Book 2 - An Ill Fate Marshalling Read Free Page A

Throyes. He was to try again to negotiate a resumption of trade. The whisper had raised almost messianic hopes among the merchants. No heed was paid the fact that past overtures had been rebuffed.
    Warfare and occupation had shattered Ravelin's econo my. Though the kingdom was primarily agrarian and resil ient, it had not yet come all the way back in the three years since liberation. It needed resumption of trade desperately. It needed a freshened capital flow.
    The King's henchmen had gathered. Michael Trebilcock and Aral Dantice stood at the foot of a long oak table in the gloomy meeting room, chatting in soft voices. They had not visited in months.
    The wizard Varthlokkur and his wife Nepanthe stood before the huge fireplace, silent. The wizard seemed deeply troubled. He stared into the prancing flames as though studying something much farther away.
    Sir Gjerdrum Eanredson, the army's Chief of Staff, paced the parqueted floor, smacking fist into palm repeatedly. He was as restless as a caged animal.
    Cham Mundwiller, a Wesson magnate from Sedlmayr and King's spokesman in the Thing, puffed on a pipe, a fashion recently introduced from far southern kingdoms. He seemed engrossed in the arms of the former Krief dynasty hanging over the dark wood of the chamber's eastern wall.
    Mist, who had been princess of the enemy empire till she was deposed, sat near the table's head. Exile had made of her a quiet, gentle woman. A knitting bag lay open before her. Needles clicked at an inhuman pace. A small, two-headed, four-handed imp manipulated them for her. Its legs dangled off the table's side. One head or the other muttered constantly, apprising the other of dropped stitches. Mist shushed them gently.
    There were a dozen others. Their backgrounds ranged from sickeningly respectable to outrageously shady. The King was not a man who selected friends for appearance. He made use of the talent available.
    Sir Gjerdrum mumbled as he stalked. „When the hell will he get here? He dragged me all the way from Karlsbad."
    Others had come farther. Mundwiller's Sedlmayr lay near Kavelin's far southern border, at the knees of the
    Kapenrung Mountains, in the shadow of Hammad al Nakir, beyond. Mist, now Chatelaine of Maisak, had descended from her fortress eyre in the Savernake Gap. Varthlokkur and Nepanthe had come from the gods knew where; proba bly Fangdred, in the impenetrable knot of mountains known as The Dragon's Teeth. And pale Michael looked like he'd just returned from a sojourn in shadow.
    He had. He had.
    Michael Trebilcock mastered the King's secret service. He was a man largely unknown personally but his name was a whisper of dread.
    The King's adjutant entered. „I just spoke with His Majesty. Stand by. He's on his way."
    Mundwiller harumphed, tapped his pipe out in the fire place, began repacking it.
    Ragnarson arrived. He surveyed the group. „Enough of us are here," he said.
    Ragnarson was tall, blond, physically powerful. He had scars, and not all on the flesh, to be seen. A few grey hairs peeped through the shag at his temples. He looked five years younger than he was. Captures kept him fit.
    He shook hands, exchanged greetings. There was no majestic aloofness in him. King he was, but here just another of a group of old friends.
    Their impatience amused him. Of Sir Gjerdrum he asked, „How do the maneuvers look? Can the troops handle the summer exercises with the militia?"
    „Of course. They're the best soldiers in the Lesser King doms." Eanredson could not remain still.
    „Youth and its fury of haste." Sir Gjerdrum was yet in his twenties. „How goes it with the beautiful Gwendolyn?"
    Eanredson growled something.
    „Don't worry. She's young, too. You'll outgrow it. All right, people. Gather round. I'll only take a few minutes."
    There were more henchmen than chairs. Three men ended up standing.
    „Progress report from Derel." Bragi placed a ragged sheet of paper on the distressed oak tabletop. „Pass it around. He says