The Hidden City

prohibited.
    ‘Where to now?’ Talen asked after they had stowed their seabags in their room and come back out into the muddy street.
    ‘Back to the waterfront,’ Stragen replied. ‘The chief of the local thieves is a man named Estokin. He deals extensively with smugglers and with sailors who pilfer things from cargo holds. I’ve got a letter from Caalador. Ostensibly, we’re here to make sure that he got his money’s worth during the Harvest Festival. Arjunis aren’t generally trusted, so Estokin won’t be too surprised to see us.’
    Estokin the Arjuni was a man who had clearly been destined for a life of crime from the day he was born. He had what was perhaps the most evil face Sparhawk had ever seen. His left eye peered perpetually off in a northeasterly direction, and he had a pronounced squint. His beard was sparse and straggly, and his skin was blotched with a scaly disease. He scratched at his face almost continually, showering white flakes like a winter sky. His high-pitched, nasal voice was very much like the whine of a hungry mosquito, and he reeked of garlic, cheap wine and pickled herring. ‘Is Caalndor accusing me of cheating him, Vymer?’ he demanded with some show of indignation.
    ‘Of course not.’ Stragen leaned back in the rickety chair in the back room of the smelly waterfront dive. ‘If he thought you’d done that, you’d already be dead. He wants to know if we missed anybody, that’s all. Were any local people particularly upset when the bodies started to turn up?’
    Estokin squinted at Stragen with his good eye. ‘What’s it worth to him?’ he haggled.
    ‘We’ve been instructed to let you live if you co-operate,” Stragen countered in a cool voice.
    ‘You can’t threaten me like that, Vymer,’ Estokin blustered.
    ‘I wasn’t threatening you, old boy. I was just letting you know how things stand. Let’s get to the point here. Who got excited here in Beresa after the killings?’
    ‘Not very many, really.’ Stragen’s chilly manner had evidently persuaded Estokin to behave himself. ‘There was a Styric here who was fairly free with his money before the Harvest Festival.’
    ‘What was he buying?’
    ‘Information, mostly. He was on the list Caalador gave me, but he managed to get away—rode off into the jungle. I’ve got a couple of local cut-throats on his trail.’
    ‘I’d sort of like to talk with him before they put him to sleep.’
    ‘Not much chance, Vymer. They’re a long way out in the bush by now.’ Estokin scratched at his forehead, stirring up another snow flurry. ‘I’m not sure why Caalador wanted all those people killed,’ he said, ‘and I don’t really want to know, but I’m getting a whiff or two of politics, and here in Arjuna that means Scarpa. You might want to warn Caalador to be very careful. I’ve talked with a few deserters from that rebel army in the jungle. We’ve all heard stories about how crazy Scarpa is, but let me tell you, my friend, the stories don’t even come close. If only half of what I’ve heard is true, Scarpa’s the craziest man who ever lived.’
    Sparhawk’s stomach gave a lurch, and then it settled into a cold knot.
    ‘Father?’ Sparhawk sat up in bed quickly. ‘Are you awake?’ the Child Goddess asked, her voice roaring in his mind.
    ‘Of course. Please lower your voice a bit. You’re jarring my teeth.’
    ‘I wanted to be sure I had your attention. Some things have happened. Berit and Khalad got some new instructions from Krager. They’re supposed to go to Sepal now instead of coming here to Beresa.’
    Sparhawk swore.
    ‘Please don’t use that kind of language, Father. I am just a little girl, you know.’
    He ignored that. ‘Is the trade going to take place in Sepal?’
    ‘It’s hard to say. Bevier’s been in touch with me too. Kalten talked with an outlaw who’s been selling beer to the soldiers in Natayos, and he says that Scarpa’s gone back there. Then the outlaw told Kalten that Scarpa had two Elene women with Him when he returned.’
    Sparhawk’s heart leaped. ‘Was he sure?’
    ‘Kalten thinks so. The fellow didn’t have any reason to lie about it. Of course, Kalten’s beer merchant didn’t actually see them for himself, so don’t get your hopes up too much. It could be a very carefully planted story. Zalasta’s in Natayos, and he could be trying to lure you there or trying to trick you into giving away any secrets you might have tucked up your sleeve. He knows you