***
We were sitting down to dinner in the captain's mess when we received another visitor. This one was a messenger from the High Sage of Landish himself. It was an invitation to his palace, inviting the lady from Vassa to meet him.
"The high sage's men must've seen the royal flag flying atop the masts," Edgerton said. "He's probably curious about who you are and what you're doing here."
"I'd like to meet him. He's not allied with the King of Dunre, so I have nothing to fear from him. Right?"
"He is not an ally of the King of Dunre. But there are some things you need to know about the high sages."
"Such as?"
"They're collectors."
"What does that have to do with my paying the current high sage a visit?"
"The high sages collect women."
"You mean slaves?"
"More like wives."
"How many wives does he have?"
"He's been high sage for less than a year, so not many, around a dozen."
I picked my jaw off the table. "Twelve wives in one year. You've got to be kidding?"
"In Landish, the high sage's greatness is measured by the number and the beauty of his wives. I fear that once you enter the high sage's palace, you may never get out."
"If he's collecting women, he'd probably be more interested in the Lady Tabitha than me."
"How do you figure?" Edgerton said.
"Haven't you noticed that most of the women in this city are short with long black hair. They look a lot like me. I don't know how things work in Vassa, but in the rest of the world, tall blonds are always in greater demand than short brunettes. If we leave the Lady Tabitha here, I suspect we'll be fine."
I figured if I was in danger, I'd have had a vision warning me not to visit the high sage, which hadn't happened. I also wanted to meet the high sage for another reason. If I was going to live in this part of the world, I needed friends and allies.
Edgerton scowled. "I still don't like it."
"What's the worst he can do to me?" I countered. "Drug me? Bind and gag me? Wrap me up in a carpet? Throw me over the back of a horse and ferry me across the desert? Been there and done that."
That pretty much decided the argument. Captain Hubbard, Edgerton, Bokham, and myself, finished our dinner and headed for the high sage's palace.
The high sage's messenger came with a wagon the likes of which I had never seen. It sat low to the ground, resting between its four wheels rather than over them. It also had a roof and walls. Inside were a pair of padded benches that faced each other. The benches were red and made from a butter soft leather. The rest of the wagon was black, except for its wheels, which were red. A driver sat on a bench over the front wheels, while two footmen rode on a running board between the rear wheels. The high sage's royal seal, a red lion, was painted on each door. A team of four black horses pulled the wagon, which Edgerton called a carriage.
The high sage's palace sat on a hill in the center of the city. It was a large brick building with five domes, a small dome at each corner, and a large dome in the center of the building. The building's four corners were rounded to match the curve of the small domes. It had arched windows and arched doors.
A yellow brick wall surrounded the palace. Guards in black silk pants, red silk vests, and black turbans patrolled the top of the wall. The wall's main gate consisted of a pair of heavy wooden gates painted black. A red lion had been painted in the middle of each gate. The gates were open but guarded. Since we were in a royal carriage, we were waved on through.
The palace was more ornate than any of the palaces back in Adah. The floors were inlaid with colored tiles picturing scenes of a red lion hunting, eating, sleeping, and watching over people. Hanging on the walls were tapestries with the same scenes. The windows were made out of pieces of colored glass and displayed similar scenes.
A large crowd filled the palace's great hall. Some were standing, some were sitting on piles of silk pillows. All of them were eating and drinking. Serving girls scurried about, carrying trays of bread and cheese and fresh fruit, as well as jugs of red wine. Dancing girls weaved among the people, their bodies covered with gold and silver but little else. Musicians strolled among the crowd, playing their horns and stringed instruments.
"Looks like a party," Captain Hubbard said. "I wonder what they're celebrating."
"We are celebrating the high sage's ascendance to the throne of the red lion," a serving girl said, holding up a tray filled with freshly baked sweets.
"Didn't he ascended a full year ago?"
"They celebrated his father's ascendance for a full year. To prove this high sage is greater than his father, we will celebrate his ascendance for two years."
The girl moved on, offering her tray of sweets to others in the crowd. No walls around their capital city and a nonstop two year party. If Bedonna knew that these people existed, she would march Adah's armies across the desert and place herself on the throne of the red lion.
"Wine, women, and song," Edgerton said. "That pretty much sums up the life of the high sage and his royal court."
"This city is known as the entertainment center of the world," Bokham added. "Most people come here for fun."
We were approached by a short slim man with a shaved head, a neatly trimmed white beard, and a long hawk like nose. He wore a black silk robe with a red sash around his waist. He reached us and bowed. Edgerton, dressed in his usual black and white, returned the man's bow.
"Chancellor. We received a report that you were in town." The man turned to me. "With a young woman of note."
A young woman of note. That was diplomatic talk for, I don't know who she is, but she looks and acts like she's important and I'd like to find out what she's doing in my city.
I offered the man the back of my left hand. "Princess Lila Marie Haran. Fourth daughter of Bella Justine Haran, the twelfth Queen of Adah."
"Lydon Jarvo." The man paused to kiss the back of my hand. "Chief Counselor to his Royal Majesty the High Sage of Landish, Miship Boxx. You'll excuse my ignorance, but I've never heard of Adah."
"It's easy to find. Just head east across the Great Desert. When you run out of desert, you're in Adah."
Counselor Jarvo's dark eyes widened in surprise. Whatever he had expected me to say, that wasn't it. "I heard a rumor that Chancellor Edgerton had gone to the end of the world in search of a princess, but I didn't expect him to return with someone so lovely and refined. Truth be told, I didn't expect him to return at all. Can I ask why you decided to make this journey?"
"If it had been up to me, I wouldn't have made the journey. But as Chief Counselor of Landish, you know better than anyone that we are often moved by forces beyond our control." That was diplomatic talk for, I was bound and gagged, rolled up in a carpet, and tossed over the back of a horse.
"His Royal Highness, the high sage, sent me to inquire about your personage, and if it would benefit him to meet you. Since I believe it would, you are welcome to follow me."
Counselor Jarvo set off. I fell in behind him, moving as gracefully as I could in the unfamiliar high heeled boots and too tight red silk gown. Edgerton, Bokham, and Captain Hubbard fell in behind me. We left the main room under the large dome and headed down an arched hallway toward the back right corner of the palace. At the end of the hall, beaded curtains made from rubies, emeralds, and sapphires hung in a doorway, separating the hallway from what looked like a throne room.
Counselor Jarvo stopped at the curtain and turned toward the others. "The rest of you will have to wait here. The high sage converses only with his wives, his advisors, and royals of a similar rank."
Edgerton, Bokham, and Captain Hubbard didn't argue, although I thought they might. They remained behind as I followed Counselor Jarvo into the high sage's throne room.
To call the throne room ostentatious would be an understatement. The room was circular and topped by one of the palace's four small domes. The dome itself contained a mural. In the mural,
sitting on thrones which floated on a cloud, were a dozen men and women, which I took to be gods. They smiled down on the high sage, clearly pleased with their chosen leader.
The throne itself was covered in gold leaf. It had been carved to look like the head of a lion. A male lion. The lion's mouth was open, as if he was roaring, and the high sage was sitting on his tongue. The floor was a tile mosaic of the high sage's capital city. There was nothing else in the room save for piles of red, blue, and yellow pillows.
The high sage himself wasn't as impressive as the room. He was just a teenager. He wore a red silk turban and a red silk robe that tied with a black sash. Pinned to the front of the turban was a gold brooch of a roaring lion's head.
He was a short and chubby kid with pale skin, freckled cheeks, and large green eyes. He looked bored, but then what teenage boy wouldn't get bored, sitting on a throne, greeting dignitaries he didn't know and probably didn't want to know. I had done my share of that kind of stuff and knew how boring it could be, even for an adult, let alone a teenager.
"Your Supreme Highness," Counselor Jarvo said, bowing to the high sage. "May I present her Royal Highness, Princess Lila Marie Haran, fourth daughter of Bella Justine Haran, the twelfth Queen of Adah."
The high sage bowed his head. "We are pleased to make your acquaintance."
"Princess Lila comes from the other side of the world," Counselor Jarvo said. "Her homeland lies across the Great Desert."
That caught the high sage's interest. "You come from the barbarian lands?"
"My family rules the barbarian lands. At least those that lie closest to the Great Desert. What we call the Desert of Shifting Sands."
The high sage began to pepper me with questions. Was it true we lived in caves? No, we lived in the tops of trees. Did we really eat human flesh? Only the flesh of tender young children and then only on Tuesdays. Was it true the sun never rose in our part of the world? That was false. The sun rose one day each year, on my birthday. It was at that point the high sage realized that I was teasing him.
He blushed. "You must think I'm stupid."
I smiled at him. "On the contrary, Your Supreme Highness. You are no more ill informed than the people in my part of the world. I once believed that the people in this part of the world had wings."
This time I answered high sage's questions as best I could. He listened intently, peppering me with more questions about things that interested him. Eventually, we were interrupted by Counselor Jarvo. "I'm sorry to disturb you, Your Supreme Highness, but you have another guest waiting to pay you his respects."
The high sage thanked me for the visit, smiling as he did so. Counselor Jarvo then escorted me out of the throne room. "That was the first time I've seen the high sage smile since his father died. I believe he enjoyed talking to you."
"I think he enjoyed hearing about the barbarian lands," I said, as we crossed the throne room. "May I ask you a question, Counselor?"
"Of course, Your Highness."
"Who's the next guest waiting to greet the high sage?"
"That would be the King of Dunre. Have you heard of him?"
"Heard of him, but never met him. I understand he's a person of some note in this part of the world."
"By force of will," Counselor Jarvo said. "He believes fate has selected him for greatness."
A king with delusions of grandeur, never heard of one of those.
We passed through the jewelled curtain and out of the throne room, where we encountered a passel of people. Edgerton, Bokham, and Captain Hubbard stood on the left-hand side of the hallway. A throng of guards dressed in purple, gold, and white, lined the right-hand side of the hallway.
A tall man with shoulder length brown hair, deep set dark eyes, a long narrow nose, and a neatly trimmed mustache and goatee stood between the purple clad guards. He wore black velvet breeches tucked into polished black riding boots, and a purple velvet waistcoat over a ruffled white silk shirt. A gold crown with a setting sun on the front sat on his head. Embedded in the middle of the setting sun was a large purple gem. Obviously the King of Dunre.
A dozen of the high sage's red and black clad guards stood between the King of Dunre and my men, making sure they didn't get close to each other.
As soon as the King of Dunre saw me, he pushed past his guards and approached Counselor Jarvo and myself. As he drew close, I realized that he was older than I had first thought. Upon first glance, I had placed him in his thirties, now I realized that he was probably in his late forties. There were streaks of gray in his hair, and age lines around his eyes and mouth. He impressed me as being smart, powerful, and ruthless. He also impressed me as a man that was running out of time and knew it. All in all, that was a dangerous combination.
"You must be the barbarian princess that Queen Catlett hopes will become her heir." He held his hand out with the back of it facing up, expecting me to kiss it like I was one of his subjects. I was raised to have my hand kissed, not to kiss the hands of others, so I ignored it.
"You must be Maximillian Bedard, the King of Dunre." I looked him up and down, as if he were a slave in a market. "I have no interest in a man of your advanced years."
I slid past him, leaving him standing there with his hand still extended. My mother taught me that kings and queens don't age gracefully. They envision themselves as eternally young and don't like being reminded that they're growing old and that their days are numbered.
"If you want to offend a king or queen," she once said. "Just tell them how old they look." Judging by the King of Dunre's red face, mother was right.
I headed down the hallway, moving as gracefully as my outfit would allow. When I reached the great hall, where they were still celebrating the high sage's ascension, Edgerton put a hand on my shoulder. "I trust you were trying to offend the King of Dunre."
"He offend me, so I returned his action in kind."
"How did he offend you?"
"Besides sending those assassins after me? He offered me the back of his hand, as if I were one of his subjects. What's he doing here anyway?"
"Perhaps he's here to sample the high sage's harem."
"You mean sleep with the high sage's wives?"
"You saw for yourself. The high sage is but a boy. I doubt he knows what to do with a harem."
"Did the previous high sage share his wives with the King of Dunre?"
Edgerton laughed. "The previous high sage enjoyed his wives way too much to share them with anyone. Some say that's what killed him."
This high sage might be a boy, but I don't think it was accurate to say that he didn't know what to do with a harem. I had just spent a half hour talking to him and noticed that he had spent much of the time staring at my chest. I suspected he just needed someone to take the initiative. You couldn't expect an inexperienced boy that had led a sheltered life to make the first move on a grown woman, not even if he was the High Sage of Landish and she was part of his harem.
"May I have another moment of your time, Your Highness?" Jarvo said, rejoining us.
I took Jarvo's arm and we headed off, strolling around the great hall. Edgerton, Bokham, and Captain Hubbard fell in behind us, paying more attention to the scantly clad dancing girls than to Jarvo or myself.
"What can I do for you, Counselor?"
"I have a problem."
"I hope it's not me."
Jarvo smiled. "It's the King of Dunre. He comes here to poison the high sage's mind."
"And you still allow him to see the high sage?"
"They're heads of state. I am but a humble adviser."
"Do you know what they talk about?"
"The first few times the King of Dunre visited, the high sage told me what they talked about, but the last few times, he's refused to tell me, informing me that what kings talk about doesn't concern me."
"Sounds like somebody needs to convince the high sage that the King of Dunre is dangerous and shouldn't be trusted."
"Agreed," Jarvo said. "Unfortunately, h
e won't listen to me."
"What about one of his wives?"
"The high sage's wives were chosen for their beauty, not their minds. Most of them are illiterate country girls ill equipped to advise the high sage on affairs of state."
"Does the high sage sleep with any of them?"
"The high sage has shown no interest in any of his wives. I'm beginning to wonder if he likes women."
"He likes women," I said. "I think he's just afraid to make the first move."
"And you know this because?"
"Because I just spent a half hour with him. How old is the high sage anyway?"
"Seventeen."
That made him three years younger than me, for some reason he seemed even younger than that. "Has he ever been outside the palace walls?"
"Of course not. The high sage doesn't go to the world. The world comes to the high sage."
That explained why the high sage seemed younger than he was. He was a prisoner inside his own palace. He hadn't even seen his own country, let alone any of the world.
"You have yet to mention what Maximillian Bedard's growing influence over the high sage has to do with me, Counselor."
"I was thinking that a woman of beauty and intelligence might be able to neutralize Bedard's influence over the high sage. My problem is I haven't been able to find such a woman. Until today."
"You want me to convince the high sage that Maximillian Bedard shouldn't be trusted?" I made no attempt to hide the surprise on my face.
"Just have dinner with him. Flirt with him a little, tease him a little, make him fall in love with you."
"And while I'm doing that, maybe I can warn him about Maximillian Bedard, maybe even find out what they've been talking about?"
Jarvo bowed. "I would be in your debt."
"Why would you trust me?" I said. "You don't even know me."
"I know Edgerton. I also know that he likes you and believes that you will be the next Queen of Vassa. I also know that you don't like Maximillian Bedard."
I hesitated. I didn't intend to get involved this quickly in the politics of this part of the world. On the other hand, it wouldn't hurt to have a man of Jarvo's power and influence indebted to me.
"Look at it this way," Jarvo said. "Bedard is trying to wrap the high sage around his little finger. It would be better for me, and you, and Queen Catlett, and the high sage himself, if you wrapped the high sage around your little finger."
"I don't think it's my finger the high sage wants to wrap himself around," I said, then quickly added, "but I will dine with him."
After all, it was just one meal. What could happen?