“Some might call it a conspiracy, Lord Balniss,” Kandah offered.
Taul couldn’t tell if he was being respectful or rude in calling Balniss a lord.
“I have no such title,” Balniss said. “You may call me by my name.”
“Ah yes, the Mornae dislike of foreign titles. Except your own titles, of course. I meant only to respect your erudition. Something your people seem to have forgotten. Very well, Balniss it is. You have an interesting lineage as well. I’m guessing you’ll both want all the details.”
“Not now,” Balniss said. “There are more important matters.”
Kandah leered at him and took the pouch Taul offered.
“Strange the high matron lets you in here to see me,” Kandah said. “You labeled them?”
Taul nodded.
Kandah opened the pouch on his worktable and sat down to inspect them, separating them out with tweezers. He squinted and turned to Taul. “And if it is not too much trouble…” He held out his hand, palm up.
“I’d think you have mine already,” Taul said.
“I prefer it fresh,” Kandah said. “And I’d rather not search through the archives. They are useful for comparison.”
Taul plucked a hair from the side of his temple and handed it to the man. He nodded to Balniss, who plucked a hair from the dark gray tuft on his chin.
Kandah separated them on the table and hummed to himself.
Taul cleared his throat.
“You can sit if you like,” Kandah said.
“I’m fine standing.”
“As you wish.”
He held up Taul’s hair, turning it this way and that, eyes closed to slits. “Yes, I recall you. My condolences on your recent loss. I expected a different outcome. The goddess can be fickle.”
“I was not the first choice.”
Kandah closed his eyes. “Oh, yes. The younger brother. The tender. Of course, it all makes sense now. Still, a shame.” He stole a glance at Balniss and pushed his hairs away from the rest. He turned back to the samples, pulled a large, thick ledger close, and flipped pages back and forth.
Taul got the impression that he didn’t need to search the pages but did it for their benefit. He wasn’t even looking closely at the columns of entries. Taul knew what it was to look at such columns.
“Excellent,” Kandah said. “Ah yes… there… lovely.”
There was bitterness, an edge in Kandah’s voice as he cooed and fawned over the samples, but with his left hand he slid aside the three that Taul knew to have tender potential. Kandah tied a bone-white thread around those, whereas the others he tied with gray.
“Very good,” Kandah said, still inspecting the new samples. “Thank you, minister.”
Taul nodded to Balniss.
“The marks you make in the ledgers. The white thread. The tenders,” Balniss said. “You’ve known the remedy all along.”
Kandah stopped and sat up, turning to them, a sly smirk on his face, not even trying to feign ignorance.
“I won’t tell her about your deception,” Taul said. “But we will cure this rot.”
“Which one?” Kandah asked sharply. “Orchard or the taint?”
“You know the answer to that,” Balniss said. “They are the same.”
“It would displease her to learn it,” Taul said. “Nor her consort and his knights.”
Kandah chuckled to himself and nodded, as if he spoke to someone else. “And you think the high matron’s spears and knives frighten me? I am here at her invitation. I can leave at any time. I’m not bound to anything here.”
“Except she offers what you crave,” Balniss said.
Kandah stared stone-faced.
“Knowledge. Isn’t that what valmasin crave?” Balniss asked. “A safe way to study us? To what end, I wonder.”
Kandah glared at Balniss. “You are quite knowledgeable.”
“I can get you samples that you might never get otherwise. With history. Like this one,” Balniss said, handing him a fold of white cloth. “Including all the knowledge we can share. We will make it worth your while.”
“Who is ‘we’ I wonder? Hmm?” Kandah asked, taking the sample. He glanced at the contents. He set the cloth down, running his finger along the black hair. “Thick, but not coarse… Baikal?” Kandah’s gaze shifted. “No, not Baikal.” He folded up the cloth and pushed it aside. “I will do what I can.”
“There can be others,” Balniss said.
“In exchange for?” Kandah snapped.
