terrorising the city by summoning demons. Amongst their possessions had been a terrible book, which Pedone's master had studied and then carefully and comprehensively destroyed. When Pedone asked him why he hadn't kept the book, which would surely have been a valuable addition to his library, the old demonologist told him that the book was no mere reference work: it was a grimoire, containing spells that must never be allowed to fall into the wrong hands."

"And now I fear a copy of that grimoire has done just that," Pedone concludes grimly.

~oOo~

[1] Foreign salt: A registered foreign resident of Syran, so-called because they pay the Salt Tax. This confers limited legal status - enough to e.g. buy property or bring a lawsuit, but not citizenship.

[2] River coiners: Popular name for the East Safelster Trading Association, one of Syran's three merchants guilds. So-called because it holds an effective monopoly on trade along the Doskior River.

[3] See this scene.

~oOo~

Updated: 01 October 2010 XHTML CSS