Chapter 10: Article Nine

The Alliance's visiting Inspector came up the three thousand and nine steps on foot, which no Alliance officer had done in living memory.

He arrived at the Great Hall at noon, dusty to the knee.

He wore a plain grey travelling robe with an Alliance badge pinned at the collar.

He refused the chair they brought him.

"I have been sitting on a barge for nine days. I would like to read."

He was seventy and looked forty-five.

He wore spectacles of clear crystal, and when he looked over them, the room felt checked for errors.

The five Peak Lords stood in a row before the dais.

The Lord of Spear Peak was a broad woman with a gray braid.

The Lord of Talisman Peak was thin and silent.

The Rain Lord stood beside Shen with his flute in his hand and a look of angelic patience.

Yuan Qianhe stood at the end of the row, tapping his ruler.

The Master sat on his dais with the gold seal ring on his thumb, and smiled.

"Inspector. The sect is honored."

"The Charter is honored, Master. The sect is merely audited."

The Inspector unrolled a long scroll.

"Every third year, the Alliance sends an officer to read its articles aloud to the Peak Lords of every sect."

"A man cannot obey a rule he has not heard." He tapped the scroll.

"I will read all that bear on this audit, and then I will ask for the books."

His voice was dry and clear, and did not hurry.

"Article Two. The Inspector may question any member of the sect, and no member may refuse."

Beside Shen, the Rain Lord let out a long theatrical sigh.

"Article Four. Any paper laid upon the floor of an Assembly shall be read in full by its holder. Nothing in it may be struck."

The Inspector turned a page.

"The Master may not adjourn the Assembly while it is read."

The Master's smile did not alter.

"And Article Nine."

The Inspector paused, and looked over his spectacles at the dais.

"If the Inspector finds that a Sect Master has taken the core or the life-root of any disciple of his own sect,"

He lowered the page.

"by any means but that disciple's open consent, the Master forfeits the seat."

He turned another page.

"The finding must be confirmed by three of the five Peak Lords, each by silent token, without speech or writing."

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