“To what? The box is empty. And the sides are too thin to contain another secret compartment.”
“It’s an enchantment. Its nature is to camouflage whatever is inside until it is unlocked.”
“Can you unlock it?”
“I can try.” Jazhara took the box and closed the lid, then set it down upon the desk.
She studied the mosaic on top of the box, then put her finger upon a tile. Its color changed from red to green to blue, and for a brief instant James thought he saw a blurred image wavering upon the tile’s surface. Jazhara repeated the gesture quickly, touching a neighboring tile; again, the tile’s colors mutated, and another image appeared on the tile.
Working deftly she moved the tiles around, for they slid where she directed. James was fascinated, for disarming traps and locks had been a career necessity in his days as a thief, but he had never encountered one quite like this. After a while, his eyes widened, for he realized that the tiles would fade back to their original pattern if she hesitated too long in moving one. And the closer she got to the end of the puzzle, the quicker they faded.
Jazhara’s fingers were flying now, rapidly moving the tiles until at last a picture of a ship at sea was formed. Then there was an almost inaudible click, and up came the lid.
The box was no longer empty. Lying flat within the box was a single parchment. James reached in and retrieved the document. He glanced at it, and said, “Nothing I can read.”
Jazhara took the parchment and studied it. “I believe this is the spell they use to raise the ships.”
“How does it work?”
Jazhara scrutinized it even more closely. Then she whispered, “Incredible.” In her normal speaking voice she added, “With this scroll and some other components, a single guildsman can raise a ship on a mystic fog!”
“What’s so amazing about that?”
“Guilds like the Wreckers, who practice limited magic, usually possess only a few minor spells that are passed from generation to generation, and it usually requires several guildsmen to accomplish anything. Whoever wrote this knows a lot more about magic than the rest of the Guild.” She paused, then added, “I’ll wager this Kendaric never realized he was a Lesser Path Magician!”
“Then this spell must be worth a fortune to the Guild.”
“Undoubtedly,” said Jazhara. “Any Lesser Path Magician with an affinity for water-magic could eventually utilize it. I suspect Kendaric is the only one who can use it as written.”
“Then we must find Kendaric.” Pointing to the scroll, he said, “Hide that.” He turned and left the room. Jazhara secreted the parchment within a compartment in the pouch at her waist, and followed James a moment later.
Glancing down at the dead Nighthawk, James said to the guard, “Keep an eye on this corpse, and if it starts to move, call me.” To Jazhara he said, “Let’s investigate the alley.”
As they sped down the stairs, Jazhara said, “If it starts to move}”
With a rueful smile James glanced back over his shoulder and said, “The Nighthawks used to have an irritating habit of not staying dead.”
He led her outside the building and around to the back, where, behind the building, they found a long, dark, twisting alley. While still early in the day, the gloom of the place provided a dozen shadows in which anything could hide. Reflexively, James drew his rapier. Jazhara clutched her staff and made herself ready as well.
They moved through the alley until they reached a position below the open window through which the magician had leapt. James pointed. “He must have landed here, and then run” -he glanced in both directions - “that way.” He indicated the way they had just come. “I’m almost certain the other end is blocked.”
“If he reached the street and simply started walking he would just be another citizen out on his morning’s business.”
James nodded. “It’s why I love cities and hate being alone in the wilderness. So many more places to hide in a city.”
Glancing into the darkness as they continued, Jazhara said, “I know many of my countrymen would disagree; they find hiding in the desert easy.”
“You may have noticed I’m not a desert man,” James observed.
They came to a pile of boxes, and James pushed one aside. The stench that arose from it caused Jazhara to step back. Inside were a dirty blanket, some rotting food and a few personal items - a woolen cap, a broken comb, and a dirty tunic. “Nobody home,” said James. He glanced around. “Old Thom must be out begging or thieving. We won’t find anybody here until after dark.”
“I find it hard to believe that people actually sleep like that.”
“It’s not hard once you get used to it. The trick is to use the trash to keep the guards away.” He looked around the alley once more. “Let’s go.”