Drakenfeld (48 page)

After she had dismounted, the others followed suit. Two women and four men, each of them much older than myself, stepped in alongside her, each garbed in their fine silken robes of office.

The commissioner stepped forward to greet us. She was a woman of at least fifty years, with a good posture and ferocious, dark eyes. Her shoulder-length grey hair contrasted with her tanned
skin; her nose and face were broad, and she had clearly become used to a good meal or two in later years.

‘Which one of you lot is Lucan Drakenfeld?’ she called out above the noise of the sea.

I stepped forward and descended to one knee.

‘Oh do get up, Drakenfeld,’ she said. ‘You’re the bloody reason I’ve come all this way. Save the ceremony for Free State.’

‘Thank you for coming so soon, ma’am,’ I replied.

She waved away my politeness and regarded the villa. ‘Does this place have couches? Does it have a stove?’

‘It has both,’ I said.

‘Good. My arse is sore and I’ve not had anything decent to eat since we left land.’ She stormed inside, the others following in a long, equally glum chain. I suspected I was
not the only one who didn’t like travelling by sea.

We commandeered one of the studies, which did not have too many scrolls or books – but there were chairs and desks, which was enough to claim this as a base for
operations.

I stood before the group of officials and the rather miserable commissioner, who introduced herself as Commissioner Tibus, third in rank of the entire Sun Chamber. Like Callimar, I had never met
someone so senior, and I found myself quite nervous. It didn’t help that her temper could have been improved.

I set out the scene for the officials, starting with the night back at Optryx where Senator Veron summoned me because of the murder of Lacanta, sister of the king. I took her step by step
through my findings and methodology, discussing the trail down-city to investigate the actors, Drullus’ death, my observations around the king’s residence, discussions with other
senators, the picture of deceit that had been cleverly built up over a long period of time, Maxant’s death and, finally, the missing priestess of Ptrell – whose symbol I had seen in
Optryx.

Commissioner Tibus regarded me without expression as I continued. I said I had confirmed that the body of the priestess had piercings, but that wasn’t enough to go on, which was why the
only proof was to track down Lacanta herself. Which is, I concluded, why we were all here, and I informed them of what Lacanta had told us so far – largely of her relationship with
Licintius.

Commissioner Tibus nodded. ‘Is there anything else?’

‘There is, ma’am.’ I took a deep breath before revealing my father’s role in the set-up: that he supplied a lookalike for Lacanta so that everyone could be fooled, and
that he did this to pay off his gambling debts. I concluded my story with Licintius’ soldiers creating carnage in my home and our hastily arranged exit from the city.

‘Licintius was obsessed with the theatre,’ I added, ‘and only now do I realize that everything had been staged, and he was busy scripting my own story.’

‘The theatre, indeed.’ Tibus whispered to one side, ‘I never did have him down as a man of taste.’

‘I suppose at first he had not wanted me there. But, as long as I was investigating the case – visibly – and trying to solve a murder that never actually happened, I was
helping him to demonstrate his innocence. So long as I didn’t make the connection, I would have been a boon to his case. He welcomed me there, but he had people watching my every move. He
probably relished his own theatrics, attending public events lamenting Lacanta’s death . . .’

Commissioner Tibus cleared her throat. ‘Well now, have you anything else to add to this saga?’

‘Only that for my family’s role in this affair,’ I said, ‘I apologize. To you and before the wise gaze of Polla.’

Each of the gathered Sun Chamber officials regarded me with a cold stare; some made notes, others whispered something to the person beside them. I could not read the situation at all.

‘Now you’re quite sure of Calludian’s – your father’s – involvement?’

‘I am, unfortunately.’

‘Such a shame.’ Tibus shook her head. ‘He was a good one. Didn’t we pay him enough?’

‘As I said, he formed a habit for gambling – he had huge debts.’ I left out the question of how my brother might have led him astray.

‘So it goes,’ Tibus declared. ‘Still, that business could prove rather tricky to cover up. It won’t go down well, I can assure you. That said, having the man’s son
expose him does seem to put a nice, honest spin on the matter.’ Some of the officials nodded in agreement.

I had no intention of being seen as someone who exposed him; my father ought to be remembered for all his good points.

‘Is Lacanta here still?’ Tibus demanded.

‘Yes, we’ve looked after her well. Someone remains with her at all times.’

‘Good. I’ll want to see her later. She must remain alive if I’m to bargain with Licintius. We must tread carefully – Detrata has a vicious streak of nationalism in it,
more than any other nation in Vispasia. If we try to arrest Licintius outright, they could see it as a threat, and I daresay that will raise the chances of separatism from the Royal Union. Which
we’re honour-bound to prevent, lest anyone forget.’

‘What should our next move be?’ I asked.

‘It’s a tricky thing, dealing with royals,’ Tibus said. ‘It is through national donations that the Sun Chamber does so much. Yes, we help facilitate stability and trade,
and all of those pretty things we say to each other when we’re in council; but generally speaking we are meant to help kings and queens. The law is designed around the protection of such
individuals and their property. We’re not really supposed to arrest the buggers.’

‘Ah,’ I said, fearing that Licintius may go unpunished for the sake of diplomacy.

‘So then,’ she continued. ‘I think that it is best this business be dealt with by Detrata’s own Senate, and in Tryum. But we must present Licintius to the Senate in such
a way that they can sentence him appropriately. These two siblings – do they claim to love each other?’

‘As far as Lacanta tells me, they’re obsessed with each other. They’d have to be to go to such great lengths.’

Tibus shook her head. ‘In that case, we must send an army to the gates of Tryum and demand that Licintius present himself before his own Senate. Showing that Lacanta is alive – and
more importantly showing to the people of the city that she is alive – will hopefully be enough of a combined threat so that he gives in to our demands. It will be a humiliation for him. We
leave first thing in the morning. We will send word immediately to drum up auxiliaries from Theran and Maristan to accompany whatever we can send up from Free State. We’ll not need more than
two thousand soldiers – we’re not starting a war. At least not yet.’

My eyes widened at the reality of bringing the Sun Legion to the gates of my home city. ‘What if Licintius doesn’t give himself up?’

Tibus gave me a big grin. ‘He will when Tryum’s cut off and under siege,’ she said. ‘There’s nothing like a starving populace to make a king come to his
senses.’ She turned to one side and called back, ‘Let it be known widely that Lucan Drakenfeld’s work has shown excellence, and guts, the likes I’ve not seen for a good long
while. More of this, please.’

Commissioner Tibus stood up with a groan and placed a palm on her lower back, rubbing it vigorously. ‘But may Polla bless us – we are about to bugger with Vispasia’s political
fabric and unleash Polla knows what devilry onto the continent if we’re not careful. Hopefully only just a little blood will be spilled if Detrata can be left to settle its own affairs. Makes
the job rather unpleasant otherwise.’

Tibus marched to the door and the others rose to follow, but she paused in the doorway. ‘Now then, young Drakenfeld – I take it Callimar’s soldiers haven’t yet scoffed
all the food?’

It took a little over a week to muster the necessary forces to march on Tryum. During that time we ate and drank, pillaging the stores in nearby villages and gathering the
rations brought up from the boats. Commissioner Tibus and Callimar took it upon themselves to plan the assault on Tryum, and questioned me on its potential points of weakness.

‘It’s difficult,’ I replied. ‘There are a good number of loyal and patriotic soldiers based there, and the walls are high, wide and engineered to withstand an
attack.’ Though I was momentarily relieved not to have the responsibility of decision-making, I felt that I wanted to argue against the siege: to negotiate, to find a non-violent solution to
the whole matter. ‘It does not seem fair that a city will suffer because of the lust of two people.’

‘It’s about more than that,’ Tibus declared. ‘It is about punishing a king who has deceived his own people. If the people suffer, too, then they’ll blame the king.
Anyway, such a man is not fit for rule, though that decision is for Tryum to decide for itself – all we need to do is help that along. Besides, worry not, Drakenfeld. Hopefully it won’t
come to that. I’ve already sent agents into the city to see about bribing members of the King’s Legion. Loyalty to gold is often stronger than that to a royal.’

The officials who came with her seemed to have little to say on the matter. Though apparently soulless and without much in the way of personalities of their own, they were adroit planners and
would consult Tibus on every point of the forthcoming military operation, as well as hypothesizing over the political consequences. Letters and riders were dispatched with surprising
regularity.

I merely contented myself with taking it in turns with Leana to watch over Lacanta, who now seemed to have accepted her fate. When there were just the two of us, she would talk quite openly:
when others were around, she kept her thoughts to herself.

Eventually the time came for us to move out. Two small, barred wagons had been brought for Lacanta and her eunuchs, though she had one vehicle to herself. These mobile gaols were cushioned
inside, and possessed a roof, so they were not entirely humiliating. It was, however, a world away from what she would have been used to as a royal. Once they had been marched to the top of the
slope, the eunuchs were crammed into the other carriage. The huge trail of Sun Chamber officials, soldiers and prisoners eventually rolled up the hill and started on the long journey towards
Tryum.

Two thousand soldiers marching towards my home city was a breathtaking sight. Through the dry grasslands that stretched for miles around the city, a handful of Sun Legion
soldiers marched alongside auxiliaries from the neighbouring countries, following the line of aqueducts. Maristanian troops, it seemed, were only too keen to lend a hand in humiliating their
ancient rivals.

Cavalry, spearmen, archers, engineers, siege towers and artillery troops armed with both stones and bolts, were all united under the banner of the Sun Chamber, a faming sun emblazoned on black
cloth. Dredging up a cloud of dust, this slow tide of violence trickled across the landscape. The sky remained cloudless all day.

‘This is all your doing.’ Commissioner Tibus rode up next to me to admire the view, munching on an apple.

I opened my mouth to say something, but I didn’t know how to reply.

‘I was joking, Drakenfeld,’ she added. ‘Well, partially anyway. It takes one Sun Chamber officer to bring a common thief to justice, but it takes an army to force a king to
submit, such is the nature of power. Two thousand soldiers is not that many, but we need to show the likes of Licintius that we mean business. If he protests, like he did with our initial envoys,
we can always summon more. We’ll tell him that.’

‘Have our agents been at all successful inside the city?’

‘We’ve not heard back from them, so we must assume otherwise. Our envoys were turfed out without being given a proper hearing – that’s a slap in the face to the Sun
Chamber right there. Licintius knows the law, oh yes. He knows what to expect.’ Tibus threw away the core of the apple and turned away.

Merchants – those who had not heard the news or noise of an advancing army – scattered from the roads to the city, drawing their horses across farmland at a rapid pace. A few people
lingered to watch what was going on, unaware that their home city was about to be under siege. The gates to Tryum were closed and soldiers were lining the walls to the city. Behind us, the camp was
being set up for a long stay.

Meanwhile, all the rest of us could do was wait.

A night passed while we waited for messengers to continue back and forth, for diplomacy to have its opportunity. The messengers had been perfectly clear: the king was to
surrender himself for questioning on behalf of the Sun Chamber’s highest authority. The Senate would take charge of affairs for the matter to be resolved. Whether or not Licintius passed this
message on to the Senate was another matter.

Day came again, and traders or travellers who wanted to flee the city were driven from the city’s gates without repercussion. Tryum was sealed. Small packs of cavalry rode around the city
enforcing the blockade. Entry was forbidden by order of the Sun Chamber and it was at this point that Commissioner Tibus informed me that the river route towards the sea would shortly be blocked,
too. All of this was to add pressure: to force Licintius to open the gates to the city and hand himself in.