Disclaimer – I do not own BMT world, it belongs to Trudi Canavan

Eavesdropping

Sonea made a conscious decision not to look at any of the magicians she passed on her way to Akkarin's rooms. It was too early in her new role and she had no way of knowing how they would react. She didn't want to run into some of her previous tormenters or even those who had not been overtly hostile. She kept her eyes fixed firmly on the floor, not attempting to meet anyone's gaze and only making quick upward glances when she needed to change direction. People were coming back from their mid-day meal, so the building was crowded. Sonea breathed a sigh of relief when she finally reached Akkarin's corridor. It was much quieter there.

When she arrived outside his rooms, she tapped softly on the door. Akkarin didn't answer or release the lock straight away and while she was waiting, she looked at the other doors. It seemed that Akkarin had no immediate neighbours, the first occupied rooms were several doors down the corridor. She wished that it was the same on her corridor, but there every apartment was occupied with the potential for constantly running into people every time she left her accommodation. They could have put me up here! she grumbled to herself, there's plenty of room. How pathetic of Balkan!

Simultaneously with the release of the lock, she heard Akkarin's Come in Sonea and the door opened. She went in. Akkarin wasn't in the main room, but in the time since she had last been there, he had made some changes to it. He had rearranged the furniture to create a more spacious feel to the room. He had pulled a couple of the chairs over to the fireplace where a cheerful fire was now burning. She saw there were one or two things she recognised from his study at the Residence dotted about. Now how did he manage to get hold of them?

Sonea also noticed that some of his books had appeared on the shelves. As he had not carried them with him into Imardin, she was at a loss to explain their presence. Just as she was about to call out her question, Akkarin emerged from the bedchamber. He had discarded his robes and was simply dressed in trousers and shirt. She found this both familiar and comforting. If she just closed her eyes….

"How is your accommodation?" Akkarin asked intruding on her rather nice thoughts.

"About the same as yours, not very inspiring," she replied with a smile, "but I see you've already made some changes. Where did those books come from?"

"Merin can be very obliging when he wants something," he grinned and picked up a large book, flicking the pages and breathing deeply. "Newly purchased, if I'm not mistaken."

Akkarin reached over to a shelf and pulled out a heavy leather bag. She could tell by the noise it made it was full of coins. He tugged it open and spilled some of the contents on to the table. Sonea could see the gleam of gold among the silver and copper coins.

"My recompense for being the King's Magician," Akkarin said. "We should be able to buy what we need to make life a bit easier. We can also see if we can find some of my other things from the Residence." She must have looked puzzled for he added, "The passages, we must check and see if any have been discovered."

She sighed. She had completely forgotten about the passages they had used to move around the Guild unseen. It had only been seven years, but already she was feeling it was more like a lifetime ago when she had lived in the Residence.

"Are there passages associated with this building?" she asked.

"Yes, there is an entrance right at the back of the cellars. It's possible, though, that Balkan has discovered them and blocked them. We will look tonight. I'm hoping that Balkan hasn't discovered all my secrets! Now, are you hungry?"

She nodded reluctantly because she knew where he was going with that question.

"Good, then I suggest we go to the Food Hall and have a meal." She must have pulled a face, because he went on, "We will have to go sooner or later and it's better to get it over with because the longer we leave it, the worse it will get."

In the event, it wasn't as bad as she had feared. It was later in the day, and the main rush of hungry magicians was long over. They got some strange glances from a few of the magicians they passed, but many simply turned away so their journey to the Food Hall passed without incident. As soon as they walked in, though, conversation abruptly ceased as they walked past the tables, only to start up again as soon as they passed by.

Sonea noticed Regin at one of the tables, surrounded by his friends, all of whom stared at them in silence, watching their every move as they joined the queue for the serving table, collected their meal, and found a somewhere to sit. She could still see Regin's group out of the corner of her eye and she noticed he was regaling them with some story. His face was animated as he gestured to reinforce a point. Every so often, he would look over at her, smiling a little, before going on with his tale.

She looked down at the food. It was some sort of stew, with a few vegetables added. It tasted no better than it looked, but it was the only meal available. She had forgotten about the ordinary food in the Guild. When she had first joined, the food tasted so much better than what she was used to in the city. Later, in the Residence, she had become used to Takan's much higher standards. The meal in front of her now didn't inspire her appetite, but she had to keep up her strength. She began to eat, trying not to notice the stringiness of the meat, or the thinness of the watery gravy.

"What do you intend to do to start with?" she asked when she'd finished as much as she could bear.

Akkarin mopped up the last of the stew with some bread and pushed his plate aside. "I need to arrange a meeting with some of the leading Warriors. If the Guild is to be ready and able to face an Ichani attack, then the Warriors need to know how best to fight them. They won't be very happy, but I have to convince them to change their tactics quite dramatically."

"Good," she said, looking forward to some Warrior training, but she was to be disappointed.

"I need to do this alone, Sonea, Warrior to Warrior. It won't do to have you tagging along with me." She opened her mouth to argue, but he forestalled her, "I won't discuss this. It is my decision to make."

The tone and firmness of his words reminded her forcibly of Akkarin at his High Lord best. It would do her no good to argue. "What am I to do then?" she asked.

She had told him earlier about her encounter with Irun and he reminded her how useful a sympathetic young magician could be. "It would be a great help if you could try to discover what the general mood is among the younger magicians. Your friend Irun sounds like a good place to start. I suggest you call on her as soon as you can."

For a moment, she felt she was being palmed off with a make-task, something to keep her occupied while he got on with the real job, but she choked off the feeling. It was only their first day, and there was little point in getting upset so early. After all, she conceded to herself, it is true we need to know how the magicians feel about things in the Guild. Otherwise how could we put matters right? But still, the part of her which craved action was disappointed. Her further musings were cut short by the sound of a familiar voice.

"So you haven't forgotten your way to the Food Hall, then?"

It was Lorlen, a welcoming smile on his face. He stood close to their table and looked meaningfully at the vacant chair beside them. Before she could stop herself, she'd pulled out the chair and asked him to sit down.

"No, we just followed the delightful smells!" she laughed, glad of an excuse to be cheerful.

Lorlen asked after their accommodation and made a note of where their rooms were located. He promised to call on them soon, and they fell to discussing a few inconsequential things, but it soon became obvious that Akkarin was anxious to be away. Lorlen stood up and promised to meet up with them later in the day.

After he'd gone, Sonea frowned at Akkarin, "That wasn't very friendly of you," she said, "Lorlen would be keen to help us, I think, and we could do with some allies."

What could only be described as Akkarin's patient look crossed his features, "Lorlen's position here is difficult enough without involving him in our affairs," he said in such a calm patient voice Sonea was tempted to hurl the dregs of her teacup at him. "We can be pleasant and exchange a few words when we meet, but I don't want him drawn in. When we leave, he has to remain here. There's no escape for him and he will suffer the consequences of what we do. His only protection is to be seen to be detached from us."

Sonea wanted to disagree, but she could see what Akkarin meant. She noted his remark about leaving the Guild. So he had no plans to remain? That surprised her. She had thought he would be drawn in again to the idea of power and influence. Indeed, that had been one of his arguments against returning. The fact that he had finally agreed had convinced her he intended once again to seek his future as a leading member of the Guild.

Later, back in Akkarin's rooms, he gave her some of the coins, telling her to go into Imardin on Freeday to purchase what she needed. As he talked, she began to realise that it would be more difficult than she'd imagined to watch his back. He had plans to meet with different groups of people and she was not included. He talked of her visiting Justen, but of his own plans to see his son, he said nothing. The more she questioned, the more he talked of the importance of finding out what magicians really thought and how she could help with that.

Eventually they ran out of conversation and Sonea started back to her own room. By now it was mid-afternoon and they had no plans to meet again before the evening meal. She felt at a loose end. Before, as a Novice, she had had classes to attend, work to do and a number of books to study. Now, she was part of a Discipline of two, with no immediate task except to foster a friendship with Irun.

She had never found it easy to make friends within the Guild. She could count on the fingers of one hand those she could rely on, Rothen, Dorrien, Lorlen and Akkarin. For a time, she had thought Vinara a friend, but her experiences with the Healer after her capture had changed her mind.

She turned away from her corridor and went out into the afternoon sunshine. It felt good to be outdoors, away from the claustrophobic atmosphere of the Magicians' Quarters. She looked for familiar places as she meandered slowly along, taking care not to meet the eyes of passers by.

She found her wanderings had taken her to the Library, so on an impulse she went in. The same familiar smell of old books and parchments made her think of the many times she had sought refuge here, putting off as long as possible the return to the Residence and its sinister occupant. She smiled to herself as she remembered the places she found to conceal her presence in case her guardian came looking for her. Not that he did, of course and she now suspected he knew exactly where she had been every single time.

She made her way to an old haunt, an area surrounded on three sides by book stacks and hidden from the fourth by a convenient alcove. There she had spent many an hour tucked up with a book, studying in peace. But as she neared her old refuge, she became aware that it was occupied. She was about to turn away, when, as often in such circumstances, she heard her own name amongst the quiet buzz of conversation. She stopped. She knew that voice. Regin! What was he plotting now?

She crept closer until she could hear more clearly. There were two of them, Regin and an unknown female voice.

"….but we have to do something," the girl said shrilly. "We can't just let the King send any criminal he likes into the Guild to do who knows what."

"He's meeting some of the senior Warriors this afternoon," Regin said, "I tried to get myself invited, but failed. He only wants certain people there." Sonea plainly heard the anger in his tone. Regin obviously didn't like being left out.

"Yes, there's to be something similar with senior Alchemists later. What's the girl up to, do you know?"

"She's probably only here to keep his bed warm," Regin said with a sneer, "She's probably had a lot of practice since they left."

"And before they went," the girl added nastily. "Fancy bringing his dwell whore back here. She always was a troublemaker. I'm sure I can deal with her, a little accident perhaps?"

"Be careful, Kelda, she's pretty strong and what with the forbidden magic too, she won't be easy to trick."

There was a moment or two of silence, before Kelda spoke again, "I was there when she challenged you, I was only a first year novice, but I thought how great you looked striding out into the middle of the Arena. She must have cheated – I've always thought so."

"Perhaps she did," Regin acknowledged. "I wanted a return contest, but she refused. Probably knew she wouldn't have been able to do it again."

There was a sort of shuffling sound, then Sonea heard the sound of noisy kisses. Then Regin murmured something too low for her to catch and Kelda giggled. There was more shuffling and giggling before they got back to their original conversation.

"The High Lord has asked all Warriors to watch Akkarin and his whore closely," Regin explained. "The Cohort Commanders have organised a rota system, so they won't notice they're being watched, but a Warrior will be close to them at all times. If you know of some trustworthy Alchemists who would do the same, I know the High Lord would be grateful."

"I certainly will, Regin. There are a lot of us who hate the idea that he's back again. They broke the rules and were punished fair and square; some even think they got off lightly. The King has no right to interfere in the Guild's own affairs."

"I'd best be getting back, Kelda," Regin said to the sound of a chair scraping back. "I'll meet you in the Night Room later and you can tell me what you've discovered."

Sonea just had time to scoot back into the alcove before Regin and Kelda emerged. She only caught a glimpse of Kelda, but she was sure she'd recognise her again. It was a good start to her investigations.