The Exarch & the Errand Girl Ch. 02

Rouran Metil strode through the halls of the Noble Hearth, the main administrative building in Tia Vashil. Built with Guild funds at the apex of the Sorcerers' majesty and might, it was a building full of flying buttresses that arced in impossible angles. The main hall had a free standing dome over it, although it was not a particularly large space since it was meant to accommodate only the members of the Five Noble Families and a small number of petitioners at a time. Rouran thought it a preposterous building, overall, attempting to project the grandeur and majesty of the power of the Exarch while in the same breath doing everything it could to make overtures towards the great equality of all who entered and the general deference to all involved to the might of the Guild of Sorcerers of Tia Vashil. The Exarch's Bench, as his throne was known, was indeed a bench, just one carved with the designs of the First Five Nobles fighting the Dragon Clan while above them Kiera the Wilder's magic clashed with dragons. It was practically indistinguishable from a throne, save for lacking a back.

In Rouran's sleepy little fishing village on the banks of the River Joi, she'd had a bench that sat outside her hut. It had looked nowhere near as fancy as the Exarch's. Equality indeed.

The limits of that equality were immediately apparent when a blond giant waiting outside the door stepped forward. Rouran could see three smaller men, each just as golden-haired as the giant, behind him. His hand touched the sword at his side. As though he'd need it for Rouran Metil, a former fisherwoman turned into the Exarch's personal clerk.

"Nobles only," he said.

Rouran would be the first to admit that she was far from a Vashili noble. She wore her hair down to her ankles in a long braid, the custom in her village being that a widow never cut her hair until she was to be remarried. She hated the length of her hair, but even though she'd been told many times that Vashili women cut their hair soon after their husbands died, she'd clung to it. It was a bit of home she carried with her.

In addition to her hair, she knew she carried quite a bit more weight than the Vashili nobility, who were always making a significant fuss of their bodies. Her work with Lord Ked had left her well informed about the Vashili's fascination with perfection in their physical form, especially among the nobles, who had all day to exercise and gallivant around learning to ride horses, and joust, and fight with swords. Her daily exercise had been hauling nets, which was not an activity that had given her muscles in glamorous places, and she was well aware she stuck out like a sore thumb in the Noble Hearth because of it.

And here now was the perfect example. The hulking brute was Noab vai Keller, the second eldest son of Lord Cail vai Keller. She knew the other three by sight as well. His brothers, Sir Adrai, the oldest, Sir Tredgar the second youngest, and Cadril, the babe of the family. Each of them seemed a shining specimen of physical excellence, and if Rouran had been observing them on a lazy day and not running an errand of the utmost importance, she might have let her mind undress them.

"I am the Exarch's personal clerk," said Rouran.

"Then you should know better. It's just the Heads of House at the moment, meeting. Nobody's allowed in but them. Even if Lady Kiera were to reappear tomorrow, she couldn't go in."

"I have a message that the Exarch must hear immediately," said Rouran. "From the Guild Chair herself."

Rouran had had no idea how Heldi found her to summon her, and she knew better than to ask a Sorcerer, but the Chair had indeed projected her voice into Rouran's office in the vai Ullan estate and startled her half to death, handing off her message to Rouran to deliver to Ked vai Ullan directly.

Noab frowned and his brother Adrai, a man late into his 30s, pushed his way past.

"A message from the Guild Chair?" he asked.

"Yes," said Rouran. "For the Exarch."

"Well, you tell it to me, little clerk, and I'll make sure it reaches Lord Ked," said Adrai.

Rouran cocked an eyebrow at him.

"That's not how this works."

"Oh?" asked Adrai. "Enlighten me then. How does this work? Because if only nobles are allowed into the noble meeting and you're not a noble, and we are nobles..."

"I have been given a personal message from the Guild Chair to the Exarch of Tia Vashil. Under normal circumstances, the Chair would not even need a go-between like me, so, for this purpose, it's as though I am simply the voice of the Chair. I am now going to speak to the Exarch."

Rouran tried to muscle past him, but that didn't quite work when the other person had bigger muscles. Adrai and Noab grabbed her, holding her back. At the sign of a physical fight, Tredgar, a grim smile on his face, moved up as well. Cadril, his brow knitted in concern, stepped along with him, although he seemed to be following out reluctant duty.

"Your name's Rouran, isn't it?" asked Tredgar. "The Joian refugee Lord Ked made his personal clerk?"

"Yes..." said Rouran. The question felt like a trap, but she wasn't quite sure how it could be. It was all true.

"I can see why," said Sir Tredgar, giving her a healthy leer. "But regardless of what merits Lord Ked sees in you, there is no way that you will enter the chamber. Tell my brother what the Chair told you, and we'll pass it along."

"One way or another I'm getting through that door, and if I have to climb over your stupid blond corpse, or all your stupid blond corpses, in order to do so, so be it," said Rouran.

Tredgar laughed and turned to Adrai.

"Can you believe this woman?"

Behind them, Cadril was about to say something, but just as he began to speak, the door opened.

Ked vai Ullan stood there, his cane in his hand, peering out into the hallway.

"Rouran, you're making a racket, please just come in," he said.

"Um, my lord," said Adrai. "Only the Heads of House may enter."

Ked laughed and smiled. He turned his head to check back on the other occupants of the room, then back to the vai Keller brothers.

"There are traditions that stand always because they must, because they are important, Sir Adrai, and then there are the traditions that we allow to stand when it is most convenient for them to stand, and discard when it is most convenient for them to be discarded. Let my personal clerk pass. None of my peers will mind."

"Yes, my lord."

Rouran smiled her smuggest smile at the brothers, stepping into the main hall as Ked ushered her through, closing the door behind her. They'd remember her, she was sure of it, but they didn't have the gall to disturb the Exarch's personal clerk in any serious manner. Or, at least, so she hoped.

"A message from the Chair, my lord," she whispered. "A Sorcerer has been killed in Market Square."

"What?" asked Ked, startled.

"Sorcerer Arthir. He apparently made a regular visit to...um...a particular type of specialized merchant near there. Upon leaving the...um...merchant, he was stabbed several times as he passed through Market Square. The Guard has closed the square, my lord, on Heldi's orders."

"Shit," swore Ked, the first time in Rouran's brief clerkship that she'd heard the Exarch curse.

"The hells, Ked," said Lord Cail vai Keller. Like most of the vai Keller family, he had blonde hair, although in his case it was possibly just white. "If you've something to share, share it."

"Gentlemen and ladies," said the Exarch. "A Sorcerer was murdered in cold blood, in broad daylight, this morning in the Market Square."

The room plunged into silence.

"Are you sure?" asked Lady Elina vai Tischer.

Ked looked at Rouran, who nodded.

"It comes from the Chair of the Guild's High Council herself," he said.

"Hells and dragon's bells!" cursed Lord Islan vai Auin. "This'll be the Clan's doing."

"Rouran," said Ked. "Is there anything to support such an assertion?"

"Nothing definitive, my lord," said Rouran. "But flakes of dragon jade were found on the ground near the Sorcerer's body. Chair Heldi suspects a dragon jade knife or blade, and that Sorcerer Arthir attempted to use a spell to protect himself."

"Nothing definitive?" cried Lord Islan, incredulously. "Just a bit of dragon jade spread around, when we all know the Dragon Clans are filthy with dragon jade? They wear it like jewelry."

"It was confiscated at the end of the war, Lord Islan," said Lady Kalo vai Banda.

"Would you surrender the only reliable weapon against your greatest enemy, even if pressed to it?" asked Lord Islan.

"Not if I could hide it somehow," said Lady Kalo.

"Precisely," said Lord Islan. "A knife is not so great that it could not be hidden, say, buried or secreted in a blanket. Chair Heldi and Princess Fione were extraordinarily merciful towards a people who stormed out of the west and tried to decapitate us all. They did not ask too many questions, or ruffle too many feathers. They simply let the Dragon Clans turn over as much jade as they wanted. And, as always, it's the citizens of Tia Vashil who pay the price for their misbegotten mercy. Who have to live in fear of being slaughtered in broad daylight."

"I believe it was the Guild who paid the price today," said Lady Elina, raising a careful glance toward Lord Islan. The old man harrumphed loudly.

"What does the Chair bid us, Rouran?" asked Lord Ked.

"The Chair requests that the Guard be assigned to investigate. She will appoint a Sorcerer from the Guild as her liaison. She suggests that the Noble Council appoint the same."

"Simple enough. Do we all agree that the Guard can handle the responsibility of this investigation?" asked Ked.

All eyes in the room turned to Lord Islan.

"I could hardly object to non-Guild control, could I?" he asked, feigning being hurt by the stares. "Let the Guard handle it. But make sure it's a veteran of the Battle of Tia Joi. It should be handled by someone who knows the full capabilities of the threat our city faces."

"A reasonable request," said Ked. "Does anyone object to this?"

He was met by silence, and Ked smiled to himself. Rouran knew he took a quiet satisfaction in unanimity in these meetings.

"Lord Islan, would you mind choosing such a man from the Guard as meets your requirements?"

"It would be my pleasure, Exarch."

"Now, of course, we must choose our liaison," said Ked. "Does anyone have a suggestion?"

"It should be a member of the nobility, should it not?" asked Lady Kalo.

"I certainly don't have time to be mucking about in the streets of Tia Vashil," said Lord Cail. "And most of my family would merely distract from any investigation."

"Well, we can't just appoint anyone," said Lady Elina. "This is the murder of a Sorcerer, in a crowded market street, in broad daylight. The boldness of the act itself is a crime. I wouldn't trust some clerk one of you has on their staff that's unknown to me."

"Lady Kiera would be of help here," muttered Lord Cail.

Rouran sneaked a glance at Lord Ked. The fact of the matter was that his eldest daughter, Lady Kiera vai Ullan, would have suited the investigation. If she hadn't absconded on the day of her wedding to Lord Cail's nephew Sir Tau, with her paramour, the Sorcerer Pol, to parts unknown. Rouran had known Sorcerer Pol when he'd briefly stayed with her in her home during the war with the Dragon Clans . He'd brought the Clans chasing after him to the village, and then he'd brought the village to Tia Vashil. It was Pol she had to thank for her current appointment as Lord Ked's assistant.

She had never met Sir Tau, of course, but having once shared a bed with Pol, she could not blame Lady Kiera for running off.

Still, it was a sore subject in the vai Ullan household, and Rouran had consciously avoided mentioning it whenever possible.

"Lady Kiera is not here, though," said Ked. His voice was not angry, exactly, but there was an authority in it that Rouran knew meant he was very carefully restraining his temper. The Noble Council meetings were a difficult position for the Exarch. Empowered by the Guild to manage the city and represent its citizenry to the Guild, the Exarch was merely the first among equals of the Five Noble Families, and as such, his authority over the others was limited to how much they let him have. On top of that, they could easily vote to remove him from office and hold a new election among the Council to replace him. Ked walked a fine rope in attempting to discipline the rest of them.

"Well, do you have another suggestion?" asked Lord Islan. "Lord Cail is right, if uncircumspect. There are few capable members of our families."

"I suspect our predecessors on this Council all said the same of us at some point," said Ked. "Children must eventually grow up."

"Nonetheless."

"Nonetheless, I take your points, and I do have a name in mind," said Ked. "What about Rouran here?"

Rouran started, making a strangled squawking noise that she realized too late had exited her mouth. A few of the nobles chuckled.

"The hen does not seem pleased, Ked," said Lady Kalo.

"Oh, you object, Rouran?" asked Ked, turning to her, his eyebrow raised quizzically.

"Well, my lord, I don't object, precisely, but I don't know precisely why you chose me...precisely."

"Yes, I would like to know the same," said Lord Cail. "Answer the good woman, Ked. And, please, do be precise about it."

"Rouran is capable. She's been in this chamber more than anyone who isn't the head of a noble house. She's kept our confidence and I expect her to continue to do the same in this matter. To Lady Elina's point, all of you know her and, I believe, respect her. And, to Lord Cail's point, she's unknown in this city. A poor Joian refugee of the Dragon Clans' invasion. Even Lord Cail's sons out there don't know who she is to let her into our chambers. She had to fight her way in to deliver this horrible news. Let her watch, and assist as needed with the investigation and report back when necessary."

There was a considerable silence, and Rouran's heart began to beat a little, her mind racing to fill the gaps in conversation with the thousand reasons they would surely give for her not to be the Nobles' liaison.

"Should we vote?" asked Lord Cail.

"Does anyone here object?" asked Lady Elina.

Again a silence fell across the room, and now Rouran's heart raced, although for a very different reason.

"Rouran is approved as our liaison" said Ked. "Very well, I believe that covers all available business for this meeting. If there is something you would like considered for the agenda for the next meeting, then in the interval you may speak to Rour—"

Ked paused in the middle of his sentence.

"Kili's beard, I've just given away my secretary—speak to me, in the interval. We're concluded."

The nobles dispersed, and Rouran helped Ked struggle to his feet, handing him his cane from where he'd left it hooked on his chair.

"How's the wound, my lord?" she asked. Ked had been stabbed multiple times in an attempt on his life by a Dragon Clan assassin, and while he'd mostly healed, he was old enough that he would likely feel the effects of his wounds for the remainder of his life.

"Painful," said Ked. "Did Mistress Heldi say anything to you about further healing with magic?"

"She did not. Only passed the message about Sorcerer Arthir."

"Hmmph. I mean, I certainly wouldn't want to be dead like him, but I could swear I've been told stories of men returned to the picture of health from wounds more mortal than mine by Guild Sorcerers. And then, suddenly, when you need it to be boundless, magic has limits."

"They couldn't heal Sorcerer Pol's wound," said Rouran. At the end of the war, Pol had gotten a dragon jade arrowhead stuck in his shoulder. Attempting to use magic to heal it would poison his bloodstream, but he couldn't use magic at all while it was inside him. Rouran believed that was why he had left the city—searching for a solution—and why Lady Kiera had gone with him.

Ked gave her a sharp look as they walked down the hall and out of the Noble Hearth.

"Sorry, my lord," said Rouran. Ked's expression softened immediately. He waved a hand at her.

"I can't very well go on pretending he's dead, now can I? If he's dead, Kiera probably is too. You have a right to mention him, from time to time."

"Why did you choose me, my lord?"

"Because you were available to clerk and Pol vouched for you," said Ked. "Back when I trusted him—and my daughter—to help the city first, that was a powerful word in your favor."

"No, my lord, you are being willfully ignorant. Why did you choose me to be the liaison?"

"Because, Rouran," said Ked, walking down the street towards the vai Ullan estate.

"Of all the reasons I gave in there."

"Those were to convince them, my lord, much more than they were to convince me."

"You think there's something more?"

"I do."

Ked sighed, walking a few more steps in silence while Rouran walked alongside, staring up at him.

"Trust, let us call it," he said. "I have very few people in this city I trust. My wife, who loathes the matters of state, except to offer me support. Kiera, who has disappeared. Jin, who has become Consort to the Princess of Tia Joi. And so, at the end of the very short list, I have you."

"You can't trust me, I'm nothing but a fisherman's wife," said Rouran.

"No, you're not, Rouran," said Ked. "You have not been a fisherman's wife since your husband died. You have been a fisherwoman. And, since you've come to my household, you've been a clerk to the Exarch of Tia Vashil. You've been a key member of my staff."

"I'm your only staff."

"My only staff for dealing with the administration of the city," said Ked. As they passed the gates, the personal guard of the vai Ullan estate saluted him, green griffins emblazoned on their chests, as if to drive home his point. He waved at them warning them off from opening the gates, as he had no plan to enter. "And there's a very fine reason why you alone have been appointed to that position."

"What's that?"

"Because I trust you."

"You didn't when I first came here!" said Rouran.

"I did," said Ked, walking down the hill, away from the Guild Rock, the Noble Hearth, and the other estates of the Five Noble Families and towards the rest of the city.

"I've trusted you implicitly since you've arrived at my house. And you've never let me down in any matter, Rouran. So that trust has merely grown."

He paused, and fixed her with a careful gaze.

"I would strongly encourage you, therefore, to not let me down in this matter as well."

"I won't, my lord," said Rouran.

"Good," said Ked. He gestured down the hill, towards the Market Square. "Now, let us take a look at what fresh bit of misfortune has befallen my home."