“I can see that you understand the problem. It is not a crime to remove someone’s memories—rather it would be, except it can almost never be proved that it was caused by drugs rather than by an unfortunate accident—but it is a definite offense to murder someone. So why would a merchant partner do something that might result in murder over an accounting issue that is not an offense in Hamor?”
Rahl didn’t have an answer for that, either, except that what he had seen signified far more than he had understood at the time—or even now.
“I would suggest that you say nothing about this matter. I can assure you that I will bring it to the attention of Mage-Captain. Gheryk and Regional Mage-Commander Chaslyk. You are not to speak of it, except if asked, and only by those two officers, or by their superiors. This is for your protection as well. Do you understand?”
“Yes, ser.”
“Now… let me tell you about how the mage-guards came to be…”
By late afternoon on fourday, Rahl was standing midships on the main deck by the railing of the Streamcrawler—a squat steam tug that seemed mostly massive engine and boilers and little else. He had not expected there would be three long barges, linked by thick hawsers, all heavily loaded with iron plate and rods and beams, guided by a steam tug. Nor had he anticipated being on a river that stretched close to half a kay from bank to bank, yet one so deep that the water barely seemed to ripple except when disturbed by the passage of one craft or another, and not for long.
The black basalt hills overlooking the river port of Luba were behind .them, at least thirty kays upstream, and had given way to a mixture of low, rolling hills to . the east of the river and neat, irrigated fields to the west. On the broad Swarth River itself were all manner of craft, from the heavy barges to skiffs to small sailboats that were almost without keels and skittered across the dark waters in the light breezes. Only once in the entire afternoon had Rahl seen a river steamer, but it had been a handsome craft painted in crimson and green, with three full decks, and a handful of passengers dressed in finery on the uppermost deck, below the pilothouse, with scores of others on the main deck, some carrying what looked to be all that they possessed in large bundles.
As the sun dropped lower in the western sky, and the shadows crept across the water that was turning from dark blue to oily black, Rahl continued to watch the other craft on the river, as well as the hamlets they passed, as the tug and the barges glided downstream, with the muffled chuffing of the steam engine the loudest sound.
‘The river’s the heart of western Hamor,“ said Jyrolt from behind Rahl. ”Have you ever seen its like?“
“No.” Rahl had never really seen a true river. In the north of Recluce there were only streams. He’d heard that the Feyn was a goodly-sized river, but he’d crossed it locked in a wagon and never seen it.
“You never will. It’s the mightiest river in all the world, more than two thousand five hundred kays from its mountain headwaters to the harbor bay at Swartheld, and no real cataracts on it until you’re well south of Cigoerne. That makes travel between Cigoerne and Swartheld easy.” Jyrolt laughed-. “They say that all the trades and goods flow down the river, and the golds fly back up. There’s a bit of truth in that.”
As the mage-guard spoke, the captain called out, “Starboard for the bar!”
The tug eased away from the western shore. The heavy hawsers connecting the tug to the barges creaked, and something groaned.
“Steady as she goes.”
“Why is that?” Rahl finally asked the older mage-guard.
“Going upstream on the river takes good Winds or a strong engine. It’s much easier to send cargo down and sell it or ship it from Swartheld than to pay to ship upstream—unless it’s something very light and valuable, like spices or dyes or perfumes or women’s oils.”
“With all those valuables, are mage-guards stationed on ships on the river? Aren’t there brigands?”
“The river makes that difficult, but even if it did not, we would not put mage-guards on ships and boats. Who would decide which would benefit?” Jyrolt shook his head. “We have stations at all the major river ports, and we catch most of those few who have created chaos on the. river, but those on the river have to provide their own guards.”
Rahl couldn’t help but frown.
“The mage-guards provide order, Rahl,” Jyrolt went on. “You should know that our duty is not to protect commerce and coins, but to maintain order and contain chaos. The river is a channel of commerce. Except for those who serve the Emperor, almost no one who travels the river does so but for reasons of commerce, and commerce can and should take care of itself, so long as it does not create chaos or disrupt order. The same is true of people.”
Rahl was having trouble with what Jyrolt was saying. How could one maintain order and contain chaos without protecting people? When he’d read that passage in the Manual, he’d wondered, but he’d assumed that maintaining order meant protecting people. Now he wished he’d asked Taryl about it.
He hated to ask stupid questions, and he felt angry at himself for not understanding and .even angry at Taryl for not explaining, but he had the feeling he’d best find out what Jyrolt and the Manual really meant.
“There’s something I don’t think I understand, ser, and I should.”
Jyrolt just raised his bushy eyebrows. .
“How can I be a mage-guard without trying to protect people who are innocent or who are likely to be hurt?”
The older mage-guard nodded slowly. “That is not a stupid question, simple as it might sound to some. You are at a disadvantage in some respects, because you were not lectured on this as most mage-clerks are, and your actions would indicate that you understood, and Taryl would have gone by your actions.”
Jyrolt’s brow furrowed. “I’m not a lecturer or a philosopher, and I might not word this as carefully as they would, but… when anyone uses the word protect, they’re talking about using force to stop an evil that is happening or will happen. The emphasis shifts from maintaining order and containing chaos to applying force to those who may or may not need it. Commerce is powerful enough by itself. When a trader talks about the need for protection, he or she is really asking for an advantage over others, backed by the force of the Emperor. This is also often true of individuals. That is why we do not talk about protection. The use of force against others is chaos. We oppose that, whether that force is chaos itself or order focused against someone. We seek to have anyone of any stature walk our streets without fear, and we seek to keep the laws that govern us simple and obvious. Why do you think mages are forbidden from commerce in Hamor? There are two reasons. The first is obvious. Many mages can sense what others feel, and some can use those skills to persuade through manipulation or force. That destroys any element of order in commerce. The second reason is that using such skills will eventually destroy the mage and all those close to him. Even Recluce and Fairhaven understand- this, although they keep their mages from commerce in other fashions…”
Rahl thought he understood, but he had the feeling it was going to take some time for him to sort it out.
“As for those who suffer through no fault of their own… we do not turn them out. You have seen Luba. You have endured it. Did you see cruelty? Hard work, yes, but most of those there had brought chaos upon others, and we always look to sift out those who are otherwise. How else would you be a mage-guard?”
Rahl had to offer a faint smile at that… and yet…
On sevenday morning, Rahl sat beside Caersyn—the station duty mage—in the foyer that seemed half study, the same place where he had once gone to register, more than a year before. The mage-guard station was the same one Rahl remembered—right off the main piers of the harbor beyond the enumerators’ building. What he had not noticed then were the two adjacent buildings almost tucked away farther shoreward toward the bluff and slightly to the south. One was the gaol, for holding offenders until they could be sent to the quarries or Luba, or until a case could be resolved, and the other served as quarters for unconsorted mage-guards. He had been given a small main-floor chamber, off the middle of the corridor, but it was his alone, for which he was grateful.
On the wagon, and on the barge downstream, Jyrolt had talked far more about the overall mission of the mage-guards, and about their history than about specifics of mage-guard duties. Rahl had found it interesting that the early emperors had been ordermages, not chaos-mages, and that one of them had actually created the mage—guards, but now he was listening carefully to Caersyn, because he needed to know more.
“Now… here’s the duty book,” said Caersyn, “and because I’m lazy, and you need to learn about Swartheld, you’ll be doing the entries this morning. The captain likes them neat.”
Rahl doubted that would be a problem.
“He’ll be in shortly. He likes to spend some time with . all the new mage-guards. Since nothing’s happening yet, you might as well start reading the station manual.” Caersyn pulled a leather-bound book from a shelf under the single drawer of the battered oak desk.
Rahl opened it to the first page.
He’d read four pages, when Caersyn whispered, “Here comes the captain.”
Even before he reached Rahl, the dark-haired and blue-eyed Mage-Captain Gheryk radiated a cheerful strength.
Rahl stood. “Ser.”
“You’re our new addition, Mage-Guard Rahl?”
“Yes, ser.”
“Good.” Gheryk glanced at Caersyn. “I see you’ve already put him to work.”
“Yes, ser. You and the undercaptain always start them here.”
“I can tell I’m getting too predictable,” replied the captain before turning his eyes back on Rahl. “t need to go over a few things with you. Why don’t you come with me?” He grinned at Caersyn. “He’ll be back before long.”
“Yes, ser.”
Gheryk led the way to a small windowless chamber less than twenty cubits away, where he settled behind a small desk and gestured for Rahl to take the straight-backed chair across the desk from him. The room was empty except for the desk and chairs, a small bookcase less than half-filled, and a wooden file chest.
“Welcome to Swartheld.”
“Thank you, ser.”
“You’ve been assigned to Swartheld port station. The other station is the city station, but it’s on the south side. There’s a naval station over by the piers, but the mage-guards there are in the navy. I’m in charge of both. Swartheld stations, but the day-to-day operations are run by the undercaptains. Craelyt is the undercaptain here, and Demarya is the undercaptain of the city station. There’s a map in the station manual that shows which sections of the city which station patrols, but you’ll learn them all in time, because you’ll be rotated over there at some point for familiarization. You won’t meet Craelyt until tomorrow because he has today off, and I usually take eightdays off.
“Caersyn was right about putting you on the duty desk today, and having you read the manual. You’ll also draw another set of uniforms and another pair of boots. Alternate the boots every day. They’ll last longer, and so will your feet. There’s one other thing. It’s mentioned in the manuals, but I want to emphasize it. Mage-guards are never truly off duty,, except when you’re sleeping. You wear your uniform everywhere outside your quarters, except bathing or swimming, and you always wear a weapon outside the quarters. This is true in all towns and cities, even though it is mentioned only briefly in the Manual of the Mage-Guards. Part of the reason for this is that mage-guards are a group apart, and we are never to deceive others as to who and what we are. Another part of that is that there are never enough of us, and when we all ‘ wear our uniforms everywhere, we create the impression of a larger force.” Gheryk leaned forward slightly. “Peaceful and orderly as it may seem, Swartheld is a dangerous city, Rahl, even for mage-guards. We do lose guards. Sometimes, we never find a trace of them.” Rahl nodded.
Gheryk’s eyes sharpened. “That’s a knowing look. -What were you thinking?”
“I don’t know if you know, ser. I was once a clerk here in Swartheld. I woke up one morning seasons later in Luba without any memories. It took another season before I recalled anything. I was agreeing with your observation that it’s a dangerous city.”
Abruptly, Gheryk laughed. “Oh… you’re the one Taryl was inquiring about last spring. That’s probably why
Jyrolt left a note that he wanted to talk to me about you. You’re the outlander who registered and had been a clerk with- the Recluce trade outfit. You speak like an educated Atlan, and I didn’t realize who you were.“
“Yes, ser.”
The mage-commander was the“ one to nod. “Seen that way, I’m beginning to understand why you were sent here. Mage-Examiner Jyrolt left your evaluation, but I haven’t talked to him yet. Your weapons skills are impressive. He never exaggerates. I only wish you were on the chaos side. It’s a little safer to be able to handle some of these bravos from a distance.” He fingered his chin. “But… in crowded areas, one can’t always use chaos. I think we’ll have you on the piers to begin with… after you’ve spent an eightday on the duty desk as an assistant so that you’ll get to know everyone, and they’ll get to know you. You’ll also have time to read the station manual and listen to the others about what is happening.”