The Hidden City

the side of his aching jaw. ‘It wasn’t all that bad,’ he said. ‘Sorgi owes me a couple of favors, and I gave him time to pick up a cargo to cover most of the cost.’
    ‘You’ll be going directly to the harbor from here?’
    Sparhawk nodded. ‘We’ll use that tunnel Caalador found under the barracks. I told Sorgi that his three new crew members would report to him about midnight.’
    ‘You’ll sail tomorrow then?’
    Sparhawk shook his head. ‘The day after. We have to load Sorgi’s cargo tomorrow.’
    ‘Honest work, Sparhawk?’ Vanion smiled.
    ‘You’re starting to sound like Khalad.’
    ‘He does have opinions, doesn’t he?’
    ‘So did his father.’
    ‘Quit rubbing your face like that, Sparhawk. You’ll make your skin raw.’ Vanion paused. ‘What was it like?’
    ‘Very strange.’
    ‘Painful?’
    ‘The nose was. It feels almost as if somebody broke it again. Be glad you don’t have to go through it.’
    ‘There wouldn’t be much point in that. I won’t be sneaking down alleys the way the rest of you will. ‘ Vanion looked sympathetically at his friend. ‘We’ll get her back, Sparhawk,’ he said.
    ‘Of course. Was that all?’ Sparhawk’s tone was deliberately unemotional. The important thing here was not to feel.
    ‘Just be careful, and try to keep a handle on your temper.’
    Sparhawk nodded. ‘Let’s go see how the others are coming.’
    The alterations were confusing, there was no question about that. It was hard to tell exactly who was talking, and sometimes Sparhawk was startled by just who answered his questions. They said their goodbyes and quietly left the chapel with the main body of the Church Knights. They went out into the torch-lit courtyard, crossed the drawbridge, and proceeded across the night-shrouded lawn to the barracks of the knights, where Sparhawk, Stragen and Talon changed into tar-smeared sailor’s smocks while the others also donned the mis-matched clothing of commoners. Then they all went down to the cellar.
    Caalador, who now wore the blocky face of a middle-aged Deiran knight, led the way into a damp, cobweb-draped tunnel with a smoky torch. When they had gone about a mile, he stopped and raised the torch. ‘This yere’s yer exit, Sporhawk,’ he said, pointing at a steep, narrow stairway. ‘You’ll come out in an alley—which it is oz don’t smell none too sweet, but is S an’ dark.’ He paused. ‘Sorry, Stragen,’ he apologized. ‘I wanted to give you something to remember me by.’
    ‘You’re too kind,’ Stragen murmured.
    ‘Good luck, Sparhawk,’ Caalador said then.
    ‘Thanks, Caalador.’ The two shook hands, and then Caalador lifted his torch and led the rest of the party off down the musty-smelling passageway toward their assorted destinations, leaving Sparhawk, Talon, and Stragen alone in the dark.
    ‘They won’t be in any danger, Vanion,’ Flute assured the Preceptor as the ladies were packing. ‘I’ll be going along, after all, and I can take care of them.’
    ‘Ten knights then,’ he amended his suggestion downward.
    ‘They’d just be in our way, love,’ Sephrenia told him. ‘I do want you to be careful, though. A body of armed men is far more likely to be attacked than a small party of travelers.’
    ‘But it isn’t safe for ladies to travel alone,’ he protested. ‘There are always robbers and the like lurking in the forest.’
    ‘We won’t be in one place long enough to attract robbers or anybody else,’ Flute told him. ‘We’ll be in Delphaeus in two days. I could do it in one, but I’ll have to stop and have a long talk with Edaemus before I go into his valley. He might just take a bit of convincing.’
    ‘When art thou leaving Matherion, Lord Vanion?’ Xanetia asked.
    ‘About the end of the week, Anarae,’ he replied. ‘We’ve got to spend some time on our equipment, and there’s always the business of organizing the supply train.’
    ‘Take warm clothing,’ Sephrenia instructed. ‘The weather could change at any time.’
    ‘Yes, love. How long will you be at Delphaeus?’
    ‘We can’t be sure. Aphrael will keep you advised. We have a great deal to discuss with Anari Codon. The fact that Cyrgon has summoned Klael complicates matters.’
    ‘Truly,’ Xanetia agreed. ‘We may be obliged to entreat Edaemus to return.’
    ‘Would he do that?’
    Flute smiled roguishly. ‘I’ll coax him, Vanion,’ she said, ‘and you know how good I am at that. If I really want something,