Part 17 (1/2)

”No, my lord. He had returned home to attend a wedding.” It was a partial truth. The wedding had taken place a month earlier and Coppin had stayed on for the hunting.

Estragoth relaxed. ”It is never wise for a House to be unrepresented at Angorn,” he remarked, ”but fam- ily obligations must be honored.” He nodded to him- self. ”How long were you at Estragoth?” he asked.

”A little over a sennight,” Malum replied. He smiled.

”I should have liked to stay longer. Your family was most hospitable and I got to do some hunting with Coppin, but it is a long way from Estragoth to Quern.”

”And is the South as turbulent as the rest of the Em- pire?”

”Not really, but I think that's because it is basically agricultural. Most of the unrest seems to be in the towns. Although, even in my county, there has been some, er, consolidation of estates.”

”Why all the trouble in the urban areas?” the Elector asked.

”It's the subject of considerable debate. Prices have gone up and wages have stayed low. There are more able-bodied men available for work since the war ended and now there are a lot of fifteen-year-olds starting to look for employment. Taxes are high, housing's becom- ing scarce, the last two harvests were bad and the price of bread is high.” Malum shrugged. ”Some say that the nation's sense of purpose has gone.” He paused and sipped his wine. ”And then there's Simian the Hermit.”

Estragoth waited a couple of beats. ”And who is he?'”

”He's an intinerant preacher,” Malum replied. ”I'm told he comes from Clovermede in the Electorate of Pathan. At first he wandered around the countryside preaching against the Church of the Mother. He con-

90 siders the church too rich and too closely allied with the aristocracy. He contends that they do nothing for the poor. He attracted considerable crowds.

”He was arrested and brought to trial for sedition, but there was no proof that he had spoken against the Emperor.” Malum produced a wintry smile. ”There is, apparently no law against inciting peasants to seize church lands. So they let him go and he s.h.i.+fted his focus to the plight of the workers. He has a lot of people very upset.”

”All in all, not a very rea.s.suring prospect,” Estragoth said gloomily. ”It makes our job more vital still. If we had the Outland to settle, there would be ample land for all. It would give the Empire a new sense of pur- pose, a new challenge.”

”Any news on that front, sir?” Malum asked.

”Alas no. Sarad and that witch Olivderval have gone home to consult their governments, Courtak is away again on some strange mission, Naxania is preoccupied with a rising of disaffected n.o.bles, Otorin of Lissen is off trying to put down the rebellion. Only Forodan of Songuard is still here and he's busy playing the gentle- man. It will be at least another month before the Com- mission” rea.s.sembles.”

The old man sighed and finished his wine. He looked across at Malum. ”There are days when I doubt that I shall live to see the work completed. The infernal Is- phardis undermine everything I do.”

”There are ways of taking Olivderval out of play,”

Malum said quietly. ”There is a price for everything in Belengar, even the life of an Oligarch.”

Estragoth gave a wintry little smile. ”I doubt if it would do any good. She speaks for the rest of them and a couple of the other Oligarchs would be even harder to deal with.” He shook his head absently.

”Pay me no mind. It's late and I'm tired. Do you go 91.

and get yourself something to eat. I'll stay up a while longer and read these.” He reached out and touched the packet lightly.

Malum rose and took his leave. Surely, he thought as he made his way back to his room, there must be a way to get the treaty signed. They had worked too long and too hard to be cheated at this point. If it couldn't be achieved by fair means, then perhaps by foul. Noth- ing to be done about it for the moment, though. He'd get caught up tomorrow on what had been going on in Paladine while he had been away. This rebellion sounded interesting.

chaipteR 10

ie Outland was much on the mind of Jarrod Cour- tak. The work on clearing the rubble of the Giants'

Causeway was proceeding almost too well, thanks to the reappearance of the unicorn. The Magicians and cloudsteedsmen had been seconded and had evolved a smooth routine. Best of all, Nastrus wasn't bored as yet- Jarrod had no illusions about the unicorn's staying power. He would work hard until the novelty wore off, but, after that, he was liable to disappear on an unan- nounced holiday again. He would stay at it until they reached Cetador, of that Jarrod was certain. He had promised Nastrus that he could demonstrate his prow- ess in front of the Queen, the Archmage and all the notables. He smiled to himself. After all these years he knew just how to appeal to the unicorn's vanity.

He himself was already at Celador, preparing for the display. It was here in the Anmdelian capital that the Discipline's new service to the people of Strand would be officially unveiled. He had cleared the date with the Chamberlain, made arrangements with Dean Handrom for a new roster of Magicians to be trained in the art of cooperative levitation, and now it was time to pay his respects to the Archmage. He mounted the familiar stairs of the Archmage's Tower with trepidation. In the old days the feeling had been caused by fear; now it was caused by concern.

He was fond of the old Magician. He had come to 93.

appreciate him during the tour of Strand that the two of them had made after the defeat of the Outlanders.