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Back Bleak Seasons Save as PDF
Chapters (102)
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Ky Dam smiled. Thai Dei ran ahead. He read my curiosity from my glance and flaring nostrils. Danh has gone to his judgment. At last. A bleak season has ended for this house.

I could not help myself. I looked at the young woman. I found her looking at me. Her gaze shifted immediately, but not so fast that I did not feel guilty when I returned attention to the Speaker.

The old man missed nothing. Neither did he get excited about something best left ignored. He was wise, was Ky Dam.

I had come to respect that frail oldster a lot.

The hard times have come, Standardbearer, and will lead to more terrible tomorrows. He reviewed my discussion with Mogaba well enough to convince me that someone had watched us.

Why tell me this?

To support my claim when I tell you we spy on the black men. After your departure they spoke only their native tongue until they sent messengers to the tribunes of the cohorts and other senior Taglians. They are to gather at suppertime.

Sounds big.

The old man bowed slightly, I would like you to see something for yourself. You know these men more certainly than do I. You can determine if my suspicions are well-founded.

You want me to spy on that meeting?

Something of the sort. The old man did not tell me the whole story. Not then. He wanted me walking into it cold. Doj will conduct you.

65

65

Doj conducted me. The way led through cellars as intricately connected as ours but less care had been used in the tunneling. The people who did this just wanted to be able to sneak away. They had had no intention of hiding. They must have been Jaicuri collaborators in Stormshadows administration, acting for her. She would have wanted an emergency exit.

Im surprised at you, I told Uncle Doj. I wouldnt think underground would occur to swamp people. I dont suppose there are a lot of tunnels in the delta.

Not many. He smiled.

My guess is they found the escape route through sheer blind luck, maybe coupled with an informed suspicion about how Stormshadows mind worked.

Getting into the citadel, then, was no problem, though it required some crawling. The architects had not been concerned with Stormshadows dignity. It was tough for me. I was not yet back to my best.

We came to a small open space beneath a ladder. That rose straight up into infinity, so far as I could see by the light of one feeble candle. I had a feeling the candle was a luxury laid on for me, that the Nyueng Bao made this journey entirely in darkness.

I could not have endured that. I dislike enclosed places intensely despite having lived in them. Close places, darkness, recurring spells and visions were not a combination I wanted to tempt.

I did seem more stable lately, I reflected. I set a hand and foot on the ladder.