The morning dawned fair if somewhat cloudy. Liina tried to wash out the sleep from her eyes, but it was harder than usual. She didn't feel particularly well-rested, with faint memories of nightmares where Burkhart walked up to her family and home, and shouted at them so loudly that they just flew right out of it. There wasn't anything to the dream that she could feel being prophetic, though, so it was probably just her mind playing tricks with her. By the looks on them, Janos and Nopsa had slept better, but probably not as well as usual. After their morning porridge and duties, they started off towards the cathedral. There was slight change in plans, though, as Janos would continue from there to the tourneygrounds with Nopsa, rather than stay with Liina.
The Grand Cathedral of Kalaun certainly lived up to it's name. The main tower was massive, and stretched up to the sky further than anything she had ever seen. The sprawling surroundings contained dozens of different buildings, most of them larger than the church in their village. They gawked at the whole thing for a bit, then joined the flow of people slowly proceeding towards the nave, being guided by acolytes and church guards. She was lucky that Janos with his sharp eyes was with her, since with all the holy warmth and shielding she was feeling, she probably would have missed Ulrika, praying in a small alcove to some saint she'd never heard of. They separated from the main flow, then walked to her with soft steps. Ulrika apparently heard them approach, as she looked at them, nodded, and then continued her prayers. A few moments later, she got up, dusted her dress, and welcomed them.
"Ah, good to see you, Liina! And Janos and Nopsa, you too. I hope you are all well?"
"We're fine. Katrin has us working, but not too hard. Quite fair considering we get food and lodging."
"Good to hear. Now, Nopsa is looking … maybe more agitated than normal. Somewhere he's wanting to get to?"
"That, too. You two, go on to the tourneys, after you've offered your prayers, of course. I'll update her on our situation."
She feared Nopsa would blurt something out right now, but he held his tongue and the pair returned to the main flow of people. Ulrika looked at her quizzically.
"I somehow doubt that you'd feel the need to tell me about the conversion of a warehouse to a tempirary dormitory. So, how interesting are your news?"
"Nothing really special, but strange enough. Do you know if there's some more private place than a small shrine-alcove?"
"Well, you have your letters? Good. We'll get that process started, and probably have a quiet study to talk in while we wait."
After being passed from acolyte to another a few times, they ended up in one of the buildings surrounding the cathedral. Since the first stop was a common waiting room with many other petioners, Liina asked Ulrika about her goings-on instead.
"Oh, much as was planned. I first had dinner with my hosts, then a deeper talk with some general ranking of prospects, and I rounded off the evening by writing some letters and having their page deliver them. Yesterday, I introduced myself to some local nobles and merchant contacts from my mother's family, but I was also able to manage a quick visit to the Royal Scriptorium, where we can almost certainly get a bit of research done today. Dinner was a larger event, and left me somewhat exhausted after trying to socialize with so many people. One marriage prospect also turned out to be a bit too interested in telling me all about his hunting stories. My host attributed it to his nerves, but I have my doubts – I tried to ask him about his finances, learning or beliefs, and he barely managed a dozen words before just going straight back to how a patricularly sneaky badger had evaded him. I'm not sure there's a man alive with a beautiful enough voice to make me want to hear such stories for the rest of my life, but he most certainly did not possess it."
Liina noted that some of the other people around seemed to be interested in Ulrika's gossip, so she turned to a quick rant about Nopsa's fascination with alleys, and then to the more safe topic of religious matters. They were soon guided to a small, simple room for a short discussion with a minor deacon. It took a bit of convincing, and displaying the letters from her mother and their local priest, but they were promised a short audience with an actual priest. After the deacon left to find a properly anointed priest, Liina could finally speak about last evening.
"So, Ulrika, this is a bit of a delicate question, but how common are conspiracies among the higher nobility?"
"What?!"
"Uhh, we may have noticed a number of … very wealthy people, possibly liege lords, coming together last night, in a dark warehouse nearby where we're lodging. Now, we're of the peasantry, and unused to the ways of the city, but this certainly seemed very suspicious."
"Yes, it would be. You mentioned nobility. Did you recognize a name or device?"
"Uhh, no. Though there was bit of, well, not actual heraldry, but something that seemed like it could be of a merchant house. Do those that have insignia or such have them registered at the scriptorium?"
"Yes, though they might be missing if they're new ones from Mara, Kassburg, or Harnig. And of course they'll only have a scattering of any that are from other the kingdoms, at least if they don't trade here regulary. Now, what did you see, then?"
"I didn't actually see anything but cloaked figures in the darkness, but Nopsa recognized the voice, and both he and Janos were rather certain that one of the men, by his shape, size and movement, was B– the baron we saw on our way."
"Oh. OH. That's… that was hopefully a misidentification, but if they were correct, that would be…"
"Bad? And you didn't dismiss this out of hand."
"Well, you three – you two seem level-headed enough, and Nopsa didn't seem like the kind of boy to lie about something like this."
"But you also know something that doesn't make … the baron, or others, being involved in something like this, an impossibility."
"This isn't the place – well, I'm not sure what is the place – but this is a really dangerous topic."
"At least I agree with you there. Now, what do we do?"
"Well…"
Ulrika didn't have time for more, as the door opened. The priest looked at them a bit, until they both sprang to their feet and greeted her. She frowned.
"I didn't interrupt anything important? Somehow?"
"Oh, no, nothing. We were just stumped…" Liina stammered. "Uhh, nothing to do with my possible future in the clergy. A different matter."
"Hmm…." The priest seemed sceptical, but apparently decided to stay on the topic at hand. "So, you're Liina. And the young lady here is your liege's daughter?"
"Oh, no, we just travelled to the coronation in the same party. We do share the baron, but I've not met her before two weeks ago so that I'd remember her name."
"Just here to offer advice and support, then?"
"We were also hoping to visit the royal scriptorium together later."
"Admirable. So, let's see those letters." She read them, more quickly than anyone Liina had seen before, then made a few notes. "So, pondering a life of serving the Seven, are you?"
"It was something I thought possible, but… I've never been sure whether my faith is strong enough. I can feel the presence of the Seven, most of the time at least, and our priest always said I was walking in the light of Samuela surely enough, but she admitted that she couldn't detect the burning passion that is the mark of certain priesthood."
"Some grow into it over time. And too hot a flame can burn others. You have a solid base, on which a dedicated soul can build a strong house for the Seven, better to help others. But truly, dedication is also needed. Now then, you also mentioned the scriptorium. Keeping the records of the church and all the followers as well is a time-consuming endeavour. Would you consider that a good future for yourself?"
"Ahh… I hadn't considered that. Our priest mostly dealt with such matters herself, though she was thankful for when I helped her. There is more such work in towns and cities, work where I wouldn't be also listening to the worries and problems of people all the time?"
"That too is important, but yes, in larger settlements the scribal workload is heavier. By the law canonical, records should be kept as up to date as possible, but that may mean a few years late if neither lord nor priest is lacking in taxes and tithes. Do you recall people coming from the bishop to collect the updated records?"
"I saw it once, but was young then, and once helped prepare for such a visit, but I must've missed the last time it happened."
"That, too, could be a task you could take, if you do not wish to leave too far from your family. Now, I have other duties, many of them, with all this royal hullabaloo. Anything else you wished to know?"
"Uhh, no, you have given me much to think about."
Ulrika spoke up. "Could you write a quick recommendation? Or at least add to the letters she brought? To maybe let us have a look at the record-keeping at the cathedral as well?
"Certainly." She looked up and into the distance for a moment, clearly composing the words in her mind, then wrote a few sentences on to the end of the letter from Liina's priest. "There. Now, I must go." She opened the door and called an acolyte over, telling him to show them around the main records office, then left amid their thank-yous.
Liina blinked a few times. "Life in the city certainly does seem, well, faster-paced."
"Like she said, it's the coronation. Still, you've managed to give a small repayment in advance. I've not seen the cathedral's record rooms, and certainly don't mind the chance. Ah, thank you, good acolyte, yes, as the priest wrote here. We won't bother you for long."
The record-keeping for the cathedral happened in another building in the surrounding complex, so after the acolyte had guided them there, he found a scribe to take care of them and left. The scribe did not seem to be in a particular hurry – with the coronation, the royal scriptorium was much more busy, and in fact, some of her compatriots were there on loan for the week. Thus, Liina and Ulrika got a decent tour of the public areas, as well as a quick look at the copying room and private reading areas for petitioners. She also told them a bit about the other floors – two above them, two below, underground – that held all the actual record-keeping rooms, and a bit of the systems of getting codices, scrolls, and other such from them, as well as how things were organized. Most of the space was actually taken by matters regarding the whole church of Kuiko, with records concerning the cathedral complex taking less than half a floor. With records stretching back many hundreds of years, and new ones coming in every year, it was a continual process of choosing what to copy from crumbling parchment or pergament and thus keep for future generations, and which parts to let be forgotten. This all seemed a bit overwhelming to Liina, until Ulrika asked about the training period. Even though being accepted as a scribal acolyte required that one already knew how to read and write, it apparently still took two to four years until one could join the ranks as a full scribe, and maybe a third gave up somewhere along the training. Most were, however, able to find a place in smaller towns, and some came to be trained fully with that goal in mind. After having sated their curiosities, Ulrika begged the scribe to let her and Liina have some time for private discussion in one of the private reading areas. As they weren't in heavy demand, she acceded, leading them to one, dragging in a stool from outside, and promising to mark the room as being in use. They thanked her profusely and went to continue their discussion.
The room was bare, with only a small lectern and table for reading, though the latter was large enough to keep some notes on as well. Liina took the stool, letting Ulrika have the chair.
"Funny. I thought it would be a bit more comfortable, if people might spend a whole day studying here."
"They probably would loan pillows and a cloak if we'd gone through the normal petioning. Nothing for taking notes, either. Now, back to that earlier matter. I had a bit of time to think while you were talking with the priest, but I don't have much better answers. I'm a minor noble girl, with no real contacts to anyone like a baron or well-placed court noble. You three are even lower, in a city with hundreds of nobles and wealthy merchants."
"You make the situation sound hopeless. Well, whatever the situation is. All I know is that a callous and uncaring baron is having secret meetings with other powerful people."
"A good summation. Though, so far, you've only seen the one meeting. If you can be careful about it, and see something like that happening again, it would be stronger proof."
"Ahh, I don't want to give Nopsa any more ideas! I mean, he certainly would love to embark upon a daring spying mission, but if there are powerful people plotting something, I don't want to have him become a target to them."
"Could Janos act as a calming influence?"
"Probably. But I don't really want to involve him either, if I can help it. We're just peasant children!"
"I thought only Nopsa was. Technically."
"We're only a few years older than he. We don't know enough to know what we might be getting into!"
"Calm down. As you said, you could all just keep away from it. You'd have a hard time with keeping Nopsa from poking his nose into things, certainly, but you two could do it. And, as I said, you've only one instance. You're either overthinking things or somehow sure that another meeting will be occuring and that you'll be in a position to do something about it."
"I– Hmm. You're right, that is strange. A proper conspiracy will surely have their next secret meeting somewhere else, so as not to be tracked so easily."
"Well, if they are being really careful."
"But you suspect they might not be."
"As I told on the way to Kalaun, I've done some historical reading in the royal scriptorium. There's a balance to these conspiracies and secret plottings. If you do things in too straightforward a fashion, others can follow what you're doing and stop you. If you overly complicate things, you're likely to get mixups and have people on the same side acting against each other. Or even abandoning plans because they can't remember all the details."
"So, we might have a chance to observe another meeting like this."
"Well, yes. First of all, whatever is happening is likely connected to the coronation. It is possible that they were just using this event to their advantage – of having everyone being in the same place at the same time to hold a meeting for something that will happen later. That seems unlikely, though, since it would be more sensible to do that after the coronation, with more information based on the king's proclamations afterward. So, something that needs to be planned beforehand, and that will happen today, tomorrow, maybe the few days after that."
"Your logic seems sound, so far."
"Now, the next question is: why sneak amongst the warehouses? There are ever so many gatherings that the rich and the powerful are holding all around the city, some of them very exclusive with much scheming. Everyone expects that to happen. Why not work on your plots in comfort?"
"Maybe something that can't be shown in noble company? Or something big enough that you need a warehouse for it?"
"An interesting idea, the latter. I hadn't thought of that. There is, of course, also the simple fact that they may not want to be seen together. It is ever a problem with those who have servants that those servants do gossip, and are likely better at identifying any noble guests than random workers near the docks."
"Yes, they would've passed us unnoticed as well if Nopsa hadn't happened to hear the baron before, and developed enough of a dislike to pay note to the voice when he heard it again."
"So, back to the original question. What do you do? My advice remains the same. Watch, be careful about it, and if you gain more evidence, we make our decisions then."
"But if things turn out to be bad, who do we turn to? You admitted that you lack connections to the powerful people who could do something about nefarious plots."
"Unfortunately true. I think our best bet would be to go to Filippa. We four are her subjects, and she has no love towards our only known suspect so far, so she's a likely ally. I'll try to see if I can open a line of communication – something that will make her more likely to listen if you find stronger evidence."
"Well, that's something at least."
"What we really need right now, though, are more identifications. The baron could be tied to almost anyone. The one merchant house is a second possible point, but when there's many plotters, you need at least three to start to guess at a motive. More, of course, is better. What connects these people, what do they collectively want? Then, if we can imagine an evil purpose to their meetings, we can go to a higher authority."
"How about the church? My first thought was to go to the priests, but I've heard some stories about the ones in towns being … well, less trustworthy."
"Did these storytellers seem to feel everyone living in a town was less honest than the down-to-earth peasants?"
"Hmm… now that you mention it, that may have been the case."
"It's a common mindset. City life is different, so the priests are as well. In any case, I'd say that the clergy are likely to not make things worse, but they may act too slowly in this situation. And I wouldn't count too much on them – they prefer to stay out of the fights between nobles. Also, we don't know which priests to go to, which ones would be eager to add obstacles to the plans of powerful nobles."
"So, not much help there either."
"Within this time-frame, no. Still, it's worth trying to do what we can, so you could use your free time to aquaint yourself with people in the cathedral. The scribe that showed us around? She may not have much power to help us, but she might introduce you to someone who does. You'll probably have to be cold and calculating, though. You need someone who is willing to listen to you and trust you, but who can also alert someone with more authority if you find damning evidence. If you're lucky, you can also trust and like the other person, but you may also need to butter up to someone you wouldn't otherwise want to work with."
"I'm not sure I'm confortable with that."
"Welcome to the life of nobility. Or merchants. Or most anyone who has to deal with ambitious people. Well, they're not all ambitious, necessarily, but they're going to be … focused. They have goals, and whether your goals are in alignment, opposition or just indifferent towards each other will greatly affect the relationship."
"Well, I'll see what I can do. I'm not sure how to approach them, though."
"Continue with what you started, here. You have thoughts of joining the church. There are other parts than scribing, and you maybe you might be interested in them, as well? Going through the options."
"I guess that's true enough."
"Right. You'll just have to be … a bit more excited. You're a country girl, this is a new world for you, and you want to learn what they're doing. You don't have to gush over everything, but people like it when you show interest in what they do. You're often very careful, but to make friends fast, you need to channel your inner Nopsa a little bit."
Liina made a funny face, somewhere between a grimace and a grin, "Oh. Nngh. I guess you have point.", then let Ulrika continue.
"And don't be afraid to use that extra bit on your letter. Show it to Nopsa, and try to figure out how to stretch it allow you as much exploration of the cathedral grounds as possible."
"So, that's my days sorted out, and the evenings trying to spy out – very carefully – these powerful people. And you'll be trying to find trustworthy people who might listen to you among the nobility."
"It's a bit different than figuring out marriage prospects, but similar enough that I won't have to use much subterfuge. You definitely have the harder task, not that it would be much easier for me."
"Oh well. First, though, I believe we had an appointment at the Royal Scriptorium?"
"I think we might have a little time to scout around the cathedral, but yes, we'll have to leave soon. Let's see if we can't find you some initial targets or likely hunting grounds before that."