Treachery's Tools

by L. E. Modesitt Jr.

  9

  Two quints past seventh glass found Alyna, Zaerlyn, and Alastar gathered in Alastar and Alyna’s study, with Alastar concluding his description of both the problems Solidar and the Collegium faced, particularly the problems with the banques, as well as the events of his day. When he finished, he turned to Alyna. “Is there anything you’d like to add?”

  “Not to add. Do you think Lorien will actually deny those petitions as strongly as he said he would?”

  “He’s been known to dither, but his resignation over the words and his anger about the High Holders trying to subvert the Codex Legis are a good indication that he just might do what he said and do so quickly.” Unless he has second thoughts, which unfortunately he does too often. Alastar glanced to Zaerlyn. “Does any of this have to do with what you wanted to discuss?”

  “Unhappily … it does. Not directly, perhaps, but … I’m concerned about Ryel. I’ve heard … a few things.”

  Alastar nodded and waited, much as he wanted to press.

  “Calkoran has some contacts in Montagne … he’s heard that Cransyr made several visits to Regial’s holding over the past year … and Cransyr and Ryel have met several times as well.”

  “Regial? Lorien’s brother Ryentar?” Actually, Ryentar was only Lorien’s half-brother, but with Asarya’s death, few, if any, actually knew that, although Alastar had no doubts that there had to be some who suspected it. Still, with Ryentar’s marriage to the youngest daughter of High Holder Caervyn and the subsequent birth of a daughter and a son, he seemed to be behaving himself, although Alastar had some doubts that Ryentar could ever be totally trusted.

  “The same.”

  “Possibly some plot of Cransyr’s … or Ryel’s?” asked Alastar.

  Zaerlyn shook his head. “It might be coincidence. Ryel never was that close to Ryentar when they were young. I’m not sure they ever even met.”

  “I worry about whether it’s coincidence, when all three of them dislike both the rex and imagers.”

  Zaerlyn looked to his sister.

  Alyna nodded. “I was rather harsh on Ryentar. So was Alastar.”

  “I never understood why Ryentar and Lady Asarya were exiled. You only wrote that they were plotting against Lorien.”

  “Lady Asarya wanted Ryentar to be rex.” Alyna looked to Alastar, who nodded. “She conspired with a renegade senior imager and an army commander. They were the ones who set off Antiagon Fire in the Anomen D’Rex at the memorial service for Rex Ryen. “They were trying to remove Lorien, the marshal of the armies, and the senior commanders. They also set it up so that if Alastar survived, the imagers would be blamed for Lorien’s death. It almost worked.”

  “I never knew all that.” Zaerlyn’s glance at his sister was mildly accusing.

  “That was my decision,” replied Alastar. “At the time, I didn’t think executing the recently bereaved widow of the rex and the younger brother of the rex—especially given the unpopularity of the late Rex Ryen—would have been well taken. It seemed better to let people believe that it had all been an army plot against Lorien and the Collegium, and that Lorien was providing well for his younger brother, if removing him from temptation. Most High Holders knew that Lady Asarya had not gotten along that well in the Chateau D’Rex, and stayed well away from it as much as she could. So the fact that she accompanied Ryentar to Montagne wasn’t exactly seen as unusual.”

  “No. That was what I’d thought.”

  “Now…” mused Alastar, “I have to wonder…”

  Zaerlyn frowned. “I can’t say that I like having been deceived, but even if there is a plot between those three, you did what was needed at the time.”

  “Even if it does turn out to make matters more complicated now,” added Alyna.

  “Is there anything else about Ryel or other High Holders?” asked Alastar. “Anything to do with claims before regional justicers?”

  “Not about Ryel. Cransyr and his father and grandsire have always felt that the justicers shouldn’t have any power over High Holders. That was something Calkoran told me.”

  “Did he say why?”

  “No. He just said it went a long ways back. He didn’t know why.”

  “Obviously, High Holders don’t forget much,” said Alastar dryly. Whether they learn anything from what they remember is another question.

  “When everyone else keeps track of old scores, it’s dangerous to forget,” observed Zaerlyn.

  “And it’s more dangerous for those of us who don’t even know what those scores are.” Alastar paused, then asked, “What proportion of High Holders do you think are having difficulty with their finances right now?”

  “I’m not the best one to ask. We’ve never really relied on the harvests from the lands. We take a smaller amount from the tenants than most do, except for Ryel and Calkoran. I’d judge the three of us are well suited to weather hard times, regardless of what happens. Some of the others … I’d judge—it’s really a guess—between two and three out of ten will have trouble this year. Even more if crops and weather are bad again next year. That’s here in old Bovaria and in Montagne. I couldn’t speak to the east or west, and the northeast holders rely more on timber and mining. I hear that the harvests are solid in areas around Piedryn and Cheva.”

  “What proportion of High Holders are like you—getting more from trade and factorages than from lands?”

  “One in five, from what I’ve seen.”

  “Four out of five might be inclined to follow Cransyr, then,” suggested Alyna.

  “Half that, at most,” replied Zaerlyn.

  “That’s still something like three hundred very unhappy High Holders, and a good number of them are within a hundred milles of L’Excelsis.”

  “You didn’t mention the problems with the gaming,” interjected Alyna.

  “What’s new about that?” Zaerlyn snorted. “There have always been too many sons, especially younger sons of High Holders, who’ve wagered too much too unwisely.”

  “The problem seems to be that they’re now losing, often badly, to the sons of wealthy factors because they can’t raise the stakes at plaques and bones high enough to scare off the factors’ sons.”

  Zaerlyn frowned. “I don’t see…”

  “The proprietors of the gaming houses here in L’Excelsis have forbidden weapons and are maintaining guards outside the houses. Several offspring of merchants and factors have been attacked or are missing. Oh … and someone is buying enough rifles that Factorius Vaschet is expanding his workrooms and forges to meet the demand.”

  Zaerlyn shook his head, if with a rueful smile. “You do know how to give a man pause, Alastar.”

  “It’s your turn, Zaeryl. Alyna said there was something about the porcelain factorage…”

  “Oh, that … it’s not about the factorage. It’s about the coal we use to fire the kilns. We used to buy it from Rhennalt, but his lands, those that were left, and the coal mine, went to his daughter, or her husband, and Staendyn sold them to Factorius Karl for something less than their fair value. Maraak attempted to offer more, paid over two years, but Staendyn wasn’t interested. He wanted the golds as soon as possible. Maraak asked his son, who was handling the matter, why they’d turned down the higher offer. Young Staendyn told him that his father couldn’t be bothered with operating the mine, that there was an immediate need for the golds, and that sooner or later, they’d reclaim the lands. He didn’t say buy back or repurchase, but reclaim.”

  “I don’t like the sound of that.”

  “Neither did Maraak. He looked into it, and, in the time before Rex Regis—”

  “High Holders had the right to reclaim their historic properties at the cost for which they were sold?” guessed Alastar.

  “That’s right. Anytime within five years.” Zaeryl frowned. “How did you know that?”

  “I didn’t. It was a guess based on everything else going on. Tell me … is Staendyn close to Cransyr?”

  “They’re both on the Hig
h Council. You know that. How close they are on a personal basis … I have no idea. Why?”

  “Because Cransyr seems to be behind, or at least supporting, all sorts of efforts and petitions to restore the ‘original’ rights of High Holders.”

  “Cransyr must know that Lorien’s not stupid enough to allow that.”

  “I would hope so,” replied Alastar. “Are you paying Karl more for the coal?”

  “Of course. Not a huge increase, but enough that Staendyn could have recouped the cost of buying the mine within five to ten years … and less than that if Karl keeps raising prices. Maraak’s looking around for other lands we might be able to buy that have coal on them. Developing a mine would be expensive initially, but…”

  Alastar nodded. “I can see that.”

  “Maraak and Zaeryl have always been very practical,” said Alyna sweetly. “I’m sure they’ll manage. If you wouldn’t mind … tell us more about Malyna.”

  Zaeryl laughed. “You’ve heard enough about coal and lands and your least favorite High Councilor, I take it?”

  “For now,” replied Alyna.

  “As you’ve seen, she’s quiet, too quiet. All the same, like you, Alyna, there’s a fierce desire to do anything she does perfectly. She’s not a natural musician, or wasn’t. She kept working with the clavecin and Master Heldryk until even he admitted she was outstanding. She’s not as fond of the outdoors as you are. That might be because almost any flower makes her sneeze and her eyes run.”

  “That’s good to know…”

  “Do you think she’d object to being fostered with us, rather than being with the other girls?” Alastar knew he had to be the one to ask that question. “We’d thought … assumed … but…”

  Zaerlyn smiled broadly. “She’s talked about nothing else. When I put her to bed tonight, she said she already felt close to Lystara. Lystara’s been so welcoming. Even I saw that.”

  “Sisters or cousins don’t always get along,” said Alyna, “after the first enthusiasm.”

  “In that, Malyna is very much like you. You almost never change your first impressions of people. In your case, it works out, because you’ve never been wrong. I’d even wager that you took one look at Alastar and—”

  “Zaeryl!”

  Alastar could see that his wife was actually blushing. He immediately asked, “How did you discover she was an imager?”

  “I didn’t. She has always been so much like Alyna that I’ve been watching for years.” Zaerlyn laughed softly. “And she knew I was watching. I never saw her image anything. She just walked up to me a month ago and imaged a perfect copy of my seal, right in front of me. Then she told me she was ready to go to join her aunt Alyna at the Collegium.”

  Even Alyna looked stunned, if only momentarily, before she asked, “You never saw any signs?”

  “Alyna … Father never saw any signs with you, either, not until you imaged five yards of brass surveying chain all at once and passed out.”

  Alastar raised his eyebrows. “You mentioned the chain, but not that you’d imaged five yards of it at age ten.”

  “I didn’t want you to think I was that stupid.”

  “At age ten, we were all stupid.”

  “You weren’t.”

  Alastar laughed. “I was stupid when I was far older than ten. You know that. You weren’t.”

  “I’d have to agree with your husband. About you, that is.”

  “Tell us more about Malyna.”

  “The day after I discovered she could image and informed her that I would be the one bringing her here, she imaged a silver necklace for Mairina. She was careful and thoughtful, because she used silvers she’d saved. It was simple, but really quite beautiful. Mairina sobbed and sobbed—but not until we’d retired to our chambers.”

  “How did she know to use the silvers?” asked Alyna.

  “I told her. Years before. She is so much like you that I worried. So I told her—I admit I was guessing—but I told about all the dangers you faced and how so many imagers died in the old days because they didn’t even know the basics. You wrote me about those. Wasn’t that just in case…?”

  “It was.” Alyna smiled almost shyly. “Just in case.”

  Close to another quint passed before the three left the study, and Alastar and Alyna retired to their chambers.

  “You had a special upbringing, even for a High Holder,” Alastar said gently. “You’ve said that you felt that there wasn’t as much closeness with Zaeryl … but it’s clear…”

  “We’ve become closer as we’ve gotten older, even if it was only through letters. I did worry that there might be another imager in the family.”

  “You were right to worry.”

  “It’s a little frightening to see Zaeryl comparing the two of us.”

  “There are similarities. There always are in families. There are also differences.”

  “We’ll have to watch about the flowers.”

  Alastar nodded. After a moment, he said, “I didn’t want to bring this up downstairs, but do you think that Ryel knows that Ryentar is his half-brother?

  “I think he knows now. I don’t think he knew earlier, certainly not at the time Lady Asarya was trying to make Ryentar rex. I wouldn’t be surprised if she let Ryel know when it became clear that Lorien and you weren’t ever going to let her return to L’Excelsis.”

  “That makes sense, but she had to know that would be taking a risk.”

  “She would have, but her life was in L’Excelsis … and in her hopes for Ryentar,” Alyna pointed out.

  “Then you think that Ryel arranged her death?”

  “Dearest, it could have been Ryentar, Lorien, or Ryel. They all would have had reasons. Ryentar possibly most of all.”

  “Why would Ryel…?” Alastar broke off. “Of course. If Ryel and Cransyr want the High Holders to rise against Lorien, the last thing Ryel would want is to have it known that he’s related to Ryentar and the regial family. It also means that Ryel has been plotting with Ryentar, the most noble High Holder Regial, for at least several years.”

  “Because Asarya died three years ago? We don’t know that for certain.”

  “There’s a great deal we don’t know. But when it croaks like a frog, jumps like a frog, and swims like a frog…”

  “Enough about frogs, my very dear Maitre…” She glanced toward the bed.

  Alastar was more than happy not to talk about frogs.

  10

  On Meredi morning, Alyna walked Malyna and Lystara to the administration building to introduce her niece to Akoryt, in his capacity as Maitre of Studies, so that Akoryt—and Alyna—could determine what instructionals Malyna needed and didn’t, and in what areas, if any, that personal tutorials might be more appropriate.

  Zaerlyn was on his way to pay his respects to High Holder Cransyr.

  And, as he waited for Cyran to appear, Alastar was reading through the copy of Veritum that Maercyl had left on his desk. The first news item he read was about how the popularity of gaming had greatly increased in the past year and how the higher table stakes had resulted in more than hard feelings … and possibly some “unexplained disappearances.” Since the newssheet didn’t blame anyone, Alastar couldn’t see immediate repercussions. The second story was one that probably should have appeared much earlier, and it was about how High Holders were attempting to assert privileges revoked by the first Rex Regis to avoid paying their just debts. The brief article also noted that neither banking factor would comment on the matter, and that suggested High Holders just might be threatening those banking factors.

  At that moment, Cyran walked into the study and gestured to the newssheet that Alastar was setting on the side of the desk. “I read the newssheet’s views on the disappearances. It won’t be the last. Heisyt said there was trouble last night, but he couldn’t say anything yet.”

  “Just what everyone needs.” Alastar waited for Cyran to sit down before asking, “What about our own disappearance?”

  “I
talked with Akoryt just briefly this morning. There’s still no trace of Frydrek. After Akoryt told me yesterday, I asked Captain Heisyt to keep an eye out. They likely won’t find anything. If he’d been killed for a few coins, they’d have found his body by now.”

  “I can’t see that anyone would gain anything personally from killing him and hiding or disposing of his body.”

  “You think it’s someone who hates imagers?”

  “Or someone with a point to prove,” replied Alastar. Such as Cransyr or another angry High Holder. “Can you think of another reason?”

  “Could Frydrek have imaged bad coins to someone? I know they’re not supposed to image coins, but some don’t listen.”

  “Frydrek was never any problem that way, according to Akoryt. He did have a weakness for the fried pastries. Even if he had imaged a copper … he was good enough to image a decent one of solid copper. So that wouldn’t have been a problem. Coppers are coppers.”

  “Could he have fallen into the river? With the water so high and wild?”

  “If he went into the river, it’s far more likely he was pushed … but the unlikely is certainly possible. Right now, all we can do is warn the students and lower-level imagers to be especially careful.” After a moment, Alastar added, “There’s one other thing. You might have seen or overheard—we’ve just gotten another imager, another High Holder’s daughter. Alyna’s niece, in fact.”

  “I’d heard that from Belsior. He was on duty last night. If she takes after Maitre Alyna, she’ll be strong.”

  “Alyna and Akoryt are talking to her and testing her now. She’s almost thirteen. She kept her ability hidden from her father until she told him she was ready to come to the Collegium, then imaged a perfect duplicate of his seal right in front of him.”

  “Ha!” A broad grin crossed Cyran’s face, then faded. “Will that pose a problem … with Lystara?”

  That wasn’t really what Cyran meant, Alastar knew, but Cyran was far too kind to more than allude to the fact that Alyna had almost died having Lystara and could have no more children. “Lystara and Malyna seem to get along well, and it appears that Alyna is more than happy to deal with both of them.”