“The Magistrate will see you now.”
The announcement snapped everyone back to a consciousness of their surroundings from the haze caused by Rob’s cryptic warning. For a moment visiting the magistrate didn’t seem all that important. But duty pushed them onward.
The three of them began to climb the steps to the Magistrate’s throne, but Robs large wooden feet had difficulty finding purchase on the steps. After a few unsuccessful starts Thew pulled the witch’s divination bones from his cloak and used one to bridge the gap between Robs heal and the stair. In this way by standing a pace behind Thew and Jimmy could insure their ticket to the Magistrate’s audience could make it. Fortunately the Magistrate’s throne wasn’t nearly as tall as the temple because by the time they reached the top nearly half of the wooden bones had snapped. When finally they reached the summit Thew was determined to make as short an interview as he could and begin searching for the presence Rob had mentioned.
Thew's solution to the climb meant that Rob was the first one to reach the top. By the time Thew and Jimmy came around him they could see that the Magistrate's court was simply the top of the pyramid with a cover over it, wide open without walls save a few pillars. There was nothing between them and the Magistrate. Yet the magistrate seemed hardly to acknowledge their presence. Not knowing whether they should approach or wait to be summed Thew and Jimmy froze at the top of the stairs. It was Rob, again oblivious to such notions as etiquette, who lumbered forward first. When he had gone a pace a flunky next to the magistrate boisteriously announced them Over taking the clockwork man Rob and Jimmy approached until a signal from the fluky told them they were close enough. Jimmy nudged Thew to address the Magistrate who suddenly felt his age.
“Magistrate, we have done as you have asked and have brought our clockwork man to see you,” Thew said, motioning to Rob who he could hear by his ticks and tocks was right behind them, “and would like to discuss with you a matter of grave importance. There is a mounting army…”
Suddenly Thew was cut off as Rob with deliberate motion pushed him aside and continued forward extending the smaller of his arms, tick by tick, towards the Magistrate.
“What are you…” began Jimmy before two impressively muscled guards appeared from either side of the throne and reached for the ticking robot. “Wait,” Jimmy yelled, tho whether it was at Rob or the guards Thew wasn’t sure.
Jimmy continued his vocal protests and the guards shouted theirs back as they closed the distance between them and Rob. In a moment Robs progress had been halted by the guards who brought him crashing to the ground. Robs counter weights tangled around his pendulums and Thew could see that Rob was at risk of ceasing up so Thew threw himself at Robs gears and tried to untangle the chains but was roughly pushed aside the guard, skidding to a stop near the Magistrate. As the din rose Thew tried to distinguish voices from each other.
“Assassin!”
“…brought this thing here…”
“…must have it…”
“…You’ve stopped him, there’s no need…”
“…presence…”
“…get it for me…”
“…Look, look, will you just look…”
“…presence…”
“…must have…”
“…presence…”
Suddenly Thew saw Rob’s hand. He was pointing at the magistrate’s chest even as the motion of his gears were grinding to a stop. Thew could make out that it was Rob was saying “presence” over and over again. Then Thew heard Robs voice again, as if talking twice at the same time. No, not Robs voice, but A voice that sounded , like Robs, no so much in his ears but in his bones. This one was saying, “get it for me, give it to me, I must have it.”
Thew followed robs finger and looked at the magistrate’s chest. In the middle of the gold chains and finery there was a red crystal in a ordinate jewelry piece.
“What are you looking at? How dare you… Guards! Get them out and have that thing…” continued the Magistrate in a tirade.
Under the magistrate’s voice Thew could hear the other voice whispering, “Get it for me. Keep it safe, don’t damage it.”
“Don’t damage it.” The magistrate echoed.
Thew looked at the Magistrate. “You can hear it.” Thew said quietly. Then to Jimmy he yelled, “He can hear it!”
Jimmy who was caught up in a shouting match with the guards yelled back, “Hear what?!”
The Magistrate turned his attention to his guards while Thew explained, “The crystal! On his chest! It speaks! Like Rob!”
Disrupting Jimmy’s shouting match, the guards could now hear their Magistrate as he shouted orders at them, “Take that thing away, but keep it safe.”
“Don’t let it start moving again,” whispered the stone on the magistrate’s chest.
“Don’t let it start moving again, just keep those chains where they are,” sad the Magistrate echoing the words of the crystal with a momentary nervous glance at Thew.
Thew was sure this time but the revelation transfixed him, unsure what he could possibly do.
“And take them away,” ordered the Magistrate, motioning to Thew and Jimmy.
“That thing is our companion,” Jimmy began to protest.
The Magistrate cut him off with “Who tried to assassinate me,” and proceeded to threaten death as he ordered Rob be stored until later.
“Yes. Yes.” Thew heard the crystal on his chest whisper it’s approval.
“You,” the Magistrate continued, “are to leave immediately. I will not allow assassins in my country. Now go.”
Jimmy’s hand on Thew’s arm and gentle whisper in his ear told him that they were in danger if they stayed. Feeling confused and angry and helpless Thew didn’t even realize Jimmy had led him away until they were outside the city and Jimmy was explaining what happened to Aeoril and Trapper.
