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“You won’t find them that easily. If you did there’d be no point in us using them as bait.”
Gol smiled. “Oh, I never said they’d be the real thing. We’ll get some fakes made.”
“That will take time. Maybe all we need is the rumour that there are books somewhere.”
“Do you think the Thief Hunter would risk exposure as a magician for the sake of the rumour of books on magic? He’ll only investigate if he knows someone has laid eyes on them.”
“All right, get some fakes made.” Cery grimaced. “Just… don’t let them take as long as real book-copiers do, or I may as well stay here and wait for the Thief Hunter to come find me.”
Da
Nobody ever commented on the food, he’d noted. Which was a relief, because some of the dishes had been laced with spices so hot, or else unexpectedly bitter or salty, that he’d not been able to finish what he’d taken. Sachakans did not appear to serve dessert, though if receiving a visitor during the day they made sure there were dishes of nuts, sweet fruit or confections laid out on tables.
Da
“What shall we do now?” Itoki asked, glancing from Da
“Ambassador Da
Da
“I would not like to bore my guest,” Itoki said doubtfully.
“Remember, I told you earlier that Ambassador Da
Itoki looked at Da
The man smiled broadly, then rubbed his hands together. “Oh, you’ll be impressed, I’m sure. Most advanced maps ever drawn.” He rose, and Achati and Da
They made their way through curved white corridors to a cluster of rooms similar to those Da
The central room held a few stools and a large pile of cushions in the centre, and several cabinets stood against the walls. Through the doorways leading out on all sides Da
Several metal tubes stood on end within. Itoki ran his fingers along them reverently, then chose one and drew it out. He moved to the cushions, nudged several aside to clear an area of floor, then lowered himself onto a stool with a grunt of effort.
“If you position yourselves there and there,” he said, pointing, “we can hold a corner each and weigh the other down.” Achati moved a stool into one of the indicated positions, and Da
“This isn’t the original, of course,” the man said. “It’s a copy, but it’s still over four hundred years old and a bit delicate.” He laid the roll on the floor and began to unroll it. Da
A great swirling mass of lines was revealed. Blue rivers wound across them, and beside several of them roads matched and reflected every curve. Tiny drawings of buildings, fields and the low walls of estate boundaries covered the map. Contour lines on a four-hundred-year-old map? The Guild didn’t develop the use of contour lines until two hundred years ago. But… this is a copy.
“How old was the original map?” he asked.
“Over seven hundred years,” Itoki replied, with a note of pride. “They’ve been passed down through my family since the Sachakan War.”
“Do you have the originals?”
“Yes,” Itoki gri
Da
“A region in western Sachaka, near the mountains. Let me show you the others.” Itoki rose again and collected another two metal tubes from the cabinet. The map he unrolled next was of a coastal area, with tiny boats drawn in the water parts and warnings written next to rocks and reefs. It was followed by one of another rural area.
“This is – was – in the south,” Itoki told him.
Where the wasteland lies, Da
They examined the maps for some time until, at a signal from Achati, Itoki began rolling them up carefully and sliding them back into their tubes.
“What areas of history are you interested in?” he asked Da
Da
“Naturally. That would include Guild history, or is that already well recorded?”
“Yes and no. There are some gaps in Guild history that I am trying to fill.”
“I doubt I could help you there, though I do have some records from the short time that Kyralia ruled Sachaka.” Itoki rose and returned to the cabinet to replace the map tubes, locked the cabinet, then beckoned and moved into one of the side rooms. Da
The familiar smell of old paper and binding wafted out. Inside were several books with missing or tattered covers, frayed rolls of paper and envelopes of leather wrapped around stacks of paper. Itoki rifled through gently, then took out a stack of papers and a book.
“These are letters and records of a Guild magician who lived in Sachaka during the years of occupation. I rescued them from an old estate at the edge of the wasteland that fell into the king’s hands after no legitimate heir came forward to claim it.”
He handed the book to Da
“… offer to purchase our House. I refused it, naturally. The building has belonged to my family for over two centuries. Though the price was tempting. I explained that if we do not own a House in Imardin we will lose the right to call ourselves Lord and Lady. He said land ownership is as important to power and influence here in Sachaka as well.”