Empire of Avarice (15 page)

“So wouldn’t it be safer to make an alliance with Venn?”
Amne asked.

“I think I understand your father’s thinking, ma’am. Mazag
is the weaker of the two and there is a border of unrest between us; it may be more
in their interest to sign a treaty than Venn. Then maybe if we have a treaty
with Mazag, Venn may be influenced to follow suit; they would not wish to fight
both us and Mazag at the same time.”

It was all very complicated. Amne was advised not to
worry about Venn or any of the other eastern kingdoms, just to concentrate on
Mazag. Their history was interesting. Of their origins nobody knew much, and
nobody who did know was saying, least of all the Mazag themselves. One day they
came from the west – as most barbaric tribes did – in huge numbers. Some said
they were fleeing some terrible enemy, others that they were seeking lands
plentiful with food for they had none whence they came. Whatever the reason
they crossed the mountains and descended into the plains of what was now called
Mazag, named after these people.

They mixed with the native population and ventured
outwards, raiding all their neighbours with impunity. The empire held them off,
partly due to keeping the mighty Ister between them and partly because of the
effectiveness of their armies at that time. The kingdoms of the east suffered
for generations until finally a great emperor arose to unite the small
princedoms and named themselves the Almanian Empire, and they defeated the
Mazag and chased them back to the plains where they were forcibly converted to
the religion of the Almanian Empire and became a kingdom in the style of other
eastern kingdoms.

Even though they had been defeated, their martial appetite
remained and recently they had been expanding again. It wouldn’t be long before
there was no further land to take other than at the expense of an existing
kingdom or empire. As it was generally forbidden for one of the eastern
kingdoms to take territory at the expense of another, without due cause, no-one
was in any doubt where Mazag would look next.

The door opened and a messenger appeared, bowing low to
Amne. “A message from the emperor, your majesty,” he whispered, as if afraid
that a loud voice would cause the ceiling to fall. He presented a small silver
platter upon which rested a folded and sealed piece of paper. Amne took it and
broke the seal. She quickly read it and gasped. Colour stained her cheeks and
she clutched her breast in shock.

“Bad news, your majesty?” Theros asked solicitously, his
face furrowed in concern.

“Perhaps,” she replied, staring at the message. “I must
go to my father. You should come too, Theros. It affects you too.”

The messenger bowed and left, his task done. Theros, now
apprehensive, followed Amne out of the room and up to the imperial quarters. They
passed motionless guards and strode quickly to the doorway that led into the
day room, the very same room that Astiras had taken the acclaim from the people
of Kastan those sevendays ago. Now the balcony doors were closed and Astiras
sat behind a polished table flanked by Teduskis, looking grave, and the empress
Isbel, her face white and strained. Amne was not reassured by their
expressions.

“Ah, Amne, and Theros,” the emperor waved at them. “Be
seated. Dire news indeed, brought to us by Teduskis. Your life is at risk, my
dear. We have definite proof a contract is out on both you and your older
brother.”

Theros sat down slowly, stunned. Amne was clearly shaken
and was trembling.

“What proof is this, your majesty?” Theros asked.

The emperor waved at Teduskis. “A contact of his, lately
connected to the thieves’ guild, confirmed the existence of two contracts.”

“Who bought the contracts?”

“Sadly, the contact was not able to find that out.” Astrias
looked up at Teduskis. “Perhaps you ought to tell all of us the whole story.”

Teduskis cleared his throat. “My work has been to find
out whether there was a plot against the imperial family or not. The former
palace guard captain Mercos gave me information that there was, but we had no
proof. Mercos did point me in the direction of a former courtesan who was used
by the guild leader and certain other members of the guild, plus some of the
more important clients the guild took orders from.” He paused, but carried on
after Astiras nodded to him.

“This woman was tracked down but in the course of her
career had become addicted to the Leaf. She was now little more than a walking
corpse and I was fortunate to get to her before her mind was totally ruined. She
gave me the information I needed which was that there was indeed a plot and
against whom. Prince Jorqel and the Princess here. The exact time and place to
strike against the Princess was to be during her journey to Bragal.”

“By the gods!” Theros exclaimed, “can you find out who
it is?”

“Not much of a chance I’m afraid,” Teduskis spread both
hands apologetically. “The killer is within the ranks of the two new militia
companies being trained up here in Kastan at the moment. There are two hundred
and fifty men and finding out which one it is will be almost impossible, especially
as we’re due to leave in ten days. We had to recruit anyone who showed any
interest because of the urgent need to raise a new army, and it would have been
easy for whoever the thieves’ guild member is to sneak in and join up.”

“So what do you plan to do?” Isbel asked. “You can’t
expect Amne to put herself in danger!”

“The mission to Mazag is critical,” Astiras said,
tapping his fingers on the tabletop. “Theros, how many people are you proposing
to take in your group?”

“Three, your majesty. Myself and two clerks.”

“Hmmm,” Astiras stood up abruptly and wandered over to
the window and looked out, down onto the plaza in front of the palace.

“I hope you’re not thinking of sending her anyway,
Astiras,” Isbel said.

Astiras turned round, his hands behind his back. “Amne;
do you wish to back out now?”

Amne looked shaken. Her face was white and her hands
were tightly interwoven on her lap. “Will the mission be scrapped if I do,
father?”

“No,” Astiras shook his head emphatically. “Theros will
take over; he’s experienced enough.”

“But would it mean the chances of success are reduced?”

Astiras made a non-committal noise. “Possibly; the
importance of receiving a member of a royal household would elevate the status
of the negotiation and bring it to the attention of the other kingdoms. And no
disrespect to Theros here, but you are a far prettier negotiator and that would,
in my view, influence the talks in our favour.”

Theros smiled. Amne bowed her head and everyone waited
for her to speak. Finally she looked up at her father. “You’ve always told us
to put the empire first, father. So, I shall go.”

Isbel groaned and threw her hands in the air. Astiras
smiled gratefully, walked across to her, pulled her to her feet and kissed her
tenderly on the cheek. Amne smiled wanly. It was clear she was very worried. Theros
looked thoughtful while Teduskis nodded with respect.

The empress was not happy. “I’m disappointed in you
telling Amne she’s vital to these talks. She’s more important to us than any
treaty with Mazag. They’ll probably break the treaty anyway when it suits them,
so what’s the point of it all?”

“The point, my dear, is that it gives us time. I know
Mazag won’t stick to it, Mazag know they won’t. But what it does do is put us on
the moral high ground and gives us time; time is what we need. We can’t wage a
war with anyone other than Bragal or the rebel states at the present time. But
in time we’ll have had sufficient opportunity to rebuild our defences and armed
forces. And Amne is my daughter; she’s got the guts to do it!” he smiled at her
again, this time with pride.

“You’re putting us all in danger for your obsession with
the empire,” Isbel said heatedly. “Sooner or later one of us will pay for it.”

“What do you take me for, Isbel?” Astiras snapped. “I’ve
no intention of keeping to the original plan. Amne, Theros and their party will
go by another route. They’ll have to go as a small party.”

“What – on their own – through Bragal?!” Isbel practically
shrieked. “You’ve taken leave of your senses, dear husband!”

Astiras waved her words aside irritably. “Theros; those
others you’re taking. Trusted men all?”

Theros bowed in assent. “The two clerks are very
trustworthy; they’ve been here in the palace for a number of years. Perhaps you
can assign a trusted man to guard us, your majesty?”

“I will,” Astiras promised. He looked at Teduskis. “Plan
an alternative route. You recall the routes from our time in Bragal. I want the
safest, fastest route to the Mazag border.”

“Your majesty,” Teduskis bowed.

Isbel shook her head in exasperation. “And what of
Jorqel?”

“He’s a grown man; if he can’t look after himself he’s
not suitable to be emperor when I die.”

Isbel gasped again. “I had no idea you could be so…..so
callous!”

“I’m not being callous, woman,” Astiras growled
warningly. “I have an empire to run and being frightened and scared at every
threat is not the way to be! For too long this empire has been run by
frightened little men dominated by their selfish ways. The only path to
survival is determination, determination to carry on no matter what! Jorqel
will look after himself; I have warned him, that is enough. Amne here will be
protected by the best man we can spare. She will leave the night before I take
the army out of Kastan. There will be no mention of this outside this room; is
that clear?”

Theros and Teduskis nodded immediately. Amne did so
after a brief pause. Isbel held her husband’s look for a short while, then she
sighed. “Yes.”

As the afternoon went on, Isbel found herself outside
the nursery. Her mind was a whirl of emotions, most of them upsetting to her. She
went in and watched her two sons playing happily with their toys. Rousa was sitting
in the middle of the room and went to stand but Isbel waved her to stay sitting
with a tired smile. Will my husband put your lives in danger too, my darlings?
she thought to herself. She picked each up in turn and hugged them both. Istan
chattered in delight and made unintelligible noises, while Argan greeted her
and endured the hug before being placed back on the rug.

“Look, mother, I’m fighting a battle!”

Isbel saw Argan had arranged a number of figures in two
rows and was moving them against each other. Some had fallen over. “Who are
they, Argan?”

“That’s father!” he pointed at a tall, upright figure on
a charger. “He’s winning!”

“Of course,” Isbel smiled; “he always does.” She left
the nursery, unable to stay any longer. Hurrying to her chamber she shut the
door and burst into tears.

Being an empress meant she couldn’t wallow in self-pity
for long. Composing herself and allowing her chambermaid to help her change her
clothing, clean up her face and put new make-up on – an empress had to look her
best even when not on any official engagement – she was soon making her way to
her next scheduled appointment. Unlike Astrias, she kept her own schedule
rather than rely on Pepil, and unlike her husband, she was planning for when he
left. She would have to run the palace in his absence and that meant play the
part of both emperor and empress in Kastan.

Theros was waiting for her in his office. Amne was away
learning to speak Mazag from a native of that kingdom, learning the language
like one born there, something Theros wasn’t able to teach her. He stood and
bowed as Isbel entered. Isbel waved him to sit. She sat down opposite him and
composed her thoughts.

“Theros. When you accompany my daughter to Mazag you
will leave the palace without any senior diplomat. This we cannot have. I would
like you to put forward one of your junior diplomats to stand in for you and to
handle any necessary diplomatic issues we may have in your absence. I believe
you expect to be away for a year or more?”

Theros nodded solemnly. “Indeed, your majesty. The
journey through Bragal must be undertaken with care and we will be there in
winter, never an easy time. Then we must pass through the mountains to get to
Branak on unfamiliar roads. I do not know how long the negotiations will last
but we must be prepared for them to extend for a number of sevendays.”

“Then you must appoint someone to stand in for you. Do
you have anyone in mind? Someone loyal to the empire and not to any previous
faction, of course,” Isbel smiled.

Theros smiled faintly back. It was hard to be sure of
anyone’s loyalties these days. “I know of such a man, a rising star in my
office. He’s from the island of Zipria and quite a clever fellow.”

“Then please arrange for him to be promoted to stand in
for you. I shall interview him myself in due course. He will have to sit on the
Council too, as we need a diplomat on it, and currently we do not have one. He
is up to date with the events going on around the empire and outside our
borders, I trust?”

“I shall make sure he is, ma’am.”

“Good.” Isbel studied the diplomat. He never gave
anything away, which she supposed was essential to any decent diplomat’s
armoury. But it meant she was never quite sure where his true loyalties lay. “Tell
me, how realistic do you think my daughter’s chances are of securing a deal
with Mazag?”