“I haven’t been here in… a long time.”
“Why do I get the sense that you haven’t told me everything?”
Pendin shook his head. “What’s there to tell? I come from a family of miners. It’s easy for you to forget what that means. You were basically born in the barracks and have been raised on the second terrace your entire life.” He paused, licking his lips a moment before taking another drink from the flask. Pendin took a deep breath before continuing. “Before… before the attack, miners held a certain position of power within the city. Teralin was valuable, you know? The gods and the Magi and all that.”
“Tresten said the ore is not really necessary for the Magi to reach the gods.”
Pendin shrugged. Some of the color had begun returning to his face, as if the longer he talked, the more he got over his hangover. “I don’t claim to know anything about that. No miner ever made that claim. We—they—are tasked with pulling the teralin from the mines. That’s it.”
“How is this tied to the university? You’ve been more and more silent the longer we’ve gone on today, not that you were all that talkative to begin with.”
Pendin shook his head. “I wasn’t always going to be Denraen, Endric.”
“I know. You were a miner. You’ve told me that many times.”
“I’m from a family of master miners.”
“So? How is that different?”
Pendin grunted and took another drink of water. “Sometimes you can be dense, you know that?”
“I can be dense? You were the miner.”
“And what do you think that means? Miners had positions of favor, especially with the Magi. When teralin had value… that’s the reason they were able to strike, the reason it mattered to the Magi.”
Endric hadn’t put much thought into that, but it made sense. And if the miners no longer were needed to mine the teralin, what did that mean for Pendin’s family? What did that mean for others who had been valued but no longer were needed?
He paused and looked around the street. He hadn’t given it much thought, but he should have, especially once Tresten revealed what had happened with the mines and that the Magi no longer needed the ore. Had he not been so preoccupied with finding what he could about Urik, and getting word to Senda, he might have pieced it together before now.
And then there was what Pendin shared with him. He had a reluctance to go to the university and made a point of telling him about the importance of the miners. What did they have to do with one another?
“You were to have gone to the university?”
Pendin nodded. “Not only was to have gone but did go. For a while.”
Endric shot him a hard look. “Why haven’t you ever told me?”
“When has it mattered?”
“How about since we’ve been friends?”
“It’s not something I like to talk about.”
“Senda talks about it.”
“Does she?” Pendin asked. “Seems to me that Senda would prefer to keep that part of her to herself.”
“Why would you have gone?” He looked at his friend, noting his strong jawline and muscular frame. Could Pendin have been anything other than a miner?
“Master miners have to know many things. The depths of the mine. How to safely widen them. The properties of teralin. Hundreds of other things as well.”
“Why wouldn’t you want to go to the university, then?”
“I abandoned the education and became a soldier.”
Endric shook his head. “It’s more than that. I can see from your face that it’s more than that.”
“You can see from my face that I’m going to throw up. That’s about all you can see.”
“I already saw that. What is it?”
Pendin took another deep breath. “My father. He teaches at the University. Or did.”
“Did? Your father teaches?” That seemed like information that Pendin should have shared with him before now.
“I don’t know what happened after the attack. I heard word that the mines had slowed, but nothing more than that, not until you shared with me what Mage Tresten said. As Denraen, I understand the reasoning. It’s hard to protect the city when there are dozens of ways in that can’t be well defended. But as the son of a miner, I worry what that means for my family. We’ve been miners for centuries. Now, what will my family be without the teralin? What use does the university have for master miners?”
“Pendin—”
His friend shook his head and scrubbed his hand through his short black hair. “Like I said, I understand. I just worry that my family does not.”
“You can always blame me.”
“You think that I haven’t already?”
Endric laughed. “Then again, they haven’t seen how responsible I am.” He adjusted his uniform and grinned at his friend. “I am en’raen, you know. Don’t you think they’d be pleased that you’re my steward?”
His eyes narrowed. “I think they’d be pleased to know that I still get a chance to beat on you from time to time.”
“Not with a sword.”
Pendin grunted. “Not with a sword. You’re nearly as good as your father now. Probably better than Andril ever was, and he was one of the best swordsmen the Denraen had other than Dendril.”
Endric nodded. He hadn’t shared with Pendin what he’d seen of the Deshmahne, or of the Antrilii. It didn’t matter—not yet—for them to know that there were others out in the word with much greater skill than most Denraen could possess. If Tresten were right, the Deshmahne had stolen their abilities, while the Antrilii… Endric wasn’t certain about the Antrilii, only that the people he had descended from were the equal or better of any Deshmahne.
“Now you’re the one who’s got a strange look on his face.”
“That’s just my normal annoyed-with-my-steward-for-drinking-too-much face.”
Pendin gave him a shove. For anyone else, it would have been a gentle shove, but with Pendin and his massive size, it was brutal, and Endric went staggering.
“Careful. Those marches might double.”
Pendin shook his head. “Are we going in there or do you plan on harassing me more?”
They had neared the gate to the university. A simple wall surrounded it, one of dark stone that looked different than the rest of the city, though Endric wondered why that would be. It wasn’t like they could have mined the stone from somewhere else. The gate was of dark silver teralin, and Endric wondered if Tresten had changed the polarity of it like he had with so many other sculptures since the Deshmahne chose to attack in the city. A pair of dark robed scholars stood at the gate like sentries.
As they neared, Endric realized that they were sentries. The men wore belts of black, though the rest of their attire was the same as the other scholars. They stopped each person attempting to enter the university, though made no effort to stop those leaving. Endric noted that people streaming from the university actually left from a different doorway.
“Do they screen people like that all the time?” he asked Pendin.
“The university prides itself on its selectivity. They worry that others will get in who shouldn’t be allowed access and will negatively impact the prestige of the university.”
Endric laughed. “Maybe we should have worn robes.”
Pendin shook his head. “It wouldn’t work. They have a different marker for entry.”
He glanced at him. “A different marker? Like some sort of pass?”
Pendin tapped his wrist. “A marker.”
“Like a tattoo?”
“It’s not like the Deshmahne, Endric. This is a simple mark to indicate entry to the university.” Pendin pulled the sleeve of his uniform up and revealed a series of shapes on his forearm.
Endric had seen the tattoos before but hadn’t realized what they meant. There were plenty of men who used skin markings as a way to decorate themselves. He’d assumed the miners had as well, not realizing that it had come from the University.
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Did Senda have something similar? He was more than familiar with her skin and didn’t recall anything like what Pendin had. Endric was certain he would have seen it—and commented on it were that the case.
“She doesn’t have a marking,” Pendin said. When Endric frowned, Pendin tapped his forearm again. “I see you looking at your wrist. Senda didn’t get a marking.”
“Why not?”
“Her area of study didn’t require it.”
Endric tried to think about what that might mean and what Senda would have studied, but Pendin didn’t elaborate, and they didn’t have time as they approached the gate. “Will they let us in?”
Pendin shrugged. “Normally I would say no, but you’re Denraen and an officer. Maybe that will be enough to get us through the gate.”
When they reached the two scholars, Endric noted the short staff leaning on the wall behind the closest. A series of markings ran down the length of it that reminded him of the same markings used by Novan on his staff. Had the historian studied in the university? Endric believed the historians all part of the guild and didn’t think that Novan had spent any time at the university here, but maybe he had. The man had more than a passing familiarity with the city. And as much as he had denied it, he had seemed to know his way through the tunnels. How else would he have managed to reach Endric once more? He claimed the teralin guided him, but that didn’t seem likely.
“Denraen don’t patrol on university grounds,” the scholar said. He had a shorn head and deep-set eyes that gave him the appearance of someone much older than what Endric suspected him to be.
The other scholar had longer hair, pulled back behind his head and tied with a thong of leather. He said nothing to Endric and Pendin.
Endric nodded. “I understand that. There’s someone I’m looking for. If I could just get through, I could—”
The man shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest. “As I said, the Denraen don’t patrol on university grounds.”
Pendin stepped forward. “This is Endric Verilan, en’raen of the Denraen, son of General Dendril. I think you can make an exception, acolyte.”
The bald-headed acolyte frowned at Pendin. “There are no exceptions. The Denraen don’t have authority on university grounds.”
“What of the Magi?” Pendin pressed.
Endric considered pulling them away. He didn’t want to make a scene and certainly didn’t want to get his father’s attention this way. If Dendril learned that Endric had forced their way into the university, especially given what had happened, how angry would he be?
“The Magi don’t have authority here either. This is not a place of the church, Denraen. This is a place of scholarship and study.”
“I understand exactly what kind of place this is,” Pendin said, pulling the sleeve of his uniform up to reveal his forearm. “This man wants only to find answers. Will you prevent him from doing that?”
The scholar shook his head. “I…”
Endric thought that he might change his mind, that he might allow them to pass, but then the other acolyte stepped forward. He had grabbed his short staff and leaned on it, somehow managing to make the gesture appear both relaxed and an insult at the same time. Under other circumstances, Endric might actually have been impressed by the way he managed that.
“We can’t allow the Denraen into the university,” the man said.
Endric tensed, wanting to say something more, but knowing it best to remain silent and careful with what he shared. All it would do would upset his father.
Pendin nodded. “Then send word to Master Greln that his son would like to visit with him. Have him ask for Endric Verilan, and he’ll find me.”
The scholar’s eyes narrowed, and he nodded rather than saying anything.
Endric turned, feeling like it was a retreat, but knowing there was no other choice but to do so. He needed to find Senda, but how, when everything seemed to conspire against him doing so?
8
As they made their way down the street and away from the university, Pendin grabbed Endric’s arm and pulled him off to the side of the street. He cast a furtive glance back at the university, shaking his head as he did. Most of the color had returned to his face, but he still had a ruddy quality to his cheeks. At least he hadn’t vomited while attempting to enter the university. Endric considered that a victory.
“Did that seem strange to you?” Pendin asked.
Endric snorted. “Did it seem strange that a scholar would lean on his staff thinking that he’d intimidate one of the Denraen?”
“Not that. You’d be surprised at how many of the scholars are skilled with them. They view using them as something of an art form. Within the university, there are some who study the staff. Besides, where do you think Senda learned to get as good as she did?”
“Where? You mean she didn’t learn it with the Denraen?”
Pendin shook his head. “Sometimes you can be oblivious to things around you, you know that?”
“Oblivious? I’ve seen Senda working with the staff, facing others. Facing Fennah. How else would she have improved her skill?”
“You’ve seen her doing it with the Denraen, where most fight with swords.”
“There are archers as well.”
Pendin chuckled. “Archers. Swordsman. Mounted troops. A typical army. Not many who specialize in the staff, though. Not enough for Senda to get as good as she has.”
Endric cast a glance in the direction of the scholars. Was it possible that they really were skilled with the staff? He’d seen Senda—he’d faced Senda—and there was no doubting the legitimacy of her abilities, not when it came to that.
There was Fennah as well. She was skilled with the staff—and more so than Senda.
“If it wasn’t the threat of the staff,” Endric said, still not certain how he felt about the fact that those two scholars had believed they could confront him, “then what about that was strange to you? I’ve never been inside the university, so I don’t know what to consider strange.”
“They should have offered us the chance to enter, at least to meet with someone higher ranking than an acolyte. For them to dismiss us, without even giving us a chance…”
Endric stared at the line of people making their way toward the University. Most were dressed in the robes of the scholars, though there were others who weren’t. As he watched, he noted that for the most part, they weren’t turned away the same way that he and Pendin had been. What was different about them, other than the fact that they weren’t dressed as soldiers?
“We could try to blend in with them,” Endric suggested.
“Maybe we could have before, but now it won’t work. Not until they change over.”
“Why?”
“If I were to guess, they’ll recognize us, even if we tried to disguise ourselves.”
“They’ll recognize us because you went flashing your arms off to them.”
“What can I say? They’re impressive arms.”
“Then we either wait,” he said, but didn’t need to share with Pendin how much that would bother him, “or we find another way in.”
“I doubt there’s another way,” Pendin said. “The university abuts the back wall of the terrace. We could try rappelling down from the second terrace, but that wouldn’t be all that discrete. Any attempt to climb the wall would be noticed.”
Endric faced Pendin, shaking his head as he did. “I wasn’t thinking about going over the walls.”
“No.”
“Why not? You said so yourself that the master miners are instructors at the University. Why wouldn’t they have some way to access the university from the mines?”
“I don’t know that I want to sneak through the mines, Endric. If we’re caught…”
“You said yourself that the activity in the mines has trailed off.”
“That doesn’t mean no miners remain. And if the general learns—”
“Then I’ll just tell him that I was making a patrol
of the safety of the mines. I have a little credibility when it comes to that much.”
“Let me just officially say that I don’t think this is a good idea. If you want to find your girl, then we can wait for her to return. And if you want to discover where Urik might have ended up, then you can go to Tresten again. If Urik is in Thealon, he might be with the priests. If that’s the case, then the Magi will have a better chance of finding him than we would.”
“I’ll consider your objection officially noted. It’ll go in my report.”
“Great. Now I’ll never move beyond your steward.”
“You were never going to anyway,” Endric said with a laugh.
There were several entrances to the mines, but Pendin chose one nearest the university, thinking that if they were to find a way into the university beneath it, then it would most likely be connected more directly that way. Endric wasn’t as certain. Why would they connect to the outside of the university when there were other places that would be more advantageous?
The gate was barred, and a heavy lock prevented the bars from moving. Heat wafted out of the tunnels behind it, reminding Endric of the time he’d spent in them, wandering after Novan and searching for the Deshmahne. An involuntary shudder washed over him as he remembered.
“It’s not usually as bad as what you experienced,” Pendin said.
“Are you certain? You sure wanted to get away from the mines.”
Pendin shrugged. “I wanted away for a different reason.”
“And what was that?”
“I wanted to upset my father,” he said. He took his sword and slipped it beneath the lock and pried. The lock snapped with a loud crack that echoed softly. “Look at that. I guess we’ll have to investigate the broken lock before we pass on word that the mines might have been compromised.”
Endric laughed. “You really don’t want to be anything more than my steward.”
“You’re not so bad. Besides, I get to access the good food with you.”
“You know that if I’m ever promoted, I’m bringing you up with me.”
“I don’t think I’d want to be en’raen,” Pendin said as he pulled the gate open and stepped into the tunnel.
Soldier Sword (The Teralin Sword Book 2) Page 7