His comment about bribing the guards made her pause. Rendor should know about how the Water Prince’s guards collected and distributed the water. “Not yet.”
“Why not? We’re going to run out of water soon.”
Again she resisted snapping at him. “How much would it cost?”
“Quite a lot. Thirty-six osees for the first shipment of a dozen jugs. And if it’s poisoned that’s just bad luck, you don’t get a single coin back.”
Wow. She’d figured it would be expensive, but not that pricey. “What’s to keep them from just giving everyone poisoned water?”
“Once a dealer’s jugs are discovered to be poisoned, he’s out of business. No one would buy from him again. The problem is that person just hides behind another to keep selling until the guards figure him out again and lace his jugs.”
“So the guards eventually find the dealers?”
“Some of them. The ones who have stayed hidden the longest charge forty-eight osees a dozen. But they’re picky about who they sell to. We’d be too big a risk for them. Besides, we can’t afford it.”
Not yet. She hoped her talk with Aphra would be profitable. “What about food? Are there food dealers as well?”
“Jerky is always easy to get. There’s not much supervision in the smoke caverns on level four and the workers steal rolls and sell them. That’s where we’ve been getting our supply. Fresh meat, eggs, and vegetables are harder to obtain. You can’t get into the growing caverns, but the delivery people and kitchen workers can be bribed.”
She considered. “Is that how the Invisible Swords acquired food before?”
“No. Truthfully, there were only a handful of people who had to remain truly invisible and they all had magic so they slipped in the dining caverns and helped themselves without anyone the wiser. The other members either were legitimate citizens or vagrants and had their own sources of food and water.”
He didn’t say it, but Shyla sensed his impatience over her decree that they not steal. Technically, obtaining food and water illegally was stealing, but at least someone was getting paid for taking the risk.
Then there was the problem of transporting food and water to their headquarters. “Can we connect our headquarters with the city? Maybe dig an underground tunnel?”
If he was thrown by the change in subject, he didn’t react. He frowned in thought, gazing over her shoulder. “Our headquarters is further than Tamburah’s temple. It’ll take time and plenty of manpower. Plus we’d have to dig a bunch of fake tunnels to confuse anyone following us. The maze to our old hideout was the result of thousands of sun jumps’ work over the last thirteen hundred circuits.” He scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Having just one tunnel would be a start and I think needed since traveling topside is becoming increasingly risky.”
“Can you scout out a location in Zirdai we could connect to?”
“Yes. We’d need to link to a place down some long-forgotten tunnel that’s not too deep. Somewhere between levels six and twelve.” He straightened. “I’ll take a look. What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to talk to a treasure hunter about earning us some coins.”
“Do you know how to get back here?” he asked.
“Only by crossing the plank.” She crinkled her nose, remembering the strength of the air blowing up from the depths, threatening to knock her off. Just the thought of standing on the edge conjured up the scent of gamelu meat mixed with damp sand that had been seared into her senses.
“Then pay attention on the way out.”
“All right.” Shyla pulled her wrap from her pack and arranged it to cover her short blond hair. Though it no longer stood up like bristles on a brush, her hair still had a long way to go to return to the length it had been before the deacon cut it off. One benefit to its current state was that it was easier to cover and keep clean.
She grabbed a druk as they crossed the common area. The vagrants had gathered to share first meal together. Her stomach grumbled when she smelled the velbloud eggs, but she continued past the tables.
Jayden grabbed her arm, stopping her. “We should eat first.”
“No. We’re not taking food from them. They—”
“Are happy to share. They know we’re trying to make their lives better. They want to support us in the ways they can. This is one way.”
And Jayden knew them best. But she only filled her water skin halfway before joining them. Their conversation reminded her of the meals she had growing up in the monastery. It was a similar exchange of their plans for the sun jump, a bit of gossip, a bit of teasing, some good-natured grumbling about work shifts, and arguments over stupid things like who cooked the best eggs. She’d missed that connection, that sense of family. The Invisible Swords hadn’t gotten there yet.
Once the meal finished, Jayden led her out to a familiar part of the city. They parted. She pulled her wrap lower, putting her face in shadow. Dressed like one of the citizens, she was practically invisible. No magic needed. She kept to the edges to avoid encountering them. But, of all the people she did pass, not many even glanced at her, and those who did didn’t really see her.
It struck her that all these people were just trying to survive, earning enough coin to pay for food and water for themselves and their families. And to avoid being noticed by the guards or deacons. The air hummed with a current of fear. People struggled to breathe in this toxic atmosphere.
But would their lives change once the Invisible Sword defeated the Water Prince and Heliacal Priestess? Taxes and tithes would still be needed to grow food and distribute water. Yet there would be no harsh punishments for minor crimes, no threat of torture just because a deacon decided someone didn’t show the proper devotion, and no more fear simmering in the air. It was going to take a great deal of time, coin, and effort, but she was determined to bring laughter back to the city of Zirdai.
Shyla reached the dining cavern on level nineteen. It was angle thirty—the end of first meal. Almost everyone had gone, but a few lingered inside. The deacons in charge of making sure those who entered had paid their tithes rolled up their scrolls of names, preparing to settle in for the boring angles between meals. Citizens could stop in for water at any time, but most filled their water skins during the three meal times.
Gathering her will, she used her magic on the deacons.
Look away, she commanded them.
Look away.
Both men turned to glance in the opposite direction and she slipped by them. Her magic worked differently than the power of The Eyes. She could influence a person’s perceptions or give them simple commands like sleep or look away without the need for eye contact. However, The Eyes made her magical commands stronger.
Only a few people sat at the tables scattered around the cavern. Since all the dining areas spanned two levels, the ceiling arched high above. The sounds of the workers cleaning up the serving line bounced off the hard stone walls as the lingering spicy scent of roasted gamelu meat perfumed the air. She breathed in deep. It’d been so long since she had a hot juicy meal that she just about drooled.
Pulling her focus back to her task, Shyla scanned the diners. When not recovering artifacts, the treasure hunters gathered here each sun jump to swap stories, dig for information, and to team up if a job was too big for one of them to handle. Except this jump. No one lingered, which meant they must all be working.