Fast Talk

The next day saw Martel busy with the addition of another task. Two lessons of combat magic and his work in the apothecary only left one bell open before supper, which Martel had to spend this Malday to complete an assignment as dictated by Mistress Rana. When sixth bell rang, the acolyte went to the library.

It gave him great pleasure to approach the librarian and request permission to enter the upper floors. He looked forward to learning about Tyrian runes so that he might one day do it himself, but he took satisfaction in seeing the grumbling caretaker rise from his seat and open the way.

Once upstairs, Martel carefully went through the shelves until he found the object of his search, more or less where Mistress Rana had said it would be. A large and heavy tome, Martel used a bit of magic to steady his arms as he took it down and dragged it to the nearest desk.

The book was a compendium of herbal lore, but not made by anyone from the northern continent. Instead, as the introduction revealed, it was a Sindhian work in origin, translated into Asterian. Besides long descriptions, the pages were also beautifully illustrated in vivid colours to make it easy to recognise each plant and its parts.

Martel took out a list of herbs given to him by Mistress Rana. His instructions were simple to understand, if perhaps challenging to carry out; he was to read the entry for every item on the list and memorise all its uses, whether for leaves, stems, or roots. Opening the page to the first one, Martel began.

***

Eating his supper quickly in the dining hall – his lessons both in combat and in fire magic gave him a voracious appetite – Martel paid little attention to his surroundings. Ever since donning the red robes, other students avoided him at every mealtime, Maximilian and Eleanor excluded. But the latter two had other friends who might crowd their table, and Martel knew his presence would only complicate matters; for that reason, he always sat down at an empty table, leaving it up to his only two friends whether they could join him for that particular meal or not.

Finishing up, Martel rose to put his plate away when his eyes by chance found Jasper. The earthmage glanced in his direction and quickly scurried away; he had reacted thus ever since Martel had put him in his place during that sparring session, which now seemed like a different lifetime.

Normally, Martel would think nothing of it, but suddenly, his conversation with Kerra came to mind. People were talking about him, giving him trouble. If there was anyone who might relish revealing his knowledge about Martel, it would be Jasper.

Quickly leaving the dining hall, Martel hurried down the corridor until he had caught up with his quarry. "Jasper!"

A start went through the earthmage, who turned around. "Sol's eye! What do you want?"

"To talk, of course. I know you like talking." The fire acolyte approached his prey, and anyone else in the hallway either hastened past them or turned around.

"I got nothing to say to you," Jasper replied, perhaps hoping to sound defiant.

Martel knew better than to believe this display of courage. The acolyte had not a trace of a backbone when confronted. "Really? Because I'm told people are busy talking about me. And I know you always had an itch for running your mouth." Martel walked up until he was practically in the other student's face.

"I don't know what you mean," Jasper argued, losing the boldness from his expression. "Everyone knows you're fire-touched, so there's nothing left for me to tell people."

Martel placed his hand against the wall, right next to his fellow acolyte's face. "That's not all you know, is it? You proved remarkably well-informed about my time with the Night Knives, during your ill-fated attempts to extort me."

"Listen, I haven't talked to anybody about that! What would be the point? You're going to be a battlemage," Jasper pointed out. "If anything, they would just commend you for getting experience in fights."

"If you haven't dropped my pennies," Martel said, trying to borrow a phrase, "who else? Because people know, and I can't think of anyone who might have told them but you."

"They could have found out same place as me, couldn't they?"

Martel did not reply to this, considering the answer instead. He could not deny this possibility. A brothel seemed like the place that would freely trade secrets for coin, especially with all the pillows talking. Only question would be if Duke Cheval's people would know to look for information in the bridge district, and if they did, could it be used against Martel?

Seeing him distracted, Jasper slinked off. Martel let him get away. He needed to figure out the best way to plug any leak of information from the bridge district.

***

Back in his room, Martel considered what he might do. But before he could think of a solution, he needed to understand the extent of his problem. While Martel had done tasks with the Night Knives in different places around the city, even outside, his identity and participation would not be widely known around Morcaster. He would just have appeared as another Night Knife. The only place where he had stuck around would be The River Pearl. Certainly that girl, Dawn, had known enough to tell Jasper about him.

It seemed safe to assume that Martel only had to worry about the brothel. He needed to convince them to keep quiet, lest the duke was given another opportunity for causing trouble for Martel.

To his luck, Martel knew whom to approach. Kerra already provided the same service for him in the copper lanes. With that in mind, it seemed obvious that he should speak to Lady Pearl. Not only did she own the establishment in question; her influence over the bridge district would come in useful as well. Tomorrow, he would pay her a visit and gain her help.