She blushed and looked up at him with gratitude. “You are right, of course. I only fear what may happen when he learns I am a princess.”
“Just tell him you'll give it all up to live in a cottage with him,” Matt advised.
Balkis stared at him in shock, then realized his meaning and laughed with pure joy. “Of course! It matters not what I am now, does it? It is how I grew up that affects him!” She reached up to give Matt a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, Lord Wizard! Oh, thank you, thank you!” She leaped up. “I must go to find him now! I shall tell him all straightaway!”
Matt almost stopped her, almost told her it might not be the wisest course, then realized she had to do it while her courage was up. “Right. Go find him.”
Balkis ran off among the crowd, twisting and turning and seeking.
Matt relaxed with a sigh and thought gratefully of his wife. He'd forgotten how wearing the angst of the search for love could be.
Then Balkis was back, was running up to him with tears in her eyes. “Lord Wizard! He is gone, he is fled!” She collapsed beside him, her face on his knees, sobbing. “He has gone out into the streets of Maracanda, alone and without a guide! Sikta saw him go, and what will happen to him alone among those sharks and thugs who are ready to prey on any they find?”
Matt just held onto her and wondered if it was really as bad as she thought, then admitted to himself that it probably was—a country boy in the big city was always at something of a disadvantage. “Let's go,” he said. “You can change into a tabby right outside the door. You take the back alleys and I'll take the bazaar.” He tilted her chin up and smiled as reassuringly as he could. “Don't worry—it's too late for him to get out. They closed the gates half an hour ago.”
“It was not the predators outside the gates that worried me,” she told him.
Matt didn't have to search very long. Anthony was right there in the bazaar, haggling at a goldsmith's booth.
“You know this nugget isn't gold, don't you?” the goldsmith was asking.
“I know very well that it is true gold.” Anthony gave the man a hard smile. “Still, I did not ask you what it was—I only asked you to make it into a ring, and to cut and polish this stone to mount on it.”
The goldsmith looked at the dull white pebble in his palm. “I suppose you think that scrap of quartz is a diamond.”
“No matter what it is, it is what I want in the ring. How much will you charge to make it?”
“Two silvers.”
“I have no coins.” Anthony held up a small blue stone. “Will this do?”
The goldsmith glanced at the stone, then looked again, his eyes hot with avarice, but he said only, “It is very small.”
Matt decided it was time to step in. “Very small, and completely unnecessary,” he said, stepping up beside Anthony. “The gold that's left over from the nugget and the chips of the diamond will be more than enough payment.”
Anthony looked up in surprise. “Lord Wizard! How come you to be here?”
The goldsmith stared at Matt, then looked away, tidying up his counter with nervous glances at the new customer.
“A wizard always has to keep an eye on the bazaar to see if any exotic substances show up,” Matt said. “For example, I'm running low on cinnabar at the moment.”
The goldsmith looked up with chagrin. “I do not deal in that ore, I fear, Lord Wizard.”
“No, but one of your neighbors does.” Matt picked up the nugget and gave it a close inspection. “The young man's right—that's gold, sure enough. I'm sure you just don't recognize it because it's in such a raw state. Don't you think so, goldsmith?”
“Belike, belike,” the man muttered.
“Then the leftovers will surely be enough payment.” Matt looked up at Anthony. “You want it nice and wide, don't you?”
“Not terribly.” Anthony gave him a bashful smile. “It is for a lady, after all—if she will have it.”
“And you with it, of course.” Matt gave him a grin. “A ring that size wouldn't take more than half the gold. I think the rest is more than enough payment.”
The goldsmith gathered courage to bargain a little more. “Once I have smelted it—”
“You'll still have twice as much as you need for such a little ring,” Matt said. “And no more than one-tenth copper in it, mind you!”
The goldsmith frowned. “That will make it very soft, my lord.”
“Hard enough,” Matt told him, “and so am I.” He turned back to Anthony. “Any more shopping to do, or shall we have a sherbet together and go back to die hostel?”
“I would delight in your hospitality.” Anthony said. “I did want to see what other baubles this street has to offer, though.”
“Well, you go explore a few of the other booths while I have a word with this goldsmith, okay? He might have one or two items I'm needing.”
“A good thought,” Anthony said brightly and drifted off to another booth.
The goldsmith, reassured by Mart's pleasant demeanor, asked, “What do you wish, Lord Wizard?”
“A little honesty.” Matt fixed him with a very stern eye. “When that ring is ready, the stone had better be real diamond, and the gold had better be true—or do you think I can't tell brass and quartz when I see them?”
“I—I am sure you can, my lord!” the goldsmith stammered. “I have heard the tale of your magicks that saved this city, have seen you riding beside the emperor! I would never doubt you!” He frowned. “But I had heard you had gone back to your own country.”
“I did, but I came back for a visit,” Matt told him. “I'm likely to do that, from time to time. I can find ingredients for magic potions here that I never find in the West—but I only deal with honest merchants. You are honest, aren't you?”
“The very soul of honesty, my lord,” the goldsmith said fervently.
Balkis was already back at the hostel, pacing and wringing her hands, when Matt came in the door with Anthony.
“Anthony!” Balkis rushed into his arms. “Oh, I so feared for you, my love!”
“Feared for me? Why?” Anthony asked, his arms tight about her. “Surely you know I can take care of myself!”
“Hey, did you worry about her safety in your home mountains?” Matt asked.
“Well, of course, but there are fearsome beasts there.”
“We have some pretty merciless predators here, too,” Matt told him. “The big thing, though, is that you're always at a disadvantage in strange territory. Just reassure the lady and take her in to dinner, will you?”
After the meal, though, the pilgrims started swapping stories again, and Anthony became interested. Matt was able to take Balkis aside.
“Lord Wizard, where was he?” Balkis demanded.
“In the bazaar, trying to trade a gemstone.” It wasn't really a lie, and it did preserve the secret of the ring. Gravely, he asked, “Balkis, how did Anthony come to have a gold nugget and a jewel in his pockets?”
Her eyes flashed with anger. “The gold he took from a valley where giant ants mine the stuff, and people who live in fortresses by day collect the nuggets at night. Greed is his one fault, and because he kept some of the gold, one ant followed us for months. It might have slain us, but as good luck was with us, it slew instead a lion who was trying to kill Anthony.”
Matt gave a low whistle. “And the lion squashed the ant, huh? But where did he get the gems?”
“From the banks of the river Physon, which we navigated underground with only torchlight to guide us. Our friend Panyat showed us the way. I bade Anthony not to burden himself, but he could not bear to leave without at least a handful of stones.”