The Shining Ones (39 page)

‘Thy description doth closely match Zalasta’s memories of him.’

‘That one shouldn’t be too orful hord t’ find, Stragen,’ Caalador drawled. ‘I kin send word t’ Verel, iffn y’ want. This yere Why-nack ain’t likely t’ be missed much iffn he’s as on-pleasant as the Furrin Minister sez.’

Xanetia looked puzzled.

‘It’s a pose that amuses my colleague, Anarae,’ Stragen apologized. ‘He likes to put on the airs of a yokel. He
says
it’s for the purposes of concealment, but I think he does it just to irritate me.’

‘Thine Elenes are droll and frolicsome, Sephrenia of Ylara,’ Xanetia said.

‘I know, Anarae,’ Sephrenia sighed. ‘It’s one of the burdens I bear.’

‘Sephrenia!’ Stragen protested mildly.

‘How did you put this fellow off without getting a knife in your back, your Excellency?’ Talen asked Oscagne. ‘Declining that sort of offer is usually fatal.’

‘I told him that the price wasn’t right.’ Oscagne shrugged. ‘I said that if he could come up with a better offer, I might be interested.’

‘Very good, your Excellency,’ Caalador said admiringly. ‘What kind of reason did he give you for making the offer in the first place?’

‘He was a bit vague about it. He hinted about some kind of large-scale smuggling operation, and said that he could use the help of the foreign service to smooth the way in various kingdoms outside Tamuli. He hinted that he’d already bought off the Interior Ministry and the customs branch of the Chancellory of the Exchequer.’

‘He was lying, your Excellency,’ Stragen told him. ‘There isn’t that much money to be made in smuggling. It’s a big risk for short pay.’

‘I rather thought so myself.’ Oscagne leaned back, stroking his chin thoughtfully. ‘This group of Styrics down in Verel may think they’re very worldly, but they’re like children when compared to
real
criminals and international businessmen. They cooked up a story that wasn’t really very convincing. What they actually wanted was access to the government and the power of the various ministries in order to use that power to overthrow the government itself. The government had to be on the brink of collapse in order to get
me
to run off to Eosia to beg Prince Sparhawk to come here and save us.’

‘It worked, didn’t it?’ Itagne said bluntly.

‘Well, yes, I suppose it did, but it was so clumsy. I’d
personally be ashamed to accept such a shoddy victory. It’s a matter of style, Itagne. Any amateur can blunder into occasional triumph. The true professional controls things well enough not to have to trust to luck.’

They adjourned for the night not long after that. Sparhawk watched Sephrenia and Vanion rather closely as they all filed out. The two of them exchanged a few tentative glances, but neither seemed ready to break the ice.

They gathered again the following morning, and Talen and Kalten seemed to be competing to see which of them could eat the most for breakfast.

After a bit of casual conversation, they got down to business again. ‘Right after the attempted coup here in Matherion, Krager paid me a visit,’ Sparhawk told Xanetia. ‘Was he telling the truth when he said that Cyrgon’s involved in this?’

She nodded. ‘Cyrgon hath much reason to hate the Styrics and their Gods,’ she replied. ‘The curse which hath imprisoned his Cyrgai for ten eons hath enraged him beyond all measure. The outcast Styrics in Verel did share his hatred, for they too had been punished.’ She reflected a moment. ‘We all have reason to hate Zalasta,’ she said, ‘but we cannot question his courage. It was at peril of his life that he did carry the proposal of the renegades to the Hidden City of Cyrga to place it before Cyrgon himself. The proposal was simple. By means of Bhelliom could the curse be lifted and the Cyrgai loosed once more upon this world. The Styrics could be crushed, which would please both Cyrgon and the outcasts, the Cyrgai would come to dominate the world – with positions of honor and power reserved for Ogerajin and his friends – and Aphrael would be destroyed, thus giving possession of Sephrenia to Zalasta.’

‘Something for everybody,’ Sarabian said dryly.

‘So thought Ogerajin and Zalasta,’ Xanetia agreed. ‘They had, however, reckoned not upon the nature of Cyrgon. They soon found that he would in no wise consent to the secondary role they had in mind for him. Cyrgon doth command; he doth not follow. He did set his high priest, one Ekatas, over his new allies, telling them that Ekatas spoke for him in all things. Zalasta did secretly laugh at the God’s simplicity, thinking that the High Priest Ekatas would, like all the Cyrgai, die with the step which took him over the unseen line in the sand. Ekatas, however, had no need of crossing the line. With Cyrgon’s aid, did he travel with his
mind,
not his body, and could he observe and direct without leaving Cyrga. Truly, the mind of Ekatas can reach across vast distances, not only to convey the will of Cyrgon, but to advise the diverse cohorts of what hath occurred elsewhere.’

‘That explains how the word that we were coming got from one end of Cynesga to the other so fast,’ Bevier said. ‘We sort of wondered how they were keeping ahead of us.’

‘Now,’ Xanetia pressed on, ‘though they are outcast and despised, Ogerajin and the others are still Styrics, and the Styrics are not a war-like people. Their efforts had concentrated on deception and misdirection previously. Cyrgon, however, is a war-God, and he did command them to raise armies to confront the Atans, who are the strong arm of the Empire. Then were the outcasts of Verel nonplussed, for Cyrgon gave the command, but no guidance. Zalasta, who had traveled much in Eosia, did suggest to Ekatas that Cyrgon might deceive the Trolls and bring them to northern Tamuli, and Cyrgon did readily consent. Still he demanded more. Ynak of Lydros, who doth ever carry that cloud of dissension with him, could fan the fires of discontent
in all of Tamuli, but so contentious is his nature that none would willingly follow him. Armies require generals, and Styrics are not gifted in that profession. I do not say this to give offense, Sephrenia,’ she added quickly. Both Xanetia and Sephrenia were being very careful about that.

‘I’m not offended, Xanetia. I
like
soldiers, mind you…’ Her eyes flickered toward Vanion. ‘Some of them, anyway, but I really think the world might be a nicer place without them.’

‘Bite your tongue,’ Ulath told her. ‘If we couldn’t be soldiers, we’d all have to go out and find honest work.’

Xanetia smiled. ‘It was in desperation – for Cyrgon did grow impatient – that Zalasta did journey to Arjuna to enlist his son Scarpa in the enterprise. Now Scarpa was unlike his father in that he did willingly – even eagerly – resort to violence. His years as a performer in shabby carnivals had taught him the skills of swaying crowds of people by eloquence and by his commanding presence. His profession, however, was held in low regard, and this did pain him deeply, for Scarpa hath an exalted opinion of himself.’

‘He does indeed, little lady,’ Caalador agreed. ‘If what the thieves of Arjuna tell me is anywhere close to being accurate, Scarpa probably believes that he could fly or walk on water if he just set his mind to it.’

‘Truly,’ she agreed. ‘He hath, moreover, a deep contempt for the Gods and a profound hatred of women.’

‘That’s not uncommon among bastards,’ Stragen said clinically. ‘Some of us blame our mothers – or our Gods – for our social unacceptability. Fortunately, I never fell into that trap. But then, I’m so witty and charming that I didn’t have the usual inadequacies to try to explain away.’

‘I hate it when he does that,’ Baroness Melidere said.

‘It’s only a plain fact, my dear Baroness.’ He grinned
at her. ‘False modesty is so unbecoming, don’t you think?’

‘Be clever on your own time, Stragen,’ Ehlana chided. ‘Did Zalasta tell his son
all
the details of this conspiracy, Anarae?’

‘Yes, your Majesty. Given the nature of the two, there was surprising candor between them. Scarpa, however, was very young and had an exaggerated notion of his own cleverness, although Zalasta did quickly realize that the rudimentary Styric spells which he had imparted to his son during his infrequent visits to Arjuna might serve to deceive rural bumpkins, but they would scarce be adequate for the business at hand. Therefore, took he his son to Verel to place him under the tutelage of Ogerajin.’

‘When was this, Anarae?’ Caalador asked curiously.

‘Perhaps five years since, Master Caalador.’

‘Then it fits together with what
we
found out. It was almost exactly five years ago that Scarpa disappeared from Arjuna. Then a couple of years later he came back and started stirring up trouble.’

‘It was a short education,’ Xanetia said, ‘but Scarpa hath a quick mind. In truth, it was his tutor who did suspend his training, for Ogerajin was much offended by the young man’s arrogance.’

‘This Scarpa sounds like the sort you have to stand in line to hate,’ Talen noted. ‘I’ve never met him, and I already dislike him.’

‘Zalasta was also taken somewhat aback by his son’s abrasive nature,’ Xanetia told them, ‘and thinking to awe him into some measure of civility, he did take him to Cyrga that he might come to know their master. Cyrgon did question the young man closely, and then, evidently satisfied, did he instruct him in the task before him. Scarpa came away with no more respect for the God of the Cyrgai than he had felt ‘ere they met, and
Zalasta hath lost what small regard he previously had for his son. It is now in his mind that should their conspiracy succeed, Scarpa will not long survive the victory.’ She paused. ‘An it please thee to view it so, Sephrenia, thy vengeance hath already had its beginning. Zalasta is a hollow man with no God and with none in all the world to love him or to call him friend. Even the scant affection he had for his son is now witherèd, and he is empty and alone.’

Two great tears welled up in Sephrenia’s eyes, but then she angrily dashed them away with the back of her hand. ‘It’s not enough, Anarae,’ she said adamantly.

‘You’ve spent too much time with Elenes, little mother,’ Sarabian said. That startled Sparhawk just a bit. He could not be sure if the brilliant, erratic Tamul Emperor used that affectionate term deliberately, or if it had been a slip of the tongue.

‘Who recruited the others, Anarae?’ Vanion asked, smoothly moving away from a slightly touchy situation.

‘It was Scarpa, Lord Vanion,’ she replied. ‘Cyrgon had directed him to seek out confederates to stir rebellion in western Tamuli, thus to bar the way should Anakha come with the armies of the Church, for Cyrgon would not willingly pit his cherished Cyrgai against such as ye. Now Scarpa did know a certain out-at-the-elbows Dacite nobleman who, plagued by gambling debts and the ungentle urgings of his creditors to settle accounts, did flee from Daconia and conceal himself for a time in the very Arjuni carnival where Scarpa did practice his dubious art. This scruffy nobleman, Baron Parok by name, did Scarpa seek out on his return home from Cyrga. Parok, desperate out of all measure, soon willingly fell in with his former associate, for the inducements Scarpa offered were enticing. Consulted then the unscrupulous pair with the debauched Styrics at Verel
and followed their counsel to seek out the merchant Amador in Edom and the poet Elron in Astel, both men being much taken with themselves and resentful of the station in life which fate had assigned them.’

Bevier was frowning. ‘We’ve encountered both of them, Anarae, and neither one strikes me as a natural leader. Were they the best Scarpa could find?’

‘Their selection was determined by their willingness to cooperate, Sir Knight. The ability to sway men with words and that commanding presence which doth draw all eyes to the one in question can be elevated by certain Styric spells. Unimpressive though they are, it was the quality of desperation in them which Scarpa did seek. Both Amador and Elron suffered agonies by reason of their insignificance, and both were willing, even eager, to go to any lengths to exalt themselves.’

‘We see it all the time in Thalesia, Bevier,’ Ulath explained. ‘We call it “the little man’s complaint”. Avin Wargunsson’s a perfect example. He’d rather die than be ignored.’

‘Amador’s not all that short,’ Talen pointed out.

‘There are all kinds of littleness, Talen,’ Ulath said. ‘How did Count Gerrich in Lamorkand get involved, Anarae? And why?’

‘He was recruited by Scarpa on Zalasta’s instruction, Sir Ulath. Zalasta thought to stir discord and turmoil on the Eosian Continent to persuade the Church of Chyrellos that her interests required that Anakha be dispatched to Tamuli to seek out the roots of the disturbances. Of all of them, only Zalasta hath his feet planted on both continents, and only he doth understand the thinking of thy Church. In truth, Elron and Amador are but pawns, knowing little of the true scope of the enterprise they have joined. Baron Parok is more knowledgeable, but he is still not privy to
all
their designs. Count Gerrich is peripheral. He follows his
own purposes, which only occasionally match the purposes of his colleagues here in Tamuli.’

‘You almost have to admire them,’ Caalador said. ‘This is the most complicated and well-organized swindle I’ve ever heard of.’

‘But it all fell apart when Xanetia opened the door to Zalasta’s mind,’ Kalten said. ‘As soon as we found out that he’s been on the other side all along, the whole thing began to crumble.’ He thought of something. ‘How did Krager get mixed up in this?’

‘Count Gerrich did suggest him to Scarpa,’ Xanetia replied. ‘Gerrich had found the one called Krager useful in times past.’

‘Yes,’ Ulath said. ‘We saw him being useful outside the walls of Baron Alstrom’s castle in Lamorkand. Martel’s still coming back to haunt us, isn’t he, Sparhawk?’

‘How much did my Minister of the Interior and the other traitors really know about all of this, Anarae?’ Sarabian asked.

‘Almost nothing, Majesty. In the main they did believe that their activities were but a part of the ongoing struggle between Foreign Minister Oscagne and Interior Minister Kolata. Kolata offered them profit, and so they did follow him.’

‘Ordinary palace politics then,’ Sarabian mused. ‘I suppose I’ll have to keep that in mind at their trials. They weren’t really disloyal, only corrupt.’