‘You may lead on, sir,’ he said.
Clarin picked up the torch and began the descent, holding on to the pole as he twisted around the thin steps. As he disappeared from view, Decker followed behind. The archbishop went incredibly slowly, leaving Belwynn and the others standing around at the top.
Eventually, they made it down into the crypt. Clarin had used the torch to light a number of lanterns before hanging it up. Decker asked Herin to place the slab back over the top of the stairs. The lanterns cast an eerie, flickering light in the cold, humid crypt, picking out recesses in the rock and creating dark shadows. As Belwynn’s eyes adjusted she saw that along the walls, to the left and right, were the rectangular stone coffins of the three previous Dukes of Kelland.
Each one had a carved likeness of the duke on the lid, looking sternly out from their rest, still grasping their favoured weapons in different poses with which to defend their territory. Their names had also been carved into the stone beneath their feet, so that Belwynn could read along: Manfred the Great gripped a great sword with both hands, laid along his chest and legs; Duke Bernard, Baldwin’s father, held sword and shield in battle-readiness; Duke Albert had his sword buckled at his waist and his palms pressed together on his chest in prayer.
Belwynn brought her attention back to Archbishop Decker, still wondering why he had brought them down here. He was at the far end of the crypt with Clarin. He pointed to another gap in the wall, again big enough for Clarin to place both hands in. Clarin pulled, then pushed. Nothing happened.
‘This way,’ said Decker, using his hands to make a circular motion towards the right.
Instead of pushing away or pulling towards him, Clarin used his grip to push upwards on the wall. He briefly strained with the effort, and then the mechanism kicked in, a section of stone wall rolling away to the right like a wheel.
When the stone disc stopped moving, there was a gap in the wall big enough to walk through. It was dark, but Belwynn could make out a passageway.
‘The underground route into the castle,’ announced Archbishop Decker. ‘Very useful over the years for the dukes to have a secret way in and out. And today, very useful for us.’
18
An Audience with the Emperor
BELWYNN LOOKED AT THE MIRROR again. She was about to meet the Emperor of Brasingia, and no amount of cosmetics or changes of hairstyle altered the fact that she looked a tired, haggard mess.
It had taken him a while, but Archbishop Decker had led them through the short tunnel from the crypt under Essenberg Cathedral to the wine cellar of Essenberg Castle.
He had immediately taken them to Baldwin’s chamberlain, Rainer, who explained the situation to them more fully.
‘The Emperor is due to meet with Orlin for a second time this morning. Before you start to worry, we already know, in a general way, the state of affairs in Barissia. For the time being it suits us to keep our knowledge of events in Barissia to ourselves. So, the Emperor meets with Orlin, agrees to hand you over if you are found, and Orlin leaves.’ Rainer waved his hand, as if Orlin were a fly he was swatting away.
Rainer wanted to know the details of their time in Barissia. Soren gave him the bare bones, but demanded an audience with Baldwin himself. Rainer politely nodded.
‘Yes, yes, the Emperor will want to speak to you today. He is also meeting with a Haskan envoy from King Arioc this morning. As I’m sure you’ll be aware,’ Rainer continued, forcing a smile, ‘there is much to talk about there. So, I propose a meeting this afternoon. In the meantime, I can arrange a suite of apartments here in the castle for you to rest in. Not as spacious as would ordinarily be the case, but we have a lot of visitors in the castle at the moment.’
Soren and the others had agreed to the afternoon meeting. They also agreed that not everyone need go, so, as well as the twins, Herin, Gyrmund and Moneva were to come. Despite being related to a prince, being given a meeting with the Brasingian Emperor gave Belwynn a bit of a thrill. The afternoon slot also gave them time to get some rest and take stock of the situation.
As it was, Belwynn had fallen asleep, and had woken up with little time to get ready. Rainer had sent an aide, who told them to be ready to meet with Baldwin in twenty minutes.
The door opened.
‘All well?’ enquired Soren, taking a step into the room.
‘I suppose so,’ Belwynn replied, staring unhappily at her reflection.
Moneva, who had been sharing the room with Belwynn, got up off the bed and joined them. She took a brief look in the mirror herself, smoothing down her chin length jet-black hair in five seconds.
‘I hate people like you,’ said Belwynn grumpily.
Moneva smiled and gave her cheek a pinch.
‘She looks beautiful, doesn’t she, Soren?’
‘For Toric’s sake, haven’t we got more important things to worry about?’
Moneva shook her head at him. ‘A yes is what we were looking for.’
The others were waiting in the corridor, along with an aide sent by Rainer.
‘We’re ready,’ said Soren. The aide wordlessly turned around and walked ahead, leading them to the great hall where Baldwin did his meeting.
‘This guy’s so full of himself he gets his servant’s servant to collect us,’ said Herin.
‘You are going to behave, aren’t you?’ asked Belwynn.
Herin snorted in disgust at the question.
At the end of the corridor they went down a flight of stairs to ground level. Here they briefly went outside into a courtyard. There was some evidence of military preparations here. At the far wall Belwynn could see three wagons being loaded with food, weaponry and other provisions. The Kellish war machine was slowly rousing.
After a quick check that they were unarmed, Belwynn and her four companions were allowed into the hall by the two sentries. Although Baldwin toured around the Empire, he spent much of his time here, and the hall was designed to impress the visitor. Tapestries depicted the great events of imperial history. All four emperors were shown. Manfred the Great was shown as both a warrior and peacemaker, forging the Empire. Emperor Ludvig, Duke of Rotelegen, was a pious figure, uniting the disparate faiths in one church. Bernard was a defender against enemies abroad. Finally, Baldwin was an architect, building a new age of prosperity.
Four pillars stood in a rectangle shape in the centre of the hall, supporting the roof. It was big enough to hold dozens of people for feasts or formal ceremonies. Now, however, it held only twelve. At the far end of the hall there were two tables. Off to the side, the smaller one seated six bodyguards, bearing different liveries, all fully armed. At the larger, main table, a further six people stood up from where they had been seated at the far end as Belwynn and the others approached.
Welcoming them, Rainer stepped forward to do the introductions.
‘His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Baldwin; His Grace Ellard, Duke of Rotelegen; His Grace Decker, Archbishop of Kelland; His Lordship Walter, Marshall of the Empire; His Lordship Gustav, Archmage of the Empire.’
Belwynn muttered a my lord after each name was announced and nodded in what she thought was the right direction.
Rainer began the other set of introductions, impressing Belwynn by remembering their names.
‘Soren and Belwynn, cousins to Prince Edgar of South Magnia; Herin of South Magnia; Gyrmund of South Magnia; Moneva of…?’ Rainer hadn’t been told where Moneva was from.
Moneva’s lips twitched in amusement.
‘Of Dalriya,’ she said.
Baldwin smiled. ‘Quite right. None of our business. Though your accent sounds more than familiar. Sit down,’ he said gruffly, gesturing at the opposite end of the table. ‘That’s the formalities over with. I want to keep this informal. I understand that you’ve already met a good number of our group already, one way or another.’
He spoke with the same trace of humour Walter did, as if they were all sharing a joke amongst themselves.
Belwynn and the others found
a chair and everyone sat down. Feeling a bit more relaxed, Belwynn took another look at the Emperor close up. Baldwin was essentially an older version of Walter. He had a powerful build and a firm, strong face, surrounded by cropped, dark hair which also contained flecks of grey. He had more lines on his face than his brother, no doubt caused by the years of extra responsibility.
Belwynn briefly examined the other new faces. Duke Ellard was perhaps ten years older than the Emperor. He had a soldierly look to him, as if he were used to giving out orders, though he looked less than interested in Belwynn and her companions.
Gustav was a different kind of man. While tall, he was no soldier; his body had been left slim while he pursued his magical gifts. Soren had told Belwynn a bit about him over the years, though her twin had never met him. He was perhaps the most powerful human wizard in Dalriya. Born in the Empire, Baldwin had wanted Gustav’s services at court. He eventually got them, but Gustav had come at a high price. Not only money and property, but an official title—Archmage of the Empire. This had brought the Emperor into trouble with the Church and others who despised magic as an abomination and objected to any official recognition. However, imperial recognition for Gustav had made the position of wizards in the Empire and its neighbours safer than they had been for generations.
‘I should apologise,’ began Walter, looking at each of them. ‘Last night I should have brought you to the castle immediately. I didn’t imagine that the Barissians would be so brazen as to send such a significant force into the city after you.’
‘There’s no need to apologise, my lord,’ responded Soren. ‘You weren’t in full cognisance of the facts and, for that, we apologise. There are certain things we felt we needed to tell the Emperor to his face.’
‘Well, I am all ears now,’ said Baldwin. ‘You have news from Barissia, perhaps very important, since Emeric seems desperate to get his hands on you. Rainer also tells me you bring news from Magnia.’
Before the meeting they had agreed on two things. Firstly, that Soren would do the talking, and secondly, that he would be completely honest. Baldwin and his advisers already knew much, and they needed the Emperor’s support in their current situation. Hiding things from them could jeopardise that.
So, Soren began at the beginning, by giving an account of the attack on the Temple of Toric and Edgar’s decision to send them to retrieve the dagger. He outlined the pursuit through the Wilderness, not hiding the fact that he was a wizard. He explained, as best he could, the encounter with Pentas and Nexodore on the Great Road. Naturally, this sparked an interest.
‘Gustav?’ Baldwin enquired, seeking elaboration.
Gustav had leaned forwards in his chair at Soren’s description of the fight between the two wizards.
‘I know both names. They are lieutenants of Erkindrix. both of whom I believe that both of them are on his Council of Seven, meaning that they answer to no-one but him. Arioc of Haskany is another member; that is the level we are talking about. Why they should fight each other is, therefore, beyond me. We could speculate that they both wanted to be the one to take this dagger to Erkindrix and win his favour. But the fact that they both became personally involved in this is remarkable. In that sense, it makes the dagger a bigger issue even than Emeric.’
Ellard snorted, a look of disgust on his face. ‘A poxy dagger won’t seem a bigger issue when Emeric decides to move his army.’
‘Can I see it?’ Gustav asked, ignoring the Duke.
Soren handed it over. Gustav peered at it, studying the writing. He traced his forefinger up the length of the blade and handed it back with a slightly disappointed look.
‘Interesting. I’m not sure what to make of it. Where did the dagger come from originally?’
‘In our country the legends say that the Magnians defeated the Lippers and took the dagger as spoils.’
‘Nothing to do with Toric?’
‘I think he was given the credit by the Church.’
‘Have you held the weapon? Felt any kind of reaction from it?’
‘No, I…’ Soren seemed a bit unsure what to say. ‘I have lost my powers. It happened when we were going through the Wilderness. I overextended my powers.’
Gustav’s eyebrows rose slightly and a look of sympathy appeared on his face. ‘I see. Perhaps you and I can talk about that later, Soren. I certainly felt nothing, anyway.’
Soren continued. He told them about Kaved’s treachery in Coldeberg and Dirk’s revelation that he had had the dagger all along. He finished the tale with the escape from Coldeberg and their recent adventures in Essenberg.
‘Thank you for being so frank, Soren,’ said Baldwin. ‘I will repay you in a moment by updating you on recent developments here. You may wish to carry this news back to Edgar. First, I want to get the nature of Emeric’s rebellion straight in my head. You say this wizard, Tirano, is from Ishari. In that case, Emeric could have given his allegiance to Ishari, and may be preparing a coordinating attack from the south.’
‘That would be my guess,’ said Walter. ‘He’s been recruiting every sellsword in the Empire for weeks now. I wouldn’t be surprised if Arioc, or whoever, has offered him the Empire in return.’
‘Possibly,’ agreed Baldwin. ‘All of this is confirmation of our suspicions that Emeric’s actions are a bit more than opportunism, and he may not be easily bought off. I have received a letter from Coen, informing me that Prince Edgar is holding some kind of Conference of the South,’ said Baldwin, changing the subject. ‘When is it, Rainer?’
‘Two days’ time.’
‘He aims to secure an agreement for the southern states of Dalriya to send us help. I am very grateful for this. I am sending an ambassador out today. I don’t know whether or not you intend to return to Magnia now. But you are welcome to write a letter to Edgar yourselves if you wish. My ambassador will ensure that it is delivered.’
‘Thank you,’ said Belwynn. ‘We will.’
‘You have told me of events in the south, and so I will pass on what we know of events in the north. Walter?’
Walter nodded and unfurled a map of Dalriya on the table so that everyone could see.
‘The threat from Ishari really only began about a year ago,’ continued Baldwin. ‘Everyone knows that they control the Drobax—potentially a fearsome threat, but they have been relatively quiet the last ten years. Three years ago Arioc took the throne of Haskany. King Harel died suddenly with no male heir. Arioc had a claim through marriage to a relative.’
Baldwin shrugged. ‘It happens. Suddenly, Ishari was in a stronger position. We became worried, but not overly concerned. Haskany raised troops, but only to fight a long, drawn-out campaign against the Barbarians of the east coast. Kharovia allied itself to Ishari, probably out of fear of the Drobax. Last month they took the island of Alta from Vismar. These were small events. No, it was the fall of Persala that took us by surprise.
‘We don’t know what Erkindrix and Arioc’s ultimate intentions are. But I couldn’t let them take Trevenza and Grienna as well. That would put Arioc right on our border. So, yesterday, Trevenza and Grienna were both fully incorporated into the Empire. I’ve made my move. Will it make Haskany think twice about pushing further south? Or will they take it as a cause for war? The evidence now suggests that they’ve been planning for a war for a long time.’
‘We’ve just had Arioc’s envoy in before you,’ said Ellard, becoming interested in this part of the conversation. ‘They refuse to accept the status of the two provinces as belonging to the Empire. They claim them for themselves, as part of Persala. That doesn’t sound like backing down to me.’
‘If war comes—’ Baldwin took over again, ‘we are in real trouble. With Emeric’s army they have us caught on two fronts. If I take an army north to fight Haskany, it leaves the Empire open for Emeric’s army, and vice versa. That’s why we’re having to play it cagey—tolerate Orlin and the Barissians, despite the fact they’ve put soldiers onto the streets in my own city.’
He
raised a fist, as if he was going to bang it onto the table, but controlled himself, gradually relaxing his hand.
‘If Emeric had any sense of strategy he’d have sent his army to Essenberg already, but he’s never had sense, thank the Gods. But it’s not just the Empire,’ the Emperor continued, sounding passionate. ‘If the Empire falls, Guivergne, Cordence, even Magnia—they will all follow. We are heavily outnumbered, and allies are scarce. Our relations with Guivergne are not good. They will not lift a finger to help. Neither will the Confederacy. King Jonas of Kalinth is weak, too fearful of the Drobax to act. I send him a message of support against Ishari, and he wrote back to say that he has good relations with Erkindrix! There is no stomach for a fight there.
‘What does that leave me?’ said Baldwin, looking at the map of Dalriya, emotion creeping into his voice. ‘The Krykkers. The Caladri. I have little contact with them and know nothing of their ways. This is why the support of the Southern states is so important to me. I have decided to send a formal request for help to this conference Edgar is holding. As for the Empire, I sent instructions for each duke to raise his army.’ Baldwin smiled grimly at this, as if he had just made a sour jest.
‘Well,’ he continued, ‘each duke has raised his forces. At the moment, however, Ellard’s is the only one within range of Trevenza and Grienna.’
‘Under the control of my sons,’ Ellard added proudly.
‘Walter has my forces prepared, but we are wary of moving into Rotelegen for fear of leaving Kelland undefended against Emeric’s army. Arne, to be fair, should be moving his forces today. But the rest…’
Belwynn didn’t quite know where to look. The Emperor was criticising the dukes of Brasingia in front of them. Perhaps he found it easier to unload his problems onto strangers. It was a brutally frank analysis of the situation. She felt a little disappointed by it all the same. It seemed that emperors were just men with their own problems, like any other.
‘Anyway,’ resumed Baldwin, ‘I won’t go on any more, but you see my dilemma. Perhaps if you return to Magnia, you could help explain the situation to people there.’
The Weapon Takers Saga Box Set Page 24