Amirantha and Pug chatted about nothing particularly significant as they observed the city through which they passed. The docks, disreputable inns and ignoble businesses gave way to a series of broad streets that housed more prosperous industries; many buildings stood several stories tall, their proprietor’s families occupying the top floors. Beyond them stretched a green belt of parkland which marked the boundary between the lower and upper cities. On the rising hillside large homes with sprawling gardens and fountains gave way to even larger estates surrounded by high walls and sturdy gates. Most were guarded by soldiers wearing private livery, their uniforms competing with their neighbours in terms of ostentation. In contrast to the Imperial soldiers dispatched to meet them at the docks, some of the domestic guardsmen wore highly polished chest guards and helms of steel, painted in bright colours, while others went further, employing gold trim or ridiculous plumes of feathers or died horsehair. The guards looked stout enough to keep vagabonds and rabble from disturbing their masters, but one glance from Amirantha revealed what the Warlock truly thought of these fighting men.
Upward they travelled, until they reached the Imperial district: the buildings surrounding the Emperor’s palace and offices. These apartments and villas were set aside for the functionaries and officers of the court, and all had been faced with white marble. ‘Centuries ago, this part of the city was like the rest of it, made only of stone and wood, but years ago, an emperor—his name is lost to me now—attempted to restyle it to be the most beautiful city in the world. He started to bring in this white stone from a massive quarry in the south. Over the years the entire Imperial district has been finished to match.’ He looked at Amirantha with an expression which made it clear that what he had to say next was for the benefit of their eavesdropper. ‘It is said that Rodric the Fourth, known as the Mad King, was so envious of its beauty that he commanded Rillanon be likewise finished in white stone, but because he could find no fine white marble, he was forced to settle for an inferior riot of colours.’ The truth, as Pug well knew, was exactly the opposite. The Imperial palace of Queg had always been encased in white marble, but it was only after Rodric of the Kingdom had begun the beautification of Rillanon—a task completed by his successor, King Lyam—that the Emperor Jumillis of Queg, had initiated his frenzied beautification of all of the Imperial district. The only reason he had stopped there was because the quarry had almost been exhausted; the remaining marble had been stored for repair, in case of weather and other damage.
Pug sat back silently for a moment remembering King Rodric whom he had met on his first visit to Rillanon; his contemplation brought on a dark and reflective mood upon him, a feeling he had managed to avoid since being sought out by Jim and Amirantha. Rodric had been a sorely troubled, but basically good man, driven mad by an illness no one could cure, and only lucid at the end of his life, when he had named his cousin Lyam his heir and saved the nation from a bloody civil war on the heels of twelve years of fighting with the Tsurani.
Such reminiscing made him think of everyone he had lost over the years: his old teacher, Kulgan, and Meecham, Kulgan’s companion, Father Tully one of his first and wisest teachers. Princess Carline, whom he once thought he loved, and Laurie one of his closest friends, who had wed the Princess. Laurie had died too young and left Carline a widow for far too long. Lord Borric…He sighed and Amirantha looked at him with a questioning expression. Pug held up his hand to indicate it was of no importance, but the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach remained. He had lost Katala, his first love, his first wife, to a wasting sickness no magic or art could cure. His first two children, William and Gamina, died the end of the war with the Emerald Queen’s army. And now Miranda and his youngest child, Caleb, were gone too.
Pug pushed aside the feelings and chided himself for not conquering his black moods. He had known from the day he had made his bargain with the gods that this would be his fate, yet he still resented it.
The litters finally arrived at the entrance to the palace, saving Pug from more unhappy reflection. He glanced over and saw Amirantha studying him.
The three ‘scholars’ climbed out of the two litters and were immediately shown to their quarters, while Jim was escorted to a reception in the Emperor’s Court. As part of his official retinue, they could have accompanied Jim had he insisted, but Pug had already decided there was work they could do, even from their closely guarded quarters.
Once they were alone, he nodded once to Magnus, who then sat on a chair in the corner of the room. Pug spoke to Amirantha and said, ‘These Quegans seem like hospitable enough folks.’
Amirantha looked around the room, a large ante-chamber designed for entertaining and holding casual conversation; there were two doors in the walls to the right and left of the chamber’s main entrance, and a large vaulted window opposite them. Amirantha said, ‘Lovely view,’ and Pug joined him.
‘Yes,’ said the magician as they looked down on one of the palace’s many gardens. This one was dominated by a large pool in which several people were swimming or lounging.
Amirantha’s eyebrows rose slightly when he realized the bathers were all nude, and he said, ‘Ah, is that the custom here?’
Pug said, ‘The Quegans are Keshian by ancestry. The Imperial Court of Great Kesh has a very hot climate, placed upon tablelands overlooking the Overn Deep in the heart of the empire. Their attitude towards dress is very different to those held by the Kingdom. We are a cold weather people most of the time and so dress accordingly.’
‘I see,’ said Amirantha. ‘I pass no judgment. I just find it…interesting.’