I Read What?!

Well, I'd said "see you Friday", I actually meant Saturday. Oops. But that happens sometimes.

Last time, Seregil got arrested. Alec got worried. Thero was a dick (in the best way). And so on. Let's see what happens next.



So this next chapter begins with Alec waking up in bed, with Seregil's manservant Runcer standing over him. I'm not sure that's really appropriate, dude. But actually, he's here for a reason: Micum wanted him to wake Alec up.

Alec's a little weirded out by the whole "having servants" thing, and the fact that Runcer is all silent and efficient isn't helping, so he tries to make conversation. He manages to learn that Runcer manages the household, but not much else. He's still not sure how much Runcer knows about his background, or Seregil's.

He does figure out how to dismiss Runcer and finds clothes, a lot of them, measured perfectly. He realizes that Seregil must have arranged this while he was at Watermead, which gives him a pang. Aw.

Myrhini, the captain we briefly met before, comes soon enough. Apparently Princess Klia is livid, but worried. The Vicegerent Barien is apparently out for blood. He's never approved of Seregil and his friendship with Klia and her older full siblings.

We get a bit of info on the royal family. Klia and "the twins" are the children of Idrilain and her second consort, while Phoria is the child of Idrilain and her first consort. I believe Phoria has other full siblings too, but they're not mentioned here.

Anyway, Klia doesn't know Myrhini is meeting with them. Myrhini wants to know what she can do, and they fill her in about Seregil's forger, and that they need someone to tip off the fuzz without it getting back to Seregil's friends. Fortunately, Myrhini knows a captain who owes her a favor, so they're able to get things in motion.

--

So we skip ahead an hour or so. Alec's dressed up like a "country lad of good family". He also prays to Illior of the Thieves as he goes into the forger's shop. The forger, Alben, is an apothecary, and Alec pretends that his mother has had "an issue of blood" and needs help. While the apothecary starts measuring out the medicine, Alec glimpses Micum in the courtyard. Micum then commits a spot of arson.

Alben sends his young apprentice for water, then goes into the backroom, not to be budged. He reports to Micum:

“Well?”

“I think it worked,” Alec told him. “As soon as it started he went right to the room behind the shop and wouldn’t be moved from the hearth.”

“We’ve got him, then! It’s just as Seregil said the first time we pulled that trick on Old Silverfish: ‘Shout “Fire” and a mother will race to save her child, a craftsman for his tools, a courtesan for her jewel box, and a blackmailer for his hoard of papers.’ ”

They're off to tell Myrhini.

We change scenes to Seregil, who is waiting in his cell. He's hoping that Alec and Micum understood what he tried to tell them. He's also worried that the Lerans might target them too. Both are "foreign born" and both are known to be Seregil's friends. He worries for Nysander as well.

He also has a bit of professional frustration, if he were doing it, the job would be done by now, and he'd be home in front of the fire.

Well, yeah. But you stupidly got yourself framed, dude. So suck it up.

Back to Alec and Micum, they're meeting with Myrhini. She hands them some helmets so they can pass for members of the guard in the dark. So it's time for the next step.

Alec (with Micum playing ladder) breaks into Alben's chamber. He'd made it to the correct room, but he hears Alben awake upstairs. But fortunately, the fire is banked, so he's not expected to come back down.

And...

Alec fumbled a leather cone out of his pouch and fitted it over the stone to shield the light.

It didn’t take long to find what he was looking for. Running his fingers over the carved moldings that framed the fireplace, he soon struck a loose edge on the thick square base of one of the decorative posts. Working the tip of his dagger under it, he uncovered a deep, narrow cavity in the stonework of the fireplace. Inside lay a long iron box secured with a heavy lock. Hunkering down, he picked the lock and opened the box. Inside were several bundles of documents. His skill at reading was by no means great but he knew Seregil’s large, flowing script and signature well enough to recognize them among the others. One entire packet was made up of letters in Seregil’s hand, some complete, some half finished. There were eleven in all, and several were clearly duplicates of others.

Got you, by the Maker! Replacing the documents, he returned the casket to its hiding place, carefully leaving the concealing bit of stonework slightly askew.

I like that Alec still swears by Dalna too. He's excelling in his new life, but he hasn't forgotten his old one either.

So now Alec's got to make some noise. He tries a few methods, and finally hits on one: smashing a glazed jar against the fire irons. This gets the attention of people both upstairs and down. He quickly rejoins the others.

There's another issue though. Apparently all of the "bluecoats" are going through the front door! The back is unguarded! Alec thinks quick, drawing his sword and holding his lightstone over his head, yelling to "stop where you are".

Alben, who was trying to sneak out the back, thinks they're real guards and promptly runs off into the REAL ones. Happily, he's carrying his casket with him.

The chapter ends here! Exciting!

Since this was a short one, and the next one is also short, I'm expanding the review to cover both!

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So the next chapter brings us to Thero and Nysander. Nysander's just been summoned by the Queen. Woo!

There's some nice description here:

At the Palace Nysander made his way alone through the familiar corridors. Despite its rich tapestries and murals, the place had none of the Orëska’s spacious ambience. Part royal residence, part fortress, the walls were thick, the corridors labyrinthine, the doors heavily strapped with ornate metalwork.

The judgment chamber was more forbidding still, and intentionally so. The long room was empty of furnishings except for a black and silver throne on a raised platform at the far end. To approach it, one crossed a chill expanse of polished black floor under the marble gaze of the royal effigies lining the walls. Iron cressets cast a grim, shifting light over the small group already gathered around the throne.

Idrilain acknowledged Nysander’s bow tersely. She wore the crown and breastplate of office tonight, and her great sword lay unsheathed across her knees. The Vicegerent and General Phoria stood on either side of her, looking equally dour.

It looks like everything's gone as planned. Idrilain has Alben's box in her possession. Moreover, they have Alben prisoner. (Nysander allowed himself a brief brush across the surface of the accused man’s mind and read a panicked craftiness, a fury to survive.)

Three more people enter: a Watch officer, a High Bailiff, and a wizard "of the Second Degree" by the name of Imaneus, who apparently is frequently called in as a "verifier" at trials.

And this is indeed a trial.

Alben claims that there's been a mistake. The Viceregent, Barien, does not buy it.

“A mistake,” Barien repeated tonelessly. “Alben the Apothecary, were you not apprehended by Captain Tyrin of the City Watch while fleeing through a back window in the dead of night with this box in your arms? A box found to contain letters, documents, and missives penned by members of the nobility.”

“A mistake,” Alben whispered again, trembling.

Poor hapless Lord Vardarus is posthumously cleared. His letter, both the original (which lacks the damning details) and copies of the forgery are in the box. Seregil's letters, both the innocent original and the copies of the forgery are as well.

Alben claims he heard a noise and found the box thrown through his window. He panicked.

Imaneus's job becomes clear. He shakes his head as Alben speaks.

Next they bring in Ghemella, the Gem Cutter.

Catching sight of Alben, Ghemella screeched out, “You tell ’em, Alben, you tell how I only did the seal work! You miserable bastard, you tell ’em I didn’t know no more of it than that!”

The sentence for forging the seals of a noble is death by torture. Eek.

Nysander steps in:

“My Queen, I suggest that it is unlikely that these two acted on their own, but at the behest of another,” said Nysander, choosing his words carefully. “It is certain that Lord Seregil was not approached for the purpose of blackmail, nor was there any such evidence in the case of the late Lord Vardarus. Had these two been acting on their own, surely that would have been their motive.”

Nysander wants to use these two to smoke out their boss. And, as he points out, information gotten through torture is not very effective. (Barien is "quite aware of [Nysander's] theories regarding torture." And I find myself intrigued by this dynamic.)

Barien and Phoria are skeptical, but Idrilain is on board. Nysander suggests commuting the sentence to banishment in exchange for a full and free confession, with Imaneus validating their info.

Idrilain isn't completely nice, though:

With a humorless smile, Idrilain turned back to the accused, speaking directly to them for the first time. “What will it be, you two? Full confession for the loss of your right hand and exile—or a red-hot pike up your miserable backsides?”

Eek.

Anyway, Alben's quick to spill what he knows. He didn't know the name of the dude that hired him, but he looked like a noble. He didn't have a Rhiminee accent. The man had had him forge other documents, including, scarily, two of the Queen's Warrants. THIS gets a reaction:

“You admit to forging the signature of the Queen herself!” Phoria burst out furiously. “When was this?”

Alben quailed miserably. “Three years ago, it must be now. They weren’t any good, though, when I delivered them.”

“Why not?” Barien’s voice betrayed nothing, but Nysander was surprised to note that the Vicegerent had gone quite pale. Phoria also seemed shaken.

Interesting!

Anyway, there were no seals. Alben didn't keep a copy, and Ghemella swears she never gave anyone a Queen's Seal.

Alben remembers exactly when it happened too. Partially because it's a really fucking big job. But also because he'd done a manifest for a ship called the White Hart at the same time, for the same job. He'd helped a neighbor get his kid on that ship, at the same time, but the ship went down and the kid died.

Alben and Ghemella explain how the guy came back to get them to frame Vardarus, as well as Seregil. Though there's a funny bit:

Alben hesitated. “Only the first one my lord. The rest came to me from Ghemella just recently and I sold them to that same man.”

“I bought them off chars,” the gem cutter put in hastily.

“What’s she saying?” asked Phoria.

“ ‘Char’ is the street parlance for a dealer in stolen papers,” explained Nysander.

“That’s so, your lordship,” Ghemella said, determined not to leave out any detail. “I got them from an old cripple named Dakus.”

Ah, Seregil, you outfoxed yourself that time! Nysander thought resignedly, knowing well enough who this “Dakus” was and where the second damning letter had originated.

Okay, I admit, Nysander's starting to grow on me. I still think he's a sucky mentor, but I definitely sympathize with the realization that Seregil is a fucking moron.

The dude also told Alben he'd pay well for any letters from nobles with lineage outside Skala. Apparently Vardarus's great-grandfather was a Plenimaran baron. And Seregil being Aurenfaie isn't a secret.

The questioning is almost done, but Nysander has a few more: when and where the forgery was to be delivered and to whom, and do they know about any Leran connection?

Barien seems angry at the idea of a Leran connection. Alben freaks out, claiming he doesn't know anything about Lerans, and is loyal to the Throne, no matter what Idrilain's blood is. Ghemella too. Imaneus confirms.

“Their loyalty is so noted,” Idrilain observed sarcastically. “But what of Nysander’s first question? When are these new forgeries to be delivered, and to whom?”

“Tomorrow night, my Queen,” said Alben. “There were three this time, those you have there done up in the yellow ribbon. There’s a letter of Lord Seregil’s, one from a Lady Bisma, and another from Lord Derian.”

I definitely mentally cast Idrilain as Kate Mulgrew.

Anyway. The prisoners are taken away, and the others confer. Barien is definitely upset about the Leran connection, demanding that if Nysander has evidence of Leran activity, he must share it at once. Nysander clarifies that it's only a theory.

Idrilain is sorry about Vardarus, thinking if only he'd spoken up. Phoria defends her mother, she'd had no choice given the evidence.

Seregil's a new problem though. Idrilain has to let him go, of course, but if she does, the traitors will probably bolt. Nysander proves that favoritism goes only so far:

“That is certain,” the wizard agreed. “He must remain where he is for now and we must hasten to allay suspicion at the apothecary’s house. The neighbors will be gossiping of the night’s events, and word travels all too quickly to evil ears. Our only hope lies in tracking this buyer of forged papers when he comes for the next packet. Alben could be put back in place—with all suitable restraints, of course—for the time it takes to apprehend our man.”

Idrilain ends up dismissing Barien and Phoria to talk alone with Nysander. She mentions that Barien finds Lerans very upsetting, and wishes Nysander had brought those concerns up to him before. Unfortunately, she agrees that the theory is a good one. She's concerned too. If the traitors can get their hands on her Warrant, they may well be able to recognize her spies. But, she acknowledges, they WON'T recognize Nysander's Watchers.

She gives Nysander free rein to pursue the matter. The chapter ends here.