Elantris e-1

by Brandon Sanderson

  Sarene frowned. "I've done some checking around-I had a lot of free time this last week, since none of you managed to get this meeting together, despite its urgency." None of the noblemen would meet her eyes after that comment. She'd finally gotten them together. But, unfortunately, Kiin and Lukel hadn't been able to attend because of a prior engagement. "Anyway, rumors say that Telrii's accounts have swelled drastically during the last two weeks, and his shipments to Fjorden turn fantastic profits no matter what he chooses to send, whether it be fine spices or cow dung."

  "The fact remains that the duke has not aligned himself with Shu-Dereth." Eondel pointed out. "He still attends his Korathi meetings piously."

  Sarene folded her arms, tapping her cheek in thought. "If Telrii openly aligned himself with Fjorden, his earnings would be suspicious. Hrathen is far too crafty to be so transparent. It would be much smarter for Fjorden to remain separate from the duke. allowing Telrii to appear a pious conservative. Despite Hrathen's recent advances, it would be much easier for a traditional Korathi to usurp the throne than it would be for a Derethi."

  "He'll take the throne, then make good on his pact with Wyrn." Roial agreed.

  "Which is why we have to make sure Iadon starts earning money again very soon," Sarene said. "The nation is running dry-it is very possible that Telrii will earn more in this next accounting period than Iadon, even including taxes. I doubt the king would abdicate. However, if Telrii were to stage a coup, the other nobles might go along with him."

  "How do you like that. Edan?" Ahan asked, directing a hearty laugh at the anxious baron. "You might not be the only one who loses his title in a few months-old Iadon himself might join you."

  "If you please, Count Ahan," Sarene said. "It's our duty to make sure that doesn't happen."

  "What do you want us to do?" Edan asked nervously. "Send gifts to the king? I don't have any money to spare."

  "None of us do. Edan," Ahan responded, hands resting on his ample belly. "If it were 'spare' it wouldn't be valuable now, would it?"

  "You know what he means, Ahan," Roial chided. "And I doubt gifts are what the princess had in mind."

  "Actually, I'm open for suggestions, gentlemen," Sarene said, spreading out her hands. "I'm a politician, not a merchant. I'm a confessed amateur at making money."

  "Gifts wouldn't work," Shuden said, hands laced before his chin contemplatively. "The king is a proud man who has earned his fortune through sweat, work, and scheming. He would never take handouts, even to save his throne. Besides. merchants are notoriously suspicious of gifts."

  "We could go to him with the truth," Sarene suggested. "Maybe then he'd accept our help."

  "He wouldn't believe us," Roial said with a shake of his aged head. "The king is a very literal man, Sarene-even more so than our dear Lord Eondel. Generals have to think abstractly to outguess their opponents, but Iadon-I seriously doubt he's had an abstract thought in his life. The king accepts things as they appear to be, especially if they are the way he thinks they should be."

  "Which is why Lady Sarene fooled His Majesty with her apparent lack of wits," Shuden agreed. "He expected her to be foolish, and when she appeared to fit his expectations he dismissed her-even if her act was terribly overdone."

  Sarene chose not to rebut that remark.

  "Pirates are something Iadon understands," Roial said. "They make sense in the world of shipping-in a way. every merchant considers himself a pirate. However, governments are different. In the king's eyes, it wouldn't make sense for a kingdom to sink ships filled with valuable merchandise. The king would never attack merchants, no matter how tense the war. And as far as he knows, Arelon and Fjorden are good friends. He was the first one to let Derethi priests into Kae, and he has given that gyorn Hrathen every liberty of a visiting nobleman. I seriously doubt we could convince him that Wyrn is trying to depose him."

  "We could try framing Fjorden." Eondel suggested. "Making it obvious that the sinkings are Wyrn's work."

  "It would take too long, Eondel," Ahan said, shaking his jowls. "Besides, Iadon doesn't have many ships left-I doubt he'll risk them in those same waters again."

  Sarene nodded. "It would also be very difficult for us to establish a connection to Wyrn. He's probably using Svordish warships for the task-Fjorden itself doesn't have much of a navy."

  "Was Dreok Crushthroat Svordish?" Eondel asked with a frown.

  "I heard he was Fjordell," Ahan said.

  "No," Roial said. "I think he was supposed to be Aonic, wasn't he?"

  "Anyway," Sarene said impatiently, trying to keep the meeting on track as she paced across the loamy garden floor. "Lord Ahan said he wouldn't risk his ships in those waters again, but the king obviously has to keep them shipping somewhere."

  Ahan nodded in agreement. "He can't afford to stop now-spring is one of the best buying seasons. People have been cooped up all winter with drab colors and drabber relatives. As soon as the snows melt, they're ready to splurge a little. This is the time when expensive colored siIks go for a premium, and that is one of Iadon's best products.

  "These sinkings are a disaster. Not only did Iadon lose the ships themselves, he lost the profit he would have made off all those silks. not to mention the other cargo. Many merchants nearly bankrupt themselves this time of year by stockpiling goods that they know they can eventually sell."

  "His Majesty got greedy," Shuden said. "He bought more and more ships, and filled them with as much silk as he could afford."

  'We're all greedy, Shuden," Ahan said. "Don't forget, your family earned its fortune by organizing the spice route from Jindo. You didn't even ship anything-you just built the roads and charged the merchants to use them."

  "Let me rephrase. Lord Ahan," Shuden said. "The king let his greed make him foolish. Disasters are something every good merchant should plan for. Never ship what you can't afford to lose."

  "Well put," Ahan agreed.

  "Anyway." Sarene said, "if the king only has a couple of ships left, then they have to deliver a solid profit."

  " 'Solid' isn't the right word, my dear," Ahan said. "Try 'extraordinary.' It is going to take a miracle for Iadon to recoup from this little catastrophe-especially before Telrii humiliates him irreparably."

  "What if he had an agreement with Teod?" Sarene asked. "An extremely lucrative contract for silks?"

  "Maybe," Ahan said with a shrug. "It's clever."

  "But impossible." Duke Roial said.

  "Why?" Sarene demanded. "Teod can afford it."

  "Because," the duke explained, "Iadon would never accept such a contract. He's too experienced a merchant to make a deal that appears too fabulous to be realistic."

  "Agreed," Shuden said with a nod. "The king wouldn't be against making a horrible profit off of Teod, but only if he thought he was cheating you."

  The others nodded at Shuden's statement. Although the Jindoeese man was the youngest in the group, Shuden was quickly proving himself to be as shrewd as Roial-perhaps more so. Thar capability, mixed with his deserved reputation for

  honesty, earned him respect beyond his years. It was a powerful man indeed who could mix integrity with savvy.

  "We'll have to think on this some more," Roial said. "But not too long. We must solve the problem by the accounting day, otherwise we'll be dealing with Telrii instead of Iadon. As bad as my old friend is, I know we'd have less luck with Telrii-especially if Fjorden is backing him."

  "Is everyone doing as I asked with their planting?" Sarene asked as the nobles prepared to leave.

  "It wasn't easy," Ahan admitted. "My overseers and minor nobles all objected to the idea."

  "But you did it."

  "I did," Ahan said.

  "As did I," Roial said.

  "I had no choice," Edan muttered.

  Shuden and Eondel each gave her quiet nods.

  "We started planting last week," Edan said. "How long before we see results?" "Hopefully within the next three months, for your sake, my lord" Sarene said.

>   "That is usually long enough to get an estimate of how good a crop will do," Shuden said.

  "I still don't see how it matters whether the people think they're free or not," Ahan said. "The same seeds get planted, and so the same crop should come up." "You'll be surprised, my lord," Sarene promised.

  "May we go now?" Edan asked pointedly. He still chafed at the idea of Sarene running these meetings.

  "One more question, my lords. I've been considering my Widow's Trial, and would like to hear what you think."

  The men began to shift uncomfortably at the statement, looking at each other uneasily.

  "Oh, come now," Sarene said with a displeased frown, "you're grown men. Get over your childish fear of Elantris."

  "It is a very delicate topic in Arelon, Sarene," Shuden said.

  "Well, it appears that Hrathen isn't worried about that," she said. "You all know what he's begun to do."

  "He's drawing a parallel between Shu-Korath and Elantris." Roial said with a nod. "He's trying to turn the people against the Korathi priests."

  "And he's going to be successful if we don't stop him," Sarene said, "which requires you all to get over your squeamishness and stop pretending that Elantris doesn't exist. The city is a major part of the gyorn's plans."

  The men shot each other knowing looks in the dense Korathi garden. The men thought she paid undue attention to the gyorn they saw Iadon's government

  as a major problem, but religion didn't seem a tangible threat. They didn't understand that in Fjorden. at least, religion and war were almost the same thing.

  "You're just going to have to trust me, my lords," Sarene said. "Hrathen's schemes are important. You said the king sees things concretely-well, this Hrathen is the opposite. He views everything by its potential, and his goal is co make Arelon another Fjordell protectorate. If he is using Elantris against us, we must respond."

  "Just have that short Korathi priest agree with him," Ahan suggested. "Put them on the same side, then no one can use the city against anyone else."

  "Omin won't do that, my lord," Sarene said with a shake of her head. "He bears the Elantrians no ill will, and he would never consent to labeling them devils."

  "Couldn't he just…" Ahan said.

  "Merciful Domi. Ahan," Roial said. "Don't you ever attend his sermons? The man would never do that."

  "I go." Ahan said indignantly. "I just thought he might be willing to serve his kingdom. We could compensate him."

  "No, my lord," Sarene said insistently. "Omin is a man of the Church-a good and sincere one, at that. To him, truth is not subject to debate-or sale. I'm afraid we have no choice. We have to side with Elantris."

  Several faces, including Eondel and Edan's, blanched at that statement.

  "That might not be an easy proposition to carry out, Sarene." Roial warned. "You may think us childish, but these four are among the most intelligent and open-minded men in Arelon. If you find them nervous about Elantris, then you will find the rest of Arelon more so."

  "We have to change that sentiment, my lord," Sarene said. "And my Widow's Trial is our opportunity. I am going to take food to the Elantrians."

  This time she succeeded in getting a reaction even from Shuden and Roial. "Did I hear your correctly, my dear?" Ahan asked with a shaky voice. "You're going to go into Elantris?"

  "Yes." Sarene said.

  "I need something to drink," Ahan decided, unstoppering his wine flask. "The king will never allow it," Edan said. "He doesn't even let the Elantris City Guards go inside."

  "He's right," Shuden agreed. "You will never get through those gates, Your Highness."

  "Let me deal with the king." Sarene said.

  "Your subterfuge won't work this time, Sarene," Roial warned. "No amount of stupidity will convince the king to let you into the city."

  "I'll think of something," Sarene said, trying to sound more certain than she was. "It's not your concern, my lord. I just want your word that you will help me."

  "Help you?" Ahan asked hesitantly.

  "Help me distribute food in Elantris," Sarene said.

  Ahan's eyes bugged out. "Help you?" he repeated. "In there?"

  "My goal is to demystify the city," Sarene explained. "To do that, I'll need to convince the nobility to go inside and see for themselves that there's nothing horrifying about the Elantrians."

  "I'm sorry to sound objectionable," Eondel began. "But, Lady Sarene, what if there is? What if everything they say about Elantris is true?"

  Sarene paused. "I don't think they're dangerous, Lord Eondel. I've looked in on the city and its people. There is nothing frightening about Elantris-well, nothing besides the way its people are treated. I don't believe the tales about monsters or Elantrian cannibalism. I just see a collection of men and women who have been mistreated and misjudged."

  Eondel didn't look convinced, and neither did the others.

  "Look, I'll go in first and test it," Sarene said. "I want you lords to join me after the first few days."

  "Why us?" Edan said with a groan.

  "Because I need to start somewhere," Sarene explained. "If you lords brave the city, then others will feel foolish if they object. Aristocrats have a group mentality; if I can build some momentum, then I can probably get most of them to come in with me at least once. Then they'll see that there is nothing horrible about Elantris-that its people are just poor wretches who want to eat. We can defeat Hrathen with simple truth. It is hard to demonize a man after you have seen tears in his eyes as he thanks you for feeding him."

  "This is all pointless anyway," Edan said, his hand twitching at the thought of entering Elantris. "The king will never let her in."

  "And if he does?" Sarene asked quickly. "Then will you go. Edan?"

  The baron blinked in surprise, realizing he had been caught. She waited for him to respond, but he stubbornly refused to answer the question.

  "I will," Shuden declared.

  Sarene smiled at the Jindo. This was the second time he had been the first to offer her support.

  "If Shuden's going to do it. then I doubt the rest of us will have the humility to say no," Roial said. "Get your permission, Sarene. then we will discuss this further."

  "Maybe I was a little too optimistic," Sarene admitted, standing outside the doors to Iadon's study. A pair of guards stood a short distance away, watching her suspiciously.

  "Do you know what you are going to do, my lady?" Ashe asked. The Seon had

  spent the meeting floating just outside the chapel walls-well within his range of hearing-making certain that no one else was eavesdropping on their meeting.

  Sarene shook her head. She had displayed bravado when confronted by Ahan and the others, but now she realized how misplaced that sentiment had been. She had no idea how she was going to get Iadon to let her into Elantris-let alone get him to accept their help.

  "Did you speak with Father?" she asked.

  "I did, my lady." Ashe replied. "He said he would give you whatever financial help you required."

  "All right," Sarene said. "Let's go." She took a deep breath and strode toward the soldiers. "I would speak with my father," she announced.

  The guards glanced at each other. "Urn, we were told not to…"

  "That doesn't apply to family, soldier," Sarene said insistently. "If the queen came to speak with her husband would you turn her away?"

  The guards frowned in confusion; Eshen probably didn't come to visit. Sarene had noticed that the bubbly queen tended to keep her distance from Iadon. Even silly women resent being described that way to their faces.

  "Just open the door, soldier," Sarene said. "If the king doesn't want to talk to me. he'll throw me out. and next time you will know not to let me in."

  The guards hesitated, and Sarene simply pushed her way between them and opened the door herself. The guards, obviously unused to dealing with forceful women-especially in the royal family-simply let her pass.

  Iadon looked up from his desk, a pair of spectacles sh
e had never seen him wear before balanced on the end of his nose. He quickly pulled them off and stood, slamming his hands against the desktop in annoyance. disturbing several invoice stacks in the process.

  "You aren't content to annoy me in public, so you have to follow me to my study as well?" he demanded. "If I'd known what a foolish, spindly girl you were, I would never have signed that treaty. Be gone, woman, and leave me to work!"

  "I tell you what, Father," Sarene said with frankness. "I'll pretend to be an intelligent human being capable of a semilucid conversation, and you pretend the same thing."

  Iadon's eyes grew wide at the comment, and his face turned a bright red. "Rag Domi!" he swore, using a curse so vile Sarene had only heard it twice. "You tricked me, woman. I could have you beheaded for making me look the fool."

  "Start decapitating your children, Father, and people will begin to ask questions." She watched his reaction carefully, hoping to glean something about Rao-den's disappearance, but she was disappointed. Iadon brushed off the comment with only passing attention.

  "I should ship you back to Eventeo right now," he said.

  "Fine, I'd be happy to go," she lied. "However, realize that if I go, you lose

  your trade treaty with Teod. That could be a problem, considering the luck you've had peddling your silks in Fjorden lately."

  Iadon gritted his teeth at the comment.

  "Careful, my lady." Ashe whispered. "Do not unsettle him too much. Men often place pride before reason."

  Sarene nodded. "I can give you a way out, Father. I have come to offer you a deal."

  "What reason do I have to accept any offers from you, woman?" he snapped. "You have been here nearly a month, and now I find that you have been deceiving me the whole time."

  "You will trust me. Father. because you have lost seventy-five percent of your fleet to pirates. In a few short months you could lose your throne unless you listen to me."

  Iadon betrayed surprise at her knowledge. "How do you know these things?" "Everyone knows, Father." Sarene said lightly. "It's all over the court-they expect you to fall at the next taxing period."

  "1 knew it!" Iadon said, his eyes widening with rage. He began to sweat and curse at the courtiers, railing at their determination to see him off the throne.