“There are rules about magic, but we don’t handle those,” the soldier explained. “That’s up to the magicians. If you’ve got forbidden wizardry, the Wizards’ Guild will let you know; if it’s bad witchcraft, the Sisterhood will talk to you. Sorcery, I’m not sure who looks after that, or if there really are any rules. It’s not my concern.”
“I see.”
“So, what else do you have in that wagon, besides sorcery?” the guardsman asked. “Anything we should know about?”
Dorna shook her head. “It’s all sorcery,” she said. “Everything else is in my friend’s wagon.” She pointed at Irien, who was talking to another soldier.
The guardsman straightened, picked up his spear, and pointed it past Dorna at her magical cargo. “All sorcery? That whole big wagon?”
“That’s right.”
The soldier frowned, then called, “Amdis, bring a friend!”
A moment later another soldier trotted up, spear in hand, and made a hasty bow. “Amdis of Cutler Street,” he said. “I’ll be escorting you. Do you know where you’re going?”
He was smaller and younger than the first guardsman, though still bigger than either Dorna or Kel. Dorna glanced at Kel as the soldier who had originally interrogated them gave them a parting wave and moved on, leaving them in Amdis’ care.
“No,” Kel said.
“What is it you’re carrying?” Amdis asked.
“Sorcery,” Kel said. “A lot of sorcery.”
“No wonder the sergeant thought you needed an escort. You’re a sorcerer?”
“No,” Kel said.
“My husband was,” Dorna replied.
“But you aren’t?”
“No. He died, and I inherited his magic, and I’ve come to sell it.”
“Ah,” Amdis said. “Do you want to store it in the city vaults until you find a place?”
Dorna looked at Kel. “Can we do that?”
Kel turned up an empty hand. “I don’t know,” he said. “I never had anything worth guarding.”
“There’s a fee,” Amdis explained. “If you want to pay a little extra, the guards will be especially careful.”
“Does that apply to our escort, as well?” Dorna asked.
Amdis spread empty hands. “I wouldn’t mind a few extra bits. But I’ll do my job either way. It’s not required.”
“The vaults aren’t required either, are they?”
“No,” Amdis admitted. “But honestly, unless you have protective spells on the wagon, I’d recommend using them. If you really have an entire wagon full of sorcery-well, do you have protective spells? You said you aren’t a sorcerer; are you a wizard, or anything?”
“No,” Dorna acknowledged. “And the protective spells-well, they aren’t very effective.” She glanced at Kel, who said nothing. He remembered the screaming talisman back in Shepherd’s Well; he doubted that would discourage most of the thieves here in the city.
“Then I’d recommend the vaults.”
Another soldier strode up just as Dorna asked, “Where are they?”
Amdis turned and pointed. “Under the north tower,” he said.
“Here in Grandgate?”
“Sure. After all, it’s mostly people going in and out of the city who need them.”
That seemed to convince her, and twenty minutes later Kel, Dorna, Irien, and half a dozen soldiers were rolling the wagon down a ramp into an iron-lined stone vault, one of a row cut into the foundations of the immense north tower. The oxen had been switched to Irien’s wagon and were waiting patiently on the street above, with yet another soldier watching them.
The lock that secured the vault door used three keys; two stayed with the tower’s staff, and Dorna was given the third. She was offered the option of paying a wizard to put a sealing rune of one sort or another on the vault, as well, but she turned that down; quite aside from professional pride making her reluctant to use any magic other than sorcery, it would have added at least a round of silver to the price. The fee for the vault itself seemed quite reasonable-a mere six bits a day.
Filling out the paperwork took longer than getting the wagon in the vault, but an hour after arriving at the gate the three of them-Dorna, Irien, and Kel-were squeezed onto the driver’s bench of Irien’s wagon, rolling south on Wall Street and looking for a suitable inn.
Or rather, Irien was looking for a suitable inn. Dorna had her tracking talisman in hand, and was fiddling with it. She had kept that and the black weapon; Kel was unsure whether she had taken any other sorcery from her wagon.
“There’s too much other magic here,” she said. “It’s getting confused.”
“It can wait,” Irien said. “What about that one?” She pointed at a signboard on a side-street, a few doors from Wall Street.
Kel leaned over and saw a the sign in question; it depicted three feathers above the words “Food-Drink-Lodging.”
“I don’t know it,” he said.
Irien glanced at him. “I thought you used to steal purses in taverns.”
Kel had almost never stolen entire purses, especially not in taverns, but he did not bother correcting her; he merely said, “Not that one. It’s too close to the Grandgate barracks.”
“That sounds like a recommendation to me.”
Kel turned up an empty palm.
“Good enough,” Irien said. She tugged the reins to turn the oxen.
“What? No, wait!” Dorna protested, looking up from her talisman. “My bag is that way!” She pointed directly down Wall Street.
“The inn is that way,” Irien replied. “I think we need to arrange lodging before we do anything else.”
“No!” Dorna said. “No, I could lose him.”
“Couldn’t Kel find him for you?”
Kel ducked at the suggestion. Dorna barely glanced at him as she said, “Not before he sells my talismans!”
Kel thought she was over-estimating Ezak’s ability to fence magic, but did not say so.
“Dorna, I am not going to drive this wagon halfway across the city through these streets! Look at them!” She waved an arm to take in their surroundings.
Kel looked around.
This was Grandgate, not his home territory, but it was still reassuringly familiar. To their left was the Wall Street Field, where no permanent structures were permitted; this particular stretch held no structures at all because it was too close to Grandgate and the guard barracks, and therefore had soldiers traipsing across it at all hours, discouraging the erection of tents or other temporary shelters. To their right were houses, shops, and taverns, mostly catering to a military clientele-vintners, armorers, gaming halls, and the like. Behind them on the left, just beyond Wall Street Field, rose the immense north tower; ahead on the left, beyond the field, was the inner gatehouse. Directly ahead of them, past the gatehouse, was the broad open expanse of Grandgate Market, jammed with carts, market stalls, farmers, merchants, and customers. It all smelled of smoke and sweat and dirt, and the sounds of footsteps and calling voices and rattling wheels filled the air. None of it looked at all out of the ordinary to Kel.
There were hundreds of people in sight, going about their business. Dozens of them were driving various carts or wagons. Kel was not quite sure what Irien found so unappealing about driving here, but then, she was from a tiny village; maybe this was too crowded for her.
“Fine,” Dorna said. “Stop here, then, and Kel and I will go on on foot. It’ll probably be faster anyway.”
“But…I don’t…” Irien said.
“You book us a room at that inn you like, and take care of the wagon, and we’ll find you there later.”
“Dorna, I-”
“Go on!” She looked up from her talisman long enough to spot the signboard. “The Three Feathers, across from the tower where the vaults are. We’ll find it.” She stood up, a trifle unsteadily, while the vehicle was still moving.
Irien halted the oxen and watched unhappily as Dorna awkwardly climbed down-awkwardly, because she was keeping her talisman in hand and in sight the entire time.