Retribution

Catching Up

Allius Golt was waiting for me on the street corner by the front gate of the palace compound. He was standing there in somewhat more ceremonial garb — a fine, dark-leather breastplate and highly polished boots glinting in the afternoon sunlight. He stood a little taller and looked into the distance, as if I was his commanding officer.

I introduced him to Sulma Tan and she explained how she could permit him access inside the palace — or wherever he was required to work. After we went inside and the guards searched him, we saw to it that he was issued with passwords for the next three days, for morning and night, which he silently mouthed a few times until they were committed to his memory.

We walked the long corridors and were granted access to increasingly off-limits sections of the palace, until eventually we reached our quarters. There, Allius turned his back to the wall and took his position on duty.

Inside, Leana and Nambu had returned from their interview with Grendor’s friends. They were currently working through yet another set of sword techniques, though this had been of a gentler and more instructive nature. They both turned to face us on our arrival, and we sat down to exchange information.

First I mentioned Allius Golt, the man on the door, telling them of the reason for extra protection.

Leana was quick to understand the need for more help, which was a relief. It was important she understood that I was not questioning her abilities. One of Leana’s admirable qualities was that, despite her competitiveness, despite her desire to be better at fighting or learning fluent Detratan, she would never think of her own pride first.

‘How did it go with Grendor’s friends?’ I asked.

‘Spirits save me, at first they would not speak to me.’

‘Why was that?’ Sulma Tan asked.

‘Because of the colour of my skin,’ came the nonchalant reply.

‘Oh.’ Sulma Tan looked embarrassed.

‘It is not your fault.’ Leana shrugged. ‘I am used to this. I am merely thankful that I am not as pale as northern people. They suffer so badly under the sun. Not even the slave dealers will trade them.’

‘That may be so,’ Sulma Tan said, ‘but in this prefecture we pride ourselves on being a welcoming people. We believe in the latest thinking, in dignity and politeness, and not hostility. The queen once wrote a pamphlet demanding that a certain level of decorum be shown to visitors.’

‘Perhaps,’ Leana said, ‘the people we saw have yet to read it. But eventually from these men I managed to discover. . very little. We met up with three of them individually, and another two who were brothers that shared a house. Each of them reacted similarly, apart from the two brothers. They were very odd — to the extent that I thought they might have been lovers as well as brothers.’

Nambu’s reaction clearly demonstrated that her mind was revisiting her disgust.

‘But when I presented the queen’s seal,’ Leana said, ‘each of them more or less cowered into the corner of the room and was only too willing to give any information, what little use it was.’

‘I rather enjoyed it,’ Nambu added with a grin.

‘Seeing them individually helped verify their accounts,’ Leana continued. ‘They all said exactly the same thing, though I did not think they had rehearsed it. According to them there was nothing strange about his behaviour. He had spoken warmly of future events — both the next day and the following years. He was in good spirits, joking and laughing. He left alone, having consumed only a small amount of wine — because he never liked returning drunk to his wife. There is nothing here of use.’

‘I wouldn’t say that,’ I replied. ‘Someone who does not expect trouble, someone who shows no signs of worry, is either a very good actor, or they genuinely have no reason to feel worried. Grendor was currently living a happy life. This, again, suggests to me that the reason for his murder was because of something that happened in the past.’

‘We assume much.’ Sulma Tan sounded mildly annoyed.

‘That is the nature of our work,’ I replied. ‘The facts do not present themselves easily. Patterns must be observed. Similarities established. Even the differences could tell us something. We have three victims of a similar age, all killed within the prefecture, all having been murdered in a way that suggests a kind of brutal revenge. Grendor had nothing to worry about in his current life. Lydia Marinus receives a letter, which she shares with no one and which forces her to act out of character. All the victims have been on display in public, in one way or another. And they are all linked.’

At that moment I discussed the connection with Grendor’s Naval Exports, with Lydia’s mining operations, and the evum that potentially connected them all. I lifted out the bishop’s ring again. ‘This is something to do with the murders. It connects all three victims in some way.’ I stepped over to Sulma Tan and finished softly: ‘So do not despair. We have some direction.’