Bone Lord 4, стр. 59
“That is the sigil of the Dragon Cult! We must question the innkeeper about this.”
“Not before we go out and use the robe,” I said. “And if we ask him straight out, he’s going to know we were snooping through his stuff.”
“Ah yes, you’re right. Come then, let’s brave the storm and see what we can discover.”
Chapter Twenty
We headed into the howling wind and flashing lightning, angry thunderclaps resounding all around us. It was a hard slog to get through the tempest, but after a considerable amount of effort we found a dingy tavern that was still open, and stepped inside. At the bar were a pair of drunk Prandish sailors, a couple of Yengishmen, also inebriated, and some of the Emperor’s soldiers in their yellow and red armor. They too were drinking, and their fierce-looking helmets were off. Both men had shaved heads with only black bangs unshorn; this, Zhenwan said, was the standard haircut for Yengish soldiers. The pair of them scowled darkly at us as we walked in, but said nothing.
“Why’d they give us that dirty look?” I asked Zhenwan after we sat down at a table.
“The Order of Blind Monks is resented by the Emperor and his army. The monks bow to no authority but their own secret deity. They are beholden only to their own laws, which prevent them from harming any living being. Because of an ancient agreement between a long-dead Glorious Emperor and the head of their order, and because their own laws prevent them from committing any sorts of crimes, the current Emperor has to permit their existence and independence in Yeng. In recent times, however, he has been looking for any excuse possible to nullify this ancient agreement and persecute the Blind Monks. As long as none of them break any laws, though, he cannot … so please, Lord Chauzec, try not to kill anyone while dressed in this garb.”
“I’ll try. Wouldn’t be the first war I’ve started, though,” I said with a chuckle, my voice muffled a little by the layers of yellow cloth wrapped around my face.
“I’ll go order us some drinks, and keep an ear open for useful information,” Zhenwan said.
He went to the bar and left me at the table. While most of the conversations were in Yengish, I could just pick up the drunken Prandish sailors’ conversation, so I strained my ears to listen in. They provided nothing except tales of their sexual exploits, however.
A hunched-over, elderly servant hobbled toward my table, a cleaning rag and a bucket in his hands. He mumbled something to me in Yengish, which seemed to be something like “excuse me, sir.” I let him clean the table in front of me while I continued listening to the sailors, hoping I might hear something worthwhile. It was fruitless, and when I turned my attention back to the table, the old man had finished cleaning and was limping away. I immediately noticed there was a note left on the now clean table.
I opened it and saw that it was written in the pictographic language of Yeng. The characters were raised from the paper, pressed to create ridges, so they could be read by the fingers of a blind man as well as by someone with their sight intact. When Zhenwanm returned to the table, looking disappointed, I handed him the note.
“Heard nothing much,” he said. “Some men were talking about girls drained of blood and the Hooded Man, but it was about several weeks ago, so useless now.”
“Have a look at this.” I handed him the note. “This old servant came and cleaned my table before he left it here.”
“‘Revered Brother Monk, our Brethren will be meeting tonight in the usual place at the stroke of midnight,’” Zhenwan read the note to me. “‘An exciting new development has taken place; a figure of great power has come across the ocean to our shores, one who may help bring the Revered Deity back from oblivion. Power be to Dragons and the Dragon Goddess, and peace be upon all living things!’”
Zhenwan looked at me with wide-open eyes. This was exciting news; we could use some local informants on our side.
“Now I know why there’s a Dragon Cult emblem hidden inside this sleeve,” I said.
“We must find out where this meeting place is,” Zhenwan said. “The order of Blind Monks could be powerful allies to our cause.”
“Powerful allies? I mean, they sound like real nice folk, with all that love and harmlessness, but I need warriors on my side, not peace-loving monks.”
Zhenwan grinned. “Something I didn’t tell you is that the Blind Monks are some of the most skilled warriors in all of Yeng. They do not use weapons, and do not kill, but they will beat anyone who threatens them to within an inch of their lives. And if an enemy threatens to kill innocents, they are permitted to ignore their no killing rule. Killing an enemy to save innocent lives is preferable to allowing the enemy to kill innocents.”
“Well, that does change things.”
“They would be excellent allies, Lord Chauzec, but how do we go about finding their meeting place? We can’t exactly go walking around asking about their secret meeting place. And the storms outside will make the task rather arduous.”
“That old servant knows something. Of course, if I ask him any questions, he’ll quickly figure out I’m no blind monk and he’ll clam up tighter than a nun’s asshole. And he’s way too weak and pathetic a figure for me to beat the information out of him. I wouldn’t kick an old cleaner’s ass, it’s just not right. Can we bribe him?”
“Gold is useless to one in the service of the Blind Monks. They take poverty vows much like the monks.”
I paused to