‘How many ships are there?’ Kalten asked, squinting at the
approaching fleet.
“I make it close to a hundred,’ the big Thalesian replied.
‘You could carry a lot of men on a hundred ships, ‘ Sarabian said.
‘Enough to make me nervous, your Majesty,’ Vanion agreed.
Then, as the ships entered the harbor, the red and gold standards
of the Church were run up on the masts, and as the
lead vessel came closer, Sparhawk could make out two familiar
figures standing in the bow. The one man had broad shoulders
and a massive chest. His round face was split with a delighted
grin. The other was short and very stout. he was also grinning.
‘What kept you?’ Ulath shouted across the intervening water.
‘Class distinctions,’ Tynian shouted back. ‘Knights are defined
as gentlemen, and they objected to being pressed into service
as oarsmen.’
‘You’ve got knights manning the oars?’ Vanion called incredulously.
“It’s a part of a new physical conditioning program, Lord
Vanion,’ Patriarch Emban shouted. ‘Archprelate Dolmant
noticed that the Soldiers of God were getting a little flabby.
They’re much more fit now than they were when we left
Sarinium.’
The ship approached the wharf carefully, and the seamen
threw the mooring hawsers to the knights ashore.
Tynian leaped across. Emban gave him a disgusted look and
waddled back amidships to wait for the sailors to extend the
gangway.
‘How’s the shoulder?’ Ulath asked the broad-faced Deiran.
‘Much better,’ Tynian replied. “It aches when the weather’s
damp, though.’ He saluted Vanion. ‘Komier, Darellon and
Abriel are leading the Church Knights east from Chyrellos, my
Lord,’ he reported. ”Patriarch Bergsten’s with them. Patriarch
Emban and I came on ahead by ship – obviously. We thought
a few more knights here in Matherion might be useful.’
‘indeed they will, Sir Tynian. How many do you have with
you?’
‘Five thousand, my Lord.’
‘That’s impossible, Tynian. There’s no way you could crowd
that many men and horses on a hundred ships.’
‘Yes, my Lord,’ Tynian replied mildly, ‘we noticed that ourselves
almost immediately. The knights were terribly disappointed
when they found out that we weren’t going to let
them bring their horses with them.’
‘Tynian,’ Kalten objected, ‘they have to have horses. A knight
without his horse is meaningless.’
‘There are already horses here, Kalten. Why bring more?’
‘Tamul horses aren’t trained.’
‘Then we’ll just have to train them, won’t we? I had a hundred
ships. I could have brought fifteen hundred knights along with
their horses, or five thousand without the horses. Call the extra
thirty-five hundred a gift.’
‘How were you able to make them row?’ Ulath asked.
‘We used whips.’ Tynian shrugged. ‘There’s a Captain Sorgi
who plies the inner sea, and the oars were his idea.’
‘Good old Sorgi,’ Sparhawk laughed.
‘You know him?’
“Quite well, actually.’
‘You’ll be able to renew your friendship. His ship’s out
there with the fleet. We’d have sailed aboard his ship, but
Patriarch Emban didn’t like the looks of it. It’s all patched
and rickety.’
“It’s old. I think Sorgi has a secret bet with himself about which
of them falls apart first – him or his ship.’
‘His mind’s still sharp, though. When we asked him how to
get more speed out of the ships, he suggested adding oars to
the sails. It’s very seldom done that way because of the expense
of paying the oarsmen – not to mention the fact that they take
up room usually reserved for cargo. I decided not to bring any
cargo, and Church Knights are sworn to poverty, so I didn’t
have to pay them. It worked out fairly well, actually.’
They gathered in Ehlana’s sitting room several hours later to
hear Emban and Tynian report on what was happening in Eosia.
‘Ortzel quite nearly had apoplexy when Dolmant pulled all
the knights out of Render,’ Emban told them. He leaned back
in his chair with a silver tankard in his pudgy hand. ‘Ortzel
really has his heart set on returning the Renders to the bosom
of our’ Holy Mother. Dolmant seemed inclined to agree with him
right at first, but he woke up one morning with a completely
different outlook. Nobody’s been able to explain his sudden
change of heart.’
‘He received a message, Emban,’ Sephrenia smiled. ‘The
messenger can be very impressive when he wants to be.’
‘Oh?’
‘An emergency came up, your Grace,’ Vanion explained. ‘Zalasta
had sent word to his confederates in Eosia, and they began
killing the worshipers of the Child Goddess, Aphrael. That put
her life in danger as well. We spoke with one of the other
Younger Gods – Setras. He agreed that the other Younger Gods
would lend Aphrael some of their children, and he went to
Chyrellos to ask Dolmant to offer sanctuary to Aphrael’s surviving
worshipers. He was also going to try to persuade Dolmant
to send the Church Knights here. Evidently he was a bit more
convincing than you and Tynian were.’
‘Are you saying that a Styric God went into the Basilica?’
Emban exclaimed.
‘He said that’s what he was going to do,’ Sparhawk replied,
shifting his daughter in his lap.
‘No Styric God has ever gone into the Basilica!’
‘He’s wrong,’ Princess Danae whispered into her father’s ear.
‘I’ve been there dozens of times.’
“I know,’ Sparhawk whispered back. ‘Setras paid a formal visit,
though.’ He thought of something. ‘Setras went to Chyrellos
just a short time ago,’ he murmured into her ear. ‘Even with
oarsmen to help, Tynian’s fleet couldn’t have reached Matherion
this fast. Have you been tampering again?’
‘Would I do that?’ Her eyes were wide and innocent.
‘Yes, as a matter of fact, you probably would.’
‘if you already knew the answer, why did you ask the question?
Don’t waste my time, Sparhawk. I am very busy, you know.”
‘Things seem to be coming to a head in Lamorkand,’ Tynian
continued his report. ‘Count Gerrich’s forces have taken Vraden
and Agnak in northern Lamorkand, and King Friedahl’s been
appealing to the other monarchs for assistance.’
‘We’ll be taking care of that shortly, Sir Tynian,’ Stragen told
him. ‘I’ve been in touch with Platime, and he’s arranging fatal
accidents for Gerrich and the various barons who’ve been helping
him.’
The door opened, and Berit entered with Xanetia.
‘What did you find out, Anarae?’ Sephrenia asked intently.
‘This morning’s sortie was quite profitable, little mother,’ Berit
advised her. ‘Zalasta’s friend Ynak showed up at the Cynesgan
embassy, and the Anarae was able to probe his mind. I think
we’ve got most of the details of their plan now.’
‘is this the lady with the rare gift?’ Emban asked.
“I seem to be forgetting my manners,’ Vanion apologized.
‘Anarae Xanetia, this is Sir Tynian of Deira and Patriarch Emban
of the Church of Chyrellos. Gentlemen, this is Xanetia, the
Anarae of the People of Delphaeus.’
Tynian and Emban bowed, their eyes curious.
‘What have our friends at the embassy been up to, Anarae?’
Sarabian asked.
‘Though it was not pleasant to probe so vile a mind, Ynak’s
thought did reveal much, Majesty,’ she replied. ‘As we had
surmised, the outcast Styrics at Verel have long known that the
greatest threat to their design would come from Eosia. They
wished Anakha to come to Tamuli, but they did not wish for him
to bring a hundred thousand Church Knights with him. The
turmoil in western Tamuli is in fact intended to block the passage
of the knights. All else is extraneous. Moreover, the attacks of
the Trolls in Atan are also designed to divert attention. Our peril
doth not approach from the west or from the north. It is from
the south that our enemies plan to make their main assault. Even
now do Cynesgan troops filter across the unguarded frontier to
join with Scarpa’s forces in the jungles of Arjuna, and Elenes
from western Tamuli, moreover, do journey by ship to southern
Arjuna to add their weight to Scarpa’s growing horde. The distractions
in the west and in Atan were to drain away imperial
might and to weaken Tamul proper, thus opening a path for
Scarpa to strike directly across Tamul and to lay siege to
Matherion itself. Ynak and the others were much chagrined by
the exposure of Zalasta’s treachery, for it voided his opportunity
to do us harm by misdirection and false counsel.’
‘What’s the real goal of a siege of Matherion, Lady Xanetia?’
Emban asked shrewdly. “It’s a nice enough city, but…’ He
spread his hands.
‘Our enemies thought to compel the imperial government to
surrender up Anakha by posing a threat to Matherion itself,
your Grace. The subversion of diverse ministers and officials
gave them hope that the Prime Minister might be persuaded to
capitulate so that Matherion might be spared.’
‘That might have worked,’ Sarabian noted. ‘Pondia Subat’s
backbone isn’t really very rigid. Zalasta and his four friends plan
things quite well.’
‘Three friends now, your Majesty,’ Berit grinned. ‘The Anarae
tells me that the one named Ptaga came a cropper a few days