Julien

by Engor

Chapter 9

Finally he reached the base of the enormous tower whose walls were glowing with an amber light. He went straight up the vast staircase that led up to the main entrance, and once at the top he pulled himself up to his full height, forced as much authority as he could manage into his voice and said to the guard, "Honourable Guard! The Noble Daughter Izkya has sent me with a message for the Noble Lord Nardouk! I have to give it to him straight away. And if the Noble Lord Nardouk is not here, I have to take the message to the First Lord instead."

The guard, who had listened open-mouthed to this, closed it with a snap that could have been heard a mile away. Had the situation been less serious, Ambar would have burst out laughing at him, because clearly this guy had been recruited more for his muscles than for his brain.

"You want me to summon Lord Nardouk?" the guard asked.

"That's right."

"And you think he'll come to talk to a beggar?"

"Then take me to him."

"Not a chance!"

"Well, the Noble Daughter Izkya also said that anyone who stopped me from completing my mission, or even delayed it, would get a one-way ticket to Tandil. Look, this ought to convince you..."

He undid his bundle and pulled out Niil's dark-blue hatik.

"So," he went on, "do you fancy a holiday on Tandil?"

The huge guard raised a hand the size of a dinner-plate.

"If your father didn't teach you any manners," he threatened, "I don't mind doing it for him!"

Ambar never even flinched.

"Lay one finger on me and you'll answer to the Noble Daughter," he replied. "Can't you recognise a hatik when you see one? Apparently not. But surely even a complete moron would realise that I wouldn't have found something as special as this lying in a gutter!"

The guard restrained himself from delivering the slap he'd intended, but his entire attitude made it clear that he had no intention of letting some guttersnipe tell him what to do. They could have stayed in that stalemate all night, if another guard who was posted a short distance away hadn't heard Ambar's shrill voice and come to see what was going on.

"What's up, Barogh?" he asked. "Trouble?"

"No, just this kid who's looking for a good slap."

Ambar grabbed his chance and turned to the newcomer.

"Honourable Guard," he said, "I am Ambar, son of Aliya, of Fruit Quay, the messenger of the Noble Daughter Izkya, and your colleague here won't let me carry out my mission."

"This piece of scum wants me to summon Lord Nardouk, if you please," said the first guard. "And he says that if I don't he's going to have me sent to Tandil!"

"And I will, too, if he holds me up any longer!" shouted Ambar, who had had more than enough of this. "That's exactly what the Noble Daughter said!"

"To be fair, that does sound exactly like her," said the second guard. "I'm inclined to believe you, I think. I'm going to send for Lord Nardouk – but I warn you, little man, if you're lying, you'll be the one heading for Tandil!"

"You're crazy, Askil!" protested the first guard. "If you disturb him for nothing the Noble Lord will skin you alive!"

"I'll risk it," said Askil. "After all, if the Noble Daughter really did send him, she must have had a pretty good reason for doing so."

He turned to Ambar. "I don't suppose you can tell me what the message is?" he asked.

"Sorry," said Ambar. "I have orders to speak only to Lord Nardouk, or the First Lord himself."

"All right. Follow me."

The guard led Ambar into a hall so vast that it could have been used to drill a regiment. It was brightly lit, and Ambar could see that the white marble walls were covered in frescoes showing landscapes from all over Frühl.

"Wait here," said the guard, leaving him staring open-mouthed at the splendour of the walls.

Ambar scarcely noticed as the guard trotted off in the direction of a door at the distant far end of the hall, but he noticed soon enough when the guard came back a few moments later accompanied by a man in a plain black robe, because the newcomer's whole being seemed to radiate power and authority. Ambar struggled not to lower his gaze before someone who looked so serious and so important.

"So," said the man in a penetrating voice, "I understand that you were demanding to see me."

"Noble Lord," said Ambar, trying to keep his voice steady, "I didn't demand anything. But the Noble Daughter Izkya ordered me not to speak to anyone except you. And she gave me this hatik to show that I really have come from her."

Ambar held out the garment to the man, taking in his appearance properly for the first time: penetrating grey eyes under thick eyebrows, full head of grey hair – and an outstretched hand. Ambar put the hatik into it, and the man examined it.

"This is not the Noble Daughter's hatik," he said.

"No, my Lord. It belongs to my benefactor – that's the Noble Lord Niil, of the Ksantiris."

"Indeed it does," said the man. "Very well, Ambar, you have my attention. Speak."

So Ambar told his story. He told it clumsily, out of sequence and gabbling a bit in places because he was desperate to say how vital it was for his benefactor and his companions to be rescued straight away. But Lord Nardouk, for all that he held an exalted position, was also very patient, and by asking plenty of questions he soon knew everything that the boy did – indeed, he'd also found out a few things that the boy hadn't realised he knew. He was also a good judge of character, and what he saw before him pleased him very much.

"Ambar, First-Greeted of Niil, Third Son of the Ksantiris," he said, once the recital was over, "would you please put on your abba, the one your benefactor gave you? You're a brave and resourceful lad, and it's not right for you to have to walk around looking like a beggar. This is your house now."

Once Ambar was looking decent and had put on his new sandals as well, Nardouk told him to take a seat on one of the stone benches that ran along the walls, and once the boy was seated Nardouk sat down beside him.

"Now," he said, "I want you to describe exactly where we can find your benefactor."

"My Lord, it would be a lot easier if I just took you there."

"Sorry, Ambar, but you're not coming with us. There might be ghorrs out there, and it's a miracle you made the journey once without getting hurt. I want you to stay here and wait for us. Tell me exactly where they are, and please don't waste any more time trying to persuade me to take you with us."

It was clear that the Noble Lord wasn't going to change his mind, and so Ambar gave as good a description as he could of the quay, and explained exactly where on it the others had been hiding when he had left them a couple of hours previously.

When he had finished, tiredness finally caught up with him and he couldn't stop himself from yawning. And nor could Nardouk stop himself from smiling gently.

"I think it's past our heroic messenger's bedtime," he commented. "The Honourable Askil will take you to the guards' quarters and find you a comfortable place there. You've done what you had to do. Now it's my turn."

He turned to the guard and said, "Guard, this child is in your care, and I'm holding you responsible for his safety, understand? I expect the First Lord will want to see him tomorrow."

He stood up and hurried away, leaving the guard to look after a small boy who was already almost asleep.