It took a minute to gather my thoughts. “So, Ennikar and the witch of Urkull,” I said. I thought he would like that one. “Ennikar in trouble with a maid again.”

“What a surprise,” said the Attolian.

Immakuk climbed the steps of the temple

climbed to the altar of the people

climbed to the altar of kings

climbed to the altar of priests and climbed onward.

Immakuk climbed to the heights of Shesmegah

prostrated himself there

begged the goddess her goodwill

begged her aid

Wise Immakuk said she

Speak to the goddess tell her your need

Said Immakuk Brave Ennikar suffers

suffers and is weak with suffering

Angry is the god Tenep

Ennikar begat Tenep’s anger

He is the cause

Tenep who made the rain and the river

Made the cow and the calf

Made the grain and the nut

The tree and leaf the house and the hearth

Tenep who is mild in her aspect

Who is gentle before the other gods

Who is good natured above all other gods

And kind to us

Has changed her face

Has shown us the face of her anger

Tenep’s anger falls on us all

The river is stifled

The grain is stifled and the nut is stifled

The cow ignores her calf

The tree bears no leaves the hearth no fire

The witch of Urkull

Came to Brave Ennikar

Came to the city from the forests

Led him away from the city led him into the grain

Enticed him there and enchanted him

Persuaded him cajoled him inveigled him

Induced him to steal the sphere of light

Tenep’s sphere and its power Ennikar took it

Gave it to the witch

Now Tenep’s anger falls on us all.

Wise Immakuk you ask my aid

Who am I against the anger of great Tenep

I who was once mortal as you?

Goddess yours is the way of gentleness

Lead great Tenep away from her anger

Show us the road to mercy and forgiveness

Turn Tenep’s face of kindness toward us again

Where is Ennikar who is the cause

Of Tenep’s anger?

Where is he?

He lies in fever stifled by great Tenep

The witch of Urkull where is she?

The witch of Urkull cannot be found

The sphere of Tenep cannot be found

No mercy can be found no kindness no forgiveness

Shesmegah who knows the road to mercy

Shesmegah goes to Cassa to ask her bees

Cassa’s bees hunters and seekers

To seek everywhere find the witch

Shesmegah puts away her kindness puts away her forgiveness

Sends the bees to sting the witch sting her

Her feet and hands until she comes to Shesmegah

Why? asks Shesmegah

Why cajole inveigle induce Brave Ennikar

From the path of the good from the way of the right

From the light of Tenep into the darkness of her anger?

Why does the cow ignore her calf why is the river stifled?

Why does the tree bear no leaf and the hearth have no fire?

Brave Ennikar the witch of Urkull did possess him

Loved him in her forests until

Shesmegah in her pity for Wise Immakuk turned his

path to Ennikar

Turned Ennikar’s path from the witch

Grieved the witch

Longed she for Brave Ennikar

Came to the city enticed him into the grain

Led him from the light into the darkness of Tenep’s anger

Foolish witch lost her love

Find your love witch said Shesmegah see it waits

In Ennikar’s heart the path is there follow it

Your love is waiting for you

Give Tenep her sphere and enter

Ennikar’s heart It will be your heart and his then

Shesmegah showed her the road to Ennikar’s heart

The path of forgiveness led her to it

The witch gave up the sphere and Tenep

turned her face of kindness to the world

The cow took care of her calf the tree opened its leaves

The rain filled the river and love filled Ennikar’s heart

The witch felt his love and carried it with her to the forests

Ennikar followed

His path led him away from the city to the forest and he

stayed there

Seven months until the moon called him back to the city.

“In trouble with a maid, indeed,” said the Attolian.

“So, so, so,” I said. “Who would be so foolish?” Together the Attolian and I raised our eyes to the heavens, both of us the picture of sweet propriety. Then we looked at each other and waited to see who was going to speak first.

“It so happens,” said the Attolian, “that sometimes a young soldier comes to the city from deep in the country and he meets a man in a wineshop who offers to show him the town and introduces him to a ‘lovely girl.’ And after the lovely girl has soaked him for all the money in his pocket, the man will offer the soldier a loan. The really naive ones get into so much debt to their ‘friends’ that they have to ask for a touch from the guard’s treasury, from funds set aside by everyone in the cohort for emergencies like this. Until the money gets paid back, they eat their meals standing up in the dining hall.”

I wondered if the Attolian had ever been a backward boy from the country eating his meals standing up. When I saw the flush creeping up past his collar all the way to the roots of his hair, I knew he had.

I said, “I fell in love with my master’s favorite dancing girl.” If he was willing to admit to an embarrassing indiscretion, I could do the same.

“Eh?” said the Attolian, as if he thought he’d misheard. I repeated myself.

He said, “Surely that was—”

“—Spectacularly unwise,” I agreed.

I expected a laugh, but the Attolian asked very seriously, “Did she love you?”

I nodded. Marin had, I was sure of it. “She loved my master as well, though.” That was misleading. “She saw something to love in everyone. She was . . .” I really couldn’t explain. “She was beautiful in spirit, like Shesmegah. I wanted her to be happy. I wanted to give her the happiness she deserved, and I asked her to run away with me.”

“Is that when you were flogged?” He put up his hands. “I’m sorry. Never mind.”

“No, no fear,” I said. It was easier to talk about flogging than about Marin. I almost wished I hadn’t spoken of her, but it was both bitter and sweet to say her name again. “I was flogged years ago for taking a piece of cake from my master’s plate.”

“He flogged you for cake?”

“Not really. He knew I wouldn’t have touched his cake. He flogged me for being too full of myself.”

“Marking an expensive slave seems—poor economy.” His voice was low and edged as it hadn’t been since Sherguz.

I shifted and looked away, uncomfortable with his anger even if it was not directed at me. “The emperor’s personal slaves are more powerful than almost any free man in the empire. He relies on them and they must be . . . perfectly trained. It was a painful lesson, but necessary. It made me more valuable.” In light of the remchik incident, it was a lesson I needed to relearn from time to time.

“The emperor’s very powerful personal slaves are killed when he dies, aren’t they? Replaced by the slaves of the new emperor?”