XXIV. Ash-Kai

  The Kerxa river flowed into the lush farmland that surrounded Ash-Kai. The city’s colorful gates shimmered in the mid-morning heat. An oasis at the edge of the world. The well-kept road was lined with mature palms and swelled with other travelers. They were ushered in through the unguarded gates and into the territory’s capital. Later that morning, Lero spotted a bathhouse, and they paid to wash off the weeks of travel.

  Nia was still pulling down the hem of her nicest tunic as they exited back out into the marketplace. She had braided her hair in the bathhouse in a half-assed attempt to make her seem somewhat presentable. She gnawed her bottom lip, worried. “Do you honestly believe the Governor will meet with us?”

  “I don’t see why he wouldn’t. We have the letter from Clavo, and I am a legionnaire.” Lero gestured down to his armor. He stopped walking as a shopkeeper rushed past with a cart of freshly baked bread. “Watch where you're going! What’s the hurry?”

  The whole marketplace had that frantic air. Thousands of people were milling about near the fountains and shops. The stallowners yelled out their hot bread and freshly caught fish. Her stomach rumbled as they passed a stall with chicken skewers. Her stomach grumbled, the scent of tangy chicken, pickled fish, and honeyed dates invading her nostrils. Across the way, a group of men worked together to hang a string of paper lanterns in a nearby alleyway. A boy knocked into her hip and ran past with purple strips of cloth tied to a long stick. Nia quickly checked to make sure the Peddler’s knife was secure at her side. “Do you suppose there is a festival tonight?”

  Lero shrugged, stopping at a nearby stall to buy some oats for their exhausted horses. They maneuvered back out in the crowd, the heat stifling. The tall towers of the governor’s estate loomed overhead. Nia remembered again that they were about to meet the man who had surrendered the Houses, and all of Ker over to the Conqueror. Wyn-Kai the betrayer. The aker growled and Nia ran her knuckles along her sternum to sooth the beast.

  The shops and apartments gave way for larger, walled off villas. Their doorways proudly display banners of the Ashenian falcon. A legionnaire stood guard as a group of young children played in the street, laughing as they kicked a ball back and forth. Bitterness punched Nia in the gut as she steered clear of the group. In De-Asha no occupied child would willingly go near a purple cape.

  The Kai’s estate was walled off from the surrounding city. The fortress’ towering walls are several stories taller than the nearest roofs. Ashenian flags flown beside the white ibis crest. Legionnaire’s manned the steps leading up to the compound’s gates.

  “Here goes.” Lero said. Nia trailed her brother as he neared the nearest legionnaire. Her brother kissed his knuckles and extended them outward in a quick salute. “Greetings. My sister and I have rode for the past fortnight to seek the Governor. I bear urgent news from my commanding officer, Titus Crassus Clavo. Legate of the ninth legion.”

  The legionnaire waved them through. “The stables will be on your right hand side when you enter the estate. Please seek out a magistrate for rooms and for an audience with the Governor.”

  That was painless enough. Nia thought with surprise. Lero nodded his thanks and they entered the House of the Ibis. After passing their horses off to the stablehand and collecting their bags, Lero and Nia walked through the grounds. The gardens were overflowing with palm, date, and pear trees. Shallow ponds ran alongside the limestone walkways. Directly up ahead was the pristine portico of the Governor’s Hall. To the right of the grounds led to an equally ostentatious building.

  “That’s the Great Library of Ash-Kai.” Lero said, nodding over to where white robed scholars walked up the marble steps. Nia eyed the sculpted columns as they led up to a terra-cotta roof. So that was a library. She had never been in one before; the old building in De-Asha had burnt during the Conquering. It had never been rebuilt. She mused that if it had, she may have spent a foundational amount of her childhood within its walls. That was, if the legate had ever allowed her to learn to read. The kindling need to explore each and every corner of the building for the pathia raged against the fear of getting caught. She pressed her knuckles against her sternum. The aker seemed unusually aggravated today.

  Inside the atrium of the House they found an attendant and were quickly deposited to a guest quarters. After dropping their bags off in their shared rooms, they met back out in the hallway. “Now what?” Nia asked.

  “Now we find Wyn-Kai.” Lero led them back down the hallways the servant had taken them. They were back in the imposing atrium. Lero waved down the nearest white cloaked scholar as they busied past, their arms overlaid with scrolls. “Excuse me. We are here to have an audience with the Governor. It’s urgent.”

  “Everything is urgent!” The scribe said irritably. “Can’t you see I have my hands full? Just go wait outside his office and wait your turn like everyone else!”

  “And where might his office be?” Nia asked.

  The clerk rolled their eyes. “Down the hallway to the right!” He left in a huff. The siblings followed his instructions and the growing crowd, further into the estate. Nia admired the artwork as they walked. Tapestries and ceramic vases bearing the ibis. It was undeniable that the Kai’s clearly had a refined taste.

  Another magistrate stopped them in their tracks. “If the two of you are looking for the Governor, he is far too busy to meet with you. I am sure the security is more than adequate for tonight.”

  “I-” Lero blanked. He flashed the shrewd woman a hesitant smile. “I apologize, but you are mistaken. I report to Legate Clavo of De-Asha. We’ve just arrived. Please, I need to meet with him, it is a matter of the Empire.”

  The woman eyed them quickly. She sighed. “Now really is not a good time. But if you insist you are more than welcome to sit.” She deposited them around the corner into a small sitting area with perhaps twenty other white robed scholars. Nia slid next to Lero on a narrow bench. She ran her sweaty palms down the length of her riding letters. The whole room’s attention was trained on the double cyprus doors.

  When they finally opened, three overworked magistrates filed out. The sitting room shot to their feet, yelling over each other as the Governor exited. Lero brought his fingers to his mouth and whistled sharply. The room turned towards them. “I bear urgent news from Legate Clavo, Governor Wyn-Kai. Please, I must speak to you.”

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  “Name yourself.” The Governor demanded.

  “I am Lero-Uro, son of Baset. With me is my sister, Nia-Uro. I report to Legate Clavo and march under the Ashenian Falcon in the ninth legion.”

  The Governor nodded. “Very well, let them pass.”

  The grumbling magistrates parted to let them through.

  For the man who had sentenced Ker to the Ashenians, the elderly man who eased himself behind the desk was unassuming. He was neither short nor tall; frail nor fat. He was balding, with thick black bushy eyebrows and a large hawk-shaped nose. His scholarly white robes left one shoulder bare, displaying a tattooed ibis carrying a scroll in its beak. They remained standing until the Governor made them sit.

  “Please forgive our lack of hospitality today, Lero-Uro. It is not like our House to be so, well, unwelcoming to another of the ten.” The Governor’s voice was warm, inviting. His tone didn’t meet his flinty gaze. “Tell me the reason for your visit.”

  “I carry word from Legate Clavo.”

  Lero began to pass over the letter and Wyn-Kai waved it off. “No, no. Read it aloud so that we are all on the same page.”

  “Of course.” Lero slit the wax seal with his thumb and cleared his throat. “Governor Wyn-Kai. I write to you with great urgency. It is with great humility that I admit that the city of De-Asha has failed to produce the Conqueror’s tribute for the upcoming triumph. The Conqueror has tasked me with producing the most unusual tribute, I am to recover a star. I firmly believe that the Emperor’s desire is a relic of the Conquering, a weapon of which the Ten kept fiercely hidden inside Anu-Uro-Set during the war. But the excavation of the site has yet to yield the result. The nature of, and power of this star has alluded my men and I.”

  Wyn-Kai laced his fingers together and rested his hand in his palms as Lero continued. “Upon news of the legendary legate’s passing, I grow more frantic in my search. The City of De-Asha requests that all of Legate Xur’s personal accounts of the siege, his journals, and any supplemental documents be sent in our aid. I pray to the Stormlord, merciful is our god, that we may recover the star before the Conqueror’s arrival. I have sent an envoy in my stead. With great humility, Legate Titus Crassus Clavo.” Lero finished.

  “That oaf should have written for aid years ago if this was the Conqueror’s directive.” Wyn-Kai leaned back in his seat. “His procrastination has likely damned himself and your House.”

  Nia gulped, taken aback by the Governor’s candor. Lero leaned forward in his chair. “Please Governor, it is not just my House that I care for. It is my entire city. I can only imagine the carnage the Emperor may inflict if we do indeed fail. I have only just learned of these demands weeks ago, and have no idea what a star is. Much less why the Emperor desires a piece of the heavens.”

  “I see.” Wyn-Kai said slowly. “And the excavation of Anu-Uro-Set?”

  “It’s been extensive but my sister has explored more of the tunnels than I have.” Lero looked over at her expectantly.

  “I’ve seen the site. The tunnels are filled with the dead both recent and ancient.” The Governor’s thick eyebrows pitted together at her barb. “But there have been hundreds of workers. All of the treasure has been plundered or catalogued by the legion.”

  “So you were his digger.” Wyn-Kai concluded. “Am I correct to presume you also were not told what you were seeking?” The Governor flashed up and down her body quickly. “By all the gods of the Skytops, if this star does still exist, it could be a world over by now.”

  “And the journals?” Lero asked urgently.

  Wyn-Kai held up his hand as the door opened. The shrewd-nosed woman from before peaked her head through. “Wyn-Kai, the ships have been spotted. They’ll be in harbor by the hour.”

  “Thank you, Ola.” Wyn-Kai groaned as he stood. “Prepare the palanquins. We shall go to the harbor immediately.”

  Lero rose. “Whose arrived?”

  “Ah. You’ve missed much in your journey here. It’s likely your legate has just received word. News of the Legate Xur’s assassination has reached the Conqueror himself.”

  Life drained out of her brother’s face. “The Conqueror is here?” He asked in disbelief. “The triumph isn’t sent to enter Ker for months!”

  “No, no. The Conqueror has continued his original route. It seems he has also sent an envoy in his place.” The Governor’s lips twisted in a thin smile. “Admrilia Hortus Ashiphiex, the crown princess of the Empire, and my granddaughter has been sent to investigate.” The Governor looked at them in turn as they gaped like fish. “Come. You should attend my House to the harbor. You are still members of a Ker House, after all. But we should really hurry, I’ve learned it’s best not to keep an Ashiphiex waiting.”

  Stunned into silence, Nia and Lero followed the Governor back out into the hallway. The House frantically moved towards the gardens, and they were ushered into a horse-drawn carriage.

  As the horses pulled them through the streets, Lero closed the curtain to the screaming crowd and put his head in his hands. “This is bad. This is so very bad.”

  Nia placed a hand on his shoulder. “You need to breathe.”

  “Me breath? You should be the one panicking. The princess is here to investigate the legate’s killers!”

  “Yes, but you didn’t have anything to do with that.” Nia assured. At her brother’s silence she shook him. “Right? Lero!”

  “Of course I had nothing to do with that! I barely get away from Clavo long enough to piss. But Nia we are kerai. Someone always takes the fall. Not to mention this star the Conqueror is after. If the Emperor is after this, this—” He waved his hands together in frustration. “The princess will be as well. Just watch, the betrayer will surely tell her of our mission.”

  Nia nodded. She had already arrived at the same conclusions. “We could run. Leave tonight. Grab Baset and Cythe and Titus. Go North.”

  “And go where?” Lero let out a choked laugh. “And don’t say Aker-San. Even if you knew where it was Nia, we would never survive the Dunelands.” Lero ran a hand along his cropped hair. “Besides, we are still the House, despite the legion. If we ran, we would be condemning all of De-Asha to their demise. I cannot have the blood of thousands on my hands. Cowardice is not the answer.”

  Nia flushed with shame. “Then what do you suggest we do?”

  “I’m at a loss.” Lero whispered.

  They lulled into silence. Nia only knew one thing for certain. She had to learn if the pathia existed in Ash-Kai, and fast, or they were as good as dead.

  Their horses stopped, and a white robed attendant pulled back the curtains to reveal Ashenian triremes. Nia couldn’t tell if her shaking legs were due to the bumpy ride or her nerves. The crowds behind them screamed, waving purple cloth. Nia overheard as a young mother hiked her daughter up on her hip. “I want to see the princess mommy. Do you think she’s beautiful?”

  “I’m sure Princess Admrilia is just as beautiful as you, my sweet girl.”

  The conversation faded as Nia followed the procession down the rocky hill to the docks. She found her place at Lero’s side as the Kai’s arranged themselves.

  Who she could only assume was Princess Admrilia took a militaristic step off the ship, flanked by two guards. The princess was tall, every muscle in her broad frame chiseled by a Skytops’ blessed sculptor. Nia had never seen a woman so strong, so threatening. Her skin was a couple shades lighter than Nia’s own and her long hair had been braided meticulously down her back with golden beads. She wore Ashwnian armor, her purple helm held at her side as she approached Wyn-Kai. Nia noticed that her irises were obsidian black. Nearly purple. The woman in the crowd had been correct. Admrilia Hortus Ashiphiex was beautiful; in all the ways she was utterly terrifying.