The various Kharl races, many Insackharls, Boyuk-kharl and others and even the occasional giant Insak-div, with skin so dark-green it was almost black, went about their business in a riot of colour and confusion. Even the Humans had three groups visibly distinguished by dress; the Christians, the Muslims, and those who were not so easily placed. Among the Kharl, off-duty Kichic-kharl with light-green skin from the missile and reconnaissance units contrasted with darker green and much larger Isci-kharl infantry while mottled green-brown Alat-kharl, their tusks often inlaid with metals and gems to show their wealth, moved around engaged in their trades. Musky sharp smells competed with the pungency of dung and the wafts of various perfumes as the breeze swirled gently through the plaza.
Around Theodora, on the tree-fringed edges of the wide streets, street entertainers juggled, twirled fire, told stories and played music as they competed to eke out a meagre existence while adding to the cacophony. People, of various races, moved in and out of the buildings around the street.
She looked around with new eyes. This close to the palace the buildings were all made of stone; black basalt, creamy sandstone and blinding-white limestone. Some had bright-painted bands and friezes around them or as panels. Several were up to six stories high and housed the administration of the city and the Empire in magically lit rooms that were busy both day and night.
Ardlark, as a city, had a larger population than many of the so-called nations west of the mountains and it took an army of clerks to run both it and the Empire it ruled. She noticed the other buildings: courts, libraries and the university. They had massive colonnaded fronts facing the long avenue. She left the palace and moved right towards the columns of the law courts. These were five stories high and were designed to make anyone entering feel very small and insignificant.
People kept bumping into Theodora and looking confused afterwards. She realised she was still wearing her ‘don’t notice me’ ring. A man glared at where she was—he must be a mage to sense her. Quickly she moved down the stairs again, ducked behind a tree and removed the ring. Taking it off in public would have drawn more attention to her—the reverse of what she wanted.
Still unsure of what she wanted, apart from ‘a place to hide things’, Theodora started walking down streets at random, peering into taverns and inns and looking on public noticeboards. She passed the Circus Maximus with its notice boards depicting the attractions in various languages of the next big games a month away. The stones around here were worn smooth with the passage of thousands of feet. She noticed that for several of the condemned it was their last fight before being pardoned so a good crowd would be guaranteed. There was even a beast fight promised with a whole group of vicious lizard pack-hunters, and she wondered how many would be matched against them. The betting should be interesting, depending on weapons and numbers. Intent as she was on her own task, she was becoming enthralled by the details and prospect of the combat. How much more would people be interested and side-tracked on the day of the combat itself? The distraction it provided would make that a good time to escape.
Could she organise everything that she wanted to do in thirty-six days?
The smells of the city came and went as she wandered the streets. At different times Theodora could smell cinnamon, salt water, roses, cooking, horses, camels, oxen and people. Sometimes they were distinct and sharp and sometimes all mixed up together, and making her nose pinch.
Theodora turned a corner, the saltiness in the air said that it must be towards the docks, and she saw an inn. She had been looking into many of these, but they didn’t seem right for various reasons. Some had just felt wrong, but some had smelt badly of spilt beer, with a couple of the inns having had men in them who looked at her far too eagerly and inappropriately. Another had women in it who were wearing far too little in the way of clothes who sat on the laps of men. All of the women at that inn had glared at her and the men had just looked greedy.
This one, the ‘Grey Doe’, had a Human female guard on the door and a sign, in the usual several languages, which said simply, ‘Admittance to Ladies Only’. She went across the street to a kaf shop and ordered some of the sweet, thick brew and some sticky pastry. She seated herself where she could see the inn while remaining inconspicuous. The people who went in and out of the inn were all prosperous looking and all female, or at least appeared to be; it was sometimes hard to tell with Kharl. Under her, the woven straw seat was getting uncomfortable as she finished her second cup of kaf, now a bit cold. She got up and went across the road and into the inn.
The taproom was not like any of the others she had seen today—it was more of a quiet sitting room. There were still cards being played at a table and alcohol, and a girl playing a dulcimer and singing in Insackharl, the half-Kharl language. This inn was much more civilised than the others she had been in. It also felt more like a relaxed room in a hunting lodge. She approached the bar and with some trepidation addressed a woman who seemed to be the manager.
“Is there a room and stable space here that I might rent?” she asked in the Insackharl tongue, oft called Darkspeech.
The woman behind the bar looked her up and down. She was dressed in the Muslim indoor style of loose and baggy trousers and a baggy undershirt, both in pale yellow, and a thigh length sleeveless flared jacket in brown. She wore a matching headscarf and a veil that did not cover the eyes.
“We may,” she eventually said in Darkspeech. “How long would you want it for?”
“I think around six weeks,” said Theodora. She determined on the spot that the next big games would set her time limit.
“Why?” asked the innkeeper suspiciously eyeing the fine fabric of Theodora’s dress.
Theodora could see the woman looking her up and down. “My family have plans for me that I do not wish to follow,” Theodora said. “If I cannot change my father’s mind I may have to hide for a while. He has a suitor in mind that is both old and particularly ugly. My father only cares that the man is rich. I could live with either old or ugly, but not both at once.”
The innkeeper smiled at this. It was a common story, at least according to what Theodora had heard servants gossiping about. “I need a place to prepare in case I have to run away. I cannot do this at home; the slaves will report what I am doing to my father.” Her voice had unconsciously fallen into sounding more like a pleading little girl instead of that of a grown woman. She was falling into the role she had given to herself. “Please let me have the room. I am sure that I will be safe here.”
“We have had some girls like you here before,” admitted the innkeeper. “I am Maryam bint Suliman and I will let you stay here if you follow my rules. I am strict on these. You may not break them. No men are allowed inside the main building, not even relations or eunuchs. If you must see one, there is a small private sitting room over there,” and she waved vaguely, “that can be used briefly. There is no admittance after the tenth hour of the night, without having made a prior arrangement. Breakfast and an evening meal are included in your rent—regardless of whether you eat them or not. Your rent, one hundred and two nummus, is payable a week in advance. There will be another charge of one hundred and seventy if you have a horse. Do you accept these terms?”
“Gladly,” said Theodora eagerly. She had no idea whether that was a reasonable amount or not, but that was beside the point. Money was not something she actually paid much attention to. “Let me pay you for a month now. That way I will not accidentally miss paying you because I cannot get away. When may I see my room and occupy it?” She felt in her purse, the coins unfamiliar by touch, hoping that she had the amounts right, then quickly handed over four silver sesterces and a numismata, all of them freshly minted.
Maryam looked at them suspiciously, but pocketed them. She went to get some change but Theodora waved that away. Maryam shrugged and went behind the bar, removing a key from a hook. “Follow me,” she said as she led the way. “All our doors are trapped and opening them without the right key will have con
sequences. It makes our lady guests feel safe. We are also bespelled against mice, rats and insect vermin,” she concluded in a satisfied, businesslike, tone.
They climbed a set of stairs, the carpeted floor almost familiar in feel, and gone along a corridor before ascending a much narrower second set of stairs, and entered another corridor. Another set of stairs was visible going to the third storey at the end. It was obvious from the spacing between the doors that the rooms on the first floor were much larger than those on the second. Maryam stopped and opened a door.
“This will be yours,” she said.
Theodora looked inside and automatically wondered how small the rooms were on the third floor. This room was smaller than her clothes room in the palace. It contained a bed—just large enough for two if they were very friendly—a washstand, a chair and a clothes chest. A rail across one corner provided some hanging space. The air smelt clean and fresh and she could see no dust. The servants had done their work well.
“Umm…thank you,” said Theodora, putting her hand out for the key. She only just stopped herself from giving a tip at the same time. The woman was not a servant. She probably owned the place and could be offended. She might have done the wrong thing by refusing change to start with. She realised that she had much to learn. She had never lived away from the palace and had only ever been outside it with servants and often with guards as well.
Perhaps tonight would be a good time for her to start her absences from the palace. The room was hers now and she had started her escape. However, she realised that she could not just leave the palace. In a sense she now only owned what she stood up in and her purse. She looked at the room with its plain cotton quilt over the bed. Still, the sun was still up. “When is dinner and where may I get some things?” she asked absent-mindedly. Was this the right thing to do?
“Do you know your way around here?” asked Maryam.
It sounded like Maryam already knew the answer to the question. Theodora shook her head ruefully. She might have lived in Ardlark all of her life but she had just realised, in the short time that she had been wandering the streets around the city, that she only knew where a few things were—and those were places you could easily see from the windows of the palace. She had ridden in sedan chairs or carriages, usually with the curtains down, and servants and slaves took care of where you were going; it was not something you needed to know.
“Umm…not too well,” she finally admitted.
“Then I will send a girl with you. Tell her what you want and she will get you there and have you back in time to eat.”
The next two hours were spent under the animated charge of an eight-year-old called Saidah. They were very educational for Theodora. From the expression on Saidah’s face when she was purchasing anything she soon learnt not to take the first price she was offered for an item. It was lucky that none of her first purchases were major ones. Although she was sure that the rumours of her gullibility spread quickly through the market, she started getting items at around half the first price she was offered, and realised that shopping could be fun. She was sure eventually she could get the prices lower if she really tried.
Theodora had also worried about what was wrong with her money. After Maryam’s reaction she noticed that, even though it was all good new coin, gold denarii and imperials and silver sesterces and numismata, people looked at it strangely. It was only after she had received a fair amount of change she realised what the issue was. People were not used to so much new money at once. Some of the change she received was so well-used that it was hard to make out the writing and even the pictures on it. Her handfuls of bright new minted coins stood out. Some of the tiny copper follis coins she received back were so bent from use that they looked more like thimbles than discs. Once she realised she started, where possible, to give out more valuable coins for smaller items simply to get less conspicuous change.
She had only collected a few things; combs, toiletries, and a bag to put them in, as well as a nice set of indoor wear, similar to Maryam’s but of better cut and of a smooth and cool silk, as well as some slippers, when she discovered that her time was up and Saidah was steering her back to the inn. After tipping her a numismata she retired to her room to change into her new clothes. This turned out more of a production than she thought it would. She was not used to dressing by herself and was a little later for dinner.
She arrived and began eating, and soon discovered others were watching her. There was nothing malicious about their gaze, but she was sure she had become a source of some humour as her inexperienced attempts to eat and keep her veil on unfolded. She was also sure it was becoming obvious to everyone in the establishment that she was not what she was pretending to be—a Muslim woman seeking a way out of a misalliance—however the women seemed happy to tolerate her pretence.
Theodora discovered they had decided she had some sort of trouble with a man, not necessarily what she had first said, and did not wish to reveal to anyone who she really was. It seemed to Theodora that they all seemed to include her in a female conspiracy where perhaps all women were sisters in the face of all men. The women let slip they thought she must be of a very high ranking. She supposed her inexperience with so many things made it obvious.
By the end of the meal, as the tavern returned more to being a tavern, several of these business-like women, had made it obvious that they were not going to play games, but were going to openly coach her on how to live away from home. They may not know why she was running away, or what she was running from, but they made it clear they would help her if they could. Theodora felt a surge of relief.
The smell of kaf and other food and drink, and the feel of the leather and material on the seats lulled her so, that by the end of the night it was all becoming comfortable.
~~~
In the morning Theodora asked Saidah to help her find the rest of what she would need. She concentrated on clothing first. She tried to avoid buying the best thing she saw, even when she wanted to and tried to buy cotton instead of silk, even buying something that was made of what she was told was hemp. Looking at Saidah loaded down with her purchases she realised the young girl was overloaded. Unless she obtained a real servant, she should be carrying some of these things. Despite the inconvenience she was soon carrying most of what she bought. How tiresome this part of buying things is, she thought as they finished getting what she wanted.
~~~
As Theodora left the Doe she told Maryam that she was not sure when she would return, but if anything came for Salimah al Sabah it should be put in her room. Then she returned to outside the palace, and put on her ring before going to her room. The door closed and she emerged as herself.
~~~
The next few days passed with Theodora fielding questions as to where she had been. She tried to leave people with the impression of having a lover without being definite. As she waited she made a listing of what she would need. This turned out to be the first of several different lists actually. The initial list, made while sitting in her window-seat with pen and an inkwell she had unearthed from when she had last needed it some time ago, would have needed a pack train to carry everything that was on it and a string of servants to care for it all.
She started collecting money, trying in particular to get used coins. She had never noticed it before but, although as a member of the Imperial House she had ready access to funds, it was always all new coinage. She now wondered why. Was this deliberate?
As she was making one of the lists Theodora realised she had never paid any attention to geography, but it made sense that, if she was going to flee and at least temporarily make a life outside Darkreach, she needed to know what was out there. She went so far as to make her own map using those that she hoped showed the most recent information on towns outside.
Looking at what she was copying from, often maps drawn on fine smooth vellum and beautifully illustrated, hers was not a very good map. Some of the squiggles that she used as symbols needed her own
interpretation, but she was pretty sure the rivers and towns were in the same places as they were in her sources. To her annoyance she was starting to get ink-stains on her fingers and having to use pumice.
It took several days to draw the map, but she was still not very happy with her account of the mountains. The different maps she was using as sources had somewhat different ideas on where some mountains, and indeed some ranges, were. Outside Darkreach some of the rivers and towns were the same from map to map, but not all. She wondered if the Granther, who everyone supposed knew everything, had a better copy of these maps kept somewhere else, but she dare not ask.
~~~
After a week of list-making and map-drawing she decided that it was time to go back to the inn. She tied up her best sword, shield, bow and arrows, all of good quality and magically enhanced, and made them into an ungainly package with the rolled up map. Once they were held together she wrapped them with some rough calico that she had found in a nearby room where it had been covering some new furniture.
She was proud of herself for having thought of that, rather than just getting someone to bring her something suitable. She searched her room until she found a mana storage device made of teak inlaid with copper and amethysts that she had made many years ago. It held around twice the mana that she had available in a day now and, having made it long ago as an exercise at school, she had discovered that her palace life gave her no real use for it. It had lain discarded in a drawer until it was needed. It went into her pouch with more money. She then donned her throwing knives and dagger, put on her ring and left the main imperial building.
Intimations of Evil (Warriors of Vhast Book 1) Page 3