The Eighth Warden Bk. 03 Ch. 25-26

Josip held up a gleaming blade and said, "Hey, Marco, can I take one of these daggers?"

"It'll have to come out of your share," the factor replied. He was taking notes while he circled the armory.

"That's fine with me," Josip said, slipping the weapon into his pocket.

Marco finished his circuit of the room. "Well, it's not quite what I expected to find, but well-made arms and armor always go for decent coin. We could probably sell this stuff in Aencyr. There's no reason to haul it back to Tyrsall."

"Actually, I'm thinking of keeping some of it," Corec said. "Maybe most of it."

"What? You can't do that. We've got to sell it so we can divide the shares."

"You know this won't sell for anywhere near what the enchanted weapons will go for. We can work out a deal."

The factor frowned. "I suppose after we figure out the value of each item, we could take it out of your share, but you've only got the one share. That won't be enough to pay for all of this."

"Not just his share," Katrin said. "Mine, Shavala's, Treya's, Sarette's."

The five of them had spoken about it late into the night. Between Leena's enemies, the red-eyed men, and any other forces Prince Rusol might send after them, there were plenty of potential threats, and Corec insisted he was tired of never being prepared for an attack. With the discovery of the armory, he'd agreed to an idea Katrin had suggested—hiring their own soldiers. The weapons and armor would give them a good start on equipping the men, and if the five of them split the armory between their shares, it would hopefully still leave them with enough money to pay the soldiers' wages. Shavala had little interest in metal coins. If she received anything from their trip to Cordaea, she had no objection to spending it to protect her friends.

Marco's jaw worked as he considered the suggestion. "It's your money, I suppose, but we can't finalize anything until we've sold the other items. And don't think I'll go easy on you for the prices. I know damned well that weapons that have lasted this long will sell for more than something made out of steel."

Corec laughed. "Don't worry, Marco. I'd never suspect you of going easy on us. Are you ready to head back to Ellerie?"

The factor frowned, as if unsure whether he'd been complimented or insulted. "I should really take an inventory here first."

"It'll be easier to do that after we haul it all to the surface. Let's go find out what's behind the other door."

#

After the other group left for the armory, Ellerie waited for a few minutes but then grew impatient. "Let's go in," she said. "The others can find us when they get back."

She passed through the large double doors Corec had unlocked the night before. Leena, Treya, and Bobo followed her. Inside, they found themselves in a vestibule or greeting room. There were two archways in the east wall and two more in the west wall, plus a wider walkway leading straight north.

"They left their artwork behind," Razai said, nudging an empty picture frame that had fallen to the floor. The wood had survived, but the painting had fallen to dust.

"I think these were vases," Bobo said, sifting through a pile of ceramic shards, then moving on to another. The debris lined a central aisle that divided the room into halves. "Yes, here's one!" He lifted a dented brass urn and held it up to Ellerie's lantern to get a better view. "I know some people in Matagor who'd be interested in something like this."

"Maybe we should keep it," Ellerie said. "We can sell those weapons, but the vase is like the statues. We should leave it here, or find out if there's a museum like the one in Snow Crown."

"What? Why?"

She shrugged uncomfortably. "It just seems like we should try to preserve the place the way it is." The more they discussed what would happen to the city after they left, the more worried she'd become.

Razai gave her an odd look. "What's to stop the next person who comes here from taking everything?"

"I think Corec can reset the wards on the door. If we're right about how it works, only another warden would be able to get in."

"The statues are outside the wards."

"I know. I'm not sure what to do about those."

Bobo said, "You want to preserve things the way they are? Or restore them to how they used to be?"

Ellerie hesitated. She hadn't considered that. She thought back to the vision Katrin had shown her of what the western colonnade might have looked like. "That would be a lot of work," she said. "I just don't want anyone coming here and ruining the place."

"You'd have to convince Varsin Senshall to not announce the location. And bribe the folks in Livadi to leave things alone. Those wagon drivers are going to gossip when they get home."

"If the profit on Varsin's shares is high enough, I might be able to convince him to renegotiate."

"And our book?"

"We can leave the location out, and wait to tell people until we're we're ready. We wouldn't be the first to do that."

Bobo nodded slowly but didn't reply. Ellerie couldn't tell what he thought of the idea.

"The floor feels different," Treya said suddenly. She was standing on the balls of her feet, flexing her toes. As usual, she was barefoot. She knelt down and wiped the floor with her sleeve. "Is that marble? It's not the same stone stuff they used for everything else." By now, they'd seen enough of the stone-like material to know it wasn't natural. There was too much of it, and it was too even and too uniform.

Ellerie said, "If this section was warded against entry, it's probably the central part of the fortress. It makes sense if it's better appointed. It might have been something like a palace."

"We should explore the rest," Bobo said.

"North, I think," Ellerie said. In a palace, the most important public rooms usually followed the widest corridor.

They passed through the archway to find themselves in an empty chamber, again with multiple exits. There was nothing left to indicate its purpose, but Ellerie suspected it was a reception area or sitting room.

The next room was larger. Ellerie summoned a mage light so they could see the far end. It illuminated a carved wooden throne, with two smaller chairs to either side. The five thrones were on a dais overlooking the rest of the chamber.

The group walked toward the dais, stopping to stare at a series of weapons hanging from the walls. Unlike the weapons in the armory, these were rusted and pitted. One shield had corroded to the point that the lower half had broken off and now lay on the floor below.

"If their other weapons are so much better, why would they display these?" Treya asked.

"Trophies," Razai said. "You display your enemies' weapons as trophies, not your own."

Ellerie took the three short steps up to the dais and ran her fingers over the intricate carvings on the center throne. Like the double doors or the bookshelves in the library, it hadn't rotted away. The Ancients—or the Chosar, if that's who they were—must have had some way to preserve wood in good condition.

Bobo joined her. "This is where the king of Tir Yadar must have sat. Or maybe the emperor of all the Tirs." He shivered and rubbed his arms. "It's been here all along and nobody knew."

"We needed Corec to open the doors."

"To get into the palace, yes, but not to find the rest of the city. At least one group made it here before us, and there were almost certainly more. Why didn't word of this place ever get out?"

"Think about it," Ellerie said. "How many stories have you heard about people finding old ruins, but when you ask about it, nobody seems to know where it happened? How many centuries was the cave buried before it was dug out? If someone found this place, they were either killed by the zombies or they explored the upper levels and didn't find anything. Or maybe someone did find something and make off with it, and then didn't tell anyone because they wanted to come back someday."

"It still feels wrong that it's just been sitting right here all along and nobody knew."

Razai snorted and rolled her eyes. "That's what lost cities are. If people knew where they were, they wouldn't be lost."

Ellerie held back her snicker.

There wasn't much to look at in the throne room, so they followed another corridor leading away from it, exploring more rooms as they passed them. The most significant find was a formal dining hall, with the table still set as if for a meal.

Bobo examined the plates and cutlery, rubbing at the grime and tarnish with his finger. "Why would they just leave it like this? They had time to empty the upper levels and most of the armory, but they left this and the artwork behind?"

"Maybe it just wasn't worth taking," Ellerie said.

"Perhaps."

They were about to move on when Corec and the others joined them.

"Where are Sarette and Katrin? And Josip?" Ellerie asked.

"They went back up to the camp," Corec said. "Sarette wasn't feeling well."

"Does she need help?" Treya asked.

"It's just the mountain again."

The human woman nodded. Her healing hadn't been able to do anything about Sarette's dislike of being underground.

"Is that silver?" Marco asked, peering at the table.

"The serving platters are," Bobo said.

"Have you found anything else?"

"Did you see the throne room?" Ellerie asked. "This must have been the king's palace."

"Yes, yes," Marco said impatiently. "I meant something we could take with us."

Now wasn't the time to tell him about her new idea. She needed to have a better idea of what she was proposing first.

Instead, she said, "This is a big place, and there's a lot to explore. We should probably split up."

"I'd like to go back to the eastern tunnel," Corec said. "We didn't finish looking there yesterday."

"I'll go with you," Treya offered.

Bobo said, "Ahh, Corec, I think I'll stay here this time. Between an army barracks and a palace, I can be more helpful here."

Corec chuckled. "Sure, that's fine."