Imager's Intrigue: The Third Book of the Imager Portfolio

by Modesitt, L. E. , Jr.

  “More than enough. Bags of poudre. We stored them away from the other buildings. It’s got Army and Navy markings. You have any idea how that happened?”

  “Not in detail, but the Navy was already investigating some explosive thefts. Some of them date back a year or so.” I paused, then asked, “Is there anything else I should report to the Collegium and the Council?”

  The two exchanged glances, but neither spoke.

  “Then I’ll be returning to L’Excelsis. Best of fortune to you, Director, and you, Subcommander.” I stood.

  It would be another long trip on the ironway.

  44

  I couldn’t get a compartment on an ironway carriage back to L’Excelsis until the late night express that left at eighth glass. That might have been better, since I was tired enough by then and went to sleep easily enough, but I still woke with a pounding headache at fifth glass, and the dining carriage didn’t begin serving breakfast until sixth glass. I wasn’t in the best of moods by the time I arrived at the administration building of the Collegium at half-past eighth glass.

  After releasing Claudyn, since I was no longer traveling, I went straight to the duty desk. The duty secondus was Cholsyr.

  “Yes, sir?”

  “Do you know where I can find Maitre Dyana?”

  Cholsyr swallowed, then said calmly, “Maitre Dyana has gone to Rivages. She won’t be back until Lundi. She left this for you.” He extended an envelope.

  I took it and opened it. The note was brief.

  Dear Maitre Rhennthyl:

  I have undertaken a trip to Rivages in the hopes of forestalling yet another disaster.

  If you get back before I do, and anything happens, you’ll have to make the decisions. I trust that will not be necessary, but one never knows.

  The missive was also signed and sealed, and that bothered me. What was she doing in Rivages? That was where Kandryl’s and Iryela’s main estates were, but there were several other High Holders located in that general area. I didn’t know any reason why Dyana would go there, unless she’d discovered something new about the shootings and explosions, but she did nothing without a reason.

  “Did she say why she was going, or where she might be found?”

  “No, sir. She only said she was visiting relations, if on duty.”

  Relations? I knew that Maitre Dyana was one of the few imagers to come from a High Holder family, but she had never revealed what that family had been. About all I had ever been able to discover was that she had known Juniae D’Shendael when they had both been younger.

  “Who is the duty master, Cholsyr?”

  “It’s Maitre Chassendri, sir.”

  “Is she around?”

  “She was in the conference room a few moments ago, sir. I don’t believe she’s left.”

  “Thank you.” I turned and headed toward the conference room—usually where the duty masters stayed on Samedi or Solayi if they didn’t have a study in the administration building.

  Chassendri stood as I stepped into the open doorway of the conference room.

  “I’m glad you’re back. When Maitre Dyana told me about the explosions in Ferravyl…”

  “I was wise enough to just use my shields. Do you know why she’s in Rivages?”

  “No.” Chassendri shook her head.

  “What High Holder family does she come from?”

  “She doesn’t like to let that be known…but you should know. Her brother is Zaerlyn D’Alte.”

  For a moment, the name didn’t register. Then I winced.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “Oh…it’s not…it’s just that her niece is going to marry Alhyral D’Haestyr.”

  Chassendri looked at me blankly.

  “Let’s just say that…” I shook my head. “It’s none of my business.”

  She laughed softly. “I’d hate to be the father of anyone who wants to marry your daughter.”

  “No one will have to worry about that for years. Did she tell you when she might be back?”

  “Late this evening. That was all.”

  “Has anything else happened?”

  “Besides some inappropriate imaging of an ice sculpture in the quadrangle…no.”

  “Not by one of those who I’ve taken over, I hope?”

  “No. Young Scammyl attempted to replicate female anatomy that he clearly doesn’t know that well.”

  I just shook my head. After a few more words with Chassendri, I left, reclaiming the valise I’d left by the duty desk before walking through the light snow toward our house.

  Knowing that it was possible that Diestrya just might be taking a nap, when I reached the door, I eased it open as quietly as possible, almost tiptoeing inside before gently shutting it.

  Seliora was reading in the family parlor, and I could feel the welcome warmth of the stove. I just looked at her for a long moment.

  Then she looked up, and the book went down, and I had my arms full of a very beautiful woman.

  Somewhat later, we settled before the fire, and Seliora asked me what had happened, since the newsheets had only a short story about an explosion.

  “Almost as soon as I got there, when someone caught sight of me, they lit off a series of explosions. Most of Glendyl’s works is little more than rubble. Some of the fires burned for almost a full day, and that was in stone-walled and tile-roofed buildings.”

  “Did he have any indemnity?”

  I hadn’t even thought of that, although I should have. “I don’t know. I’ll have to see.”

  “We do. It’s not cheap, either. Years ago, Grandmama worked it out with L’Excelsis Indemnity. She got a whole group of artisans and shop-keepers to go together…” Seliora caught the look on my face, and asked, “What is it?”

  “One of the buildings that was destroyed here was their building.”

  “They don’t hold their golds there. Their accounts are with several banques.”

  “You still might want to have your mother look into it, if she hasn’t already.”

  “I’ll ask her.” She paused, then asked, “Was it the Ferrans? The ones who destroyed Glendyl’s works?”

  “I’d guess so, but there’s no real proof, except the act itself and the way it was planned.”

  “Where did they get the explosives?”

  “It appears as though they were stolen from the Navy depot in Ferravyl.”

  “That seems rather convenient.”

  “Oh…it’s no coincidence. It’s probably why they picked that depot to raid. Glendyl has guards, but he didn’t ever think—or his director didn’t—about the fact that his workers might not be working for him. All the security was directed at keeping outsiders from doing damage, but not much thought was given to those inside.”

  “That’s not something most people think about. Look at Odelia and Kolasyn. The only losses they’ve had are from his brother, not from strangers.”

  “That’s probably true of Iryela and Kandryl, too.”

  “Will you ever be able to prove that?”

  “I have no idea. No one’s seen Johanyr since he left Mont D’Glace. He’s vanished.”

  “That’s not like him, from what you’ve told me.”

  At that moment came a loud cry from upstairs, and our conversation was postponed.

  We did not attend anomen services that night. Perhaps that wasn’t showing thanks to the Nameless, but at that point my gratitude was directed to one special other.

  45

  Much as I disliked forcing myself to get up and exercise on Lundi, I did. But I helped Seliora get Diestrya ready and still managed to be at the administration building before seventh glass. There, I immediately hunted down Schorzat, catching him as he was coming down the corridor.

  “The word is that you had a busy weekend,” he offered.

  “Except for yesterday afternoon, it was.” I waited for him to open his study door, then followed him inside and closed the door behind us.

  “In a moment, I’m going
to see Maitre Dyana…”

  “As you think best, sir.”

  “The Ferrans sabotaged and blew up Glendyl’s turbine works and most of his manufactory buildings in Ferravyl. I do think we need to discuss the matter and what the Collegium should do next.” I smiled. “Don’t you?”

  “Yes, sir.” Schorzat looked worried.

  “Before I do, I need to know a few things.” I paused. “How many imager agents are there in the northern fleet?”

  “No more than a score.”

  “How many of them can image fire at a distance…a half mille, say, if they can see?”

  “Half, perhaps.”

  “How many field agents can you assemble who can do that as well?”

  “Fifteen at best.”

  “How many junior imagers are there in the various collegia who can do the same?”

  Schorzat frowned at that. “I wouldn’t know. There might be thirty.”

  “That should be sufficient if we use all of them.”

  “What do you have in mind, Maitre?” Schorzat asked.

  “Winning the war and teaching the Ferrans another lesson.” I smiled again. “Now…I’d like you and Kahlasa to assemble all the material you have on the barges and the bombards and everything else dealing with the attack on Imagisle. I imagine I’ll need it in less than a glass.”

  “We can do that.”

  “Thank you. I’d appreciate it if you and Kahlasa remained available until I get back to you. It shouldn’t be that long.”

  “We’ll be here.”

  He didn’t sound happy, but, given what had happened over the weekend, neither was I.

  For what ever reason, I was in the anteroom before Gherard was, or perhaps he was running an errand. So I knocked and stepped into Maitre Dyana’s study.

  She looked up from the papers before her, possibly my report, and flipped a brilliant green silk scarf back over her shoulder, not that almost all of her scarves weren’t brightly colored. “Do you have anything to add to this?”

  “A few things. Did you discover anything in Rivages?”

  “Only a few more High Holders who no longer are. As we discussed before, that will wait. Is the damage to Glendyl’s works as bad as you initially reported?”

  “It’s that bad, if not worse. What I didn’t report was that an inordinate number of workers suffered injuries, illnesses, and disappearances over the last year, and the majority of those hired to fill the vacancies seemed very well qualified. That was what the works director told me. Just before the first explosion, he and I were attacked by two workers using the same kind of heavy rifles that have been used here in L’Excelsis by those we’ve suspected of being Ferran agents. The day after the explosions, Director Huesyt told me that they found incomplete installations of explosives in the parts of the works that weren’t destroyed.” I paused. “Oh…I also sent a message to Frydryk—the young High Holder Suyrien—telling him about the attack on Glendyl’s works and suggesting that he might wish to take a closer look at his shipworks.”

  “Not a bad idea.”

  “We need to talk to Glendyl together when we’re finished here.”

  “That should not take too long.”

  “It won’t.”

  “You’re the head of security,” Maitre Dyana pointed out. “What do you propose to put a stop to all of this? Do you think it’s possible?”

  “It will be hard to stop what ever the Ferrans have already set up, but I do have a plan for putting an end to their meddling.”

  “That sounds rather grandiose. Even you can’t image their country into ruin, Rhenn. More to the point, you aren’t leaving Solidar. Preferably not even L’Excelsis.”

  I had thought of taking the lead on implementing my proposal, but I just replied, “True, but a hundred imagers could destroy every port city in Ferrum. Perhaps even thirty or forty could.”

  “You aren’t serious, I trust?”

  “I’m very serious. Let me explain….” From there I laid out what I’d thought out on the way back from Ferravyl and on Solayi afternoon.

  When I finished, she looked at me. “From where did you get that idea?”

  “From Ferlyn. Indirectly, of course. He made the point that the world was changing, and I realized that the Collegium needed to change. I didn’t quite see how until Seliora pointed me in the right direction. The way machines work is by breaking work down into small repetitive steps. This is just an application of that principle.”

  “The Navy won’t want to cooperate.”

  “They will…after we meet with Sea-Marshal Valeun.”

  She looked at me. “Then we had best deal with Glendyl first.”

  The air had finally cleared and was cold and clear, with both moons almost lost in the brightness of the winter sky as we walked from the administration building to the infirmary.

  Draffyd hurried to meet us, shaking his head. “Maitres…The good Councilor has expressed his desire to depart, most forcefully.”

  “Could he?” asked Dyana. “Safely?”

  “I’d prefer he remain another day or two, but…” Draffyd shrugged. “If he’s careful and keeps the stitches clean and changes the dressing…”

  “He’ll stay,” declared Dyana. “That way, he’ll more likely recover, and Caartyl will have to be more cautious.”

  When we entered the chamber, Glendyl was sitting up in the infirmary bed, not looking terribly pleased, but that might have been because he was able to appreciate the severity of his surroundings, as well as the large and immovable obdurate guard stationed outside his door.

  “Ah…Maitre Dyana and Maitre Rhennthyl, to what do I owe this visit? Do you wish to collect for saving this factor’s life? Or to congratulate me for surviving the fare and sparseness of this chamber? Or to indicate that I must suffer yet more tedium amid this grayness?”

  “Why, we wished to see to your health, Councilor,” replied Dyana. “It does appear that you are recovering in a satisfactory fashion. Your words would indicate as much. Your wound was quite severe, and you will be staying several more days, but only several more days. Unless you do something foolish and impair the healing.”

  Glendyl did not speak for a moment, then said, “Surely, it does not take the two highest Maitres in the Collegium to tell me that.”

  “For a distinguished Councilor, nothing but the best,” said Dyana lightly, looking to me.

  “I have a question for you, Councilor,” I said. “Did you have any interest in L’Excelsis Indemnity?”

  “No. Why do you ask?”

  “Their branch here was bombed and destroyed. I wondered if that would have any effect on your enterprises.”

  “I don’t see why it would. It’s no secret that I’ve always placed my indemnity contracts with Solidaran Indemnity…in the Solis branch. They don’t have a branch in Ferravyl.”

  “Might I ask how much your works in Ferravyl is indemnified for?”

  “You can ask. That’s my business.”

  I looked to Maitre Dyana. She nodded every so slightly.

  “Not any longer. Your works suffered a series of devastating explosions and fires over the weekend, and whether you will have the funds to replace the destroyed facilities, and how soon, are a matter of interest and concern to all Solidar, including the Council.”

  “How devastating? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Glendyl lurched upright in the bed. He tried to move his right hand, and he raised it chest high, before he let it drop.

  “Because I just returned from there yesterday and wanted to report to Maitre Dyana and you directly. The locomotive works, the foundry, the drop forge, and possibly the boiler fabrication buildings did not seem too heavily damaged. All the turbine works were leveled…and most everything else.”

  “But…how?”

  “Ferran saboteurs. They’ve been removing workers for a year and replacing them with their own people. They even shot at me and Director Huesyt as the explosions were being detonated.”

  Glend
yl was paler than before.

  “The amount of indemnity?” I pressed.

  “All I could obtain was one hundred and fifty thousand golds,” he finally admitted.

  “If Suyrien the Younger or others extended more funding, you could rebuild?” asked Maitre Dyana.

  “I…don’t know.” He shook his head slowly. “Why…why me?”

  “Because no one else has facilities to build the new turbines for warships,” I replied, “and that means years before Solidar can modernize its fleet while the Ferrans build more and more fast ships.”

  “I tried to tell the Council. So did Suyrien…” He swallowed, then let himself lean back against the pillows. “But how…?”

  “Because everyone in Solidar has been concentrating on the traditional ways of fighting wars,” I said. “You were right, in a way. Once there are more machines and factories of all sorts, and more factors competing with each other, we won’t be as vulnerable to a handful of acts of sabotage. Since you were unable to persuade the Council and since many Councilors chose not to understand…”

  “The High Holders will not—”

  “They won’t have any options before long, either.” Nor will you or the other factors. “Now…you need to rest.”

  “Rest? How can I rest?”

  “You can’t do much else, right now,” I pointed out. “You may have to consider Suyrien’s proposal for a fast frigate…if the funding can even be worked out.”

  Glendyl didn’t quite glare at me. “Suyrien told me about you.”

  “I’m certain he did.” I smiled. “Do try to get some rest, Councilor. Solidar would prefer to use your expertise, but we will have modern vessels, one way or another.”

  “You’ve made that clear, Maitres. Good day.”

  “Good day,” replied Dyana pleasantly. “I look forward to your return to the Council.”

  I just inclined my head politely.

  Glendyl’s acknowledgment was the smallest of nods.

  After we left Glendyl and walked back toward the administration building, Maitre Dyana said, “You weren’t all that easy on him, Rhenn.”