Robert Asprin
Aftermath
Dramatis Personae
The Townspeople
AHDIOVIZUN; AHDIOMERVIZ; AHDIO-Proprietor ofSly's Place, a legend- ary dive within the Maze.
AYE-GOPHLAN-Captain of the palace guard before the arrival of Prince Kadakithis. Now he is one of three men charged with keeping the peace in Sanctuary.
LALO THE LIMNER-Street artist gifted with magic he does not fully un- derstand.
GILLA-His indomitable wife.
GANNER-Their middle son, slain during the False Plague riots of the previous winter which signaled the end of severe civil unrest in Sanctuary.
VANDA-Their daughter, employed as nursemaid to the Beysib at the palace.
HAKIEM-Storyteller and confidant extraordinaire. HORT-Son of a fisherman and now Hakiem's sometime apprentice.
JUBAL-Prematurely aged former gladiator. Once he openly ran Sanc- tuary's most visible criminal organization, the hawkmasks; now he works behind the scenes.
MASHA ZIL-INEEL-Midwife whose involvement in the destruction of the Purple Mage enabled her to move from the Maze to respectability up- town.
MELILOT-Owner of a scriptorium where letters can be written or trans- lated.
MRADHON vis-Nisibisi adventurer and sometime spy. He has betrayed almost everyone and been betrayed in return, but he is a consummate survivor.
MYRTIS-Madam of the Aphrodisia House.
SHAFRALAIN-Sanctuary nobleman who can trace his lineage and his money back to the days ofllsig's glory.
ESARIA-His nubile daughter.
EXPIMILIA-His wife.
CUSHARLAIN-His cousin. A customs inspector and investigator.
SNAPPER JO-A friend who survived the destruction of magic in Sanctu- ary. Now employed as a bartender in the Vulgar Unicorn.
ZIP-Bitter young terrorist. Leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Sanctuary (PFLS). Now he and his remaining fighters have been designated as officials responsible for peace in the city.
The S'danzo
ILLYRA-Half-blood S'danzo seeress with True Sight. Wounded by PFLS in the False Plague Riots.
DUBRO-Bazaar blacksmith and husband to Illyra. ARTON-Their son, marked by the gods as part of the emerging diety known as the Stormchildren. He was sent to the Bandaran Islands for his education and safety-and to remove him from Sanctuary.
LILLIS-Their daughter, slain in the False Plague riots. TREVYA-A newborn orphan girl placed in their care by Walegrin.
MOONFLOWER-S'danzo seeress of remarkable obesity who was slain by Beysib guards who had mistakenly attacked her husband.
THE TERMAGANT-Oldest of the S'danzo women practicing her craft in Sanctuary.
The Magicians
ENAS YORL-Quasi-immortal mage cursed with eternal life and a con- stantly changing physical form.
ISCHADE-Necromancer and thief. Her curse is passed to her lovers who die from it. Her rivalry with Roxane drew her into the murky realm of Sanctuary's politics from which she has yet to extricate herself.
ROXANE; DEATH'S QUEEN-Nisibisi witch. Nearly destroyed when Storm- bringer purged magic from Sanctuary, she is trapped inside a warded house and a dead man's body.
HAUGHT-One-time apprentice oflschade who betrayed her and is now trapped with Roxane.
TASFALEN-The dissolute Rankan nobleman, one oflschade's lov- ers, whose body has become Roxane's prison.
STRICK; TORAZELAN STRICK TIFIRAQA- White Mage who has made Sanctuary his home. He will help anyone who comes to him, but there is always a Price, sometimes trivial and sometimes not, for his aid.
AVENESTRA; AVNEH-Once a preteen prealcoholic barfly at Sly's
Place. Now Strick's very young receptionist with a sweet tooth. FRAX-Former palace guardsman, now Strick's fiercely loyal guard.
WINTSENAY; WINTS-A down-and-out young Ilsig whose life has improved immeasurably since he began working for Strick.
Visitors in Sanctuary
JARVEENA-A woman, once Melilot's apprentice, who. with Enas Tori's help, unveiled a plot to assassinate Prince Kadakithis shortly after his arrival in Sanctuary. In the intervening years she has been employed as Melilot's trading agent, and her many hideous scars have been slowly fading.
SAMLOR HIL SAMT, Trader from the north. His sister died in Sanctuary and his business sometimes brings him back to the city.
STAR-His seven-year-old niece. A single lock of white grows amid her black hair. The Beysibs claim this is the mark of the favor of their gods and the child does seem to have some strange abilities.
The Rankans Living in Sanctuary
CHENAYA; DAUGHTER OF THE SUN-^ beautiful and powerful young woman who is fated never to lose a fight. She is the prince's cousin and is working to raise an army of gladiators which will place him on the imperial throne.
PRINCE KADAKITHIS-Charismatic but somewhat naive half-brother of the assassinated emperor, Abakithis.
KAMA; JES-Tempus's daughter. 3rd Commando assassin. Sometime lover of Critias. Zip, and Molin Torchholder.
MOLIN TORCHHOLDER; TORCH-Archpriest of Sanctuary's wargod (whichever deity that is at the moment). Architect for the rebuilt walls of Sanctuary. Supreme bureaucratic administrator of the city.
RANKAN 3RD COMMANDO-Mercenary company founded by
Tempus Thales and noted for its brutal efficiency.
GAYLE-A member of that company.
STEPSONS; SACRED BANDERS-Members of a mercenary unit loyal to Tempus. Their years in Sanctuary have been among the worst in their history and they are eager to leave for anywhere else.
CRITIAS; CRIT-Longtime mercenary in the company. An intelli- gence gatherer and assistant to Tempus. Also the partner of Straton, though that pairing has been in disarray for some time now.
STRATON; STRAT; ACE-Partner of Critias. Injured by the PELS at the start of the False Plague riots. He has been Ischade's lover and though her curse has not killed him, most of his former associates count him among Sanctuary's damned.
TEMPUS THALES; THE RIDDLER-Nearly immortal mercenary, a partner of Vashanka before that god's demise; commander of the Stepsons; cursed with a fatal inability to give or receive love.
WALEGRIN-Rankan army officer assigned to the Sanctuary garrison where his father had been slain by the S'danzo many years before. He is now one of three officers responsible for the peace in Sanctuary. He is also Illyra's half-brother.
The Beysib
SHUPANSEA; SHU-SEA-Head of the Beysib exiles in Sanctuary; mortal avatar of the Beysib mother goddess. Lover of Prince Kadakithis whom she wishes to marry.
CHABOSTU; CHA-BOS-A daughter born before Shupansea was driven into exile.
INTRODUCTION by Robert Lynn Asprin
Military units have never been noted for their punctuality, and the Stepsons were no exception. Even though their departure was originally planned for shortly after dawn, it was nearly noon before the first pair actually swung aboard their horses and headed off amid waves and good- natured catcalls from their comrades. This was not a regular army unit, but a free company of mercenaries, so the formations and columns one might expect in a troop relocation were nowhere in evidence. Rather, the men set out on their journey in pairs or small groups as they were ready, with no thought to waiting for the others. Indeed, it was doubtful they would even all take the same route to their new posting. However disor- ganized or leisurely their departure might be though, one thing was clear. The Stepsons were leaving Sanctuary.
Relatively few townspeople had gathered to witness their passing, but the first pair waved at them anyway as they set off. No one returned their salutation.
Of the watchers, two men were notable if only from the diversity of the pair. One was old, his hair more silver-white than gray, while the other was a youth barely out of his teens. The younger was dressed in the humble garb of the town's lower class, while the elder man's finery marked him as one who moved in richer, perhaps even royal, circles, That they were together, however, was never in question. Not simply because they stood together and exchanged comments, though that Would have been sufficient evidence for most. Even more apparent was their manner. While they conversed freely, their eyes never met, but instead remained focused on what was going on around them. Close attention was paid to the departing pair of Stepsons as if attempting to memorize their appearance and gear, then switched once more to the preparation of the remaining mercenaries.
Were they not so open in their scrutiny, the two might be mistaken for spies. As it was, they were ignored, for neither was unknown around the city. The younger was Hort, a lowly storyteller; the older, Hakiem, once a talespinner himself and mentor to Hort, was now adviser to the ruler of the Beysib.
"Well, it actually looks like they're going."
"Of course," Hakiem replied without looking at his friend. "Did you doubt it?"
"Yes, and so did you." Hort smiled. "But that didn't keep us from being out here at dawn. We should have known that even if anything happened, it wouldn't happen until later."
"True enough. Still, if we had slept in and they had decided to get underway on time, we would have missed it completely."
The younger man snuck a sideways glance at Hakiem.
"I can see where that would affect me," he said, "but why should it make any difference to you? Your storytelling days are behind you now."
"Call it habit," the old man grunted. "Besides, an adviser needs infor- mation as much as a storyteller, and the best information is still that which you gather yourself."
The men fell silent as another pair of Stepsons rode by
"Well, it actually looks like they're going," Hort repeated, almost to himself.
Hakiem hawked and spat noisily in the dust.
"Good riddance!" he declared with sudden vehemence. "The sooner they're clear of the town, the better it will be for all of us! There has been nothing but chaos and death in the city since they arrived. Maybe now things will return to normal!"