Ghost Monkey, стр. 45

"Who are you?" one asked.

"I'm Sugriva. I was here with an old man."

They laughed from some joke he didn't know. "I see. Come. Dance."

A WEEK LATER HE REACHED Pindam with a group of peddlers. He left the group and changed, so he could shamble down the main road. Sack cloth wrapped around him as he begged. They would assume leprosy or some other wasting disease. It did him well, as he settled into a ditch, leaning on the staff which was two feet long. Across the road was a massive and beautiful lake, a sapphire glistening under the sun. Countless boats sailed across it, displaying banners of different colors and designs to show all the tribes which made up the Miyam Kingdom. Tribes were good, though. Illness could be brought back to their homes, and so the sick became all the more feared.

The Tomb of Raya was in the Pindam palace courtyard. While the palace was a good three stories tall, the tower marking the tomb was twice that, with a brazier at the pinnacle. Guards walked the grounds, and raptors flew overhead. Sugriva could only assume they were trained in spotting the calculated motions of a janaav, compared to the instinctive motions of a common monkey. Some birds would also be trained in sniffing out janaav.

Sugriva crossed the street and went near the lake. There, he covered himself in mud and took grass shavings and rolled around in them. Then he went near the palace and laid in the grass until night.

He inched his way toward the palace wall. With a thought, the staff launched him up and over the wall. He plopped into the courtyard. The fall was harder than he expected, with an audible thump, but the guard didn't notice. A kite must have heard the sound, though, as one broke formation and dropped into the courtyard. It swooped across four times and even landed. The kite's head cocked from one side to the other, waiting for motion. Sugriva barely breathed, using his meditation techniques to remain still. Then the kite's wings unfurled, and it launched itself back into the sky.

Four guards watched the tomb. There was a split moment where each guard arrived at their corner and had to turn. Right before the turn would be the moment. Sugriva worked his way through the dark grass until he was in front of the tomb, only to find large bronze doors.

The monkey cursed under his breath. The tomb had an overhang, so at least he could hide from the birds. However, there was no easy way for him to hide in front of the door. He could work off superstition. Force the doors open quickly and dash inside with the hope the guards wouldn't follow. Miyam held strong beliefs on burial grounds, and hopefully that applied in the capital. In a few days, Sugriva would burst out of the tomb and leave before the guards could respond.

It was wishful thinking.

Several lanterns around the tomb gave Sugriva a different idea. As the guards looked away from the lanterns, the earth staff shot out. The lantern tumbled to the ground and grass blazed. The four guards rushed to the fire and tried to put it out. One of them ran off, shouting for help. No doubt, there would be a water elementalist to help in such cases. He couldn't take on that much power.

Footsteps thumped in the distance, but Sugriva had enough time to open the bronze doors and shut them behind him. With the moon and stars shut out, he was enveloped by utter darkness.

"I'd rather fight earth spirits again than deal with this." He fumbled around with his staff, until he found a bowl with kindling. He lit it and could see down the corridors. They were dank and narrow, with much of the stone walls falling in. Soil burst through as if trying to choke off the pathway. Obviously no one visited in many years, and no one cared to upkeep the insides.

He lit several other braziers to reveal the path. A few snakes hissed at the intruder, and Sugriva struck them dead.

A casket rested in the center of the main chamber. Clay jars lined the walls, all clumsily made, or at least clumsy by modern standards. They were misshapen, lacked symmetry, and there was no beauty. There was paint on them, though time wore most of it off, and what was left was rudimentary at best as far as artistic ability.

An assortment of stuff was held by the jars, though only the salt mattered. Sugriva went through the countless jars until he found what he wanted. He put it in a small pouch and tied it around his wrist.

There was a lot of yelling outside the tomb. It could have been the fire getting out of hand, but the door didn't seem hot, and for it to get out of control all the grass around the tomb would have to be ablaze. It was obvious to them there was an intruder, and this would make escape difficult.

He cracked open the door and looked outside. Guards ran around the yard, with birds watching from the sky. Orders were shouted, though there was little structure to the search. He couldn't understand why no one at least watched the tomb. Perhaps the taboo was so rigid it was incomprehensible that someone would even enter in the first place. Sugriva suddenly felt dirty for violating the dead.

Then again, he was capturing artifacts for a demon. He sneaked out the door. Guards shouted when they saw him, but Sugriva knew his next move. He launched himself in the air using the staff, landed harshly on the other side of the wall, then braced the staff against the wall to launch himself far out into the jungle.

THE SCENT OF SMOKE—OF burning wood and flesh—told Sugriva he was duped