The Ambassador’s Mission

A knock brought their attention to the door. Sonea drew in a deep breath, then sent a little magic toward the door latch. It clicked open and Lorkin stepped inside, looking contrite. She sighed with relief.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said. “Mother. Jonna.” He nodded to them both. “The meeting didn’t finish until a few minutes ago.”

“Well, you’re just in time,” Jonna said, walking to the door. “Any longer and I was going to eat your meal for you.”

“Why don’t you stay and join us?” he asked, smiling hopefully.

She gave him a measured look. “And have the two of us telling you what a fool you are?”

He blinked, then grinned ruefully. “Good night, Jonna.”

She sniffed in amusement, before she slipped out of the door, pulling it closed behind her.

Sonea looked at him. He met her eyes briefly, and looked around the room.

“Is something different?” he asked.

“No.” She gestured to the other chair. “Sit down. Eat. No point letting the food get any colder.”

He nodded and they began to fill their plates with food. Sonea noted he ate with his usual enthusiasm. Or was he hurrying? Did he want this meal over with? To escape his overbearing mother and stop being reminded of things he wanted to ignore – like the risks in travelling to Sachaka?

She waited until the meal was over and he looked a bit more relaxed, before raising the subject he must know she’d invited him here in order to discuss.

“So,” she began. “Why Sachaka?”

He blinked and turned to meet her eyes.

“Because… because it’s where I want to go.”

“But why do you want to go there? Of all the places, it is the most dangerous – especially for you.”

“Lord Maron doesn’t think so. Nor does Lord Dannyl. At least, they don’t think it will be any more dangerous for me than for anyone else.”

Sonea looked at him closely. “That is only because they don’t believe something unless they see proof. The only way they can see proof that it is dangerous for you to enter Sachaka is to take you there and observe something bad happen to you.”

His eyes narrowed. “Then you don’t have proof either.”

“Not that sort of proof.” She forced a smile. “I’d hardly be a responsible parent if I took you to Sachaka to test my belief that it is dangerous.”

“So how do you know it’s dangerous?”

“From what your father told me. From what Guild Ambassadors and traders have confirmed since. They all agree that Sachakans are bound by their code of honour to seek revenge for the death of a family member – even if they didn’t like that family member, and even if that family member was an outcast.”

“But the Guild Ambassadors looked into it. They said the family of Kariko and Dakova did not want revenge. The brothers had been a liability to them; it was clearly a relief to them that they had died.”

“They also said that the family had gained some admiration for the brother’s daring invasion, despite the fact they were outcasts and the invasion failed.” Sonea shrugged. “It is easier to feel gratitude and loyalty to someone after they are dead. You can’t discount the fact that the Ambassadors only spoke to some family members, not all. That if the head of the family expressed one view then others who disagreed would stay quiet.”

“But they wouldn’t act against the head of the family, either,” he pointed out.

“Not in any way that could be traced to them.”

Lorkin shook his head in frustration. “Nobody is going to slip poison into my food or cut my throat in my sleep. Even if I wasn’t able to use magic to treat one and shield against the other, nobody is going to risk breaking the peace between our countries.”

“Or else they’ll see you as the perfect excuse to spoil it.” Sonea leaned forward. “They might be offended that the Guild sent Akkarin’s son there. Your little sight-seeing trip might ruin everything the Guild has worked for since the invasion.”

His eyes widened, then his face hardened.

“It’s not a sight-seeing trip. I… I want to help Lord Dannyl. I think what he’s trying to do is… is… it could help us. By looking into the past we might find new knowledge – new magic – that could help us defend ourselves. Perhaps we won’t have to use black magic any more.”

For a moment Sonea could not speak. Surprise was quickly followed by a wave of guilt.

“You’re not on a quest to save me, or something, are you?” she asked, her voice unintentionally weak.

“No!” He shook his head. “If we found such magic it would help us all. It might even help the Sachakans. If they didn’t need black magic they might be less resistant to ending slavery.”

Sonea nodded. “It seems to me that anyone could go looking for this new magic. Lord Dannyl is already seeking it. Why do you have to go?”

Lorkin paused. “Lord Dannyl is only interested in filling in the gaps in history. I’m more interested in how that history – that knowledge – could be used now. And in the future.”

She felt a chill run down her spine. A quest for magical knowledge. Exactly what had spurred Akkarin on to explore the world, and eventually enter Sachaka. And that quest had ended very, very badly.