Page 26 of The Laws of Nature (Heirs of the Empire #3)

TOBI

A s Tobi leaves Mereli’s solar his four guards once again fall in behind him. He wanders around the maze of halls for a while, slowly getting more of an idea of the layout of Urynwud.

He plans to find Lymok. It takes him some time, and many wrong turns and dead ends leading him to all manner of hallways and gardens and at one point, a chamber with a great glazed dome, full of lush green plants, but eventually he finds himself in a courtyard, this one far larger than the one with the stables.

This courtyard is almost like a whole city square inside Urynwud.

It is full of bustle and noise and lined all around its edge with workshops of different types.

Inside the cabins and huts and stone-built rooms there appear to be different tradesmen.

Tobi can see carpenters and joiners, potters’ shops, gemwrights, wheelwrights and coopers.

Towards the back there seems to be a forge and what he thinks is a smeltery.

Surely if Lymok works with traders, he must be somewhere here.

Not wanting a repeat of what happened in the kitchen, Tobi does not approach the workers, hanging back in a corner of the yard, hoping to observe unnoticed.

Or as unnoticed as the Azurian kushir with hair that is dark and light, barefoot and wearing a tiny alit and thin cloak and accompanied by four armed guards, can possibly be.

This time, no one shoos him away and Tobi watches the work for some time. Urynwud, Tobi thinks, is like its own small city. Hundreds of pieces all working together. He waits and watches and eventually, he sees Lymok come out of one of the workshops carrying two pails of water.

As he crosses the yard, Tobi wonders how best to approach him, but before he can, Lymok stops and smiles at Tobi. Tobi finds himself smiling back and in the next moment, Lymok is walking over to him.

As he gets close Lymok says, “Kushir. Whatever are you doing here?”

“I was looking for you. I have heard about you. You are an Azurian by blood. Mereli told me that you are the son of Irgo Vahul and the Maid Alyse, from Ceruleum.”

Lymok smiles as if this pleases him. Perhaps he likes being talked about. “Indeed I am. I am sure you must have been pleased to discover there is another Azurian in Urynwud.”

“I suppose so,” says Tobi. He gestures to the busy workshop. “Although it seems strange that you are the son of an Irgo, cousin to the king and you work here.”

Lymok sets down his pails. He tugs at the yellow kerchief around his neck.

“You think I ought to be living a sweet life as part of the court of the Solwen?” Lymok says, “ this is not Azuria. My bloodline does not grant me a seat on the council unless Harok chooses to give me one. And he does not choose to anymore. I don’t know if you know the full story, but my father and Harok’s, though brothers, were very different men. ”

“I know your father served as Harok’s regent,” Tobi says.

Lymok smiles blandly. “So, it seems, you know of my mother and father and I know of your father, the grand Prince Rafus. Who was your mother? Some tavern wench your father liked the look of?” His smile grows broader, as if he is enjoying mocking Tobi.

At the mention of his mother, Tobi feels an old ache in his heart, but he answers with the confident tone he always uses when talking of her.

“My mother was Prince Rafus’s great love.

She is named Mareena of Archa. She is a skilled actress, trained under Sindal vin Saraa of the Moonwise Theatre in Archellia. ”

Lymok’s eyebrows slide more than halfway up his forehead. “An actress ,” he says. “Really?” In a tone that would suggest he sees an actress as no different to a whore. “We don’t have actresses here. Tell me,” he says, stepping a little closer to Tobi, “have you inherited your mother’s skills?”

Tobi looks back at Lymok with a placid expression, thinking that he is demonstrating his acting skills in this very moment. But he suspects Lymok was implying his mother’s skills were something else.

Tobi holds Lymok’s eye. He smiles sweetly and says, “I suppose that is for my new Master to decide.”

Lymok reaches out and pokes Tobi in the belly. “Traditionally,” he says, “a kushir does not wander the halls of Urynwud. You ought to be in your chamber, bathing and oiling yourself and preparing to serve your Master when he has need of you.”

“I was given no such command,” Tobi says, matching Lymok’s cool tones.

Lymok tips his head to one side, looking Tobi up and down. “You’re quite a pretty thing, aren’t you? I do not have much interest in the tastes of the deep earth, but I could make an exception for you, you are as pretty as a female.”

“Thank you,” Tobi says, as if this was a sweet compliment not a bold assessment of how pleasurable he would be to fuck.

“Why don’t you come to the traders house and meet my friends?” Lymok says. “They are meant to be learning Artemian. I try to teach them and they could use the practice. And you are the talk of Urynwud. Perhaps you will inspire them to try your tongue.”

“I would love to,” Tobi says, still sweetly polite. “I am very keen to find out as much as I can about my new home.”

Lymok leads Tobi across the courtyard to a stone hut. The doorway is hung with a curtain of sacking.

The room inside is bigger than it looked from the outside. There is a large central space, taken up by four carts. Tobi glances them over with a sudden spark of hope, but they are none of them the cart that carried Tobi’s belongings from the campground by Ramriddle river.

These carts are much larger and partly loaded with goods ready to be taken to the markets.

“You are making ready to leave?” Tobi says.

“We leave on the morrow,” Lymok says. “Although the Exceli have been attacking our routes through the forest. I think we need an escort of warriors for protection, unless Harok wants all his traders full of arrows and all our goods taken by his enemies. But that is no matter for a kushir to mind. Come this way. Join us for a drink.”

Lymok leads Tobi through the large room and into a smaller one.

This room has a low ceiling and the air is thick with moonleaf smoke, rich and woody.

It’s a nice scent, a familiar one. Some things remain the same however far one travels, Tobi thinks, and men drinking and smoking moonleaf in dim poky rooms is one of them.

A small table is set in the room’s centre, with barrels around it for chairs. Four of the barrels are occupied with meaty looking Solwen who look up as Lymok walks in with Tobi. Clearly, this is where the traders spend their time.

“Meet our new kushir,” Lymok announces. “The rumours are true. Harok is allowing him to go wherever he pleases in Urynwud. He has come to visit us. Along with his guards.”

The Solwen all look at Tobi. Their eyes run up and down his body in the thin fabric of the alit. One of them says something in Ambolk that sounds quite crude.

“Artemian,” Lymok snaps. “He’s from Azuria. Be polite. He has visited us because we know his tongue.”

“His tongue,” says one of the traders in heavily accented Artemian. “You lose hand for knowing kush’s tongue.” He nods to the four guards who have lined up silently along the wall.

Tobi glances at them. He had assumed his guards were there to protect him. He hadn’t thought that protection would also mean his honour, his body. But now it’s been so boldly stated, Tobi wonders why he’d ever considered their purpose was for anything else.

“Don’t be coarse,” Lymok snaps. He gestures to the empty barrel. “Kushir, take a seat.” He looks to one of the other traders, “Amwel, give him a drink.”

Tobi does as he is bid and a cup of ale is slid in front of him. “I assure you that you are in no danger from my guards. I am just getting to know my new home. Tell me about what you do here?”

One of the Solwen frowns as if concentrating to understand.

Tobi says more slowly, “What do you do? Traders?”

The man nods, clearly he can follow this. “Take carts to Ceruleum. Not get arrow shot. Timber and gemstones .”

Tobi takes a sip of the ale. He still finds the taste rough but it is sharp and refreshing. “What things do you need? The forest seems to provide richly.”

The traders look back at Tobi blankly. It does not seem they know much Artemian at all.

“Not quite,” says Lymok, pulling over a barrel from a corner to sit himself beside Tobi. “There are extra things we don’t have in the forest. We trade timber and metal and gems for grain and wool and Juran spices.”

Another of the traders leans forward. “Where you from, kushir?” he says in a broadly challenging tone. His Artemian seems more accomplished than the first man’s.

“Northern Azuria,” says Tobi. “But I grew up in Fanost.”

“Fanosti,” the trader says,”No. You look no Fanosti.”

Tobi touches his dark curls. “Because my mother was Archilian,” Tobi says, swallowing.

“Ah, the actress.” Lymok nudges Tobi playfully.

“You no in fuck bed with Irgo?” another of the trader drawls. “You kush no good?”

Tobi shakes his head. He knows he is being insulted but the crude talk in the man’s strange accent and clumsy Artemian is quite amusing. “No. He fucked me all night. We do not share a common tongue so what else could we do? ”

“You learn Ambolk for Irgo,” says one of the traders.

Tobi nods. “I would like to. If I can.”

Before another says, “Why Ereyek need kush speak?” At this all the traders laugh.

“He learn fuck words,” says the one with the best Artemian. “Beg Ereyek for dek.” He looks at Tobi. “Fuck word you learn, kushir. Dek .”

The traders, including Lymok, all laugh.

Tobi lifts his chin. “I know what dek means,”

“ Kush ?” says the leering trader. “And esich . Dekush .” He almost spits the last word at Tobi across the table.

The traders are all laughing again.

“I know all of those,” says Tobi. “I was hoping for something more useful for conversation.”

“ Ereyek .” says one of the traders, which is met with more laughter