Chapter 20 – Not on the Menu
Zane struggled to his feet. “It’s almost midday. Askaro is right, time is short.” He pushed away from the wall and lurched toward the door.
Askaro caught him before he could fall. “Zane, what is wrong?”
The cook’s eyes were filled with tears. “I knew he was a little twisted but how could he have fallen so low?”
Marlo came forward and put a hand on Zane’s shoulder. “Who is this man?”
Zane pulled in a deep breath. “It’s a long story. Come on. The other one has probably cleared out by now.”
Blin joined them. “Maybe we should go back to the kitchen and have your friend send a warning.”
Askaro opened the door and looked down the hall. “That’s a good idea.” He heard a familiar voice. “Or it would be if Bruvano wasn’t still there, yelling at the top of his lungs.”
Marlo chuckled. “Maybe Authority will come and haul him away. Sounds like that would benefit everyone.”
Zane pushed passed them. “We don’t have time to wait and see. Follow me.” He moved down the hall to the metal door. He listened for a moment then opened it. “Sounds like he left. Step through and let me close it. Darion never did get it right.”
Askaro led the way into the dim echoing chamber. He could hear dripping and smell the water. He watched Zane close the door quietly. “Is this another one of the water storage areas?”
Zane started walking along a narrow stone ledge. “It is. They’ve had a lot of problems with this one because it’s in a bridge.”
Blin pointed toward the dim light. “Them is the drains on the street. It’s just like the one over the Boulevard.”
Marlo hummed. “Don’t think I’ve ever taken that tour. How is it you know about that?”
Blin shivered. “When you live on the streets, you have to know how to get out of sight in a hurry.”
Zane stopped at another metal door. “This goes up to the texmill. There will probably be people working at the looms but they see work crews come through here all the time. Just don’t stop and chat. Their bosses don’t like that.”
Askaro followed Zane up a stone stairway that ended at a wooden door. He could hear rhythmic swooshing. He also caught the loamy smell of peato. “They must have a steam plant.”
Zane led them down a hallway. “That’s how they power the looms.”
The hallway ended at a door. Askaro could hear people talking beyond it and grabbed Zane’s hand. “I thought you said the workers here weren’t supposed to talk.”
Zane put his ear to the door. “Sounds like one of the Masters isn’t happy with the work. We’ll have to wait until he leaves.”
Marlo leaned against the wall. “So who is this person?”
Zane looked down. “His name is Darion. We both worked under Master Apegio as apprentices. We even shared a room together. When Gevoni, the Master Chef of Rok Catering came to Master Apegio for a new junior chef, the Master presented both of us with the challenge to create our best dishes.”
Marlo shook his head. “I’m guessing Darion won.”
Zane continued to study the floor. “He did. But afterwards, Master Apegio admitted that my work had been far superior to Darion’s.”
Askaro didn’t understand. “So why did Darion win?”
“It turns out his father was a royal guard and managed to convince Master Gevoni to hire Darion. The contest had been Master Apegio’s idea. He wanted to give me a chance to prove my abilities to Master Gevoni. But his mind had already been swayed.”
Blin frowned. “So why did you leave Master Apegio’s kitchen. Sounded to me like they wanted you there.”
Zane put his ear back to the door. “I was an apprentice there. Master Apegio already has many chefs. I wanted to move up.” He looked back at the others and put his finger to his lips. He opened the door.
The swooshing sound was dramatically amplified. As Askaro followed Zane along the wall of the massive room, he looked at the looms and the workers scurrying to keep up with the moving bars. He caught a gleam from the neck of one of the workers. He felt cold. They were slaves!
Zane led them up another stairway and out a door. The street looked like all the others on this side of town, whitewashed walls, red-tiled roofs, and tidy shops with second stories that were probably living areas. They turned to the right and proceeded up the street.
Askaro and Blin were both looking around. He assumed she was keeping an eye out for Authority. He was fascinated by the view beyond the rooftops. This section of town was lower. A mountain rose to their left, it’s sides dotted with houses. In front of them, to their right, the castle towers rose above the gray stone walls. “We’re on the other side from where we started this morning.”
Marlo pointed to a line of buildings that were suspended across the peaks. “That’s the Boulevard.”
They came to an intersection and Zane turned to their right. A giant set of colorful stairs seemed to be plastered to the side of the mountaintop that held the castle. The top tier shot upward into the clouds. “Is that a tower?”
Zane paused at the corner of a building. “It is. That is Step Tower. Fits it’s name, don’t you think?”
Askaro noticed that Zane was focused on a building across the street. The windows were filled with shelves of different food items. “So why is Rok Catering so special?”
“It’s the biggest in the city. All the high ups get their special dinners catered by this business.”
Blin looked at the sky. “It looks like it’s past midday. What if we’ve missed it?”
Zane motioned for them to follow. He wove through the people on the street and went into the door of the building across from Rok. The room was crowded with people sitting at tables. He moved to an empty table near a window. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”
Marlo looked around. “I don’t know about you but my purse is empty.”
Zane held up a small bundle. “Master Apegio slipped it into the bag of food he gave us.”
They all sat down. Askaro was used to eating in the mess with many other people so it didn’t bother him but he could tell Blin wasn’t happy about the place. She kept trying to watch everyone around them. Askaro found her hand under the table and squeezed it. “Relax, Blin. You don’t want to stick out.”
Marlo ordered drinks for them and they sat sipping them, watching the flow of traffic in the street between them and the catering shop. Askaro had just finished his when Zane tensed. “Darion is at the door with someone.”
They left the table and moved to the door. Darion and another man were walking down the street. Marlo took the lead. “Better let me go first, especially if your old friend might recognize you.”
They followed them to a small shop. Askaro was intrigued by the display in the window. “Look at all the gears. I recognize some of them. We use parts like that on the Falcon.”
The men went in. Marlo looked back at the others. “Well, what now? How are we going to find out what they are up to?”
Before anyone could respond, the two men came back out. Blin narrowed her eyes. “Looks like he left his package in the shop.” She grinned at Askaro. “I seem to recall you like browsing in shops like that. How about we go have a look?”
Askaro saw the frown appear on Zane’s face. “Blin is right. The two of us won’t look as suspicious as all four of us might. You and Marlo keep watch for either your friend or Bruvano.”
They agreed. Askaro and Blin went into the shop. Blin moved toward the wall lined with bins and began poking through them. “This shop has a much better selection than the ones in Old Town.”
The shopkeeper looked up from his work. “Are you looking for something in particular?”
Blin went pale. Askaro thought about all the parts that went into the mechanisms in the Falcon. “I’m looking for a small timing wheel.”
He pointed with a tool. “Try the second bin there.”
Askaro pulled Blin in that direction. “T
hank you.” He caught himself before saying sir.
Blin sighed. “Glad you know something about all of this.”
Askaro began digging through the parts but kept an eye on the shopkeeper, trying to determine what the man was working on. He recognized some of the tools the man used and was puzzled. He leaned closer to Blin. “That’s odd.”
Blin held up a part. “What is?”
“He just cut a spindle most of the way through.”
Blin tapped on his arm. “Marlo is waving at us.”
Askaro dropped the piece he’d been rolling around in his fingers. “Looks like you don’t have the right size. I’ll have to try somewhere else.”
The shopkeeper looked up. His magnalens still in place made his eyes look huge. “Sorry about that. I don’t have too many customers looking for timing wheels here. Try the clock shop on High Street. I’m sure Renar carries a better selection.”
Askaro moved toward the door. “Thank you, I will.”
Blin almost ran across the street. Askaro hurried to catch up with her. She was panting when they stopped next to Marlo and Zane. “I don’t want to go look in a different shop.”
Askaro grinned. “Not planning on it. I just didn’t want him to wonder why we left.”
Zane pointed down the street. “Darion and his friend have been talking to Master Gustav. Looks like you got out of there just in time. His friend is coming back to the shop.”
They watched the man go in and come back out with a parcel tucked under his arm. Zane looked at Askaro. “Now what? Did you figure out what it is?”
“I couldn’t see what the part was but it has a spindle. that’s all I could tell from watching him. Maybe we should follow the guy and see if we can learn any more.”
Marlo took the lead. “That’s our best shot.”
They stayed close enough to keep him in view without drawing attention. He moved through the shop district, climbed some stairs and turned down the street that bordered Step Tower. Walking beside the building, Askaro realized just how big it was. “A lot of people must live in this tower.”
Zane huffed. “Hardly. From what I’ve heard, each main floor is shared by four families until you get to the tall section. Then it’s just one family on each floor. Some pretty rich folks live here. Most of them are connected to the royal court somehow.”
The road turned and then turned again, right into the tower. They began ascending a long, wide stairway, similar to the one on Steep Street. The interior walls were not colored like the outside of the tower. They were white stone blocks, perfectly fitted and aligned.
The street finally leveled off at the top. Askaro could see gray walls beyond the opening. Blin bumped into him. She was wide-eyed and looking everywhere at once. He squeezed her arm. She leaned closer. “This is the back gate of the castle. If we’re caught here, we’re dead.”
Marlo stopped at the corner of the building. “I have to agree with Blin on this one. This isn’t the safest place to be without a reason.”
Askaro was more interested in what was happening by the gate. The man had stopped and was talking to a boy dressed in bright red clothes. He gave the boy the parcel. Askaro leaned forward to hear what the man was saying.
He patted the boy on the shoulder. “Just put it on my workbench. I’ll replace it when they lower the chandelier for evening candle change.” The boy nodded and disappeared through the castle gate.
Another man in a long brown robe hurried toward the first. “Tibs, there you are. The Queen wants to know if everything will be ready for the ball tomorrow night. She had some concerns about the changes you made to the floor plan.”
“I just wanted to make sure the Prince could be visible by everyone. After all, this will be his last birthday as a Prince.”
The robed man smiled. “So true. Hard to believe he will be crowned in just two days. We have waited so long for this day. Well, thank you for your dedication.” He bowed slightly and disappeared back into the castle grounds.
The man they had been following also went in but headed in a different direction. Marlo pulled Askaro back into the shadows of the tower tunnel. “That wasn’t very helpful.”
Askaro was struggling to put all the pieces together. “What is a chandelier?”
Blin stared at him. “You may have been around the world but you sure are a dumb when it comes to it. It’s a big rack that hangs from the ceiling and holds candles.”
Zane began leading them back down the street. “And they hoist it up and down a couple times a day to swap out the stubs with fresh tapers.”
Askaro finally realized what the man had been working on. “And is there a really big one in the castle?”
Blin looked back the way they had come. “There’s a really big one in the Grand Hall.”
Zane stopped so fast that Blin tumbled right into him. Zane grabbed her arms. “How do you know that?”
Blin trembled. “I used to live there.”
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