Kushiel's Scion - Jacqueline Carey [150]
"Letters!" The gentleman chuckled. "They'll test you on your own merits, lad. Luck to you." He heaved himself to his feet. "Tell them Deccus Fulvius said you were well-spoken," he said over his shoulder as he left. "It can't hurt your cause."
Gilot and I clambered out of the pool, and attendants toweled us off briskly.
"Thank you," I said. "Tell me, do you know that man?"
My attendant's eyes bulged. "Deccus Fulvius? How not?" Seeing my ignorance, he continued. "He is a senator, my lord, one of the most powerful; or the richest, at least." Glancing around, he lowered his voice. "He is one of the Restorationists."
"Restorationists?" I asked, bewildered.
"Those who wish to restore Tiberium to its glory as a republic," he whispered.
"Ah." I nodded. "Thank you."
By the time we returned to the antechamber and donned our clothes, there were food vendors strolling about and hawking their wares within the baths. It seemed strange to me, but the Tiberians regarded it as normal. We bought sausages and boiled eggs, venturing out of the baths and eating them as we went.
"So what's that about, Imri?" Gilot mused. "That Restorationist business?"
"I'm not sure," I admitted. "Tiberium was a republic, long ago. The Senate lost power when it became an empire. Even after it all fell apart, it's never regained its stature. I imagine there are some, like this Deccus Fulvius, who'd like to see it restored."
Gilot shrugged. "Precious little to quibble over."
"Not if you're a Tiberian senator," I observed.
Finishing our impromptu meal, we entered the Great Forum. To our amusement, we beheld the spectacle of a man in the velvet robes of a master scholar giving chase to a flock of pigeons. He yelled and shouted, thin arms protruding from his trailing sleeves, waving wildly. The pigeons took wing in unison, flapping and soaring. From time to time, he took a pinch of cornmeal from a pouch he carried, scattering it on the marble paving. When he did, the pigeons descended en masse; and then he plunged into their midst, shouting, while they swirled around him. Next he laid a trail of meal, while the pigeons followed, clucking and cooing, pooling around his feet… and then he startled them again, flapping his robes, revealing his bare shanks, skinny and hairy.
We couldn't help but laugh. It was Gilot who began it, but once he started, I was lost. We stood in the Great Forum, laughing like idiots, clutching one another, hard put to stand upright. The funniest part of all was that the scholar had students. A group of them stood by, watching and respectful. A few even made notes on wax tablets.
"Oh, Imri!" Gilot gasped. "You're sure about this University business?"
I wiped my streaming eyes. "Name of Elua! I said I was done with weeping, but I hadn't reckoned on this. Surely, the man must be mad."
"You'd better—" Gilot caught my arm. "Is that Eamonn among them?"
"No!" I looked in disbelief. There he stood among the students, half a head taller than the rest, his coppery hair glinting in the sun. I'd been laughing so hard I'd missed him altogether. "What in the world?" I raised my voice, heedless of all courtesy. "Eamonn! Eamonn mac Grainne!"
The bright head swung in our direction. Even at a distance, I could see the familiar grin spreading over his features. "Imri!"
His shout startled the pigeons anew. Laughing all over again, I ran across the Forum. We met in the middle, embracing and pounding one another on the back, both of us grinning fit to split our faces.
"You made it!" he said happily. "You're here!"
I shook him by the shoulders. "Elua's Balls, but it's good to see you!"
"And you!" His grey-green eyes were alight. "Oh, Imri! There's so much to tell you. I've learned so much. Did you see Master Piero?"
I raised my brows. "The madman with the pigeons?"
"Oh, he's a brilliant man!" Eamonn said fervently. "I wrote to you about him, didn't I? Gilot, well met," he added as Gilot joined us. "Come, you both have to meet him!"
Gilot and I exchanged a look. I shrugged. "By all means."
We stood on the outskirts of the group. Master Piero