They were starting to descend toward the city now, and even in the dusklight it was clear that this was a very different place than Audland. The snow was heavier here, not yet fully blanketing the city as it would when winter set in more fully, but gathering in heavy white drifts in shaded nooks and alleys. The buildings were all sharply gabled roofs and steeples from above—steep slopes to prevent snow from gathering—and most were built of stone and wood, a far cry from the modern brick and industrial factories of Thaless. There were lights in windows and along some streets, but they glowed with the telltale yellow of gaslight. Which wasn’t uncommon in Thaless either, but here there was only one immediately obvious source of magelight that Tane could see. A single tower-top illuminated in silver-blue, directly ahead.
The stone tower rose at least twice the height of the buildings around it, and it looked as if it could house a kidnapped princess from some old fable. Just below the steepled roof, a broad balcony ringed the entire edifice, well-illuminated with globes of silver-blue light. Several points around the railing had been outfitted with metal posts and heavy cables and other apparatus. The docking tower, presumably. Tane hoped so, if only because it was close.
“We should go below and get ready,” he said. “They’ll be bringing our luggage up, and we don’t need to watch this part.” He turned toward the bridge, and released the rail. Immediately, his head spun and he swayed on his feet.
Indree grabbed his arm. “Careful. I’d rather not lose you over the rail this close to docking.” She stayed close at his side, and they headed for the hatch into the ship’s interior.
There was some kind of commotion happening inside; as soon as they stepped through the doorway, Tane heard a clamor of voices from the bridge. He recognized Captain Greathaft’s voice—deep dwarven tones, clearly irate. It was the other speaker that surprised him.
“I told you, I’m with the delegation! Go ask them!” A high goblin voice. Female. And Tane recognized it too.
Indree raised an eyebrow. “Is that..?”
Tane nodded. “Of course it is.”
Kadka stepped through the hatch just behind them, and grinned widely. “Told you she will try again.”
“Astra, this is the last thing we need.” Indree sighed and rubbed her forehead. Belgrier might have asked for the Magebreakers, but Lady Abena had put her in charge of things on the Audish side, and Tane knew she took that responsibility seriously. “This has to go smoothly. I can’t have… well, come on. Let’s go take care of it.”
Tane pushed open the door to the bridge and saw Tinga standing before the captain, restrained by a pair of crewmen. She was wearing what appeared to be a porter’s uniform
She turned her head when he entered, and her eyes brightened. “Tane, will you tell them who I am?”
Captain Greathaft, a black-beared dwarven man in Audish naval uniform, looked to Tane as well. “You know our stowaway, Mister Carver?”
“I do. Unfortunately.” Tane rubbed absently at the watch case in his pocket. “Where did you find her?”
“The men discovered her in the hold when they went down to fetch your luggage,” said Greathaft. “Must have come in dressed as a porter and hidden down there.”
“We’re very sorry, captain,” said Indree. “I know this is serious, but can I ask that you let us handle her instead of going through official channels? If word gets out that we had an unexpected passenger, it could make the Belgrians suspicious.”
Greathaft waved a dismissive hand. “You’re in charge of this business, Inspector. Take her.” He waved for the men to release Tinga, and then gave her a stern scowl. “But girl, I hope you know you’re getting off easy. Stowing away on a government vessel is a good way to end up in prison.”
Tinga at least looked mildly abashed. “I… did not know that.” Rubbing her arm where one of the crewmen had gripped her, she looked to Tane. “But no one was going to let me come if they knew!”
“Well,” said Tane, “you’re here now.” He wasn’t sure if he was angry or impressed. It’s probably my fault for not realizing she’d go this far. When has she ever taken no for an answer? “Come on, we need to get ready to disembark.”
Nobody spoke again until they were back in the hall, making for the exterior hatchway.
Finally, Tinga broke the silence. “I’m sorry, I just wanted to see somewhere besides Thaless. See what it was like for my grandparents. I didn’t think it would hurt anything.”
“Tinga, this is a very sensitive diplomatic mission,” Indree said with a frown. “We can’t afford any mishaps. You can’t just…” She sighed, broke off. “The problem is, like Tane says, you’re here now, and the Illuvar isn’t leaving until we do. We may need it on short notice if things go wrong. So I suppose there’s no sending you back.” She looked to Tane and Kadka. “She works for you. I hope you two know how to keep her under control.”
Kadka laughed. “Is not so easy. Girl who is under control doesn’t hide on airship.” There was an obvious current of admiration in her voice.
Tane could understand that. He was certainly annoyed, but on the other hand… She managed to pull it off, and this isn’t exactly an unsecured ship. The uniform alone wouldn’t have been enough. He wondered if any of the tricks he’d taught her had come in handy. Still, he had to support Indree here—she was carrying enough weight already without worrying about Tinga.
“I’ve got it,” he said. Then, in as stern a voice as he could muster, “Obviously we can’t reward you for this, Tinga, but we’re stuck with you now. I’ll contact your family when we get to the embassy, and you’re going to do exactly as you’re told as long as we’re here. Belgrier isn’t particularly friendly to non-humans, and if anything happens to you, I’m going to have to answer to your parents and Cestra. How do you think they’d feel?”
“Oh, Cestra knows I’m here,” Tinga said. “She helped me get the porter uniform.”
Behind Tane, Kadka cackled loudly. “You two are best couple.”
Tane shook his head in exasperation, though it was hard not to smile. “Fine, but you understand my point, right? There are people you need to think about besides yourself.” It felt a little bit ridiculous to be the one saying that—he didn’t have the best record on the issue.
Tinga nodded her head. “I understand.” She put on an innocent face that was hard to take seriously. “I’ll be good.”
At that moment, the airship shook slightly as it docked, and Tane grabbed one of the rails along the hall to keep his feet. “Fine. Let’s get off this deathtrap. We can figure the rest out later.”
Outside, a walkway had been affixed to the airship, leading to a small folding stair down to the tower’s balcony platform. Their luggage was already waiting on the other side. Tane staggered across with a firm grip on the railing, holding his breath until he was standing on a surface that didn’t shift with every breeze.
A handful of people were already on the platform seeing to the luggage, but Tane’s eye went immediately to the huge ogren woman who stood in front of the rest. Some nine feet tall with flaxen hair, blue eyes and perfect features, she demanded attention by presence alone. She was older than him, Tane was certain, though not by how much—ogren aged with truly unfair grace for a people who already looked like they’d been chiseled from marble.
He knew who she had to be. “Ambassador Estene Althir, I presume?”
The ogren woman smiled and nodded. “Indeed. And you must be Tane Carver.” She looked to the others. “And Inspector Indree Lovial, Miss Kadka of Clan Nadivek…” She paused when she came to Tinga, whose head didn’t even reach her waist. “And you’ve brought a friend?” There was a slight concern in her eyes now.
“This is Tinga Vreeg,” said Tane. “She’s… an apprentice. Strictly here to observe. She’ll be staying close to us, when she isn’t at the embassy.”
“Ah. Well, it shouldn’t be a problem to have a room made up for her,” Althir said. “The embassy will facilitate your investigation in w
hatever way we can, of course. And I will advise you personally on any possible diplomatic issues. But before we can get started on any of that, there are certain formalities that must be observed. My staff will see to your luggage.” She beckoned for them to follow. “Please, this way.”
Ambassador Althir led them inside through an iron doorway that she had to bend low to pass through. On the other side was a circular room that seemed to take up the entirety of the tower’s top floor, with a stairway at the far end leading down to the lower levels. In front of the stair, a waist-high wall divided the room, stretching from one side to the other, with a single opening near the middle. A copper post topped with a glass globe sat on either side of that opening, and a glyphed copper band ran along the floor between them. A detection band, designed to react to the presence of any brass items or astral artifacts. Several human men and women in crimson uniforms stood guard on the other side, all armed with shortswords and ancryst pistols. None of them looked very welcoming.
“They have a lot of artifacts,” Tinga whispered. “I thought they didn’t like magic.”
“Not quite that simple,” Tane answered. “Or they’d never have been willing to bargain for airship plans. They don’t allow actively practicing magic without government supervision, but they don’t want to be completely left behind either. There are approved organizations that can use artifacts constructed by sanctioned mages. I suppose these people come from one of those.”
A woman in crimson uniform sat at a desk behind the wall. She gestured for them to approach with a few words in Belgrian, and then pointed at a brass tray in front of her.
“She wants us to hand over any artifacts or brass we’ve got on us,” Tinga said, a little too quickly. Clearly she felt like she had to justify her presence.
Which is a good read on the situation, really.
Althir looked down at her, apparently impressed. “Very good. You speak the language?”
“A bit,” Tinga said. “My grandparents came from here.”
“Well, you’re right,” Althir said. “You’ll have to hand over any magical or brass goods and go through the detection band. Belgrier doesn’t allow outside artifacts on their soil without express authorization.”
“What about this?” Tane took his watch case out of his pocket. “It’s not an artifact, but it has sentimental value.”
“You’ll get back any non-magical brass items once they’ve been examined,” Althir said. “It shouldn’t be a problem. I understand your trepidation, but you won’t be allowed beyond this point if you don’t hand it over.”
“Well then,” said Tane, “I suppose there’s no point in waiting around.”
The process was quick, although there was some concern over the piece of ancryst inside Tane’s watch case. In the end, the ancryst was confiscated but the case was returned. He also had to hand over the charms in his pocket, which he didn’t much like. The idea of facing Endo without an edge wasn’t appealing. They didn’t, interestingly, raise any fuss over Kadka’s knives—apparently carrying weapons wasn’t a large concern, so long as they weren’t magical.
When they were done, the Belgrian woman who appeared to be in charge said something else in her language, and opened a cabinet under the desk.
“The confiscated items will be returned when you leave the country,” Althir translated as the woman brought out a handful of small brass earpieces. “These artifacts will allow you to speak with anyone you meet. They are to be returned when you depart.” Then, in her own words the ambassador said, “Of course, we aren’t permitted to supply our own translation artifacts. Anything we walk around with has to be Belgrian created, under supervision, as you were telling your young friend. Have you ever used one of these before?”
“I haven’t.” Tane took an earpiece in his palm and looked at it. He’d read about translation artifacts, but never encountered one. It was little more than a glyphed copper bud to be inserted into the ear with a hooked piece that would sit around the top of the lobe.
“It’s quite simple.” Althir took one for herself and pushed back her blonde hair, fitting the device to her perfectly sculpted earlobe to demonstrate. It didn’t sit well—it had obviously been designed for human-sized ears. “As soon as it is inserted, it will become active. It simply translates Belgrian and sends the resulting Audish to you Astrally. It will feel as if you’re receiving a sending. The translation is usually of fairly good quality, because the spell is able to identify intent, but some idioms come across awkwardly. The important thing to remember, though, is that it must open an Astral link between speakers, and it will only open one when you focus your attention sufficiently. It works both ways, so it will also translate what you say into Belgrian. You can talk to more than one person at once, but split your focus too much and it will fail—three or four is the limit for most. So you won’t be giving any public speeches. And you won’t get any ambient conversation either—if you wish to eavesdrop, you’ll have to focus on a specific speaker. Are there any questions?”
Tane shook his head. “I’ve read about them, I know the basics. So as soon as I…” He inserted the artifact into his ear, and turned to one of the Belgrian soldiers. “You should be able to understand me, right?” Immediately, he felt a sending pressure in his ears as the artifact opened a link.
The soldier gave a single sharp nod. “Yes. I understand you, Audlander.” His words came through as if spoken directly into Tane’s head, brisk and clipped and without accent. And not particularly friendly.
“Let me try!” Kadka eagerly put on her artifact, and instead of speaking Audish, said something in Svernan to the same man Tane had. The artifact didn’t translate it, though Tane tried to focus on the words.
Again, the man nodded, and his words did translate. He sounded taken aback by whatever Kadka had said. “That would be… against regulation.”
So he’d understood her even when Tane couldn’t. Apparently the wearer could speak in any language, but the artifact would only translate Belgrian from anyone else. Which had a certain logic—a limited scope meant it wouldn’t redundantly try to convert Audish into Audish or the like.
Kadka laughed in delight. “Is so strange! I never get sending.” Her Astral near-invisibility made it impossible to create a link without a focus, so it wasn’t usually an option. The artifact seemed to work, though. That made sense—it was attached to her, and she was essentially her own focus.
When Indree and Tinga had their earpieces in, Althir led them to the stairs. The guards parted to let them pass, and though most maintained that military blankness, Tane caught a few more suspicious looks. They really don’t like the Audish. It was funny, in a way. Back home, he’d spent a long time trying to be recognized as an equal despite lacking magic. Here, he was the same as anyone else from the isle—it just wasn’t a good thing.
“I’ll be glad to get to the embassy and rest after that flight,” Tane said as they descended. And avoid anyone else looking at me like that for a while.
“Ah, yes,” said Ambassador Althir. “About that. I’m afraid we won’t be going directly there.”
That was exactly what he didn’t want to hear. “Why not?”
“Well,” she said, “The Kaiser has requested your immediate attendance at the palace.”
Chapter Five
_____
KADKA STARED OUT the carriage window, watching the streets of Stelihn pass by. It only served to remind her how little she liked the place. Belgrier had never been welcoming for her, but now that she’d grown accustomed to Thaless, the lack of magic made it all a little bit bleaker. There wasn’t a magelight to be seen, and the snow-drifted streets and stone buildings blended into a repetitive greyness that made her miss even the green-tinged air of the ancryst factory districts back home. And Audland was her home now—she had the citizenship papers to prove it.
It wasn’t just the look of the city that she disliked, though. They weren’t terribly near the non-human district, but she knew the mon
olithic windowless rectangles towering in the distance for what they were.
Ambassador Althir saw her looking, and must have recognized the expression on her face. “The workhouses. You’ve seen them before?” She sat on the opposite side of the carriage alone—it was spacious as such things went, but even so an ogren took up a full bench seat. Kadka, Carver, Indree, and Tinga shared the other seat, and while Kadka was no ogren, she was large enough to make it rather uncomfortable.
“Travelled here some,” Kadka said with a nod. “Long time ago. Is not kind for orcs.” People like her were never actually consigned to the workhouses, to be fair—those were for the mages. But orcs and goblins and elves and the rest of the non-human races were considered magical enough, even the ones that were almost never born with magic. The non-human district was little more than a ghetto for everyone the good, wholesome human citizens of Belgrier found threatening. It was hard to believe that her mother had met her father here. That any Belgrian man would sully himself by dallying with an orc.
“I’ve heard of the workhouses,” said Tinga, leaning over Kadka to peer out the window. “My great uncle died in one, before I was born. That’s what my grandma told me once. It’s why my family left. Is it true that every mage in the country has to live and work in one of them? They’re never allowed out?”
“True enough,” said Althir. “They actually live in the residences nearby, but they’re not allowed to leave except to move between the two, and they’re constantly under guard. Magic is… very strictly controlled here, as you’ve seen. Family can visit the residences, although until recently even that was highly regulated. Lady Abena’s diplomatic efforts have been bearing some fruit in that area.”
“That’s awful.” Tinga shook her head, a slight tremor in her voice. She tended to take that kind of unfairness as a personal affront—it was the reason their paths had crossed in the first place. Kadka very much liked that about her. “I can’t believe so many people turn a blind eye to treatment like that. It’s worse than non-magicals in Audland.”
The Spirit Siphon (Magebreakers Book 4) Page 3