But Cai Yun did not seem to notice, and Avanasy walked with his head up, apparently unconcerned. Ingrid tried to put it out of her own mind and pay attention to the city passing around them. She soon came to realize she was in a city far larger than any she had ever been in. For all she knew, the place might be as big as Chicago. The narrow streets were filled with people and lined with houses of stone and wood with tiled roofs, some as much as three stories high. The tallest and the richest rose behind walls of carved and painted stone, and Ingrid saw the tops of rich green trees, leading her to believe the walls enclosed gardens as well as homes.

They had not been walking many minutes before Cai Yun stopped before one of these private walls. The opening in it was a narrow, dark wooden door carved all over with patterns that might have been swirls of wind, or might have been winding ribbons. She would not have given them a second thought, except she heard Avanasy's sharp intake of breath at the sight of them.

Inside the gate, as Ingrid had thought, there was a garden. It was a lush, green lawn overshadowed by drooping trees with leaves of all shades of green and red. Rich ferns and reeds clustered about still, brown ponds blooming with lilies and purple flags.

Beyond the garden waited a house Ingrid could only describe as grand, which made her shabbiness feel even more apparent. Two stories tall and far broader than it was high, it was a beautiful building of painted wood with wide, red-lacquered eaves, covered with flowing decorations of green and gold. Rather than windows, it seemed that whole panels of the walls folded back like screens to open the rooms to the sea breezes that drifted over the walls.

Avanasy's eyes looked about ready to fall from his head, he was staring so hard as they walked up the flagstone path. "I have never seen a house so elaborately protected," he murmured. "If these sigils are real, this place is protected by more magics than the Imperial winter home in Isavalta."

Ingrid wanted to ask him why anyone would protect their home so heavily, but Cai Yun was watching them again with her narrowed eyes, so Ingrid responded with a smile.

"What beautiful gardens you have," she said. "My husband was just remarking on them."

Cai Yun smiled, apparently satisfied. "They are indeed lovely. I have spent many peaceful hours here, and am always glad to return when I have been away."

"You travel a great deal then, Lady?" inquired Avanasy.

"My family makes its living by ships," answered Cai Yun, a trifle coolly, Ingrid thought. "I have sailed some distance with them."

They had reached the verandah now. Two servants, a man and a woman in identical coats and trousers of unbleached cotton with black cuffs, opened the doors and bowed deeply.

"Welcome, mistress," said the woman to Cai Yun. "Your uncle has been awaiting your return and asks that you join him in his library at once."

"Gladly, Shien. Now, these two travelers are my honored guests. You and Jiu will show them to a good apartment and see that they are brought clean clothes and all that they will need to refresh themselves." She spoke with the casual ease of one used to command. "As they are northerners, you will see them housed together." She blinked up at Avanasy. "That is customary for a husband and wife in your land, is it not?"

Avanasy did not frown, not quite, but a flicker of suspicion crossed his face. "It is," he acknowledged, and Ingrid wondered what he was thinking.

"Welcome to this house, master, mistress," said Jiu. "If you will come with us please."

"I will relate the full story to my uncle," said Cai Yun. "He will be anxious to meet you and thank you for your vigilance."

"I'm just glad I could help," murmured Ingrid, and she was glad to be able to turn quickly away to follow the old servants.

The inside of the house, at least on the first floor, seemed to be composed of only a few separate rooms. The rest of the space seemed to be broken by gleaming wooden pillars and screens of carved wood or painted silk. Ingrid felt as if she was in some grand pavilion rather than a true house.

Up the broad, shallow stairs the rooms were smaller, with solid walls and doors. Jiu and Shien led them down a corridor to the far corner of the house, opening a pair of doors to reveal a room of rose-colored wood and water blue silk. The two servants bustled about, opening the broad windows and sheltering them with intricately carved screens. Jiu hurried to fetch water while Shien opened a rosewood press and laid out two sets of robes, one white and green, one white and blue. Black sashes accompanied each robe. As Jiu returned with water for the porcelain ewers, Shien also laid out towels, soaps, combs and brushes in such profusion that Ingrid was not sure she could decipher uses for them all.

It took some doing to convince the pair that she really wanted them to wait outside during their ablutions, but Ingrid was firm. She apologized repeatedly for her coarse and foreign ways, but she shooed them out just the same. She wanted a moment to think, and to catch her breath with Avanasy. She did not want to be fussed over by a stranger.

At last, however, Shien closed the door behind herself murmuring that she would see to their meal, and bowing to Ingrid's thanks. The door shut, Ingrid let out a sigh of relief and set about stripping her filthy dress off down to her petticoats. She had peeled off her outer layer and tossed it aside, only to look up and see Avanasy smiling at her.

"What is that for?" she inquired with mock stiffness.

"You. A world away from your home, and you are stopping thieves, graciously smoothing our entrance into the homes of the wealthy, and ordering servants about, and yet I believe you think nothing of it."

Ingrid shrugged, pouring water from an ewer into a basin. The faint scent of jasmine rose from the cascade. "Compared to what I have seen you do today, it's a small thing."

"No." He came to stand next to her, his hands resting on her shoulders. "It is a great thing indeed." As if to prove what he said, he kissed her lingeringly, a gesture Ingrid willingly accepted.

"Do you have any idea where we might be?" she asked when they parted. With towel and soap, she set about scrubbing her face, neck and arms. The water turned from clear to gray with distressing speed.

"If I am not mistaken," said Avanasy, filling his own basin, "this house belongs to a pirate."

"A pirate?" repeated Ingrid, lifting her dripping face in surprise.

Avanasy nodded, stripping off his shirt and laying it aside with Ingrid's dress. "They are a plague on Hung Tse, and most embarrassingly on T'ien and the Heart of the World, but they flourish, well paid and well protected."

"You don't sound as if you believe we are in much danger."

"I don't. They have their own honor in many ways, and judging from our Lady Cai Yun's reaction, whatever was in that purse was valuable to the master of this house. I think we will be safer here than we could have been in hired rooms and public baths, and much less observed."

"It is no worse than demons, I suppose," admitted Ingrid, bending once again to her wash.

But she heard no indication that Avanasy was doing the same. "Ingrid, what is wrong?" he asked softly.

For a time, Ingrid did not answer. She washed her neck and arms, wrung out the towel, folded it onto the side of the basin, picked up a fresh towel and began to dry herself.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I ... It's all so strange. As soon as I think I know what to expect, everything seems to change, and I know nothing. I even find ... I wonder ..." She bit her lip. She had not meant to say so much.

"What?" asked Avanasy, drawing close. "Wondering perhaps how much you know of your husband?"

She could not look at him. "I don't want to feel this way, I swear to you, Avanasy ..."

He just shook his head to silence her. "It would be strange indeed if you did not. You have seen me threaten torture and murder against my enemies. You have been swept from one land to another with barely a word, and you have been torn in two since you came here." He ran his fingers lightly over the braided wristlet. "What sane woman would not have doubts about what she had done?"

"And what do we do about it, then?"

"We trust," said Avanasy. "We hold each other close. We hold close the hope that this chaos must end and the world will be righted again."

Ingrid knew her smile was wan. "I will do my best."

"As will I." Avanasy picked up his own towel. "And we will speak more tonight, but I think now we must finish our washing. I fear poor Shien and Jiu will be fretting outside the door for not being allowed to do their jobs."

Ingrid set her hair in order and Avanasy finished his wash. Then they attempted to help each other on with the robes, which had looked so tidy when Shien laid them out, but proved to be absolute acres of cloth that had to be carefully folded, wrapped, and tied. After several laughing attempts to get them on, they retired to opposite sides of the room behind separate screens and called for the servants. As Avanasy suspected, they were just outside the door. Shien bustled in behind Ingrid's changing area and in moments had her wrapped and tied neatly in the thick, clean cloth so that the robe fell in graceful folds from her shoulders and her waist.

Now that her charge was dressed to her satisfaction, Shien busied herself with setting out the numerous diminutive bowls and cups that were evidently required for their meal. Each dish held just a taste of some delicacy; a few pieces of fresh melon, a piquant vegetable pickle, cold rice flavored with jasmine, some shelled nuts, a few small steamed rolls. The cups held various teas and liquors. It all seemed incredibly exotic to Ingrid, as she sat at the low table and allowed Shien to help her to various samplings and Jiu helped Avanasy, and yet at the same time was an undeniably refreshing way to eat on an afternoon that was becoming increasingly sweltering.

When the last dish was emptied and cleared away, and Ingrid had sipped the last of the orange-blossom water, Shien bowed low again and said she had been instructed to take them down to the study to meet their host.

The food and wine had mellowed Ingrid, but not enough to ease her apprehension. What sort of hospitality had they accepted? Avanasy's reassurances notwithstanding, she knew something of banditry and even piracy, and such men might have honor, but it was of a notably expedient sort.

The study was in a well-shaded corner of the house on the lower floor. Cai Yun stood outside its screened entrance, and dismissed Shien with brief thanks and a wave as they arrived to stand in front of her. Cai Yun, in turn, led them around the screen into a spacious and beautiful room. Its many low tables were spread with maps or piled with scrolls or folios of thin paper. In the midst of these tools of scholarship sat a man whom Ingrid assumed must be the master of the house. He appeared to be a man just entering middle age, with sharp cheekbones and keen eyes. His black hair had been bound into a neat braid at the back of his head, and, unlike most of the other men of this country, he wore a thin beard that outlined his jaw. His robe was solid black with white cuffs and sash.

Cai Yun bowed to the seated scholar. "Uncle, may I introduce to you Ingrid and her husband, Avan. It was Ingrid who saved our family property and my honor this morning. Mistress Ingrid, Master Avan, may I introduce my uncle, Lien Jinn."

Lien Jinn bowed without rising. "Please accept my thanks. My niece was on an errand for me, to meet a ship of mine that had come in. What you saved was much more than a maiden's pocket money." He gestured toward two chairs that looked to Ingrid to be little more than low platforms with thin pillows on them. "Will you sit with me?"

"Gladly, sir," answered Avanasy. He was holding his face oddly, as if trying to keep some unwanted expression at bay. He and Ingrid settled themselves tailor-fashion on the seats while Cai Yun stationed herself at her uncle's right hand. "I have only rarely had occasion to enjoy the fabled hospitality of T'ien, and my wife not at all. I am humbled by its extent."

"Your words warm my poor heart," answered Lien solemnly.

"I was most struck by the beauty of your home," Avanasy went on. "Great care has been taken in its construction, and its protection."

"What peace can there be if a man's family is not safe?" Now it was Lien who narrowed his eyes, and it was easy to see the family resemblance between him and Cai Yun.

"This is wisdom." Avanasy nodded. "Your own children are grown then?"

"My ancestors deemed my role should be to look after the health and well-being of my brothers' families."

"Having seen how you provide for strangers, I have no doubt your family is in excellent hands," said Ingrid, beginning to get a feel for the rhythm of this conversation.

"It is a blessing to be able to help those who are far from their homes." Lien's face grew shrewd. "And I cannot help but believe you are both very far from your home."

"Not so far as I have been," answered Avanasy. "But not so near as I would be."

"You did not wish to travel then?" Lien inquired mildly. Ingrid noted that although she sat silently, Cai Yun was watching both her and Avanasy, like a cat might watch a mousehole, not blinking, missing nothing. Looking for lies under the pleasantries, Ingrid was sure of it. Looking for what might be hidden by words.

Avanasy sighed. "In truth, no. We find we have become seekers, my wife and I."

"And what is it you seek?"

"Something valuable, which was removed from its rightful place."

"Ah." Lien nodded sagely, as if Avanasy had spoken with perfect clarity. "This is a common problem. It must be very valuable for you to have traveled so far."

"It is unique."

"I thought it must be. It may be I am in a position to help you."

"Indeed?" Avanasy's eyebrows shot up in mock surprise. "We would be most grateful for any help that could be offered."

"It happens in the course of trade that I occasionally hear of valued moveables, and may be able to bend my humble skills toward negotiating its retrieval."

"I fear it is not only retrieval which we must concern ourselves with, but return. While I hope those who have it will return it willingly once certain conditions can be met, I fear they may not, in which case they may pursue it."

Cai Yun frowned openly at this, but the light of curiosity sparked in her uncle's eyes. "This enterprise could lead you to some expense, I think, my friend, as well as trouble."

Avanasy bowed his head. "It can, and it has, but I am under obligation."

"Ah, yes. I thought as much. Isavalta is noted for its dedication to duty."

"And you, mistress, what are your people noted for?" asked Cai Yun lightly.

"Stubbornness, mistress," answered Ingrid, which earned her a laugh. "And an inability to keep our opinions to ourselves."

"Have you an opinion on this matter then, mistress?"

Ingrid decided to risk it. "It is my opinion that the Master of the House already knows who we are, and has some idea of what it is we seek. I believe he is taking our measure, for which I cannot fault him, but I think it would be beneath all our dignities to begin bargaining over the fate of nations like a fishwife over fish."

Lien laughed out loud. "Well spoken, mistress. Well spoken. What do you say, Avan? Do we bargain thus? Or do we open our books each to the other and show what we know?"

"I would not presume to tell the master what to do in his own home. But I do find myself reminded of a legend they tell in my homeland."

Lien's eyes glittered. "I would be most interested to hear it."

"I was trained by the sorcerer Valerii. When it came time for me to leave my master, he gave me many gifts. The most precious of these was the secret of making sailcloth that could catch the wind that blows between the worlds and enable a boat to sail between mortal shores and the Land of Death and Spirit. He told me the secret of its making had been won by a sorcerer from south of our home. This sorcerer, it seems, loved a young woman who was chosen to enter the Heart of the World as a concubine. But she continued to write to him, so the story goes, and he to her, swearing he would find a way to spirit them both away without even the Nine Elders being able to follow.

"My master went on to say that this sorcerer walked across the Land of Death and Spirit and, through immense patience and cleverness, won the secret of making the sailcloth from the Old Witch herself. But when he returned to his home, it was only to find that his love had been discovered and made to drink poison for her transgressions. The sorcerer vowed vengeance upon the emperor and all his heirs, and he has ever since been taking that vengeance, as slowly and as patiently as he took the secret he needed from the Old Witch."

Lien's eyes glittered. "So. You know rather more than I would have told you left to my own devices, Master Avan."

"Avanasy," Avanasy corrected him, and there was no look of surprise on Lien's face. "I believe Mistress Ingrid is correct. The time has come for us to call things by their proper names."

"And while we are so doing, what would you have of me?"

"Beyond a night's shelter, nothing, if all is well."

"And if it is not?"

"Safe transport for myself, my wife and one other to a destination of our choosing, safe transport that the Nine Elders cannot follow."

"This item you seek, it is valuable to the Nine Elders."

Avanasy nodded. "If they are so inclined, they will find it a treasure great enough to buy the peace of an empire."

The smile on Lien's face then was thin, and filled with greed, but his words were cautious. "I shall consider your words carefully. We shall speak again at the evening meal. In the meantime, I invite you to treat my house as if it was your own. Niece, show them the gardens."

"Gladly, Uncle." She bowed to him even as she rose.

"The peace of an empire?" inquired Lien as they turned to go.

"Perhaps," said Avanasy. "If they have chosen safety over honor."

At those words, Lien's face turned utterly bitter. "That has ever been their choice in the past. I think we may easily rely on them to do so again."

Chapter Sixteen.

The temple city of Durah was normally a place of solemn monks, prayer fires, and the smells and smokes of sacrifice. Pilgrims filed up the narrow way to pay what coins they had to the priests and pray at the feet of the Mothers for guidance or deliverance. Today, however, the way was blocked by vigilant soldiers and those pilgrims who did not wish to return home waited in a makeshift camp at the bottom of the cliff. More soldiers crowded the alleys and twisted walkways between the temples and dormitories, pitching their own tents and adding the smoke of their cooking fires to the sacred smoke rising in tribute to the gods and the Mothers.

Emperor Samudra tya Achin Hariamapad, Father of the Pearl Throne, Beloved of the Seven Mothers, Warrior of the Gods, the Uniter and the Deliverer, having prostrated himself for a suitable time in the highest temple and having in addition paid for a seven-fold sacrifice and added a gift for the high priest, was given a priest's house to use as his headquarters, and not too grudgingly either.