Web of Deceit (13 page)

“Were you a slave at the time?” questioned Rejji.

“Oh heavens no,” Wicado answered. “My father was a Cortain in the Pikata army. I was an apprentice to the Bursar at the time.”

“You mean like me?” asked Rejji.

A sadness fell over Wicado’s face as he answered, “No, Rejji, not like you. You are a slave and will always be a slave. You can not be my apprentice even if I wanted you to be.”

“Then why did you purchase me?” queried Rejji. “I thought you saw promise in me to be your assistant.”

“I do see promise in you, lad,” Wicado stated. “You have more sense than most of those who reside in the mansion, but that does not mean you can become one of them. Why did I purchase you? I am not sure. I have had two apprentices in the years I have been Bursar, neither worked out. The last was Rymaka who was forced on me. It took over a year before I could convince our lord that he could not handle the job. I think I liked your spirit and cleverness. I guessed you were being helpful so that you would be selected, but your suggestion on Bakhai was a good one. It showed that you are a thinker and I guess I just wanted someone around who could think.”

“You mean you purchased me to be company for you?” Rejji pushed.

“Yes I guess that is why I purchased you,” chuckled the old man. “A terrible waste of estate funds if I do say so. And me the Bursar no less. Still your suggestion of Bakhai and your handling of Rymaka have proved to be profitable to the estate, so I can hardly complain.”

They ate in silence for a while and finally Wicado put his food down and looked at Rejji. “Were you just trying to get out of the cage, or is that girl that was selected someone special to you?”

“She is my friend,” admitted Rejji. “I did not want to be separated from her.”

Wicado nodded as Rejji’s thoughts turned to Mistake. He did not have the time to tell her he was leaving and now his thoughts grew dark about what she might do without him there to temper her rage.

“And Bakhai, is he your friend too?” the Bursar asked.

“I have only known him a short time,” responded Rejji, “but yes he is. He was already in the cage when Mistake and I were captured. I have not had friends my age before. My village was mostly older folk.”

“This must be a traumatic event for the three of you,” suggested the Bursar. “How is it that you are handling it so well?”

“I do not want to be a slave,” admitted Rejji. “None of us do. If I were not a slave I would be having the greatest adventure of my life with you. You have taught me much and I am eager to learn. You treat me well enough that at times I guess I forget that I am a slave. It saddens me when I hear someone say that I will always be a slave though. That is not right. I have done nothing wrong to be punished this way.”

“There is truth to what you say,” sighed Wicado. “I could say that I am sorry for purchasing you, but that would be a lie and I do not lie. Besides, you would have been purchased at the next estate anyway. The best I can offer is to try to make your life as carefree as possible. I will not be able to justify keeping you though if our lord comes up with another apprentice for me.”

“Is that going to happen?” Rejji asked.

“Eventually it must,” conceded the Bursar. “I am getting quite old and our lord has already mentioned the need for me to pass on my duties to someone younger. Only the lack of available talent has allowed to me to be without an apprentice for so long.”

“What will happen to me then?” queried Rejji.

“I don’t know,” admitted Wicado. “You will become Seneschal Trang’s problem. He will probably put you into the fields to harvest. Let us not dwell on such things and spoil this fine outing. Return to the bow and watch this great nation of Khadora pass before your eyes. Before nightfall we will pass Sintula, the city where the Lituk River meets the Khadora River.”

Rejji nodded and rose. He returned to the bow and hopped up onto a crate. He tried pushing the dark thoughts out of his mind, but it took quite a while before he was interested in the river again. The river had widened somewhat and Rejji saw a barge going upstream. It was being towed by a boat with many oarsmen. He had wondered how the barges were returned to their homes and now he knew. In the distance, Rejji began to see the tops of buildings appearing over the trees and his excitement grew. The river traffic increased dramatically and the river widened further.

Suddenly, the trees gave way and Rejji could see the city approaching. It was a huge city and there was a large bridge over the river. Rejji stared up at the bridge as they passed under it and he could hear the horses clomping over it. He saw where the Lituk River joined the Khadora River and the boat traffic was immense. He could feel the movement of the barge as its handlers tried to avoid smashing into other boats.

Rejji tried to peer at the city on both sides of the river, but the barge was moving too fast for him to dwell too long on any one sight. He was amazed at the huge number of people moving every which way. Both sides of the river were lined with long wharves and all sorts of commodities were loaded on the barges tied up there. The people of the city were all gaily dressed in a multitude of colors. He had never seen such a wealth of color in one spot before.

All too soon, the city swept by and Rejji was presented with banks of forest again. The sun dipped below the horizon and Rejji made his way back to the kitchen. He grabbed some bread and dried meat and ate it before climbing the ladder and finding an empty bunk to bed down in for the night.

Sometime during the night, Rejji was awakened by the sound of horns and he scampered down the ladder and out onto the deck. He saw three huge barges loaded with some type of ore and it looked as if the Pikata barge was going to ram them. The three barges were tied together and the Pikata barge turned almost sideways as the handlers fought to fight the currents. The river made a right turn as its direction was changed by the large mountains ahead and Rejji saw another city at the base of the mountains.

“Deep Bend,” said a bargeman standing behind Rejji. “Half the city is built into the mountain. They mine iron there. I guess they did not see us when they launched the triple barges.”

“Will we hit them?” Rejji asked.

“Not likely,” the man declared. “The skipper knows this barge well. It’s not the first time he has run into this sort of thing. The ore barges are pretty hard to handle. They usually like to know the river is clear before they launch, but I guess the darkness hid us well.”

Rejji stared at the city in the mountain and saw the lights all over the mountainside twinkling in the darkness of the night. He could hear voices drifting across the water, but he could not make out any of the words. There was a strong odor of sulfur hanging in the air and as soon as the barge straightened out and the danger was over, Rejji went back inside and crawled into his bunk.

When he awoke, Rejji met Wicado in the sitting room and they had their morning meal together. Wicado returned upstairs to his private room and Rejji ventured out on deck. There were mountains on both sides of the river and a bargeman told him that the river ran between the Bear Mountains and the Three Sisters. The banks here were almost all forest and there was little to see. With nothing to entertain him, Rejji’s mind returned to the Pikata estate and his friends.

He knew Mistake would not last very long under slavery, but he could not find a way out of their predicament. Both Lam and Wicado had made it sound like there was no way out, but Rejji refused to accept that. He knew if he worked on the problem, he would find a way. He just hoped that Mistake could hold out long enough.

Late afternoon brought the city of Chantise where the Charl River joined the Khadora River. It was enough excitement to drag Rejji’s mind away from his dark thoughts. Sintula had been the largest city that Rejji had ever seen, but Chantise was much larger. Rejji turned from side to side as sights sped by. He had learned that each clan in Khadora had its own colors. Pikata’s colors were white and blue. In Chantise, Rejji saw a whole rainbow of warriors traveling by barge and wagon convoy. It appeared as if all clans came to Chantise to market their crops.

The land around Chantise was different as well. Here the land was flatter and the river wider. The forests also gave way to large estates that came right to the river’s edge. Rejji marveled at the wealth of Khadora as he floated past flourishing fields of every crop he could imagine, and many that he did not recognize. Wasooki herds were plentiful and clova flocks were numerous. The estate mansions also appeared to get larger as they progressed downstream.

Eventually, the sun set and Rejji made his way back to the kitchen. Wicado was just finishing his meal and motioned Rejji into the sitting room.

“In the morning we shall be in Khadoratung,” declared Wicado. “Get a good night’s sleep tonight because tomorrow will be a long day for you. I have written up a paper for you to carry with you. You must keep it on you at all times. It states where I can be found if the authorities have any problems with you. I shouldn’t have to remind you of your pledge, but if you get into trouble in the city, the consequences will be dire and I will not be in a position to help you. You are not allowed to leave the city walls. If you do, you will be killed. In short, if your offense is minor, they will summon me and demand I punish you. If the offense is major, they will kill you and then summon me. Do you understand?”

“I will not embarrass you, Sir,” Rejji stated. “I will gather the information on prices that you have requested and I will stay out of trouble.”

“I know you will,” smiled the Bursar as he gave Rejji a small pouch. “There are a few coins in there that you can use to amuse yourself. As I said earlier, your meals are included at the inn, so you should have everything you need to last a few days. Get some sleep and I will gather you in the morning.”

Rejji smiled and nodded and climbed upstairs to his bunk.

When Wicado woke Rejji, the sleeping quarters were already empty and the sun had risen. Rejji hurried down the ladder and grabbed the last of the bread from the food sack. He carried the empty sack with him as he left the structure and went out on deck. Wicado was waiting for him on the dock.

“We must move swiftly,” Wicado stated. “I have little time before my meeting starts and I want to get you settled at the inn.”

The Bursar turned and strode off the dock and Rejji hurried to catch up. The wharf area was lined with warehouses and taverns and men were busy unloading barges that had arrived during the night. The smell of old vegetables and fruits filled the air so strongly that Rejji was glad they were hurrying. Several streets past the wharf area the warehouses were replaced with shops for the various trades. Rejji peered down the cross streets and was amazed at the variety of services offered in this one area. There were several shops dedicated for each trade and anything that could be made was available here. Rows of metalworking shops were followed by rows of carpentry shops. Tailors, jewelers, bakeries, and leather shops filled street after street.

Finally, up ahead, Rejji could see the beginning of the market area. Some vendors appeared to have permanent locations and were opening their stalls, while others were pushing carts that contained their wares. Hundreds of people were moving swiftly around. Wicado turned to the right as soon as the market began. Rejji stole a glance to the left before following and could see no end to the market. Looking past Wicado proved the same was true in both directions. Several blocks down, the inns started and there were dozens of them.

Wicado turned and entered the Inn of the Rose. He spoke with the innkeeper while Rejji gazed around the common room. There were patrons having their morning meal but the room was far from full. Wicado reached back and pulled Rejji towards the innkeeper and handed him a room key.

“This is the lad,” Wicado stated. “He’s a good lad, but help him out if you see him getting mixed up with the wrong the crowd.”

The innkeeper nodded slightly, stuffed the coins in his pouch and turned away. “I got you a private room, lad,” the Bursar declared. “Sometimes a young lad can be led astray in a strange city. Remember your promise to me and I will see you back here in three days. Come join me for part of the walk and then you can get started on your work.”

They left the inn and crossed the market. Rejji shook his head as he began to realize how massive the market was. After several blocks of the market, another row of inns appeared. Behind the inns, Rejji saw the first houses. The houses were larger than anything he had seen in Fakara, and as they progressed, the houses got even larger and fancier until he saw houses larger than the mansion at the Pikata estate. Once again he was dazzled by the wealth in Khadora and that was before the houses stopped.

When the rows of houses did stop, Rejji stepped into a park that was enormous and he stopped.

“Come along,” the Bursar called.

Rejji shook his head and ran to catch up. The park was like a paradise with pink stone paths and the finest grass he had ever seen. Tall stately trees dotted the grass and lined the pathways. Finely maintained flowerbeds were everywhere and the air was deliciously sweet. Every forty paces along a path was a stone bench. Morning birds were chirping and singing and squirrels were frolicking from tree to tree.

When they finally made it across the park, Wicado stopped. Rejji gazed across a broad plaza at the most magnificent structure he had ever seen, more magnificent than anything he could have dreamed of. Rejji craned his head all the way back in an effort to see the top of the palace, but he was already too close to be able to see the top. The palace was made of highly polished white stone and was so wide that he could barely see the ends of it. A black metal fence ran around the building but so far away from it that the front lawn between the fence and the building was many times larger than Rejji’s whole village.

The Bursar opened his bag and extracted a smaller bag, which he gave to Rejji. “Writing materials for your task,” he explained. “It is quite a sight isn’t it? It is the Imperial Palace. That is where I will be for the next three days. I must go.”