The Byzantine Wager

Chapter 24 - Friends in the Forecourt

Chapter 24

Friends in the Forecourt

When the priest returned, it was to tell them that the Patriarch was out of the city, visiting a monastery across the Golden Horn at present. He was expected back late that evening or possibly on the morrow. Pons impressed upon the priest their desire to see his Holiness as soon as possible and received a promise that a church official would stop by the Golden Eel that evening to confirm their audience.

As they made their way towards the exit, the choir on the left side of the church began to practice under the direction of their cantor. A somber harmonious chanting rose. "Pretty," Pons commented, "Perhaps we should hire a choir for Rainier's funeral. His mother would want that." Past the atrium which shaded the west entrance of the basilica they returned to the public square of the Augustaion with the Golden Milestone and the tall column bearing the equestrian statue of the Emperor Justinian (although some said Constantine).

"Where to next?" Cyn asked, shielding his eyes as they readjusted to the bright morning light. It wanted perhaps an hour of noon by his reckoning.

"I would like to have a good wash and scrub off the road before we see the races. I am trying to remember where the nearest baths might be." The Baths of Zeuxippus which stood to their left were of no use. It had been a hundred years or more since water had flowed into that building. Beyond ancient - it predated Christianity, having been named for Zeus, the old king of the pagan gods. These days one end of the building was a storehouse for the nearby Imperial Palace while the other end had been turned into cells where noble prisoners were sometimes held. Still everyone referred to the building as "the Baths." Pons pondered his options. Across from the Melion the street stretched past the entrance to the Hippodrome to the palace gate. He began walking.

"I have an idea. Suppose we walk up to the front door and say, 'Bon Dias. May we visit with the Caesar Ioanes. I am an old friend, and have known him since he was a baby. Used to be his master-at-arms. Taught him everything he knows.'"

"Caesar Ioanes is dead. Our Marius saw his body."

"Si. Then why no message to his family. Is that not what one does? Someone dies, you send a message to their kin, do you not?"

"They have not. Our Marius came across the body by chance."

"Why so quiet then? Somebody is hiding it. Pretending it never happened. I think I know who, but I would like to hear with my own ears."

"Yet if we announce ourselves at the gate will not your somebody know we are here sniffing around and asking questions?"

"They would find out about us eventually. It is a small town."

"'Small town,'" Cyn snorted. "Didn't you tell me this morning that this is the greatest city in the world?"

"Si."

The Great Palace was not where the emperor lived - that was the newer and more sumptuous Blachernae Palace in the city's north west, however the Great Palace was where the business of empire was truly conducted. Here was where the lowly waited to present their petitions. Where the high born, easily recognized by their voluminous robes, long beards, and the tall awkward miters on their heads, angled for political appointments. Where the eunuch bureaucrats took bribes and awarded contracts. The courtiers passing in and out of the gate were overseen by a guard detail of Verangians. It was Cyn's first glimpse of these elite guards, and he was impressed. He considered the size of the tall, powerfully built men charged with protecting the palaces and the person of the emperor. He had seen larger and stronger men, but not many. A plumed helm indicated the officer, a giant with an enormous double-headed pole-axe resting on his shoulder. He looked like he would be the equal of either Lord Conrad or Lord Boniface in a contest, and Lord William's sons were superbly trained, formidable men. With his rusty beard, the officer even resembled Lord Conrad.