Cadmians Choice (8 page)

Once the two
Myrmidons stepped from the coach on the main level of the west portico, Veluara
looked to Dainyl. “I’d thought it would be easiest to begin with engineering,
sir. It’s closest to the portico, and there aren’t many in the engineering
section here. Most of the engineers in the east are at Fordall, near the
manufactories. There are some at Dulka also.”

Dainyl smiled
politely. Everyone in Elcien referred to the manufactories as being in Alustre,
yet they would have been discomfited if anyone had suggested that the
manufactories in Faitel were in Elcien. It was just another manifestation of
the chauvinism that pervaded the western capital cities, he suspected.

He glanced back at
the mounting blocks, where another carriage had drawn up, and two landers, one
white-haired, had stepped out. The younger man gesticulated angrily, then
lowered his arm after several words from the older. While Dainyl wondered what
the exchange had been about, he returned his attention to the undercaptain.

Veluara turned right
toward the first archway. There were no guards, and she opened the golden oak
door.

Dainyl stepped
through the doorway and into a corridor with polished white granite floors, and
lined with doors that stretched a good hundred yards. “If most of the engineers
are elsewhere, what do the ones here do, then?”

“Convey the requests
of the High Alector of Engineering and take requests and grant permits, I would
imagine.”

They passed three
doorways on the left, and three on the right. The doorways on the right were
closed, but those on the left were open, and in each study were two desks, with
a lander at each, apparently reading reports or, in one case, studying some
sort of building plans. Through his Talent, Dainyl could sense that at least
one of the studies to the left held an alector.

Veluara stopped at
the fourth door on the left and opened it for Dainyl. Inside was a gray-haired
lander woman, seated at a table desk in a small foyer. To her right was a
closed doorway.

“Yes? Might I help
you?” The assistant smiled brightly, although Dainyl sensed little warmth
behind the expression.

“I’m Undercaptain
Veluara, escorting Submarshal Dainyl. He’s here to see the supervising
engineer.”

“Just a moment.” The
woman rose quickly, hurried to the door, opened it a crack, and spoke. “The
submarshal from Elcien is here to see you, sir.”

“Send him in, Selya.
Send him in.”

Selya opened the door
and stepped back, still offering an empty smile.

Veluara followed
Dainyl, closing the door behind them, then stepping forward and to the side. “Supervising
Engineer Jostyl, this is Submarshal Dainyl from Myrmidon headquarters in
Elcien....”

“Ah, yes. High
Alector Brekylt had passed the word that you might stop by.” Jostyl was
slightly taller than Dainyl, but far more angular and much thinner. His face
was narrow, especially for an alector, and his deep-set eyes were a light
violet. “Please, please sit down.”

Dainyl took one of
the wooden armchairs across the table desk from the engineer.

“I must say that I’ve
seldom been visited by a Myrmidon of such rank before, and certainly not in
recent years. What can I do for you?”

“I’m not certain,”
Dainyl offered with an open smile. “Marshal Shastylt felt that I should have a
better feel for what occurred east of the Spine of Corus and meet some of the
key people in Alustre.”

“How key I am ...”
Jostyl shook his head.

“I understand that
the majority of the engineering and manufactory activities are in Fordall. How
does that affect what you do?”

“We handle the
requests from towns and cities for major repairs and engineering improvements,
structures like bridges and access causeways. We also inform the local regional
alectors in the east...”

Dainyl listened as
Jostyl explained, interjecting questions of his own, as appropriate.

“How many alector
engineers are there in Fordall? ...

“Is any expansion of
the manufactories in Fordall planned? Especially of the facility producing
rifles?”

At that question,
Jostyl frowned. “None. There is absolutely no need for additional production.”

Dainyl mentally
marked the reaction before continuing his questions.

“Is there any thought
of a high road from Sudya or Tylora to Sinjin? ...”

As Dainyl finally
stepped out of Jostyl’s study and past Selya, close to a glass after they had
entered, he could sense the assistant’s eyes on him—as well as a combination of
anger and resentment, yet he knew he had never seen the woman before he had
stepped into the study.

“Education is the
next section, sir,” offered Veluara once they stood out in the main corridor.

“That’s fine.” Dainyl
noted a few landers walking along the corridor, but all moved to avoid the two
Myrmidons.

Veluara introduced
him to the supervisor of education, and after a short conversation, because
Dainyl needed less information, they walked through the section, also small,
with but three alectors and twelve lander assistants. After two sections, and
two glasses, they had covered roughly seventy yards of the long granite-walled
corridor. Dainyl had seen less than ten alectors, and none that he knew, and
learned little he had not already read or understood.

“What section is
next?”

“That would be trade,
sir. The rest of the west wing is for trade. The east wing is largely finance,
and, of course, the supervisors and staff for the residence itself. The
regional alector for transport is in Prosp for the week, I understand, but his
chief assistant is here. His name is Zulanyt”

Dainyl concealed a
smile. Surely, there could be only one Zulanyt. Then, Zulanyt had been several
years older than Dainyl and less than perfectly friendly when they had shared
tutors.

After the
pleasantries had been exchanged, and before Dainyl seated himself in the small
study occupied by Zulanyt—an alector shorter and broader than Dainyl— the
submarshal turned to Veluara. “Undercaptain, Zulanyt and I go back a long time.
We have a few things to talk over. I certainly don’t want you forced to listen
to us reflect. Why don’t you take the coach back to headquarters, and then send
Granyn back to wait for me?”

“Ah ...” Before she
said another word, Veluara realized that Dainyl’s questioning suggestion was a
polite order. “Yes, sir. I’ll send him right back. Are you sure you won’t need
anything else? You haven’t toured finance ...”

“I’m sure Zulanyt can
introduce me.”

“I can do that,”
affirmed the older alector, who continued to smile pleasantly until Veluara had
left the small study, closing the door as she departed.

Dainyl maintained his
own smile, even as he studied Zulanyt.

“You’ve certainly
gone farther than anyone could have possibly imagined.” The smile vanished. “What
do you want? You certainly didn’t stop by to chat. As I remember, I was never
particularly warm to you, and I can’t imagine that you recall me with great
kindness.”

Dainyl laughed. “No.
I can’t say that you provided me with the warmest of recollections. But I was
curious as to how you got from Elcien to Alustre.”

“By sandox and coach,
like any other low-level alector who isn’t a Myrmidon.”

“But why did you
choose the eastern region?” Dainyl arched his eyebrows, thinking that Lystrana
could have arched either one—and to greater effect.

“It’s where bright
young alectors without connections go to become noticed, especially if they don’t
want to become Myrmidons. Didn’t you know that?” Zulanyt’s voice dripped irony.
“Do you know how much you’ll be detested, if you aren’t already?”

“Because I’m the
exception, the alector with few connections who made it to second-in-command of
the Myrmidons, the one the senior alectors will name to prove that it’s ability
that counts and not relationships and connections? I assume that’s what you
meant.”

“You’re far more
cynical than you used to be.”

“Aren’t we all?”

“You didn’t answer my
question,” Zulanyt pointed out. “That’s definitely a trait of an alector on the
way up.”

“No. I’m still slow
about some things. I was sent here to see what is happening. You were always
quite willing to tell me—and anyone else—what we didn’t wish to hear.” Dainyl
shrugged. “I felt it couldn’t hurt to see if you still felt that way.”

“You realize that
High Alector Brekylt will be interested in why you stopped to see me and
dismissed your escort? That undercaptain worships the stones Alcyna stands upon
and is already reporting that we’re talking. By tonight, Brekylt will know as
well.”

“Then tell them the
truth, that I was prying and trying to find out if anything untoward is
happening. Is it?”

“It always is,
everywhere in Corns. It always has. You should have learned that by now,”
replied Zulanyt.

“There’s a difference
between a nephew or niece being preferred for an assistant’s position over
someone less known and whether the regional alector or eastern sub-marshal is
concealing the reasons for the disappearance of ... shall we say, entire
companies. Or whether a Cad-mian garrison is being moved because certain
individuals don’t care for cold weather.”

“I wouldn’t know
anything about that.”

“You’re the chief
assistant to the eastern regional alector for Transport. What can you tell me
about the elimination of the high road coach service between Pystra and Scien?”

“There’s nothing
secret or untoward about that, Dainyl. There wouldn’t even have been anyone in
Scien in the winter for the past ten years if it hadn’t been for the Cadmian
companies there. It was a terrible place to locate a town. So when your High
Alector ordered the Cadmians to Norda, and everyone else left as well, what
reason was there to send coaches there?”

“Did any of your
drivers see the ancients?”

“Ancients?” Zulanyt’s
voice turned incredulous. “They died a long time ago.”

“Not all of them,” replied
Dainyl dryly. “One of them was seen just before a company of Cadmians
disappeared riding to Pystra on their way to Norda. That’s why I wondered if
your drivers had seen anything. They travel the routes regularly and would be
likely to notice anything that changed.”

“No one ever reported
anything. You’re sure that there are still ancients?”

“A few have been
reported by reliable sources.” Dainyl paused only slightly. “Can you tell me if
passages on the coaches are up or down in the past year?”

“Passages for
alectors are about the same. Those for landers and indigens are down, perhaps
by a fifth. Why did you ask?”

“Did the drop-off
occur in the fall and winter, or earlier?”

“As I recall, it was
in the fall and early winter, and passages have been normal for the last quint.”
Zulanyt looked squarely at Dainyl. “You still aren’t answering my questions.”

“I was curious as to
whether lander passages dropped off before there was unrest along the Spine of
Corus, at the same time, or afterward.”

“Why would you ...
Oh.”

“Exactly,” replied
Dainyl. “If the drop-off preceded the unrest, we could look at passages as a
sign, but it sounds like people just reacted to what had happened.”

Dainyl asked more
questions, from the state of the roads to barge shipping to the ports, but
Zulanyt had little more of interest to offer. After little more than half a
glass, Zulanyt escorted Dainyl to the east wing, and to the eastern regional
alector of finance, Kaparyk, then took his leave.

Kaparyk, while the
image of the typical alector with his shimmering black hair, broad face, and
purple eyes, greeted Dainyl with both a broad smile and a sense of warmth that
required little Talent for Dainyl to sense.

“Submarshal Dainyl...
I’m pleased to meet you. I have met Lystrana upon a number of occasions. An
impressive woman, your wife.”

“I was fortunate.”

“She has that rare
ability to hold almost all the accounts in her head, and the rarer capability
of knowing what they mean.” Kaparyk laughed. “Once the staff saw what she could
do, there haven’t been nearly as many problems with the accounts, either. She’s
the best chief assistant to the High Alector of Finance that I’ve known.”

“How long have you
been in your position?”

“Twenty-five years
and a quint.”

“You have seen a few.”

“Five. The last one....”
Kaparyk shook his head. “He got dizzy and fell off a pteridon on the way to
somewhere—Arwyn, as I recall. Poor fellow, it was probably better.that way. He’d
made a terrible mess of the audit of the engineering accounts. Took your wife a
quint to set it right.”

The “unfortunate”
assistant hadn’t made a mess, Dainyl recalled. He’d tried to conceal the theft
of certain engineering equipment that had been under his wife’s supervision.
When she had disappeared, her successor discovered the discrepancies. Then
Davalt had had his “accident.”

“But enough of that,”
Kaparyk went on. “What can I do for you?”

“I don’t know. Not in
a definite way, that is.” Dainyl quickly explained his tour and concluded, “So
I’m introducing myself and asking if there’s anything I should know that would
benefit the Myrmidons and the High Alector of Justice in carrying out our
duties.”

Kaparyk’s eyes
twinkled. “I imagine you know that already, from Lystrana.”

Dainyl shrugged. “Certainly
about finance, but she wouldn’t see what you do here in Alustre on matters
impacting finance indirectly that might also affect the Myrmidons.”

“I can’t imagine any
of that being very useful. There are more Cadmians in Norda, Dulka, and Lysia,
and none left at Scien, and that’s probably a good thing. The winters at Scien
meant that the maintenance and supply costs there were a third again that of
any other Cadmian compound of equivalent size.”