by Guy Antibes
Ranno nodded. “That is too kind of you, but I’ll do as you suggest, My Prince.”
Pol couldn’t help but make a face. “I don’t mean—”
Ranno swatted Pol’s comment away. “I know what you meant. I’ve got to keep you on your toes.”
Pol grinned. “Yes, Sir Instrument.”
“Deena, give Akonai your report and relay your suggestion about the central magician. We will have to get the word out to the other banks. Tell Akonai that he will have to work with Malden to implement that.”
~
“That was too easy,” Pol said. “I hardly had to pattern the robberies.”
“Why can’t most things be as simple?” Shira said as they walked together towards the Imperial Family quarters. “Simple for you, but not for others.”
“It is one of the first rules of patterning,” Pol said. “Work from the simplest explanation first. The robberies were straightforward once we verified the mind-control.”
“But not everything works so easily. Remember Fistyra and the merchant uprising?”
“That one did have a few layers to it,” Pol said. “Now that we are warmed up, Ranno might give us a more challenging assignment.”
Servants led them inside the Emperor’s dwelling and to a family dining room laid out differently from the one in the palace. The table was a large circle with seating for ten.
Handor greeted Pol with open arms. “Brother! Am I glad to see you. Our first encounter deserves a hug, even though we are both a little allergic to them. We didn’t know if you were lost or not, even after that first message that told us you were on Daera working as a tanner, of all things.”
Pol returned Handor’s grin. “Searl said you were much better.”
Handor nodded to Pol and bowed to Shira. “Princess. I have heard many good things about the mistress of Redearth.”
“I served as a caretaker only. Now that Duke Pol has returned, I gladly give up my position.”
Pol wanted to modify her comments but kept his desire to return to Redearth as master and mistress out of the conversation.
“I don’t want to ask you any questions right now, since you are going to get grilled by the rest of the family.” Handor’s eyes turned to Shira. “Don’t think you’ll be getting off. Shinkya is on the list, too, I think.”
“Feel free to ask away,” Shira said, “whenever you are permitted.”
Handor caught Shira’s meaning. “I’ll get my chance, don’t you worry.”
Pol liked Handor’s new, confident attitude. His health had tamped down a more dynamic individual than Pol had thought. He looked healthier, and the four years since Pol brought him to Deftnis had done wonders. He could picture Handor as a potential Emperor, not as before when the Crown Prince acted like a sick puppy while he and Pol journeyed from Yastan to Deftnis.
Empress Jarrann walked in with the other three Imperial children, Pol’s stepbrother and his two stepsisters.
“I have invited another guest. She is a relation. I hope you don’t mind,” Jarrann said.
“Why would I mind?” Pol said.
Jarrann called, “You can enter now.”
Pol’s eyes watered when Amonna, his stepsister from Borstall, walked in. Four years had changed her from a teenager into a pretty young woman, not much older than he.
“Pol!” She ran into his arms. “I thought we’d never see each other again.”
“I hoped you made it out of North Salvan.”
Amonna nodded. “With the Emperor’s help. I’ve been in Yastan for three years.”
“She is the Crown Princess of North Salvan,” Jarrann said. “In exile, of course.”
“A lovely exile. I have a nice apartment in the palace, and I am learning all kinds of things from Farthia, of all people. Sometimes I help her with her twins.” She took Pol’s hands. “I’ve read a report on your exploits in Daera. If anyone could survive without their memories while being plopped down on that strange place, it would be you.”
“Demeron helped.”
“Landon’s horse?” Amonna said.
“Originally. He and I have bonded. Demeron’s here in Yastan, I should have you meet him. Do you get out riding?”
Amonna looked at Jarrann. “No. Grostin sent a letter to the Emperor demanding that I return. I don’t dare leave the compound.”
“And for good reason,” Shira said. “Grostin is an enemy of the Empire. I know, I have fought his troops.”
“I know,” Amonna said. “I still correspond with Queen Isa, Mother’s friend.”
Pol smiled when she referred to his mother, Queen Molissa, as her mother. “You’ll visit Queen Isa in person when this is all done.”
Amonna gave Pol a frightened look. “That will only be when Grostin is deposed. He won’t do that as long as he lives.”
“I know,” Pol said. “I don’t want to be the one to force abdication on him, but he is responsible for the deaths of hundreds, and I am sure it will be thousands of North Salvans before this is all over.”
Amonna shivered. “We can talk about that another time. Have you actually talked to your stepsiblings other than Handor and me since you arrived?”
Four years had changed all Hazett’s children. They looked older and acted older, even Corran, the youngest. Shira took charge of the conversation and asked each one what they were learning until the Emperor walked in.
“Ah, waiting for me before you sit down?” Hazett rubbed his hands. “Let’s get started. We have two close friends and a returning family member with us tonight. Since this is going to be a question-and-answer dinner, you three sit over at that end of the table facing me.” The Emperor took the seat facing the main entrance to the dining room. “I hope you don’t mind joining us in our personal quarters. The last time we all met, we used the palace family dining room. We do have two, you know.” He grinned.
Servants entered from a door in the back and set filled plates at everyone’s place. Pol noticed that the children ate different foods. This was a real family where tastes had to be accounted for. With Amonna in the room, his family was all here in this room, save Landon. He took Shira’s hand and squeezed. She was as much family as any of them.
He realized at that point that he no longer considered Grostin to have a place among them, even in his mind. A pulse of sadness ran through him. His Borstall stepbrother had detached himself from polite company.
“Does Landon know I’m here?”
“He does,” Hazett said just before he put a forkful of food in his mouth. He finished chewing before he continued. “I sent birds to him as we learned more about your whereabouts. He would come to Yastan to join Amonna and you, but Listya is no longer safe with the Winnowers taking over Daftine. They share a long border.”
Every comment seemed to end up including the political situation. It couldn’t be helped, Pol concluded. “You had questions?” Pol asked, more than happy to change the subject.
“I did, but first I’ll tell you that Landon is doing well. He is a father, thanks to Shira and you introducing him to his lovely Listyan wife. I had a processional in the Southeastern part of the Empire last year. Daftine was not quite the Daftine of today, although I had a noticeably chillier reception there than I had elsewhere. Perhaps I had bad breath or something.” Hazett smiled at Pol. “Amonna knows more, You can ask her another time. I would like to know more about the village culture of Kiria. From my reports, it seems the villages are run differently than the towns, principally Kitanga.”
“It’s like two different countries,” Pol said as he described village economy and village culture. His talk turned to Kitanga so he could contrast the two.
“They don’t like Shinkyans very much,” Handor said.
“And I looked like a Shinkyan,” Pol said. He changed his appearance. “More like this.”
Shira laughed along with everyone else, since she had never seen Pol’s Shinkyan disguise.
“You spent four years looking like that?”
Pol nodded. “Am I not handsome for a Shinkyan?”
“On the contrary,” Jarrann said. “You look rather dashing, I would say. Shira?”
“Dashing is good, but I like the real Pol better.”
“Don’t we all,” Hazett said. “Why don’t they like Shinkyans?”
Pol looked sideways at Shira. “The Shinkyans regard the Kirians as beneath them. They treat them with diffidence, and to the Kirians, the Shinkyans are the epitome of arrogance.”
“We are hated so much?” Shira asked.
Pol nodded. “Karo told me that the Scorpions were unaware of the Kirian attitude. They wouldn’t have sent me looking like a Shinkyan had they known.”
“We haven’t cared what others think of us,” Shira said. “It wasn’t that way at Redearth. We had over two hundred Shinkyan soldiers and Elder Harona and her retinue. Everyone got along. Pentor and Captain Corior often told me that the soldiers worked well together.”
Hazett clapped his hands with glee. “So there is hope for a reconciliation, after all. I wondered. My ambassador is still Barian, but I harbor no illusions about where his sympathies really are. He is a pipeline to the Queen and nothing more.”
“I am glad you realize that,” Shira said.
“What are the prospects for the Zasosians? We will need to set up an Embassy in Axtopol, won’t we?”
Pol nodded. “Yes. I’m not sure what will happen there. I turned their culture upside down, I’m afraid. I had to.” He described the Zasosian culture, and Hazett’s daughters did not like the fact that women were forced to marry other tribal leaders.
“It’s funny you say that, Barya,” Jarrann said. “I seem to recall you are excited about your betrothal to a certain someone who you’ve never met.”
“But I will be a Queen, in time,” she said.
“Were you given a chance?” Hazett said.
“You convinced me it was a great honor and opportunity to serve.”
Hazett smiled and shrugged. “It is still an arranged marriage, no different than the nomads.” His smile disappeared. “But where Barya has an opportunity, the nomads were mixed up without reason…or the reason was to keep them down.”
“They were,” Pol said. “Families were destroyed, and children were taken from the families before adulthood, with many of them never to return.”
“The only advantage I can see is that it would keep the nomads from inbreeding if they traveled as a tribe for years and years on the plains,” Handor said.
Pol was impressed that Handor saw the same advantage that Pol had. “There are other ways to mix the families up without destroying them.”
“Granted,” Handor said. He took another bite from his plate.
“All the more reason to help them expand their horizons. I am glad Akil D’Boria has come with you. He will be able to see what the Empire is like.”
“Once the conflict is over,” Jarrann said.
~
Pol stepped into Hazett’s study in the palace the next morning. “You wanted to speak privately?”
Hazett nodded and pointed to a chair.
“Now that you’ve seen Handor, what do you think?”
“He gained a lot from his stay at Deftnis. He looks better and even thinks better, if that is possible. My thought last night was that he took on the role of Crown Prince very well.”
Hazett smiled, but it was a sly smile. “Are you disappointed?”
Pol shook his head. “Not in the least. My position hasn’t changed at all while I was gone. In fact, I have a better feel for what life is like for the common people. I’d rather join them than rule them.”
“But you do want to be Duke of Redearth.”
Pol grinned. “As long as I’m with Shira. I’m not foolish enough to think I would be happy being a tanner all my life. I am good at a lot of things, and I’m in a better position to help people if I have some authority.”
“You didn’t have the authority to turn Zasos on its head.”
“I didn’t? I went out into the plains with Lord Boria’s permission. I returned to Axtopol after fleeing to the East with Traxus’s party, and I fought the Placement Bureau as an agent of the Clan Lords.”
“So you say,” Hazett said. “You took on the responsibility and the initiative and dragged the others along, once you had figured out how to use those rune books. You are too valuable to languish in a backwater duchy all your life.”
Pol didn’t want to argue with the Emperor, his stepfather, but he couldn’t let the comment go. “I want to live my life with Shira. She won’t be the Queen of Shinkya, no matter what happens. She won’t be satisfied to languish in a subservient position as a wife to an Imperial Prince locked up in Yastan. At Redearth, she has many things to do. We are both friends with Queen Isa. I don’t know what will happen at Borstall, but it is my hope that you and I will enable Amonna to take the North Salvan throne.”
Hazett nodded. “We think alike on that, at least. We have talked about your duty to the Empire when you first arrived. I will do this. Until this conflict with the Winnowers is over, you will take on the assignments that I give you. It may involve defending South Salvan, and I may be able to accommodate you there. After?” Hazett paused. “We will see what ‘after’ holds. Perhaps we can reach some kind of agreement on what kind of role will work for both of us, but for right now, I need to send you to West Huffnya.”
“That is the center of the Winnow Society,” Pol said.
“Don’t tell Ranno, but our Seekers haven’t done well in West Huffnya, and I need to send someone who is more powerful. It is a dangerous assignment.”
“I will go, but Shira won’t like it.” Pol said. Now that Handor was Crown Prince, Hazett could treat him as expendable.
“You may take a person or two with you. The mission is yours to define. I want a better idea of what the Winnowers intend and how many troops they have amassed in their country. We no longer have loyal sources of information.”
“Have they all been turned?” Pol asked.
The Emperor looked grave. “Turned or dead. We don’t know which. That is what you have to find out. Your mother, Jarrann, is upset with me for doing this, but you had to notice the atmosphere at dinner last night. Every discussion eventually turns to the broken empire Baccusol has become. Help me save it for Handor and for you.”
“I will,” Pol said. How could he respond otherwise? This time he had a free hand. He’d verify that with Malden.
“I’ll go as soon as I make rune books, so we can communicate instantly. I won’t be able to carry birds, but I think rune books are better. Revolutionary.”
“Don’t say that word,” Hazett said. “I want Baccusol intact when this wretched business is behind us.”
~~~
Chapter Five
~
M alden, Loa, and Deena sat down with Shira and Pol to go over how to make rune books. Malden would make the decision how and when to deploy the rune books at the proper time.
“Is it as easy as it seems?” Loa asked.
“They are simple wards that are linked. When activated, they glow on both linked sheets. A lodestone deactivates the wards, like a pencil and eraser.”
Malden rubbed his chin. “What if the enemy gets hold of the other one?”
“We are only limited by our imaginations. We can put a code or activate a string of dots. If the code isn’t in the message, you disregard it.”
“Do we need a lodestone to deactivate the runes?” Malden asked.
“A good magician can tweak the ward inactive, I think. I never tried it. To a non-magician, the lodestone is needed to acknowledge that the message has been read.”
Shira grinned. “A magician could activate all the dots on the page, and a non-magician could write a reply by deactivating. Writing where the dots don’t glow.”
“See? It’s limited by your imagination,” Pol said. “Birds have their place, but overall, I think this is better because the communication is instantaneo
us.”
“We would have an advantage over our enemies,” Malden said. “Did I ever tell you that magicians aren’t very effective in battle?”
Pol nodded.
“I take it back. They could run communications between units. Seekers with magic wouldn’t have to leave the field to report information back to headquarters. I like it,” Malden said.
“I want to take a book with me to West Huffnya.” Pol said.
Malden smiled. “Then you’ve already been thinking of applications. Coded messages are part of your plan?”
Pol pointed to the pages in front of them. “Let’s get to work.”
~
Akil joined them at a restaurant with Kell before they headed to the West. Pol had felt that Akil had been left alone too much, but Pol hadn’t been a master of his time since he reached Yastan.
“I like Imperial food,” Akil said in heavily-accented Eastrilian.
Pol smiled. “Do you like your language lessons?”
Akil nodded with exaggeration. “I do. Lord Malden has me learning Imperial swordplay. I am getting better, but I miss my Academy teacher,” he said grinning.
It must have been hard to get all the words out, and Akil had to pause here and there, but the man was picking up the language. Pol clapped, and the others did, too.
The Zasosian smiled and nodded at them. “I feel foolish much of the time, but I am getting gooder.”
“Better,” Shira said.
He nodded and grinned. “Better. I am getting better.”
Pol had learned many languages, and he has always felt a bit stupid for a while, so he knew what Akil faced. “Practice, practice, practice.”
“I will,” Akil said.
“Are you anxious to see Kell’s parents?”
Loa grinned and shook her head. “They will love seeing me.”
Pol instantly saw the pattern. “You are going to have a child?”
Loa beamed. “We just found out,” she said. “Let’s hope our child will be held by his parents in six months’ time.”
“I’ll drink to that,” Kell said. They all raised their mugs and goblets and toasted the mother-to-be and the child inside her.
“A happy time,” Akil said. “A happy time.”