Our plan was really quite simple. We decided to secrete a fair number of highly respected nobles and commons in the woods on the steep sides of the gorge to observe Elthek’s ceremony, and then, when we had enough damning evidence – and when the Cultists were too drunk to stand – we’d send in the soldiers to round them all up. It wasn’t until the day preceding the autumnal equinox that Kamion and I quite firmly told Daran that he wouldn’t be going along. ‘You’ll be sitting in judgment, your Highness,’ Kamion told him. ‘You’ll lose all appearance of impartiality if you lead the attack.’
‘But – ’ Daran started to protest.
‘No buts, dear,’ I said. ‘If you were actually the king, it might be different, but you’re only your father’s regent, so you have to be a little careful. It’s your father’s throne you’re defending, not your own.’
‘It will be.’
‘There’s a lot of difference between “will be” and “is”, Daran. You have to give the appearance of impartiality in this situation. You can spend tomorrow evening sitting in front of a mirror practicing expressions of shock and outrage. Then, when Anrak, Kamion and I drag the Cultists before you and present the case against them, no one can accuse you of having been in on our scheme from the very start. Appearances are very important in situations like this.’
‘Your Highness might want to keep in mind the fact that witchcraft’s a capital offense,’ Kamion pointed out. ‘In actuality, you could burn the lot of them at the stake.’
‘Could I really do that, Aunt Pol?’ Daran asked me.
‘Don’t get carried away, dear. Sentencing them to exile’s really an act of mercy, you realize.’
‘Part of the idea here is to build your reputation, your Highness,’ Kamion explained.
‘I don’t think it’s very fair,’ Daran sulked.
‘No, your Highness, it’s not. It’s politics, and politics aren’t meant to be fair. Oh, incidentally, after the trial, it might not be a bad idea for you to agonize over your final judgment for a week or so.’
Daran stared at him blankly.
‘It’ll give me some time to spread word of the charges and our proof all over the Isle – public relations, you understand.’
‘I know what I’m going to do to them, Brand.’
‘Of course you do, dear,’ I told him. ‘Just don’t do it so quickly. Give Elthek and his cohorts some time to worry before you pass judgment on them.’
‘Where am I going to keep them while I pretend to be making up my mind?’
‘Elthek’s got a fairly extensive dungeon under the temple of Belar, your Highness,’ Kamion suggested without even cracking a smile. ‘As long as it’s there anyway – ’
Daran burst out laughing at that point.
And then the day arrived, dawning murky with the threat of incipient rain. ‘Wonderful,’ Anrak said sourly, looking out the window of our blue-draped conference room as morning stained the sky over the Isle. ‘I hate crawling around in the woods when it’s raining.’
‘You won’t melt,’ I assured him. ‘If you’d like, you could bring a cake of soap along tonight. I think it’s almost time for your annual bath.’
‘I think you did me a big favor that day back in the Vale when you turned down my marriage proposal, Pol,’ he replied.
‘What’s this?’ Daran asked.
‘I was young and foolish at the time, Daran,’ Anrak explained. ‘Some men just aren’t meant to get married.’
That gave me something to think about. Daran would be twenty-three years old on his next birthday, and I didn’t really want him to grow too accustomed to bachelorhood.
It rained off and on all that day, a filmy, misty kind of rain that wreathed the towers of the Citadel and obscured the city and the harbor. The sky cleared in the late afternoon, though, and we were treated to one of those glorious sunsets that almost make living in rainy country worthwhile.
No, I didn’t have anything to do with it. You know how my father feels about tampering with the weather.
The nobles and commons who joined us that evening to serve as witnesses were all men of impeccable character and good reputation. They were not, despite Anrak’s objections, coached or prompted in any way. Indeed, they were not even advised in advance that they were going to spend an entertaining evening out in the still-dripping forest. Kamion, acting in his official capacity as Rivan Warder, simply sent men out to round them all up as the sun went down. Most of them were at supper when they were summoned to the Citadel, and there was a bit of grumbling about that.
‘What’s this all about, Kamion?’ a white-bearded old earl demanded when we all gathered in the stables. The earl’s name was Jarok, a fairly common Alorn name.
‘I want you all to see something, my Lord Jarok,’ Kamion replied.
‘What are we supposed to look at?’ Jarok was obviously not happy. He was an old man with a young wife, and he’d had other plans for the evening, I guess.
‘I’m not at liberty to discuss it, my Lord,’ Kamion told him. ‘All you and the others need to know is that you’re going to witness a crime being committed this evening. The criminals will be taken into custody and they’ll be tried later for their crime. You gentlemen will perform your civic duty and testify at that trial.’
‘Belar’s teeth, Kamion!’ the grouchy old Jarok swore, ‘just hang the rogues and have done with it.’
‘We aren’t talking about a simple burglary or an incidental murder, my Lord. This is a wide-ranging conspiracy that threatens the security of the throne and the entire kingdom. We want to stamp it out, so we’ll need an iron-clad case to take before the Prince Regent.’
That bad?’ Jarok blinked. ‘It’s really bad enough to take before Daran himself instead of a magistrate?’
‘Probably even worse, my Lord. If possible, I’d take the matter to Riva himself.’
‘What are we waiting for, then? Let’s go!’
I love the way Alorns can change direction in the blink of an eye, don’t you?
The ride up the gorge which adjoined the one where the Cult was meeting wasn’t very pleasant. The moon and stars were out, but the woods were absolutely soaked by the day’s rain, and we were all wet to the skin by the time we reached the narrow pass that connected the two deep valleys. Things got worse at that point. We all dismounted and started wading up the hill through the sodden undergrowth.