Accession Day

"That is good to know. Apliss keep you, master," Mantabé said with a deferential bow.

"Well, enjoy your reward as usual," Didius said, slightly confused at his slave's sudden concern for Guild politics. "Oh, I am so pleased that we have not lost the spot at the queen's table! It is bad business to let anyone else have the queen's ear during these banquets. The Guild expects me to keep her on our side, and Septimius might use such a failure against me, perhaps try to dethrone me as House Master. Well, no use worrying about that. My boy, you have come through for me once again! Do enjoy yourself."

"Of course, master," Mantabé said, unsure of whether to press the poisoning issue.

But the Didus turned back down the hall and wandered off and Mantabé lost his opportunity. Mantabé let his mind wander to the next day. The reward of a seat at the Queen's table during her Accession Day banquet was little to him; being seated anywhere else in her hall afforded the same food, wine and entertainment. But Didius and the other schemers of the city saw it as a most valuable opportunity to gain her ear. For a man like Didius, who enjoyed her ear every day, it was more about denying the opportunity to any other upstarts. The Spicers' Guild was full of schemers like Septimius and Didius kept his position only by frequently slapping down the ambitions of lesser men.

All the politicking was too much for Mantabé. He preferred his foes in front of him, where he could strike them down. Two-faced intrigue bored him as much as it confused him, though between Didius and Sabinia, he was surrounded by people whose skill at such things far outstripped his own. Even Agilos was better at playing the game than he, Mantabé reflected. The half-elf did his best to hold himself aloof of petty concerns, but a keen mind lurked behind his strange, starry eyes.

Presently, the slapping of sandalled feet on stone heralded Sabinia's arrival.

"Well done," she congratulated breathlessly, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Then she continued in a more hurried tone. "Alami followed the servant who delivered your poisoned wine and he went to the box of Bannert Guillen."

Mantabé shrugged. "He is unknown to me."

"He is a rich man in the Chyrosia Coaster," she said, "Before today, I would have considered him unremarkable. But he is leaving the arena as we speak. Come on," she beckoned, starting toward the outside gate.

"My things," Mantabé protested, "I can't go out on the streets like this," he said, indicating his nakedness.

Sabinia frowned. "Run and get dressed then. Then meet me out front, he might still be there. If not, I'll follow him and meet you back here when I know something." Without waiting for his reply, she hurried off down the hall.

Mantabé ran the other way, back to his cell, and dressed himself. He left his laurel crown in the cell, to be retrieved by one of Didius' servants later. Throwing the hood over his head, he looked at the abandoned cup of wine on the table. He could not bring himself to leave it, but there was no one around to warn others off it. He knocked the cup over and its contents spilled over the stone floor. A servant would see to it.

He then ran from the room to catch Sabinia out front. There he found her standing with Alami in the shadow of the arena's gate, looking out into the square. Sabinia beckoned to him and he ducked into the shade to stand at her side.

"That's Guillen," she said, as quietly as she could over the noise of the crowded square. She nodded her head in the direction of a fat man clothed in dark silks climbing into a richly appointed sedan chair. A group of burly slaves hoisted the chair onto their shoulders and started off into the crowd.

"Where is the servant?" Mantabé demanded.

"He disappeared into the crowd," Alami replied. "I could follow the rich man, so I did."

"Damn," Mantabé swore, watching the man's servants close him into the carriage and perch themselves on its rear. "Should we follow him? Where would he be going?"

Before Sabinia could answer, two noblemen stormed into the arena's foyer behind them, followed by a gaggle of servants. They paid no notice to Mantabé and Sabinia, speaking only to each other.

"Apliss above!" cried a man in white robes trimmed with gold and a pillowy white hat. "I've never lost so much money in a day!"

"I dread to think of this afternoon," grumbled a man in a long red tunic, black leather boots and the deep blue sash of the Spicers' Guild. Mantabé recognized him as an associate of Didus, though he could not recall his name.

"There goes Guillen," the first man commented. "No doubt to enjoy the spoils he won betting against Sweyn. Damn that Kaunitzen! The first time all week I took his advice was the first time he was wrong! What have I done to offend Apliss?!"

"Kaunitzen is no doubt in a more temperate mood now that his luck has broken," the Spicers' Guild man said. "Come, we should see to our ledgers. If need be, we might approach Didius to borrow money. He must have won a tidy sum just now."

"In the first fight of the day," said the first man as they passed into the square, heading for a lacquered white carriage, "Ulgeren looked uncharacteristically slow and timid. He took three wounds and looked about to yield, but the visling killed him before he could raise his hands."

"Something strange is happening," Sabinia said as the men passed them by. "If you were poisoned, Sweyn would have won, and that man Guillen would have lost quite a bit of money it sounds. And these men taking advice from Kaunitzen would have won. It sounds as if this Kaunitzen has won money on every fight except yours."

"You think this Kaunitzen is fixing fights?" Mantabé asked. "Perhaps that servant belongs to him. Who is he? I've not heard of him before."

"He is a merchant from Anhalmuria. Florian says he is cousin to their king, though not so close. He has gathered the other Anhalmurians to him since his arrival last year."

"Didius said something just now about a foolish bet. He said he had wagered something before he knew what it was."

"It must be related somehow. We should ask him," Sabinia suggested. "And also Halakar. No one will have their thumb on the pulse of the city like him. He will know who has lost money and where it has gone."

From within the arena, they heard the final horn heralding the end of the day's celebrations. Soon, the foyer in which they waited would be swarmed with bodies.

"Come on," Sabinia said, pulling Alami back inside, "Halakar will meet his carriage around the back. We should catch him there."

Mantabé followed them through the lower tunnels of the arena to the rear of the arena, which faced onto the river. Two long barges were moored against the arena's dock here, laden with empty crates that had once contained lions, thunder lizards and stranger beasts for the arena. Mantabé suspected that the tall, upright cage he looked upon had transported the ogre he slew the day before. Teams of slaves hauled the corpse of a minotaur from the tunnels under the arena to a barge piled with other corpses.

In the middle of the courtyard waited an ornate carriage drawn by four white stallions. The coach was lacquered in red with gold trim and seats of crushed black velvet. The waiting coachman stood in front, wearing a tunic of red velvet and white breeches.

As soon as Mantabé and Sabinia entered the courtyard, Halakar emerged from another entrance, attended by a gaggle of scribes as he dispensed instructions. Upon seeing Sabinia, he ceased speaking to them and dismissed them with a wave.

"Sabinia, my dear," he said as he approached them, "What can I do for you?"

"Mantabé and I would question you about some goings on in your arena," she said.

"Well, I am always happy to answer questions for you, but I am awaited at my offices. Ride with me?" he gestured toward the coach.

"Gladly," Sabinia said, leading the way to the coach. Halakar graciously ushered them into the coach first, before giving his driver further instructions and then taking his own place inside. He settled into an overstuffed seat across from the three of them and beamed.

"Now then, what do you want to ask?"

The coach went out through wrought iron gates, opened for them by two halberdiers in fine coats. The street crowd parted to admit them, and the coach began its progress across the city.

"Watching the fights today, I noticed a good deal of upset victories," Sabinia began.

"I noticed the same," Halakar said, unsurprised. "The betting syndicates are most pleased, I expect."

"I heard that Kaunitzen was very successful today," she continued. "Have you any idea how much he won?"

"A great deal, so I have heard. Many men of the city are indebted to him for quite a lot of money now."

"Men such as yourself?" Sabinia asked and Halakar smiled.

"I am no stranger to betting. He has some of my money now, but not so much as to concern me."

"Is there anyone who should be concerned?" she asked and Halakar smiled again.

"There are a good many men who should be very interested in anything Kaunitzen has to say to them."

"Is Didius in his debt?" Mantabé asked.

"Didius won his bets, as far as I heard. Though I am told that Kaunitzen was quite disappointed that you won."

Sabinia clearly thought something of that, but said nothing and instead chewed her lip. They passed the rest of the ride to Halakar's office by making small talk about the events of the day, as Sabinia was unwilling to tip her hand anymore and Mantabé was inclined to follow her lead. At last, they disembarked from the coach in front of Halakar's Auction House.

"Good day to you two," Halakar said, as the three of them separated from the coach. "I hope to see you again tomorrow, and to see Mantabé victorious." He bowed and then turned and went inside the auction house.

Sabinia led Alami and Mantabé across the street to stand in front of a chocolatier's shop and out of earshot of any of Halakar's people.

"We should look into Kaunitzen," she suggested quietly. "He lives up on the hill, somewhat near Didius."

"If we are to pass by, I want to ask Didius about a bet he made," Mantabé said. "He mentioned being baited into betting something he did not know the value of. I find it likely that whoever he bet against did know the value of it."

"Very well, I have no means to enter Kaunitzen's house in any case."

They went up the hill to Didius' house, where Mantabé found his master enjoying a late afternoon drink.

"Welcome back, Mantabé," the man cheered as his prized gladiator walked in. "I thought you would spend more time in the city before you returned." Seeing Sabinia enter behind him, Didius continued, "Good afternoon, Lady Sabinia. If you are looking to be discrete, I will not reveal your affair, but others in your position often prefer brothels, or the Temple of Nystra."

"We are not here for pleasure, master," Mantabé said. "I have come to ask you of the bet you won earlier today."

"Again with the betting?" Didius asked. "Why such an interest?"

"Someone delivered poisoned wine to Mantabé before the fight," Sabinia replied. That caught Didius by surprise.

"You drank it? Or someone else did?"

"No one did," Mantabé replied. "We were saved by a stroke of fortune. But we have heard that many other fights went against expectations today. I suspect it was part of a match fixing scheme."

Didius mused quietly into his wine. "Such a scheme would bring terrible retribution from Arvoran," he said quietly. "He will not take such interference in his affairs lightly."

"It would seem that Mantabé was intended to lose today," Sabinia said, "which would mean that you would have lost your bet, whatever it is. Who had you bet against and what did you wager?"

Didius grimaced, clearly having thought the matter settled.

"That wily Anhalmurian, Kaunitzen. I got to talking to him at a banquet last week, and he needled me over and over about you, Mantabé. Before I knew what I had done, I had bet this trinket against him."

"What trinket, master? It seems likely that he wanted this trinket from you, perhaps enough to poison me."

"In truth, I am unsure of what the trinket does. I bought it at auction the day before the banquet and thought to have it looked at by a sorcerer, but never made the time."

"Did Kaunitzen bid on the trinket?" Sabinia asked.

"Only for two rounds," Didius replied. "I outbid another Anhalmurian, Radobel, for it. Now that it's mine for good, I suppose I should find out what exactly it is that I bought." He turned to one of his house slaves and told the woman to bring him the item he had put away earlier.

"What did you think it was?" Sabinia asked.

"The auctioneer said it was an abjurer's stone, an enchanted item that allows the bearer to pass through arcane wards without fear. It seemed unwise to leave it out there, so I bought it so that it could not be used against me. But I've no idea if the auctioneer was telling the truth."

Mantabé had never known Halakar to be an outright fraud, though he was surely a cagey player of the game.

"I will take it to a sorcerer, if you like," he said.

"Queen Lamira's man Calyran lives near us," Sabinia said, "I have known him and I think I could get him to help us."

"Very well," Didius said. "I never liked dealing with sorcerers anyway. Except," he amended for the benefit of any lurking spies, "for our beloved queen, of course." His servants entered the room, carrying a smooth black stone, carved with all manner of ancient runes. "Take this to Calyran and see what he says. If it is not what the auctioneer said, I will take it up with Halakar in the morning."

Mantabé took the stone from the slave and stowed it in a bag Alami presented for him.

"I will see you later, master," he said to Didius, who waved goodbye to them as he poured himself another glass of Vestinian wine.

Out on the streets once again, Sabinia took the stone from Alami and bid her to retrieve some coinage from her house before meeting them at Calyran's residence. As the slave girl set off through the streets, she and Mantabé made a short stop at the shop of a sandwich maker on Dolphin Square. Their hunger satisfied, they passed through the square and underneath the shadow of the queen's lavish palace, soon finding themselves outside the abode of Calyran, the queen's personal sorcerer.

Alami arrived mere moments after them, carrying a nondescript purse heavy with coins. Sabinia went to the house and knocked on its black oaken front door. The upper floor of the house hung over the front porch, a great bay window projecting out into the street to offer shelter from the sun and rain to those standing at the door. A wrought iron lantern hung from underneath the window, glowing with the warm white light of a magical crystal.

Almost as soon as she had knocked, the door slowly swung open before Sabinia's hand. The darkened foyer beckoned to them. Cautiously, Mantabé stepped inside. As soon as his foot touched the floor, candles in wall sconces flickered to life in the foyer, illuminating a wood-paneled room whose walls were decorated with tapestries and oil paintings. Scenes of ships at scene, nymphs bathing in forest ponds and pastoral vistas played out along the walls. The floor was covered in a richly dyed rug in which Mantabé's foot sank up to the depth of his big toe. The distinct aroma of indigo spice was everywhere.

"Go on in," Sabinia urged, "He usually does not greet his guests at the door, but if we were not welcome, we would not be here."

Mantabé crept slowly into the house and Sabinia followed with Alami bringing up the rear. No sooner were they in the hall than the door swung shut behind them with a loud bang that made Mantabé jump a little. Sabinia tried to hide a smile at his unease while he glared back indignantly.

At the end of the hall, Mantabé turned through a doorway to a sitting room. The room was richly appointed, with a mahogany coffee table and couches of crushed green velvet. Tall bookshelves stocked with leatherbound tomes reached to the ceiling, which itself was decorated with a stuffed heron in flight.

With Sabinia following close behind, he passed through the sitting room to find himself in a parlor, wherein sat a tall, black-haired elf in front of an easel. He wore a long robe of dark gray cloth trimmed with white at the hem and shoulders. His long, black hair was brushed straight and hung over his shoulders except for a bit of it that had been braided and circled his head like a crown. His fingers were stained with paint, and all manner of painting implements lay on the canvas underneath his seat. In front of him was a painting in progress, and beyond that the model for said painting, a beautiful young woman in the nude. Her hair was golden and her skin white. She lay on the couch with her legs crossed just enough to hide her sex from view. Resting on one arm, she stared coolly at the interlopers to her salon.

The elf looked up from his painting, and Mantabé could see the naked woman and her surroundings expertly depicted on the canvas in extreme detail. Like most of his kind, the elf was quite tall, perhaps even taller than Sweyn. He prowled towards the three of them, circling around Mantabé like a wolf and then standing behind Sabinia. He reached around her body to touch her breasts, leaning his head in close to hers.

"It has been too long since you graced my bedchamber," he nearly whispered into her ear. "Have you come to rectify that?"

"No, my dear sorcerer," she said, gently pushing his hands away and turning to face him. "We have come to ask for your sorcerous expertise in a matter."

Disappointed, Calyran stepped away. With a clap, he dismissed his concubine, who rose from the bed and strode naked into the garden to settle herself onto a couch by the fountain. He then wiped his hands on a rag and threw it aside.

Ignoring his lustful gaze, Sabinia went to his table and set down the abjurer's stone atop the leather bag she had carried it in. The elf's interest in her body disappeared, going right away to the stone. He picked it up and examined it closely, intently reading the runes on it as he turned the stone in his hands.

"Yes, yes," he murmured before continuing in a foreign tongue. "Where did you get this?" he inquired.

"My master Didius bought it at Halakar's," Mantabé replied. The elf looked up from the stone and studied Mantabé for a moment.

"Didius... yes of course, you would be the gladiator." Mantabé disliked the way he was being studied. He cast his gaze about the room at all the oddities the elf had piled up about the place. A human skull adorned one of the tall bookshelves in the room, alongside it was the skeleton of a snake. Yellowed scrolls lined the glass-fronted shelves, neatly filed as carefully as in any library. Outside, in the garden where Calyran's concubine waited, Mantabé could see flowers floating in the fountain's water. They were in bloom, wide and dark, with petals of dark violet ranging to black and blood red stamens in the middle. He was no apothecary, but still Mantabé recognized the infamous black lotus, further adding to his sense of unease.

The elf was still speaking to himself in his foreign tongue as Sabinia carefully approached him. Placing her hand on his shoulder, she tried to get a closer look at the stone. Her touch brought him out of his reverie, and he set the stone down.

"Very well," he said, "What is it you wish to know about this?"

"What is it?" Sabinia asked. The elf snorted delicately.

"It is a stone of passage. Simply put, it allows passage into places. Whether protected by locks, sentries or sorcerous wards, it will allow its bearer to enter places undetected. It is cleverly disguised, though. It appears to most as a simple abjurer's stone, allowing the wielder to dispel simple spells of warding."