Chapter 33

Tarras stopped at a corridor junction. Directly ahead was the tower, while another passage opened to his right. He could glimpse the open area before the tower entrance. The guard was likely standing just out of view.

He did not dare go any further. If Q'yros had placed another of his "trip-wires" keyed to the enchantment on his possessions, he would bring the Mage running. He knew that Q'yros would be called to this area eventually, but it had to be someplace away from the tower.

Tarras looked down the other corridor. It was empty, as he had hoped. All the guards were patrolling more critical areas or keeping watch over the Lords at dinner. It was a wise move on the Mage's part. People are more dangerous in groups than individually. It was likely why no guard had decided to follow him or inquire as to where he was going.

Now he needed to attract the guard at the tower.

Tarras ducked into the side corridor, moving silently. On either side were simple wooden doors that led to clerical offices. The abundance of cobwebs was evidence that they had fallen into disuse. From the symbols on the doors, cartographers were once employed here. There was little more to be explored in the lands surrounding Oceanus. He doubted that these rooms had seen use for the past three Emperors.

He crept past a few doors before extracting a small dagger from his boot. He wished he had an accomplice for this, for the lack of one meant one key effect would be missing. He had to hope it would not reveal his ruse too soon.

Tarras gripped the knife and turned towards the junction. He walked such that his boots echoed off the stone floor. He came to a sudden stop. "Hold! Who are you?!" he shouted. "What are you doing?! No!"

He scuffled his feet. He brought the dagger to his shoulder and winced as he slashed the blade against it, cutting his shirt and drawing a bright red line of blood.

"No, stop!! ARRGH!" he screamed.

He flung the dagger against the wall behind him as hard as he could and fell to the ground. As he dropped, he heard the dagger make a metallic noise off the wall and fall somewhere in the main corridor.

As he heard booted feet pound towards him in the distance, he wished now he had an accomplice to simulate the sound of an assailant running away.

When the first of Tarras' yells came to Janna's ears, she nearly gasped.

The second guard's patrol had taken him into the area again. He had just started away when the sound came. She heard the scrape of his boots as he turned around.

"What was that?" he demanded.

Janna could hear the tower guard come to attention. Janna missed their reaction when Tarras screamed because it was all she could do not to react herself.

"I don't know," the tower guard said. "I'll check on it."

"Shall I cover your post?"

Janna swallowed. No no no no... she thought desperately in the short pause that followed.

When the tower guard spoke, he was already moving away. "No, stay on your route and watch the other side corridor in case we have a miscreant about."

"Yes, Commander!"

Janna swallowed and let out a sigh as the other guard turned and marched away again. She heard the footsteps of the tower guard quicken and retreat down the northward corridor.

She came out from behind the column and crept forward. She advanced until she glimpsed the second guard disappearing down the other corridor. She wasted no time. She dashed forward, her bare feet making very little noise. She slipped through the narrow, arched entrance of the tower and stepped to the side, putting her back against the wall.

Janna tried to keep her breathing under control. She looked ahead. In the center of the room was a dais. She could see the slight residual glow of magic around it and assumed it was a lifter. Stone steps rose in a spiral circling the dais.

She could not take the chance that the lifter would trigger a warning or make noise. She started up the stairs as fast as she could.

"What happened here?" the guard demanded when he came to a stop at the prone form of Tarras.

Tarras moved slowly and groaned. The guard spotted the blood and immediately dropped to one knee beside him. "Are you all right, my Lord? Who did this?"

Tarras very slowly pushed himself up. "One moment... please..." he gasped, pretending to be winded.

"You are injured. Do you need me to summon a Healer?"

"Eh? Injured... " Tarras moved as if in shock. He slowly rose to his knees and placed a hand briefly against his shoulder. He looked at the blood speculatively. "Hellfire... that's all he did... I was sure I was dead..."

The guard's forehead creased. "What were you attacked with, my Lord?"

"I-I'm not sure. He threw something at me. Heard something clatter..."

The guard looked around and saw a glint of torchlight off steel in the main corridor. He stood and retrieved the dagger. He looked it over, then turned to face Tarras, frowning. "Who attacked you, my Lord?" he demanded.

Tarras stalled as much as possible. First he paused as if catching his breath, then rose unsteadily to his feet.

The guard, however, was impatient. "I ask again, who attacked you? Every moment that passes means a greater chance he will get away."

"I don't know who it was, guardsman," Tarras said. "I could not see his face. He had a dark hood drawn over it. All his clothes were dark."

The guard raised an eyebrow. He reached into a cloth bag attached to his belt and withdrew a blue pearl. He waved his hand over it once. "Summon Plantho."

The image of the second guard shimmered into view. It was a bit dimmer and more indistinct than Tarras thought a Farview should be. "Yes, Commander?"

"One of the Noble Lords claims to have been attacked by a dark-robed figure with a hood. Do you see or hear anything at your end?"

"Nothing, Commander. All quiet here."

The guard nodded. "Carry on for now." He waved his hand again and the Farview ended. He turned to Tarras with a skeptical gaze. "And just where did your assailant go, my Lord?"

Janna was panting by the time she reached the top, her legs aching. She stood in a large, round chamber. A table curved about half its circumference. Everything appeared impeccably neat. On one end of the semicircle lay more than a dozen blue pearls seated in velvet. Several maps were piled near the center. At the other end was a group of scrolls.

Just as she looked over to them, she again felt the tug of a Farview summons. Duric had been doing it on a regular basis ever since she had come within sight of the portico. Her eyes returned to the scrolls. It had to be among them.

She picked up the first one, undid the cord holding it, and unrolled it. She sighed when it was not what she was looking for. She had to roll it back up again and re-tie it, so Q'yros would not notice anything out of place. There were seven more scrolls to examine.

And this was all assuming that the Mage did not have wards or other spells on the room or its contents that would have him running to the tower even now. It had not been something she had even considered, much to her chagrin.

She had to hope that luck -- and time -- were on her side.

Tarras was trying his best to stall, but it was clear that the guard was seeing all the holes in his story. He managed to buy some time by stating that he had heard the assailant start to run away but that the sound of his feet simply stopped. This at least made the guard check some of the rooms on either side of the corridor.

"I am sorry I am not much more help, guardsman," Tarras said. "It all happened rather fast, and I was more worried about dodging his knife. I am not as young as I used to be."

The guard closed the door, having to yank it hard to get its rusted hinges to work. Dust wafted down from above. The guard waved it away in annoyance as he turned to Tarras. "I find no evidence of your assailant."

Tarras sighed. "I suppose he got away, then."

"Which is impossible. There are a very limited number of passages from this area of the palace. Unless you wish me to believe he could turn himself invisible?" he asked in a mocking tone.

"I have no idea, guardsman. I only know what happened as I have told you."

The guard considered the Noble Lord for another moment before lifting the pearl again. He snapped his hand over it. "Summon Mage Q'yros."

Tarras stepped to the side so he would not immediately appear in the Farview, but otherwise remained impassive. Interesting, Tarras thought. That is the same pearl but it can summon more than one person. My, Q'yros has been busy.

It was a few moments before Q'yros' image appeared. "Yes, what is it?" he demanded.

"This is Commander Gruth, my Lord. One of the Noble Lords is here and claims to have been attacked by a dark-robed man with a dagger."

"What?! Are you serious, Commander? Wait, are you the one guarding the southeast tower?"

"I am."

"Do not leave that tower unattended!"

"One of my men is patrolling the hallway near the portico, my Lord. It is covered." He glanced at Tarras with a critical eye. "I do not believe I should leave the Noble Lord alone."

"Which one is it? Janna? Uras?"

Gruth turned his gaze inquisitively towards Tarras.

"Lord Tarras," said Tarras placidly.

"I heard that!" Q'yros declared before the guard could speak. "Do not let him out of your sight! I am on my way! And you are sure there is no one else around?"

"No one at all, my Lord. I assume you did not detect anything yourself?"

"Nothing," Q'yros grunted. "Let's keep it that way, shall we?"

"Yes, my Lord. If you wish me to return to my station, I can take Lord Tarras into custody."

"No. If another Lord enters that area, I don't want to have to sort out Tarras from his accomplice! Remain where you are until I arrive!"

Q'yros' image faded out.

Tarras now realized there was a second guard about. He hoped that Janna had managed to get past him and into the tower. He had no way of knowing. He had to continue as if things were going to plan.

"Finally..." Janna breathed.

She found it on the third scroll. It was taking her so long to re-tie each scroll she was sure she would run out of time. Now as she unrolled this one fully, she was seeing a table of patrol numbers, towns and landmarks, and times of day. It was what she was looking for.

She mentally answered the summons and held the scroll unrolled before her. Duric and another fellow that she had never seen before appeared superimposed with the table.

"Thank the gods," Duric said, his voice shaky with relief. "All right, just hold that up so..." He paused and blinked. Next to him, the fellow's eyes widened, then his lips curled into a lascivious smile. "Janna... are you naked?"

"No time to explain! Just start copying this! But I don't know if you'll have time..."

"Should take no more than a few moments," said the fellow next to Duric with a sly smile, his eyes making no pretension of where they were roaming.

"This is Annas, Janna, the rogue Mage that helped me transport the army. I had him Port back here because I thought he might have a way to copy the document faster."

"Almost done," he said, his hands waving over something off to the side. "I am in effect recording the image from the Farview into a pearl. Then we can simply examine it later and send it to Duric's army over Farview."

"Hurry up, I don't know how long Tarras can stall them..."

Duric raised an eyebrow. "Lord Tarras K'riis?"

"Yes, he's helping me. He knows all about what you're planning. So does Lord Uras."

Duric smirked. "And Uras doesn't want to kill me?"

"Believe me, Duric, you have no idea how bad things are here. He's glad you're..."

"Done," said Annas.

Janna immediately rolled up the parchment. "I have to get out of here. Contact me tomorrow. Now go away!"

Duric nodded and quickly terminated the Farview.

Janna re-tied the scroll, careful to do it right despite her desperate need to escape. At the same time, she took an idle glance at the maps in the center of the table.

Something she saw made her take a second look.

She recognized it as a map of the lands immediately surrounding the Imperial Palace. Her eyes roamed over it, taking note of the symbols drawn about the palace. They were Imperial regiment designations.

Damn, this is the deployment of their defenses, she thought. If I had known that was here, I would have had them... wait...

Janna put down the scroll and leaned in for a closer look. Her eyes widened.

She was not an expert on military matters. She had no idea how many regiments comprised a legion. But the number she was seeing was a bit alarming. She was pretty sure it was more than one legion.

Unfortunately, she had no time to study it. She had to get out.

She ducked out of the chamber and started down the stairs.

Q'yros thumped his staff hard against the floor with each step he took down the corridor. He was flanked by two more guards, their crossbows drawn.

Tarras turned casually and flashed the Mage a smile. "Good day to you, Mage Q'yros."

Q'yros said nothing until he was upon them. He thumped his staff one last time and crossed his hands over the end. In a remarkably calm voice with a smile devoid of warmth, the Mage said, "Lord Tarras, give me one reason why you should not be arrested this very minute."

"Hmm. A tough one. You always give impromptu quizzes like this to visiting Nobility?" Tarras asked with a grin.

Q'yros glowered. "You have one more chance to answer me seriously, or I will take that as an admission of guilt."

"Guilt? Guilt for what? I suppose then my answer is, 'because I have done nothing wrong.'"

The Mage took a deep breath, though it did little to calm him. His fingers curled tightly around the end of the staff. "Why are you not at dinner, Lord Tarras?"

"Perhaps because I did not quite have enough of an appetite. I assume that is not against the Emperor's rules, now is it? Nor is wandering the palace."

"There are areas that you are not to traverse..."

"And I have not traversed them. You, of all people, should know that."

Q'yros' eyes narrowed.

"Really, Q'yros, I see no reason for this interrogation," said Tarras in what he hoped was typical indignant-Lord fashion. "You are so worried about security, yet a Noble Lord can be attacked in your very corridors..."

"There is no evidence that he was attacked, my Lord," Gruth said to the Mage.

"Hmm. The wound in my shoulder would appear to indicate otherwise," said Tarras smoothly. "Unless you contend that I threw the dagger at myself."

Q'yros frowned. "Dagger? What dagger?"

"He claims this was thrown at him, my Lord," said Gruth, handing over the weapon.

Q'yros gave it a cursory glance, turning it once in his hand. He looked up at Tarras. Without taking his eyes from the Noble Lord, he said, "Commander, take one of these two guards and check the tower. Make sure no one has breached it."

"Yes, my Lord."

Tarras kept his outward demeanor unchanged as the Commander and one of Q'yros' guards left.

"Care to tell me now what they will find, Lord Tarras?" Q'yros asked with a smug grin.

"Most likely whatever you last left there, I would wager," Tarras replied. "I hope you're not a messy person, or you're likely in for some embarrassment."

The Mage frowned at this and remained silent.

Janna reached the bottom of the steps and stopped. She heard booted feet approaching from the second guard on his patrol. She had to wait until he had retreated.

The footsteps stopped, and there was a maddening pause. Finally, there was the scrape of his boots against stone and the sound of him walking away. Now she just had to wait until he had reached the...

And at that moment, she heard approaching footfalls from the main corridor to the junction.

Janna tried to contain her panic. She leaned out of the doorway and saw the retreating back of the other guard. He had just passed the far edge of the portico. Janna glanced towards the main corridor. She could see the shadows of the approaching guards.

Janna quickly slipped out of the tower and towards the portico. Suddenly the guard ahead of her paused.

She didn't stop to think, she just acted. She made a final dash onto the portico. She heard the boot-scrape sound just as she hid behind the center column.

"We are to search the tower," Janna heard the tower guard's voice say. "Have you seen anything on your patrol?"

"Nothing, Commander. All quiet."

Janna swallowed and let her breath go in a shaky sigh.

"Resume patrol. This will take only a moment."

"Yes, Commander."

Janna waited. She heard the tower guard and another enter the tower. She heard the other guard walk away. Once it was quiet again, she dashed to the railing and vaulted it, wincing as she caught her forearm on a thorn. She landed hard, but remembered to tuck herself into a roll, and came out of it without more than a bruise or two.

She paused to make sure she had not been discovered. The moon had cleared the trees and provided her some silvery radiance. She glanced at her arm. A thin trail of blood traced a jagged path. The flow of blood had already slowed. She ignored it for now.

When she heard nothing from above her, she stole away from the portico, creeping along until her eyes adapted to the darkness. Soon she was lost in the shadows.

Q'yros suddenly turned away from Tarras. An image of Commander Gruth appeared before him. "Well?"

"The tower is secure, my Lord," said Gruth. "No one is here, and there is no evidence that anyone has been here."

Q'yros frowned deeply. "Fine. Resume your posts." He terminated the Farview with a swipe of his hand and turned to Tarras.

"I take it I am free to go now?" asked Tarras. "I believe I have enough of an appetite for dinner now."

"Where is Lady Janna?"

Tarras looked unconcerned. "Janna? Last I saw her, she was going for a stroll in the gardens. She was to meet me later for dinner. Why?"

Q'yros' jaw clenched and he thumped his staff once. He turned and rushed away.

"My Lord?" the remaining guard asked in confusion.

"Let him go!" the Mage snapped without turning around or slowing. "And resume your duties!"

Lord Tarras smiled pleasantly at the guard and walked away.

Q'yros was winded and tired by the time he reached the room. He ran with an unsteady gait to the still-broken stone table and shouted, "Show me!"