Chapter 5

It took me a moment to reconcile his words and his appearance. He had mother’s brow and strong cheeks. His age belied a sparkle in his blue eyes, but the jaw line was reminiscent of both mother and grandmother.

“How?” I asked as I slowly crossed the room. “There is no record of you. No mention of this inn. Mother would have said something to me, even if grandmother would not. What are you doing here?”

By the time I reached the chairs in front of his desk, my legs were weak, so I sat heavily. His smile was warm but guarded.

“That is a tale, for certain.” He rose and went to an unnoticed bar where he poured two glasses of wine from a small cask. “My apologies for tapping your stock, but I wanted a taste of wine from home. It’s hard to come by over here. Do you think you’ll really start importing some?” he asked as he handed me a glass.

I shrugged, still trying to process his words. I sipped the wine noting its strong acidic fruit and light buttery notes on my tongue. I glanced at the cask, steering my thoughts to the mundane and my cover as I struggled to not repeat my questions. I felt betrayed by my own family and was not sure if I was justified or just surprised.

“You did not get the best off the wagon,” I said with a nod at the cask. “The Semillon-chardonnay blend is better.”

He smiled. “Perhaps we’ll be able to sample that together.” He sat back down at his desk. “To fully answer some of your questions, I need to ask a few of my own first. What did your grandmother tell you about this inn and our operations here?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Virtually nothing. I was told we had a relationship with an inn here, adjacent to the embassy. I was told to stay here, and let the staff know what I needed, discreetly.”

He smiled encouragingly. “After all these years, mother still looks to protect me,” he said with a sigh. “I was worried that Devon may have led her to loosen her tongue.”

“Devon?”

He nodded. “You and Devon are cousins. He is my grandson, and you are my nephew. I’ve been running this inn here for nearly a hundred years. My father helped me get it started.”

“Why?” I asked. “Why here?”

His eyes saddened. “Because it was flee, or die, Cosimo. We really had no choice. I put mother and father in an untenable position where they could either uphold their responsibility to the empire or violate that same duty to save me.” He frowned, took a deep drink of his wine, and then sat back to look at me.

“I was not much older than you when I thought I was the cock-of-the-walk. I had just finished at the collegium and was preparing to move up in the organization. I was the day manager at the club in Cardino and enjoyed my time with a few ladies of good repute. One of them was favored by several young men that season. We all vied for her attention and favor.” He shook his head and scowled. “No, I won’t lie to myself about that, it’s been much too long to try and paint a good picture of those times.”

He drank again. “She was playing a social game and fending off several suitors, of which I was but one. I thought she was mine to be had. She thought otherwise and had eyes for another. I was viewed as a high guilder. My rival was from one of the families and in line to become a senator. She chose him, and I let my temper get the better of me. Maybe if I had thought it through, I would not have accosted him. Maybe I could have challenged him to an actual duel. Instead, I just unleashed my rage at not getting what I thought I deserved.”

He gave a forced, dry chuckle. “In the end, I got what I really did deserve, even though it cost me everything. I killed the man in jealous rage and was convicted of murder. I was consigned to our very own black wing for the completion of the sentence.”

He looked up at me and I felt the sense of horror grandmother must have felt. Duty or family? Which would I choose if faced with the same situation. He nodded sadly.

“She and father conspired to fake the execution of their own son. I was drugged with her own concoction, placed into an animated state where a cursory inspection would let me pass for dead. I awoke in the private lab below the club, destine to never walk free in the streets again. Mother would not speak to me, and father could barely stand the sight of me. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the months I spent in those sterile rooms.”

“It was about this time of year, near the winter solstice that I learned of their plans for me. I was smuggled to Romanifo and onto a ship in Freeport. Father was with me. I stayed below decks the entire journey, him watching over me, but scarcely saying a word. The silence was torture. I yelled at him, told him to yell at me, tell me how disappointed he was, how reckless I had been. He just looked at me with sad eyes and shook his head.”

“We arrived in Thistle, and still I was transported in secret, slipping off the ship in the dead of night. We lived rough, travelling south and west in the Free Cities until we reached opened farming country. Father bought a small farm, and we settled in to prepare for the coming spring and turning ourselves into farmers.”

He paused, lost in thought as he shared his story. “It was sometime during that year that I began to finally grow up,” he said. “Father was a harsh taskmaster, but he was not cruel. He worked right alongside me as we turned the soil, planted, tended our livestock and struggled to survive. As we did, he shared some of his childhood with me. He told me how his older brothers always seemed to have it easier than him, the youngest in his father’s line. He shared his own sense of bitter disappointment when he realized he would inherit little of the aristocratic life he had been brought up in. He talked about the anger he felt at his father and brothers. Then, during a quiet summer day, I asked him how he got over that anger. He answered, ‘your mother’.”

“That was when I realized what he had given up for me. He was here, in this hellish backwater sweating on a farm so that I would not break my mother’s heart in disappointment.” He took a long pull from his glass, nearly finishing it. “That was my turning point,” he said. “I think it was also the point my father began to forgive me a little.”

“We struggled through the first three years, but then had enough credibility with the locals to fit in. Father left me alone for nearly half a year, returning to the empire. Honestly, I was surprised when her turned up back at the farm one spring day. I thought he had set me on the path for the remainder of my life and returned to his true love. Instead, he came back with a small trunk of silver and a ledger. We got the crop in and sold the farm to a neighbor who had too many sons. We came to Crown and bought a small inn near the south gate.”

“Father was the proprietor, and I was the manager and general laborer. We struggled at first, but soon were able to trade some of our family knowledge for success in the Free Cities. Just as our clubs back home cater to less common needs, we branched out and gave our clients more than food, ale, and rooms. It took time and a lot of hard work, but we grew and prospered. I met a good lass from another family of innkeepers, and we married. Her dowery allowed us to move to a new inn, here next to the embassy, and our clientele grew along with our reputation. Embassy staff began viewing us as their local club, which attracted the burghers and their spies as well. Now, we’re on our third generation of innkeepers and I try to stay mostly out of sight and run our other enterprises. Father returned to mother every few years for a month or two and then came back with additional instructions and plans. Slowly, we made connections and placed our eyes and ears around the Free Cities.”

“What happened to him?” I asked.

“Old age. He refused a rejuvenation when he turned one hundred and fifty. He was tired, he told me. I think it was the thought of your mother growing up without him being part of her life that did him in. Mother evidently begged him to have the procedure, but he held firm. Instead of going to the other unnamed house, he paid an extra fee to have them come here for me. That was about the time your mother would have been born. Since then, I keep a low profile. Most anyone that would recognize me here has died as well, but I play it safe. The locals would think I’m a witch if they realized I’m the same man that helped open this place so long ago.”

My mind was reeling. “Devon?” I asked.

He nodded. “I married Ciara, and we had a lovely daughter Fiona. She was Devon’s mother.”

“I thought he was Allia’s grandson,” I said.

“He is. She was his father’s mother. I sent word home when father passed. Jason, Allia’s son came at mother’s bidding. He fell in love with Fiona. I insisted that Fiona go with him to mother’s for the birth. If I had known it would be the last time I saw Fiona, I might have made a different decision.”

“What happened?”

“Jason was a troubleshooter for your grandmother. He was sent someplace in the empire. Up north, I think. Fiona and Devon went with him. They were killed in an accident on a mountain road. Devon survived. Allia insisted on watching over him and raising him up in the empire. I could hardly protest. I was glad your mother sent him back here for part of his training.” His voice could not hide his obvious sadness and regret.

“This is a lot to take in,” I finally managed to say.

He nodded. “I’m sure it is, but it feels good for an old man to unburden his soul, nephew. Tell me about yourself, your mother, and home.”

I struggled to share the state of our family with him. I glossed over any aspect of our business and tried to focus on my relationship with mother and grandmother. He nodded as I mentioned my strange childhood and moving across social levels.

“If mother had done that with me, I might still be in the empire,” he commented. “I’m surprised she did not do something similar with Livy after the way I turned out.”

I smiled at the thought of mother being a low guidler or plebe during her junior academy days. “I don’t think mother had nearly the free reign you described.”

“So, you’re betrothed?” he said as I wound down.

I nodded and thought of Samantha. I wished she were waiting for me upstairs.

“Yes. She’s the youngest daughter of Senator Dennison,” I said.

His eyes got wide. “And you brought her here?” There was obvious concern in his voice.

“No,” I said. “She is at home, starting to learn the business.”

“Then the girl and mother with you are?”

“Part of my mission. They can identify some of the traitors we’re seeking. We heard of the dangers for women alone here and decided to cover them as my betrothed and her mother.”

“That’s smart, but you need to be careful. Do not let them come down into the lower level of the inn, and don’t let them wander around on their own. I’ll talk to Rayna and make sure they are covered and protected.”

“Who is Rayna?” I asked. “Surely you would not let an outsider run this place, if it is all you’ve hinted at.”

He smiled. It was the first genuine smile I though he had shared since we bagan talking. “She’s your cousin as well. Fiona’s younger sister, Deidre was her mother. When Deidre fell to the fever a few years ago, I took her on fulltime to help here. She’s grown into the job.”

I was about to ask another question, but he raised a finger. “Let’s not get too far off topic here. Your mission is about these traitors. My eyes and ears can probably narrow the search, but we’ve got nearly forty imperials scattered across the Free Cities right now. You’ll have to help narrow them down and use your women to identify them.”

“Forty is a lot, but if you have locations on most of them, it should go faster than I planned. If we can identify them, can you help watch for who they meet with. We suspect a traitor we missed will be joining them.” I went on to explain the cipher we found and what we suspected about the killing at sea.

Gerald sat back and steepled his fingers in thought.

After a few minutes, he nodded. “You’ll have to handle the embassy. If it is an aristocrat, there is a good chance they will go there and then come here. I can’t go into the embassy, so that will fall on you.”

“Why?”

He scowled. “Damn DNA id,” he said. “Even after an off-the-books rejuve, my DNA is a match for a convicted murderer who was consigned ages ago. I can’t take the risk of them requiring a scan. It would be a death sentence for me and mother. I’ve done enough harm to our family, so I’ll stay well outside the walls of the embassy.”

I nodded, embarrassed that I did not consider that. Just as Anna and Bianca would show up as CI’s if they entered the embassy. I would need to make certain I warned them. I did not want them exposed here.

I wished I had stayed with the women at the inn as a gust of wind blew cold rain in my face. The embassy was only a short walk from our lodging, but I suspected I would want to visit the bath house as soon as I returned. The downpour threatened to soak me despite the oilcloth shell of my long travel coat and well water-proofed leather boots. I hoped my travel satchel would protect the letters entrusted to me.

The embassy gate stood open and was mostly protected from the rain by a stout awning. Two imperial troopers watched me approach without expression. I stuck a finger in the DNA scanner and handed my identification card to the guard. He glanced at my name and slid the card into the scanner. A moment later, the scanner flashed green, and he pulled my card and handed it back to me.

“Where can I find...”

He raised his hand. “All inquiries at the desk inside, sir.”

I nodded, looked at the water-soaked path between me and the main administration building, shrugged, and ducked back into the cold rain. It was only a short walk, but I hurried, knowing I would likely dry enough inside only to have to get wet on my return.

The administration building was an imposing structure, three stories tall, with a stark grey granite façade interrupted by deeply recessed windows. The upper floors had more windows than walls, but I knew they were all much stronger than they looked. The empire would never put their best defensive technology here, but I suspected everything was better than what the locals could bring to bear if they turned belligerent again.

I was happy to enter the large foyer and grateful to see a cloakroom where an attendant held a towel as I shed my coat.

“Thank you,” I said as I dried myself and returned the towel in exchange for a small chit indicating which coat was mine. I then went to a raised desk in the center of the room staffed by a bored looking woman in a neat but austere uniform.

“Where would I find an officer at?” I asked. “I have dispatches to turn over,” I added as I lifted my bag.

She raised her eyebrows and extended her hand. “I can take them and have them routed internally,” she said.

I shook my head. “Sorry, but I need an imperial security officer to turn some of these over to.”

She must have had some method of signaling, since two troopers in their black uniforms emerged from a door and came over.

“Courier,” the woman said without another word.

The guards nodded and ushered me back through the door they had come from.

“Not very talkative bunch here, are you?” I said as we traipsed down a long corridor and then stood before an elevator.

“Better to be silent and thought a fool, than open your mouth and confirm it,” one soldier said.

I nodded.

I was surprised when the elevator descended, dropping us three floors below the ground level. The door opened into a large alcove with another guard behind a desk and doors to the right and left. My escorts took me into the room on the right.

“Wait here for an officer,” one said as he backed out of the room and closed the door behind him.

I sat in the chair facing the doorway and looked around. The room was plain and functional, as I expected in an imperial security facility. I wondered what sort of generator the embassy housed. It made sense that they would have electricity here, but I was surprised how much. I expected only minimal use. Given the lighting, the soft blow of warm air circulating from the vents, and the elevator, they had more than enough power.

The door opened and an older looking woman in the imperial black entered. She had wrinkles around her eyes and gray streaking her dark hair, but looked through me as if she could read my soul.

“Cosimo Onwane, I’m Major Timmons. I understand you have dispatches for us.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I placed my bag on the table and opened the flap to pull a tightly wrapped bundle of messages from inside. I put the bundle on the table, returned my bag to the floor, and then broke the seal on the thin strings encircling the bundle.

“These were sealed when I received these instructions,” I said as I slipped the envelope under the strings to her. The remainder of the bundle was wrapped and sealed as well.

She read the note, then looked up at me with surprise. I knew the head of imperial security had signed these instructions, most likely at the same time he had signed my papers to journey from Freeport.

“The letter in the blue envelope is to be read by the embassy head of imperial security here in your presence, out loud. Why?”

“I know my instructions. They should confirm them to myself and the required embassy personnel,” I said. “Is the head of impsec available?”

“Fortunately for you, that would be me.”

I pushed the bundle to her.

She broke the second seal and unwrapped the stack of letters, setting aside all but the blue envelope. She saw a written signature across the seal, compared it to the one on the instructions, then opened it.

“From the desk of Imperial Security, by my own hand, Connor Decker. Cosimo Onwane is travelling on official business for Imperial Security and is to be given every assistance in the completion of his mission by the forces stationed at the Imperial Embassy in Crown of the Free Cities. He and his travelling companions are to be protected in the execution of their mission by at least one troop trained for local operations. Deniable assets may also be used. In the event of conflict with locals, Cosimo and his companions are to be considered diplomatic assets of imperial rank. This directive may be shared with the head of embassy security and the ambassador but will not be revealed to any other embassy personnel. These instructions shall be destroyed once read and understood.”

Major Timmons’ eyes were wide when she looked up at me. “Can you share your mission, or part of it? I need to understand how much trouble you’re likely to face if I’m to assign a troop or two to you.”

“Are you aware of the plot uncovered last spring?” I asked. She nodded and I went into the tale of how we thought some of the conspirators had escaped to the Free Cities, and that at least one person had escaped notice during the initial investigations.

The major rocked back in her chair and stared up at the ceiling once I finished speaking. Once she collected her thoughts, she looked at me.

“Why isn’t Impsec handling this?” she asked. She was not belligerent in tone, but obviously curious.

“We are working with them. We have contacts that won’t discuss things with imperial forces. Think of us as a go-between.” It was a line father had shared with me when I first met our contacts in Impsec just over a month ago.

“Even here?”

I nodded. “My sources say there are nearly forty imperials living in the Free Cities, outside the embassy. My companions can identify the known conspirators. We need to get eyes on them before they meet with the new traitor.”

“Forty? We only have records of eighteen subjects living here currently. I need to see your list.”

I shook my head. “I’ll take yours. Most likely, I can trim them from my list and work to get a look at the remainder.”

She did not like that, but the directions were clear. She was to assist me, not the other way around. She grumbled some but finally stood and went to the doorway. A brief conversation later and she returned.

“They will get the list and last known location information.” She did not look pleased but was professional enough to mask it well. “You’re staying at the Minstrel, on the square outside the gates?”

“Yes, why?”

“I’ll send a troop to you there. Better they meet you somewhat casually.”

“How many troopers in a troop? I want to keep a low profile here. I’d like to not tip our hand.”

She nodded. “A troop is usually four people, each with a specialty. I’ve got two that are good for discreet work with the locals. Only one is currently in Crown.”

“I’d rather not meet at the inn,” I said. “Too many embassy staff use it as a social club. Have their leader meet me at the Gilded Cockrel for lunch tomorrow. I’ll have the narrowed list by then. Let them know I’ll be talking to Franny or her husband about selling them some wine.”

Her eyebrows rose. The fact that I already knew some of the city and had a solid cover prepared must have surprised her. “What about recognition codes?” she asked.

“Have them ask if Martin had any news from Thistle. Martin is the carriage driver that most imperials use to travel from Thistle to Crown. He’s Franny’s brother-in-law.”

“What else will you need from us?” She asked as the door opened and one of the troopers handed her a sheet of paper. She glanced at it and passed it over. I folded it and slipped it into my case.

“Keep eyes on any new arrivals. I suspect whoever is meeting the conspirators was on my ship and will come here first. If they are aristos or high guilders, they are likely to visit the embassy.”

“They are required to,” she replied. “You should have come straight here as well.”

I ignored the criticism.

“You can’t reveal my mission, per both our orders, but I’d appreciate it if the gate guards knew I was to be passed quickly, if needed.”

She nodded. “They’ll be ordered to bring you straight into our wing and notify me immediately. You and anyone with you. We have a couple of holding cells, if you need them.”

“What about the locals?” I asked. “Will they take an interest in me?”

She pursed her lips. “Avoid the burghers as much as you can. There are a few roving bands of younger sons who like to stick their noses and other appendages in places they don’t belong. If they take a fancy to your activities, they can cause problems. Don’t be too flashy. Folks will assume anyone from the empire is rich by local standards, and they will assume you are an easy mark for mischief or more, so keep a low profile if you can.”

I nodded and waited to see if there was anything else.

“Your troops can keep you informed as needed,” I said finally. “I don’t want to make a habit of coming in here. If I were part of the conspiracy, I’d try to keep some eyes on the embassy. If you need me, either come to the Minstrel, or have your troops let me know. Thank you for your time, Major.” I stood and extended a hand. She shook it, and soon I was escorted back outside.

The rain had lightened to a drizzle, which was nice, but I still pulled up my collar and adjusted the brim of my hat before leaving. It was time to start my hunt.

“You’re down to twenty-one,” Gerald said as he looked over the list the Major had provided. “Eight of these are spread out across the countryside, looking at crops not grown in the empire for possible import. I doubt they are involved in the conspiracy. They’re all low guilders sent by their guilds. You’re looking for three, right?”

I nodded as I sipped the hot cider to help drive the chill from my bones. “They probably aren’t all staying together but will be close to one another. If we are late, there may be four of them.”

Gerald shook his head. “Only a few of groups like that. It looks like most of the folks avoiding the embassy have spread out more. There is one group of four in Cannon, but it looks like they arrived on the same ship as Devon. That doesn’t fit your profile, right?”

“No. They had to be here before Devon. We know the two that were on his ship had returned to Freeport, so the others must have been here while they journeyed back.”

“Ok. Let me get a map out and we’ll look at where my eyes and ears say these folk are in Crown.” He rose from his desk and fetched a rolled-up map from a shelf. It was quickly spread on a table with small leather bags of shot and he pulled a metal cup of colored pellets from a drawer.

He quickly consulted a handwritten list and began dropping a pellet on the map for each known location of an imperial. Some of the locations were well away from one another. Only a few were in close proximity. I studied the map as he worked.

It was hand drawn as I expected, but neatly annotated with street names and building. A small series of markings and a key on the side indicated what type of buildings were shown. Burgher residences were marked along with their business holdings. Inns had a sperate key.

“What are these?” I asked as I pointed to a block of buildings that had no notations on them.

“That’s the slave pens and market,” Gerald said with obvious distaste.

“I’d think you’d be used to this form of slavery by now,” I commented.

He shook his head. “Unless something has changed back home, less than five percent of the empire is indentures, and less than one percent is for life. Here, almost twenty percent of the people are condemned to slavery, as will their children be. The next time the burghers face an uprising, it’s going to be those slaves that revolt. I think it will be a good thing, but bloody.”

“But you have slaves here,” I said.

He nodded. “Nearly have to, but I try to treat them better. We don’t sell them off. We don’t break up families. We have some land outside the city that we rotate them to as needed. Mostly the females get sent out there for a bit of respite.”

I could tell he was not sharing everything with me.

“I’d like to see that farmstead, if I have time,” I said.

His eyes snapped to mine. “I don’t think that would be wise, Cosimo. You don’t want to know everything that happens here, trust me.”

“Would your mother want to know?” I asked.

He blanched. “She would make us stop. It’s risky.”

“You send mothers out there to give birth, right?” It was the way I would secure the loyalty of slaves I was forced to use here, especially if I could not ensure their loyalty through the chemical means we had back home.

Gerald’s eyes widened, but he recovered quickly. “Yes. We also teach them to read. Kids are supposed to be tattooed within a year of birth. We keep them away from the city until they are at least two. We’ve set up a couple of other inns and tenements they show up at as peasants’ kids. Many become our eyes and ears in the city. Burghers don’t pay attention to street urchins and house staff.”

“Makes sense,” I said. “Why still use marked slaves here then?”

“It would look odd if we didn’t. Especially down here. I didn’t give you the full tour, but no one would believe peasants were going into the fighting ring for money. Dealers at the tables who are slaves are trusted more by the players, for whatever reason. Like I said, we have to have them to meet expectations.”

He motioned me back to the map. “I think you should start in this district,” he said as he pointed to the southeast quadrant of the city. There were six colored stones, present on two inns and two residential buildings. “If they are smart, they are in the long-term residences and can meet up in one of the inns in the area.”

I looked at the grouping of stones. “Red are women?” I asked. He nodded. “Given how we’ve been warned to not let women wander on their own, why are these two imperial women staying alone?” I asked as I pointed at the red stone on a residence and another at a nearby inn.

Gerald nodded. “It is suspicious. That’s one if the reasons I think you should start your search there. I’ll get a few of my youngsters to do some spotting on them all. Once we know where you can get eyes on them, you can escort your women to verify their identity.”

I traced my finger up the street from the district in question, then over to the route we had taken into the city. “I need to meet my minder at the Gilded Cockrel tomorrow at lunch. I can take a stroll down to this inn in the middle of them before or after that meeting.”

Gerald leaned in and read the name. “Hannity’s caters to a slightly higher class of peasant and a few Burghers in the district. They might be a good candidate to buy some wine from. I’d start there before lunch. How many bottles of samples do you need to take?”

I considered what I would want to carry if I were trying to make a sale. “Probably three. Maybe four.”

Gerald shook his head. “Good thing I asked. Take two. One red, one white. Don’t pour them more than one glass. If they are interested, or if you think the location is promising, you can go back with more variety. It gives you a reason to return, and it limits how much you must carry through the streets. I’ll send a bearer with you as well. I suspect you can handle yourself if needed, but don’t want you encumbered if you run into trouble.”