“What are you doing now?”
“I made good. King’s Chief Sorcerer in Juval. You wouldn’t have thought that was going to happen when the Abelasians were chasing us through the jungle! What are you doing here?”
Irith knows I never made it as a Sorcerer. When he learns I’m working for the Deputy Consul he roars with laughter. I find myself roaring with laughter too. I always liked Irith.
“There’s six Sorcerers from Juval here and we’re looking for a good time. Come and meet them!”
I go to meet them. They turn out to be six of the largest, most jovial Sorcerers ever made, each with a loud voice, a large belly and a mission in life to get as much ale inside him as possible, all the while shouting in a loud voice for more beer, more stories about the old days and more serving girls to sit on his knee.
“The election?” yells one of them, who’s drinking a huge flagon of ale while another hovers at his side. “Who cares? Hey, can anyone else do this?”
He mutters a word and the floating tankard rises and starts emptying beer into his mouth. I’m extremely impressed. It’s one of the finest spells I’ve ever seen. His companions bellow with laughter and start trying to emulate the feat. Soon beer is flowing in all directions. Waitresses are scurrying this way and that with fresh supplies and Irith Victorious is claiming in the loudest of voices that he doesn’t care what anyone says, he was the real champion at the last Juvalian Sorcerers’ drinking contest and anyone who says otherwise is an Orc-lover.
“The Juvalian drinking contest is as nothing compared to the feats of Thraxas of Turai!” I bawl, and start on a fresh tankard.
“Turai?” screams the Juvalian. “No one can drink in this city. Too cold! I’ve been as cold as a frozen pixie since I got here. Southern heat, that’s what makes a drinker!”
“Southern heat? I’ve seen a two-fingered troll drink more than a Juvalian Sorcerer. Haven’t you finished that tankard yet?”
I call for more beer.
“And charge it to Cicerius!”
We toast the Deputy Consul, and then the Deputy Consul in Juval, or some such official. I don’t quite catch the title.
“Anyone betting on the election?” I enquire, some time later.
Irith is a gambler but he’s not as enthusiastic about betting on the contest as I thought he might be. He knows—as does any Sorcerer who’s interested—there’s a woman working in the kitchens as a cook whose actual purpose is to act as a runner, taking bets to a bookmaker, but he doesn’t fancy the odds.
“Sunstorm Ramius is the strong favourite and they’re only offering two to one on. Hardly seems worth it. I can never get excited about an odds-on bet.”
I nod. Risking a stake of twenty gurans to win only ten isn’t that attractive a prospect to a fun-loving Sorcerer like Irith. Myself, I might go for it at the chariot races if I was certain I was backing the winner. Here at the Assemblage, I’m not so sure. Having seen Tilupasis swinging into action, it doesn’t seem impossible that Lisutaris might win. I heard Tilupasis telling young Visus in strong terms that she didn’t care how old the Chief Sorcerer from Misan was, it was his duty to show her round the city and make sure she was having a good time. As the elderly Sorcerer departed on Visus’s arm she looked pretty happy, so that’s probably a few more votes for Turai. Furthermore, I’m on Lisutaris’s side and I have a lot of confidence in my abilities.
“Number one chariot,” I tell Irith.
“What at?”
“Investigating. Drinking. Fighting. Getting votes. Lots of things. Sharp as an Elf’s ear. Where’s the beer?”
Providing Lisutaris, Mistress of the Sky, can avoid appearing in public looking like she’s just unwillingly detached herself from her water pipe and is having trouble putting one foot in front of the other, I reckon she’s in with a chance. Most people like her, she’s maintained her good reputation and she can muster a lot of charm when she has to. A few beers later it’s as clear as day that I should be placing a hefty bet on the Mistress of the Sky, so I head for the kitchens to do just that, picking up a plate of venison and a huge peach pie on the way back. I get back to drinking with the Juvalians, and entertain one and all with a fine story of my exploits in the war between Juval, Abelasi and Pargada, twenty-four years ago.
“It was the first time I met Gurd, and we gave the Pargadans hell, I can tell you.”
Some hours later a tired-looking attendant suggests to us that as the Royal Hall has now completely emptied of Sorcerers, it may be time for us to go home. I clamber to my feet, bid farewell to Irith and his companions, step lightly over the one or two Juvalian Sorcerers now lying prostrate on the floor, and stumble out the building. I’d say the Assemblage has gone well so far. Far more enjoyable than I anticipated. I wonder what happened to Lisutaris and Makri. I shrug. Powerful Sorcerer and ferocious warrior. They can look after themselves.
At the door I run into Tilupasis. She looks as fresh and elegant as she did at the start of the day.
“Get many votes?” I ask.
“I believe so. And you?”
“I may have secured the support of the Juvalians.”
“You mean you out-drank them?”
“I did. It was a close-run thing, but I was drinking for Turai.”
Tilupasis laughs, quite elegantly.
“Good.”
“Good?”
I was hoping she’d be annoyed. It still bothers me that I’m obliged to be here working for the government.
“I have Visus and Sulinius to charm those who need to be charmed. But for those who need to be drunk into submission, I have you. I told Cicerius you would be a good man to have on our side.”
Tilupasis departs. Going to snuggle up with the Consul maybe. I have a peculiar feeling I’ve been outsmarted somehow. To hell with them.
Outside, the only landus I can find doesn’t want to take me south of the river. I’m obliged to raise my fist and inform the driver that his landus is going south, with or without him. We set off through the snow. The streets are quiet. I’m cold. It wasn’t such a bad day.
[Contents]
Chapter Seven
Astrath Triple Moon sends me a message apologising for his non-appearance at the Assemblage, claiming illness. The message ends with the brief sentence, Paper came from Hanama.
I mull this over with my morning beer. Astrath has good powers of sorcerous investigation and his results can generally be trusted. My hunch was correct. It was Hanama who warned Lisutaris about Covinius. This means I’ll have to talk to her. Talking to Assassins is never something I enjoy doing.
I finish my beer, warm up my cloak and set off through the snow for the Assemblage. Once there I nose around for a while, check that Makri is looking after Lisutaris’s back, then get round to drinking with Irith and his companions. In the rooms and corridors of the Royal Hall, the electioneering is gathering pace. So far I’ve had little involvement in the machinations of Tilupasis, although she does ask me to escort young Sulinius to a secluded location behind the hall.
“He’s carrying a lot of gold and I don’t want him to get robbed.”
The gold buys the votes of four Sorcerers from Carsan. Tilupasis is well satisfied.
“Let the Simnians try to match that.”
“Are they busy with bribery as well?”
“Of course. So are the Abelasians. But they lack the advantage of being at home. I have access to the King’s vaults. We can out-spend them.”