Elantris - Brandon Sanderson [119]
“Interesting,” Hrathen said musingly.
“What do you want with me?” the Elantrian asked.
“Just to ask you some questions,” Hrathen said, stepping back to his desk and sitting down. He continued to study the creature with curiosity. Never in all of his varied travels had he seen a disease such as this.
“Do you … have any food?” the Elantrian asked. There was a slight edge of wildness to his eyes as he mentioned the word “food.”
“If you answer my questions, I promise to send you back to Elantris with a full basket of bread and cheese.”
This got the creature’s attention. He nodded vigorously.
So hungry, Hrathen thought with curiosity. And, what was it that Dilaf said? No heartbeat? Perhaps the disease does something to the metabolism—makes the heart beat so quickly that it’s hard to detect, increases the appetite somehow?
“What were you before you were thrown into the city, Diren?” Hrathen asked.
“A peasant, my lord. I worked the fields of Aor Plantation.”
“And, how long have you been an Elantrian?”
“I was thrown in during the fall,” Diren said. “Seven months? Eight? I lose track….”
So Dilaf’s other assertion, that Elantrians fell “comatose” within a few months, was incorrect. Hrathen sat thoughtfully, trying to decide what kind of information this creature might have that could be of use to him.
“What is it like in Elantris?” Hrathen asked.
“It’s … terrible, my lord,” Diren said, looking down. “There’s the gangs. If you go the wrong place, they’ll chase you, or hurt you. No one tells the newcomers about things, so if you aren’t careful, you’ll walk into the market…. That’s not good. And, there’s a new gang now—so say a few of the Elantrians I know on the streets. A fourth gang, more powerful than the others.”
Gangs. That implied a basic level of society, at least. Hrathen frowned to himself. If the gangs were as harsh as Diren implied, then perhaps he could use them as an example of Svrakiss for his followers. However, speaking with the complacent Diren, Hrathen was beginning to think that perhaps he should continue making his condemnations from a distance. If any percentage of the Elantrians were as harmless as this man, then the people of Kae would probably be disappointed in the Elantrians as “demons.”
As the interrogation proceeded, Hrathen realized that Diren didn’t know much more that was of use. The Elantrian couldn’t explain what the Shaod was like—it had happened to him while he was sleeping. He claimed that he was “dead,” whatever that meant, and that his wounds no longer healed. He even showed Hrathen a cut in his skin. The wound wasn’t bleeding, however, so Hrathen just suspected that the pieces of skin hadn’t sealed properly as they healed.
Diren knew nothing of the Elantrian “magic.” He claimed that he’d seen others doing magical drawings in the air, but Diren himself didn’t know how to do likewise. He did know that he was hungry—very hungry. He reiterated this idea several times, as well as mentioning twice more that he was frightened of the gangs.
Satisfied that he knew what he’d wanted to find out—that Elantris was a brutal place, but disappointingly human in its methods of brutality—Hrathen sent for the Guard captain who had brought Diren.
The captain of the Elantris City Guard entered obsequiously. He wore thick gloves, and he prodded the Elantrian out of its chair with a long stick. The captain eagerly accepted a bag of coins from Hrathen, then nodded as Hrathen made him promise to purchase Diren a basket of food. As the captain forced his prisoner out of the room, Dilaf appeared at Hrathen’s door. The arteth watched his prey leave with a look of disappointment.
“Everything ready?” Hrathen asked.
“Yes, my hroden,” Dilaf said. “People are already beginning to arrive for the services.”
“Good,” Hrathen said, leaning back in his chair, lacing his fingers thoughtfully.
“Does something concern you, my hroden?”
Hrathen shook his head. “I was just planning for the evening speech. I believe it is time for us to move on to the next step in our plans.”
“The next step, my hroden?”
Hrathen