Nathan shrugged. “That is one opinion.”
“But not yours?” Councilor Vatkin asked.
Nathan chose his words carefully. He knew that whatever he said would be reported back to Duke Bristol and could have serious repercussions, but without making a stance he would be abandoning his greatest ally in Tarnstead, Count Mavane. Something he had no intention of doing. “I have not formed any decisions, but I can say that if Salma were threatened by any force we would likely come to Salma’s aid. We do hope to have excellent relationships with all the cities of Tarnstead, especially Raumont. Aside from Salma it is our closest neighbor in Tarnstead and could be an excellent trade partner. I sincerely hope nothing would change that.”
Councilor Vatkin raised an eyebrow. “As do I. But if we are being honest, I’m not sure if that is possible.”
“Tell me, Councilor, since we are being honest, why do I get the feeling that if you don’t like my answers that our friendly conversation could turn into something else?”
Councilor Vatkin smiled. “That’s because my orders are to make it turn into something else if I don’t like your answers.”
“That might not be a wise decision,” Nathan said. He eyed the councilor carefully, waiting to see what happened next. Would the councilor attack him, or did he have men in waiting at the ends of the long empty corridor? Nathan couldn’t see or hear anyone, but that meant nothing.
“I must confess, there are certain orders that I tend to ignore. Especially the ones that are counter to the goals that I am trying to achieve.”
“And what are you trying to achieve?”
“I’m going to put Raumont in the best situation possible.”
“And if eliminating me removes the threat that Elderwood poses that is what you intend to do? Is that why we are here alone.”
“Those are my orders.”
“And yet you aren’t going to follow them?” Nathan was surprised by Councilor Vatkin’s candor. It would be refreshing if they weren’t discussing murdering him.
“No. I believe killing you would bring Raumont to its knees. Duke Bristol and the council underestimate the strength of Elderwood even without its leaders, and they discount the danger of reprisal from Northern Solotine. They haven’t seen the ferocity having not dealt with the north in a long time, and some forget how unforgiving they can be. Aside from all that, I think that a nonviolent approach is more logical. Killing you doesn’t solve Raumont’s problems but building an honest relationship between us could.”
Nathan nodded, he understood what Councilor Vatkin was saying, but the threat against his own life made by Duke Bristol wouldn’t change his friendship with Count Mavane. “I agree that bloodshed isn’t the best answer. However, as much as I want to build a healthy relationship between our cities, it won’t be at the expense of Salma. If Salma is important to Raumont then you need to discuss that with Count Mavane. If the duke, or any other leader tries to take Salma by force they would be making a grave mistake. And if that isn’t something that you can live with … well you have your sword and your orders.”
Councilor Vatkin raised his hands. “There will be no need for bloodshed today. By having this conversation with you I’ve committed to attempting to make things work without bloodshed. Go back to your suite and discuss our conversation. I will go back to Duke Bristol and let him know that I couldn’t find an opportunity to get the upper hand on you. That you were wary of a trap and had some sort of magical spell prepared.”
“That isn’t exactly how it happened.”
Councilor Vatkin shrugged. “Duke Bristol is a good leader and will make a great king, but like most men used to getting his way, he doesn’t deal well with failure. My failure to kill you will put me in hot water, but if he knew I never even tried he would probably just have me killed for disobeying his commands.”
“If the duke is determined to have me killed will he send you again?” Nathan asked.
“No. If he goes down that road he’ll use someone else. I would take caution tomorrow, and on your return trip to Elderwood.”
Nathan sighed. The trip to Raumont was supposed to be a pleasant festival and a visit between friendly trading partners, but now was something entirely different. His own life was in danger and Elderwood was on the verge of being dragged into the coming civil war in Tarnstead.”
“Be warned, Councilor Vatkin, I do appreciate your honesty and will make every effort to work towards peace between our cities, and I can deal with any attacks against me that the duke might arrange, but if even one of my people are harmed while here the consequences will be devastating.”
With a wide grin, Councilor Vatkin bowed. “On that note, I will bid you good night, Prince Stoneblood. I think we understand each other perfectly.
Nathan returned to the suite that had been provided for them. It was a large and impressive collection of rooms with a shared living room. It reminded Nathan of the castle in Balta. Inside the suite, he found the others in the living room waiting for him, including Aldwin.
“How did your talk with Councilor Vatkin go?” asked Avera.
“Councilor? Councilor my foot,” said Verin. “That man is as much a councilor as I am. He’s a soldier, I could see it from the way he rode out to meet us. And did you see the way the other councilors interacted with him today? They definitely don’t consider him one of them.”
“He’s definitely a soldier of some sort,” Nathan said. “We had a very interesting conversation. It turns out the situation in Tarnstead is far more complicated than we’d imagined, and far closer to breaking out into civil war. Our gracious host, Duke Bristol, sees Elderwood as a threat and would think nothing of killing us now to remove that threat. Councilor Vatkin had orders to kill me tonight if he didn’t like what I said. But instead he told me exactly what the situation was. It seems Councilor Vatkin and the rest of the dukes’ council don’t see eye to eye on how to deal with Elderwood.”
“Damn, I knew I shouldn’t have let you leave the dinner without an escort,” said Verin.
“Nathan can take care of himself, Brother,” Avera said. “What’s important is what he learned from this Vatkin fellow. Nathan, what more can you tell us.”
“Not only does Duke Bristol feel that King Parth has failed Raumont, he believes that he should be the next King of Tarnstead. Not only that, but if Raumont declares independence he wants Salma as part of his kingdom. He sees Elderwood as a threat to that happening.”
“Hence the invite to the festival. The perfect place to plan an assassination if you didn’t agree to let him take Salma,” Verin said. “And what did you tell Councilor Vatkin when he told you this?”
“That Count Mavane is my friend, that Elderwood will stand with Salma against anyone that tries to take it by force.”
“A dangerous declaration,” Avera said. “However, considering that Councilor Vatkin was so forthcoming with you it might not be as damaging as saying it directly to the duke. Tomorrow we aren’t scheduled to meet with the duke as the festival activities are in theory why we are here. I do know that Count Mavane and several other leaders of the cities of Tarnstead are meeting tomorrow night. Perhaps that is why he met with us tonight, so he could deal with us first before making demands or threats to Count Mavane. Now that Nathan has declared we will stand by our friend Count Mavane we’ll have to be careful. No one walks alone tomorrow.”
Nathan nodded. Aunt Avera saw the situation the same way he did. While they were in Raumont they were in danger. But they shouldn’t just leave. They would stay and pretend to enjoy the festival while learning more about Duke Bristol and the situation in Tarnstead. And they couldn’t leave Count Mavane alone either as he was now in danger as well. “Yes. Everyone needs to be careful. I do think they won’t attack any of you until they know I’m dead, I made it clear that if anyone here were hurt or killed that would be a huge mistake.”
“Which puts the target directly on your back once again,” Verin said.
“Perhaps,
but I think that it’s more likely that nothing will happen tomorrow. I get the feeling that maybe there is some division among the duke’s council on how to deal with the king. And some want to start a war while others are wanting to wait.” Nathan looked at Aldwin Appleton, who’d been quiet up to this point. “Aldwin, you’ve spent the most time with the councilors. What are your thoughts?”
“Well, I do think you are right. There are definitely divisions among his councilors, and this Vatkin fellow. He’s as much a member of the council as I am the royal family. He’s some sort of special advisor to the king. After he introduced himself to you I went to my friends on the council to find out who the heck he was. It seems that the duke brought him to Raumont several years ago, and that he comes and goes as he pleases, gone for months at a time, and then suddenly shows up and the duke cancels everything until he’s finished speaking with him. Entire trade agreements and alliances have changed because of him, he apparently even changed the training methods in the duke’s army. I did find out that his title here is captain, but that is about all I can find on him. Sorry, Nathan. I should’ve known this.”
“Nothing to be sorry about, Aldwin. You’ve done a good job. It is obvious that this Captain Vatkin has been keeping a low profile up till now. The question is why now? Why introduce himself as a council member before we got a chance to speak to anyone else? Either there are more internal issues in Raumont that we don’t know about, or there is something else going on that made Captain Vatkin make his move.”
“So, how do you want to proceed?” Lady Avera asked.
“Like you said. We enjoy the festival, but everyone stays together and safe. Tomorrow night, I’ll meet with Count Mavane and see what he has to say about the meetings he has with the duke and the other leaders of Tarnstead. Nothing has happened yet that prevents us from building a positive relationship between our cities. We just need to wait and see how things progress.”
“Fine, but no going alone includes you too, Nathan. Take Sharon or Quinton with you at all times.”
Nathan glanced over at Sharon and Quinton, both of whom he considered to be his best friends. “You two up for spending the day with me?”
Sharon frowned. “Prince sitting duty? Do we have to?”
“It won’t be that bad,” Quinton said. “Lots of music and dancing and drinks. And for once, you won’t be the center of attention. Instead of the locals pestering you for information on Elderwood they’ll be bothering Nathan instead.”
“Well, when you put it that way … Sign me up.”
Nathan shook his head. He knew his friends were teasing him, but he expected that Quinton was correct. He would be the center of attention while the others had a good time.
…
Nathan chuckled as another businessman approached them. It turns out he and Quinton had been completely wrong. All day people from Raumont had been approaching them and hoping to have a moment of their time. But it wasn’t Nathan that they wanted to speak to. It was Sharon.
One of Raumont’s biggest trading partners was Venecia, the port city on the southern tip of Solotine. And Sharon, as Elderwood’s ambassador to Venecia, knew more about the city than either Nathan or Quinton. Making Sharon a very popular guest.
“I don’t get it,” Quinton said to Nathan as another Raumont businessman introduced himself to Sharon. “Why don’t they just go to their own ambassador?”
“Because he never leaves Venecia. He hasn’t been back to Raumont in three years,” Nathan said with a laugh. “Aside from the traders who move the goods, they haven’t anyone telling them what is going on in the south. They are all trying to figure out how to increase the amount they sell in the south.”
“They’re worried that trade with the rest of Tarnstead will shrink,” Quinton said. “I’ve seen it before in Balta when one of our trade partners had problems like a war or drought. They rely on trade for their survival and when war breaks out trade suffers. That is why the duke is so interested in Salma. If Tarnstead breaks into a war, they’ll need those trade routes to Venecia to stay open. The king could destroy Raumont’s economy if they couldn’t trade. If the cities in Eastern Tarnstead break off and try forming their own kingdom the only remaining trade route is through Salma.”
Nathan nodded. He could see why the people would be so excited to learn that an ambassador to Venecia was in the city. If war broke out, and they lost their eastern trade routes, they would need Venecia more than ever. If he were in their shoes he’d be asking to speak to her as well.
“On the bright side, Sharon being here has given you and I an easy day.”
Nathan chuckled and nodded. He took a small sip of wine, it was a regional variety, and a local producer had brought a jug and gifted it to Sharon. No doubt he wanted to sell more of it in Venecia. “It’s been a good day. After last night I thought today would be a disaster, but the festival has been wonderful, and I haven’t seen any signs of trouble, and nor has Verin.”
“I think your Captain Vatkin has the council unsure of themselves. His meeting with us yesterday has thrown some of them for a loop. They don’t know what to think.”
It wasn’t just the Councilors of Raumont that didn’t know what to think of Captain Vatkin. Nathan wasn’t sure if the fake councilor was friend or foe. “What is next on our festival schedule?”
Quinton grinned. “Time to eat.”
“The very future of Elderwood is at stake and all you are concerned about is your belly,” Nathan said in his most menacing voice.
“Duh. This isn’t just a meal. This is the finest Raumont steaks aged to perfection with baked honey snaps. Raumont is famous for their cattle. They feed them fermented berries and rye for the last two weeks before butchering. The meat melts in your mouth. It’s magical. And besides, what happens next is out of our hands. Why sit around frowning over it instead of enjoying ourselves.”
Nathan laughed. He’d never seen Quinton so excited about food before. However, his point about things being out of their hands was true. For now, there was nothing they could do but wait and see what happened with the duke. The festival was almost over and the evenings dinner between all the gathered lords of Tarnstead was sure to be interesting, even though they weren’t invited. “OK. Let’s go eat this fancy steak you keep drooling over.”
…
The chill in the air had nothing to do with the weather. Instead it came from the icy glare Duke Bristol was giving him. Captain Vatkin ignored the stare and waited for the man to speak.
“The dinner didn’t go as I’d planned,” Duke Bristol said, his anger bubbling and waiting for a chance to explode.
Captain Vatkin knew he was on dangerous ground here, as the duke wanted a place to channel his frustrations, but he also had a job to do and coddling a royal wasn’t going to help achieve it. “You honestly thought that it would go any other way?”
“My councilors assured me that it would.”
Captain Vatkin smirked. “Ah yes, the wise councilors of Raumont. Forgive me if I don’t put as much faith in them as you do. A bunch of fat and lazy entitled lords who’ve been living high on the hog for years.”
Duke Bristol snarled. “Is this you telling me, I told you so?”
Captain Vatkin shrugged. “I told you that the western cities had no interest in simply removing King Parth and putting you in his place. They resent having a king hundreds of miles away telling them how to live and don’t care if you would be a better king or not. They want local rulership, the way they had before the kingdoms were united into one. King Parth has destroyed any chance of maintaining a unified Tarnstead.”
“They’d bend the knee to a strong king.”
“No, they would resist even more. You’d gain a kingdom only to see it fall. You can’t ignore history. The eastern kingdoms never had the same issues as you had. They didn’t have hundreds of years of dealing with raiding villages from the south. They did have to deal with raiders from the north, but those raids came more sporadically, and
they tend to do a lot of trade with the north, so they didn’t have to worry about security the way kingdoms in Western Tarnstead did. Many of the cities joined the kingdom because they didn’t want war or were promised financial gain. That they’d be safe and more prosperous under a unified kingdom.”
“And that is how it would be if the damn king wasn’t corrupt and incompetent. If they gave me a chance, I would be the kind of king Tarnstead needs,” yelled Duke Bristol.
“I’m afraid it’s too late for that. They gave King Parth that chance and now they want to go back to their old ways. Nothing you say will change that.”
“Damn them.” Duke Bristol swore. “The fools.”
“I wouldn’t call them fools. And remember, they might not be part of the kingdom that you envision, but they are going to be allies in the war. King Parth can’t defeat us and control the eastern cities at the same time. We still need them as allies. So, don’t go off halfcocked and insult them for not seeing Tarnstead the way you do.”
“Watch it, Vatkin, I don’t like your tone.”
Captain Vatkin shrugged. “You don’t have to like it at all. But you had better start listening to what I tell you. Your bloody council will end up destroying Raumont if you keep listening to them. I understand it was them who told you to kill Nathan Stoneblood.”
Duke Bristol lifted his chin in stubborn defiance. “And what of it? I agreed with the decision and gave the order. What I want to know is, why isn’t he dead? I told you that if he wasn’t going to stay out of Tarnstead business that he needed to die. My people say you met with him last night and that he was still here today. Afraid of a boy?”
“Yes.”
Duke Bristol gave him an incredulous look. “What do you mean, yes?”
“Yes, I’m afraid of Nathan Stoneblood. I’m afraid that if I did what your stupid advisors asked that Raumont would be wiped off the map. I’m also afraid of Nathan Stoneblood as a warrior. I doubt I could kill him by myself, and there are very few men that I’ve ever had that thought about.”
Treachery in Tarnstead Page 14
