by David Drake
“Well, when I find Guntram,” I said, “I’ll probably ask you for help. Right now, I’ve got a simpler problem. I’ve sort of become patron of Lady May’s cousin. I took him out with me and he saved my life, despite the fact that his weapon isn’t much good. I want to replace that with something good enough for a Champion. I’ll pay for it.”
Louis pursed his lips. “How strong is the fellow, then?” he said.
“He’s still a boy,” I said. “He’s got his growth but he hasn’t filled out yet. He couldn’t handle really heavy gear yet, though he might grow into it.”
I laughed and added, “You know, my own weapon is about perfect for him; but he’s not going to get that while I’m still able to use it. Do any of your good people have something in process that they’d sell to me? I’ll outbid anybody else for the right piece of hardware.”
“The boy is that good?” Louis said.
“He’s that important to me,” I said. “Or May is, and that’s the same thing. And I think he’ll be that good.”
Louis got up from the couch where he was sitting and opened one of the flat drawers behind him. He took out a weapon and handed it to me. “What do you think of this?” he said.
I stood and turned to the door before I switched it on: I hadn’t known the blade’s extension. It was about thirty inches, shorter than many, but it appeared to have full power to within a finger’s breadth of the tip. I couldn’t really put it through its paces in the close confines of the office, but I didn’t notice any lag when I rotated my wrist carefully.
I switched off and held my hand above the tip for a moment, then touched it. The pole was no warmer than the room itself.
I gave Louis a broad smile and said, “I think this is as fine a piece of work as I’ve ever seen in my life. As you well know. You’ve got some remarkable people, Louis. Which one of them do I pay? I’ll take it at his valuation.”
“I do indeed have good people,” Louis said, mirroring my smile. “You brought artifacts back from Severin, did you not?”
“Yeah,” I said. “But nothing very striking and not much in your line. Master Croft was no more interested in weapons and shields than Guntram is.”
“The weapon you just examined was one I built myself,” Louis said. “It’s fit for a member of the Council—”
I nodded. It really was that good.
“—except that it’s a little small. I was going to see if I could get more extension before I gave it to someone, but it appears that it should be perfect as-is for your ward. And as for price—”
Louis shrugged. “I’ll trade it to you for the pieces you just brought back from Severin.”
“Sir,” I said. “This weapon is worth three thousand Dragons. The scraps I brought from Severin could be had for five hundred if you bought the lot from prospectors.”
Louis raised an eyebrow. “You told me that you would accept the Maker’s valuation?” he said.
I blushed. “Sorry, sir,” I said.
“I’ve noticed that you don’t care very much about money, Lord Pal,” Louis said. “Well, neither do I. I care about the good health of the Commonwealth, though. Making a Champion of a youth that you’ve trained and mentored—you intend to do that, don’t you?”
“Yeah, that’s right,” I said. “I think he’s ready to learn now, and I’ll be more patient.”
“Well, that’s good for the Commonwealth,” Louis said. “Send the artifacts up here when you’re ready to.”
“Thank you, sir,” I said, putting the new weapon in my purse as I walked out, since my tunic pockets were full. I should have thought of bringing a harness, but I hadn’t really expected to get what I needed so quickly. I decided that I had time to walk over to Osbourn’s room to drop the weapon off.
I couldn’t stay to chat right now, though. I had to get over to the Chancellor’s suite for my meeting with Lord Felsham.
I grinned. I was looking forward to that.
I was leaning against the wall, chatting with a clerk, Master Foy, in the anteroom of the Chancellor’s office when Felsham arrived. Foy had been, well, stiffish at our first contact. I suppose he considered me a bumptious yokel scraping acquaintance with the Great and the Good to raise my own standing in the court. I didn’t care about my standing in the court—but the bumptious yokel bit, I guess that was true.
We’d gotten to know each other better now. I wasn’t ever going to have what Foy thought was a proper regard for decorum and “the way things are done,” but he saw that Lord Clain and the Leader respected me. For my part, I now realized that without Foy and his fellows, the Chancellor would be pestered to death by every beggar and office-seeker in the Commonwealth.
Felsham walked in just as a servant in the courtyard struck his gong when the water clock reached one pm. He glanced at me, then to Foy and said, “Lord Felsham, here as requested for an interview with Lord Clain.”
I straightened and said, “Come on in, Lord Felsham. Close the door behind us.”
I walked into the office and slid behind the desk. Felsham followed as far as the doorway but paused there to look around the room. In a hard voice he said, “I was told I was to meet with Lord Clain!”
“You were summoned by the Chancellor’s Office,” I said, settling into Clain’s chair. “Lord Clain is aware of our meeting, but neither he nor the Commonwealth have anything to do with our conversation. This is between us, milord.”
“Then there’s no reason for me to be here,” Felsham said. He was a man of forty-odd, very well dressed—blue and red tunic with red trousers—and groomed. A bit puffy in the face, a bit soft generally, but not a bad looking man.
“There’s every reason for you to be here,” I said, “but you’re free to leave if you prefer. You should have time to get back to your house before my friend Lord Morseth arrives with my challenge.”
Felsham said nothing for a long moment; then he eased farther into the room and closed the door behind him. “You have no grounds to challenge me, Lord Pal,” he said, but in a normal voice without shouting or bluster. “We have no quarrel whatever.”
I’d thought that Felsham might arrive with an entourage or even bodyguards. He’d come alone, probably because he expected to meet with Lord Clain. Retainers wouldn’t have browbeaten me either, but he might’ve tried it on with me in hopes.
“You’re aware that I’m living with Lady May,” I said. “You fleeced her cousin Lord Osbourn, whom you knew or should have known was under my protection. This was a deliberate insult to me, for which you will pay on the field.”
“I didn’t…” Felsham started to say. but he didn’t finish the excuse. He hadn’t known much of anything about Osbourn except for the amount of money he’d brought to Dun Add.
In fairness to Felsham, I hadn’t given him any reason to believe that I cared about Osbourn. Well, he had reason now.
“I didn’t fleece Lord Osbourn,” Felsham said. “All the games in Felsham House are fair—but since the question has arisen, and because of my great respect for you, Lord Pal, I’ll happily refund Lord Osbourn’s losses.”
I grinned. “That’s between you and Lord Osbourn, Felsham,” I said. “Personally, I think having all that money just made it more likely that the kid would get over his head with wine and people like you. Anyhow, it doesn’t affect your insult to me.”
“How much money would that require, Lord Pal?” Felsham said. He continued to be very polite. I’m not impressive to look at, but he must have checked after me and my friends had visited Felsham House to take Osbourn. For that matter, he may have watched me and Lord Baran. It was the best show Dun Add had seen for years, based on what people had said to me about the fight. I’d been too close to the action to appreciate the entertainment value.
“My honor’s not for sale,” I said, keeping my tone pleasant. “I’ll make you an offer, though, since you want to end this without killing.”
“Yes,” said Felsham. He leaned forward slig
htly. “Yes, I’m listening.”
“I’ll give you three days to leave Dun Add and not come back,” I said. “You can keep all your money and even sell Felsham House, so long as you do it quick.”
I leaned forward now, across Clain’s desk. “If you’re here after three days, though,” I said, “I’ll challenge you for the insult. And don’t you doubt in the least that I’ll kill you, Lord Felsham. It won’t bother me any more than killing the Spider did that got me Castle Ariel.”
Felsham said nothing. He leaned back in his chair, eying me with a stony expression.
“Just so you’ll know…” I said quietly. “Lord Deltchev, who went through Aspirants’ Training with me, commands the third regiment of the regular army. He’s billeting a squad with me for the next few days. They’ll be under canvas in the back garden, but Master Fritz will be feeding them. Like I say, just so you’ll know.”
“You lowborn bastard…” Felsham said.
“Right on both halves of that,” I said. “But people will also tell you I’m a man of my word, Lord Felsham.”
I stood up. “We’re done here,” I said. “You have only three days to save your life and your fortune, so I recommend you get on it immediately.”
Felsham left without saying anything more that I could hear.
Myself, I went back to the townhouse. I always carried my shield and weapon; but for the next few days, I’d go places in company when I could. Spending time with Morseth and Reaves was probably a good idea too. They were always glad to see me.
CHAPTER 19
The Business of Government
Nothing notable happened for a few days except that Lord Felsham did go off. I didn’t ask—or care—where he’d gone to.
Lord Osbourn and I had spent the early afternoon sparring—with one another, and with people we met on the field. An Aspirant named Lord Mackie gave me a stiff bout before I tapped him on the knuckles and he lost his weapon.
Osbourn had fought Mackie earlier—and lost, but lost credibly. Mackie had good equipment and was very strong; he just battered Osbourn down. That showed me that I needed to work on Osbourn’s ability to anticipate his opponent’s stroke and to guide it away with his own weapon.
The trick was learning to use the great processing power of your dog’s brain. Dogs could predict movement better than any human, and since you were seeing things through his eyes anyway, you just needed to train yourself for what to look for.
Osbourn and I were leaving the field when I noticed two men on the sidelines waiting for us. Normally I wouldn’t have thought twice about that, but in the back of my mind I was aware that though Lord Felsham was gone from Dun Add, he might have left agents behind. I wasn’t afraid—just aware.
“Who do you suppose those fellows are?” Osbourn said, unholstering his weapon as we walked on.
At that point, I recognized them and relaxed. “Ah!” I said. “The young one’s in Mistress Toledana’s office, the Clerk of Here. The older one is something to do with revenue, I suppose an accountant.”
“Gentlemen?” I called as we approached. “You’re looking for me?”
“I wish to speak to Lord Pal,” the older man said. “I’m Master Binzer, the Clerk of Revenues, and my friend Mistress Toledana suggested I talk with you. Master Saml here offered to guide me. When you weren’t at your house, they suggested we come here.”
I nodded to the youth—really just a boy—from Mistress Toledana’s shop. “I’ll be glad to help if I can, Master Binzer,” I said. “Ah—want me to come to your office or what?”
Binzer was short enough that I looked down on his skull-cap when I came close. He was pudgy and at least sixty; I was embarrassed to have thought he might be an assassin.
“Ah, your lordship, wherever is convenient to you,” Binzer said. The deference of somebody three times my age made me even more embarrassed. “My assessors report that there’s a problem on Histance, and Histance is a very important revenue source. Mistress Toledana said it was exactly the sort of thing that you’ve dealt with in the past and suggested I come to you.”
“Umm,” I said. “I’m honored by Mistress Toledana’s praise, but this sounds like a job for the Chancellor himself, probably after the Leader has looked at it.”
“Milord, could you possibly meet with me and my assessors tomorrow morning?” Binzer said, wringing his hands. “This could easily go very badly, which would be an awful thing for my department and for the Commonwealth. A serious drop in revenue.”
On its own, I probably would have told the Clerk to see Clain and handle this properly. Coming from the Clerk of Here, however…I trusted Mistress Toledana’s instincts, and she knew me pretty well also.
“All right,” I said. “Your office tomorrow, at nine?”
“Oh, thank you, sir!” Master Binzer said.
Lord Osbourn said, “Sir? Can I attend also? There’s more to being a Champion than handling arms, and I’d like to see how that’s done also.”
I looked at Osbourn. “Yeah, all right,” I said. “If that’s all right with you, Master Binzer?”
“Your lordship,” the Clerk said. “Anything you want is fine.”
“We’ll see you then,” I said. “Osbourn, let’s hit the bathhouse. This has been a real workout.”
I’d be able to tell May that her cousin was shaping up to be a real asset to the Commonwealth. Honestly, I mean. I generally don’t lie, but tonight I could put real enthusiasm in what I said.
Lord Osbourn had been back in his old room since I returned the soldiers to barracks. I’d hired a couple men to walk with May when she went visiting; Deltchev had agreed to take them back in the regiment with full credit for time served whenever I decided that was safe. I’d offered to pay Deltchev for being so flexible, but he’d refused. Apparently he got considerable mileage in his social circle for being friends with Lord Pal.
In the morning, we walked up the hill to the palace. Osbourn was wearing his equipment in a harness. My weapon and shield were in my pockets as usual. With the loose garments I favor, they generally passed unnoticed.
“Shall we go out to the field after the meeting?” Osbourn said.
“Maybe later,” I said. “First, I want to try you on the practice machines. I want you to learn to let Christiana guide you in a fight.”
When we reached the palace, Lord Osbourn said, “Ah—sir? I don’t know where the Clerk of Revenues’ office is.”
I started to laugh. “You know,” I said. “Neither do I.”
One of the people bustling past us wore an usher’s long-skirted tunic. His cap’s magenta roundel meant he was an usher in the Aspirants’ Hall. “Sir!” I said. “Yes, you. Tell me where the Revenue Office is, please.”
“Your lordship?” he said. “Well, it’s right inside the main door and to the left. Isn’t it?”
“Thank you,” I said, nodding politely and keeping the snarl I felt inside where it belonged.
“You’re very courteous, sir,” Osbourn said in a low voice as we entered the oldest part of the building.
I laughed. “It’s an effort some times,” I said. “The fellow had answered my question to the best of his ability. He couldn’t help being stupid. I need to watch my own behavior more than I need to correct people who can’t do any better to begin with.”
The double doors of the Revenue Office were open. A dozen citizens at the counter were being served by staff members, and there were more than a score of additional clerks at standing desks within the deep room. We looked around.
“Good sirs?” said an usher. I’d missed him initially when we entered, though the room was surprisingly well lighted by clerestory windows just beneath the high ceiling.
“Master Binzer asked Lord Pal here to meet him,” Osbourn said sharply. “Be so good as to guide us to him, my man.”
The usher looked startled for a moment, but he straightened and said, “Why, yes, your lordships!”
He took us to the rig
ht end of the counter, lifted the flap himself, and then led us to the room in the back corner. The walls ended ten feet from the floor, well short of the ceiling. The door was ajar. It flew completely open when Master Binzer glimpsed us through the crack.
“Welcome, your lordships!” the clerk said.
In the office with Master Binzer were a gaunt, sad-looking man of forty and a sturdy woman of scarcely older than my twenty years. “These are Master Hodding and Mistress Gleer,” Binzer said. “Please sit down and they’ll explain what’s happening in Histance.”
Besides the Clerk’s own, four straight chairs had been moved into the small office. I thought of shifting one of the chairs out into the main room or saying that I’d stand, but both of those things would fluster Binzer further. I sat down and slid my chair closer to the sidewall so that Osbourn could slip onto the chair beside me.
Hodding settled onto the chair at the other end of the line. “It’s going to be a war,” he said glumly. “There’s two landowners and they’ve both got armies, a couple hundred each. They’re crap people but they’re buying arms where they can find ’em and hiring mercenaries—which aren’t much better ’n the miners and herdsmen they’ve raised on their own.”
“Lord Thomas has large herds,” said Mistress Gleer. “He supplies meat to seven neighboring nodes, trading mostly for fodder but general goods besides. Lord Alfred’s father discovered silver on his land and Alfred has doubled the workings. Each of them provides more tax revenue than the other twelve nodes of our circuit, mine and Hodding’s.”
“You see how serious this is?” Binzer said desperately. “There’ll be a very serious shortfall if the two landowners go to war. How will I be able to explain that to the Chancellor?”
Quite easily, I thought. And I doubt he’ll blame you for it.
But I suppose Binzer wouldn’t have been as good at his job if he didn’t think everything came down to him, so aloud I said, “I won’t speak for the Chancellor, but I suspect that if you bring this situation to him, he’ll speak to the Leader and they’ll send either a battalion of the army or possibly a Champion to keep order. There’s nothing special about me, and no need for avoiding the normal procedure.”