The Ambassador's Mission

Yet her strikes were growing weaker and weaker. Sonea felt an unexpected pity as the woman threw all her strength at the barrier until her attack finally faltered. The rogue’s shoulders drooped. She looked haggard and resigned.

Letting go of her fellow magicians’ hands, Sonea glanced at them.

“Thank you.”

The Alchemist shrugged, and the Healer murmured something like “of course.” Sonea turned her attention back to the rogue. She closed the distance between them, taking slow measured strides. The Alchemist and Healer paced beside her, staying within her shield. The rogue regarded Sonea sullenly as she stopped before her.

“What is your name?” Sonea asked.

The woman did not answer.

“Do you know the law regarding magicians in the Allied Lands? The law that states that all magicians must be a member of the Magicians’ Guild?”

“I know it,” the woman replied.

“Yet here you are, a magician who is not a member of the Guild. Why is that?”

The woman laughed. “I don’t need your Guild. I learned magic long before I came to this land. Why should I bow to you?”

Sonea smiled. “Why indeed?”

The woman glowered.

“So,” Sonea continued. “How long have you lived within the Allied Lands?”

“Too long.” The woman spat on the ground.

“If you don’t like it, why do you stay?”

The woman stared balefully at Sonea.

“What is the name of your homeland?”

The rogue’s lips pressed together stubbornly.

“Well, then.” Sonea brought the barrier around the woman in closer. “Whether you like it or not, the Magicians’ Guild is bound by law to deal with you. We’re taking you to the Guild now.”

Anger contorted the woman’s face and a new blast of power pounded the barrier surrounding her, but it was a weak attack. Sonea considered waiting until the woman tired, then decided against it. She shrank the barrier around the woman, then used it to nudge her to the centre of the road. She began pushing the rogue firmly but gently forward. The Healer and Alchemist fell into step beside her.

And in this way, through streets lined with curious onlookers, they escorted the second rogue found that day to the Guild.

CHAPTER 28

QUESTIONS

The blindfold over Lorkin’s eyes itched, but each of his arms was being held by a Traitor.

“We’re stopping,” one of the women said, gently pulling him to a halt. “Now we’re going up again.”

The other woman let his arm go and he took the opportunity to scratch. He braced himself and felt his stomach lurch as they began to rise. After several heartbeats he felt the unevenness of the ground under his feet again. The woman tugged him into motion.

“Be careful, the ground slopes here. Duck your head.”

He felt a sudden coolness and guessed that they’d moved from sunlight into shadows. That wasn’t all. There was moisture in the air, and a faint smell of rotting vegetation or mould. His guide stopped.

“There’s stairs now, descending. Four of them.”

He found the edge with his toe, then cautiously stepped downward. The steps were wide and shallow, and from the way sounds were echoing he had entered a cave or room. The trickle of water came from a few strides away.

“It’s all flat from here.”

That wasn’t strictly true, he could tell as he walked. The ground was smooth, but there was a definite gradual incline. He listened to the sound of the group’s footsteps, and the flow of water. If they made any turns, they were too large and slow for him to detect.

The sound of wind, vegetation rustling and distant voices came from somewhere ahead. A few more strides and, from the way the noise surrounded him, he knew he was now outside. He felt the warmth of sunlight on his face and a breeze on his skin. He heard someone say Savara’s name.

Without warning, the blindfold was removed and he found himself blinking into the brightness of the midday sun. Before his eyes had adjusted, the Traitor who had been guiding him tugged at his arm, indicating he should continue walking.

Savara led the group, walking along a pathway beside tall, swaying stalks. He realised this was the edge of a crop, the large seed heads peeking out from the topmost leaves. The path ascended steeply and he found himself staring out over a wide valley.

Steep cliff walls rose on either side, meeting at the ends of the valley. Fields filled the floor, each at a different height, like disturbed tiles, but all level. The tiers of green stepped down to a long, narrow lake at the valley’s lowest point. Not one corner wasted, he thought. How else can they feed a whole city of people? But where are the buildings?

A movement up on the nearest cliff wall answered that question. Someone was looking out of a hole in the rock face. A moment later he realised that the entire wall was riddled with holes, from one end of the valley to the other.

A city carved into the rock. He shook his head in wonder.

“It was already here when we found the valley,” a familiar voice said, from beside him.