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.Thecurlicues Argath looked for would simply have made it look tawdry; and, although it wasseverely plain in shape, it was made of wood chosen for the rich, multilayered effect of its grain.Jon wished he knew the name of the tree that produced such beautiful wood.Still, Argath had taste enough to admire the dining room tapestries, which struck him asmore like it.He even sat down near the head of the table, in an effort to imagine what it wouldhave been like to attend a state dinner. I wonder where they kept the gold plates, he said. But they re probably gone, too, justlike all of the furniture.They must have known the end was near, and sent the valuables away. That s the only explanation I can come up with.Like I told you, as soon as the Chosen enteredthe city, all entrances to the palace were sealed and guarded.That was the High Commander sorder, and he got it straight from the Great Teacher himself. Seal the Imperial Palace, he toldme, and that s exactly what I did.Since the hour we arrived, nothing has left the complex, youcan be sure of that.Do you realize that we re the first men to see the inside of this place inalmost two years? But where would the Emperor have hidden all the loot? he pondered. It s hard toimagine him taking much with him where he is now, although he probably brought the crownjewels and things like that.They couldn t take up too much space.My guess is that most of theother stuff is hidden not far from here maybe in the city itself.You can find undergroundchambers in the older parts of Kar built hundreds of years ago and forgotten when oldbuildings were torn down and new ones put in their place.There s even a legend about a tunnelunder the river.I always thought the legend was hogwash who could have built such a thingand kept it from leaking? but now I'm wondering. Argath was also fascinated by the kitchen and made much of the fact that the Emperorhad left such squalor behind, for the room was exactly as Jon remembered it dirty pots andpans on the counters and a table littered with empty bottles and unwashed tableware, nowcovered with dried mold, along with a heavy coating of dust. How does this mess fit your theory that the Emperor shipped his valuables away aheadof time? Jon asked. These look like the signs of a hasty departure. Not that hasty.They took time to eat and drink, didn t they? A man on the run grabs ahunk of bread and makes for the door.He doesn t sit at a table drinking wine.And anyway, theEmperor wouldn t have been down here in the kitchen you can bet on that.This must be theremains of a party the cooks threw for themselves after the Emperor had skipped the palace.They re smart people, cooks.They always save the choicest morsels for themselves. Argath lifted one of the bottles and held it to his nose. It s vinegar now, but you can be sure those guys helped themselves to the best in thecellar.Come to think of it, let s see if we can find the cellar. Argath began opening doors and looking down passageways.Eventually he found whathe was looking for. We need a light, he said. Did you see anything in the kitchen? There were lamps on the table, although they were probably allowed to burn themselvesout.But there should be oil somewhere.Do you want me to look? No, that s too much trouble.But we ll have to make sure there are lights when theTeacher makes his grand tour.He probably won t want to visit the wine cellar but whoknows? Jon led him back upstairs, through the dining hall and then up the staircase that led to theEmperor s study.It, too, was as Jon remembered it only, like every other room in the palace,covered with fine dust.How long ago that seemed, although, as Argath had indirectly pointedout, fewer than two years had passed since Jon had first entered the city. This must have been the office of one of the Emperor s ministers, Argath said
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