Lar was not merely relieved now, but smiling.
"It would seem this dreadful 'judgment' of yours is entirely in our favor," one of the Lumethan nobles called back, as one of the others hastily translated Ithinia's words into Lumethan for the two who appeared to know no Ethsharitic.
"Oh, no," Ithinia said. "It is not. Because all these demands will apply to Lumeth of the Towers, just as they will to the Empire. Any Lumethan agent who sets foot in the Empire unasked does so on penalty of death; if a single Lumethan soldier crosses the border without imperial consent, this city, and everyone in it, will be slaughtered – men, women, and children. No spies, no assassins, no saboteurs shall be sent, or all your lives are forfeit. Nor shall you knowingly aid any other kingdom that attempts to subvert or attack the Empire."
The men on the balcony did not reply to that; after a moment's silence Ithinia continued. "Likewise, we did not bring a representative of the Council of Warlocks with us because the practice of warlockry is hereby forbidden in Lumeth of the Towers. The crime of warlockry shall be punishable by immediate execution. If there are any warlocks within your borders they have three days to leave, and they are to go as far and as fast as possible – we will not allow them to take refuge in Shassala, Gajamor, Calimor, Eknissamor, Yaroia, Zenda, or Kalithon."
Emmis was not sure just where those places were, but he glanced at Lar again, and discovered that the Vondish ambassador was grinning broadly. "That's every kingdom bordering Lumeth," Lar whispered. "It's half the Empire's northern border!"
"If you're worried that the Empire is planning to attack you," Ithinia concluded, "you will find a wizard and inform the Guild. You will not undertake any action on your own. Is that understood?"
The party on the balcony exchanged looks, but except for the running translation no one spoke at first. Then Ithinia waved a hand and pointed at one of them; his beard burst into flame.
"I said, is that understood?" she shouted.
"Yes!" one of the men called back, as two of the others used hands and sleeves to smother the burning beard.
Then Ithinia turned and beckoned to the guards holding the Lumethan prisoners. She grabbed the first by the back of the neck and forced him to his knees on the pavement in front of her.
"I return to you Hagai of Lumeth, who is guilty of espionage and conspiracy to commit murder in Ethshar of the Spices. Because he was acting in your service the Hegemony of the Three Ethshars and the Wizards' Guild will allow him to live, but he is never again to set foot outside Lumeth's borders." She flung the bound theurgist down onto the stones of the plaza and left him lying there as she moved on to the next.
"And this is Neyam the Witch, who was sent to hire thugs in the Hundred-Foot Field. One of his minions has already been hanged, and the overlord's magistrates had him flogged yesterday, but he was permitted to heal himself, and he, too, we will allow to live, so long as he remains within your borders."
She flung him down as well, and grabbed the third man. "Finally we have your wizard, Morkai of Crooked Hill, who the Guild had entrusted with certain magic intended for use in guarding the ancient towers for which your land is named, and who used one of those spells not to summon aid in an emergency, as was intended, but to transport himself and his companions to the dunes south of Ethshar of the Spices, so that they might spy on the Vondish ambassador. He then used his membership in the Guild to call upon the services of a fellow wizard, Felder of Arena Street, in summoning Fendel's Assassin and directing it to kill the ambassador. Because he is a wizard, the overlord delivered him unscathed into my keeping, for the Guild to deal with; he, too, is confined to Lumeth of the Towers for the remainder of his life, and for his abuse of the privileges granted him, he is hereby cast out of the Wizards' Guild." With that she shoved Morkai aside and held out a hand.
One of the Ethsharitic guards had obviously been told what to do; he passed her a knife, one that looked ordinary enough but that Emmis supposed must be Morkai's wizard's dagger. Ithinia took it, and touched it with her own knife; violet fire flared up briefly from both blades.
Then she threw it to the ground and signaled to the guard, who knelt, picked up the knife, and thrust its point deep into one of the cracks between paving stones, so that it stood upright.
Then he bent it until the blade snapped off.
Morkai screamed through his gag, and fell writhing on the stone, startling Emmis – and all the other observers, apparently, except the other wizards.
"What's going on?" Lar asked, his smile gone and his face pale. "Why is he doing that?"
"It must be a spell of some kind," Emmis said, turning up an empty palm. "The knife was enchanted somehow."
"She didn't tell us she was going to do that!"
"He tried to kill you, sir," Emmis reminded him.
"Yes, but…"
"I'm sure Neyam screamed when he was flogged."
"No, he didn't. Witches can block their pain."
Emmis frowned. That seemed to defeat the purpose of the flogging.
It wasn't his responsibility, though.
Ithinia had turned back to the balcony, and as Morkai's screaming subsided to a whimper she announced, "That concludes our business here, for the present." Then she pulled a wooden flute from her sleeve and raised it to her lips.
Emmis blinked; he was quite sure that she had put the flute in her right sleeve after their arrival in Lumeth, but she had just drawn this flute from her left sleeve. He leaned forward, trying to get a better look at it.
It wasn't the same flute; he was sure of it. This one was lighter in color, and when she began to play the tone was slightly different.
It had the same effect, though. When she reached that final note and held it the sound seemed to echo and re-echo, and the stone pavement shook beneath their feet, then with a great rumble it rippled and split open. A slate skidded off a nearby roof and shattered on the pavement.
"I thought we would stay here tonight!" Emmis whispered to Lar. "I mean, we came all the way to Lumeth, and after half an hour we're going back to Ethshar? I didn't even get to see the famous towers!"
"I don't think Ethshar is where we're going," the ambassador replied.
Startled, Emmis asked, "It's not?"
"I don't think so."
Then Ithinia was leading the way down the steps, and Lar and Emmis followed the crowd descending into this new fissure. Emmis decided not to ask any more questions, since he would see soon enough where they were going.
He glanced back as they were entering the rift, and saw the three Lumethan magicians still sprawled miserably on the pavement; they were not accompanying the party to whatever its new destination might be. Annis the Merchant was still being escorted along, though.
This time the passage stayed stone the entire way, but changed hue, from gray to a off-white. Once again, they emerged into sunlight in the middle of a public square. This time, though, Emmis could smell the sea and hear the cry of gulls overhead; he began to think that they were indeed returning to Ethshar, just not to Ithinia's garden.
Then he looked around, and knew that whatever this place was, it wasn't Ethshar of the Spices. The buildings surrounding them were white or golden yellow, gleaming in the sun, without a trace of red brick or dark timber anywhere. The air was warmer than it had been in either Ethshar or Lumeth.