The Cursewright's Vow

Chapter 28: The Bargain, Part 5

 Varallo drained his wineglass. "An excellent vintage, my compliments to Lord Marhollow. But there is more than simple payment on offer, Ammas. The Emperor recognizes that the service of a cursewright was invaluable to the Throne -- and offered freely, no less. Quite a suitable atonement for the treason of your fellowship all those years ago. With that in mind, the Emperor would offer to issue you a notice of Imperial consent to practice your trade."

Ammas blinked. "Is that a joke?"

"Not at all. It would, of necessity, be more limited than the notice you once enjoyed. You would not be permitted to practice within the bounds of the Anointed Realms without notifying the Throne -- or at Imperial invitation, more likely -- "

"Do you mean Imperial command?"

Varallo Thray inclined his head slightly. "If you choose to interpret it that way, I would not be the one to gainsay you."

Ammas shook his head, incapable of absorbing any of this. "Go on," he said hoarsely.

Varallo Thray poured himself another glass of wine. "You should not worry overmuch about that stricture, I should tell you. If such a thing happened you would be given ample opportunity to explain yourself. Cursewrights must attend to emergencies sometimes, after all. More importantly, your freedom to practice within other realms -- say, the Straits of Twilight -- would be blessed by the Emperor. The Argent Council would be notified of his Majesty's new leniency toward you. He would even permit you to practice for the Sultan's court, though you would be well-advised to inform me if you pursue such a thing."

Now Ammas raised his own wine to his lips, taking more a gulp than a sip. "This all sounds suspiciously generous."

"There would be certain other restrictions, of course."

"Oh, of course. And what would these be?"

"First, you may not take on new apprentices. Your current apprentice is merely a boy, and you may continue to educate him. But no others. This is not a license for you to found a new Academy Arcane, even in Munazyr. Further, it may please the Emperor at some future time for you to take on an apprentice of his choosing. I would advise you do so without complaint."

Ammas, who could only imagine what sort of scum the Emperor would see fit to train as a cursewright, nodded stiffly. "And would he understand that some hopefuls may prove beyond my ability to educate?"

"Failures happen, and I assure you if this comes to pass his Majesty will be seeking skilled cursewrights, not sorry thugs such as are too often found among the witch-finders."

"I'm sure this isn't the only restriction."

"It is not. But what we speak of next will not be set down in any official document. That does not make it any less binding. Indeed, what I tell you now is most crucial of all, if you wish to enjoy the Emperor's favor."

"Yes?"

"The Empress-Consort's death, your father's presence in the Grand Curia, the nature of Swiftfoot Carting and how it came to be -- all the Emperor offers you is contingent on your silence. The common folk and nearly all the noble houses -- your friend Denisius is an exception -- believe Swiftfoot was an independent guild of murderers who turned on the Empress-Consort when they failed to kill the Princess Carala. Let them whisper about werewolves if they like; it will only lead them to the proper conclusion that a cursewright was responsible for saving the girl's life and soul. When they hear of you practicing openly in Munazyr, they will praise the Emperor's wisdom in forgiving you. All else is mere gossip."

Ammas stared at Varallo Thray unbelieving. The sight of the Grand Chancellor enjoying a glass of wine as he offered things Ammas had not dreamed of ever hearing might as well have been a hallucination. For a time he groped with the lunacy of all this; with the apparent capriciousness of the Emperor's whims, before he could articulate the essential contradiction of this reward. "The Emperor tore apart his own realms twenty years ago on the suspicion of treason. Now -- "