This is the first I've heard of any fund, although I did know that the Association of Gentlewomen was applying for a Royal Charter, without which they cannot be recognised as an accredited Turanian guild, and take their place on the Council as a member of the Revered Federation of Guilds, and send an observer to the Senate. #51 | | |
"I didn't know you were that involved, Makri. How much have you raised?" #52 | | |
She snorts. "Only a few gurans. When it comes to the Association of Gentlewomen people round here are meaner than a Pontifex. Gurd won't let me collect in here but I've been going round the local shops. I wouldn't say your average Twelve Seas shopkeeper was keen to contribute. I have a few donations from local women though. Ginixa at the public baths gave me five gurans." #53 | | |
"If she sues me for ruining her business she might be able to afford a lot more. How much does the A.G. need for the Charter?" #54 | | |
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"How much have they got?" #56 | | |
Makri doesn't really know. She's only collecting money, and is not involved in the organisation in any major way. She thinks they still have a long way to go. #57 | | |
"And paying for the Charter is only one part of what we need. Before you even make the application, there's the large fee to the Revered Federation of Guilds to process the papers. And all the way along the line there's people to be paid and palms to be greased—the Praetor for Guild Affairs, the Deputy Consul, Palace officials and who knows who else. Apparently it's standard practice for the Consul's Secretary to demand a ten-thousand-guran bribe before he lets an application go through." #58 | | |
"That's going to add up to a lot of money." #59 | | |
"It does. And we're going to need twice as much in bribe money because of the opposition from the True Church and all the other people who don't want to see the Association of Gentlewomen make any advance. I heard the figure of fifty thousand mentioned. There aren't many wealthy women in Turai. Even the ones that do run their own businesses have a hard time surviving because the guilds won't admit them. #60 | | |
Well, if they won't let us in to the Bakers, Innkeepers, Transport or other Guilds, they're going to have to face us on the Revered Federation Council when the Association of Gentlewomen gets its Charter." #61 | | |
"Who do you give the money to?" #62 | | |
"Minarixa the Baker. She's the local organiser. Care to make a contribution?" #63 | | |
"What will the Association of Gentlewomen do for me?" #64 | | |
"Get me off your back." #65 | | |
"Yes, well, maybe later, Makri." #66 | | |
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I look around anxiously. "The place is full of Barbarians and dock workers. If they see me giving money to the Association of Gentlewomen they'll ridicule me half to death." #68 | | |
Makri sneers. I will give her some money later. Not right now though, not in public. I have an image to maintain. #69 | | |
"You should have asked the Princess, Makri. She must have a lot of money." #70 | | |
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"Because I heard at last night's meeting that Lisutaris, Mistress of the Sky, already asked Du-Akai for some help." #73 | | |
"Lisutaris, Mistress of the Sky? She's pretty senior in the Sorcerers Guild. Works at the Palace too. #74 | | |
Is she involved in your group?" #75 | | |
Makri nods. "All sorts of women are. But the Princess couldn't make a donation. The King controls her money. And they don't get on very well." #76 | | |
"I'm not surprised, if she lies to the King the same way she lied to me. I still wish I knew why she sent me to find that spell. Why would a Princess want to put a dragon to sleep? It's not like it's guarding anything. No reason to bother with it that I can see. Unless . . ." #77 | | |
I break off, and stare into space. #78 | | |
"Sudden Investigator's intuition?" says Makri, slightly sarcastically. #79 | | |
"That's right. You might want to put a dragon to sleep to make it easier to kill." #80 | | |
"Why would Princess Du-Akai want to do that? It's a present to her father. They don't get on that badly." #81 | | |
"I've been wondering how all this fits together, Makri. In my experience, when various troubles descend on me, they generally turn out to be connected in some way or other. No one knows how the Red Elvish Cloth was brought into the city. No one knows where it is now. And if the rumours of the Orcs buying it are right, no one knows how it's going to be transported to them. Well, what if it was put inside something that was very secure, which was going back to them eventually?" #82 | | |
"You mean inside the dragon?" #83 | | |
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"How the hell would you stuff a roll of Red Elvish Cloth inside a dragon?" #85 | | |
"I don't know. But that Sorcerer who chased me through the sewers is powerful. He might have done it after he hijacked the shipment." #86 | | |
Makri scoffs. "Dumbest idea you've ever had, Thraxas." #87 | | |
"Oh yeah? Well, I trust my intuition. And my intuition tells me that the Red Elvish Cloth is right this minute inside the new dragon at the King's zoo. It's the perfect place—in fact it's the only place, because dragons are well known for disrupting sorcery. If the Cloth was inside that beast, our Palace Sorcerers wouldn't be able to detect it, Elvish marks or not. A very clever notion, Makri, very clever indeed. Hide the Cloth in the dragon, wait till it mates with the King's, then off it goes back to Gzak, taking the Cloth with it." #88 | | |
Makri considers this. Two Barbarians shout for beer but Makri gestures for them to be quiet. "So what did Attilan have to do with all this?" #89 | | |
"I think he learned of it somehow and decided he'd intervene. Steal the Cloth for his own country. #90 | | |
King Lamachus of Nioj would be very pleased with him if he did. Which would explain what Attilan was doing with a spell for putting a dragon to sleep. A Niojan diplomat might be able to gain access to the zoo when it was closed to the public." #91 | | |
"Where did he get the spell?" #92 | | |
I admit I don't know. But I'm pretty sure he was killed before he used it. Which means the Cloth should still be inside the dragon, right under the noses of the Palace Sorcerers. Just waiting for me to recover it. #93 | | |
I notice Makri seems even more exposed than usual, and is bulging out of her bikini in a manner guaranteed to make even the most experienced sailor's jaw drop. #94 | | |
"Makri, how old are you?" #95 | | |
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"In which case, unless your unique parentage has produced some very strange effects, your breasts should have stopped growing." #97 | | |
Makri glances at her chest. #98 | | |
"They have. I took a couple of links out of my bikini to make it a bit smaller. I need to earn more tips, Samanatius the Philosopher is starting a new class and I have to raise the fee." #99 | | |
If Makri ever does make it to the Imperial University no one will be able to say she doesn't deserve it. #100 | | |
