03 - Death's Legacy (21 page)

“I think so,” Fritz said. “There were two or three in there,
but that’s the one nearest the top.”

Rudi nodded, understanding at last. This must be one of the
boxes of pottery that Shenk had taken aboard the
Reikmaiden
in Carroburg.
Fritz had obviously concealed the package inside it, replacing the lid
afterwards, and instructed the captain to dispatch it directly to von Eckstein’s
house. While the Fog Walkers followed the visible messengers, Mathilde having no
doubt used her chilly wait on the quayside to make sure their attention was on
her, the precious contraband had been conveyed through the streets unnoticed.

“Well, let’s take a look at it.” Von Eckstein removed the lid
and upended the pot, catching the familiar oilskin package in his hand as it
fell out into his upturned palm. He placed the dish back in the crate, and laid
the package carefully on the surface of his desk before stepping back. “Fritz,
if you would?”

Without a word, Fritz stepped forwards, slitting the seal
with the point of his dagger, and returning the weapon to his belt. He stood
aside to make room for his master. Von Eckstein gestured for Rudi and Hanna to
join him at the table.

“I’m sure you’re both eager to see what you’ve been risking
your lives to protect,” he said. Rudi was by no means sure that he was. The
sense of dread he’d felt before at the sight of the oilskin packet was back
again, and the thought of seeing what was inside it started his gut churning
with apprehension. Nevertheless, he forced himself to step forwards, ignoring
the sweat that broke out on the palms of his hands, and the spasms in his belly.
For a moment he was sure that everyone else in the room was aware of his
agitation, but with one exception, their attention was fixed on the package,
because so much seemed to depend on it.

“I’ve already seen it,” Mathilde said, moving to guard the
door with barely a glance at the table. This, above all, impressed Rudi with the
gravity of the situation, and the magnitude of the trust von Eckstein seemed
ready to place in them. If his bodyguard felt the need to take precautions here,
of all places, the contraband must be valuable indeed.

Ignoring her, von Eckstein folded back the weatherproof
cloth, and spread its contents out on the polished wooden surface. Hanna’s
breath stilled, her eyes widening with astonishment, while Rudi fought the
impulse to turn and run, a blast of terror stronger than anything he could ever
recall almost sweeping his legs out from under him. Trying to slow his hammering
heart, he forced himself to look at the wonders laid out before his eyes.

In all, there were around half a dozen different items.
Rudi’s eyes skipped quickly over a couple of gems of almost impossible
brilliance and depth of colour, and a series of small statuettes no bigger than
his thumb, depicting creatures like none he’d ever seen before, all bearing
marks of a script he didn’t recognise. They had the soft, refulgent gleam of
solid gold, and under any other circumstances would have attracted his undivided
attention. This time, however, he barely noticed them. In the middle of the
table lay two other objects: a flat disc of polished stone, about the size of a
crown piece, so black and lustrous that the light in the room seemed to fall
into it and be lost entirely, and a curious tangle of cords, knotted in dozens
of places with a precision he instinctively knew must carry a wealth of meaning.

“What’s that?” Hanna asked, stretching out a hand towards the
peculiar stone, and then clearly thinking better of it.

Von Eckstein shrugged. “I’ve no idea, but Hollobach seems
eager to get his hands on it.” To Rudi’s intense relief, he rewrapped the bundle
of marvels from the ends of the world, and as the mysterious objects disappeared
from sight, the feeling of dread they’d conjured up in him began to diminish.

“Where did they come from?” Hanna asked, clearly awestruck.
Rudi couldn’t even imagine how they’d looked to her magical senses. Von Eckstein
shrugged again.

“Southern Lustria,” he said, “one of the lost cities the
reptile folk abandoned centuries ago. There was a temple there, full of stuff
like this, apparently.”

“Apparently?” Hanna asked.

Von Eckstein sighed. “The lizards take a dim view of tomb
robbing. Not much more than this made it back, and whatever else there was, the
elves kept. Under the circumstances, I felt it best not to press the matter.
There’s enough here to get the merchants’ guilds salivating, and it doesn’t hurt
to keep Silvershine happy at the moment. We need him and his clan, and he knows
it.”

“I’m surprised he didn’t want that magic thing,” Hanna said.
“It must be worth a fortune.”

“Not to an elf,” said von Eckstein. “Their mages have a
different perspective on such things, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to have
something that the colleges here in Altdorf want.” He didn’t elaborate, but Rudi
was beginning to realise that, far from being remote bastions of intellectual
endeavour, the Colleges of Magic were as bound up in the politics of the Empire
as any other institution.

To his unspoken relief, the nobleman placed the packet of
treasures in a drawer and locked it. As the small package disappeared from
sight, Rudi felt the tension drain out of his body, leaving him feeling weak and
enervated.

“Talking of which,” Hanna said, with a glance through the
window at the lengthening shadows. “I’d better get moving if I’m going to find
the Bright College before dark.”

“I suppose you had,” von Eckstein said guardedly.

“Where are you going to be staying?” Fritz asked ingenuously.
“Have you found a room anywhere yet?” Hanna shrugged.

“If they take me in, that won’t be a problem,” she said. Von
Eckstein nodded.

“That’s true. All the colleges prefer to keep their
apprentices on the premises. At least until they’re sure they’re not a danger to
themselves or anyone else.”

“What if they turn you down?” Fritz persisted. Hanna’s jaw
tightened.

“Then you’ll be far better off not knowing where I am,” she
said. Fritz continued to look puzzled, although everyone else present nodded
sombrely. If the colleges refused her sanctuary, the girl would continue to be a
target for every witch hunter in the Empire.

“What about you?” Mathilde asked Rudi. He shrugged, taken by
surprise. Carried along by the flow of events, he hadn’t really thought about it
until now.

“I’m looking for some relatives in Altdorf,” he said. “At
least, I think they might be related.” He hesitated. Now he was so close to his
goal, the practicalities of trying to find somewhere to eat and sleep seemed
almost irrelevant. “Maybe I can find something close to them.” That sounded
feeble even to him. In his heart, he knew, he had hoped to find some kind of
acceptance from the von Kariens, whoever they might turn out to be, perhaps even
to be taken in by them. He was forced to concede now that it was an idle dream,
even more desperate and tenuous than Hanna’s.

“There’s a place near here that’s not too bad,” Mathilde
said. “The Cordwainer’s Last. I drink in there sometimes. Full of ’prentices and
burghers on the make, but the ale’s all right, and the rooms are clean.”

“How do you know about the rooms?” Fritz asked. Mathilde
grinned.

“Some things I don’t want to bring home, if you know what I
mean.” She shot a look at her fianc�, in which embarrassment and reassurance
mingled awkwardly. “Didn’t, that is. I mean, I hadn’t even met you the last time
I was here.” She turned back to Rudi, seizing on the change of subject like a
drowning sailor suddenly noticing a passing log. “So, who are these relatives of
yours anyway?”

“If they are relatives,” Rudi said. He’d skated over his
reasons for leaving Marienburg in his account of their voyage up the Reik,
contriving to give the impression that he was accompanying Hanna out of concern
for her safety, which was true enough, and only alluding to his own business in
Altdorf in passing. More interested in whatever shreds of information they could
recall about their encounters with the Fog Walkers, von Eckstein hadn’t pressed
the point. Now that he was on the point of putting Fritz’s assurances of the
nobleman’s assistance to the test, he found himself hesitating. “Does the name
von Karien mean anything to you?”

“Von Karien?” Despite years of experience in the art of
diplomatic evasion, von Eckstein couldn’t keep a trace of surprise from his
voice. “Are you sure that’s the right name?”

Rudi nodded. “Reasonably sure. There was a lawyer in
Marienburg, who had some papers mentioning them.”

“I see.” von Eckstein nodded slowly. “Well, I’ve met Osric
von Karien a couple of times. He’s the current graf, as you probably know.” His
voice remained tinged with doubt. “But so far as I was aware, he’s the last
surviving member of his family.”

“I know.” Rudi nodded gravely. “I heard he inherited the
title from his cousin, after the old graf was executed.” As he spoke, it
occurred to him for the first time that he had no idea of the name of the man
who, if his suspicions were right, had been his father.

“Not just executed,” von Eckstein said, “burned for heresy,
along with his entire family.” He looked narrowly at Rudi. “If you really are
related to them, it might be wiser not to pursue the matter any further.”

Rudi shook his head. “I’ve come too far to turn back,” he
said, “and besides, this Osric must have been proved innocent, whatever his
cousin did, or he would have been burned too, wouldn’t he?”

Von Eckstein nodded, conceding the point. “His innocence was
generally felt to be beyond doubt,” he said, “and his actions since would appear
to confirm it, but the family name remains indelibly tainted. No doubt it’s best
that it dies with him.”

“He might be happy to find that he’s not alone in the world
after all,” Rudi said.

Von Eckstein rubbed his chin thoughtfully, clearly not
convinced of that, but tacitly conceding that Rudi wouldn’t be deterred by
anything else he might say on the subject.

The nobleman sighed. “I would advise you most strongly
against pursuing this,” he said heavily, “but if I can’t convince you to drop
the matter, at least allow me to write you a letter of introduction. Osric von
Karien is not a man to take the news that someone is making enquiries about him
idly, and would certainly be moved to take action as soon as he heard you were
doing so. At least if you approach him openly, he won’t be unnecessarily
antagonised.”

“Thank you,” Rudi said, trying to absorb the implications of
this. It sounded as if von Karien was some kind of recluse, trying to live down
the legacy of his cousin’s heretical activities as best he could, but still
retaining some measure of influence.

“Don’t thank me until you’ve met the man,” von Eckstein said
dryly, and Mathilde nodded in agreement, clearly sharing his opinion.
Nevertheless, Rudi couldn’t shake a rising sense of euphoria as the nobleman
dipped a quill into his inkpot and wrote rapidly on a sheet of thick paper. “Can
you read?”

“Yes,” Rudi said proudly. Von Eckstein nodded, folded the
letter, and pressed his ring into the blob of molten wax that he’d dripped
across the join. Satisfied that the wax had hardened, he picked up the quill
again, and scribbled a few lines across the outside of the message.

“Good. Here are directions from the Bright College. It’s a
well-known landmark, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding the house
from there.” He glanced across the room at Hanna. “I assume you’ve no objection
to Rudi accompanying you that far?”

“None at all,” Hanna said, looking much happier all of a
sudden. “I’d be glad of the company.”

“I could show you the way,” Mathilde offered, and looked at
von Eckstein for permission.

The nobleman shook his head. “I need you to take a message in
the opposite direction. The sooner Hollobach takes possession of that little
trinket the happier I’ll be.” He glanced involuntarily at the desk drawer as he
spoke, and his bodyguard echoed the gesture. “Take Fritz with you. The sooner he
begins to find his way around the city the better.”

“That thing’s magic?” Fritz asked, looking surprised.

Von Eckstein nodded. “And powerful,” he said, “so they tell me.”

“You have no idea,” Hanna confirmed.

As Rudi and Hanna left the sanctuary of von Eckstein’s
estate, the gate they’d entered the hidden house and gardens by closing behind
them with a solid-sounding
thunk!,
the noise and stench of the city
rushed in upon them again like a breaking wave. After the haven of tranquillity
they’d just experienced, the shock was disorientating, even inured to the sights
and sounds of the city as they’d become after their months of urban living in
Marienburg.

“Where to?” Rudi asked, hesitating on the verge of immersing
himself in the stream of hurrying figures channelled between the tall, narrow
buildings he was beginning to associate with the capital city of the Empire.
Hanna shrugged.

“East, apparently,” she said. Mathilde had given them
slightly more precise directions before bidding them farewell, although they
were still as vague as most instructions for finding somewhere specific in the
city seemed to be. “If we can find the Koenigsplatz, we should be all right from
there.”

“I guess so,” Rudi said, trying to keep a taint of doubt from
his voice. After all, if the Bright College, or to be more precise the site of
it, was distinctive enough to be a major landmark, it couldn’t be that hard to
find. The uncomfortable thought came to him that if he was wrong, he might never
find von Karien’s house either. The peculiar way the magical auras surrounding
the various colleges affected the topography of the city meant that directions
to anywhere always started from a particular fixed point, and would be all but
useless if the landmark in question couldn’t be found.