Lion Head Mesa but the doors won’t shut until they’re sure there’s nothing left to use

sayf! place this fennel with the devil’s club. qiao’s order barked sharp down the hall. the thin priestess had only just returned to akashingo’s clay halls, fresh braids of yarrow woven through the worn greenbriar torc around her neck. 

she had secured new routes for trade with akashingo far to the south. she was tired from her journey, but there were things to be set in motion before her head rested on sheepskin tonight. 

qiao moved in quick steps to @Ramesses’ grand chambers.

"lady qiao." ramesses had filled all his hollow places with wealth and drink and pleasures of the flesh in the days since his queen and his child had departed.
they would return, and in the meantime he entertained the thought of having nazli summoned!
but it was the trade-priestess who caught his eye. he strode to meet her with lapis gaze charmed and insistent. "it is good to see you again."

ramesses of the red earth. qiao's gaze apprised him warmly. she bowed. my pharaoh.

even in its inception akashingo had been a palace of grandeur. yet now, in her absence, it seemed gold filigree roared to life. ramesses bathed in splendor, and he wore royalty in the assured manner of a cat. i bring good news of my journey. but first -- a gift.

from her deerskin pelt she procured three quail eggs that had been transported with great care, wrapped in seaweed that had dried to a salty crisp. a token of good faith from our merchant in the south.

lady of a thousand names and a hundred trades; yes, he was more than pleased to see her return to him.
he grinned to see her gifts and bent to taste them. the flavor and scent of salt reminded him of marina.
pharaoh bit into a quail's egg and savored the richness. "lady qiao. you bless me."

they are said to improve fertility, my king. qiao bowed and stepped back to give ramesses space and time to enjoy the small yet rich meal.

her mouth watered, yet she had been dining well along the trade routes. merchants were generous with their offers, tight with their secrets, and intriguing in all the ways that lit her inner curiosity.

when ramesses had finished his small sample of their future cuisine, qiao spoke. we have a new vendor to the south, who will trade us rowanberries and meats in exchange for skins. and i have learned of two new plants that might help those in our sickbay. the hemet paused, one long ear slanted in ramesses direction. i have been gone a long while, my king. what needs to be done?

"you have been quite fruitful in the service of akashingo," ramesses commented. fertility indeed!
he hoped to beget more than one prince this year. qiao spoke again of tasks to be fulfilled and pharaoh settled with a cool look in his eyes. "my queen means to give a winter feast. and in your absence, it is the princess makono who has become my heir. her elevation leaves the role of both queen and consort empty, for siptah was meant for that last role."

the pharaoh settled into his throne, extending upon its surface in the luxurious manner of a wolf assured of his designation. qiao bowed deeply at his praise.

she had missed much in her absence. of this, she admonished herself; there was so much to catch up upon and do! the queen; what queen? qiao wondered if satsu's murderer had ever been found. had it been him, then? or some malcontent mazoi?

these questions she would pose at a later time, perhaps to a less cunning audience.

qiao rose from her bow. i will see to it at once that our feast is royally stocked. akashingo's wares had grown since she'd last graced their hall, but upon her return qiao had come with several new spices. she hoped they would be well received. where has siptah gone, my king?

"he did not say. when makono announced her ascension to hawk-in-the-nest, when i said i must stand with the priests and with Ma'at, when i named him her future Divine Consort — ah, lady qiao. too many changes for a boy who thought he would be pharaoh."
ramesses sighed, and it was the pained intake of a man aged beyond the sight of his face.
"have you heard anything?" and here, a tinge of uncommon desperation.

i have not, my pharaoh. qiao spoke regrettably, eyes upon the ground. change was a difficult thing to acclimate to, especially for young creatures which possessed neither the faculties for rational thinking nor the perception to want to.

a shame for other reasons too; qiao had yet to collect her debt. the boy would have been a fine disciple, but qiao sensed his purpose was elsewhere. she had not sensed the aniti in the boy would serve her much use. but i will consult with the to'lang if it be your wish. around her neck the bones in her deerskin pelt seemed to clank, as if by speaking the word of their tongue they had been awakened.

"it is."
gone for a moment, the man with the taste of wealth still rich upon his tongue! he rolled his lazuli eyes to heaven and realized for a long while he had not felt the touch of Amun.
"i do not know what spirit is in makono. perhaps you might ask for that as well."
ramesses drew a breath. "it may be time to reassess terms of our negotiation with mereo."
to quell what he suspected was there.

very well, my red king. qiao's muzzle descended to the earth. she would find @Makono later, though she suspected whatever spirit hounded makono was simply the unpleasant spirit of adolescence.

she began to arrange her pieces - first the birdbone, then the chipmunk's skull. one ear remained trained on ramesses. have they been any use to you of late? with a shake qiao tossed the remaining artifacts of her clutch upon the redstone, studying their assembly with a frown.

ramesses enjoyed her name for him; it shone in a flash of his lazuli eyes.
but then they grew hard as the stones beneath the waters of the serpent. "the roman has turned the prince's head. i am not surprised. but to be pharaoh is to be loyal to whomsoever sits upon the throne. and that is me."
did she now understand?
ramesses gathered himself. "i have business elsewhere. welcome back, lady qiao." he stepped grandly from his throne and departed, moving in thought toward the place of priests.
pharaoh ached to see siptah again.

great pharoah. qiao bowed deep, skull to the red stone.

already the pharoah had swept himself in gatherings of cloak. qiao remained still as he sped from the chamber.

he was changed. qiao sensed it in his manner and sensed it in the thoughts which he left behind. there was a smokiness there which clouded her senses --

there was much to do then. qiao set it upon herself to plan their feast and then visit makono. she made for her chambers in unhurried step.