The City of Ravens (13 page)

He shook his head. “I do not know, Illyth, but they marked Lord Fox and Lady Crane as they left. We should be careful about protecting our identities from this point forward. They might not want us to find out what they were talking about.”

“Ah!” said Illyth. “A new plot within the Game!”

“I do not think so,” said Jack.

the end of the Orange Lord’s ball, Jack knew three things. He knew that Erizum was the Blue Lord. He knew that the Green Lord ruled Dues. And he knew that Lady Mantis and Lord Tiger meant him no good at all. In fact, they desperately wanted to find out who he was and what he knew.

Jack and Illyth had determined Erizum’s identity through sheer good fortune. In the process of exchanging clues honestly with other players (the only method that Illyth condoned, unfortunately), they’d simply amassed five clues to the effect that neither Fatim, Alcantar, Dubhil, Geciras, nor Carad was the Blue Lord. That left Buriz and Erizum, and then they’d found a clue that read simply Buriz is either the Red Lord or the Green Lord. Clearly, some of the clues were simply better than others and offered the potential for a faster solution than simple elimination of possibilities. Jack decided that the Buriz clue must have been one of the key pieces that Randall Morran had mentioned when explaining the rules of the Game at the beginning of the Red Lord’s revel, three nights ago.

The Green Lord’s kingdom was somewhat more problematical. Jack knew it to be true, but

he couldn’t tell Illyth that he’d puzzled it out, because he’d done so by using his spell of copying to duplicate the stolen journals of two other players before slipping the books back into their owners’ possession. Small thefts such as these had to be carefully timed, since early in the evening the owners were still sober and vigilant of their notebooks, while later in the evening the trickle of departing guests left the party much less crowded and made it harder to remove someone’s book inconspicuously. And, of course, Jack couldn’t rule out the possibility that someone might have made a false journal in the hope that it would be stolen and examined.

He solved that problem quite elegantly by convincing Illyth that they should split up for a while to obtain clues on their own. “After all,” he pointed out, “We will double the rate at which we acquire information.”

“But most of those clues will be unconfirmed,” Illyth said. “We have only one token to show, so you would only be able to trade rumors.”

“On the contrary, you will only be able to trade rumors. I will take our token for now.”

“Just a moment! Why do you get the token?”

“Two reasons, my dear Lady Crane,” Jack crooned. “First, you are by your very nature trusting and thus deserving of trust. You will fare better without the token than I would, because lying to a rogue such as Lord Fox is easy, but what true man could look into your eyes and utter a falsehood?”

“I can think of one,” Illyth muttered.

“Second, if I have the token to trade, you will know that I am acquiring true and accurate information, and you will therefore have no cause to question my methods or the results I obtain at the end of the night.”

The noblewoman studied him suspiciously. “To tell the truth, Jack, I find myself wondering what new scheme

you can implement with the token under the guise of fair play. Besides, I don’t think the rumors are all that important. Another player could say anything they liked to me about a token they claim to have seen, and how could I possibly know that they were telling the truth?”

“That is the beauty of it,” Jack said. “When we compare our notes at the end of the night, we will simply assume that any unconfirmed clue we have acquired is actually false. Sifting through the rumors is the real challenge of this Game. If we wait until we have seen every clue token, we will certainly lose to someone who has seen fewer tokens but is willing to hazard all on a guess. Therefore, the key must he in making the best use of our unconfirmed clues.”

Illyth frowned, a gesture that her crane mask displayed as a subtle lowering of her bill and an introspective cast to her eye. “We should add to our notes a remark about which players have provided us with which clues,” she said. “That way, we could more easily confirm rumors, or at least catch some of the more unscrupulous players in a lie. Very well, you can have the token, and I’ll see what rumors I can trade. But try not to start any duels tonight!”

So Jack found an opportunity to circulate the most incredible and outrageous lies he could imagine, while presumably “acquiring” the information he’d gleaned from the rival journals. When he returned to Illyth at the end of the night, he conveyed a dozen of the clues he’d stolen from the journals as “confirmed” by examination of another player’s token. Combining these with their own notes led to the discovery that the Green Lord ruled Dues, again by process of elimination. “See?” he told Illyth. “We are making substantial progress. I am absolutely confident that we will be able to solve the riddle in one more good session.”

“I think two is more likely,” Illyth replied. The hour

had grown late. The party was breaking up, with masked nobles and players gracefully making their exits in pairs and small groups. The Yellow Lord’s tournament is in three days’ time. Will you be there?”

“I cannot contemplate the thought of failing you,” Jack said. “Of course I will be there.” They drifted toward the robing room to turn in their masks and depart, waiting patiently as the players before them unmasked in secret and exited the other side of the room. “Should we meet beforehand in order to examine our clues together and build a solution?”

“An excellent idea,” Illyth said. “Why don’t you come to Fleetwood Manor an hour or so early, and we’ll compare notes.”

Jack grinned. The carriage rides to Illyth’s estate were costing him an arm and a leg, but he couldn’t possibly let her know that. “Consider it done—” he started to say, when he looked past Illyth’s shoulder and noticed Lady Mantis watching the two of them like a hawk preparing to swoop down on a pair of field mice. Her green gown and glittering mask concealed malice so intense that Jack could almost feel it where he stood.

“Jack? What is it?” Illyth watched him for a moment, then glanced over her shoulder. “It’s that lady you met earlier tonight, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” he said, “although I wouldn’t really say that I have the pleasure of her acquaintance.” He looked around for her companion, Lord Tiger, and failed to spot him. Ahead of Jack and Illyth, two Game attendants opened the door to the robing room and ushered in another pair of players, closing the doors behind them. The line advanced a couple of steps. “I don’t see her escort anywhere, do you?”

Illyth looked around the ballroom. “He wore a tiger mask, right? I don’t see him.”

Jack tugged at his chin, thinking. “Tell me, Illyth, if you were discussing the details of some nefarious plot and discovered that a masked player had overheard your conversation, what would you do?”

“Why, I would try to identify him, so that I could confront him later and determine whether or not he heard anything important.”

“And how would you do that? Might you resort to unpleasant tactics to ascertain what had been discovered?”

Illyth glanced over at Lady Mantis. “Jack, this is just a game. This is the way the Game of Masks works—plots within plots within plots. The Riddle of the Seven Faceless Lords is simply the plot device against which the real Game is played, a game of acting out parts and making alliances, a game of innuendo and intrigue that the players themselves create as they go along. That’s the Game of Masks.”

“It’s also a regular gathering of the wealthiest and most powerful people of Raven’s Bluff,” Jack said. “If I were not the very soul of honesty, I might be tempted to use the Game as a convenient tool in furthering my own ambitions and designs outside the Game events. Perhaps by embarrassing or eliminating rivals.”

“You have a sinister and suspicious mind, Jack.”

“Every day I regret that I am not more generous and trusting, dear Illyth, but I suppose I must make the best of the talents I have been given.” The line advanced again; Jack and Illyth were next in line to remove their masks in secret and leave the party. “Humor me for a moment: where is Lord Tiger?”

“Who knows?” Illyth said crossly. “The washroom? Drunk under a table? Perhaps trysting with a secret lover in a private room of the house?”

“Good answers all,” Jack said. “I think he’s outside,

watching the entrance to the foyer. Lady Mantis will note when we go inside to remove our masks, and then she’ll send someone—that servant there, by her side—to tell Lord Tiger that we are inside. When we leave, Tiger will identify us. Lady Mantis and Lord Tiger desperately want to know who Lord Fox and Lady Crane really are, and they mean to find out in just a few more moments.”

“He might not know who we are, even if he does mark our appearance,” Illyth said.

“True, but he could have us followed, or he might be able to ask anyone standing outside awaiting a carriage who we are. I might be difficult to identify, but I suspect you will be more easily recognized.”

Illyth hugged her arms and suppressed a shiver. “Damn it, Jack. Now you have me thinking the same nasty and suspicious thoughts you’re thinking. Should we delay removing our masks?”

“They’ll simply wait as long as they need to. The longer they wait, the more players leave, and the easier it is to be certain of our identities.”

“We can probably identify them in turn,” Illyth pointed out.

“To what end?” Jack asked. “All we know is that they talked of something that sounded very suspicious. Who would move against a Game player based on that information?”

“So what should we do?”

“Fox them, of course. We’ll leave without allowing ourselves to be observed.” Jack drew Illyth out of the line for the robing room and led her across the ballroom to one of the antechambers. Lady Mantis watched them go and made a show of casually strolling in their direction, keeping an eye on them without following too closely. Jack and Illyth slipped behind a curtained alcove; then Jack turned to Illyth. “I know a little magic,” he said. “I’ll work a spell

of invisibility on us both, and well walk right by Mantis and Tiger.”

Illyth stared at him. “You are a mage?”

“Merely one of my many talents, dear Illyth. I consider myself a renaissance man, well versed in a variety of skills and exploits. Now, I will cast the spell first on you. Take hold of my sleeve so that we don’t lose each other when I make myself invisible too.” Jack mumbled the words of the spell and worked the gestures and passes necessary to form the emerald energy into the shape he needed; Illyth, looking both surprised and delighted, faded from view. He waited until he felt her hand on his arm and then worked the spell for himself.

“You’re invisible,” whispered Illyth’s voice in his ear.

“As are you, my dear. Now, stay close to me and try to move quietly.”

“What of our masks?”

“We’ll take them with us tonight. I don’t think the Game attendants will mind too much, provided we bring them back for the Yellow Lord’s Tournament.” Jack set his hand on hers, and they strolled back into the ballroom arm in arm. Lady Mantis and her servant stood there, waiting and watching. Few Game players were left, a handful of handfuls scattered about the floor, laughing and gossiping as the attendants began to clean the room.

Jack altered their course so that they passed right in front of Lady Mantis. Illyth gasped in alarm and tugged at his arm, but he grasped her hand firmly and carried her along.

“Good evening, Lady Mantis,” he said aloud. “I do hope you have enjoyed the party. Perhaps we’ll see you outside. Good night!”

Mantis nearly jumped out of her shoes. “Who’s there?” she snapped. Jack simply laughed and walked off, leading Illyth away.

“Are you insane?” Illyth hissed in his ear. “Now they’ll know how we eluded them!”

“True,” Jack admitted, “but Mantis and Tiger will spend days wondering whether or not invisible spies are listening in on their conversations and reporting their every action to the proper authorities. It should cause them no little worry.”

“It should make them all the more interested in discovering who we really are!” Illyth groaned. “You never settle for half measures, do you?”

“Bold statements and daring actions are the hallmarks of confidence and the stuff of greatness,” Jack said. “Shall we go?”

Side by side, they walked out into the night.

Or

The next day, Jack sat on the end of a pier, kicking his feet idly over the waters of the inner harbor, and thought about what to do next. Time was heavy on his hands. All around him, the wharves thronged with people, longshoremen and sailors and teamsters and touts and peddlers, all shouting and calling out to one another as the business of the port carried on in the normal manner.

Elana had not left word for him at the Cracked Tankard, at least not yet, so he could not retrieve the book from its hiding place and collect the balance of his fee. He had a night and a day to wait yet before he could deliver the Sarkonagael. The next Game event was not for two nights yet, so there was little opportunity to continue his attack on the Riddle of the Seven Faceless Lords or to determine who Lady Mantis and Lord Tiger were and what it was they were up to.

Morgath and Saerk hadn’t put in an appearance for days; presumably they’d followed Anders out of town in

an effort to steal or recover the ruby the Northman held.

Marcus and Ashwillow hadn’t shown their faces since that one unfortunate encounter in the alleyway near Jack’s apartments.

Iphegor the Black had not been observed to leave his tower since the untimely demise of his familiar after Jack’s burglary.

Ontrodes had run him out first thing in the morning when Jack dropped by to find out if the sage had learned anything more about the Sarkonagael. Even though Jack had the book in his possession, he was still interested in finding out what exactly it was so that he could figure out why Elana wanted it. He’d tried to read it, of course, but the cursed thing was obscured in a mage script he couldn’t unravel. Of course, he didn’t show Ontrodes any of the book—that would invite trouble, especially considering how diligently the sage was working for Zandria. Jack had the feeling that Zandria and the Sarkonagael would not mix well.