Colors of Chaos

LXXIX

BEYOND THE WIDE stone bridge that spanned the River Jellicor, trails of white and gray smoke rose over the walls of Jellico, walls set less than half a kay north of the bridge. The gray sky, the walls that seemed like smeared charcoal in the fading light, and the smoke all imparted an air of gloom to the walled city. The smooth stone ramparts rose more than forty cubits above the causeway that ran to the gates.

Cerryl glanced down at the river from the big gelding as the column crossed the bridge. Even the water was gray. On the far shore, the western shore, they turned almost northeast for a few hundred cubits before the road turned again and ran straight west toward the granite walls. The gates-red oak and ironbound-were open, but the well-oiled iron grooves testified to their ability to be closed quickly. A half-score of armsmen clad in gray and brown leathers and with armless green overtunics waited by the gates. One of them was a woman, looking as hardened as the men.

Cerryl’s eyes widened as a White Guard appeared behind the squad, surveying the arrivals, then bowing slightly to Fydel as the senior mage reined up. Fydel inclined his head, and Cerryl followed his example, wondering why he’d not seen White Guards on his earlier trip. Or had he just not noticed?

“The mages Fydel and Cerryl, preceding the High Wizard Jeslek on his visit to the viscount,” rumbled Fydel.

The guard apparently in charge looked from the pair of mages to the long column of lancers that reached back nearly to the bridge. Then he looked back to Fydel. “Ah…you are most welcome, noble mages. You know your way to the palace barracks?”

“We have been there before,” replied Fydel with a smile.

As they started through the gates, Cerryl looked up. As on his last visit, archers in green with bows watched the column of riders from the ramparts on the walls above. One looked away quickly as Cerryl’s eyes surveyed him.

Even narrower and meaner were the houses and shops of Jellico than Cerryl remembered, barely wide enough for three or four mounts abreast, if the riders and horses on each side scraped the fired brick walls. Under the late-afternoon gray sky, the three-story structures appeared to loom higher than they were, pressing in on Cerryl. A wagon stood before a shop on the right and Fydel and Cerryl had to pass it single file. A handful of men and women stood on the far side of the wagon, and their eyes went to the white jackets of the mages and then to the uniforms of the lancers who followed.

“…more of those Whites.”

“…leave well enough alone.”

“…tariffs and taxes…all they want.”

“…hush! They can hear you, and find you…”

Cerryl wanted to laugh, if bitterly, at the last remarks, suspecting that all too many of the taxes the locals paid were collected in the name of the Guild but went to the prefect and his establishment. Suspecting it and proving it are two very different mounts.

Jellico had an odor, more muted than on his last visit, but still holding the smells from the open sewers running beside the buildings on the right of the street and burned grease, tanning acids, and mold, plus others Cerryl could not identify-and did not wish to try. He shifted his weight in the saddle, glad he did not have to remain on horseback that much longer.

The odors shifted to a mixture more pleasant when the column wound its way around the north side of the Market Square, where the scent of roast fowl mixed with scented oils and incense, almost drowning out the less aromatic odors of the streets. It was late enough, Cerryl saw, that many of the peddlers had already left, and most of those remaining in the square were packing bags and a few carts.

The small hill on the west end of Jellico held the sprawling buildings of the viscount’s palace and the associated buildings, barracks and stables, all surrounded by another set of granite walls smoother and more polished than those of the city.

Fydel nodded to the guards standing by the archway holding the open lower gates, ignoring the squad of crossbowmen on the false rampart above. Once inside the long tunnel-like archway, Cerryl could feel as well as hear the echoes of hoofs.

Within the courtyard, the heavyset Shyren waited, clearly having used his glass to determine their arrival. The gray light made the pasty complexion of the Guild’s representative to Certis even whiter, and his hair, sandy blonde mixed with white, appeared nearly all white.

“Greetings, Shyren!” called Fydel.

“Greetings,” answered the gray-and-sandy-haired wizard. “I’m glad you made it through the gates before nightfall.”

“So are we.” Fydel bent his head forward, as if stretching his neck.

“You and Cerryl-you’ll be in the guest barracks. You know where those are?”

Fydel nodded.

So did Cerryl, but the fact that Shyren knew his name made him wonder what other information had been conveyed to Shyren-and by whom and why.

“I’ll show you which rooms are yours in a moment.” Shyren looked at Teras as the lancer captain reined up behind the two mages. “Take your mounts through the archway there and through the next one to the rear courtyard. There will be an undercaptain there to show you the quartering arrangements.”

“Yes, ser.” Captain Teras raised his arm. “Through the arch, by twos. After me!”

Shyren looked up at Fydel. “How was the trip?”

“Damp and cold.”

“Not so cold as Spidlar these days-or Sligo, either.” Shyren flashed a crooked smile that Cerryl distrusted almost as much as he did Anya’s. “Winter ice has been hard on Spidlar-that and the brigands that attack traders headed suchways.”

The two mages waited until the line of lancers had disappeared, then rode slowly across the still-damp stones of the courtyard and through the archway into a second courtyard, a square a good hundred cubits on a side, surrounded by window-studded stone walls rising a good five stories.

Fydel reined up before the guest stable, and he and Cerryl dismounted. Cerryl surveyed the courtyard, noting again how every building seemed to join every other one and how all looked about the same from outside-flat stone walls with small windows.

Shyren gave a perfunctory smile. “You’ve been here before. You both get captain’s rooms. The ostlers will take care of your mounts once you unload them.”

After he wearily unstrapped his bedroll and pack, Cerryl followed Fydel and Shyren across the courtyard and through a weathered bailey door. Then came the two flights of steps he remembered and another narrow stone corridor to a rounded corner of the building.

“You have the first two rooms. The first three are generally for mages. They’re a shade larger and fresher.” Shyren smiled again. “You’re expected for dinner with the viscount. Fydel, you’ll sit with me until Jeslek arrives, because you brought in the lancers.”

“And then I return to my proper place with the captains?” The sarcasm in the square-bearded mage’s voice was heavy and bitter.

“Of course. We all have but moments of glory.” Shyren’s response was light, but Cerryl could sense a deep bitterness behind the words. The Guild representative turned to Cerryl. “You are considered a senior captain, but the juniormost of those.”

Cerryl nodded.

“They could not do less, knowing you have been, as they put it, blooded in battle.” Shyren cleared his throat. “Dinner’s at the second bell. I will see you then.” With a nod, the heavy mage turned and waddled back around the corner.

Fydel looked at Cerryl; Cerryl offered an ironic smile.

Then Fydel laughed. “You see more than most, young Cerryl. You do indeed.” He turned toward the first door.

Cerryl walked to the second, lifted the latch, and stepped inside. There he lowered his bedroll and pack onto the stone floor inside the door and surveyed the place-smaller than his quarters in Fairhaven, with a single window, shuttered. The furniture consisted of a narrow pallet bed, a battered wardrobe, a washstand and pitcher, and a lamp on a brass bracket. Two heavy blankets were folded at the foot of the bed, and an oval braided rug lay on the floor by the bed. A chamber pot stood in the corner, while a heavy wooden bar leaned against the wall behind the door.

Apparently even captains needed to bar their rooms in Certis.

Cerryl closed the door and began to unpack. He had the feeling he would be in Jellico for more than just a few days-and he would be busy with his screeing glass all too often, unfortunately.