Jeweler's Marks

Mary, Bella, Granny, Bakhtar, Nanva, and Fari gathered at the side of the pond as Darkub, Shirini, and Astra walked on home. Astra's performance provoked a number of questions. Now, only Mary and Granny knew about the Resin of Petrona. Bella and Bakhtar had finished examining the rings.

The six gathered in a circle. Granny nodded at Nanva. "Your thoughts?"

"Her story is incredible. She claims that she just appeared on the beach, wished there by some knight. It is extremely unconvincing. Yet if she were trying to impress us, she would surely would not have told us that she was fleeing from the law. I do not know what to make of it."

Granny then said, "Bella?"

"I think she was much closer to the truth tonight than she was with the first story. She doesn't seem to fit into Hespan. She didn't know what Polabi Courthouse was, for example. Yet she had to have been there."

"Why do you say that?"

She held out a ring. "This one was cast to commemorate the tenth year of the King's reign. So it was made recently. She was right - this is cheap jewelry. See, the gold leaf has already worn off, to expose a duller brass."

"But more importantly," said Bakhtar, "I recognize the markings. All smiths in gold or silver have to be licensed by the Kingdom, and as part of the casting process, each piece of jewelry has to be stamped with a special provincial mark. Four of these rings have a circle P, which is Polabi's. Polabi has few silversmiths, and their work is mostly for the trade in and around the towns along the great road, so she had to have picked these up around Polabi Courthouse."

Granny asked, "What were the other markings?"

"Two were obscure or obliterated. One was from Corona, which might be expected, as it is close, and there are several smiths there. One was from Petrona, in the trans-Hespanic states of all places. If she had brought these from aboard, I could tell from their markings. If she had come from another part of Hespan, say Nom Malbra or the capital, I would expect most of the marks to be either from Corona or the capital, as the capital is where the bulk of the jewelry, both fine and common, is made."

"So she picked up the jewelry locally," noted Granny. "That would seem to fit the part of her story of how she got the rings. Bakhtar, do you remember a Zari from the last time you at court?"

Bakhtar smiled. "Yes I do, as a matter of fact. She was a very lively young girl at the time, and something of a chatterer. And if she had become a seamstress, that would not have surprised me. Her mother was also a seamstress at the market, and both of her parents were from undistinguished families. Zari herself seems to have risen a little in the world, to become the satrap's seamstress."

"Well, Fari, your thoughts?"

"I think that she is more than a bit daft, and certainly flighty. I wonder if the alchemists have experimented on her, and abandoned her? It would be just like some of them. She seems to be good at heart."

Granny nodded gravely. "I had not thought of that. Good point."

Mary spoke. "It seems that she is wanted by both the satrap and the governor of Corona. And just looking at her during the last song, I could tell that she was homesick. We are not going to send her to Polabi Courthouse for questioning, are we?"

1. Yes.
2. No.
3. Not right away.

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