Part 27 (1/2)
”That is all, Zend.”
Zend waited a moment longer, turned, and hurried off. Vees could hear the steward issuing orders to the rest of the staff in the tallhouse.
While Vees waited for Captain Onthul, he changed from his evening coat and loose tunic to a jacket and stiff-collared s.h.i.+rt suitable for a meeting of the Old Chauncel.
As always, Zend proved efficient. The carriage was ready shortly after Vees finished changing his clothes. Captain Onthul arrived soon after.
The towering, bearded captain of Selgaunt's Scepters wore enough mail to cover two men. He had to remove his helm before entering the great room lest he lose it to the door jambs. A broadsword hung at his belt. Scars laced his hands and forearms. He smelled like a stable, but Vees knew him to be a man who took his duty to the city seriously.
”Lord Talendar? You sent for me on a matter of importance?”
Vees nodded. ”Captain, the hulorn is in danger.”
Onthul stiffened. ”Lord Uskevren is three days gone from the city-”
Vees waved away Onthul's words. ”I know, Captain. I know.” Vees paused for drama. ”But our spies in Ordulin have informed me that dark events have occurred there.”
”Dark events? Please speak plainly, my lord.”
Vees said, ”I do not have details, but it appears that the overmistress has seized control of the city and that the army is rallying behind her. For reasons that remain unclear, Mirabeta believes that Selgaunt has allied with Saerb in an attempt to unseat her.”
Onthul's brow furrowed. ”Impossible. Raithspur would not stand for it.”
Vees nodded. ”Captain, the hulorn must be informed and recalled. We can sort out events after he is safely returned.”
”We have mages in the city who could-”
”No. The hulorn bears magic items that screen him from scrying. Unfortunately, those same items prevent simple magical contact. We must reach him without magical aid.”
Onthul seemed dumbfounded by events. His gaze moved here and there, unfocused. He shook his head and spoke dully. ”This is ... unexpected. We all heard of Endren's treachery, but this, this is-”
”Captain Onthul,” Vees said. ”Dispatch riders immediately. They must get to the Hulorn before ill befalls him. Do you hear me, man?” Vees said. ”Dispatch riders immediately. They must get to the Hulorn before ill befalls him. Do you hear me, man?”
Onthul focused on him, frowned at Vees's tone, and nodded. ”I will dispatch my riders immediately, Lord Talendar.”
Vees nodded briskly. ”Good man. I will inform the Old Chauncel. The Scepters and Helms should be put on alert. Round up anyone in the city who is on official business of Ordulin or otherwise a.s.sociated with Mirabeta Selkirk. Off, man. Now.”
Onthul nodded and hurried from the chamber, muttering to himself. He hit his helm on the door jamb as he exited, cursed, and continued on without turning around.
Vees poured himself another gla.s.s of wine, drank it in a single gulp, whispered a prayer to Shar, and exited his tallhouse.
His carriage rattled through Selgaunt's evening streets-still littered with filth and refugees-to the hulorn's ornate, many-spired palace. Pennons atop the spires whipped in the cold breeze that blew off the bay. The wind carried the promise of winter.
Vees ignored the absurdly grotesque statuary with which the former hulorn, Andeth Ilchammar, had populated the palace. He would have to remind Tamlin to remove it. a.s.suming the hulorn lived.
The palace chamberlain, Thriistin, met Vees's carriage as it pulled to a stop, and opened the door for him. The middle-aged chamberlain wore formal attire and Vees wondered briefly if he slept in it. He seemed fully dressed no matter the hour. The lacquered carriages of the rest of the Old Chauncel crowded the paved semicircular carriageway that fronted the palace. The drivers stood together in a crowd, no doubt gossiping about the urgent meeting.
”All of the members of the Old Chauncel have arrived already, Lord Talendar,” Thriistin said. He had not shaved and a day's worth of whiskers speckled his face. ”They are gathered in the main conference room.”
”Very good, Thriistin.”
Vees hurried up the limestone stairs and through the flagged hallways, his bootsteps echoing off the walls. Thriistin struggled to keep pace with him. Torchlight flickered on the portraits of past Hulorns.
Ahead, the doors to the conference room stood open. The thrum of conversation carried through the doors at the end of the hall. Vees rehea.r.s.ed his words as he walked. He reminded himself not to appear too decisive. Vees Talendar, after all, was a fop and dilettante.
The moment he entered the high-ceilinged, wood-paneled chamber, all eyes turned to him and the room fell silent. The patriarchs and matriarchs of Selgaunt's leading families regarded him with questions in their eyes. Few wore the jewelry and finery typical of such a gathering, though all wore gowns or jackets. Vees saw the tension in their faces. Recent events in Selgaunt, in all of Sembia, had left the n.o.bility on a blade's edge. They appeared as if they expected a killing stroke to fall at any moment. They soon would get it, Vees thought.
”What is afoot, Vees?” asked the bearish Rorsin Soargyl. His jacket was too small, his head too large.
Vees moved to the head of the table and pressed his palms on the surface.
”I will not waste your time, for there is much planning to do after tonight. I have received word from Ordulin that Mirabeta Selkirk has seized power with the backing of the army and declared Selgaunt and Saerb her enemies.”
The table exploded in shouts.
”In Sembia!”
”What nonsense is this?”
”She is mad! This will not stand!”
Vees did not try to shout over the tumult. He waited for the table to quiet. When it did, he said, ”You all know of the recent events involving Endren Corrinthal. The overmistress believes that Selgaunt was involved in the a.s.sa.s.sination of her cousin and Endren's attempted coup.”
”Endren attempted no coup, Talendar,” said the elderly Thildar Foxmantle, with surprising heat.
Vees acceded the point with a tilt of his head. ”I know only what has been reported, Lord Foxmantle.”
”What has been reported is a lie,” Thildar said, his gray beard shaking. ”I know Endren Corrinthal. He is incapable of what he has been accused of.”
Vees waved away the objection. ”Be that as it may, I wanted this body to be aware of events.”
”The Hulorn is riding to Ordulin,” said Kelima Toemalar. Diamond pins held her hair up. Her fleshy arms stuck out of the sleeves of her red gown like sausages. ”I was planning to leave soon myself. We must send word for him to return. He is in danger.”
Vees nodded. ”Captain Onthul is a.s.sembling a force of cavalry to catch the hulorn's party and escort him back to Selgaunt. They will leave tonight and ride until they find him. We can only pray that they reach him in time. Magical means will not avail us.”
”Well done,” several of the Old Chauncel said, nodding around the table.
Vees tried to appear humbled by their praise.
Glowering, red-bearded Ruttel Luhn rapped his fist on the table and stood. ”How can Mirabeta Selkirk suspect Selgaunt to be involved in Endren's treachery? We have done nothing.” He glared at Vees. ”Or have we, Talendar? Now is not the time for secrets.”
Vees almost laughed at the choice of words. Before he could answer, Thildar Foxmantle stood and glared at Ruttel. The scene was almost comical. The thin elderly Foxmantle stared daggers across the table at the much larger Ruttel Luhn.
”I will not repeat myself, Luhn. Endren Corrinthal committed no treachery.”
”So you say,” Luhn answered, his deep voice booming. ”But you know no more than the rest of us. I will ask again, Talendar: Has the hulorn put the city at risk through some ill-conceived alliance with the traitors in Ordulin? That is something the Uskevren's father would have done.”
The table erupted in shouts and epithets. Vees held up his hands for peace and the room settled. ”The Hulorn has done nothing to merit Mirabeta Selkirk's suspicion. Perhaps you have, Luhn? You protest the loudest.”
”You are a fool, Talendar.”