The first man sat opposite Bodasen, the second standing alongside the table. ‘Where is Harib Ka?’ Bodasen asked.
‘Your countryman will not be joining us,’ replied Collan.
‘He said he would be here; that is the reason I agreed to this meeting.’
Collan shrugged. ‘He had an urgent appointment elsewhere.’
‘He said nothing of it to me.’
‘I think it was unexpected. You wish to do business, or not?’
‘I do not do business, Collan. I seek to negotiate a treaty with the. . . free traders of the Ventrian Sea. My understanding is that you have . . . shall we say, contacts, among them?’
Collan chuckled. ‘Interesting. You can’t bring yourself to say pirates, can you? No, that would be too much for a Ventrian nobleman. Well, let us think the situation through. The Ventrian fleet has been scattered or sunk. On land your armies are crushed, and the Emperor slain. Now you pin your hopes on the pirate fleet; only they can ensure that the armies of Naashan do not march all the way to the capital. Am I in error on any of these points?’
Bodasen cleared his throat. “The Empire is seeking friends. The Free Traders are in a position to aid us in our struggle against the forces of evil. We always treat our friends with great generosity.’
‘I see,’ said Collan, his eyes mocking. ‘We are fighting the forces of evil now? And there I was believing that Naashan and Ventria were merely two warring empires. How naive of me. However, you speak of generosity. How generous is the Prince?’
‘The Emperor is noted for his largess.’
CoHan smiled. ‘Emperor at nineteen – a rapid rise to power. But he has lost eleven cities to the invader, and his treasury is severely depleted. Can he find two hundred thousand gold raq?’
‘Two . . . surely you are not serious?’
‘The Free Traders have fifty warships. With them we could protect the coastline and prevent invasion from the sea; we could also shepherd the convoys that carry Ventrian silk to the Drenai and the Lentrians and countless others. Without us you are doomed, Bodasen. Two hundred thousand is a small price to pay.’
‘I am authorised to offer fifty. No more.’
‘The Naashanites have offered one hundred.’
Bodasen fell silent, his mouth dry. ‘Perhaps we could pay the difference in silks and trade goods?’ he offered at last.
‘Gold,’ said Collan. That is all that interests us. We are not merchants.’
No, thought Bodasen bitterly, you are thieves and killers, and it burns my soul to sit in the same room with such as you. ‘I will need to seek counsel of the ambassador,’ he said. ‘He can communicate your request to the Emperor. I will need five days.’
‘That is agreeable,’ said Collan, rising. ‘You know where to find me?’
Under a flat rock, thought Bodasen, with the other slugs and lice. ‘Yes,’ he said, softly, ‘I know where to find you. Tell me, when will Harib be back in Mashrapur?’
‘He won’t.’
‘Where is this appointment then?’
‘In Hell,’ answered Collan.
*
‘You must have patience,’ said Sieben, as Druss stalked around the small room on the upper floor of the Tree of Bone Inn. The poet had stretched out his long, lean frame on the first of the two narrow beds, while Druss strode to the window and stood staring out over the dock and the sea beyond the harbour.
‘Patience?’ stormed the axeman. ‘She’s here somewhere, maybe close.’
‘And we’ll find her,’ promised Sieben, ‘but it will take a little time. First there are the established slave traders. This evening I will ask around, and find out where Collan has placed her. Then we can plan her rescue.’
Druss swung round. ‘Why not go to the White Bear Inn and find Collan? He knows.’
‘I expect he does, old horse.’ Sieben swung his legs from the bed and stood. ‘And he’ll have any number of rascals ready to plunge knives in our backs. Foremost among them will be Borcha. I want you to picture a man who looks as if he was carved from granite, with muscles that dwarf even yours. Borcha is a killer. He has beaten men to death in fist fights, snapped necks in wrestling bouts; he doesn’t need a weapon. I have seen him crush a pewter goblet in one hand, and watched him lift a barrel of ale above his head. And he is just one of Collan’s men.’