The Ambassador's Mission

Suddenly he understood something that was going to cause him considerable awkwardness with the men he was with, the Sachakan king, the Guild and, not the least, Lorkin’s mother.

Suddenly he understood there was a good chance Lorkin did not want to be found.

Not long after dawn, Savara had called a halt on a high, exposed ridge. The way had grown steeper and more rugged through the night, and all of the Traitors in their group had used tiny, faint lights hovering close to the ground to illuminate the way. After posting guards and sending out scouts, she told the rest of the group to settle just beyond the crest of the ridge, out of sight, and try to sleep.

“Our pursuers are several hours behind us now,” she said. “They’ll have to stop to rest, too, and they’re not as used to moving about in such rough territory as we are. We’ll continue on after sunset.”

The rest of the Traitors wore small packs like the ones Lorkin, Tyvara and Chari had carried since leaving the cart. He now discovered what the rolled-up bundles of thick fabric were. They were unrolling them for use as a mattress. He’d assumed they were some sort of blanket. But it made sense they’d carry a mattress over a blanket: magicians could heat the air but they couldn’t make the ground any softer.

Certainly not around here, he thought as he stretched out next to Chari and Tyvara. The area was all rock and stones, with the occasional twisted tree. Hearing footsteps, he turned to see Savara approaching and quickly got up again.

“I’ve considered your proposal and consulted with the queen,” she told him. Via a blood ring, no doubt, he thought. “If you still wish to accompany us to Sanctuary she will allow it. But she will not be the one to decide if you will be permitted to leave again. That decision will be made by vote, which makes it likely you will have to stay. Many Traitors will fear you will reveal the location of the city if we let you go.”

Lorkin nodded. “I understand.”

“Take some time to think about it,” she said. “But I will need your decision before we leave tonight.”

She moved away, climbing to the top of the ridge and sitting in the shadow of a large boulder. Keeping watch

, Lorkin decided. He lay down again, despite knowing he wouldn’t be able to sleep with such a decision to make.

“Nobody would think badly of you if you went home,” a voice said nearby.

He rolled over to see Chari watching him, one arm beneath her head as a pillow.

“This other faction – the one that sent someone to kill me – will they try it again if I go to Sanctuary?” he asked.

“No,” she answered without hesitation. “One of our queens decided long ago that there can be no such thing as assassination in Sanctuary. I think a few of our people decided that if it was a good political tool outside of Sanctuary it would be so inside it too. In Sanctuary, murder is murder, except when it’s execution, which is the punishment for murder.”

Lorkin nodded. Which is what Tyvara is facing.

“Is there any chance a Traitor will want to read my mind?”

“They’ll all want to get a look inside that head of yours. But they aren’t allowed to unless you agree to it. Forcibly reading someone’s mind is also a serious crime. It would make us too much like the Ashaki.”

“So if I refuse … surely they will want to check if I’ve got good intentions before letting me into the city.”

“They’d love to. But laws are laws. Some of them are a little crazy. Like how the queen can decide if an outsider is allowed into the city, but not if they can leave again.”

“If I can’t leave, what will be expected of me then?”

“To follow our laws, of course.” She shrugged. “Which includes contributing to the work of the city. You can’t expect to be fed and have a bed to sleep on if you don’t help out in some way.”

“Sounds fair.”

Chari smiled. “Any more questions?”

“No.” Lorkin rolled onto his back. “Not yet, anyway.”

He’d done a lot of thinking since they’d joined Speaker Savara and her companions and learned that he might not be able to leave Sanctuary. In that time he’d listed reasons why he should and shouldn’t go there. The list of reasons not to was short:

I came to Sachaka to assist Dannyl, not go off on adventures of my own – even if those adventures might lead to a beneficial alliance for the Guild.

He didn’t have the authority to negotiate an alliance. But he only needed to get the Traitors to the point of wanting to negotiate and then arrange for a Guild magician with the authority to meet them. Like Dannyl.

Mother will not like it.