The morning broke over the House of Angshar. The edge of the sun peeked up from the horizon behind the temple gates, turning the low clouds into a streak of orange, pushing against the purple layer of twilight. As the temple gates cranked up, the light washed over Sood and his bandits. Baratis barked at them and they heeded, standing and forming lines without any resistance or instruction.
They marched in a uniform line through the gates and the courtyard, their hands still resting on their heads. As they walked Kidu and Rengu walked along side with them. Kidu noticed that many of the bandits were women, bundled in the same kind of oversized coats as the men. They all seemed dirty and poor, and could have been mistaken for farmers or refugees. Diren the builder jogged ahead to get the newly finished prison ready as the march continued. Baratis ordered his officers to keep the bandits in line but the order was not needed. They marched in quiet through the morning streets, keeping their faces straight and their eyes low.
“I didn’t expect so many women among them,” Kidu said.
“You haven’t left the Scales, so you don’t really understand the world,” Rengu said. “Your enemies are never as conveniently defined as you’d like. Yes, some are women. And some are even children. You never know where the enemies come from. But the same can be said of our heroes.”
Kidu pondered the words as they walked. At the front of the line was the bandit with the yellow bandit flag draped over his shoulders. “This Sood…does he seem to you as a mountain man? He is more well-spoken beyond any bandit I've encountered."
"I thought that odd as well," Rengu agreed. "I've never seen him before. Either they are getting more sophisticated or they are adding to their numbers from somewhere far. Where do you place Sood’s accent and speech?”
“Like…a cross between…Aredunian in speech and a Headlander in accent.”
“Aredunian…that is somewhere far,” Rengu said. “You’ll see to the bandits’ confinement?”
Kidu bowed and instructed a young monk to escort Rengu back to his chambers. He then went to the front of the line to catch up with Sood, who was accompanied by Pengmou. "You say you seek refuge in Kienne, but what of your mountain lord? Why is Brandarm not among you in surrender?"
"If you know of our master," Sood said without looking away from the path, “then you know he is proud above all else. Though he sends us with hope to see us with safe passage to the mainland, he would not leave his mountain hall. He has decided to remain Lord of the Mountain and the Wetlands. He lords over his chambers alone. He will end his rule by his own hands, fortnightly."
"And you trust me to believe this," Kidu asked.
"I don't trust anyone but my master," Sood said, unblinking. "He promised us that this is the best way, to find solace under the rule of King Gordyn, the fourth of his name. King Gordyn is a forgiving leige, my master says, and we will be given a fresh start. The Mountain folk and the SanKai have fought for too long, and neither side has come out better for it."
“You're not from here,” Kidu said. “You speak with notes of polish and almost of gentility. How came you to Brandarm’s service?”
“How came you to the service of your own house?” Sood asked. “I'm sure our paths are similar though not the gait in how we walked those paths. An able master makes you forget how far you've walked. A truly noble one drives you to walk more.”
“You speak only in riddles,” Kidu said.
They continued to march in silence through the streets until they reached a small red building surrounded by an iron fence. Diren unhitched the gate and pulled open the door to the small building. "Start down the stairs, all of you," he said. "There are plenty of cells down there, you can probably fit four or five to a room. It'll be a bit crammed but it should do for folks used to sleeping in dingy caves and mud huts."
Diren descended into the underground prison with the bandits and Baratis' men followed. Eventually the prison swallowed all the visitors and left the courtyard eerily empty. Metal doors slammed from below. One by one the Constable's men came out while Kidu counted. When Baratis and Diren were the last to climb out, Kidu reported the headcount of the officers.
Baratis nodded. "We are all accounted for. What a gift from the gods this morning. Judging by this group there should be just a few old men and women remaining with Brandarm. We should be able to take his fortress within the week."
"Beware the Gilded Rider, for only when the gold is worn away from the armor shall ye see the sword," Kidu said. "It is an old saying about receiving gifts that are too good to be true."
"In my line of work Master Kidu we also have a saying,” Baratis said. “The size of the rat in the trap will reveal the quality of the cheese. Seems to me we just ensnared a pretty large rat into our cage."
"I suspect rats don't quite care about the quality of cheese," Kidu said as he bowed and bid the constable farewell. The young monk's stomache felt twisted. The day was now in full force with people running about. He needed to think and the quietest place that he knew was at the bottom of the Hearth Tower. He kept his head down to let the excited monks bustling about think that he was deep in thought, but he was reserving the deepest thoughts for when he was buried by the silence of the Hearth room.
The Hearth Tower was at the center of town, a spiraling spike of grey brick topped with a beacon that when lit, could be seen from the sea. The beacon had not seen fire in fifteen years since it was lit to signify the passing of King Gordyn III. Watching the fires for days was one of Kidu's earliest memories. He was probably five then, sitting on Rengu's lap as they watched the ceremonial lighting of the beacon. He remembered a parade of Southerners dressed in shining armor. Their marching sounded like thunder. He didn't remember much, except for the armor, the marching, and watching the fire of the beacon start in the rain.
When Kidu arrived at the Hearth Tower he unbolted and swung open the seldom used heavy red door that led underground. It reminded him of the bandits being led down in Ruthier's new prison. Kidu descended into the dark spiraling corridor until he arrived at the hearth. The only light came from small windows from above. In the dim light Kidu approached the bare brick fireplace, which was the size of a small room. A small bundle of old wood was piled against the fireplace. Kidu could risk a small fire, to stay warm. Other fires would be burning right now, and perhaps no one would notice a small trail of smoke from the Tower.
After Kidu had stoked the fire he stared at the dancing flames and thought about the Constable's comments about rats. He picked up a small split piece of wood and said "Asylum" as he tossed it into the fire. He watched it burn down for a while, then picked up another piece and said "Treachery" as he tossed it in. He watched as the fires died down and fell asleep.
Kidu woke from the cold. His heart raced at thinking how long he had been sleeping. He leapt up the stairs and pushed through the door into the courtyard. It felt like noon. The street was already quartered off for Menquist's arrival. Kidu made his way back to the prison, where Diren and Ruthier were in a heated argument.
"It doesn't do anyone else any good when you're the only one with the combination," Diren snapped.
"Build the most secure prison, matching only the Black Boxes of Lanfrydhall," Ruthier replied. "That was my charge. Where the Capital could send its rapers and murderers to the remote corner of the kingdom. Security includes separating the combination from the key."
"Fine, then give Kidu the combination," Diren said.
"What are you two going on about?" Kidu asked.
"The only way to open these gates are through using the key, and entering the combination," Ruthier explained. "That way we would always have two people needed to unlock these gates in case the key was stolen. Diren has the key but he wants the combination as well. Not that I don't trust you Diren but the intention was to have two separate people manage the key and the combination."
"And the owner of the combination should be one of the SanKai," Diren added. "Not a southerner."
"I'm from the Headlands, I'm hardly a southerner."
"No disrespect sir but anyone south of the Scales is a southerner to us," Diren replied.
"Mister Ruthier, Diren is not just our builder but he is our Chief of Security,” Kidu interrupted. “You can’t expect our Chief of Security to hold the key but not the combination. Diren has always watched over our jails, as there is no one else more fitting. Would you rather give it to Constable Baratis?"
"I suppose not," Ruthier answered. "The Constable would see fit to delegate this and by end of day his entire force would be in possession of the combination. I will relinquish the code, Master Kidu, but only to you. What you do with it is SanKai business."
"Very well," Kidu agreed.
Ruthier whispered the code into Kidu's ear. "I now take my leave," he said. Kidu nodded.
After Ruthier walked away Diren spat. "Why did that have to be so difficult?"
"You know the rest of the world thinks the south doesn't begin until you get past the Kingshold."
"Why would I care what the rest of the world thinks?"
Kidu walked to the prison gate and gave the combination dial a spin. "Do you believe they are seeking asylum?"
"Maybe they are, or maybe I don't care," Diren said. "You can't place too much stock in the decisions of hungry folk. Being holed up in their caves. Who knows how a desperate mind works. All I know is that last night I had to worry about Brandarm's men, and this morning I don't."
"Did you know the king has summoned all able SanKai to march south?" Kidu asked.
"With this lot rotting in jail, we now can," Diren said.
"Right," Kidu nodded. "The size of the rat in the trap will reveal the quality of the cheese."
"I beg your pardon?"
Kidu shook his head. "Do you want the code?"
"I don't care. I just didn't want the Headlander to be the only one with it. You can keep it if you'd like, you just need to enter the code every time we need to feed them and flush out the privies."
Kidu chuckled. "That's a privilege I don't need." He leaned in and whispered the code.
