Cerryl tensed. What had he done wrong?
“It is not you.” The rotund mage turned to the messenger in blue. “I would have the honored Sterol meet me here.”
“Yes, ser.” The messenger left, almost as though fleeing.
“Maker’s marks . . . on the shields.” Myral continued to breathe heavily. “They’re from Gallos . . . only one trader in arms licensed to Gallos . . . shouldn’t be too hard to find who brought in iron weapons.”
“I didn’t think iron weapons were allowed here.”
“A few uses only . . .” Myral panted.
“Ser . . . the steps back there. They’re clean. You could sit there.”
“Not . . . a bad idea.”
Cerryl led Myral back to the steps up to the grate.
Even without Myral’s orders, the lancers stood guard over the charred shapes sprawled on the walkway. Another group had joined Jyantyl on the street above in guarding the grate.
“Does this happen often?” Cerryl finally asked.
“Every once in a while. That’s why we provide guards.” Myral took another deep breath. “People think the sewers are out of our sight. Sometimes, they’re right. We can’t watch everything. The locks help, but some people tunnel in, like those smugglers.” After a moment, he added, “After Sterol comes, we’ll check that old tunnel they built. I would gather that your attackers unbricked part of it. What happened to Ullan?”
“I don’t know. He was gone by the time I finished with—” Cerryl gestured up the tunnel.
“Most interesting. A missing guard, and an attack late in the day.”
Late in the day? When someone knew a young mage would be tired? Cerryl hadn’t thought about that.
Myral stood slowly. “The mighty Sterol is taking his time. While we wait, we might as well check that tunnel. You can clean some more if it’s too slimy.”
Cerryl felt like groaning but didn’t. His left shoulder ached where the edge of the shield had struck him, and he felt exhausted.
They walked slowly over the bodies to where Cerryl had reached in scouring the walkway, trying not to touch either corpse, but the walkway was too narrow to walk around the dead brigands. Myral turned to Cerryl, eyebrows lifting.
Whhhst!
Cerryl used as little of the golden lance flame as possible in clearing the fifty cubits of walkway that curved to the rough aperture of the smugglers’ tunnel, a rough arch slightly less than four cubits high.
Cerryl stepped into the side tunnel gingerly, feeling the clay underfoot give slightly. Less than twenty cubits farther on, the tunnel ended in a wall—except in the middle of the wall was an open doorway.
Myral stepped up and closed the door.
Cerryl took a deep breath. The back side of the door had been painted to resemble bricks.
“Someone has been using this again. Clever of them.” Myral turned. “No one is around now, and I’d rather leave this to Sterol. You don’t want to know where that door leads, not until you’re a mage, anyway.” The heavyset older mage puffed slowly back along the secondary until he reached the stairs to the street, where he carefully settled himself on the second step.
How long they waited, Cerryl wasn’t sure, except that the sound of more armsmen and weapons echoed down the steps even before a handful of guards appeared, followed by the High Wizard.
Sterol appeared out of the dimness, a glowing presence of chaos, with a squad of guards before him and with Kinowin flanking him. “Your summons was not precisely convenient, Myral.”
Myral heaved himself to his feet. “Yes, High Wizard.” Myral gestured into the darkness toward the two bodies. “Young Cerryl dispatched these two malefactors. I would request that you examine the bodies for yourself.”
Sterol nodded. Kinowin’s face was blank.
“You might also note the side tunnel beyond the bodies. There is a door painted to look like bricks.”
Sterol stepped past the two, and followed by Kinowin, he marched down the tunnel. Cerryl noted that while Sterol did not blaze chaos energy the way Jeslek did, he definitely radiated chaos—as did the rugged Kinowin, if to a lesser degree.
The High Wizard stopped by the bodies and bent over. After a moment, Sterol straightened. “I see what you mean.” With a gesture, he pointed toward the figures, and the tunnel filled with blinding light.
Cerryl blinked. When the stars cleared from his eyes, all that remained were white dust, two iron shields, and two blades.
Wearing heavy white gloves he had pulled from somewhere, Kinowin lifted both shields and handed them to one of the lancers. Then he lifted the blades and carried them toward the steps with the lancers, leaving Sterol with Cerryl and Myral.