him off.
He frowned as he thought back over the previous several days. Since their argument Tayend hadn’t spoken a word. Not even when Dannyl had told him he would be leaving the next day. Not a word of farewell. He hadn’t been present when Dannyl had loaded his chests onto the carriage and rode away.
Why does he have to be like this? It’s not as if he still wants to take part in the research. Tayend had shown less and less interest in the work over the years. He was more excited by court gossip.
Dannyl had told the silent scholar that if he judged Sachaka safe enough, he’d send a message and if Tayend was still keen to join him he could seek the Elyne king’s approval. But the scholar had glared at Dannyl and left the table, his dinner unfinished.
I’ve never seen him this angry. It’s unreasonable. My research won’t progress unless I go to Sachaka. Well, I hope it will progress. I might go there and find nothing.
But he would never know that if he didn’t try.
The carriage moved through the Inner Wall out into the North Quarter. Lorkin was still staring out of the window. His expression was withdrawn and thoughtful, which made him look more like his father.
Akkarin had always been brooding about something. It turned out he had a reason to be. Who’d have guessed the man so many magicians had been in awe of had once been a slave? Certainly nobody had suspected their High Lord knew black magic, and had been venturing out into the city to kill Sachakan spies.
Were there any Sachakan spies in the city now? He smiled. Of course there were. Just not the kind Akkarin had hunted – ex-slaves sent by their Ichani masters. No, the spies here now would be the old-fashioned kind, sent or hired by the rulers of other countries to keep an eye on their neighbours. And they wouldn’t bother with the poorer districts, instead looking for useful positions with access to the court and trade.
Dannyl looked out of the window. He watched as the neat stone houses of the North Quarter passed, then the carriage trundled through the Outer Wall and entered what had once been the slums.
It has changed so much, Dannyl thought. Where a shambles of makeshift building had been now neat brick houses stood. He knew there were still areas of the slums that were dirty and dangerous, but once the Purge had stopped it had quickly become apparent that the yearly forced exodus had hampered the expansion of the city as much as it had restricted access to it by the poor.
And the poor not only had access to the city, but could join the Guild as well – if they had strong enough magical ability. The wealth that came with such a privilege had lifted more than a few families out of poverty, though the influx of entrants from poor and servant classes had caused some troubles for the Guild.
Like this recent mess in which magicians and novices of the higher classes had been found in a roet and gambling house run by smugglers, but claimed to have been given directions to the place by the “lowies.” What was most disturbing was that this house had been found hidden down an alley in the Inner Circle, which had always been thought to be free of such bad establishments. And it hadn’t been all that far from Dannyl and Tayend’s home.
But that was someone else’s concern now. As the carriage moved past the last of the houses and out onto the North Road, Dannyl nodded to himself. His and Lorkin’s future lay ahead of them, in the ancient land of Sachaka.
The Good Company was one of the largest bolhouses in the south of the city. As Cery and Gol walked in, they were buffeted by the heat of bodies, roar of voices and rich, sweet scent of bol. Men outnumbered women, both standing at tables fixed to the floor. There were no chairs. Chairs did not last long. The brawls that broke out here were famous throughout the city, though by the time the stories reached Northside they’d been embellished well beyond physical possibilities.
Making his way through the crowd, Cery took in the atmosphere and noted the clientele without looking at anyone long enough to draw attention. Near the back of the huge room were doorways. These led downstairs to the basement, where a different sort of company was for