Judgment

CHAPTER 3

Laquatas knew his way through the tunnels that led to the Citadel. He'd swum them before in his pursuit of the Mirari. Yes, he knew these damnable tunnels all too well, but this time they would be his salvation.

"Perhaps when 1 am emperor, I will rename them 'the Northern Laquatas tunnels,' " mused the former ambassador.

As before, Laquatas opened the portal to the surface well outside the walls of the Citadel for himself and his new jack, Burke.

"Mustn't alarm the locals," he told Burke. "If the land dwellers knew about our little system of tunnels beneath their precious continent, they would find it hard to sleep at night. And we want them asleep when we finally do attack."

Taking a moment to change to his legged form, Laquatas urged Burke through the portal to scout ahead. Laquatas could no longer smell the odors or feel the sensations of his jack, as he could with Turg, for Burke had no sensory organs. But he could still see through the eyeless face atop the bruise-black lump of matter that made up the body of Laquatas's bodyguard and enforcer.

All was still on the plains above him. The first streaks of light were seeping into the air at the horizon as dawn crept across the land.

"Perfect," said Laquatas. At this hour, no one would be about and he could reach the gates of the Citadel by midmorning, claiming to have camped in the plains during the night. A moment later, Laquatas slid through the pool of liquid mana, his horns gleaming in the first light of morning, his long legs dripping water onto the portal, where it disappeared back beneath the ground.

By the time Laquatas reached the Citadel, he was once again in a foul mood. The two hours it took to reach the gates were torture to his muscles, which had not needed to support his body's weight in quite some time. In addition, his beautiful, luminescent skin had quickly dehydrated and begun to crack in the dry air of the plains. So, when he was challenged by Order guards at the gates to the city, Laquatas's rage boiled over.

A quick mental command to Burke, and the jack extended his forearms past the merman to grab both guards by their throats. With incredible strength, the huge beast lifted both men into the air and jammed them against the gate, never moving from behind his master.

Laquatas ducked beneath his jack's arms, and came up to the guards who had challenged him. After kicking each guard in the groin, Laquatas calmly extended his thoughts into their minds, gently tugging here and pushing there until the memory of this altercation was erased and their disposition toward the mer ambassador and his bodyguard were altered.

After spending a few more minutes inside their minds to glean some much needed information about the current state of affairs in the Citadel, Laquatas commanded Burke to release the two guards.

"Good morning, Sergeant-Treal isn't it?" smiled the merman broadly. "I believe we met when last I was in your beautiful city."

Treal shook his head briefly and then smiled back at the ambassador. "Yes. Ambassador Laquatas. It is good to see you again. Do you have business with the Order today?"

"That I do," replied Laquatas. "Very important business for the safety of both our peoples. Would you be so kind to escort me and my companion to my former quarters and then send a message to Commander Eesha that Laquatas, leader of the New Mer Nation, wishes to speak with her about the capture of the butcher barbarian and the destruction of the Mirari."

As Treal turned to open the gates and lead Laquatas into the Citadel, the mer added, "And if it isn't too much trouble, Sergeant, I would like to request you as my personal bodyguard while I am in the city. I'm sure your commander would want to ensure the safety of a friend of the Order with one of her finest soldiers."

Ambassador Veza paced the antechamber, nervously rehearsing her opening remarks. It had been a whirlwind few weeks since her appointment to ambassador, and now she finally stood one step away from an audience with the First, leader of the Cabal, and she dare not mess up the greeting.

As she tried several different inflections of her words, the door to the antechamber opened, and a snake-headed attendant entered the room.

Bowing low, it hissed, "The First will see you now. Come this way."

Veza followed the snake man down the lavishly appointed hall to a set of large oaken doors guarded by two more snake men, though these appeared to be a different breed of snake. Whereas the attendant had the cowled head of a cobra, these two were much larger with bulbous heads, large, sinewy limbs, and long, thick tails. Veza guessed them to be pythons.

The two python guards opened the massive doors that led into the First's audience chamber. Veza followed the cobra attendant.

"Have a seat, ambassador," hissed the attendant. Veza saw only a single chair in the middle of the chamber but did not hesitate to move forward and take her seat in the high-backed armchair.

As soon as she sat down, leather straps appeared from the arms, legs, and back of her seat, encircling her limbs and torso, holding her in place.

"The restraints are for your own protection, my dear," said a melodic voice from across the room. "I once had attendants who encircled me, spoke for me, touched for me," said a tall figure, dressed from head to toe in long, flowing, black robes as he glided across the floor toward the helpless Veza. "Now I must do many things for myself, including protecting my guests from themselves. It is widely known within the Cabal, but perhaps not to denizens outside these walls, that no one is allowed to touch the First."

Veza stared at the robed figure, breathed deeply to calm her inner voice, and said, "The Cabal is here." "And everywhere," intoned the First. "We bid you welcome, Veza, ambassador of Llawan. What news do you bring from the depths?"

"The empire is secure, and the empress is in good health," replied Veza. The civil war with the former ambassador's forces has been successfully quelled, and in the process, the empress has opened a portal in the shipping lanes that brings wealth to the empire and ease of travel for the merchants."

The First tossed back his cowl and smiled deeply at Veza. "All this we already know, my dear." The First paced around behind Veza's chair before asking, "Why are you here now, Veza? What prompts the empress to once again court my favor?"

As the First came near, a sickening smell invaded the mer-maid's nostrils, evoking a sudden fit of intense nausea that threatened to expel her last meal. Veza had to swallow the bile welling up in her throat before she could reply.

"As I'm sure the First knows, Laquatas and his forces were trapped within the trench by the portals, but the empress believes that this makeshift prison will not hold him forever. Further, she believes that Laquatas's thirst for power will bring him to your doorstep before too long to seek help in his next grand scheme to overthrow Llawan and claim the throne he has so long desired."

"And Llawan wishes me to kill this rogue mer?" purred the First in her ear.

"Not at all, my lord," whispered Veza, staring straight forward, concentrating on keeping her food in her stomach, afraid that if she vomited, she would accidentally touch the First. As the black-robed figure once again glided into view in front of her and the sick sensation began to fade, Veza continued. "The problems of the mer empire will be dealt with by the empress herself. Llawan merely wishes to re-establish a relationship between the empire and the Cabal that will be mutually beneficial."

"Interesting," replied the First as he waved his cloaked arm, making a lounge chair appear behind him. Reclining into a pile of pillows, he continued, "What does the empress have that I might need?"

Veza swallowed hard to clear the nausea and took a deep breath of the now-clear air. "In exchange for refusing to aid the enemies of the empire," she said, "Empress Llawan will provide no aid to the enemies of the Cabal, namely the Order forces that still hound your people to the north and draw ever closer to Aphetto."

"Not enough," replied the First, who was now levitating grapes from a dish on the lounge into his mouth. The empress does not like dealing with surface dwellers. I doubt she would get involved in our affairs even if the Order asked, which they won't due to their distrust of anyone outside of the Order. Certainly she can do better than that."

"Yes. Well," stammered Veza, "I am authorized to offer the Cabal an interest in the empire's shipping business."

At this, the First stopped eating his grapes and looked more closely at Veza. Gaining some confidence from his apt attention she continued. "As you say, Empress Llawan does not like to deal with surface dwellers any more than she has to. Therefore, running the business of these portals is stressful to her and a burden to the court.

"In exchange for a mutually agreeable percentage of the profits off the top and the aforementioned refusal to aid the enemies of the empire, Llawan is willing to hand over the running of this business to the Cabal."

"And the refusal to aid the enemies of the Cabal, of course," added the First.

"Of course, your eminence," replied Veza. "The empress wishes for nothing more than peace for the entire continent."

"Yes. The empress's power is tied to land-based economics, and free trade depends upon free trade routes," said the First, smiling once again. "We accept the empress's offer. My advisors will iron out the details and percentages with you."

The First flipped back the sleeves of his robes, and Veza thought for a moment that he wished to shake her hand to seal the deal. Instead he folded his fingers together in front of him and bowed slightly.

"Does the empress also wish us to keep her advised of Laquatas's attempts to curry the Cabal's favor?" asked the First.

"No, my lord," replied Veza. "As I said, the problems of the mer empire will be handed by the empress-"

"Or her representative," finished the First.

Veza flushed. "Yes, First. And that reminds me. I have another appointment I must keep. If our business here is concluded…" Veza's voice trailed off as she looked down at the straps holding her to the chair.

"Yes. We have done good work here today, ambassador," replied the First as he rose from the lounge chair and began floating toward the rear of the room. "Otaria is a dangerous land, but civilized people can tame her if we work together."

With that, the straps on Veza's chair disappeared. She rose and intoned, "The Cabal is here."

"And everywhere, mistress," came the hissing reply from behind her. "This way."

After a relaxing day soaking in the bath in his quarters, Laquatas's mood had softened to the point that he was no longer sending poor Sergeant Treal on petty errands.

Thank you, Sergeant. That is all for today," he said, waving the gate-guard-turned-task-boy out the door. "Please return promptly at dawn. 1 shall need a guide tomorrow as I prepare for my meeting with your commander."

As soon as the door shut behind the sergeant, Laquatas heard a buzzing sound coming from his wardrobe. "Damn," muttered the bathing mer. "It never fails." Quickly changing his long tail into two slender legs once again, Laquatas exited the bath, donned a luxurious robe Treal had brought him earlier, and crossed the room to the large oak wardrobe. Inside, an ornate pearl and silver mirror lay buzzing on a shelf.

When Laquatas picked up the mirror he did not see himself in its reflection, but instead the blue-green scaled face of his mer assistant, Talbot.

"Speak," said the ambassador to both the mirror and to Talbot.

As soon as the command word was uttered, he could hear Talbot's voice.

"… calling Lord Laquatas. This is Talbot calling… Ah, my lord. 1 have news to report."

"Yes, Talbot. 1 have been expecting your report," said Laquatas as he crossed the room and sat in a high-backed, velvet-cushioned chair that Treal had searched several hours to find. "Have you been able to get an audience with the First?"

"Not as such, sire," began Talbot slowly, fidgeting with the mirror as he spoke. "The First is apparently too busy with Cabal business to meet with envoys from other nations at this time."

"That's just bureaucratic double-talk, Talbot. Did you impress upon his advisors the financial as well as the political gains that could come from our meeting with the First?"

"Yes, my lord," replied Talbot, "but I was shut out at every turn. I got the impression from the minds of some of the minor functionaries that I was expected."

"Damn!" growled Laquatas as he slammed his fist down on the arm of his new chair. "The empress has beat us to the punch. Did you see any indications of her representative in the city?"

"Yes sir," replied Talbot. "That was the main reason 1 contacted you. One of the bureaucrats mentioned I was the second mer he'd seen this week. When I pressed him on it, he refused to answer, but 1 was able to extract Veza's name from his memory."

"Our Veza?" exclaimed Laquatas. "Former Harbor Master Veza? Traitor to all merfolk Veza?"

"Actually, Ambassador Veza now," replied Talbot. "It seems Llawan has promoted her. What should 1 do about her?"

"Nothing at the moment," said Laquatas, smiling to himself at the irony of naive Veza in the city of thieves. "Although I do have plans for her later. You two were once… together… were you not?"

Talbot blushed. "That was another lifetime, my lord, and has no bearing on my loyalty."

"I never said it did," said Laquatas, smiling. "No, that relationship might prove useful to us later. But for now, you must continue to get us as close to the First as you can.

"But I have, sire, "said Talbot. "Using several of our better artifacts as bribes, I was able to get an audience with the First's primary advisor."

"Well done, Talbot," congratulated Laquatas, his smile broadening further. "Excellent work. With a little luck, and some mental trickery, this advisor will be happy to present our case to the First-perhaps even grant us an audience. When is your appointment?"

"Noon tomorrow, my lord."

"And what is this functionary's name?"

"Braids, sire."

Laquatas's smile faded. "Braids," muttered the suddenly weary mer to himself. "I hoped she had died when that fool Chainer destroyed Cabal City."

Looking once again at Talbot's face in his mirror, Laquatas said, "This will take a level of deception I don't think you've quite attained, Talbot. Take the mirror with you to this meeting, and I will handle Braids. Afterward we will discuss what to do with Ambassador Veza," snarled the mer through clenched teeth.