The Rat and the Serpent Read Online Free Page B

compressed. When he mounted the dais it creaked under his weight.
    “Very well,” he said. “Sit, all of you, and listen to me.”
    I limped across the floor and sat in a chair.
    “I am Musseler. I am here to direct the apprenticeship which will, for some of you, result in citidenizenship. This is the Tower of the Dessicators, an important group. We travel the Mavrosopolis soaking up excess moisture.” He pulled out a scroll from underneath his tunic, then began reading from a list. “Who is Yish?” One of the women raised her hand, as did her friend when the name Kaganashina was read out. “Who is Atavalens?” That was the panther shaman. “And who is Raknia?” The third woman, slender and beautiful, raised one delicate hand. The two remaining men were Brud and Marmarad. Then Musseler came to the final name on his list. “Who is Ügliy?”
    I hesitated for a second, then raised my hand.
    Frowning, Musseler looked at the crutch resting on my lap. “You are Ügliy?” He glanced at his list. “Of Blackguards’ Passage?”
    “Yes.”
    “And you want to take the citidenizen test?”
    I felt emotion surging in my chest, and it was all I could do to keep the frustration from my voice. “I want to become a citidenizen, I really do.”
    Musseler waved a hand at me as if to brush me away. After a pause for thought he said, “So you are genuinely crippled?”
    “I’ve been lame all my life,” I replied. “Because I’ve had to cope with it all my life it is nothing to me.”
    “But you can’t pass the citidenizen test.”
    I could take no more. I grabbed my crutch, stood up and yelled, “I have to!” I took a deep breath, looking down at the floor. “I have to become a citidenizen,” I declared in a softer voice. “I am a nogoth, and there are many nogoths with faults—some are blind, some are deaf. They still aspire to the citidenizenry.”
    Musseler looked me straight in the eye. “We’re going to have some fun with you,” he said.
    There was a titter from the others. I sat down. Atavalens favoured me with a look of disgust.
    Folding his arms, Musseler returned to his speech. “Before any of you take the test, you must be apprenticed to one of the many groups that bring order to the Mavrosopolis. In this way you will come to understand what the test is, and thus what citidenizenship is. If you fail the first obstacle, you will return to your alleys and streets, never to be seen again, for citidenizenship is not easy and it is not free. To receive, you have to give. As nogoths you have no concept of such a relationship. To learn this most basic of principles is why you are here. Do you understand so far?”
    Atavalens nodded, and in a loud voice said, “I understand.”
    “Very well. I am your leader. I will be running this group, though that does not mean I will be with you all the time as you make your way around the Mavrosopolis. Some of the time you will be teaching yourselves. There are no other rules. At the end of the apprenticeship I will decide who is suitable for the test and who is no good.” Musseler glanced at me. “Those I recommend will go forth into the Mavrosopolis to take the test. They will be in a state neither nogoth nor citidenizen.”
    Again Atavalens nodded. “This is all clear. But the test—what does it consist of? Is it difficult?”
    Musseler ignored Atavalens. “Now I’m going to take you into the heart of this tower,” he said, “to show you the tools you’ll be using, and to explain the principles involved.”
    We were led down dusty corridors to a large chamber that echoed and boomed as we followed Musseler inside. It was arrayed with tables, upon which lay objects that I could imagine no use for.
    Musseler led us to the nearest table and indicated the objects upon it, before folding his arms and raising his gaze to the ceiling. “These are the tools you’ll be using,” he said. “Doubtless you’re wondering why the Mavrosopolis has to be dessicated.