Northern Ramparts? It sounded like it.”
“It did.” Alain paused. “It is never wise to assume that someone in authority has told you everything they know.”
Mari felt her self-satisfaction ebbing away. “What do you mean?”
“The Mage who was with the Imperial guards around Marandur. He or she surely knew I was not one of the barbarians. That could be why the officers asked about a Mage.”
“Yes, but — Yes. Couriers on horseback would have been here days ago. Maybe the questions about the barbarians are just cover for them asking about you and me?”
“It is very possible,” Alain said. “If you had betrayed knowledge of why the Imperials were asking about someone in rags, those officers would not have let us depart.”
“Fortunately, I thought of that before I answered. But if they’ve heard something about us, why are they searching for a ‘very good-looking’ woman?” Mari wondered.
“I believe that you are very good-looking,” Alain said.
“Yes, but you’re crazy,” Mari retorted. “Those Imperial officers and whoever tipped them off aren’t in love with me. If it was Asha they were after, I could understand that description, but no one who saw Asha could think she was dark-haired. Those soldiers in the Northern Ramparts could have passed around that I have dark hair, but they saw enough of me to know I wasn’t beautiful.”
Alain shook his head. “Illusions can take many forms.”
“Oh, even you admit that anyone calling me beautiful would be seeing an illusion?”
“No. But perhaps to the soldiers with General Flyn, the one who had saved them, the one they thought to be a certain special person, would appear attractive for those reasons as well as for her appearance.”
“Hmmm. Stranger things have happened, I guess. At least if the Imperials are looking for some beauty they won’t focus on me.” Mari looked around casually. “However, if you judged those officers correctly, they might have someone following us anyway, just because we sort of match what they’re looking for.”
“Yes. What will happen if they check with the university to see if we are enrolled there?”
“We’ll be in trouble. If they find us again.” Mari walked on a few more steps, then pretended to have a problem with one of her boots. Turning as she knelt on one knee, Mari fumbled with the laces again as she swept her gaze across the people behind them. Standing up, she nodded to Alain as they started walking once more. “One of the officers is behind us. Not close, but he was there, just sort of strolling along.”
“Why would he do this?”
Mari glanced at Alain to see if he meant the question seriously. “He’s following us to see where we go.”
“But if you wish to find a Mage in a city, another Mage can try to do so using his or her Mage senses.”
She sighed. “Alain, the rest of the people in the world don’t work that way. They can’t sense people at a distance, so they do things like following them without being noticed. We need to lose this cop so the Imperials don’t know where we are.”
“Lose him?”
“Throw him off our track.”
“Oh, like a military force seeking to conceal its movements from enemy scouts.” Alain studied the street ahead. “I recommend we look for this university and ‘lose’ him near there. It will match our story.”
“All right. I think I remember how to get to the area.” Mari looked up at the massive east gate in the walls around Palandur, feeling an odd sensation. “Alain, I left this city several months ago, the youngest person ever to qualify as a Master Mechanic in the history of my Guild, not knowing that the Guild’s Senior Mechanics had already decided to set me up for kidnapping and murder by the scum who run the city of Ringhmon. It feels so strange coming back here now, with everything looking the same, and yet everything is different.”
“Are you different?” Alain asked.
She looked at him, surprised by the
“It did.” Alain paused. “It is never wise to assume that someone in authority has told you everything they know.”
Mari felt her self-satisfaction ebbing away. “What do you mean?”
“The Mage who was with the Imperial guards around Marandur. He or she surely knew I was not one of the barbarians. That could be why the officers asked about a Mage.”
“Yes, but — Yes. Couriers on horseback would have been here days ago. Maybe the questions about the barbarians are just cover for them asking about you and me?”
“It is very possible,” Alain said. “If you had betrayed knowledge of why the Imperials were asking about someone in rags, those officers would not have let us depart.”
“Fortunately, I thought of that before I answered. But if they’ve heard something about us, why are they searching for a ‘very good-looking’ woman?” Mari wondered.
“I believe that you are very good-looking,” Alain said.
“Yes, but you’re crazy,” Mari retorted. “Those Imperial officers and whoever tipped them off aren’t in love with me. If it was Asha they were after, I could understand that description, but no one who saw Asha could think she was dark-haired. Those soldiers in the Northern Ramparts could have passed around that I have dark hair, but they saw enough of me to know I wasn’t beautiful.”
Alain shook his head. “Illusions can take many forms.”
“Oh, even you admit that anyone calling me beautiful would be seeing an illusion?”
“No. But perhaps to the soldiers with General Flyn, the one who had saved them, the one they thought to be a certain special person, would appear attractive for those reasons as well as for her appearance.”
“Hmmm. Stranger things have happened, I guess. At least if the Imperials are looking for some beauty they won’t focus on me.” Mari looked around casually. “However, if you judged those officers correctly, they might have someone following us anyway, just because we sort of match what they’re looking for.”
“Yes. What will happen if they check with the university to see if we are enrolled there?”
“We’ll be in trouble. If they find us again.” Mari walked on a few more steps, then pretended to have a problem with one of her boots. Turning as she knelt on one knee, Mari fumbled with the laces again as she swept her gaze across the people behind them. Standing up, she nodded to Alain as they started walking once more. “One of the officers is behind us. Not close, but he was there, just sort of strolling along.”
“Why would he do this?”
Mari glanced at Alain to see if he meant the question seriously. “He’s following us to see where we go.”
“But if you wish to find a Mage in a city, another Mage can try to do so using his or her Mage senses.”
She sighed. “Alain, the rest of the people in the world don’t work that way. They can’t sense people at a distance, so they do things like following them without being noticed. We need to lose this cop so the Imperials don’t know where we are.”
“Lose him?”
“Throw him off our track.”
“Oh, like a military force seeking to conceal its movements from enemy scouts.” Alain studied the street ahead. “I recommend we look for this university and ‘lose’ him near there. It will match our story.”
“All right. I think I remember how to get to the area.” Mari looked up at the massive east gate in the walls around Palandur, feeling an odd sensation. “Alain, I left this city several months ago, the youngest person ever to qualify as a Master Mechanic in the history of my Guild, not knowing that the Guild’s Senior Mechanics had already decided to set me up for kidnapping and murder by the scum who run the city of Ringhmon. It feels so strange coming back here now, with everything looking the same, and yet everything is different.”
“Are you different?” Alain asked.
She looked at him, surprised by the
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