Death's Sword Book 1: Finding and Seeking

Chapter 21, part 3: more Day 28

Susoo closed the door behind her, put one hand on her chest and heaved a huge sigh. The packs from her dorvei were on top of a large wooden chest in one corner of the room. How had they known? she thought, then dismissed it as trivial. Her robes of rank were in one pack, that was enough. She realised she could hear water splashing, the sound emerging from an archway across the room.

She looked in and found a small room where a torrent of water poured out of a pipe at the top of the wall, gathered in a small pool and then drained out in one corner. Susoo put her hand in the water, expecting it to be mountain-cold. Her hand jerked back in reaction; the water was hot! Hot! In an instant, she was stripping off her filthy robes, dropping them into the pool and stepping under the down-pour. Bliss, sheer bliss!

Once he was alone in the small room assigned to him, Kleymin stripped off his travel-worn garments and washed himself thoroughly. He delighted in the feel of the steaming hot water from a bowl that had been waiting for him. There was a warm, soft towel to dry himself, then a clean white robe, only slightly too large for him. The boy moved to leave the room, hesitated, adjusted his sash, then slid Namarth through it. Even though he had other weapons concealed about him, he was strangely reluctant to leave the sword hanging on the weapon-rack that took up half of one wall in his room. Drawing a deep breath, he pulled the door open and marched down to the refectory.

Swift though Kleymin had been, Tzumak and Burrowwold had been swifter. The gnome, still wearing his travelling clothes, grinned at the boy from over a tankard and waved a chunk of meat at him. Tzumak had changed into the formal robes of a Judge-Mage and was talking with what Kleymin presumed was their host; both sat cross-legged on mats near the fire, "So many books, master, so far from safety! You have a magnificent library of magic, perhaps the finest in private hands; it would be a tragedy if it were to be destroyed. A calamity if it fell into the hands of the tuigrahan." The judge-mage's voice was low and very earnest, his expression worried. The wu-jen seemed amused by his concern, "As each new scroll comes in, my scribes copy it. Periodically, the copies are transferred somewhere safe. To lose this library would be an inconvenience, no more. And no tuigrahan or Death Mage will ever profit from my books, I can assure you."

The wu-jen looked up, saw Kleymin standing in the archway. "Come in, come in, boy," Westizal called. His voice was kindly and touched with humour. Kleymin decided that he liked this wu-jen, so different from the other magic-workers he had encountered. A part of him whispered warnings deep inside his being but he decided that they could be ignored – for now, at least.

The boy did as he was bid, and helped himself to a bowl of fish soup, recoiling slightly from the large roast haunch that lay oozing juices on a bronze platter. He was still wary of the northern habit of eating animals. Burrowwold whispered across the table at him, "It's good soup, lad. Try the meat, too; you'll like it. Mmmm! This is far more like it."

Kleymin started to eat, aware of Westizal's eyes resting on him. After he had started on his third bowl of soup, the boy heard someone else entering the room, recognised the sounds of Susoo.

The Grand Inquisitor walked directly to the two mages, causing them to break off their conversation. She, too, had shunned the robes put out for the visitors and was wearing the elaborate kimono of a Grand Inquisitor, deep red nearsilk over a scarlet under-robe, Inquisition mon of rank and position picked out in gold and silver thread. Her hair, freshly washed, was plaited and pinned up with a comb and sharp slivers of blackwood. Kleymin thought she must look as regal as anyone at the Emperor's court.

"I thank you for your hospitality, lord wu-jen," Susoo started, crisply, "Now perhaps we can discuss our problems." She fixed Westizal with her gaze. The wu-jen's dazzling smile flashed briefly, "Short and to the point. I begin to see why you became an Inquisitor, my lady." Susoo gave him a glacial smile in return. Tzumak rose to his feet, bowed to Susoo and made his way to the table, where he helped himself to a bowl of kjava and bean-curds.