style="font-size:15px;"> “Actually, I don’t think you have time to be thinking about girls right now.”
“Why is it that you have time and I don’t?”
“That’s not what I meant. I’m trying to say that if you want to be successful with women, you’ll have to change yourself first.”
Uni shook his head. “I know, I know. I work in a basement and I don’t know anything about life. I’ve heard that a hundred times.”
“I don’t care what building you work in. See, a man is supposed to have an iron will and make people notice him. Who cares about your archive? And who cares what kind of work you do there? Licisium Dorgoe sold bread on the street when he was a young man, and now he’s the Emperor’s most trusted advisor.”
“That’s the truth,” said Sorgius, leaning back in his chair and scratching behind his ear. “Any other man would have made a name for himself in that archive of yours.”
“How would he do that? Selling scrolls? Or charging for access to closed storerooms? Sorgius, you can be a dishonest piece of trash if you want. Just don’t get your dirt on the rest of us, alright?”
“A dishonest piece of trash? Me? Have you forgotten how you, with that chicken head of yours, lost a scroll of Erido Mortimi’s prophecies last year? I’m the one who went out and bought you a copy of the scroll for three hundred leros. And I see I was a fool to do it, if you think you can…”
“I’m sorry, Sorgius, I spoke too harshly.”
“That you did. Why don’t you sit and listen sometimes, instead of telling fairy tales about far-off lands that no one wants to hear.”
“But they aren’t fairy tales.”
“That’s enough!” roared Vordius. “We drank to our friendship already, but I see that once was not enough. Let’s try the fortified wine. Empty your cups!”
“I can’t, I’ll get drunk,” said Uni, already red-faced. He wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his best robe (which he had put on especially to impress Siana).
“Eat more and listen,” said Vordius, who was enjoying the role of teacher. “Do you know what your biggest mistake in life is? You spend too much time gathering abstract knowledge. You need a completely different kind of knowledge if you want to be successful at anything.”
“Fascinating. I suppose you’ll tell me what that knowledge is?”
“How to behave around people, you fool! You run around that archive when anyone calls your name. Why is that? Because you’re an idiot and you have no concept of your own dignity. Isn’t that true?”
“Of course not. It’s cold calculation Let me explain…”
“To the demons of darkness with your explanations. I may not be that smart, but I’ve learned a lot about people over my years of service. You think you’re smart, don’t you? You think you’ll let the fools in charge think you’re working hard, but in reality you’re doing your own thing. Am I right? Well, unfortunately the fool in the story is you! Remember this: nobody cares what you’re thinking about. All that matters is how you carry yourself. You took on the role of a humble servant, and nobody will let you forget it. They’re used to seeing you that way now. I bet you’re hoping that some miracle will happen and things will change. There are no miracles in this world, Uni, and the sooner you realize that the more time you’ll have to build your own future. For yourself. Success takes time, and here you are wasting your best years!”
“I don’t know. That’s easy for you to say – you’ve been big and strong since we were children. I’m a different person. I can’t just copy you. That would be a ridiculous piece of theater.” Uni swallowed a handful of pine nuts.
“You don’t have to be big and strong. That doesn’t matter at all. Look at Sorgius – is he as strong as I am?” Vordius turned to look at his other friend, who pulled a comically sorrowful expression. “Of course not. But if a man knows what to ask for and what to do with it, he’ll do fine in life, even if he’s shorter than all the lovely women of Enteveria!”
Sorgius rolled his eyes and stuck a cheese-filled rice bun in his friend’s mouth. While Vordius struggled to chew, Sorgius took over the role of mentor to inexperienced youth.
“See, what he’s trying to say is that it doesn’t matter what you do in life. What matters is how you do it and what you manage to achieve. If you have a strong personality, people will respect you in any line of work. That includes women, of course,” he snickered. “They love successful, independent men. I think you’ve noticed that.”
“I have,” Uni sighed. “Even a fool like me can see that perfectly well.”
“Now listen,” Sorgius went on, resting his chin on his palm and studying Uni closely. “You have a way with words, even when you’ve been drinking. You’d make a good drafter of government decrees and other important documents. Don’t you agree, Vordius? That’s where he should make a career for himself!”
“Speaking of documents,” Uni said, brightening, “I want to tell you about an enormous piece of luck that just landed in my lap. Manelius Ronko stopped by at the end of the work day. He’s an advisor to the Emperor. He waited a whole hour just to see me. No one knew what he wanted, and they were all in a panic…”
Sorgius grinned. “Waiting for you? How interesting. Is he perhaps unmarried?”
“Shut your mouth, Sorgius. Now what do you think he wanted? A secret report for the Great Lord! The Emperor needs a detailed description of Virilan and everything we have in the archive on that mysterious country!”
“I have to say I’m not surprised, especially in light of what’s been happening,” Vordius said, using his brain for the first time that evening. “Haven’t you heard? Some of our soldiers were chasing a band of nomads. They followed them farther into the Wasteland than anyone has gone before, and they discovered a Virilan camp on the plain.
“What do you mean? That’s impossible. Virilans almost never leave their own lands. I can’t imagine what they would be doing there.”
Vordius’ eyes were shining. “By all the demons of the fearsome darkness, I don’t know, either. When the men returned and told their officers, the whole thing was hushed up. I just heard some rumors.”
“Those soldiers were there for a reason,” Sorgius interrupted. “You two may have jobs that keep you near the palace, but you’re like blind chickens without me.”
Uni turned to him, “Did someone tell you about it?” He was starting to feel that he didn’t understand anything. “Tell me how you know about such secrets!”
“Maybe I don’t know anything. Vordius is right. All the warriors involved in the raid signed oaths of silence. Unfortunately, some of them thought that didn’t apply to their wives.”
“And?”
“And what? The wives have friends, the friends have lovers…”
“How could they break their oaths? It was a state secret!”
“Stop worrying, Uni. It’s all still confidential. When I
