Ordermaster

LXXXIII

Brysta was quiet as Kharl and the others rode back to the residence. While there were some souls about the city, they were few, and they scurried away at the sound of riders and hoofs. For the moment, that was fine with Kharl.

The moment Kharl reined up before the stable, Mantar and Fundal appeared. They assured Kharl that no one had even neared the residence.

He had not stepped into the rear hallway when Khelaya confronted him and protested, almost as if she needed to complain, that she could have fixed a better meal than they would receive if Kharl had only sent word ahead.

“I couldn’t, but it will be a good meal, and far better than anything wehave eaten,” he had replied. Then, of course, before the evening meal was even being prepared, he had to explain, briefly, but in more detail than he wished, all that had happened.

From that, Kharl escaped to his chambers, where he indulged himself with a bath, followed by a nap-one without nightmares.

Around the table that evening, everyone looked far cleaner and more rested than the night before, and there was little conversation for the first moments.

“You think we’ll ride out tomorrow, ser?” Erdyl finally asked.

“No. Egen won’t rush north. We may even have to ride to him. Osten will find that he lacks something. It will be the next day, perhaps even the day after.”

“Is that wise?”

Kharl shrugged and looked to the undercaptain.

“There’s a time for haste, and a time to wait, and times when it matters not,” the undercaptain volunteered. “When Lord Kharl destroyed the fort, that was time for haste, because there were no white wizards to protect it. I can’t see that haste matters that much now.”

“Unless the Hamorian fleet shows up in the harbor,” Kharl said dryly, “with more white wizards.”

“I’ve been thinking; ser. Those patrollers had rifles-the ones in the south. They were shooting well, more like trained lancers. Have we ever seen patrollers with rifles anywhere?”

Kharl felt that he should have seen that. “You think that they off-loaded their troops somewhere, then left, and that the lancers were wearing patroller uniforms so that folks wouldn’t think that Hamor was playing too big a part?″

Demyst, his mouth full of lace potatoes, nodded.

“You’re right. He had more patrollers there than we ever saw on the streets, and they could use those rifles. They were trained, better than I’ve seen except with the Hamorian lancers,” mused Kharl.

“That’s because they were Hamorian lancers, I’d wager,” said Demyst.

“It was all planned from the beginning, then,” Erdyl said. “The cloth came from Hamor …”

All the pieces fit. Kharl just wished he’d seen them earlier. But it was another case where his lack of experience showed-all too clearly.

“If that’s so,” said the undercaptain slowly, “they can’t land any more lancers soon.”

“We don’t know how many more white wizards there are,” Kharl said. “There were three in the south before, and that doesn’t count the one that killed Ostcrag. He’s probably with Egen. I count four of them with the rebel forces.” At least.

“Handled three of’em yesterday,” Jeka pointed out. “Didn’t have any lancers with you, either.”

“I’ve never faced four at once,” Kharl said. “Two or three, and I almost didn’t make it. We can’t trust Osten much, either, especially if we win.”

Erdyl frowned, momentarily, then nodded.

“Can’t trust none of them,” observed Jeka. “Never could.”

“No. That’s the problem.”

“Not if you do away with them all.”

“That’s a bigger problem. There are no heirs, and there’s no one else who’s sufficiently well known to take over without blood in the streets. Who will take over the West Quadrant? Lord East? Lord North? The Emperor of Hamor?”

“You’re a mage,” Jeka pointed out.

“That’s a problem, too. People don’t like mages as rulers, not since Fairven. I’ve seen how folks here in Brysta feel about blackstaffers and order-mages-and they’re considered the good mages.”

“A good mage is a trusted advisor and a feared ruler,” Erdyl said.

“Hated,” Kharl suggested, recalling Charee’s repugnance at Jenevra-and Jenevra had been little more than a girl.

“You mean … you’d put Osten up as Lord West?” asked Jeka. “Really would?”

“Does anyone have a better idea? We don’t want Egen or Vielam, and we don’t want the Emperor of Hamor or one of his tools.”

Jeka looked away.

Kharl couldn’t blame her. Once he would have felt the same way. But he’d seen the other side. When Egen had turned against him, most of the people he had known and trusted had refused to stand up for what was right. Only Tyrbel and Gharan had. And Jeka, especially Jeka. Wassyt the miller and Werwal had done what they could without making it public. Everyone else had gone along.

He frowned. That wouldn’t have happened in places like Reduce or Southwind. He’d seen that. Even in Austra, there were men of power-like Hagen-who had risked everything to do what they thought was right. Why was Nordla-or the West Quadrant-different?

He wasn’t sure he had an answer.

He also worried about Werwal, since he hadn’t seen or heard from the renderer; but he couldn’t be in all places, and he didn′t have enough retainers to send them through a city where anything could happen at any time.

Lost in those thoughts, he said little for the remainder of the meal. No sooner had he stood than Jeka slipped away the moment his eyes left her.

After dinner, Kharl walked into the kitchen to talk to Fundal and Khelaya, because he had worried about provisions for the residence. “Do we have enough for the next eightday or so?”

“That’d be tight for full meals, ser,” Khelaya had answered, “but there’s plenty to fill stomachs.”

“You can pay more if you can find what we need.” After what he’d told Fundal earlier, Kharl thought he needed to say something about prices.

“Good to know,” Fundal replied.

When Kharl returned to the dining area, he saw no one. Erdyl and Demyst were sitting on the front portico, but Jeka wasn’t there.

He’d known he’d upset her, but he’d wanted to explain in private why he didn’t have any good choices in the matter of whom he supported. Yet he didn’t want to chase her all over the residence.

He shouldn’t have to do that, should he?

Besides, unfortunately, he needed to figure out how to deal with the white wizards. If he could work out a better shielding for his innate order, so that they could not sense where he was, he might be able to surprise at least one of them. Musing about that, he walked toward the library.