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use it too eagerly or capriciously so that it came to be regarded as a crutch. For this reason, Avall had duplicate regalia made—very
fine
duplicates, I might add—and had false gems inserted into the various items, since he reasoned—rightly, I think—that a great deal of the regalia’s power came from people’s
idea
of it—power their fears and beliefs
subsumed
upon it, as it were—which has nothing to do with the effects produced by its actual use. Once the duplicates were completed, he dispatched the only person he could truly entrust with such a mission—his sister, Merryn—to conceal the real regalia in a place only she would know. With her, he sent all the other gems, except the mad one—the master gem, we sometimes call it.”
    “The one he was wearing when Zeff captured him?” Dessann ventured.
    “Correct. And of course he was also wearing the duplicate regalia then, though very few outside this Council knew that at the time—either that he was wearing it, or that it was ‘false’—”
    “Not false enough, apparently,” Dessann muttered.
    Vorinn glared at him. “Suffice it to say that far too soon after Merryn was dispatched to hide the regalia, we received word that Gem-Hold had fallen, and that the regalia was required—one way or another—to ransom it. Obviously we needed to retrieve it, and before anyone could stop her, Avall’s Consort-apparent, Strynn, took that task upon herself—she and a woodswoman named Div. The fact that neither she nor Merryn has reappeared with it tells us that she has not yet succeeded.”
    “And this ‘jumping’?”
    “Simply stated: the ability to disappear in one place and reappear more or less instantly in another, using the power of the gems—which suck heat from anything alive nearby when they are used thusly. It actually happened a few times at the Battle of Storms, but most people missed it.”
    “And that’s all?”
    “That’s enough for now.”
    “Indeed,” Tryffon echoed. “Which brings us back to Merryn.”
    Vorinn nodded. “So I was thinking. And that, in turn, presents two scenarios. Either Merryn has not yet hidden the regalia, in which case—should Avall have jumped to where she is—they should indeed be back here very soon; or else she
has
hidden it, and they will have to retrieve it. And in the
latter
case, they could either jump to the hiding place quickly—which I doubt, because of the number of people involved, but which could have them back here by sunrise, since Avall will know about the ultimatum—or else they will have to proceed afoot—which will take who-knows-how-long.”
    Tryffon looked troubled indeed. “So we basically have to contrive three plans: one in case Avall returns before dawn with the regalia, one in case he returns without it, and one in which he does
not
return.”
    Vorinn regarded him solemnly. “Correct.”
    “At least the balance has shifted,” Veen offered. “Two hands ago Zeff had two major bargaining points: He had the King, and he had the master gem. Now he has neither. If we move in the morning, we could very well force his hand, even without the regalia. Why, if Avall can do all this jumping, there’s nothing to keep him from jumping into the hold itself and settling matters there without us even being involved.”
    Tryffon looked startled. “That’s true. It would also be just like him.”
    “Two good points,” Vorinn conceded. “Which I think mean we’ve decided that the least we do at dawn is remain where we are.”
    Tryffon grinned through his whiskers. “A siege is still a siege, eh, boy? And even without magic on our side, we’re stronger.”
    “But they’ve got blackmail on their side,” Veen warned. “Avall was the King, but he was only one man. There are still a thousand innocent people in that hold. Who’s to say who Zeff will serve up on a tabletop next?”
    “The subchiefs of War and Ferr, I’d be willing to bet,” Tryffon growled. “Or Crim