Ael silently slipped out from behind the bench and padded down the footpath
after the tall, cloaked man. Cat-quiet, he followed him right to the middle
of the Lower Gardens, where there was a rather pretty rose bower which
incidentally screened those inside it from view.
But not from hearing...
"Do you have it?"
"Yeah. You got the money?"
"First show me. I didn't come all the way here for a fake."
There was a rustling noise. "There, guv. Just as promised. Now where's my gold?"
"You... won't be needing it."
"What-" Then there was a hiss, then a thump that sounded ominously like a body slithering to the floor. The cloaked man muttered something which Ael strained his ears for but didn't quite catch. There was a *woomph* noise and the cloaked man stalked out, tucking something into his clothes.
Ael followed him further, concentrating on "not being there", but when the man reached the gate Ael realized that it was time to go back and he could not follow him much further without risking discovery. On his home turf he could hide like a shadow, but out in the streets...
As he crept away he wondered what on earth was going on. Why was Paguan jin Quebac, jin Anduo's chief mage, creeping around in the gardens of the Mother of Waters convent? And who was he meeting- Ael gasped. The man in the bower! Quietly, he changed direction and headed back to the gardens.
When he entered the bower there was no-one there, however on closer inspection there was a fine layer of ash on the ground. Ael knelt and picked some up, rubbing it between his fingers. Yes, he could feel some small magical residue in them. Then he remembered the strange noise after the mage performed the spell. It sounded just like when his science teacher had attempted to demonstrate the principles of sulfur and saltpeter and blown up his desk...
Ael stood up and backed away. Those were the remains of whoever the mage had met... well that was one way to prevent word getting around. He quickly mumbled the last rights over the ashes and sped back to his dormitory.
He slipped through the window and dived between the covers just as the cocks crowed, and Daughter Childkeeper bustled into the room.
"Rise and shine, children!" Daughter Childkeeper was currently a plump, rosy-cheeked matronly woman called Mina jian Fatuo. However the Daughters of the temple were called by their roles unless distinction from the previous occupier of the position was necessary. That was for those jobs that were on rotas. The Hag Daughter, for instance, was for life, and did not reveal her name.
As children rose groaning from their beds, noise filled the large East dormitory. There were many children staying in the convent - it was inviolate territory and as such safe from the clan-wars, K'mir and who knew what else that went on outside. They were given weekly excursions to the market to prepare them somewhat for the outside world, although those who were in direct danger for one reason or another were kept inside by order of their parents.
Ael had not given a thought about what he would do when he left the convent, as orphans did in their sixteenth year, when they were judged able to take care of themselves. He just assumed that he would manage, as he had managed in the convent life and all his classes, without really concentrating on it.
His teachers did not notice him - a lot of people didn't. He simply sat in the corner and absorbed information. This had led to him and his friend Reg to leave the classroom "sick" just minutes before the notorious Sulphur And Saltpeter Incident. When they heard the explosion, Reg ran to get help, leaving Ael to cautiously open the door on the shocked and generally unconscious class and beat out the flames. Reg was very good at being noticed, almost Ael's opposite. It was strange that they were best friends. However they didn't normally sit together in class - Reg's total inability to be inconspicuous meant that Troublemaker status was automatically given to those he sat with in class, and interfered with learning.
On the day of the Incident Ael had sat in class and listened as usual, but as the teacher prepared his ingredients he got a niggling suspicion that he had read about this in one of the Winding Circle books which were kept in the library as fairly accurate sources of knowledge. He couldn't quite remember, but he thought it might be a good idea not to be there when the experiment took place. He signaled Reg, with whom he had worked out a code of sorts, and Reg immediately jumped up, groaned, and persuaded the teacher to let him go to the sick room. He was almost to the door and everyone was turning back to their studies when Ael said "I think I should go with him, just in case" and rushed out before any disagreements could be voiced. Barely ten steps down the corridor, just as Ael began to explain, that *woomph* noise had occurred and explanations became unnecessary.
That noise... What could the man have given jin Quebac that was of such secrecy he had to be killed? And why do it in the convent gardens? Ael pondered this as he met up with Reg, who was talking to Siam jian Gawer, who was waiting for her sister Rachel to emerge from making up her face in the bathroom, where she had lately been spending increasing amounts of time since the arrival in the convent of a nobleman's youngest son to escape the fighting on the border.
Ael walked up behind them and tapped Reg on the shoulder. Reg jumped. "Hey!" He exclaimed. "How many times have I told you not to sneak up on me like that?"
"Sorry," Ael said absentmindedly, his thoughts still on last night's events, "I forgot."
At this point Rachel came out and the four of them started off to class. They were all orphans - Ael had been there the whole time, and the Reg had sort of gravitated to him out of solidarity. They had become friends with the twins when they first arrived, and were brought closer together when their father died.
They entered their first class - History of Saren. Ael sighed. For some reason history teachers were always so boring. He liked history, not least because he didn't know his own, but Master jin Bayou droned on and on till it was all Ael could do to listen. He generally managed to keep vaguely on track by reading along in his textbook, but it was still horribly boring.
They all sat down and resigned themselves to an hour of boredom.
******************************************************
Wow, this, for me, is a pretty long chapter! But, it's taking longer than most of the others. Oh well.
Reviewers: Thank you GoldenSquirrel and YzWhiz. Lady Riahanna Dragoneye: Actually I have no idea where it's going, possibly.
But not from hearing...
"Do you have it?"
"Yeah. You got the money?"
"First show me. I didn't come all the way here for a fake."
There was a rustling noise. "There, guv. Just as promised. Now where's my gold?"
"You... won't be needing it."
"What-" Then there was a hiss, then a thump that sounded ominously like a body slithering to the floor. The cloaked man muttered something which Ael strained his ears for but didn't quite catch. There was a *woomph* noise and the cloaked man stalked out, tucking something into his clothes.
Ael followed him further, concentrating on "not being there", but when the man reached the gate Ael realized that it was time to go back and he could not follow him much further without risking discovery. On his home turf he could hide like a shadow, but out in the streets...
As he crept away he wondered what on earth was going on. Why was Paguan jin Quebac, jin Anduo's chief mage, creeping around in the gardens of the Mother of Waters convent? And who was he meeting- Ael gasped. The man in the bower! Quietly, he changed direction and headed back to the gardens.
When he entered the bower there was no-one there, however on closer inspection there was a fine layer of ash on the ground. Ael knelt and picked some up, rubbing it between his fingers. Yes, he could feel some small magical residue in them. Then he remembered the strange noise after the mage performed the spell. It sounded just like when his science teacher had attempted to demonstrate the principles of sulfur and saltpeter and blown up his desk...
Ael stood up and backed away. Those were the remains of whoever the mage had met... well that was one way to prevent word getting around. He quickly mumbled the last rights over the ashes and sped back to his dormitory.
He slipped through the window and dived between the covers just as the cocks crowed, and Daughter Childkeeper bustled into the room.
"Rise and shine, children!" Daughter Childkeeper was currently a plump, rosy-cheeked matronly woman called Mina jian Fatuo. However the Daughters of the temple were called by their roles unless distinction from the previous occupier of the position was necessary. That was for those jobs that were on rotas. The Hag Daughter, for instance, was for life, and did not reveal her name.
As children rose groaning from their beds, noise filled the large East dormitory. There were many children staying in the convent - it was inviolate territory and as such safe from the clan-wars, K'mir and who knew what else that went on outside. They were given weekly excursions to the market to prepare them somewhat for the outside world, although those who were in direct danger for one reason or another were kept inside by order of their parents.
Ael had not given a thought about what he would do when he left the convent, as orphans did in their sixteenth year, when they were judged able to take care of themselves. He just assumed that he would manage, as he had managed in the convent life and all his classes, without really concentrating on it.
His teachers did not notice him - a lot of people didn't. He simply sat in the corner and absorbed information. This had led to him and his friend Reg to leave the classroom "sick" just minutes before the notorious Sulphur And Saltpeter Incident. When they heard the explosion, Reg ran to get help, leaving Ael to cautiously open the door on the shocked and generally unconscious class and beat out the flames. Reg was very good at being noticed, almost Ael's opposite. It was strange that they were best friends. However they didn't normally sit together in class - Reg's total inability to be inconspicuous meant that Troublemaker status was automatically given to those he sat with in class, and interfered with learning.
On the day of the Incident Ael had sat in class and listened as usual, but as the teacher prepared his ingredients he got a niggling suspicion that he had read about this in one of the Winding Circle books which were kept in the library as fairly accurate sources of knowledge. He couldn't quite remember, but he thought it might be a good idea not to be there when the experiment took place. He signaled Reg, with whom he had worked out a code of sorts, and Reg immediately jumped up, groaned, and persuaded the teacher to let him go to the sick room. He was almost to the door and everyone was turning back to their studies when Ael said "I think I should go with him, just in case" and rushed out before any disagreements could be voiced. Barely ten steps down the corridor, just as Ael began to explain, that *woomph* noise had occurred and explanations became unnecessary.
That noise... What could the man have given jin Quebac that was of such secrecy he had to be killed? And why do it in the convent gardens? Ael pondered this as he met up with Reg, who was talking to Siam jian Gawer, who was waiting for her sister Rachel to emerge from making up her face in the bathroom, where she had lately been spending increasing amounts of time since the arrival in the convent of a nobleman's youngest son to escape the fighting on the border.
Ael walked up behind them and tapped Reg on the shoulder. Reg jumped. "Hey!" He exclaimed. "How many times have I told you not to sneak up on me like that?"
"Sorry," Ael said absentmindedly, his thoughts still on last night's events, "I forgot."
At this point Rachel came out and the four of them started off to class. They were all orphans - Ael had been there the whole time, and the Reg had sort of gravitated to him out of solidarity. They had become friends with the twins when they first arrived, and were brought closer together when their father died.
They entered their first class - History of Saren. Ael sighed. For some reason history teachers were always so boring. He liked history, not least because he didn't know his own, but Master jin Bayou droned on and on till it was all Ael could do to listen. He generally managed to keep vaguely on track by reading along in his textbook, but it was still horribly boring.
They all sat down and resigned themselves to an hour of boredom.
******************************************************
Wow, this, for me, is a pretty long chapter! But, it's taking longer than most of the others. Oh well.
Reviewers: Thank you GoldenSquirrel and YzWhiz. Lady Riahanna Dragoneye: Actually I have no idea where it's going, possibly.