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People scattered when we approached. It made no difference that Tobo's night
pals were well-behaved. Superstition completely outweighed any practical
evidence.
Had we been more numerous we would not have gotten past Khang Phi's gate. Even
there, among supposed intellectuals, the fear of the Unknown Shadows was thick
enough to slice.
Sahra had had to agree, long ago, that neither Lady nor One-Eye nor Tobo would
enter the Repose of Knowledge. The monks were particularly paranoid about
sorcerers. Hitherto it had suited Sleepy to comply with their wishes. And none
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of those three were part of our party when we arrived at the Lower Gate of
Khang Phi.
There was a strange young woman in our midst. She used the name Shikhandini,
Shiki for short. She could easily arouse almost any man who did not know she
was Tobo in disguise. Nobody bothered to tell me what or why but Sahra was up
to something. Tobo was, obviously, an extra card she wanted tucked up her
sleeve. Moreover, she suspected several of the Nine of harboring evil
ambitions which would soon flower.
What? Men of power possessed of secret agendas? No! That does not seem
possible.
Khang Phi is a center of learning and spirituality. It is a repository for
knowledge and wisdom. It is extremely ancient. It survived the Shadowmasters.
It commands the respect of all the Children of the Dead, throughout the Land
of Unknown Shadows. It is neutral ground, a part of no warlord's demesne.
Travelers bound toward Khang Phi, or returning home therefrom, are in theory
immune.
Theory and practice are sometimes at variance. Therefore we never let Sahra
travel without obvious protection.
Khang Phi is built against the face of a mountain. It rises a thousand
whitewashed feet into the bellies of permanent clouds. The topmost structures
cannot be seen from below.
At the same site in our world a barren cliff broods over the southern entrance
to the only good pass through the mountains known as the Dandha Presh.
A life misspent making war left me wondering if the place had not begun its
existence as a fortress. It certainly commanded that end of the pass. I looked
for the fields necessary to sustain its population. And they were there,
clinging to the sides of the mountains in terraces like stairsteps for
splay-legged giants. Ancient peoples carried the soil in from leagues away, a
basket at a time, generation after generation. No doubt the work goes on
today.
Master Santaraksita, Murgen and Thai Dei met us outside the ornate Lower Gate.
I had not seen them for a long time, though Murgen and Thai Dei attended the
funeral ceremonies for Gota and One-Eye. I missed them because I was
unconscious at the time. Fat old Master Santaraksita never went anywhere
anymore. That elderly scholar was content to end his days in Khang Phi,
pretending to be the Company's agent. Here he was among his own kind. Here he
had found a thousand intellectual challenges. Here he had found people as
eager to learn from him as he was eager to learn from them. He was a man who
had come home.
He welcomed Sleepy with open arms. "Dorabee! At last." He insisted on calling
her Dorabee because it was the first name he had known her by. "You must let
me show you the master library while you're here! It absolutely beggars that
pimple we managed in Taglios." He surveyed the rest of us. Merriment deserted
him. Sleepy had brought the ugly boys along. The kind of guys he believed
would use books for firewood on a chilly night. Guys like me, who bore scars
and were missing fingers and teeth and had skin colors the likes of which were
never seen in the Land of Unknown Shadows.
Sleepy told him, "I didn't come for a holiday back in the stacks, Sri. One way
or another I've got to get that shadowgate information. The news I'm getting
from the other side isn't encouraging. I need to get the Company back into
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action before it's too late."
Santaraksita nodded, looked around for eavesdroppers, winked and nodded again.
Willow Swan leaned back, looked up, asked me, "Think you can make it to the
top?"
"Give me a few days." Actually, I am in better shape now than I was that evil
night. I have lost a lot of weight and have put on muscle.
I still get winded easily, though.
Swan said, "Lie all you want, old man." He dismounted, handed his reins to one
of the youngsters beginning to swarm around. They were all boys between eight
and twelve, all as silent as if they had had their vocal cords cut. They all
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