The Eighth Warden Ch. 011-012

"Well, I'm no mercenary," Corec said. "I've got a few things to take care of, but I hope to be back here soon, ready to work." Privately, he doubted the hillfolk were the target. The knights kept the occasional band of hillfolk raiders under control, and there wasn't anything in the hills to make them worth conquering.

Varsin nodded. "Good to hear. Courier pay to Dalewood is...how does it work, Cal?"

"Thirty-three silver, plus eleven for expenses. You get a quarter now, half when you bring back proof of delivery, and a quarter if that delivery happens by the designated day."

"Let's say...fourteen days?" Varsin suggested. "Will that give you enough time in the city?"

It would give him two or three days before he needed to leave. "I think so," Corec said, "but I'll bring the package back if it looks like I'll be delayed."

He wasn't sure what sort of message was worth paying forty-four silver for special delivery, but after subtracting the money for expenses, it would come out to the same daily rate he'd been earning on guard duty. Or at least it would if he could find a message to bring back on the return leg. And if he could make himself known to the Senshall family, it might lead to full-time courier duty, which would pay a lot more than working as a guard.

He still had to solve the problem with the runes, but once that was taken care of, he'd need to look toward his future—especially now that he'd offered Katrin most of his savings to get her brother out of prison. She'd be heading back to Circle Bay soon, Shavala would leave on her travels to see the world, and Bobo would run out of excuses to stick around, so life would be back to normal in a few weeks, and Corec could return to work.

"Let's get that set up, then," Varsin said to Cal.

Corec realized Varsin might have the information he needed, so he said, "The reason I'm in the city is to help a friend who's run into a bit of a problem. She asked me to find a wizard, but I've never met one before. Do you know anyone I could speak to?"

"The family mostly works with Yelena," Varsin said, "but she won't talk to you, not even with an introduction from me. There's another man we've used to verify the authenticity of some items, name of Deshin. He seemed capable enough."

Corec had heard Yelena's name before, but not Deshin's. "Do you know how I can get in touch with him?"

"He bought a bookshop, if you can believe it. He does all his work through there. You can find him in the Tailors' Quarter."

#

For the sake of propriety, Treya stopped in the front garden and pulled her thin, lace-up boots out of her pack. Like the other mystics, she preferred to go barefoot, but she doubted they'd let her inside without footwear. Appropriately clad, she strode up the walkway to the large house and used the door knocker.

An elderly man opened the door and looked her over expressionlessly, pausing when he saw the waterskin tied to her belt and the pack slung over her shoulder. "May I help you?"

"I'm here to see Renny," Treya said.

"Mistress Renny Senshall?" he said, enunciating the full title. "And who may I say is asking to see her?"

"It's me, Mr. Jovan. Treya. Just like last week, and the week before, and the week before that."

The butler had taken a dislike to Treya for some reason she couldn't fathom. Unless he honestly didn't remember her, but she doubted that.

"I will see if the Mistress is taking visitors." He let her enter, then said, "Please wait here."

Leaving her in the entrance hall rather than inviting her to the sitting room was a new snub that Jovan must have thought up since Treya's last visit.

A moment later, she heard someone running down one flight of stairs, then another, and then Renny was there, hugging her. "Treya! I thought you weren't coming until tomorrow. Why are you carrying your pack?"

"Can we go up to your rooms and talk?"

"Of course. Come on." Renny took her by the hand and led her up to the third floor, where she had her own suite. They didn't see Jovan on their way up, so Treya figured he'd taken the back stairs. Renny dismissed her maid and closed the door behind them, then they both took seats in her private sitting room. Treya glanced through the other door, to the bedroom, and tried not to blush when she saw the large bed. Hopefully this time, her old roommate wouldn't insist on telling her, in detail, about all the use it had been getting.

"Now, what's up?" Renny asked. "Why do you look like you're about to go on a trip?"

"Because I am. Kelis says I've graduated, and it's time to start my journeying," Treya said.

"What? So soon? I thought you'd have more time."

Treya laughed. "Soon? I've been training for six years. She said I could have graduated with Enna, but she didn't think I was old enough to be off on my own. And then the whole priestess thing happened, and she didn't know what to do with me."

Treya still didn't know how she'd become a priestess, or which god she was supposedly a priestess of, but a priest of The Lady had confirmed that her healing was divine magic. It had been useful for taking care of minor sparring injuries after practice, though she wasn't strong enough to help with anything serious.

"But if you're gone, who's going to visit me?" Renny said.

"Is it that bad here?"

"Not bad, exactly. Varsin is a dear, the children are adorable, and Kelsa is...all right. I've been using the things they taught us in concubine classes to put your partner's wife at ease, and it's working, but she's still getting used to me. I'm just bored. I thought I'd be able to help Varsin with his business, but he already knows more languages than me, and he knows all the noble houses in Tyrsall, and he knows all the crops and goods and where they come from. Most of the things they taught us, he knows better than I do."

"You can act as his assistant," Treya suggested. "He must be a busy man." Varsin was the younger son of the majority owner of one of the largest trading houses in the city.

"We're still working on that," Renny admitted. "It's only been four weeks, and he'll need to trust me before he can send me to do things in his stead. I need to convince him to bring me with him more often, so I can learn the business."

"And what about trading letters with the rest of our sisters?" Treya said. Passing information back and forth was one of the oldest traditional roles of the concubines, dating back to a time when very few people learned to read.

"I will. I just haven't met anyone yet that would be helpful to correspond with."

"Mother Ola could probably introduce you to a few by letter. You don't necessarily have to meet them in person first."

"Oh! That's a good idea. Even something simple like knowing how the crops are growing in Larso or Matagor might help him make decisions about his caravans." Then she frowned prettily. "Or at least tell his father and brothers."

"Problems?" Treya asked. Concubines were taught to share personal matters freely, though only amongst themselves—never with outsiders.

"Not really, but he's youngest son. I get the impression they gave him the less important tasks."

"Well, that's what you're here to help with. What are the rest of them like?"

"His father's all right, but I don't like his brothers. And they never bring their concubines, only their wives, so I haven't had a chance to meet them yet."

"You can go to their homes. It's your right to visit your Sisters."

"That's true," Renny said, brightening. "I'll do that."

Treya smiled, happy to have improved her friend's mood. Then she had a thought. "Does Senshall have any fishing boats?"

"No. Why?"

"Well, you know fishing. I thought maybe you could help there."

"I left fish behind a long time ago, and my father's the one who knows everything. But I do still have my share of my bond price. I feel like I should invest it in something. Maybe I'll talk to my father and see if he has any ideas."

Renny had fetched a high price, and half of it had gone to her. Usually the other half would go to the Orders, but since she wasn't an orphan, it had been split between the Orders and her family.

"How are you getting along with the staff?" Treya asked.

"You mean Mr. Jovan," Renny said. "Luckily, he reports to Kelsa. She's told the staff to obey me as they would her, and Jovan's the only one that has a problem with it. But he doesn't come to the third floor very much, so I stay here most of the time. The others are fine, and Eva's great. I can depend on her for anything." Eva was Renny's lady's maid.

"Mr. Jovan doesn't like me, either," Treya said. "Maybe he's got a problem with the Orders."

"I think he's got a problem with concubines," Renny said, "and he sees anyone from the Orders as a concubine. But anyway, we keep talking about me, and you're the one who's going off! Is that really all you're taking? Just that pack?"

"I'll be okay. You know what my training was like. The fewer distractions I have, the easier it is to focus."

"I think starving to death would be a pretty big distraction."

Treya grinned. "Well, Kelis gave me some money, and the chapter houses will feed me, and I've got some idea of how to live off the land. Mostly, I'm supposed to do whatever jobs come up."

"What, like fighting?"

Renny still didn't approve of Treya learning to fight—and she approved even less of learning to fight without weapons. She was convinced Treya would end up getting stabbed the first time she faced a man with a sword. Most of Treya's training for the past two years had been against weapons, and Renny had even watched some of the practice sessions, but she still wasn't convinced.

"Maybe," Treya said. "Shana does that. But I took the same classes as you, so I could work as an advisor or interpreter. Or I could do like Enna—she's working as a bodyguard down in Circle Bay. Though...umm...I think she's doing more on the side."

"You mean an untrained concubine? Mother Ola will have a fit!"

"Only if she actually calls herself a concubine. She's probably just sleeping with her employer. Anyway, Kelis won't tell Ola unless there's a problem."

"You could do that, you know," Renny said thoughtfully.

"What do you mean?"

"Go find some baron's son and become his concubine in public. You wouldn't be breaking the rules—you're fully trained...mostly. But you're also secretly his bodyguard! His enemies would never expect it! It would be so romantic!"

Treya laughed. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Oh, fah! Do whatever you want, then. Where are you going to go?"

"Four Roads first, I think. Maybe some of my old friends are still at the chapter house."