Page 66 of The City of Zirdai
“As I see it, it’s more like…opening it up to its full potential. Like widening that crack. I’ve no idea if it’ll work, but I think it’s worth the effort if Mojag agrees.”
“When are you going to…you know…try?”
“Not for a couple sun jumps,” Shyla said. “I need to recover.”
“All right. I’ll take him with me to the black-market dealers while you rest.” Jayden glanced at her. “What about your ideas to recruit more people?”
Ximen straightened. “You have ideas?”
“A few. One of the reasons I experimented with Gurice and Mojag was to see if The Eyes could recognize a person’s magic. Since they can, I thought I’d start with the deacons who’ve been tortured. Perhaps some cracked while being rehabilitated, and they might be interested in joining us.”
“And if they’re not, they’ll alert all their deacon friends,” Gurice said.
“Of course there’s a risk,” Shyla said. “I’m hoping once I read their souls, I’ll know the likelihood of them joining. And if they’re truly devoted to the Heliacal Priestess, then I’ll erase their memories before they yell for help.”
“How are you going to find them?” Ximen asked. “It’s not like they have ‘I’ve been beaten into submission’ written on their robes.”
“I know they’re not the ones guarding the chapels or the dining cavern or working in the confession rooms. They tend to hold the lowly jobs. They’re the gardeners, the cleaners, and the kitchen workers.”
“What about the people you freed from the confession rooms?” Gurice asked her. “They’re probably grateful.”
“That’s a possibility.”
“We could free more,” Ximen said.
She’d like to rescue them all. “Not for a while. The deacons will be on guard for another ambush.”
“What are your other ideas?” Jayden asked.
“The vagrants. We could recruit from the communes.”
“You meanIcould,” Jayden said. “They won’t trust an outsider. Well, most won’t. Orla’s know what’s going on with the Invisible Sword. They’re already helping us, but I guess it won’t hurt to ask if anyone wants to join. With Orla’s permission, of course.”
“Of course. Did the Invisible Sword ever recruit from the communes?” Shyla asked.
“Only a select few who could be trusted. And those who had the potential for magic were kidnapped and put through the test.”
Which, if she learned how to unlock a person’s power, wouldn’t be necessary.
“I’ll make some inquiries while I’m working for the black-market dealers,” Jayden said.
“Thanks. And I also thought about recruiting from the guards.”
The response was instant and unanimous—it was a terrible idea.
“I’m sure there are many guards who are unhappy with the state of affairs,” she tried.
“There may be, but they won’t let you get near them to ask,” Jayden said.
Still worth the effort. But Shyla realized they’d never agree, so she moved on. “What about the citizens? Will some of them be willing to join?”
“No,” Gurice said. “Those that are disgruntled enough to do something usually become vagrants, refusing to pay taxes and the tithe. The others are either content, complicit, or not miserable enough to make the effort. All useless.”
“Let’s start with the vagrants and see how many are willing to join us,” Shyla said. “Ximen, you keep working with Aphra to ensure the dig stays hidden. Take half of our members. Gurice, I need you to organize the other half and start excavating a tunnel to Zirdai.”
“What are you going to do?” Jayden asked.
“I’m going to do what I do best. Research. I’ll search for information on Tamburah’s other vault and look for another dig site that might be easier to access.”
