Scepters

by L. E. Modesitt Jr.

  “We’ll check the cellar last,” he said mildly, watching Lynat. He wasn’t at all surprised at Lynat’s worry and fear when he mentioned the cellar. “Let’s go upstairs.”

  Alucius briefly checked the three smaller bedrooms first. One was disordered and clearly Lynat’s. The only thing Alucius found there were two Guard sabres and a pair of rifles.

  “Not exactly proper,” he said, setting the weapons on the end of the unmade bed, “but not something to be that concerned about.” He turned to Sanasus. “Still…would you make a note of the serial numbers on those?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The largest bedroom was in the northwest corner. The only thing of interest there was a small chest set on the chest of drawers. Alucius pretended to take a key, but actually used his Talent to open the small lock.

  “Where did you—”

  Alucius opened the chest. Inside were perhaps twenty golds.

  “Overcaptain…note that there were twenty golds in the chest in the colonel’s bedchamber.”

  Lynat frowned, clearly puzzled as Alucius relocked the chest.

  Then Alucius led the way back down to the locked door to the cellar. He looked at Lynat. “Would you care to unlock it?”

  “I don’t have a key. You’ll have to break it down if you want to open it.” A certain smugness permeated Lynat’s voice.

  “Oh, I think not.” Again, Alucius stepped forward and took out a key, the one to his own quarters. He stepped to the door, close enough that no one could see, and used his Talent on the lock. It was a heavy lock, and he was perspiring slightly when he finally turned the lever and opened the door.

  Below was dark.

  Alucius let Holgart step forward with a striker to light the lamp on the wall. Then he went down the stairs. Lynat followed, reluctantly.

  On one side of the open space were several rows of barrels, all with markings showing receipt by the Guard. On the other side, neatly set in racks, were more than two hundred bottles of wine.

  “Overcaptain, if you would note all the barrels and their contents.”

  “Yes, sir,” replied Sanasus.

  “And make a note of the number of bottles of wine.”

  On a rack on the west wall were four rifles, all Guard issue, as well as another four sabres.

  Alucius surveyed the clay-floored room slowly, using his Talent. Then he nodded. The stone walls in the center, ostensibly the support for the fireplaces above, actually concealed a single room. He moved toward the stones, seeming to inspect each area, but in fact using his Talent to find the hidden doorway and access.

  “Here. Yes.” The door opened.

  As it did, Alucius could hear the hard swallow from Lynat.

  Inside the small room was a built-in cabinet against one stone wall. On top of the cabinet were two locked chests. Before addressing the chests, Alucius checked the cabinet. It held a number of items, such as an antique compass, some tarnished silver buttons, and a small jewelry case in which were a golden necklace with a single emerald, two gold rings, and a diamond-shaped golden brooch with small diamonds at each corner. Alucius replaced the jewelry case quickly, thinking of Wendra as he did.

  He straightened and took a deep breath. There were no signs of keys to the chest locks. So…he would have to use Talent.

  In time, both chests stood open. Each was filled with golds, and the majority were fresh-minted Lanachronan pieces, similar to those sent in the payroll and supply chests that Alucius had brought in the wagon from Tempre.

  “Sanasus?”

  “Yes, sir?”

  “Would you kindly go up to the study and write out a receipt to Lynat here, for two chests filled with Lanachronan golds, presumed diverted from the Northern Guard treasury, and taken pending further investigation.”

  “You…had better count them, sir.”

  The last thing Alucius wanted to do was to count the golds, but he could see the overcaptain’s point. “You’re right. Lynat, you and I will count them, and you will sign the receipt once we agree on the numbers.”

  Lynat looked as if he wished to protest, but finally only nodded.

  In the end, one chest contained exactly two hundred golds, the other precisely one hundred sixty-one—the total an astounding amount for a man who had not had a coin to his name six years earlier, and whose highest monthly pay was but four golds.

  Sanasus had also added several lines to the receipt, indicating that the Guard had noted, but not taken, six rifles and six sabres, five barrels of flour, two of rice, two of potatoes, and three of dried fruit, and that the Guard had neither damaged nor removed any other property or goods on the premises.

  Alucius signed two copies of the receipt, as did Lynat, then left one copy with Weslyn’s son.

  “I’ll be sending lancers and a wagon to reclaim the barrels in the cellar. Your father had the right to use them so long as he was colonel, but they’re not his property. They belong to the Guard.”

  “I understand that, Colonel.” Lynat’s words were cold. “You do what you must.”

  “I will, but I deeply wish it had not been necessary.”

  Lynat said nothing.

  Alucius nodded. “We’ll not trouble you more, except for the barrels.”

  The blond man offered the slightest nod, then watched as the two officers and the lancers left.

  “Now what do you think, Sanasus?” asked Alucius, as they rode back eastward toward Guard headquarters.

  “Worse than I feared, Colonel.”

  “We may have to use those golds, but we’ll hold off, if we can, until I get word from Marshal Frynkel and the Lord-Protector. Tomorrow, you’ll have to go back and reclaim the barrels of supplies. That’s too much to let go, but we didn’t have a wagon today.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Don’t worry. You can take a squad of lancers.”

  “You think the barrels will still be there?”

  “If they’re not, Lynat could be in as much trouble as his father.” Then, if matters turned sour, so could Alucius. Raiding a private house to reclaim stolen property wasn’t exactly the way to start out as the new commander of the Northern Guard. But then, allowing three hundred sixty-one golds to vanish from the accounts wouldn’t have been exactly to his credit. Either way, he had troubles.

  “Oh…we’ll need to get new locks for the strong rooms and put these chests in there.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  No one spoke for the rest of the ride back to headquarters. Overhead, the sky darkened, and flakes of snow began to fall.

  Feran was waiting as Alucius dismounted. “What did you find?”

  “Outside of six Northern Guard rifles and sabres, barrels of flour, rice, potatoes, and dried fruit, all marked for the Guard, not much. Except two chests with something like three hundred sixty golds, two-thirds of them fresh-minted Lanachronan coins.”

  “That many? Seems stupid.”

  “They were in a hidden strong room in the cellar,” Alucius added.

  Feran nodded. “You have this way of finding hidden rooms and passages.”

  Alucius started to shrug, but the pain in his arm stopped the gesture almost before he started. “We do what we can.”

  The rest of the afternoon was a blur to Alucius. He and Feran finished briefing the officers and had them tell their own lancers. Then Alucius addressed all the lancers briefly, stressing not only the irregularities noted by Marshal Frynkel, but that Alucius himself had started as a militia scout and that his family still lived in Iron Stem. After the address, they reworked the post watch schedules and installed some of the more dependable lancers from Fifth Company to take over Nadalt’s duties. Then Alucius inspected the entire post, yard by yard. Somewhere along the way, he ate some cheese and travel bread.

  It was well after sunset when Komur accompanied Alucius up to the commander’s post quarters.

  “Hope you didn’t mind, sir,” Komur said as he opened the door to the upper-level quarters, “but while you were organ
izing things, I took the liberty of having my crew pack up Colonel Weslyn’s few things and clean up the quarters best we could on short notice. Linens are clean, if spare.” He lit the oil lamp in the front foyer.

  Alucius walked from the small foyer into a large sitting room, with a modest and ancient coal stove that radiated heat. Komur also lit a lamp, one of a pair set on a side table. Off the sitting room to the right was a study, with dark oak shelves built into the walls, and even with books taking up perhaps half the shelf space. The wide writing table was empty and was set so that it overlooked the side courtyard. Alucius turned and crossed the sitting room to a large dining room, with a table capable of seating ten to fifteen people.

  Behind the dining room was the kitchen, and an alcove and a table for more intimate meals. A large coal stove dominated the kitchen, also radiating warmth, and Alucius was glad to see that there was a rear pantry and an outside exit that led to a separate rear staircase. He retraced his steps to the sitting room and the double doors that led to a rear hall and one small bedroom, a bathing chamber with a jakes, and a larger master bedchamber, a good five yards by eight. The dark hangings were over the windows, leaving the chamber gloomy, and although he could see well enough, he lit a wall lamp for the warmth of the illumination.

  The windows all had inside shutters, as well as deep blue hangings that could be untied and allowed to cover shutters and windows. The floors were polished dark oak, covered with large carpets of what looked to be a Dramurian design, with intricate interweavings of geometric patterns. Sections of the carpets in the bedchamber, the sitting room, and the dining room had worn places, and there were a few ancient spots and frayed edges.

  Still…the quarters, with some more cleaning, were most livable and far better than any officers’ quarters where Alucius had been permanently stationed. While compared to Alucius’s stead house, the quarters were small, but they were not cramped.

  As Nadalt had told Alucius, Weslyn hadn’t used the commandant’s quarters much. That was also clear from the fact that Komur had been able to remove Weslyn’s possessions so quickly.

  “These seem quite livable,” Alucius said to the undercaptain. “I appreciate your efforts, especially under the circumstances.” He winced as he realized that he’d used Alyniat’s phrase, the one that had grated on him.

  “Begging your pardon, Colonel, but I’d a scrubbed the floors on my own knees to get back a fighting commander.”

  Alucius smiled. “I know something about fighting. I fear that I’ll need your help in other matters. I’ve had but a short stint running a small outpost and some experience running a stead, but nothing like running a headquarters post.”

  “That’s what we’re here for, sir.”

  “Good.” Alucius offered a gentle laugh. “I’ll need all your expertise and advice.” He paused. “Thank you again.”

  “Glad to be of service, sir. Now, tomorrow, we’ll be making sure that everything here works as it should…”

  “The quarters are fine for now. I’m more concerned about the post, especially if there were recommendations you made that were not taken.”

  “There were a few.” Komur smiled crookedly. “Some of them we managed anyway.’

  “We’ll talk tomorrow about the others,” Alucius promised.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Komur had barely left and closed the door when there was a knock.

  Alucius could sense Feran. “Come on in.”

  The older officer stepped inside and glanced around. “Nice quarters. I’ve never been up here before.”

  “Neither had I,” Alucius admitted. “You’ll pardon me if I sit down.” He tried several chairs, finally settling on an overstuffed armchair that looked uncomfortable—and wasn’t.

  Feran sat across from him in a straight-backed chair.

  “What have you found out so far?” Alucius asked.

  “Shalgyr kept the ledgers, and he left them. He was probably running for his life.”

  “I wouldn’t have executed him,” Alucius said.

  “I know that. So did Shalgyr, probably, but he left anyway,” Feran said.

  “So…the mess is worse than we thought, and there’s someone else involved,” mused Alucius. After a moment, he laughed. “I’m tired. Of course, there had to be someone else involved, and it has to be one of the factors or traders. Or several. Finding out who won’t be hard. Neither will proving that Weslyn was corrupt. But I’d wager that there won’t be anything in the post that points directly at anyone but Shalgyr and Weslyn, and that Shalgyr is either in Lanachrona or already dead.”

  “He was smart enough to run and not try for the stables. Seven will get you ten that he’s across the river and moving south.”

  “We’re going to have to review all the supply accounts, all the pay accounts…just about everything. And count what’s in the strong room and certify it,” Alucius said. “That’s just the beginning. I need to have personal talks with those three—Komur, Sanasus, and Yusalt—but I wanted to read their files first.”

  “Komur and Sanasus seem solid enough. Yusalt doesn’t know much.”

  “I know. That bothers me.” Alucius held back a yawn. “But before I do that, we’ll have to send dispatches to all posts, notifying them, and also saying that Shalgyr is a fugitive.”

  “I told you that being commander wouldn’t be what anyone thought,” Feran said. “You’d better use that Talent to keep looking over your shoulder—and everywhere else.”

  “Now look who’s being the cheerful one.”

  “I’m just telling you what I see.” Feran’s laugh was rueful.

  “You’re right.” Alucius stifled a yawn. “I’m not thinking that well. I need to get some sleep.” If he could.

  After Feran left, Alucius unpacked his gear and washed out his dirty undergarments and uniforms. He managed to find a dusty washtub and was thankful that there was a pump in the kitchen. Only after that did he settle himself down at the writing desk in the study off the sitting room and begin to write Wendra.

  Dearest,

  I am at last back in the Iron Valleys and find myself as colonel and commander of the Northern Guard. I fear matters here in Dekhron are far worse than any of us had thought. The colonel and his deputy are dead. They tried to shoot me when I presented the Lord-Protector’s dispatch accepting Colonel Weslyn’s resignation. Their reaction leaves me with some considerable concern about what I will discover in the days ahead.

  While I would most dearly love to ride to Iron Stem to see you and Alendra, under the current circumstances, leaving Dekhron until these matters are resolved is not possible. Nor would it be wise, either for the Guard or for me. I am going to need all the insight and assistance I can garner, and yet I dare not leave Dekhron. Not until matters are far more settled, at the least. Do you think that your grandsire would be willing to ride here and offer me his insights? I would also love to have yours, but not at the expense of Alendra and the stead.

  I will write more soon, but know that you are always in my heart and in my thoughts…

  He signed the letter and sealed it, then stood. He did need sleep, and the days ahead would be long indeed.

  107

  By just before noon on Quattri, Alucius had sent off his interim report to Marshal Frynkel and the Lord-Protector, which included the results of the search of Colonel Weslyn’s dwelling. Then he dictated, revised, and signed the last dispatches for the last Northern Guard outposts—those at Eastice and Klamat. Sanasus took them off to the waiting dispatch rider. Each dispatch had contained the identical summary of the Lord-Protector’s concerns, a short summary of the previous day’s events, including the discovery of significant supplies and golds from Northern Guard accounts found in Colonel Weslyn’s dwelling, and a message from Alucius affirming his support for the long-standing traditions of the Guard and his pledge to follow the shining examples of such past commanders as Colonel Clyon. He dared not promise more than that until he understood the situation far bett
er. With the copy of the interim report to Marshal Frynkel, he’d sent a note with the promise to report more as he discovered the details of what Weslyn had been concealing.

  He did wish that he could have written the dispatches in his own hand, but by the time he had just signed the last dispatch, his fingers were numb, not because there had been so many, but because of the swelling in his upper arm. No sooner had he been able to take the brace off one arm than the other was injured, if not so severely. He stood from behind the desk that had been Weslyn’s, and Clyon’s before Weslyn. Alucius was determined to remember the study and the furnishings as Clyon’s. He looked down at the desk and the four officers’ files there—those of Sanasus, Komur, Yusalt, and Shalgyr.

  “What do you intend now?” asked Feran.

  “I need to meet with the officers. I’ll start with Yusalt. Could someone find him?”

  “I think we can manage that.” Feran stepped out of the study.

  Alucius picked up the officer’s file on top—Yusalt’s—and began to read, ignoring the whistle of the wind and the cold air seeping through the window. Flakes of snow swirled in the courtyard outside, adding to the light dusting Dekhron had received the evening before.

  Yusalt came from Fiente, a town on the north side of the River Vedra roughly two-thirds of the way to Emal from Dekhron. He hadn’t served at all as a conscript or as a regular lancer, but had been placed with Fifteenth Company as an undercaptain for two years, then spent another year as an undercaptain with Sixth Company.

  Alucius frowned. He couldn’t say that he recalled Yusalt when Sixth Company had been at Pyret trying to fend off the first Matrite invasion of the Iron Valleys. A year and a half ago, Yusalt had been promoted to captain and been given command of Seventh Company when it had been rotated off duty at Soulend, and he’d been at Dekhron ever since with Seventh Company. Fiente? Alucius had his own ideas, but he’d have to see if he were jumping to unwarranted conclusions. He continued to read through the single line reports on the captain, entries that noted very little except Yusalt’s presence and submissions of his own reports.