by Garon Whited
The last of the attendees was Corran, the head of the Wizards’ Guild in Karvalen. He was a hefty man with dark hair, a full beard, and rings on all his fingers to hold prepared spells. I doubted he could get them off; he obviously didn’t miss any meals. He regarded me with interest, fingertips steepled together over his ample waistline.
“Any word on T’yl or Tort?” I asked. There was none. “All right. At least we have extra chairs in case they show up. Wait a second. Shouldn’t Rendal be here? He’s still in charge of the City Guard, is he not?”
“Sire,” Seldar said, “Rendal is not noble, a representative of a god, nor a member of your personal advisors.”
I looked at Seldar and waited, silently. He started to say something, caught himself, nodded.
“I will extend to him an invitation to join us,” Seldar assured me.
“Good. Now that we have introductions out of the way…What’s going on, Seldar?”
“In short, the Queen marches on Karvalen.”
Well, he did keep it short.
“Perhaps you might elaborate?” I encouraged.
“When you escaped from her custody—I beg your pardon, Sire. When you departed the royal palace without making your farewells, she became convinced your visit was part of some plan. You came to her palace, achieved what you wanted—or were thwarted—and departed.”
“Did anyone point out my getting struck by lightning might have had something to do with it?” I didn’t add it was a precursor to stealing me. If I’d been myself at the time, rather than fried extra-crispy, could I have resisted the summons? Interesting question.
“I believe the point was made,” Seldar said. “However, lacking a Court Magician, her chief advisor on matters of magic is Thomen, the Court Wizard.”
“Ah.”
“Exactly. It is well-known he hates you. Even so, his voice carries weight. The Queen values him.”
“All right, she thinks I came to visit as part of a nefarious plot. Then I left. This is cause for war?”
“Not by itself,” Seldar agreed.
“It’s the murders,” Corran interjected. I turned to look at him.
“What murders?”
“Coincident with your… departure… nearly a hundred children were killed in the capitol, all between the ages of one and eight years. They were all found with their throats torn out and an almost total lack of blood. All of them were likewise rumored to be yours. Doubtless, the Queen believes you are responsible. It is possible she fears for the lives of her own children, which are, of course, undeniably yours.”
I didn’t like the faint tone of mockery in his voice, but chose not to pursue it. Larger concerns and all that.
“And she’s going to war because of this?”
“Not precisely,” Seldar said, shifting in his chair. “I arrived in Karvalen by ship shortly after your disappearance from Carrillon. The lady Mary spoke with the Queen.”
“Mary?” I asked, turning to her.
“She… that is, Lissette cranked up a mirror and wanted to talk to you. That was okay by me; I wanted to talk to you. She accused me of attacking the palace to get you out and I denied it. Then I accused her of imprisoning or killing you, which she denied.”
“You thought she still had me, while she thought you stole me?”
“Pretty much.”
“I don’t suppose you mentioned I want her to rule the kingdom?”
“It didn’t come up.”
“And this is why we’re throwing a war?”
“Your Majesty?” Nothar asked. “If I may?”
“By all means.”
“It is my understanding,” he said, “that you have been unable to follow the events of the last nine years or so—in truth, unable to fathom events during and after the wars of unification. May I ask if this is fact or fancy?”
“Fact.”
“Then Your Majesty is probably unaware of the circumstances surrounding Karvalen, Mochara, and, in effect, the whole of the Eastern Marches.”
“Probably.”
“The old kingdom of Rethven is reunited, even expanded. It now claims—without enforcing—dominion over the lands from the mountain of Karvalen all the way to the Western Ocean, but has little real power over the cities beyond the Darkwood. It holds no dominion over the People of the Plains, of course, but regards them more favorably than in the past, a position largely reciprocated by the People, as well.
“In similar vein, the King left the lands of the Eastern Marches almost entirely in the hands of my father, the Baron Gosford, just as he has left the administration of the races that live within the Eastrange in the hands of the Duke of Vathula. We have been largely unmolested by the activities and proclivities of the Demon King, if I may use the phrase.”
“I understand,” I told him. “You’re going somewhere with this?”
“Your Majesty, perhaps you may not know the Eastern Marches have long considered themselves the personal property of the King—you, in fact—ever since you founded the mountain of living stone. Even in the past decade, the lack of interference, the minimal taxation, the… benevolent neglect?… we enjoyed was far preferable to the direct attention Rethven endured. We therefore have a different view of the Demon King. And, with no disrespect to Your Majesty, of your royal self, since the two are not the same. During the interregnum between the disappearance of the Demon King and the return of the true King, preparations were made to dissociate ourselves from Rethven and become the Kingdom of Karvalen.”
“Does Lissette know this?” I asked.
“Your Majesty, I do not know for certain. I would think not, but who can say with surety what another does not know?”
“Fair point. Go on.”
“There is little else to say. A readiness for war sometimes encourages it. If the Queen did not know of my father’s intentions, she is surely aware of them now. An army does not spring to arms overnight and ours has been slowly building for years.”
“Okay. So, why isn’t your father here to tell me this? Why did he send you?”
“My father is an old man, Sire, and does not travel well, even so short a way as up into the palace, here. I am also here at the request of your granddaughter, Your Majesty.”
“Well, that’s certainly a good reason,” I agreed. “I take it the Baron Gosford is prepared to defend me—and my smaller kingdom—with every resource at his command?”
“If it is your will, Your Majesty, it will be so,” he assured me. I did notice he didn’t exactly answer my question.
“That’s good to know. However, I’m still not quite clear on why we’re having a war right now.”
I looked around the table. Nobody met my eyes.
“Halar?” Mary asked.
“Yes?”
“It might be my fault.”
“Go on.”
“Well, not entirely. I mean, there were all these preparations for a war already, and a lot of suspicion, and the reputation your demon version had—”
“Factors were favorable for it, got it. What did you do?”
“It wasn’t me. Well, it was Lissette and me. We… don’t… really know each other. She doesn’t trust me and I don’t trust her. When we were talking through the mirror, she called me a liar, I called her a liar, then we called each other a few more things and she threatened me, so I threatened her…”
“So, when the Red Phone rang, you and the head of state on the other end traded insults and threats until it was time to send for the nuclear football?”
“I thought you were her prisoner! I was thinking of it more as ‘that bitch has him and is going to do awful things to him.’ You did warn me it was a possibility.”
“I did, yes,” I admitted. “I remember.”
“So, I wasn’t thinking of her as a head of state, only as a bitch. And…” she trailed off.
“And when the balloon went up, you realized your mistake?”
“Actually, while we were shouting at each other, she hung up i
n my face, which really made me mad. It wasn’t until Seldar got reports about troop movements when I realized what was going on.”
I rubbed my temples. I hate wars.
“All right. How long do we have before troop movements turn into military fronts?”
“They are still gathering their forces. The major concentrations are in Baret, Formia, and Tegron.”
“Why?”
“Baret and Tegron are well-placed for overland travel—Baret being on the southern King’s Road and the coast, Tegron bordering on Vathula and the Eastgate. Formia is farther west and on the Quaen river; it is likely a staging point for transport by sea.”
“Yeah. I hear people have tried to assault Mochara by sea before.”
“But now it is more commonly known why their keels shatter,” Seldar pointed out. “Defensive measures will be taken to protect their ships in new and more extensive ways.”
“Good point. What else did Lissette have to say?”
“As I said,” Seldar continued, “I arrived shortly afterward. I did call the palace in the hope of smoothing the situation over, but the Queen did not wish to speak to me. I spoke instead with people I could trust.” He nodded at the giants behind me. “Once we were mutually informed, they elected to come here.”
“Our loyalty to the King is well-known,” Torvil said. “We were—we are—responsible for keeping him alive. We would be of no use imprisoned under the palace or in the Knight’s Tower.”
“Besides,” Kammen added, “this could be a good fight.”
“I’m hoping it won’t come to that,” I told them.
What I meant by that was, “I have, in no particular order, godlike magi, an angry Master Wizard, a missing girlfriend, a trusted advisor who’s vanished, an evil orb of nastiness, a public-relations disaster, and a couple of huge, steaming piles of guilt and rage to shovel. If it comes to a war, I’m either going to rip people apart in an uncontrollable fury or I’m going to hide in my bedroom, lock the door, eat ice cream, and cry until everyone goes away. I don’t want to be bothered with this right now.”
I don’t think they noticed the subtext.
“I’ll be talking with Lissette as soon as it can be arranged,” I continued. “With luck, she’ll see reason. And I’m sure Mary will help me out by delivering an eloquent, sincere apology to Her Majesty.”
“Of course,” Mary agreed. I sensed a lack of enthusiasm.
“In the meantime, Your Majesty,” Nothar asked, “what are your wishes? Shall we dismantle our preparations in anticipation of peace? Or shall we continue to make ready in case the negotiations fail? And, if I may be so bold as to ask, what is your intention regarding two kingdoms, one of Rethven and one of Karvalen?”
“Remain in readiness to defend,” I decided. “We won’t be marching anywhere. If they insist on coming to us, well… that’s their problem. Don’t Karvalen and Mochara have long histories of simply minding their own business and allowing invaders to go splat whenever they visit?”
“Indeed.”
“We’ll keep up the tradition. As for the division of the kingdom, I’m against it, unless something drastic changes. What else?” I asked.
“Sire,” Seldar said, “we also have the matter of the Church of Light.”
“What about it?”
“The High Priest in Karvalen, Lotar, is still exhorting the faithful to destroy the ‘evil’ within the mountain. He also blames you for the deaths of Perrin, Framon, and Worval.”
“I remember Perrin, and I presume Framon and Worval died from falling off the Kingsway?”
“He claims they were all ‘cast down by the evil forces’ dwelling here.”
“I told the mountain to turn the Kingsway into a tunnel out of courtesy, to make it safer. I presume it’s done?”
“It has altered substantially,” Seldar said, carefully, “but I have no way of knowing if it has fulfilled its instructions.”
“But is it a tunnel?”
“Yes.”
“See? Safety first. Doesn’t that count for anything?”
“With respect, Sire, Lord Lotar is hardly the most reasonable of men in regard to yourself.” He gestured around the table. “We invited him to attend. He did not dignify our invitation with a reply.”
“Yeah, that sounds typical. For the record, I didn’t throw anyone off the mountain or Kingsway or whatever. If they fell, as far as I know it was accidental. Someone else might have pushed them, I suppose, but I didn’t order it.”
“I believe you,” Corran said, suddenly.
“You do?”
“Yes. You do not strike me as the sort to rely on subterfuge and assassins. You face your enemies.”
“I’d like to think so, yes,” I agreed. I deliberately failed to correct him about my willingness to employ assassination and subterfuge as survival tools.
“You still claim you are not fit to be a knight?” he pressed.
“Yes. A knight needs to be a better man than I am. My goal is to be surrounded by persons of greater honor, courage, and worthiness than myself. That way, they can be good examples for me to follow. Maybe I can be a better person therefore. See how selfish I am?”
Corran shook his head and fell silent.
“At any rate,” Seldar resumed, “Lord Lotar is encouraging rebellion and revolution within the realm. What do you wish done?”
“Is he doing anything besides talking?”
“Not to my knowledge.”
Mary cleared her throat. Everyone looked at her. It seemed to surprise her.
“Ah, I’d like to talk to you about him. Later.”
“Of course,” I agreed. Then, to Seldar, “He hasn’t been arming his followers or anything of the sort, has he?”
“Again, not to my knowledge.”
“Then let him talk. When he gets around to something more than talking, then we’ll see. And send him an invitation to dine with the King. Apparently, I’m stuck with being King until I can calm things down and make sure Lissette has everything firmly in hand.” I shot a look at Nothar. “I’m going to need help with that.”
“If I may ask, Your Majesty?”
“Go ahead.”
“It is your intent to have a woman rule? A ruling queen?”
“It is.”
“I mean no disrespect, Your Majesty, but is that wise?”
“I think so. Why do you think it might not be?”
Nothar looked uncomfortable. Several people around the table seemed disturbed, as well.
“Majesty,” he began, slowly, “while I will agree to carry out whatever orders you wish to give, I suspect the elevation of a woman to such a position of power will not be met with… the… full approval of the nobles.”
“That’s fine,” I told him. “If they don’t like it, we can always get new nobles.”
I left the statement hanging in the air. They took their time about absorbing it and thinking it over.
“Now,” I continued, once they had a chance to digest it, “I would like to have a private word with my knights, please. And Corran—please don’t go far; I would like to consult with you shortly. Can I persuade you to stay for lunch?”
Corran bowed from the neck, trying to look relaxed. Everyone rose and shuffled out. Mary paused before rising, catching my eye, clearly asking if she should go. I shrugged and she decided to leave with the rest.
I sent for breakfast and we spent the rest of the morning catching up. It wasn’t a briefing, but I noticed something. Seldar treated it as a briefing, asking questions, even taking notes on—huzzah! —paper. Torvil kept a running list of my adversaries, asking about their strengths and weaknesses. Kammen only wanted to know what the other two might need in the way of help— “Does that mean we kill him?” was the most common question he asked. Dantos remained silent and expressionless, taking it all in; I think he was a little put off by the quasi-legendary nature of the people around him. He might also have been smarting a little at having Seldar promoted over him so abrup
tly. I made a note to address that.
They took most of the story pretty well. There were a couple of things they found fundamentally objectionable. Their King was tortured, used, abused, and deceived. These things did seem to offend them. And the incident with the bloodless children—that drew not only some sharp breaths but a few shudders. I don’t think it was in horror, though. They don’t seem the type to be easily horrified. No, I think they were afraid. Not of me, exactly, but of what I might do. Maybe they were concerned about some sort of back-sliding into evil ways. I admit, my desire to punish the man responsible was bordering closely on the fiendish, possibly even the diabolic.
“So, if I understand you correctly, Sire?” Seldar asked. “Our principle objectives are these. First, the Orb of Darkness, containing the essence of the Demon King. It exerts some influence on those around it and has ensnared some quite powerful wizards of another world. It must be destroyed or contained.
“Second, those same wizards, now much more powerful, will doubtless seek to do you harm, directly or indirectly. They must be dealt with, either by destroying them or forcing them to turn their attention elsewhere.
“Third, the Lady Tort, Consort to the King and Court Magician. She is missing or dead. If she is not dead, she must be found and her status ascertained.
“Fourth, T’yl, the Magician of Karvalen, is also missing or dead. His status, too, must be discovered.
“Fifth, the Kingdom of Rethven is to be placed under the unquestioned rule of Queen Lissette, removing the stigma of the Demon King from the throne and crown. And, incidentally, preventing a war between the Rethven territories and the Eastern Marches—Karvalen.
“Sixth, the murders in Carrillon must be investigated, their perpetrator discovered, and the individuals in question brought before you.”
“I’d say you’ve summed it up,” I agreed, “but there are quite a number of sub-objectives under each of those. Also, the order may be in doubt. Some of the less-prioritized things may be quick and easy to solve. By comparison, I mean. I think Lissette as the Queen comes first, while we work on others.”
