The Invisible Hand

by Chris Northern

  It was clear to me that my soldiers were making free with Orlek's women. There just weren't enough other men here, and certainly none young enough to account for the volume and enthusiasm of the voices I'd heard. No one seemed to be complaining, so in some ways it wasn't a problem. From what I'd just heard, the women were willing enough. There would be no issues with progeny; any children would either be taken by their fathers and raised as citizens or not, and I didn't care one way or the other. I doubted any of the men would take a wife from among the women here, but it did happen, and again didn't matter. But this was a lapse of discipline. It is one thing to visit the whores and camp followers, but it is another thing entirely to turn the barracks into a brothel. I had to blame Meran, and would discuss the matter with him first, as any changes should come through the chain of command. But I'd also have a chat with the centurions who had allowed him to fall into error. They couldn't be unaware of the situation, and so their negligence was deliberate and would be punished. I'd had hints that they didn't much like being under his command, but this was the first clear evidence that they were actively working against him. And it was a well-chosen breach of discipline; not quite serious enough to require or deserve a corporal punishment, not trivial enough to be ignorable unless you were, like Meran, a barbarian freed man who didn't know any better. He had condoned it; so the men would have assumed that I condoned it. More to the point, so would Anista. Well, they were all about to find out that their assumption was unwarranted.

  I stopped at the end of the hall. I couldn't just leave it. If I was going to do something about it, I had to do it now. The guard on my door remained, though I'd dismissed the escort as I did not intend to leave the hall again this day. The guard would see me return to my rooms unwashed; they would know I had encountered the situation and retreated from it. The result would be a loss of respect and authority. And that was not an option.

  "Damn."

  Anista had wanted me to encounter this situation. But she wasn't alone in that desire; the centurions and the guard on my door had allowed me to walk into it blind. Lessening of discipline should be a gift from the commander, and though that was me, it could be argued that they believed their commander to be Meran, the man who had led them up until yesterday. Had he given the men access to the women of the hall as a reward or had they merely assumed it as one or two couplings were ignored? I strongly suspected the latter, but I didn't know for sure. And meanwhile I was standing in the hall, thinking about it instead of acting.

  "Damn."

  I did not want to criticize Meran, he'd done a good job in the field. So, tomorrow the men would march out of here and have to sleep rough until they finished construction on the new barracks. Lack of access would deal with the problem, and let a few nights sleeping rough deal with the discipline. Meran had been competent enough as a commander in the field, he'd handled his men well and I thought they had worked well for him under those circumstances. It was the administrative situation that was causing the friction; he simply hadn't known how to deal with it. His lack of competence in that area was the problem and would take time to correct. But I still had to act now, having been seen to be aware of the situation. And I did not want to make a big deal out of it or confront a couple of dozen randy men who then might become insubordinate, which would require further and more drastic action. I needed another option. A way to cool things off.

  Ahead of me the door to one of the apartments opened and Balaran stepped out into the corridor to find me standing pretty much right outside his door, and the half-formed thought came together in my mind as he stopped and looked a question at me.

  "Balaran," I greeted him with a smile. "I was just coming to see you. I need you to cool something down for me."

  He raised an eyebrow. "In a manner of speaking?"

  I shook my head. "Yes and no. Can you drop the temperature of all the water in there?" I indicated the room in question, leading him down the hallway.

  "Easily, but people are mostly water and it might have some detrimental effects... how about rapidly cooling the air? If I understand your intent, that would work just as well, make the atmosphere a little less comfortable? The water would start to cool pretty rapidly, also."

  I nodded. "Go ahead and do that then." I made to leave.

  "Aren't you going to stay and watch?" He seemed surprised. "Could be good for a laugh or two and you will want to explain..?"

  "No. Think I'll forego the pleasure. Perhaps best if I officially didn't notice or order any action taken."

  "Wait a minute, they aren't under my orders and soldiers have been known to hold a grudge, Sumto."

  "Tell them it was me who ordered this rather than take official notice and dish out punishments," I explained patiently.

  "Good idea. I'll do that then."

  I left him to it and heard the first cries of surprise, accompanied by the rapid movement of bodies and the inevitable sound of suddenly displaced water as the exodus began. The howls of outrage and complaint rose to a crescendo as I approached the door to my rooms. The guards had taken a single step from their posts, hands on the hilts of half-drawn swords, but relaxed back when they saw me coming.

  I think it was the fact that I was laughing that reassured them.

  #

  It was dusk by the time I bathed as well as I could with the water provided and towelled myself dry by the light of a couple of dozen candles. Tossing the towel on the floor, I cast an eye over the clothes Renik had set out for me, then I ignored them and put on what I had been wearing, only making an exception for a pair of felt boots that were a little tight but stretched enough to be wearable when I pulled them on.

  "The clothes displease you, master?" Renik said, hovering.

  They did, but I didn't see the point of belabouring the obvious. They were Orlek's finest and would give entirely the wrong impression to anyone who saw me wearing them. It is amazing how much of power is in perception. Renik was Anista's creature and his actions would be her instructions; he was a window into her thinking and I was happy to use that insight to my own advantage.

  "I suspect they wouldn't fit," I told him. "Tomorrow you will go to Treleth at the trading post and purchase clothing from him or his agents. Whatever he has that you think will fit me. Have them open an account in my name. And address me as patron, Renik. Try not to forget again."

  "As you say, Patron."

  I could hear that the hall beyond my chambers was full and decided I was ready to go and see what else was in the mind of Anista, though I was really looking only for confirmation.

  When I opened the door and stepped through it, a drum was beaten in a rolling crescendo. I stopped in my tracks and blinked in surprise; then I had to grit my teeth to stop myself laughing as I took in the scene that had been set. The hall quietened only for a moment, and then mostly in surprise. The soldiers looked, some half standing the better to see, then settled back to their own business with shrugs of indifference, a quick grin or derisory comment. They were a free people, my equals, not subjects but citizens and they knew the difference; they saw the pageantry intended for what it was. Nonsense at best, and a foolish attempt to shape and control their attitude at worst. They were having none of it and I saw the flash of surprised irritation that passed over Anista's face as she took in their reaction, or lack of it. She controlled it well, coming to her feet and indicating the place next to her that she intended me to take at the high table. Her gaze raked me up and down and I could see the dissatisfaction with my informal attire. As I stepped forward, she resumed her seat, watching me cross the few paces between us.

  Apart from the soldiers, the hall was full of women and children, or so it seemed. A whole table was devoted to youngsters, the older ones supervising children of all ages. There were a good number of them, Orlek's bastards and others; some hostages, others the children of the warriors of Darklake. Some of the women were widows, others wives of men who languished in the makeshift prison that was the stables, and some Or
lek's former concubines. The demeanour of each woman told clearly which group she belonged to. Half the hall was filled by soldiers and they were in good enough spirits, many the butts of rough humour and taking it well. A few longing looks at the women they had been consorting with were roundly mocked by any who noticed. It took only a moment to see that they had accepted the change, so I gave my attention to those who were seated at the high table as I reached the chair intended for me and stood behind it.

  They were several: Vedat, Orasin, and Seldas of Learneth, and Mielkan, formerly a serf of the Necromancers. Anista had seated herself to my left, and to her left was the lad I had seen twice already this day; the one who had ingratiated himself with my men, and whom I now guessed to be her son and the one legitimate child of Orlek. To my right she had seated Meran, whose dissatisfaction with the situation manifested itself in a frown and the drumming of fingers on the bare boards of the table. Also seated in honoured positions were a handful of women that Anista clearly favoured. These I knew to be the former hostages; women and children gathered from the Alendi and others. I guessed that Anista had included them at my table because of their rank; they were her peers and she was thus promoting the idea that they were her guests. Balaran, and the two healers, whose names I had been given and promptly forgotten, filled out the company. Balaran's expression was fixed in a display of beaming good cheer and seemed to have infected his colleagues with good humour. They watched for my reaction, eyes dancing.

  I had allowed Anista to arrange things according to her desires and had learned something from it. She was trying to make me look a chieftain. The physical layout of the building lent itself to this kind of public feasting, where a leader shared his largess and received public support in a show of unity. This was far from the kind of private dinner that characterized our culture; a few guests invited to discuss whatever might be relevant to the moment, politically or socially. In contrast, anything discussed here would be public. She was using the political tools she knew, and I had allowed it because I wanted to know how she intended to use them. I'd learned already that she intended to promote her son to me and have him be seen in the company of those in authority, while excluding the families of the other magistrates, effectively relegating them to a secondary layer of authority. Yet she was not so unsubtle that she attempted to seat her son at my side. I saw also that she intended to cement alliances and forge relationships with the hostages for her son’s later exploitation. She had not attempted to exclude the others whom I had promoted as magistrates, acknowledging by their presence that they were near equal in authority to herself; though she doubtless intended that that would change in time. She knew Balaran and the healers had real personal power and influence, and that she would insult them by trying to exclude them, or Meran. It had also been reported to me that she had earlier attempted to see the priest, Caliran, but had been denied access. I guessed that she had intended that he be present, as an ally not only of herself, but of her son.

  She had set a scene. Here is the place of power. Here am I and here is my son, beside the throne and in waiting. Here are the people of power, seated at my table, and see they are each alone, that their children are not present? It was a game with rules, and should I accept them I would have to play by them because I would have been seen to accept them. To have witnessed the scene she had set told me all I needed to know, and now I would change the nature of the game, setting out my own rules.

  I did not take the seat left vacant, nor hesitate long enough for anyone to speak beyond their greetings, which I returned. "Vedat, Orasin, Seldas, and Mielkan, join me in my chambers." I glanced at Anista. "Have our meals brought to us there." I turned my back on her protests and left her there, to preside over nothing. Renik nearly tripped over his own feet getting out of my way. I was getting impatient with people who insisted on following me around. "Bring more cups," I told him. "And more wine."

  Back in my room I quickly gathered up the papers that littered the table and dumped them to one side. There were enough chairs in the room for the five of us, if I included the throne in the mix; it was the work of a moment to drag them into place. By the time I was done the four men had followed me into the room. I casually took a seat at the table where I did business, gesturing to the others to join me.

  "We have things to discuss, and might as well eat as we do so," I said.

  "Yes, Patron," Vedat said, recovering first. He glanced at the throne, which I had left vacant, but selected another chair and seated himself. "You wish us to take over the distribution of largess, I understand. We need to know more in order to address our people’s concerns. For example, some desire to return to their farms around Learneth and wonder if you will support that. Also, the warriors you wish to recruit... how long will they serve, at what pay, under what discipline? Will they have earned citizenship? Pensions and land?"

  I listened to him as I also paid attention to the dance of throne avoidance going on about me. In the end it was timid and diffident Mielkan who was left to hesitantly seat himself there, clearly unnerved by being left with what he also saw as the seat of authority. It was going to take time to break them of such ludicrous habits of thought and I found myself wondering just how much basic political theory I was going to have to actually explain, and how much I could force into their thinking just by example. They saw it as a symbol of authority, I saw it as a chair, and if I was going to achieve half of what I intended I must make them see it the same way.

  "That question is moot; at the moment they will be mercenaries should they merely accept payment for their services. Until a man accepts the status of client and makes oath to me, there can be no progress within our social system. You all could take a lead in that, if you choose to. As to a return to Learneth, I think that is clearly the intent of sending this force north, to secure the area and make that possible."

  There was a sullen silence for a time and I spent it studying the thoughtful frowns of the men of Learneth. I wished Jek, and some of the others who had become my clients while I was in their town, had survived. But none had and I had to start again. I waited them out.

  "I would wish," Orasin said at last, "that the Necromancers had never come to Learneth. I would wish that you had not come here, but now you are here and show no signs of leaving." He looked around the table, barely affording Mielkan a glance. "It seems we must deal with the situation as it is, rather than as we would have it be. Some of our people have already agreed to become your clients, seeing that your assistance is practical and immediate..." he trailed off with a shrug.

  "Then I can rely upon your support?"

  Orasin looked again at his fellows then nodded decisively. "You mentioned that you would fund me in the financing of my businesses?"

  "And so I will; any client of mine who brings me concrete plans will be backed in full for a return on the capital invested. But I would prefer that you first acquaint yourself with the duties of the magistracy you will be holding. For now, distributing funds to the people so that they can rebuild, and advocating clientship as the most pragmatic course of action under the circumstances, will keep all of you busy. Be aware that as you disburse funds you will be accruing clients for yourselves; they may swear to you just as you swear to me."

  The sudden sharpening of interest was palpable amongst the three men of Learneth. They understood the implications immediately. As for Mielkan, I wasn't sure he understood any of it and I knew I would have to take time with him in the days to come, and that his duties would have to be the least critical to the success of my plans.

  "You are saying we should solicit clients of our own?" Seldas said.

  "The practice varies. I know some Patrons who have hundreds of thousands of direct clients, all of whom have access to him, at least in theory; and others who have only a handful of direct clients, though some of them be kings." I shrugged. "I think it will go better here if I have only a few, though I'll accept as many as request it of me. Your clients will also be mine, after
all. From your point of view the more clients you acquire the better; even if, in the future, you do not hold public office, remember that the man who does might still be your client and thus unable by his oath to act in a manner against your best interests. There are Patrons who have entirely retired from public life and yet still have a great deal of influence."

  Seldas shook his head. "I confess I have some difficulty understanding how your city politics works."

  "It is both simple and complex," I admitted as Renik bustled in with wine and cups. Behind him a handful of servants brought food. In moments the table was set and the room filled with the scent of cooked meats and freshly prepared vegetables. With the first bite I realized how hungry I was and tried to concentrate on what was said rather than sating that desire.

  "The peoples around us are, for the most part, tribal, the chieftains rule through their warriors, mostly family members, and with their consent. We of Learneth have magistrates after the manner of the city but never adopted your client-patron relationship. It seems to confuse things."

  I shrugged and talked around a mouthful of meat. "It's supposed to. The further you spread power around the less harm it can do to the people as a whole. The more loyalties are divided the less chance there is that one part of society will take up arms against another." I didn't want to get into it, the food was demanding my attention, but there was no help for it; it had to be understood. "The client/patron relationship is about wealth and influence, not directly about politics. It's easy to confuse the word patron and Patron, they sound so similar and have more than one meaning. The one is an acknowledgement of obligation and also denotes birth into a social class, the other a title and rank, yet can also be used to denote that the individual has clients but is client himself to no one. They shouldn't be confused but often are."

  I saw the shaking of heads and confusion on their faces. "It really doesn't matter," I told them. "I could pick a man at random, call him king and back him with the full might of the city’s armies, putting all the power in one pair of hands. He would be my client and this a client kingdom and all in it my clients by his word, the region his to organize as he saw fit. But Learneth has not been ruled that way, and elected magistrates of the town could be any free citizen. So, we start with what you previously had and work from there. I will divide the authority for finance; external relations; building maintenance; water and sanitation; weights and measures; and eventually justice and peacekeeping among the magistrates I appoint. Later, when things have stabilized, there will be elections for the magistracies; that gives you time to influence people so that they see you are well suited to the positions you now hold by fiat. Use the money you will control to good effect and people will vote for you when a vote is called. What could be simpler?"