When Mai woke up, she assumed it was late. Not late at night, as the single remaining lit lantern on the walls seemed to suggest, but late in the morning, considering that by the time she had gotten to sleep, there had most likely been light outside. Here, the room had no windows, and so the dim light was as such because she and Ishad had made it that way.

The dim light, however, did not help with Mai’s grogginess. Her arms were wrapped all the way around Ishad, and when she inadvertently squeezed a little, he began to wake as well.

“It’s a new day,” he said, opening his eyes, “even though it doesn’t feel like it.”

“I guess we should get up,” Mai said. “Even if I don’t really want to.” She snuggled nearer to Ishad.

“Neither do I,” he responded, ruffling her hair. “But I suppose we have to see what this place has in store for us, don’t we?”

“That we do,” said Mai.

With her spoken encouragement, Ishad got up, started to gather his clothes, and put them on again, which was no easy task, due to the fact that they were scattered all over the room.

A moment latter, Mai got up, wrapped herself in the bed’s sheet, and began to search for her own clothes, which were similarly placed on the floor. The room’s dim lighting didn’t help the search, but as there was no tinderbox in the room, there was nothing to be done about it.

Mai had gathered all her clothes together, but had yet to change from the sheet into them when a rap came on the door.

“Who is it?” Ishad shouted. Somehow, he was all but dressed, and when he finished tying his boots, he would be done.

“But a servant, sir,” came a female voice. “I wouldn’t have bothered you and the lady, but it’s well past midday, and my job is to tidy the room up.”

Upon learning it was even later than she had thought, Mai rushed to get dressed. She was still straightening out her dress when Ishad went over to the door and unlocked and opened it to let the woman in.

She wasn’t much of a woman, actually. She was more of a girl. For all the Vedil principles of religion and equality, they still seemed to maintain certain stereotypes. The girl had an older voice, but she was clearly no older than twenty.

Walking in, the girl flashed a strange, quick glance at Mai, but when Mai returned the look, the girl turned her gaze to the ground.

“There’s a common dining hall for guests down the hall to the left,” she said. “The cooks should be waiting for you, and so should your other friend. He’s so patient! He’s been sitting there for at least three hours, scarcely saying a word to anybody.”

Mai didn’t know for sure, of course, but that sounded like Broken. “Let’s go,” she told Ishad, and they left, leaving the girl to clean.

Down the hall to the left, there was an open door. Inside the room, there was a pretty standard dining hall. Small, but normal. Off to the side, on the right, there were doors that led to kitchens, and a single table, adorned with plump chairs, sat in the middle of the room.

And Broken, of course, sat at one of those chairs, on what Mai considered to be the left side of the table. When she and Ishad walked in, he was sitting on the very edge of the armless chair, his back hunched. As Mai and Ishad walked in he moved over to a more conventional seating position.

Mai sat at the chair opposite Broken, and Ishad sat at the chair to her right side. The kitchen servants brought out the first platters for three, and as Mai began to eat the appetizer of what seemed to be the start of a luscious meal, Broken started to speak.

“There are some things I think you should know, about last night,” he said. It was odd to watch him talk and eat at the same time. Broken took a bite, then quickly chewed and swallowed, and then moved on to the next part of his sentence, mouth completely devoid of food.

Appetizers done, the chefs moved on to the main course. It was rice, but a very elegant sort of rice, layered with a sort of brown sauce.

“What do you think we should know?” said Mai, trying to mimic Broken’s graceful eating pattern, but not entirely succeeding.

“First of all,” said Broken, “I am sure you are both wondering what happened to me, after I disappeared from the plaza.”

So he did know where we were, thought Mai.

Broken continued. “I would very much like to hear your stories, as to exactly what happened to each of you. But first, I will tell my own, including my discussion with the Nari.

“The night before we reached the Holy Citadel, a Nari contacted me, unbeknownst to you. He said that the next night, after we reached the Holy Citadel, he would speak to me in greater detail at the plaza.”

“So that’s why you went out of your way to go there when we arrived,” said Mai.

“Correct,” Broken replied. “I was scoping out the location. That night, I went to the plaza, and as I suspected, the guards were mysteriously gone. Then the Nari came, and spoke to me about some private things. And then he left. After that, of course, was when the trouble started.

“First, I must ask both of you a question. In your travels last night, did either of you encounter a giant in metal armor, who seemed more or less unstoppable?”

Both Mai and Ishad nodded.

“Well, the correct term for that creature is golem,” said Broken.

Mai and Ishad gave him blank stares, as they all continued to eat.

“It is no surprise that neither of you have heard that term,” said Broken. “Golems are a carefully guarded secret of House Makini. At first glance, they look like men, after a fashion, but are not.”

“So that’s why an Asurik was able to plunge her sword through a golem’s neck, and it was able to pull the blade out and continue fighting?” Ishad asked.

Mai struggled against a feeling of being queasy. The new knowledge Ishad had revealed about the golem did not go over well with her meal.

“Correct,” said Broken, in answer to Ishad’s question. “The reason the golem could withstand such a blow is because inside the armor, there is nothing but churning, twisting metal gears, all interlocked together.”

Mai was now seriously having problems with eating her food, and a quick glance to Ishad revealed that he was not doing that much better.

“The golem has no vitals to pierce,” said Broken. “Even if somehow, a warrior was able to decapitate one, the thing would just continue to move on, without a head, and at some point during the fight, simply pick the head back up, place it in the correct position, have the gears reintegrate it with the rest of the body, and continue.”

Mai was beginning to have the feeling that Broken was deliberately trying to make one or both of those he was speaking with throw up. Thankfully, Ishad changed the conversation’s course.

“So, how do you kill one?” asked Ishad.

“You don’t,” replied Broken. “In the millennia, and slightly more, that golems have existed as mindless servants of the Makini, not one has ever been brought down. Not one. Golems have been tossed off buildings, dropped from ships into the depths of the ocean, but eventually, they all come back, and none the worse for the wear. In the latter case, the golem that had been dropped off a ship trod two miles on the ocean’s floor back to dry land. The ship’s crew might have gotten rid of it, but they didn’t destroy it.

“Ever since they were invented by Makini spellweavers, golems were used in every operation that needed to go right. They are incredibly strong, and the primary way they kill is to break other things with their bare hands. They are slow, but they are deadly. If twenty swordsmen were ordered to go up against one, and not run, in short order there would be twenty less swordsmen. For more than ten centuries, the Makini have made sure that no House other than theirs knows the secret for making the things. Indeed, few even know they exist.”

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“If the golems are indestructible,” said Mai, “why didn’t they keep tearing the Holy Citadel apart? When we headed to the Vedil Tower, under Priest-Lord Ralad’s protection, everything seemed to be returning to normal.”

“Simple,” said Broken. “The Makini knew that if they left their prized possessions running amok in the Holy Citadel for too long, they would have been captured, and examined carefully, so the Vedil could figure out how to build them as well. Other Houses learning the secret of constructing golems is, as I have said, one of the last things that the Makini want.”

“So you’re sure that it was the Makini who were after us last night?” asked Ishad.

“Patience,” said Broken. “In due time, all will be explained to the best of my ability. Let me return in the story to where I left off, when I disappeared at the plaza.

“You see, I disappeared, because a golem had grabbed me, dragged me down a side street, and tried to kill me as best it could. It did not succeed, but I knew that neither could I kill it, so I fled until I rescued Mai,” he paused, “but that’s her story to tell. I then found you, Ishad, and together, we had that experience in the gatehouse.”

“So, what about Eton?” asked Mai. A moment later, she realized that she had been the only one who he had told his name to.

“You mean that short little man that tried to kill us?” said Broken. “He was no man. He was, as I called him in the gatehouse, a Terrasanu.”

“What’s a Terrasanu?” asked Mai.

“In High Tongue, it means demon,” Ishad supplied. “I learned that courtesy of my monkhood.”

Mai breathed very, very deeply, and took a calming bite of rice, one of the last bits there was in her bowl.

“Yes,” said Broken. “Eton was demon.” He glanced at two servants, who began to come out of the kitchen to serve desert. “But for their sakes, we shall continue to call him Terrasanu. The other word tends to cause an inordinate amount of fear.”

The servants, giving the three talkers slight, polite smiles, gave out the desserts, and took away the appetizer plates.

“The Terrasanu was an agent of the Makini,” said Broken. “He directed the golems, and he lit the fires.”

“How could the Makini, well, get a Terrasanu on their side?” said Ishad. “Aren’t Terrasanu aloft from human affairs, and intent on only destroying as much as they can?”

At this point, the servants went back to the kitchen.

“There are certain rituals, certain rites I know of, that can bind a Terrasanu to serve a human master unwillingly,” replied Broken. “They are of course, very dangerous, as the slightest break in formula, or a lack in the requisite power, cause the wrath of the Terrasanu to fall on the would-be master. I can only assume that the Makini thought the risk was worth it, for they needed all the power they could find to pull off such an audacious stunt, as attacking the Holy Citadel.”

“So, why were the Makini after us in particular?” asked Ishad.

“Our association to a certain princess they want dead,” said Broken.

Ishad nodded, but Mai asked, “How could you know all this?”

The knowledge did fit in with Broken’s character, but Mai did not understand how one, both a commoner and a warrior, could also somehow within them contain enough knowledge to rival a sage.

“I traveled much in my youth,” said Broken. “And rare indeed is the time when I forget something I once knew. But now, Ishad, tell your story. Mine is done.”

Ishad finally explained the exact circumstances that had led to his banishment, and then proceeded to explain his encounter with the Nari in the forest. After that, he explained much of what Mai already knew, until he reached the part when they had been separated. He spoke rather flatly of an Asurik named Talil trying to kill him, and then he spoke of the golem, that had been his rescuer, of sorts. Talil turned out to be the one who plunged a sword between the golem’s helm and breastplate, to no effect.

After Ishad was done, Mai spoke. She explained what had not already been told, about how she had encountered the golem, and then Eton, and had learned his name, and how Broken had saved her.

When she was done, Broken said, “It seems that there were two golems, not one.”

Catching on to what he was talking about, Mai asked, “How rare are they?”

“Golems are very costly to build,” said Broken. “The Makini have perhaps a dozen, maybe less, and almost certainly no more.”

“Eton might be fast, but how did the golems get away from the Holy Citadel?” asked Ishad.

“My guess?” Broken replied. “Sewers.”

And with that, rather disgusting word to hear during a meal, Mai found that the three of them were done. She was unsure whether what they had just eaten could be called breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Perhaps it was a combination therein.

From the door to the room, leading out to the hallway, an Asurik walked in, distinguishable by the tattoo of the sun on her forehead. Unlike male Asurik, her head was not shaved, and indeed, brilliant blonde hair trickled halfway down her back.

“Talil,” Ishad muttered under his breath, and Mai realized that this was the Asurik who had tried to kill him.

But now, she did not seem quite so violent. There were no weapons in her hands. “I see that you are finally finished eating,” said Talil, taking a step into the room. She looked at Ishad. “You need to come with me,” she said.

Ishad got up from the table. “Why?” he asked, seeming suspicious. Mai couldn’t blame him.

“Because the Augrave wishes to see you.”

Talil said the sentence in such a matter of fact way, that it took a moment for the meaning to sink in. The Augrave Agumen, the priest who Mai had seen conduct a service at the Greatest of the Temples the day before, was no ordinary priest. He was the religious leader of the entire Empire, and had enough spiritual authority to counteract the Vedil Lords. Though never had an Augrave claimed the title, they had all been de facto leaders of House Vedil.

“What would Augrave Agumen want with me?” asked Ishad.

“Nothing much,” said Talil. “Nothing you need to be worrying about. Indeed the audience will only be for a pair of minutes, maybe less. The Augrave is very busy, but he wishes to meet you, for yours is an interesting story.” For a moment, Talil glared at Ishad, something Mai was not sure Asurik were allowed to do, but then the look subsided.

Ishad walked over to Talil, and together, they left the room.

A second later, Broken also got up. “Come with me,” he said, looking at Mai. “And hustle. We shall be walking rather fast.”

Slightly confused, Mai got up, and they left the room together. Behind them, Mai heard shouts from the servants that they were not supposed to leave, but as Broken ignored them, so did she.

In the hallway, Broken did indeed move fast, and while he turned right down the white hall, he passed by Mai’s room, and with it, any chance that she could guess where he was going.

“What are we doing?” she asked, as they hustled through the hallway, startling the servants and dignitaries.

“I am talking to you,” said Broken. “Where we are going right now is irrelevant.”

And yet, at the pace they were moving, their destination seemed quite relevant. “What about?” asked Mai.

“About what happened last night,” said Broken.

“Eton? The golems?”

“Neither,” said Broken. “What happened latter in the night. Concerning a certain Ishad and you.”

Before Mai could answer, they passed by a servant, pushing a gigantic cart of laundry. Broken went to the right, and Mai went to the left. When they regrouped at the opposite edge, Mai was controlled.

“How did you know about that?” she asked, instead of denying it, which would be stupid. If Broken could say something like that, he has to have proof.

“I made an educated guess,” said Broken. “And you confirmed it.”

Pretending one knew something in order to get the other to admit it was not a new trick. “Where did the educated part come from?” Mai asked.

“This morning, when I was waiting for you and Ishad in the dining room, I wasn’t idle. I talked to many servants who passed by the room. Last they knew, the ‘former monk’ had gone to the lady’s room, and he had not come out.”

So it wasn’t really a guess, thought Mai, somewhat relieved that Broken’s knowledge wasn’t her fault.

Broken headed to a stairwell, and they walked down a few flights, during this time, unable to talk. But when they reached the lowest floor, and exited the stairs, Broken began to talk again.

“It is truly amazing, but while high ladies think they have the most palace gossip, it is the servants who learn things first,” he said. “Not that what I learned was really gossip to anyone but me. The truth is, the servants weren’t all that surprised.”

And before Mai could respond, Broken increased his speed and brushed past her, reached for a side door, and opened it, as the room was unlocked.

Broken headed in, Mai followed, and as soon as she was in, Broken shut the door.

For a moment, there was darkness, but then Broken somehow found a tinderbox to light a lantern on a table.

Newly illuminated, Mai saw that the room was used for storing wine. Dozens and dozens of racks had been placed in aisles, and they were filled with wine bottles of various vintages, all neatly categorized and ordered. A short logbook, that explained this order, was on the table with the lantern.

The room was cold, and it was huge. It was a palace’s wine cellar. Mai, despite living in the Occluded City for years, had never been to the Imperial Palace’s wine cellar. But this all begged a question.

What are we doing in a wine cellar?

“Why did we stop here?” Mai asked.

“Because the door was left unlocked, and I can tell such things,” said Broken. “I wanted to go somewhere private. It was only a matter of chance that the door to this room was unlocked.”

“Great,” said Mai. There was nowhere to sit, so she continued to stand. “So, why do you care so much what I do?” And more importantly, why was my first instinct to hide what happened from Broken?

“I worry about you,” said Broken. “I worry about how you’re handling everything. What happened last night was far, far worse than what happened in Gansu, and what happened in Gansu pushed you off the edge.”

“You think that what happened last night was because I was pushed over the edge?”

Broken nodded.

“That’s…that’s…” Mai searched for a strong enough word. “That’s crap Broken, and you know it.”

“Is it?” he asked. “Remember what happened in the cave of Devin’s thieves?”

The words stung. Somehow, Broken had hit upon the one though Mai had last night that had been against what she was doing. “That’s different!” said Mai.

“How many times have you…before this?” was all Broken said in response.

“Once.” Mai paused. That time didn’t really count. “Never,” she clarified. “But this is none of your business!”

“I see I’ve hit a chord,” said Broken. “And you know why that is? Because you didn’t think. You didn’t think about the consequences. You could be pregnant.”

“I’m not pregnant,” said Mai. “My cycle…”

She trailed off, as it seemed Broken was no longer interested. He was walking through the aisles of wine, stooping to run his finger against the stoppers of some of the bottles closest to the ground.

“Here we go,” he said, taking out one of the bottles. “Vintage ten-ninety Arathou.” He promptly put it back.

Broken stood up, and walked back over to Mai.

“All I want you to know,” he said, “is that your choice is indeed your choice. But choices can have consequences, and the unforeseen ones can be the most dangerous.”

He came over to her, and for a moment, Mai thought that Broken was going to hug her. But then he did not. He did not even clasp her hand.

“Just remember,” said Broken. “Don’t try to hide anything from me. You won’t succeed, and it’s not worth the effort.”

And with that, they headed out of the wine cellar, and back up the stairs, returning back to the level they had come from.