The Eighth Warden Bk. 05 Ch. 17-18

"I didn't wait long enough." He put his hand back in the fire and held it there. "It's hot, but not that hot. Like the dragon's breath after you cast your fire-protection spell."

"Then it's working?"

Corec pulled his hand out of the flame and peered at it. It was unmarked.

"Did you cast a spell?" Treya asked.

"I don't think so," he said. "I didn't notice one."

"But you're not wearing your armor this time, so it can't be from that."

He nodded. "You were right, then--at least for magical fire. I guess we still need to ask Ellerie for her help when she gets back."

"Don't forget Sarette. I wanted to do fire first, since I'd already seen it working, but we should try lightning too."

"Oh, hell, I didn't think about that."

Treya grinned at him. "Sorry, but we have to know."

Shavala allowed the flame to dissipate. "Is that all you needed?"

"Unless you want to help us with the lightning magic."

"That wouldn't be a good idea," Shavala said. "Sarette has more control over it than I do."

"You're not going to leave already, are you?" Katrin asked her.

"No, I'll stay for a day or two." She nodded to the granary. "If I'm going to sleep here, I should get a few of my things from your room."

"I'll go with you," Corec said.

Katrin was about to follow when Treya held her back. "Can I talk to you?" the other woman asked.

"Sure," Katrin said, gesturing to the others to go on ahead. "What's up?"

Treya waited until she was sure they wouldn't be overheard. "Back in Tyrsall, when we were talking about concubines..."

"Yes?"

"You asked why I couldn't do it."

Katrin shrugged. "I know you're not a concubine, but you told me you trained with them."

"That's not what I meant," Treya said. "I meant... why doesn't the idea bother you? I've been around concubines for most of my life, but it's never made sense."

Katrin considered that. "I grew up in Tyrsall, in one of the poor neighborhoods. I used to walk through the rich parts of the city and dream about living in one of the big houses someday. Those men all had concubines, and I figured it was just part of that life." She chuckled. "It never occurred to me, back when I was trying to learn to be a thief, that maybe I could be the rich one and men would have to come to me."

Treya smiled at the quip, but then grew serious again. "So if Corec takes a concubine, you really wouldn't mind? You wouldn't be mad, or jealous?"

"It depends what she's like. You're the one who told us how important it was."

"Historically, it was important because most people didn't learn to read," Treya said. "The Three Orders tried to make sure that as many leaders as possible would have someone educated close by--someone whose advice they would trust. But that was a long time ago. These days, it's mostly just because people want to continue the tradition."

"So now you don't think Corec should have a concubine?"

"No, it's still important. It's just important for the wrong reasons." Treya shook her head. "I don't know what I'm trying to say. I've been having this same argument with Renny for years, and it's never gone anywhere. If you don't mind the idea, then..." She shrugged.

"Corec hasn't said anything about going to the chapter house, if that's what's bothering you," Katrin said. "I don't think he likes the idea of asking some random stranger to live with us."

"What if she wasn't a stranger?" Treya asked.

"What?"

"Shana says I need to decide who I am. She says I can't be half of a concubine. I need to choose, one way or the other."

"You've always insisted you didn't want to be a concubine."

"I lied." Treya's whisper was so quiet it was almost inaudible. "I shouldn't want it, but everything about the Three Orders pushes us that way. I can't help it."

"Corec?"

Treya gave a tight-lipped nod. "If the warden bond makes us live longer, I don't know who else it could be. But he doesn't seem interested--he's never said anything."

Katrin snickered. "He just tries to not get caught staring. He thinks it's impolite. Besides, you've never done anything to suggest you wanted him to show interest."

"What should I do?" Treya asked. "I took the classes, but nothing seems to fit. I've known Corec for two years now, but a concubine is supposed to be able to attract a man the first time she meets him."

"I think you already managed that part. Weren't you naked when you met?"

Treya blushed. "Well, yes, but..."

"Let's wait until after the wedding and then we'll figure something out," Katrin said. Maybe she was a little jealous after all. This was different than Shavala, who still treated her relationship with Corec as a temporary fling, even though it had been going on for a year now. A concubine was forever, and Katrin needed the extra time to get used to the idea.

Treya nodded. "Thank you."

#

Bobo set his pen to the side, stretching his fingers to keep them from cramping up. He'd finished rewriting Ariadne's story, at least to the extent he understood it, but she wanted to end the book with the Chosar defeating the demons at the end of the war. Ellerie had written most of the notes on that particular topic--Ariadne rarely consented to be interviewed by both of them at once--and Bobo had given himself a headache trying to translate the notes from Elven.

Either Ellerie would have to make some time in her schedule to help finish off the book, or Ariadne would have to sit down for another interview.

Someone knocked at the door to his study. The others might call it an office, but Bobo preferred the older, less formal term.

"Yes?" he said.

Carn Tammerly came in. Leena had brought the young man from Larso before she went to Terevas, and Bobo had set him to speaking to the settlers who'd asked to claim land but weren't planning on taking up farming.

"I've got the last of the requests from Dobb's Grove here," Carn said, handing over a stack of papers.

Bobo flipped through the pages, separating them by the requestors' professions.

"What do these fishermen need with a hide of land?" he asked. "Are they planning to farm as well as fish?"

Tammerly gave him an odd look. "A hide isn't a measurement of area, sir--it's a measurement of taxation. For a farmer, it's one hundred twenty arable acres; for a rancher, it's a hundred sixty suitable for grazing. For the fishermen, it's fishing rights on the lake, plus twenty acres for a homestead."

Bobo stared at the other man for a moment. Suddenly, many of Corec's comments and the keep's old records made more sense, as did the odd shapes and sizes of the plots of land the farmers had claimed. Bobo had assumed the differences in size were due to not having surveyors available yet, but of course the farmers would have an instinctual understanding of how large their fields could be. They'd simply included the non-arable land into their estimates to form a contiguous property.

How could he not have realized the full meaning of the word? Well, Bobo was new to this task, and it wasn't like he could be an expert on everything. Taxes in the city were assessed by profession rather than by land, and he'd paid very little attention to agricultural pursuits before his time among the hillfolk.

But Corec would still tease him if ever found out.

"I see," Bobo said. "We, uh, we don't need to tell anyone about this little conversation, yes?"

"No, sir."

"Good. I'll look these over and get them back to you tomorrow. For now, perhaps you should continue reading through the old records. You might find something else I missed."

The young man nodded and returned to his own office while Bobo stared at the projects in front of him. He should probably track down Ariadne and see if she was in a good mood. He might need a few attempts to catch her at the right time. But the land claims were more urgent.

Before he could decide, his vision went hazy, and then he was suddenly elsewhere--the place of endless mists he'd found himself in after the battle at Tir Yadar.

His benefactor spoke. Before you say anything, know that this is only a vision. I'm still recovering from our last conversation.

As before, the creature wasn't visible, but there seemed to be a faint shadow hidden within the mists. Was that a hint of a bushy tail? It disappeared before Bobo could decide whether it was real or not.

"Does that mean you can't hear me?" he asked.

I have a task for you, the being said. I would not ask if there was any other way.

An image appeared--eight lines glowing yellow, floating in nothingness. Three of the lines were close together, running parallel to each other, while the rest were arranged nearby. There didn't appear to be any other pattern to them.

Memorize this map. Take it to your Traveler friend. Tell her that it's time she learned to use the bracelet.