Intrigues (25 page)

"If I were a softer man, my appetite would be ruined by now," Rengan muttered as he rose more slowly. "It's difficult to understand how the rabble were allowed to get the upper hand."

"For the most part it was due to the actions of those interlopers who were Seated," Embisson explained as he slowly led the way to the dining room. "They stripped the city of guardsmen in an effort to recapture the peasants who were such a threat to them, leaving our peers almost unprotected. When the rabble realized what an advantage they'd been given, they jumped to make the most of it."

"What about the armies of the west?" Rengan's second, who still hadn't been identified, put in with disturbance. "Surely at least one of
them
could have dealt with the peasants."

"As I said, most of armies sent to Astinda were destroyed by the force the Astindans finally managed to put together," Embisson lied blandly. "But some of the segments of those armies were taken over by the now-Seated peasants, using who-knows-what kind of underhanded methods. You'll have to make sure that the same thing doesn't happen to portions of your own force."

"Those miserable peasants won't get the
chance
to do the same to my force," Rengan assured Embisson with a growl as he was gestured to the chair at Embisson's right hand. "Are you certain that they won't accompany whatever force they send against us? I want the pleasure of getting my hands on them as soon as possible."

"The reports we've gotten say that the new leaders have
told
their people they'll be coming against you, but I seriously doubt that they will." Embisson's assurance to the man was filled with his own belief as he took his seat at the table. "Their places on the throne are barely established, so they aren't likely to leave the city and give their enemies a chance to work against them. They'll undoubtedly find a reason at the last minute to send others in their place, others they consider expendable."

"That's disappointing, but not terribly so," Rengan said as he gave his attention to the salad that had just been put in front of him by one of the servants. "Now that I've stopped to think about it, I'll first have the enjoyment of wiping out whatever force they send against me. Then I'll have the very great pleasure of hauling that rabble out of the palace and hanging them beside the gates. Yes, that's definitely the way it will be done."

"And after your victory, it will be our pleasure to show you more lavish hospitality than you now receive," Embisson told him, all but dismissing the fairly lavish meal now being brought out. "Then my associates and I will make for the city first, to prepare the way for you and your forces."

"Excuse me, sir, but there's something I still don't understand," Rengan's second, who wasn't paying quite as much attention to the food, put in. "If you consider our victory so certain, why are you and your servants masked? Being identified as allies of a victorious force should further your cause, not harm it."

"Under other circumstances you would be completely correct," Embisson informed the man without hesitation, having prepared for the question. "We do expect you to be fully victorious, but there have already been too many unexpected twists of fate involved in this matter. If some underhanded trick defeats part of your force and one of you along with it, we'll still be an unknown factor to our enemies. And believe me, we'll do our best to avenge whatever part of your force may be lost – and restore your freedom once Gan Garee is in our hands again."

"Which can't happen too soon to suit
me
," Rengan muttered around a mouthful of food, pausing in stuffing his face to send Embisson a glare as he also swallowed the excuse. "We'll have a lot of hangings before this is over, so many that the rabble will come to believe that traitors grow on trees. My word on that."

And that was the last of it for the rest of the meal. The food was just as good as Embisson had expected it to be, and he did his own part making it disappear. The army leaders ate so much that Embisson wondered what they were forced to eat on the march, then dismissed the question. The uncertainty of army life, even for its leaders, was such that Embisson had made sure to dissuade Edmin when that worthy had considered asking for a commission. That life had nothing whatsoever to commend it to a true gentleman…

"Well, that's that," Sembrin Noll said once the four men had ridden away from the house again. "And isn't it typical of Lord Henich Rengan not to introduce his companions at all?"

"I've never met the man before," Edmin said as he removed his mask with an expression of relief. "What have you heard about him, Lord Sembrin?"

"Only that he's a complete martinet, and no one is allowed to put himself forward while in the man's presence," Noll said, also quickly removing his mask. "The only partial exception to that is his son Vodan, the young man who followed him most closely. The others were two of his younger sons, whose names I can't quite recall at the moment."

"So he's made it a family affair," Embisson said, shedding his mask as happily as Edmin had. "I hope that encourages him to do his utmost best against the force the peasants send to confront him. If we have to go to Gan Garee without the backing of his army, we'll be in a less secure position than I care for. Although we'll still most certainly go."

"While we're waiting, we really must decide whether or not to hope for something," Noll said slowly as he gazed at Embisson. "You told Rengan that the Seated peasants would not be coming against them, but that might be an untruth. My agent informed me that there's an excellent chance they
would
lead their countering force, and that's my dilemma. Where would we
rather
have the six of them? In Gan Garee when we get there, on hand to counter our moves, or out here, spending all their attention on Rengan's army? I can't quite decide."

Embisson exchanged a glance with Edmin, but that didn't help. He was certain that the Seated peasants would stay in the city, but
he
couldn't quite decide whether he liked that idea either…

Chapter 14

"Good morning, Tal," Olskin Dinno greeted Zirdon in the rumble usual with the man. Dinno was a High in Earth magic, a large, bulky man with dark hair and light eyes who had supported Zirdon in the assembly for quite some time. He waited for Zirdon beside Zirdon's seat in the assembly room, and the Fire magic user smiled as warmly as possible at his follower.

"Well, it certainly is morning, Dinno," Zirdon agreed, trying to sound less than sourly displeased. "Have you decided yet which side of the issue I've raised that you'll be supporting?"

"You seem very much out of sorts this morning, Tal," Dinno observed calmly as he ignored Zirdon's question. "Has something happened to upset you?"

Dinno always looked so placid and bovine that Zirdon constantly found himself surprised when the man said something that showed his keen powers of observation. This time, however, Zirdon felt more annoyed than surprised.

"It's nothing for you to be concerned about, Dinno," Zirdon replied after the briefest of hesitations. "I'm just out of sorts because that young lady I chose, Sheedra Kam, was officially engaged to be married last night. She was so pleasant a companion that I'll be hard put to find someone to replace her."

"I'm fairly certain you haven't yet told some of our colleagues about your loss," Dinno commented, an odd expression in his light eyes. "A number of them seemed almost as pleased by your claim on the girl as you were. And I'm sure it
won't
be easy to find a replacement for her that the others will feel the same about."

Zirdon stared at the man for a moment without answering, then decided to be prudent and look away again. Dinno shouldn't have known how Sheedra Kam was being used to strengthen Zirdon's major coalition, but Dinno had a minor coalition of his own. So far Dinno and his friends had supported Zirdon's stance in the assembly, but Zirdon wasn't fool enough to think that pushing the man would go unnoticed by him. Dinno was too intelligent by half, and so far Zirdon hadn't found a way to bind the man tightly. A pity he wasn't as vulnerable to a pretty face and body as some of the others were…

"Ah, I think we're ready to begin," Dinno's rumble came, bringing Zirdon back to where he stood. "Everyone seems to be here now, and most have even taken their seats. I think I'll do the same."

Dinno performed a small bow and walked away, leaving Zirdon to glance around to see that everyone
was
in place. They were all waiting for
him
to begin the meeting he'd called the day before, which lightened Zirdon's mood to a large extent. He did so enjoy having everyone hanging on his every word…

"Good morning, all," Zirdon announced cheerfully after stepping away from his seat, putting out of his mind for the moment what he would say to the men waiting to be told when they might have Sheedra to themselves. "Just to remind you, we're here today to decide whether to demand reparations from the new Gandistran government for the 'destruction' caused by their army, or to meekly – and quickly – offer them an alliance. Who would like to speak first, and on behalf of which option?"

"I'd like to speak first," Antrie Lorimon said at once, surprising Zirdon and silencing the handful of others who had been about to respond. "If, that is, you don't mind, Zirdon. I won't take long."

The woman had risen to her feet and had ended her request with a smile, leaving Zirdon no choice whatsoever. She had graciously – and clearly – left the granting of permission up to
him
, and refusal would have made him look like a complete boor. Zirdon would have been happier sending her back to her sewing where she belonged, but instead he showed his own charming smile and bowed to the female.

"By all means, Antrie, we would all be delighted to have you speak first," Zirdon responded smoothly. "But please do be brief, as we have important matters to resolve here today."

Zirdon smiled to himself as he returned to his place and sat, pleased with the way he'd trivialized whatever the woman chose to say. She'd been given permission to speak first, but then the
men
of the assembly would get on with 'important matters' – a category
her
thoughts would not fall into.

"You're quite right, Zirdon," Antrie said in her sweet and gentle voice as she stepped out to the middle of the floor. "We do have important matters to discuss today, and the questions you've raised don't enter into it at all. The first thing the members of this assembly need to be told is that the new Gandistran ruling Blending is composed of all High talents. We no longer have weak Middle figureheads to contend with."

Exclamations of shock sounded all over the room, coming even from the seats of the citizens observing the meeting as well as from the members of Zirdon's coalition. That point should have been obvious, but somehow Zirdon and his people had missed it. But Antrie's people weren't looking shocked or surprised, which meant they already knew what she was going to say.

"No, Zirdon, don't interrupt right now," Antrie said as Zirdon was about to stand and take over the meeting again. "There's a good deal more that needs mentioning before everyone knows exactly what problems we have before us. A second point of importance is that the new Gandistran Blending didn't destroy the other armies sent against it. They freed the members of those armies, and then recruited the High talents to their own cause. That means there's an excellent chance that they'll do the same with the army which was
here
."

This time the exclamations were quite a bit louder and more disturbed, and Zirdon knew how the others felt. He'd been about to order Antrie to resume her seat, but sudden shock had kept him from moving or speaking. Making the nobles leading that army believe a fantasy had been
his
idea, one he'd made sure everyone gave him full credit for. Now the idea had turned into catastrophe, and it was far too late to put the blame for it onto someone else.

"How much of a chance do you think there is that all those Highs will come here to Liandia?" Olskin Dinno asked Antrie in his deep rumble, his tone filled with a concern that was clearly shared by everyone else. "And if they do come, how do you propose we face them?"

"If you mean confront them, the simple answer is we can't," Antrie returned calmly and reasonably. "The Highest Aspect may send a miracle and keep those people out of Gracely, but if we count on that happening we're absolute fools who deserve whatever happens to us. We have to assume that the new Seated Blending will take over the Highs in the army that was here just the way they did with other armies. If they find out that the nobles leading the army were tampered with they
will
come here, so we have to be ready for them. If they don't find out, we won't be any the worse off for having devised a contingency plan."

"But that's ridiculous!" Zirdon blurted in protest, too upset to keep the words back. "I know we were told that they took over and freed the Highs in other armies, but that has to be nothing more than a – a – misunderstanding or a deliberate lie. It isn't possible for five Highs to take over dozens and hundreds of other Highs, and even if it were these Highs that were here don't know anything."

"But their noble officers do," Antrie pointed out at once with continuing calm that underscored Zirdon's distress. "If the Highs and strong Middles of the army are taken over, their officers can be captured rather than killed. That means captured and
questioned
, something any of us would do with them. Gandistra has just narrowly escaped a war with Astinda, so they'll make very sure they're not about to have one with us. They won't simply shrug and take themselves back to Gan Garee."

Quite a few people began to talk at once then, most doing nothing more than voicing their own distress. Zirdon's frantic thoughts darted in all directions as he sought a way out of the predicaments, both Gracely's and his own. Saving the empire was all well and good, but what about
his
position in it? Antrie Lorimon had taken over
his
meeting, and no one was figuratively patting her on the head and telling her to sit down again.