Quincunx Ch. 07

"Harrumph," he cleared his throat. "Princess Rasyondi."

He paused, waiting for a response.

"Yes," Rash said tentively.

He unrolled the scroll he carried. "You are commanded into the presence of the grand council," he read. "You may present your plea for refuge before them for adjudication. The audience will be held in the high chamber in one hour."

He looked from Rash to me as he finished reading the summons, letting the scroll roll closed.

"Can someone show us the way?" I asked.

"Yes of course," he said. "The acolytes outside will show you to the side room where you may prepare yourself."

I raised my voice and called. "Miriamni."

We followed the acolytes down, my heart racing, Rash looked calm enough and I wondered what was going through her mind. We walked downstairs then up the central staircase, down a well furnished hallway and off into a side room at the bottom.

There were snack and drinks on a side table, I turned from the others and poured myself a coffee before sitting provocatively on the other end of the settee. I took a sip of the coffee and set it down, both on edge about the hearing and wishing it was over, the minutes now began to drag.

We were shown to a small table with three chairs set before a raised dais. On it was a curved table with seven seats all facing in towards us. As we sat another side door opened and a black robed acolyte walked in and unrolled a scroll.

"Be upstanding and give attention, the grand council attends and sits in deliberation in the matter of Princess' Rasyondi's application for asylum."

He rolled the parchment up as one by one they entered and took their seats in the semi circle around us. As they sat they turned up name plates:

Gyatso.

Tenzin.

Yeshe.

Lobsang.

Ngawang.

Jamphel.

Jetsun.

In my magic sight they were blinding, I had been looking at all the spells and watched as they assembled, switching back to my normal sight as the group tightened in their seats. As they revealed their names I was struck by Lobsang, it felt somehow familiar.

Rash was asked to present her case, while Miriamni and I on either side of her sat down as she started with an eloquent quote about freedom.

"How does the Meadow flower its bloom unfold? Because the lovely little flower is free down to its root, and in that freedom bold."

William Wordsworth.

She went on to explain her situation. She was good, basing her argument on her rights to her own life and the liberty she could find here to pursue her own happiness. I sat there impressed and cheering for her, under the spell of her words.

The wizards cross questioned her, throwing their own concepts of freedom at her "The only freedom which deserves the name, is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it." Came from one.

"You have the freedom to choose your actions, you don't have the freedom to choose the consequences of your actions." Quoted another. There was a wry comment from the only woman on the panel Yeshe. "We have to call it "freedom": who'd want to die for "a lesser tyranny"?" (~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960).

It was all getting a bit technical and I'd stopped fully listening, the mention of my name brought my attention back as Rash sat back down.

"Yes," I answered standing.

"You accompanied the Princess from Skire, do you support her in this?" asked the third wizard over.

"She was in disguise when we met," I answered. "One of their horses was near lame, I let them use my horse till they reached the Lucky Venture mine, by that time I had seen through Rash's disguise and offered my help to the border, another days travel."

"You're not some secret suitor she's run off to marry?" was the first of the questions I had to parry, it felt weird lying in the face of all these wizards but I'd done it straight-faced to my father many times.

Miriamni merely had to confirm that she was Rash's nurse and was here of her own free will.

And that was it, Lobsan was the spokesman, announcing that the verdict would be considered, they would retire for their deliberations.

As they stood and filed out again I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see an older female wizard at my elbow.

"Davor," she addressed me. "I'm Heen'll, professor of history here."

I turned standing; I could see that both Rash and Miriamni had people attending them, a healer for Miriamni and a white coated young lad.

"Yes," I said facing her.

"You've been assigned to my care," she said smiling. She took me out via the main door and back down the stairs. I thought she was leading me back to the kitchen but we ducked into another doorway and up another flight of stairs.

We emerged in another long hall, this one more utilitarian with doors letting off every fifteen yards or so. She marched of down with me following on gawking like a tourist as she greeted various people. She stopped at the bottom of another stairwell, glancing to check on me, before climbing them.

This stair leads us to a seldom used part of the building where we left dusty footprints. She opened a door. "What spells do you see in here?"

I peered into the dusty office, seeing plenty of faded old magic but no new glittering spells.

"Only old spells that have lost the power to be effective," I answered.

"What do they look like?" she probed further.

"Silvery streams with the symbols floating on them," I elaborated.

"What sort of symbols?" she pressed.

"Like sigils or some old lettering," I answered, following her line of thought.

"Okay," she said thoughtfully, backing away from the door and leaving me to close it.

I followed her back down again and further along the corridor and through a door where we found another set of stairs taking us down again.

"I need to arrange accommodation," I said conversationally. "And find somewhere to wash my soiled clothes."

"You can take your clothes to the laundry," she said without breaking stride. "And we've plenty of rooms here in the student hostel."

"Thanks," I answered in acknowledgement.

She led me finally to a door with her name on it in fancy script. Heen'll, and under it her rank as professor of history. Inside papers and books cluttered the surfaces, her desk and the two chairs standing out as the only oasis of order in the study.

As we'd entered she'd pulled on a bell rope before bidding me sit, I looked around the room as I walked to the chair. There were shelves of books adorning every wall, sheaves of parchment and scrolls were stacked on the small table and yet more books were laid out across the window ledge.

She made herself comfortable in the chair behind the desk, leaning forwards on her elbows across the bare top.

"Jacander says that you can cancel spells, make them vanish into thin air."

"Yes," I admitted. "Though I don't know how it's done. I've never practiced magic before."

"Macann said that you were tested too early."

"Macann?" I queried.

"You sat next to him at breakfast," She replied.

"Ah yes." I nodded, remembering the green robed wizard who questioned my appearance with Rash and Miriamni.

"Can I see you do it?" she asked.

"What spell do you want me to eliminate?" I asked. "One of these spying spells in here."

Before she could answer there was a gentle knock on the door.

"Come," she said loudly, a look of frustration flashing across her face.

A young acolyte came in balancing a tray on one hand as he swung the door.

"Good morning Professor," he said cheerfully as he crossed. "Do you need a cup for your guest?"

"Yes thank you." She said brusquely as he set the tray down on the desk. "And bring something we can nibble on."

I watched the acolyte leave, like most I'd seen he had the glow of a lesser mage.

"What spying spells? I've got counter spells that should stop them being set."

"There's one on the tray he just brought in." I said stifling a smile.

I read it out to her and watched it fade, the focus for someone to scry from.

"There's also one on that book over on the window ledge...."

"What book!" she broke in.

"The one in the second stack with the green bindings."

She stood from her desk and went and cautiously took it, turning over as she read the title.

I recited the words and banished that one too, watching as she looked up with a studious expression her face.

"Point out the rest to me," she asked.

I eliminated two more scrying spells split by the arrival back of the acolyte with the extra cup, and after at her insistence, the one listening spell, lodged on the bell rope. With one book she obviously knew from the startled expression when I identified it on the small table.

She sat again after the run around the room, elbows back on the desk, hands clasped.

"Do you see any of the Sigil spells?"

"Yes, there's an old one on the scroll stuck up in that corner."

"Where," she said, standing again.

She retrieved it and brought it with her to sit once more, carefully teasing the ribbon open to unravel it.

"Hmm," she remarked after a few seconds study, letting it roll itself back up.

After a few moments spent in reflection she stood and clutched the scroll before replacing it on the desk.

"Wait here, I've got to see someone a moment. I'll give you a book I'd like you to read," she said with a smile coming to her face. "It's all about how to make magic."

She went and looked through a section of older books and selected one, bringing it to me as she collected the scroll and waltzed of out the door. I was left looking at the book in my hands, 'On the Means and Methodes of Magic.' The title read, 'The Philosophy of Ban dalf'.