"I'm disappointed in you, tali," Seregil chided, carrying it out to the balcony. With one easy toss, he threw the hook up and secured it on the edge of the roof above. Giving Alec a parting wink, he shimmied up and out of sight.
Knowing that he'd just been issued a challenge, Alec followed and found Seregil waiting for him in the large colos there.
"I used to sneak out of my room this way, then use the back stairs over there to get out of the house. Or Kheeta and I would meet up here and trade sweets we'd nicked from the kitchen. Later on it was beer, or turab. Actually, it's a wonder I didn't break my neck one of those nights on the way back down." He looked around a moment, then laughed outright. "One time six of us were up here, pissed as newts, when our lookout heard my father on his way up. We all went down the rope that night and hid out in my room until dawn."
Alec smiled but couldn't quite suppress another jealous pang, especially at the mention of Kheeta. Tagging along after his nomadic father most of his life, Alec hadn't had a real home or many friends. Thoughts of the rhui'auros flashed to mind, and he silently vowed that before this journey was over, he was going to learn whatever he could of his own missing past.
Seregil must have sensed this roil of emotion, for suddenly he was close beside Alec again, pressing a turab-scented kiss to his. lips. "It's one of the few memories I have now that doesn't hurt," he offered.
"Shall we go down the same way we came up?" Alec asked, passing it off lightly.
"Why not? We're practically sober."
Back on the balcony, Seregil gave the rope a neat flick that unseated the hook. Coiling it up again, he returned the grapple to its hiding place with the other toys.
"Leaving it for the next child who discovers your secret cache?" Alec asked.
"It seems only right." Seregil set the tile back in place and pushed the leg of the bed over it. "It's good to know something around here hasn't changed."
Alec pondered the toys hidden in the dark as they returned to the gathering. Somehow, they seemed to fit into the strange, complex mosaic of Seregil's life, a tiny model of the treasure-strewn and equally hidden rooms they'd shared at the Cockerel, or the unexpected bits of his own past that Seregil doled out like precious relics.
Or perhaps precious wasn't the right term.
It's one of the few memories I have now that doesn't hurt.
You never told anyone?
Just you.
How many times had someone looked at him in surprise when he'd mentioned something Seregil had shared with him? He told you about that?
Humbled by this realization, he steered Seregil back to Kheeta and went off to find Beka.
12 THE GREAT GAME BEGINS
The first round of negotiations began the next morning, and from the outset Seregil could see that it was going to be a laborious process.
The Iia'sidra met in a stone pavilion overlooking the great pool at the center of the city. The original builder's purpose for the broad, octagonal building was not known; inside, it was one huge, two-story chamber with a sweeping stone gallery. A temple, perhaps, although no one knew what gods the Bash'wai had worshiped. The eleven principal khirnari were already seated in open booths arranged around the hall's central circle. The khirnari and their chief advisers sat in front; scribes, kin, and servants of various sorts were allotted seats behind them. Outside the circle and in the gallery above, members of the numerous minor clans had their own hierarchy. They might not vote in the Iia'sidra, but they did have a voice.
Seated with Alec just behind Klia in the Skalan booth, Seregil gazed around the vaulted chamber, studying faces. He'd wondered how he would feel, attending the Iia'sidra for the first time as an adult. As he caught sight of Adzriel and her small entourage he decided the experience was not an altogether pleasant one. Saaban, who also acted as adviser, sat at Adzriel's right, Mydri
on her left. Seregil would have held a rightful place there, too. Instead, he sat on the opposite side of the council circle, wearing the clothes and speaking the words of strangers. Better not to dwell on that, he told himself sternly. He'd put himself here; now there was work to be done, honorable work for an honorable cause.
Klia had once again displayed a considerable talent for appearances. Today she'd ridden to the council hall in full dress uniform, with two decuria for escort. Torsin and Thero flanked her like some living tableau of aged wisdom and youthful intellect. Anyone expecting a supplicant from a dying nation was in for quite a surprise.
When everyone had settled, a woman stepped forward and struck a hollow silver staff against the floor. Its solemn chime reverberated around the stone chamber, commanding silence.
"Let no person forget that we stand in Sarikali, the living heart of Aurenen," she announced. "Stand in Aura's sight and speak the truth."
She struck the chime again and withdrew to a small platform. Brythir i Nien rose first to speak.
"Brothers and sisters of the Iia'sidra, and all people of Aura in this place," he began. "Klia a Idrilain, Princess of Skala, seeks audience today. Are there any who object to her presence, or that of her ministers?"
There was a weighty pause; then the khirnari of Haman, Lhapnos, and Golinil rose as one.
"We object to the presence of the exile, Seregil of Rhiminee," stated Galmyn i Nemius.
Alec and Thero both shot Seregil worried glances, but he'd expected as much.
"Your objections are noted," Brythir i Nien told the dissenters. "Any others? Very well, then. Klia a Idrilain, you may speak."
Klia rose and made the assembly a dignified bow. "Honored Khirnari and people of Aurenen, I come before you today as a representative of my mother, Queen Idrilain. From her I bear greetings and a proposition.
"As you know, Plenimar is once more making war against Skala and our ally, Mycena. From your own agents we also know that they have courted the favor of your own enemy, Zengat. Aurenen has fought with us against Plenimar before. I stand before you today as a warrior who has faced this aggressor in the field, and they are as mighty now as in the days of the Great War.
"Already our trade routes with the northlands have been cut off. Mycena will almost surely fall. We Skalans are great warriors, yet
without allies or supplies, how long can we stand come winter? If Plenimar lays claim to the Three Lands and their territories, how long will it be before their fleets and those of the Zengati pirates mass along your coast?
"Our two races stood against Plenimar through the dark days of the Great War. For many years we mixed our blood and called each other kin. In the face of this new crisis, Queen Idrilain proposes a renewed alliance between our two lands for our mutual defense and benefit."
Galmyn i Nemius of Lhapnos was the first to respond. "You speak of supplies, Klia a Idrilain. You already have these from us, do you not? Aurenfaie goods are still carried north from Viresse by Tirfaie ships."
"But few of them are Skalan ships these days," she replied. "Few of our vessels can reach Viresse, and fewer still return. Plenimaran ships lurk behind every island. They attack without provocation, pillage the cargoes, kill the crew, and send the ships to the bottom of the Osiat Sea. Then they sail back to trade at your port. And their reach is growing. My own ship was attacked no more than a day's voyage from Gedre."
"What would you have of us, then?" asked the Khatme, Lhaar a Iriel.
Klia motioned to Lord Torsin. "The list, please."
The envoy stepped forward and unrolled a parchment. Clearing his throat, he read: "Queen Idrilain asks first that the Iia'sidra Council grant Skala a second open port, Gedre, and leave to mass ships there and in the Ea'malie Islands for no longer than the duration of the present conflict. In return, she pledges increased payments for Aurenfaie horses, grain, and weapons.