Chapter 28

“I have business with Hamatar Somash,” Zuri said to the security guard at the side entrance. He was a head taller than Zuri and broader than most people. The man slowly eyed Zuri up and down, before he shrugged.

“You Gura think you are all so high and mighty,” the man said. “You ain’t shit.”

“I see you have had the pleasure of meeting several of my more esteemed colleagues,” Zuri said. “My apologies because I know many of them have forgotten their manners and also forget from whence they came.”

“Yeah, they could use some schooling in manners,” he said. “They need security to keep from tripping over their own feet.”

“While on the subject, I am at odds with the security the Guras hired at the front of the building. Since when are gangs, from Borgin no less, allowed in the Lesser Royal Ring?”

“They’re being here is a sore subject for Mr. Somash,” the man said. “He tried several times to get them to reconsider and hire our staff. They knew better than us and everyone else for that matter, and now we have more work because no one trusts these thugs.”

Zuri slipped a coin in the man’s hand. “Although the Convocation runs through to the evening, I may have need to go back and forth, if you don’t mind.”

“No worries, Gura,” he said. “If trouble breaks out, look for us and not those pig farts out front.”

“Absolutely,” Zuri said as he bid the man farewell. Zuri took a step before turning back to the guard, “By the way, did the Gura arrange for the stage-facing door to be open today?”

The guard barked out a laugh. “Those cheap bastards?”

Zuri chuckled as he walked inside the hall. When he got to the final hallway, he examined the pull-down door that shut off access to the Great Hall. All one had to do was pull the pin and yank the cord. Any barrier he could put between would-be pursuers was a welcome addition. He turned left this time, taking a long walk to the front of the hall. The hallway stopped at a narrow room with a door on the right and ladders stacked against the wall on his left. He decided not to test the door. Taking the long walk back, Zuri strained to hear the noise in the Great Hall, but the walls were thick and solid enough to block out any sound. Only when he passed the catering kitchen did he begin to hear the murmur of many voices.

“What’s this nonsense about having the check-in?” one Gura groused. “I know who the hell I am, and half the hall knows who the hell I am.”

“They’re taking attendance as if we were still in school,” another said. “Shameful.”

“Like I want to see my classmates again,” another said, sparking a ripple of short laughs.

Zuri listened quietly with his head down, but his eyes were still able to grab faces as they talked. Most of the conversation was complaints about getting into the hall or food, or the beds. No one spoke aloud of bedmates, which Ellabet had assured him were happy with the great demand. Decorum was maintained, he supposed.

“Nice stick you got there,” a Gura said, who came to stand alongside Zuri.

“We are among Guras. You never know when the knives are going to come out,” Zuri said, giving the man a once over. He was a little older than Zuri.

“Clever, and not inaccurate,” the man said. “Are you expecting trouble today?”

Zuri thought for a moment. “Yes, but I don’t know the what or the how of it. Our Elders are mightily concerned, and some have come prepared.”

“The Chancellor is not present either,” the man said.

“Which is code for no one trusts the Provost,” Zuri said, deliberately pushing the conversation. “In such an atmosphere, we should be speaking more directly.”

“The Provost has his supporters, and they are brutal,” the man said softly, looking both ways.

“He also owns the security thugs out front,” Zuri said. “They are not welcome in the Lesser Royal Circle, but nonetheless, here they are. Still, a little bit of courage goes a long way. His supporters must be few and many of them will turn tail when given the chance.”

“So you say.”

“God is great,” Zuri said, as if the empty phrase was a sealing device on hot wax. He wandered around the back of the hall again, covertly searching for faces he might recognize. Men were beginning to take their seats, but the dull roar of conversation did not lessen. He noticed one face that was vaguely familiar and then he caught sight of one of his classmates. He forgot to inhale for an instant until he realized the man was not looking in his direction. Giving the face another glance, Zuri realized he had forgotten the man’s name.

“What does radical transformation look like?” the Patriarch asked from the podium. The acoustics of the room allowed his voice to carry, but by the time it reached the back of the room, the voice was soft and indistinct unless the speaker enunciated every syllable. The patriarch had played the room before and made his words clear.

The man spoke in general terms for a long while until he held up his hand. One of his assistants came forward and announced the Guras would break into smaller groups without leaving the room to discuss their ideas of “radical transformation”. Zuri watched two other Guras move a large blackboard forward on an easel. At this point he figured out they were going to waste the entire morning on Guras pontificating their ideas while the leaders bided their time. The leaders were looking for hooks to hang their new program on without doing the work themselves. A lot of men in the room were excited though.

Zuri ducked behind the curtain on the far side. He walked past the second kitchen, which was empty and silent. He passed the rolltop door, which was down and locked in place from the other side. He continued onward to the end of the hall. The same narrow room came into view, this one was filled with ropes, stacked benches, several chairs with high backs, cleats, and a few tools. This time he checked the door, and it was locked. As he walked back up the corridor, he was confronted by another burly man who was almost fat. When Zuri asked the man if he worked for Mr. Somash or for the Long Tucks, the man visibly relaxed.

“Mr. Somash,” he said.

“I had separate business with your boss this morning, and I am taking the time to check out the facility myself. Yesterday, the Guras used both kitchens and today, this side is completely closed. What did they order for today?”

“Nothing,” the man said. “We’re delivering a fifty head lunch to the Lord Vidasoro’s residence and then we will close down that kitchen as well. Have you found what you were looking for?”

“All the doors are locked and secure,” Zuri said with a nod. “The other side will soon be the same?”

“No, we’ll leave the pull down open so that we can keep an eye on things. Mr. Somash is not comfortable with the arrangements.”

“Neither am I,” Zuri said. “My concern is the entrance doors. You have no control over them, much to my dismay.”

“People need to stay in their districts; they’re put there for a reason,” the man shaking his head. “These people don’t listen to reason and when that happens, trouble erupts. Every time.”

“Good thing I’m carrying a big stick then,” Zuri said. “Shall we see what these Guras are up to now they’ve been given license to talk?”

The man grunted and turned around. Together they walked up the rest of the corridor until they reached the curtain. The din of voices was a loud rumble.

“All talk, no action,” Zuri said, peeking out the curtain.

“The same way we like our Nobles,” the man said. “It’s safer for everyone that way.”

Zuri took his time to stand behind different clutches of Guras as they passionately debated the question. Occasionally, he exchanged glances with Gura who was not engaged. A few were bored but several were nervous, paying attention to the front of the room and to the back doors. They felt as he did, something was amiss.

Gaining some confidence in his anonymity, Zuri slowly made his way towards the middle of the room where Guras were ten and twenty years older. The conversations were all similar though, confirming for Zuri that the exercise was futile. As he was debating whether to move further forward, the assistant announced the time had arrived to come back together. Zuri made a beeline for the back.