‘Water,’ Jim croaked.
Amirantha picked up an earthen pitcher on the night table next to the huge bed Jim occupied and filled a mug with water. He handed it to the noble who took it and drank deeply. Then Magnus noticed that a large lump in the bed next to Jim was moving. Magnus poked his father with his elbow and pointed, and Amirantha followed the gesture.
‘Ah,’ said Pug. ‘We will wait in the antechamber until you are more composed,’ said Pug.
‘Thank you,’ Jim said, his voice still gravelly from the previous night’s debauchery.
Once outside they retired to a divan against the wall and sat. Pug said, ‘I should have brought along a powder for this sort of thing.’
‘Which one?’ asked Magnus.
Lowering his voice, Pug said, ‘Years ago, before I met your mother, I occasionally indulged in a little too much wine. A healing priest from the Order of Killian had this powder that one mixes with water to banish the effects of such nights; it was very effective, and, it turned out, easy to make. There was no magic involved; just the right mix of herbs and tree bark…’
The door opened and a very attractive young woman slipped out quietly. Her hair and eyes were dark and she wore the garb of a servant, though she was barefoot at the moment. With a slight smile she barely nodded at the three men and hurried across the room, to the hall door.
‘Wonder where she left her boots?’ asked Amirantha. ‘Or if she even remembers where she left her boots?’ he amended as he laughed.
Magnus seemed less than amused. ‘We have some serious work here for the next few days,’ he said.
Amirantha put his hand on the white haired magician’s shoulder and said, ‘You sound disapproving. If Jim wishes to pass the day with a pounding head and turning stomach, that’s his prerogative. We had a good night’s rest and once we’ve eaten, we’ll be off to do our work. The state of his health isn’t a matter for concern today, is it?’
Magnus shook his head and said, ‘Sorry. I worry too much.’
‘Takes after his mother,’ said Pug, and Amirantha was struck by the fact that Pug had made the first reference to his late wife that didn’t contain a note of sadness. He hoped it was a sign that the magician’s black moods were behind him. Too much depended on Pug’s leadership in the coming fight.
A few minutes later, Jim appeared, looking far more composed than any of them had expected. He smiled and said, ‘We should dine,’ and led them to the door leading out of the apartment he occupied.
As if anticipating his need, a servant waited to guide them to a small alcove overlooking one of the seemingly endless gardens within the palace. Rather than lying on a divan to eat, they sat upon large cushions around a low table. A variety of foods were provided, several Kingdom dishes like fried cake and savoury sausage, as well as the more traditional sweet Quegan delicacies. To everyone’s delight, a large pot of steaming Keshian coffee sat alongside a pot of boiling water and an infuser containing one of the more exotic teas from Novindus.
Jim ate like a man who had been starved for a week, and when he noticed the others staring at him, he said, ‘I worked up an appetite last night.’
‘Apparently so,’ said Magnus with a slight smile.
‘You scholars can slight the Emperor’s generosity if you wish, and I don’t denigrate your reasons, but it would have been an insult had I left the festivities too early last night.’
‘We noticed,’ said Amirantha. ‘She was very pretty.’
‘Very smart, too,’ said Jim. ‘I managed to get out of the orgy by cornering a particularly attractive server, which given the differences in our cultures, my pretty host assumed had something to do with Kingdom modesty.’
Pug began to smile. ‘She was a spy.’
‘Of course, and if I get back this way any time soon, I’m going to do my best to turn her.’ As if to himself he said, ‘Though if she won’t turn, I’ll have to kill her, which would simply be a waste.’ Looking at his three companions he said, ‘I was certain the Quegan intelligence service would have several agents watching us.’
‘The young woman seated with me?’ asked Pug.
‘No,’ said Jim. ‘She is the youngest daughter of a very minor noble who if the Emperor can’t marry off to some minor functionary,’ he waved his hand at Pug, ‘will have to marry off to some distant cousin, and this Emperor would rather save himself even that modest dowry.’ Looking at Amirantha, he said, ‘That voluble fellow who bent your ear last night, now he is one of their best men. I doubt you even know how much you told him.’
‘Only the truth,’ said Amirantha. ‘The questions he asked about my homeland were obvious, but it was equally obvious after a while that I knew little he would find useful. He asked about the Maharaja’s army, and I said it was big. I had no idea how big, which is true, it’s just big.’