“Is there a way to tell if a given prisoner was returned to his homeland?”
“Certainly. That is most of what I do these days, you know. I research the missing. Mm, you see, we may not always have kept good track of them while they were on a work detail-there were indeed times when catastrophe or warfare created a disturbance in our duties-but we were very careful when peace came, mm-hmm. Once everyone we had was returned, I’ve spent my time trying to, mm, clear up any discrepancies.”
Cimozjen smiled, a genuine show of hope. “That is wonderful news, for I fear my friend may have slipped through the cracks.”
“Indeed? Mm. What can you tell me of him?”
“His name was Torval Ellinger, a soldier of the Iron Band. He was sent to … the, um …”
“He cut timber at the Areksul garrison,” said Minrah.
“Hm? Is someone else there?” asked the friar, flustered.
“I am a friend of Cimozjen’s,” said Minrah. “I am sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Mm … hmm … you didn’t startle me, young girl, I just didn’t see you over there in the shadows. Mm.” He looked over his shoulder. “Ourielle, my dear? Would you kindly fetch me the book on the Areksul garrison?”
A creature crawled out from beneath the table at which the monk sat. It seemed a monstrous, misshapen spider at first, with long, thin, fleshy limbs slowly and quietly uncurling, each ending in a delicate, long-fingered hand. Its body was akin to a human’s head, naked of hair. The legs sprouted from roughly where the neck should have been. Sparing a brief glance at the visitors, it moved across the floor on its twice-jointed limbs. Its hands made the barest padding noise as they struck the tiles.
“Such a pleasant sound, mm-hmm,” said the monk. A tight smile puckered his face. “She likes to be barefoot,” he added.
A few minutes later, the creature returned. It moved on three legs, as the fourth held a thin volume in its long-fingered hand, yet its gait was as smooth and noiseless as it had been when it had departed. The creature walked up to the monk and crawled beneath the table once more. The last part of it to be seen was its fourth leg, which deftly placed the book gently by the side of the monk’s hand before it, too, disappeared beneath the woodwork.
“Mm. Such a sweet young thing, she is. Always very quiet. Mm.” He shooed the quill pen to the side, and it returned obediently to its inkwell. He opened the book and leaned close over the pages, one hand fiddling with his monocle.
The trio waited patiently while the clerk went through the elegant calligraphed pages of the tome. “Here we are, mm-hmm. The list of prisoners from Areksul garrison. Looks like there are a few amendments here already-told you they couldn’t write-but … hmm … yes, there he is. ‘Ellinger, Torval, Karrnath, Iron Band.’ He was repatriated. Unless, mm, he took ill and died while being sent home.”
“Or something of that nature,” said Minrah.
“Tell me,” said Cimozjen, ignoring her comment, “what exactly was the procedure for repatriating the prisoners?”
“Mm? For the most part, the church arranged for their departure by communicating with those of equal standing in the churches of the other nations. Obviously this was rather more troublesome when dealing with Thrane, mm-hmm, but they finally got enough good sense in their heads to let the remaining faithful handle the exchange, rather than leave it to those myopic sots that overthrew the king.”
“Myopic, you say?” asked Minrah.
“Mm?” Hannel glanced up, cast about, and looked in the general direction of Cimozjen. “Yes, mm. Indeed.”
“Enough, Minrah,” said Cimozjen, raising one hand to cut off any dispute. “Brother, you said ‘for the most part.’ Was Torval part of that group, or was he handled a different way?”
“Mm. Not him, no,” said Hannel, shaking his head and setting his flab to waggling again. “Not according to this annotation. He was to be afforded special treatment.”
“Special?”
“The Prelate, Host bless his ailing health, insisted that certain select prisoners be afforded special treatment as suited their station or service.”
“Prelate Quardov?” blurted Cimozjen.
“Mm. Yes. His Reverence the High Archdeacon of the Cathedral of the Heavens, Blessed Apostle of the Church of the Sovereign Host, and, mm …”
Minrah pulled Cimozjen towards her as Hannel prattled on. “You know him?” asked Minrah quietly.
“Yes, I do,” said Cimozjen, lowering his voice so the aging friar couldn’t hear. “Or rather, I know of him, and saw him. Near the end of the War he visited the infirmary where I was serving, and asked several pointed questions about me and my disposition, or so one of the hospitalers informed me. He took a long look at me while I worked, and I tell you the truth, there was no warmth in that gaze.”
“Sounds like a dangerous man,” said Minrah.
“That is the truth of it,” said Cimozjen. “As soon as I returned his stare, he averted his eyes and moved on.” He scratched his ear and grimaced with the memory. “I thought at the time he was a coward, but a coward with power is a very dangerous man indeed.”
Taking a breath, he leaned forward to the monk. “Tell me, Brother Hannel, what was this special dispensation that the Prelate ordered?”
“Mm? Oh, we were to turn the prisoners over to the Holy Escorts Martial.”
“Who are they?” asked Minrah.
“They are supposed to stand watch over the property of the church,” said Cimozjen, “but really they’re more like the personal bodyguard of the highest in the clergy.”
“Right you are, mm,” said Hannel. “I understand that Escorts Martial delivered the prisoners into the care one of the dragonmarked houses. Mm. Their power and reputation crosses all borders equally, you know, so they’d be best suited to oversee all the prisoners back to their homes. Mm-hmm.”
“Which prisoners received this special treatment?”
Hannel leaned back again, drumming his fingers on his pallid cheek. “All of the high-profile ones, you know. We needed to show proper respect, mm. There were plenty. Noble-born commanders and other royalty, of course, and even senior members of the Church of the Silver Flame or the Eldeen druidic sects. Plus we’d taken prisoners from a number of the elite formations. We’ve had people from the Queen’s Swords, the Iron Band, the Green Pantaloons, mm, and the Cyran Storm Cavaliers. We even captured a bone knight once, mm-hmm. I searched the names out personally, you know. I wanted to ensure that all who merited the dispensation were so blessed.”
“Which house handled them?”
“Mm?” Hannel shrugged, a gesture that seemed to take far more effort than it was worth. “Once the Escorts Martial turned them over? House Ghallanda, I suppose. Mm. Excellent hospitality would be a good way to see after the well-being of such important personages.” He licked his lips and smiled as he patted his stomach.
“You suppose?” pressed Cimozjen. “Why do you not know?”
“Mm? Well, perhaps House Thuranni and their bodyguards might also have been a good choice. Keep them safe amidst an angry crowd.”
“Tell me which it was!” snapped Cimozjen.
“Calm down, my son,” said Hannel, holding his pudgy hands aloft. “I’m just musing about it. Mm. They didn’t tell me about it. The Escorts Martial took care of it all. Our work was done once we delivered the prisoners to them. Mm-hmm. But it didn’t really matter which house it was. All that mattered was that they were being taken care of. I just followed his reverence’s wishes.”
Cimozjen leaned against the table and ran his hands across the back of his neck, rolling his head in annoyance. “You can be sure that that’s what a lot of people said at the start of the Last War.”
Back in their lodgings, Cimozjen leaned against the window frame and stared out into the night, watching as the last waning sprays of sunset slipped beneath the overhanging clouds. Occasional droplets of rain spattered on the mullioned window, refracting the lights from lanterns and glowstones as the autumn night fell.