The Black Sword Trilogy: The Four Nations (23 page)

             
“And how long before other bills follow this one; ones that allow those who would enslave us to offer such wages in the shipyards and the shops?  How long before every worker in Sheyron has to compete with a worker whom the wealthy can hire at a lower wage?”

             
“This bill only applies to those who sail on our ships.”

             
“This bill does.  But how long before every citizen in Korsh and the islands is unemployed because a foreign worker has taken his or her job?”

             
Shouting and cursing started again and some were starting to shout threats.  Several men and women started pushing forward toward the aisle shouting insults and profanity.  Janna tapped the Spear again.

             
“That’s enough!” She called out. 

When the room had quieted, she called, “The Table will now take the vote.”

              Edum stepped up to the table with a large piece of paper in his hand.

             
“That’s the bill there.” Firth explained to Terri.

Edum handed the bill to one of the Captains at the far end of the table.

              “There are two sides of the bill where the Captains are supposed to take their quill and make a simple check mark; one side for yes and the other for no.  Now, it is very important for the Captains to make their mark in a way that does not identify which Captain made which mark.  That ensures anonymity.  After all the Captains make their mark, it is presented to the Admiral for a count.”

             
“What if the vote is a tie?” Terri asked.

             
“Then the Admiral casts the deciding vote, but I doubt you’ll see that today.  As you can see, the ‘Shoes’ have a majority.”

             
“And after the vote?”

             
“Then the bill is the law of Sheyron and can’t even be debated again by the council for another twenty five years.

             
“Why is that?”

             
“To prevent laws from being constantly changed every time one side gains a majority over another.”

             
Terri thought that it took an unusually long time for the Captains to do something as simple as making a mark on a piece of paper.  However, each one of them studied the bill carefully, some appearing to read it more than once, made their mark and then passed it down the table.  When all eight had done so, it was passed back to the Admiral.  The crowd went very quiet and it looked as if everyone suddenly took one step toward the Table in order to get a better look.  The Admiral also studied the bill, looking over it carefully before announcing, “Deadlock.”  A sound as if one person gasping for air rushed through the room.

             
“Uh oh.” Firth said.  “Looks like someone didn’t vote on party lines.”

             
“Are you sure, Madam?” the Council for the ‘Shoes’ said in shock.

             
“I may not be the most intelligent person in the world, but I’m pretty sure I can read marks on a page.”

             
Voices of shock, outrage, pleasant surprise and relief filled the hall.  The Council for the ‘Shoes’ found himself besieged by questions of “what happened?” and “What went wrong?”; while the woman in the orange dress was congratulated, patted on the back and shook hands.  One more time, Janna tapped her spear and the hall went silent waiting for her to speak.

             
“Once again,” Janna began, “It has been left to me to cast the deciding vote.”

She looked around the hall with a confident smile.

              “Now I know you’re all starving and some of you probably need a good, stiff drink right now, so I’ll keep my speech short.” She continued.  “Yes, Sheyron has had an issue with immigration, both legal and illegal since the days after The Great War.  I suppose that’s one of the prices we pay for success.  But I don’t believe that offering smaller wages to anyone, least of all people who have agreed to pay our taxes, abide by our laws and contribute to our society is a particularly good answer to this.”

             
The members of the ‘Shoes’ all began groaning and wailing.  She tapped the Spear again.

             
“While I don’t agree that this necessarily represents a conspiracy to break the guilds, I do see it as a threat to their bargaining power and their ability to work with owners and shipbuilders to maintain the high standards of, not only wages but also the safety and working conditions Sheyron is famous for.  I know this will probably come as a shock to some of you, but my vote is…” She paused dramatically.  “Wait for it…no.”

             
The hall erupted in shouts, yells and calls of various emotions ranging from fury to joy.  Several people started getting in each other’s faces and threatening one another.

             
“If you’re going to fight over this,” Janna shouted over the crowd, “Take it outside please!”

             
Chapter Twenty Seven

             
Janna led a procession through the corridors of the palace.  She was walking so fast, even in her heeled boots that everyone behind her nearly had to run to keep up with her.  Shela stayed with Kenner and Terri and whenever someone came too close to the four of them (including their two escorts), she would turn and give them a low growl.

             
“That is so nice.” Janna said after one such growl.  “I really need to get myself one of those.”

             
“I know where there are two more.” Kenner said dryly.

             
“Talk to me tonight and we’ll discuss a price.” Janna said to him with a flirtatious lilt.

Kenner then turned to Terri.

              “Did she just flirt with me?” He asked her.

             
“It’s possible.” She answered playfully.

             
At the end of another corridor, they came to another pair of large doors, this time covered in blue velvet.  As they approached, two very large men opened the doors and Terri was awed by what she saw inside.

             
It was a massive hall with three large, long tables stretching around the center of the room as if in a broken square.  The floor was made of polished wood, resembling the planks of a ship.  The tables were filled with steaming food of all kinds, gold plates and crystal glasses.  Hanging from the vaulted ceiling were round wooden fixtures, each holding six oil lamps and the hall was brightly lit.  There was a large, empty space in the middle of the hall framed by the tables and at the far end of this space was a small stage.  Several musicians were setting up their instruments on the stage and servants in uniform stood to attention as the Admiral and her party entered the hall.

             
Janna slapped Kenner on the chest saying, “I hope you’ve got a large appetite and can hold your liquor.”

             
“Whatever I don’t drink, I’m sure Terri will make up for.” He answered her.

Terri then
pinched him on the butt saying, “Watch it hill boy.”

             
The procession that followed Janna then began to take positions behind the table and beside chairs.  Edum started to take a place to the right of what was obviously Janna’s place.  It was at the table directly opposite the stage and at the exact center.  Behind the position was a large, plush, scarlet chair.

             
“Not this time.” She told Edum and then grabbed Kenner by the arm and pulled him to that position.  She also shoved the “Council for the ‘Boots’” out of the position she tried to take to Janna’s left and pulled Terri to that place.  When everyone was in their proper positions, Janna sat in her chair and everyone followed her example.

             
“Shall we begin the question and answer session?” Edum asked.

             
“Can I eat first?” She replied.  “I don’t know about you, but I might need more than usual tonight.”

She then gave Kenner a flirtatious wink.  Shela lay down directly behind Kenner and he thought he heard her say to him, “I’m going to sleep now.”  Surprised t
o hear this, he turned to look at her, but she had already closed her eyes.

             
“That’s impossible,” He said to himself and put the thought out of his mind.

             
Tulles then stepped into the center of the space and in a grand and dramatic gesture.

             
“I think we should begin with a prayer.” He said loudly.

             
“Very well,” Janna answered him.  “If we must.  Please proceed.”

He stretched his arms out and took a deep breath.

              “And for the Lady’s sake, please be brief this time.” She added.

This was followed by some laugh
ter and Tulles looked slightly embarrassed.  He then bowed his head.

             
“We come to you, oh Great Lady with thanks in our hearts and joy in our souls for the tremendous bounty provided to us here this evening.  Give us this feast tonight and let it help us to come together in fellowship and a better understanding of one another.”

After he had finished, Janna applauded quietly.

              “Well said, Tulles.” She said.  She then turned to Terri and told her, “He usually gets down on his knees and makes a spectacle of himself.”

             
“We should also like to thank thee for the presence of the Lord of the Black Sword.  May your wise choice of a true and just King of all nations bring this world a lasting peace and prosperity.”

Janna sighed.

              “He just had to mess it up, didn’t he?” She asked quietly.

Janna then snapped her fingers.

              “Oi!” She called to the musicians.  “What are you waiting for?”

They then started playing soft and slow music.

              The servants then started cutting smaller pieces of the chickens, sides of beef and roast pigs and placing them on the plates in front of everyone.

             
Terri noticed silver knives and spoons on one side of the golden plates; but also noticed strange objects on the other sides.  They were silver, just like the spoons and knives, but had three sharp prongs at the end.

             
“You act like you’ve never seen a fork before.” The woman beside Terri told her.

             
“As a matter of fact, I haven’t.” She answered.

She saw that all of the people were using the “forks” to hold down the meat on their plates as they we
re cutting it and then use the “forks” to place the food in their mouths.  Curious as to this, she tried to do the same.  It took her a few moments to get accustomed to the action, but soon felt she had mastered it.

             
For a while, the dinner continued.  Some conversations were heard, but mostly the only sounds were from the knives and “forks” scraping across the plates.  The servants walked around the tables with large plates and bowls full of vegetables and fruit.  If someone wanted something, they simply stabbed it with their “fork” and placed it on their own plate.  Whenever a plate was empty, a servant would politely ask if someone wanted more and then cut them some more meat.  If someone didn’t want any more, they simply raised their hand.

             
The servants did similar with the wine.  They followed around behind the tables with large silver vessels full of wine.  Whenever a glass became empty, it was immediately filled again.  Kenner, after one full glass tried to raise his hand to stop his glass from being refilled, but to no avail.  Terri had no wish to stop them.

             
The meal went along like this for, what seemed to Terri and Kenner to be about an hour.  Janna exchanged some small talk with several people around her and made some saucy remarks about past events and the people involved.

             
“How was your weekend on the island of Seetar?” One person asked her.

             
“Not all I’d hoped it would be I’m afraid.”

             
“Not enough there to satisfy your appetite?” The woman said with a giggle.

             
“There was plenty of variety.” Janna answered.  “But the courses of the meals were rather disappointing.”

             
“Oh, in what way?”

             
“The younger meats passed too quickly; while the older, riper fruit I tried didn’t seem to be able to fill me at all.”

             
“Is this really necessary, Madam?” Edum asked her in an annoyed voice.  “I’m sure our guests would rather not hear of your lurid adventures.”

             
“Whatever do you mean, Edum?  I was talking about food.” She then gave him a teasing expression.  “What were you talking about?”