Abuud: the One-Eyed God (10 page)

"No fire tonight," he said softly. "We will sleep for a few hours and then depart to the north. Niki, you must decide what it is that you want to do. That patrol is obviously looking for you."

"We could just call them back," Tedi offered sarcastically. "Niki would have an escort back to her beloved city."

Niki scowled at Tedi, but her hands were shaking visibly. "I can't believe that they would all turn against me so," she sobbed. "I will go with you for a while, but I intend to find Dalgar as soon as we are safe. He will make Tagaret love me again."

"I guess this means a cold dinner," frowned Tedi as he gathered the supplies he had laid out.

"I did not think they would publicly hang her," whispered Arik to Tedi as he moved away from Niki. "Why try to assassinate her then?"

"They hang horse thieves," Tedi whispered back. "That is who the soldiers were tracking. I don't think it had anything to do with the Council."

***

The carriage halted at the gate to a modest estate. The Koman mercenaries opened the gate and admitted the carriage before ordering it to halt. A khaki-clad mercenary with a patch on his sleeve containing a scorpion approached the carriage and stuck his head in the door.

"May I inquire of the purpose of your visit?" asked the mercenary.

"I am Duke Graves," replied one of the men inside the carriage. "My colleagues are Duke Tredor and Duke Zalski. We wish an audience with Lord Clava."

"Very well, gentlemen," responded the mercenary. "I will tell your driver to approach the mansion and send a runner ahead to request the audience."

"Thank you, officer," replied Duke Graves. "If I may be so bold as to ask why you are allowing us entry before the audience has been agreed to? I am thinking of utilizing your firm, and I would think this represents lax security."

"Not at all, sir," smiled the mercenary. "Even with your carriage at the door to the mansion, not one of you would ever gain entrance to the building. Worse for you, neither would you be able to escape the grounds. You will find that we Koman mercenaries never treat a visitor the same way twice. A visitor will never know what precautions we will take for any given visit."

"Impressive," smiled Duke Graves. "Thank you for giving me confidence in my decision to utilize the services of the Koman Mercenary Company."

The mercenary nodded and withdrew from the carriage and ordered the driver to proceed to the steps of the mansion. By the time the carriage was halted in front of the mansion, a mercenary was present to open the door and escort the three councilors into the building. Two mercenaries waited in the sitting room and the councilors were invited to sit. Within moments, Konic Clava entered the room and greeted the councilors.

"Gentlemen," smiled Lord Clava, "it is an honor and a privilege to welcome you to my home. Would you care for some refreshments?"

"No thank you," Duke Graves smiled back. "Thank you for admitting us without notice. This is not an official delegation from the Council. It is more of a welcome to Tagaret. We understand that you are from Sordoa and have chosen Tagaret as a place with less strife than your homeland."

"Yes that is true," nodded Lord Clava. "Sordoa has become a desperate place these days. I have found Tagaret to be a wonderful city full of exceedingly nice people. Your welcome today has reinforced those warm feelings."

"Would you like a seat on the Council?" Duke Tredor asked impatiently while Duke Graves glared at his fellow councilor.

"The Council?" echoed Lord Clava. "I am afraid that I do not hold such high aspirations. I am sure there are dozens of likely candidates who have lived in Tagaret much longer than I. I am content to just enjoy your wonderful city."

"Tagaret is indeed a wonderful city full of benevolent people," Duke Graves interjected as he seized the conversation back from Duke Tredor. "It is the type of city that causes good people to want to offer their services as a way of contributing to those benevolent citizens. Don't you agree, Lord Clava?"

"Oh certainly," Konic nodded agreeably. "If there is anything that I can do to help the good people of Tagaret, I would be most agreeable. I am fortunate to be able to abide in such a great city. If you need a donation or a service performed, you have only need to ask. It would be unfair of me to reap the benefits of Tagaret without some contribution to it."

"Have you met many people in Tagaret that you knew before coming here?" posed Duke Graves.

"Not really," frowned Lord Clava. "Two or three people that I had known in Sordoa, but mostly Tagaret is a city of strangers for me. My business in Sordoa did not lend itself to dealing with people as far away as Tagaret."

"What do you think of our form of government?" interjected Duke Zalski. "There are not many cities in the world that are governed by a council."

"I find it fascinating," smiled Konic. "After thinking about it for a while, it makes sense. Put together a fair number of thinking individuals who are community minded and they should be able to work out even the most difficult problems. I think it might be a model for countries in the future."

"Providing someone does not try to force the Council into following his own agenda," commented Duke Graves.

"Oh goodness no," replied Konic. "No one man should attempt to destroy the cohesiveness of the Council. I hope you are willing to stand up to such tyrants for the good of Tagaret."

"Oh we definitely are," smiled Duke Graves as he realized how pliable Lord Clava was. "There was a bit of seriousness in the question of you joining the Council, Lord Clava. As a newcomer to Tagaret, you would not be influenced by events of the past. You would bring a fresh perspective to the Council, which just might be inspiring and thought provoking. You did say that you were willing to offer your services, did you not?"

"Well," murmured Konic, "of course I am willing to unselfishly offer my services, but I did not think you were talking about being on the Council. Would I fit in? Would the three of you guide me with your knowledge of the city?"

"It would be our pleasure," grinned Duke Tredor. "I can imagine how foreign this Council must appear to outsiders and we could help you immensely."

"Well I did extend the offer," frowned Konic, "and I am a man of my word. If you are willing to guide me, then I cannot refuse to do my duty."

"Excellent," smiled Duke Graves. "Of course your appointment is not guaranteed. We shall nominate you and try to gather support for tomorrow's vote. There are actually two openings. Do you know Lord Markel?"

"I have met Lord Markel in Sordoa," nodded Konic. "He is an honest and thoughtful man. I did hear that he has since moved to Tagaret, and I really should look him up. If you are thinking of him for the Council, I would concur with you. He has always seemed a fair and unbiased individual, but you would have to guide him as you offered to do for me. I am afraid he also knows little about the ways of Tagaret."

"Perhaps we should speak with him also then," responded Duke Graves. "I think fresh voices in the Council only add to its greatness."

The councilors left Lord Clava's estate and proceeded to interview Alan Markel. Lord Markel was equally hesitant to serve on the Council, but eventually acquiesced. Satisfied with the interviews, the three councilors settled in the dining room at the Palace Shadow.

"Can we be sure that we are doing the right thing with these Sordoans?" questioned Lord Tredor.

"Not entirely," answered Duke Graves. "They are unknowns, but look at the alternatives. I think it would be hard to find nominees that would support us within the usual crop of seat-seekers. By being the first to approach the Sordoans, we gain their favor. Both men appear to be moldable and cannot but help our positions in the short term. Hopefully they will become long-term cohorts, but even the short-term gain is worth the gamble."

"What of Lord Wason?" asked Lord Tredor. "He seems to be viewed as favorable by many on the Council."

"We have three nominations between us," indicated Duke Graves. "I have no problems with Lord Wason. He does not appear to favor anyone currently and that is good from my perspective. I think we should try to get these two new Sordoans on the Council. If that doesn't work then we can back Lord Wason as an acceptable alternative. No doubt there will be some of the usual nominees offered up tomorrow and we should avoid them at all costs. We know that those people will be allied against us."

"I agree," nodded Lord Zalski. "It is a shame that it took a deceitful wench to unite us, but I think the three us can become a potent force on the Council."

"One that can rival Duke Everich and his allies," agreed Lord Tredor. "With the exception of Duke Everich, there is nobody else on the Council who can count on two additional votes. If these Sordoans work out, we will represent almost half of the new Council."

***

"They are not in their room," reported Tanya. "Their mounts are not in the stables either."

"It seems like every time we come to this city we lose some of the Children," frowned Jenneva. "I do not feel good about this."

"Arik and Tedi can take care of themselves," Alex responded. "If they are not in their room then there is a reason why. Still, the city is in a dangerous period right now. Did you check the Pawn Shop?"

"Yes," frowned Tanya. "Neither of them left a message."

"Well we should try to find them," stated Alex. "Tanya, you visit Fredrik. Perhaps they are trying to get him to return to our group. Jenneva, you speak with our friend from Grakus. There is a possibility that Arik was desirous of making contact, even if that is ill-conceived."

"Where are you going?" asked Jenneva.

"I will try the guild halls of the mercenaries," answered Alex. "They have many ears in this city and might be a good source of information."

***

"She is gone," reported Duke Jiardin. "There is a body in her sitting room and three packed bags at the base of the stairs. The body appears to be that of an assassin. There is also a throwing knife wedged in the wall. It would appear that the assassin failed, although I cannot tell you why."

"Perhaps it is for the better that she has fled," posed Duke Everich. "I do not trust Dalgar, and he was the one supporting her."

"Does he not also support Lord Wason?" quizzed Duke Jiardin.

"In a manner he does," agreed Duke Everich, "but not in the same way as Niki. He had me set Fredrik up with a mansion, but he has never bothered to contact our young lord since then. I think all of his plans were vested in Niki, and Fredrik was an afterthought. I have spoken with Fredrik and I think he will do what I say. There is nobody that I feel strongly about for the second position though. Most of the usual players all seek to best me in the Council."

"Your position is tenuous," posed Duke Jiardin. "The councilors that vaulted you into the head position have all expired during the Contest."

"It is only tenuous if any of the councilors band together," retorted Duke Everich. "So far we have managed to keep them sparing with each other. If they begin to join in alliances then we shall have to start eliminating them."

"Still you should seek to broaden your base," asserted Duke Jiardin.

"I agree," nodded Duke Everich. "Fredrik may be a start in that campaign, but I need something to bind him to me. Find out what matters to him. Find me something that I can use as leverage to make sure he follows my lead."

"He will not be easy to dispose of if he gets out of hand," reminded Duke Jiardin. "The Cidal Mercenaries guarding him are not likely to be bought off."

"That is why you need to find me leverage," retorted Duke Everich. "It is going to become harder to eliminate opponents with all of these mercenaries in town."

"Perhaps the Council should ban the use of mercenaries," suggested Duke Jiardin. "We have the army to protect us."

"That is not a bad idea," granted Duke Everich. "Tomorrow's meeting is not the time for it though. We must work on gaining the votes needed to assure its passage first. Besides, with the rate the mercenaries are charging, it might be good to wait a while until our opponents pockets are much lighter."

When that happens, you will have many votes for banning the mercenaries," nodded Duke Jiardin. "Everyone will want to be free of the financial burden of maintaining mercenaries, but nobody will want to give theirs up if the others get to keep theirs. You do seem to have a knack for lining up your objectives."

"That is why we will rise to greatness," grinned Duke Everich. "The time is fast approaching when I shall be crowned King of Tagaret."

"What of the three councilors that lowered their hands in the meeting?" questioned Duke Jiardin.

"Those three are fools," chuckled Duke Everich. "If they were gullible enough to fall for Niki's plans then I ought to be able to bring them over to my side. I will be interested in seeing whom they nominate tomorrow. I assume they are scrambling to find a replacement for their beloved Niki. The councilors that were not persuaded by Niki concern me more. They will be harder to manipulate."

"It might be a good idea to eliminate a few of them before they hire mercenaries of their own," offered Duke Jiardin.

"I was thinking the same thing," smirked Duke Everich.

Tanya halted Frea at the gate to Fredrik's estate and observed the Cidal Mercenaries guarding the estate. She scanned the faces of the gate guards and smiled when she saw Craggy near the gate. Craggy also saw Tanya and saluted by placing his right fist to his chest. He hurried to the gate while saying something to his fellow mercenaries. Amidst the murmurs, Tanya heard the slap of three more salutes as Craggy swung the gate open. Tanya knew the salutes were not of deference, but an act of respect for a comrade, and she rode through the gate. The gate swung closed as Tanya leaped off of Frea and greeted Craggy, placing her hands on the outside of his shoulders.

"You look as big and mean as ever," grinned Tanya. "How is life in Tagaret?"

"This is a good assignment," smiled Craggy. "I see you are passing yourself off as a lad again."