And, probably, count on Baron Viztria to report every word to him, or at least to Guy of Bas-Tyra.
There was silence at the table, and after looking from face to face, Steven Argent nodded. ‘Your presence here is welcome, Baron Langahan.’
Langahan bowed, more gracefully than Pirojil would have thought such a stocky man could, and seated himself.
Viztria rose. ‘I’m not a man who claims to be of few words,’ he said, with a snort, ‘as is my friend Baron Langahan, but I’ll try to make an exception. I fully confess that my fealty is to the realm as a whole, and the Kingdom beyond that, and not to some muddy pit of –’ He paused, then forced a pained smile as he continued. ‘To some important barony that itself is a part of an equally important duchy. If anybody objects to my presence here, let him – or her, my lady – let him speak now, and I’ll repair to my room and catch up on some correspondence.’
He might as well have come out and said that if he was excluded, a messenger would be quickly making his way to Guy du Bas-Tyra, but Steven Argent nodded gently, as though accepting his words at face value.
The declaration of what amounted to a tentative alliance if not quite allegiance was received with a silent assent and nods by the rest, as well.
Pirojil read that as a good sign. The estrangement if not hostility between the East and the West, represented here by the LaMutian barons on one side and by these two court barons on the other, was not going to be mended here, but it would be ignored for the time being, at least publicly.
Steven Argent sat back in his chair. ‘Very well. There are many matters to discuss, from the taxes to be collected and disbursed, and to the rebuilding of what’s been let go in the war, and our brief from the Earl is that we are to come up with recommendations on all matters touching the earldom, save for the conduct of the war, which is the province of the general staff, presently meeting in Yabon.’ He smiled thinly. ‘I am sure that the Earl, and the dukes, would all like our advice on such things, but I see little point in this noble company spending its time and efforts on issues that are being decided by others with greater knowledge and responsibilities for them.’
‘And never mind,’ Baron Viztria added, with his usual sneer under his thin moustache, ‘that giving even good advice that comes too late to take it is about as worthwhile as paying stud fees for the services of a gelding, eh?’
The Swordmaster’s smile was broad, but chilly. ‘Precisely,’ he said, giving a quick, jerky nod. ‘Normally, the Earl would preside over the Council. In his absence, custom dictates he choose a senior baron to sit in his place – the most likely choice would be Baron Mondegreen, as the discussions here will certainly involve matters that involve him as the Hereditary Bursar of the Earldom.’
Pirojil followed him so far. Mondegreen had long been too frail for frequent trips into LaMut during the war, which is why Morray had been appointed by the Earl’s father, and confirmed by Earl Vandros, as the Military Bursar, and from what Pirojil could see, that had meant, in practice, that he was also holding down Mondegreen’s more general bursarial duties on behalf of the earldom, as well.
But if getting along well was going to be the theme of the day, and it clearly was, substituting Morray for Mondegreen to preside over the Council was guaranteed trouble, and there was trouble enough as it was. The castle barracks were filled with soldiers who, in the absence of Tsurani to kill or anywhere to go, were close enough to murdering each other right and left at the best of times, and with the storm having kept everyone penned up inside for days, it wasn’t remotely close to being the best of times.
So Pirojil just leaned back and waited for Steven Argent to announce that he would continue to preside over the Baronial Council.
‘I’m not going to preside over the Council,’ the Swordmaster said.
Eh?
‘It hasn’t passed my notice that some people habitually refer to me as “that Eastern Swordmaster”, or “that ex-captain from Rillanon”, despite my having served the Earl of LaMut these last dozen years.
‘Besides, I’m a soldier and the Swordmaster, and that’s all I want to be. The recommendations here need to be made by the Council, and not be influenced by somebody like me.’
It was all Morray could do not to strut sitting down. He smiled and preened himself, and Verheyen wasn’t the only other baron who glowered at him.
‘Which is why,’ the Swordmaster continued, standing as he spoke, ‘I ask Lady Mondegreen to take this chair, and I shall excuse myself and leave you, my lords and lady, to your deliberations – unless I hear an objection.’ He held up a peremptory hand. ‘Let me say first that I would take any objection to my selection of her as an insult not only to the house of Mondegreen, but to my own honour, as well, and a gentleman of Rillanon would know quite well how to deal with that, as would a swordmaster of LaMut,’ he said, his voice threatening in its casualness.
Verheyen was the first to react. He nodded and smiled. ‘I think that Lady Mondegreen is a fine choice, and I can think of none better, and many worse, myself included. Wouldn’t you agree, Baron Morray?’
Morray was caught, and fairly. It was all he could do to nod. ‘Of course I’m happy to let our deliberations be guided by the lady, who is perhaps even more wise than she is fair.’
‘Hear, hear,’ several of the other barons cried out, and Steven Argent walked from the room, beckoning Pirojil to follow him.
• Chapter Seven •
Promotions
THE SWORDMASTER OPENED THE DOOR.
Pirojil assumed he had something on his mind, as he didn’t wait upon protocol and let Pirojil open the door for him. Steven Argent had seemed content to keep his thoughts to himself on the walk from the Council chamber to his own quarters, though he did mention he had sent for Durine and Kethol to be waiting for them, just prior to the start of the Council.
Durine was, as he had been instructed by the messenger, already up in the Aerie with Kethol when Pirojil and the Swordmaster strolled in, looking for all the world like a couple of old friends, if you didn’t look too closely at the scowl on Pirojil’s ugly face.
Kethol, having beaten Durine to the Aerie, had taken the chair next to the hearth, and was busily scratching at the fire-drake’s eye-ridges, using the hilt of his knife. It looked to be less than gentle, at least to Durine’s eyes, but Fantus arched his back and preened himself like a reptilian cat, his wings spread either in pleasure, or simply to soak up the heat radiating from the fire.
Durine had parked his bulk on a wooden bench by the fire, and was staring at Kethol playing with the little dragon, not quite sure what to make of it.
‘I think he likes me,’ Kethol had said.
‘Oh.’
As Pirojil and the Swordmaster walked in, Steven Argent made a stay-seated gesture and waved Pirojil towards a chair, before seating himself across from Kethol. Then he stretched his long legs out and folded his hands behind his head. He seemed insufferably pleased with himself. ‘Well, that went better than I had expected, eh?’
Eh?
Pirojil turned to Durine. ‘The Swordmaster put Lady Mondegreen in charge of the Baronial Council.’ He nodded. ‘Which came as something of a surprise to some others, I’ll wager.’
The Swordmaster grinned. ‘It did that.’ He gave them a shrug, and a look of total innocence. ‘And truth be told, I think it’s defensible, and I’m prepared to make my case for it to Earl Vandros – since Baron Mondegreen did, after all, send his lady to represent him, and since he was the obvious candidate.’ He sobered. ‘How well the rest of it will go, I can’t say – there’s much work to do, and the Earl will have to judge how well they set priorities and budgets.’ He shook his head. ‘My life is weapons and martial arts, but I’ve been around long enough to know that we could empty the Earl’s treasury with loans to the barons for repairs come spring, and still not fix all the damage done in the war.’ He stifled a yawn. ‘I’ve no doubt that the presence of quick money and more work than workers wil
l bring a flood of daubers, carpenters and stonemasons north from Krondor Province.’
Pirojil almost smiled. Only an Easterner would call the Principality ‘Krondor Province’. After twelve years, the Swordmaster was still, ‘that ex-captain from Rillanon’. He had been right in removing himself from the head of the Council.
Argent shook his head wearily, as if issues of finance and governance were far more fatiguing than any combat. ‘That’s sure to drive up the prices of everything from the cost of a chicken in the market to the price of a yard of dry goods.’ He uncorked a bottle on the table at his elbow and poured himself a glass of wine. ‘But, thankfully, it’s not my problem, and I can get back to matters for which I’ve a better feel.’ He sipped his wine. ‘Which is why I’ve sent for you.’ He looked over at Kethol. ‘You told your companions about that unseemliness in the barracks – that fight between Morray’s and Verheyen’s men that you and I walked in on?’
‘Well, no.’ Kethol shook his head. ‘It seemed more of a scuffle than a fight, and it didn’t seem worth mentioning.’
Argent snorted.
Kethol shrugged. ‘There were no deaths, only a few broken bones, and not even a stab wound’
‘We have hundreds of soldiers from a dozen rival baronies, trapped here in LaMut, all of them war-weary, irritable, bored and looking for something to keep themselves amused, and you think that a fight isn’t worth mentioning?’
The dozen rival baronies was a slight overstatement, but the scope of the problem was as the Swordmaster indicated, Kethol thought to himself, probably worse.
Still, save for the barons’ personal guards, the vast bulk of the baronial troops were billeted separately in nearby towns and villages, and whatever problems Baron Folson’s men might have with, say, Baron Benteen’s, were entirely academic; the storm had isolated the companies, one from the other.
But there were far more than enough of the feuding Verheyens and Morrays in the city to cause serious trouble – and they were hardly the only example.
The Swordmaster shook his head. ‘The captains tell me that they’ve already had to break up a few other scuffles, as well –’
That was to be expected. It was one of the reasons that Durine was pleased their own assignment kept them in the castle, rather than stuck in the barracks with the rest. In such squabbles, neutrality was difficult; people had a way of resenting a man who refused to take sides – or rather they resented a man who wouldn’t take their side.
‘– and Captain Kelly and a couple of sergeants had to carry a soldier to Father Riley – the private with a knife wound to his side. A curious kind of knife wound that nobody, apparently, if you believe the soldiers in the barracks, either gave or witnessed.’
‘I hadn’t heard that,’ Pirojil said.
Durine shook his head as well.
‘You will, one way or another,’ Argent said. ‘And you will, I trust, when you do, be careful to mention that the soldier in question – one of Verheyen’s – had a very small wound. He’ll recover fully, and have nothing but a scar, memories and a few days’ bed rest to show for it.’
The three of them nodded.
‘In the meantime, I’ve had the captains order their off-duty men out of the barracks and out into the city, to stretch their legs, if nothing else. It’s either that or put a captain on watch in each of the barracks rooms and hope that things hold together, and I’m –’ he stopped himself, then shrugged and went on ‘– and while I can trust my own captains, I’m not sure that some of the barons’ officers aren’t as much of a problem as their men. These baronial feuds often last generations and involve all manner of grudges, down to enlisted soldiers whose grandfather was insulted by some other common soldier’s grandfather.’
Steven Argent looked from face to face, as though challenging them either to agree or disagree, and Durine didn’t have to look at his companions to know that they were keeping their expressions utterly blank and noncommittal, just as he was.
Steven Argent shook his head and went on: ‘But there’s going to be some trouble, of that I’m sure, and I want somebody besides the City Watch taking a quick look around for me. The Constable seems to be far more eager to tell me that all is well than anything else – not to mention he’s ill equipped to take on a force of trained soldiers with his small company of men – and while I’ve already got a company of my regulars backing the Watch, and have as much faith in Captain Stirling as I do in Tom Garnett, should a full-scale conflict erupt, my men would as likely be overrun by one side as the other; most of my troops are up with the Earl in Yabon or still out on the line, dug in.’ For a moment it looked as if he wished those men were back in the city, for more reasons than just keeping things tranquil. He glanced from Durine to Kethol to Pirojil, and said, ‘I’d just as soon have another three sets of eyes and ears out in the city today. And not just eyes and ears – mouths, as well.’
Durine nodded, slowly, regretfully. ‘Which is where we come in, my lord?’
‘Enough of that “my lord” nonsense, please – and yes, that is where you come in.’ He shook his head. ‘I’d rather have Tom Garnett and some of his top sergeants, but they’re the ones most familiar with the nearby environs, and I need them on the patrol. I could have sent out a company of Verheyen’s men, which would have at least kept them away from Morray’s, but they’d probably try to push too far out, just to prove that they are the equal or better of anybody else, and get themselves lost.’ His mouth twitched. ‘I may live to regret that I didn’t send them.’ He sighed. ‘It would have been nice to have the Rangers as guides, but they, perhaps properly, seem to think that they’re needed for wider scouting.’ He scowled. ‘Not that they’d take my orders, anyway – that would be too easy, eh?
‘So I’ve got to use most of the regulars left me in the city for patrol, and that means I need you three.’ He got up from his chair and rummaged around in his desk. ‘Draw some regulars’ LaMutian tabards from the quartermaster, and wear those under your cloaks, and if you run into any problem that needs sorting out, you show your tabard and sort it – with threats of any fights being seen as a rebellion against the Earl’s reign. But, mainly, I want you back at table with me tonight, able to give me some real feel for how things are going, eh?’
‘Understood, sir,’ Pirojil said with a nod.
‘Individually, that is.’ The Swordmaster scowled. ‘The three of you tend to clump together, and while that’s fine for a battle, that’s not what I have in mind here. Spread out, look around, help keep things quiet, and report back. Understood?’
‘I understand, sir,’ Pirojil said. ‘And as to the looking-around part, I see no problem. But in terms of stopping any trouble, I’m not sure that will work, my lor—er, Swordmaster.’ He shook his head. ‘Regardless of what tabards we happen to be wearing, I don’t think that a bunch of baronial soldiers are going to pay much attention to orders from any of us, not unless …’
‘Unless they’re not privates, but sergeants, at least. And even that’s a dicey matter, at best, if they aren’t their own sergeants,’ finished the Swordmaster. Steven Argent nodded as if in agreement with himself, then reached into his desk drawer and produced a small packet of shoulder tabs. ‘Which is why, as of now, you’re brevetted to captain, each of you; I’ve already informed the other captains, and the City Watch of that – draw some whistles from the quartermaster, too, and don’t be afraid to blow for the Watch. Don’t get over-eager, now; your rank reverts when this council is over, the roads are open, and we can clear some of these troops out of the city, and keep them out.’ He eyed them levelly. ‘If not before.’
Pirojil raised an eyebrow. ‘Again, meaning no offence, sir, is that a threat or a promise?’
Steven Argent’s laughter didn’t sound forced. ‘It’s some of both, eh?’
Pirojil looked over at Durine, and then at Kethol. ‘When the roads are open, we’ll be on our way south, in any case, with our pay warm in our pouches.’
‘Yes,
yes, yes – well, what are you waiting for?’
Pirojil cleared his throat. ‘I’m sure that brevetted captains get full captains’ pay – and –’
‘Yes, yes, you can have captains’ pay, and I’ll inform the paymaster. Will that be all, or is there anything else you need to bother me with?’
The three of them rose, but Pirojil stopped at the door and turned back.
‘Well?’ the Swordmaster looked up in irritation. ‘What else?’
‘Well, there is the matter of Baron Morray.’
‘The three of you have been loafing on that duty long enough.’ The Swordmaster snorted. ‘I don’t think anything’s going to happen while he’s sitting at the council table, nor while everybody and his brother is trapped in the keep – but I’ll think about that. You can let me worry about the Baron for today; you just get out into the city and do what you can to keep the peace.’
Durine said. ‘We’ll do what we can.’
The Swordmaster nodded. ‘As will we all, eh?’
‘Yes, sir.’ Durine said.
It seemed like the right thing to say.
Durine made his way through the narrow path down the middle of the street towards the smithy on what he had once been told was, officially, the Street Named in Honour of King Rodric, but which everybody always seemed to call Dog Street. Whether that was because that was its name before the change, or a manifestation of the hostility between West and East, he didn’t know.
LaMut was coming back from its storm-driven hibernation, if not quite digging out.
While only a few deep imprints of horses’ hooves – well, their whole legs, more than just their hooves – could be seen, paths made by boots crisscrossed the narrow street in great profusion, as though they were the imprint of a huge, vanished web that had, overnight, been woven by some huge, imaginary spider.