Hamar looked around the room. There was no other exit. The tunic hung there waiting on the stand.
He fingered it and saw it was softly woven and smelt clean even if a little fusty like the storeroom. The evil ones were trusting him alone in a treasury of fine garments, – unheard of! This was indeed a time of extraordinance, and they were giving him fine clothes even better than the remnant of his mother’s old wedding dress! But what for?
He stepped to the shelves and dared to sneak out another tunic to hide underneath the first one, but it was too bulky and he quickly put it back. On a higher shelf his hand touched a lacquered box. Inside it cold metal lumps met his fingertips, and he dragged out a medallion, a gold medallion! It was of a coiled dragon with red stone eyes on a heavy chain, richer than anything he’d ever seen! How could they leave such things out on these shelves!
He stared at it, and then quickly stuffed the whole thing in his mouth. It was too big for his cheeks, he took it out wet and stuffed it back in its box. The spark of street-thieving steadied him. He tried hard to recall the steps leading to this room so he could find it fast on his way out of this awful place.
But he must quickly wash. Where was the water?
Over in the corner was a flat basin on the floor with a big jug next to it. Hamar flung off his dog-peed tunic, now too aware how rotten and sour it was, but kept his loincloth on, – nobody was going to get him naked! He drew a hefty sip from the jug and then with a look toward the door he stepped into the basin and tipped the jug of cold water over his head, yelping with the shock.
The man leapt back through the door and flashed his hands in a gesture that changed the stream of water to hot! Then the man ducked back out.
The hot water felt fabulous as it flooded down Hamar’s body, somehow more penetrating to his skin than well water, but Hamar shivered again all the same. Carefully he put the empty jug back down.
He realised for the first time that both the red priest and the guard had spoken in Al Musar’s native dialect, and Hamar sealed his lips against muttering any swears or schemes to himself. He quickly grabbed a fleece from its hook to dry himself and was surprised how much grey skin came off. He thought to look for the small oil ewer he knew decent homes had, and finding it suitably placed in a niche, he poured some fragrant oil on top of his head and rubbed the rest down his face. That would have to do. What different customs did these majic men have, – and what did they do to people who didn’t observe them?
The guard flipped the curtain open and helped Hamar put on his tunic and then made him put on a sleeved coat over it. The man deftly snatched up the rag pile and put the jug back. He didn’t seem to notice the shelves had been messed with. And he never even checked Hamar for stolen goods.
Hamar felt uneasy leading the way with no hand holding his collar, as if it was a test to see if he’d make a run for it, or worse, to see if he’d been memorizing the way all along and couldn’t be trusted. The guard had his pointy hood back in place, his face hidden again, and he mumbled ‘left’ or ‘right’ or ‘further on’ as they went.
They marched faster, doors and cave-mouths flashing by. Then the hood barked, “No, to the left!” and they made their way down a deep tunnel, where something big Hamar couldn’t see flew over his head but without flapping any wings, – it was no bat and what big bird would live underground?
Then some men came out of a doorway and excitedly pointed him out to others inside, and Hamar wondered if they knew things the way fortune-tellers did.
They arrived at a carved archway with a latticed door which had lamplight pouring through all the little squares, and stone steps leading up to it. Adept faced him, “The room is ready. You’re to stay in it until we come for you.” Hamar stepped up. Adept waved his hand at the door and it swung open by itself.
Hamar cautiously stepped through it into a beautiful lamp-lit room that had tapestries of flowers covering its walls like a garden. Then behind him the door locked shut.
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