Young Lord of Khadora (25 page)

“I know little of politics,” protested Marshal Tingo, “and I have no authority to speak for the Ragatha Clan.”

“You do need any authority,” explained Lord Zawbry. “Merely present yourself as a friend of Fardale and disparage the honor of the Litari Clan at every opportunity. That should be enough to sway the mediator.”

* * *

Lord Marak, Lord Quavry, and Lord Burdine stood on the porch of the mansion in Watula Valley and awaited the arrival of the emissary from the Lords Council. It had been a long night for all of them, but everyone in both Clans had sworn Vows of Service to Lord Marak. The soldiers of Glendale had sworn dutifully as their Lord had ordered them to. Interestingly, it was the woodsmen of Glendale that had grumbled, but they, too, eventually swore their allegiance.

Marshal Yenga still wore the red and brown of the Sorgan Marshal and stood talking with Marshal Garlo of Glendale who sported the brown and green colors of the Litari Clan.

A shout arose from the road leading into the Watula Valley estate and everyone stopped talking and stared in the direction the emissary would come from. Lord Marak’s heart skipped a beat as he noticed the distinctive yellow and green plume of the Situ Marshal among the party heading towards the mansion.

“Lord Marshal Grefon has somehow attached himself to the emissary’s party,” Lord Marak announced. “Everyone must remember not to mention the Vows of Service today. We do not need a Situ attack at this moment.”

“How could he have found out?” questioned Lord Burdine.

“Imperial troops who act as escorts often talk with the local commanders when they are on a mission which is not secret,” clarified Marshal Yenga. “Anyone who asked them where they were going would have received the correct answer. I know Lord Marshal Grefon, Lord Marak. He will be poking around the estate trying to cull information from the men. He is inquisitive and persistent. He will also try to bully you into telling him everything.”

“Make sure that the men do not reveal anything to him,” ordered Lord Marak. “I will deal with him after we dispatch the emissary.”

“We can not just dismiss the emissary,” interrupted Lord Quavry. “We have requested his presence and even if we no longer require his services, he will likely stay a few days, anyway.”

“I will leave the entertaining to you, Lord Quavry,” replied Lord Marak. “I will take Lord Marshal Grefon back to Fardale and see that he gets the chance to return home quickly.”

The Imperial troops marched to the front of the mansion and stopped. A distinguished looking gentleman with short, gray hair continued up the steps to the porch followed by Lord Marshal Grefon.

“I am Katzu,” greeted the Lords Council mediator. “I have been selected to mediate your problem. Shall we adjourn to your Meeting Chamber, Lord Quavry?”

“Certainly, Katzu,” Lord Quavry agreed and promptly led the way into the Meeting Chamber. Once there, Lord Quavry introduced everyone and they all sat at the large table.

“I am glad that you are here, Lord Burdine and Lord Marak,” Katzu opened. “It will make my task easier to have all the parties available at the same time.”

“Actually,” stated Lord Quavry, “we no longer have any problem to mediate. Lord Marak, Lord Burdine, and myself have come to an amicable solution through our own negotiations. I am sorry that the solution took so long. I would have liked to save you the long journey into the frontier country.”

Katzu looked at three Lords for some time as if trying to determine if their solution was truly amicable. “Do you concur, Lord Burdine?” he finally asked.

“Yes, Katzu, I do,” declared Lord Burdine.

“And you, Lord Marak?” Katzu continued.

“Yes, Katzu, I am satisfied with the solution,” Marak smiled.

“Very well, then,” Katzu agreed. “The Lords Council does not interfere where they are not needed. Still, I think it would be wise for me to remain here for a few days in case anyone has a change of heart. It is a long journey from the capital. I trust that will not pose a problem to you, Lord Quavry?”

“Of course not,” smiled Lord Quavry. “I will be honored to have you as my guest. Whatever you need will be provided.”

“I would like to speak before you declare this matter to be closed, Katzu,” demanded Lord Marshal Grefon.

Although it was obvious from the Lord Marshal’s uniform that he was a Situ, Katzu asked the proper question. “Whose interest do you represent, Lord Marshal Grefon?”

“I represent the interests of the Situ Clan in matters pertaining to Fardale,” declared Lord Marshal Grefon. “I demand to know what the settlement is that has been agreed to.”

Katzu looked from one Lord to the next and no one offered to speak of the settlement. Finally his eyes remained on Lord Marak and waited for an explanation.

“As the Lord of Fardale,” Marak began, “I am happy with the settlement agreed to. If the Lord Marshal of the Situ will accompany me to Fardale, perhaps I can satisfy his curiosity.”

Katzu merely shrugged, but Lord Marshal Grefon turned red with anger. “I demand to be informed of the agreement,” Grefon said with a steadily rising voice.

“Lord Marshal Grefon,” scolded Lord Marak, “I am the Lord of Fardale and I do not wish to discuss my business in this forum. I do not recall your name on the invitation list for this meeting and I object to your presence here. You will kindly remove yourself from this room until I decide to inform you of the settlement.”

Lord Burdine and Lord Quavry cringed from the verbal exchange, but Katzu simply sat and observed the demeanor of the participants. Lord Marshal Grefon rose, fully beet red in the face, and stared at Lord Marak.

“You insolent little Chula chip,” scorned Lord Marshal Grefon. “Do you really think I will take orders from you? If you do not wish to disclose your secret arrangement that is a problem I can deal with. I have authority here from Lord Ridak, Lord of all Situ, in all affairs concerning Fardale, and I demand before the Lords Council representative to know what your agreement is.”

Lord Marshal Grefon pulled a paper from his pouch and thrust it at Katzu. Katzu calmly took the paper and read it carefully. Slowly he placed the paper on the table and smoothed it out with his hand so it laid neatly on the table in front of him. “Lord Marak,” Katzu explained, “this document does authorize Lord Marshal Grefon to affect all matters pertaining to the Situ estate of Fardale. I am afraid that I will have to reopen the negotiations if Lord Marshal Grefon demands it.”

Lord Marak smiled through tight lips as he also pulled a paper from his pouch and wordlessly handed it to Katzu. Katzu read the agreement thoroughly and placed it on the table before him. “Lord Marshal Grefon,” Katzu stated, “this document grants to Lord Marak complete and unequivocal control over all of Fardale with complete authority. I am afraid that the Lords Council can not recognize your claim to represent Fardale.”

“I know what the document states,” spat Lord Marshal Grefon. “I wrote the document, but Lord Ridak has superceded it with my authorization.”

“I am afraid he has not, Lord Marshal Grefon,” Katzu said while shaking his head. “The pronouncement given to Lord Marak does not allow for him to answer to any Situ authority concerning Fardale. While his Vows of Service may bind him to Lord Ridak in other matters of the Situ Clan, nothing Lord Ridak can do has any bearing on Fardale. As far as Fardale is concerned, Lord Ridak has no say at all.”

“Well, Lord Ridak has instructed me to remove Lord Marak from Fardale, if I feel he has overstepped his abilities,” declared Lord Marshal Grefon. “You leave me no choice, Marak. I would rather have had a straight answer out of you, but I now revoke your authority to be Lord Of Fardale.”

Katzu shook his head and held up his hand to stop the conversation. “I do not think that you grasp the meaning of my last statement, Lord Marshal,” Katzu interrupted. “You have no authority over Lord Marak at all. None. I do not care what papers Lord Ridak gives you. Lord Marak owes no allegiance to you. Lord Marak may be bound to Lord Ridak through his Vows of Service and Lord Ridak may chose to exercise his options in that regard but, even if he does, it will have no effect on Lord Marak’s relationship with Fardale.”

“Are you saying that Lord Ridak can not choose another Lord of Fardale?” questioned Lord Marshal Grefon.

“That is correct,” answered Katzu. “He may enslave Lord Marak or kill him for violations of his Vows of Service, but Fardale is no longer Lord Ridak’s to control. After examining the documents I consider this a ruling of the Lords Council. If this was not the intent of the person who drafted this document, then that person should never be allowed to draft another.”

Grefon’s face boiled with anger and embarrassment. He had already stated that he drafted the document and Katzu well knew it when he made his sly comment. “I will return to Fardale with you when you are ready to leave, Lord Marak,” grumbled Grefon as he turned and stormed out of the Meeting Chamber.

Katzu looked directly at Lord Marak and spoke in a soft and soothing voice. “You have made a powerful enemy here today, Lord Marak. If you have given Vows of Service to Lord Ridak, as I’m sure you have, you had better tidy up the affairs of your life soon. It does not have the sign of longevity hanging upon it.”

“I’m not sure that I agree with your statement, Katzu,” smiled Lord Marak. “You have already ruled that Lord Ridak has no authority over any aspect of Fardale. My only duty to Lord Ridak is to rule Fardale. As such, it is impossible for him to legally give me any orders at all. If he can not give me any orders, the only way I could break my Vows of Service to him, if I had given any, is to lie to him personally. And I have no need nor desire to lie to him. In fact, I have no need to ever talk to him again.”

Katzu nodded enthusiastically. “Lord Marak,” chuckled Katzu, “when you get done playing Lord of the frontier, you may well have a bright career ahead of you as a mediator for the Lords Council. Your logic is impeccable.”

Lord Marshal Grefon sat impatiently on his horse while Lord Marak held a conversation with Yenga, the Sorgan Marshal. Grefon had heard that Lord Marak needed a mount to return to Fardale and assumed that Marak’s horse must have taken ill on the trip to Watula Valley. It appeared to Grefon that the request for a horse took quite a long time, but eventually a soldier led a fresh mount to Lord Marak and saluted. Lord Marshal Grefon shook his head at the Sorgan soldier’s poor knowledge of procedure. One never saluted another Clan’s Lord. He would have expected more from one of Marshal Yenga’s men.

Marak mounted and started back towards Fardale without a glance towards Grefon, so the Situ Lord Marshal followed in silence. He was not accustomed to being treated so poorly by one of his own officers and Grefon decided he would wait until they reached Fardale to straighten out the ungrateful pup. It might be amusing to dress down Marak in front of his own men.

Marak kept up a fairly good pace and the trip to the border of Fardale did not take long. The first Fardale field that Lord Marshal Grefon saw was quite barren. He shook his head at the size of the task he would have when he took over Fardale. He noticed about a dozen fresh graves in one corner of the field and some of them were very small, as if a grave for a child. On closer inspection Grefon saw the distinctive markers made from the broken head of a hoe, each one scratched with words identifying the lost soul. Not one of the graves was marked with a sword hilt, which indicates the death of a soldier.

Lord Marshal Grefon realized that the Sorgans had attacked this field and killed farmers and children. He wondered what Marak had given up to end the conflict. Grefon’s anger grew as he thought of a Situ soldier giving in to his enemy. Marak should have struck back at the Sorgans with every soldier he commanded, but it was obvious that the Lord of Fardale chose to submit instead. Small wonder Lord Marak did not want Lord Marshal Grefon to know of the settlement he had agreed to. Grefon did not care what Marak wanted, he was determined to find out what Marak had given away from his estate.

A group of women and children working the barren field paused in their labors to wave to Lord Marak and he waved back. Some of workers wore the brown tunic of slaves, but there was nobody guarding them. Grefon was appalled not only at the casual familiarity of Marak’s subjects, but also with the apparent disregard for supervision of Fardale slaves. Any one of these slaves could flee into the woods and never be seen again. Lord Marshal Grefon decided to remain quiet and observe until it was time to confront Lord Marak in front of his men.

The next field Lord Marshal Grefon came to was lush with watula. If anything, the harvest of this field would be greater than any he had seen in Watula Valley and the Sorgan estate was known for its bountiful harvest. Grefon began to think that this field was probably an aberration, but as they progressed closer to the mansion he saw field after field with thriving crops. In fact, the first barren field which Lord Marshal Grefon saw was the aberration. Fardale was flush with watula and would surely have enough grain to meet its contracts, the contracts which Lord Lashendo had stated would be impossible to fulfill.

Each time they passed workers, they waved at Lord Marak and the Fardale Lord waved back. With the estate walls in sight, Lord Marshal Grefon saw soldiers practicing, but the methods they were utilizing were not standard. In fact, their methods were of the same type that reports on Marak had spoken of when he was a Squad Leader. Grefon had credited the young Squad Leader for experimenting with new methods, but actually using these bizarre methods to train an army was another thing entirely.

Some soldiers were crawling through the fields getting dirt all over their yellow and green while others were scampering around as if they couldn’t be easily seen. Lord Marshal Grefon shook his head with dismay over the childish routines he observed. Anyone with a decent pair of eyes would easily see these men coming and they would sacrifice speed to utilize these strange maneuvers.

Lord Marshal Grefon was slightly more pleased when they entered the main gate of the Fardale estate. The soldiers on duty were fresh and sharp. They saluted smartly and were proper in every respect. Grefon recognized some of the men as having been in Marak’s Corte when he left Lituk Valley. Tagoro appeared to have been given the rank of Cortain, he noted. That certainly would not hold when they got back to Lituk Valley. Only the Lord Marshal could give Tagoro such a promotion, and only with Lord Ridak’s agreement. Marak may promote his own forces as he wished, but he had no control over Grefon’s men and Tagoro was one of his men. Thinking along those lines, Grefon searched for Squad Leader Rybak. Rybak was supposed to be reporting on Marak’s progress and Grefon had not heard a word since the Corte left Lituk Valley. That boy was overdue for a stern lecture on his attendance to duty.