Rex Regis

49

By midmorning on Samedi, Quaeryt, Justanan, Nieron, and Quaeryt had completed the general outlines and plans of the withdrawal from Rivages, as well as laid out the parameters of the duties assigned to the remaining regiment. For the most part, Quaeryt had deferred to the other two commanders, partly because he agreed with their proposals and partly because they had more experience than he did in planning such evolutions. Once they were agreed, he and two squads, third squad from first company and fourth squad from the Khellan company, rode out so that he could pay a visit to High Holder Paliast, whose holding was east of Rivages, perhaps even slightly southeast.

Once Quaeryt and the two squads crossed the timber bridge over the River Aluse, and passed the east river road, which continued northward along the water, Quaeryt paid even more attention to the buildings and people. The bridge joined two squares, but the structures on the eastern square were larger and taller, all of them at least two stories, and several were three, including the all-brick River Inn. Not for the first time, Quaeryt wondered how many River Inns there were across all of Lydar. The main streets were paved, and the dwellings were mainly brick and extended a good mille along the east road before giving way to cots and small fields and woodlots. At that point, the paving ended, and the road became packed clay. After another mille, the smallholder plots vanished, and they rode past larger fields with unmortared stone walls.

Ahead, Quaeryt made out a modest hold house on the north side of the road, with only a handful of buildings, none of them excessively large, all of which called to mind Seliadyn’s observation that Paliast’s sire had lost many of his lands to Ryel-or Tyrena. The gates were unguarded, drawn open, and attached to two natural stone pillars, roughly three yards high and mortared, unlike the yard-and-a-half-high walls that flanked them.

Quaeryt rode between the gate pillars and onto the lane, both companies following. The lane itself was unpaved, but graveled. It showed ruts that had only been partly smoothed out, and some of the gravel had been sprayed onto the grassy shoulder by mounts or carriage wheels. The pastures on each side of the lane looked to be clover. Some parts, Quaeryt thought, appeared to have been overgrazed, although he saw no sheep or cattle nearby.

Less than a half mille from the gates was the hold house, set facing south. All the outbuildings were to the west, below a rise. As he rode toward the graveled area around the entry, Quaeryt couldn’t help but wonder why the house had not been set there, as were most hold houses. When he reined up at the foot of the steps down from the modest receiving rotunda, he saw a functionary who stood under the edge of the roof.

The man, in peach and white livery, looked to Quaeryt, studying him, and then asking, “Who might I say is calling, sir?”

“Commander Quaeryt, on direct behalf of Lord Bhayar.”

Quaeryt dismounted, without waiting for an invitation, and walked up the steps toward the man. “You’re the steward?”

“Baankyt, the assistant steward, sir. Maalan is the steward.” He inclined his head. “If you would come this way, sir. High Holder Paliast is in his study.”

Quaeryt followed Baankyt through the square brick archway that led to the brassbound double doors and then through a square foyer and straight back along a corridor floored in pale peach and black tiles.

The assistant steward stopped at the second door. “Commander Quaeryt on behalf of Lord Bhayar, sir.” Baankyt did not wait for an acknowledgment, but gestured for Quaeryt to enter the study.

Quaeryt stepped into the study, some six yards by four, with a brick hearth at the left end of the room and an ancient desk whose oak had darkened to a deep golden brown at the right end. Two leather armchairs were set before the hearth, angled so that whoever sat there could observe the other chair … or the fire, although the hearth was dark, and covered with an ornate brass screen.

Paliast stood and walked from behind the desk toward Quaeryt. He looked to be younger than Quaeryt, mostly likely close to Vaelora’s age. His unlined and round face was boyish, but his eyes were deep-set, with a quizzical expression.

“Are you one of the submarshal’s commanders?”

“No. I’m the one who replaced the late Submarshal Myskyl … and the late Commander Luchan as well.”

Paliast stiffened, just for a moment, then said, “I do suppose these things happen in and after a war. Might I ask why you are here? We have paid all that Lord Bhayar has requested.”

“I’m here to meet with you, of course.” Quaeryt looked toward the chairs.

Paliast ignored the look. “You’re here. What do you want?”

Quaeryt smiled. “Why don’t you take a seat? You’ll likely be more comfortable.”

“I suppose that would be the thing to do.” Paliast took the leather chair farthest from the door.

Quaeryt turned the other one so that it faced the High Holder directly, and then settled into it. “You recently became the High Holder, I understand.”

“In Ianus.”

“Had you met Submarshal Myskyl before then?”

“I can’t say that I had. My sire had little desire to meet him and only did so when required.”

“How many times did you meet with the submarshal?”

“Does it matter?”

“It does if you wish to remain High Holder,” replied Quaeryt mildly. He was already getting weary of young Paliast.

“Isn’t that Lord Bhayar’s decision?”

“He appointed me Minister of Administration for Bovaria and delegated that authority to me. Now … how many times did you meet with Myskyl?”

“Three … as I recall.”

“Did you go there?”

Paliast laughed. “With Lady Myranda acting as High Holder? She barely deigned to see Father when Fiancryt was alive. No … he came here.”

“Alone, or did he bring the three?”

“He came alone. He had a whole company with him, and we had to feed them all each time.”

“What did he want?”

“The first time he wanted to meet me and tell me that I was obligated to meet the obligations of a High Holder to the ruler of Bovaria.”

“Did he say it that way?”

“That’s what I recall.”

“Did he ever mention Lord Bhayar by name?”

Paliast frowned. “I don’t think so.”

“What about the other two times?”

“The second time … he told me to expect a major and to sell the Northern Army some grain and flour at the prevailing price. Maalan took care of that. The third time he said that a second ‘token’ tariff might be due in late Mayas. Do you know anything about that?”

“At the moment, Lord Bhayar has not decided. Did you know that Submarshal Myskyl had come under the influence of the three?” asked Quaeryt.

“Should I have known that?” replied the High Holder almost insolently.

Quaeryt imaged absolute authority and contempt at the bearishly rotund High Holder, powerful enough that Paliast jolted back in his chair and paled. “I did ask you a question. I would appreciate an answer.” Quaeryt kept his voice mild and pleasant.

“You’re the one, aren’t you?”

“The one what?” asked Quaeryt, curious to know what Paliast had been told.

“The one Lady Tyrena mentioned. She met a commander in Variana, and he made certain she could hold her lands until Iryena is married. She said…”

“Yes?”

“That you were the most dangerous man in Lydar.” Paliast did not quite meet Quaeryt’s eyes.

“That’s Lord Bhayar. I merely serve him.”

Paliast looked as if he might dispute that, but did not speak.

“About the three?”

“I heard rumors … Maalan did, really, that some of Kharst’s imagers had met with the submarshal. I didn’t ask him about them. No High Holder in his right mind would want to be anywhere around them.…”

Although Quaeryt spent almost another glass talking to Paliast, he learned little more … except that he doubted the young man would be able to hang on to his holding unless he or matters changed greatly.

Quaeryt and his squads did not reach Ryel until close to second glass, since they had to ride partway back toward Rivages and then take another road that led northeast. The hold house and its immediate buildings were located on a flattened hilltop, with the rear of the expansive dwelling overlooking a small valley through which a stream flowed.

The footman immediately conveyed Quaeryt’s presence to Tyrena, and she hurried down a massive silver and black marble staircase to meet him in the main entry hall.

“Commander, I never expected you to come to Rivages. To what do I owe this visit, if I might ask?” Her Bovarian still held the faintest trace of a Tilboran accent.

“For you, it is a courtesy. For Daefol and Paliast, it is a necessity, although I can’t say I expected to be here under present circumstances.”

Her blond eyebrows lifted. “Present circumstances?”

“It will take some explaining.”

“Then we should go to the terrace. It’s pleasant there, and there’s enough of a breeze that there won’t be any red flies or mosquitoes there.”

Quaeryt wondered about the need for that, given that the hold house was well above the stream.

As if reading his thoughts, Tyrena smiled and said, “The Khanar’s Palace had few, especially in the winter, and anything that flies and bites seeks me out.”

“The terrace, by all means,” replied Quaeryt with a laugh.

Neither spoke as Quaeryt followed the former Khanara along a side hallway and then to the left and almost to the end of the second hallway, where she turned into a spacious salon and through it and the double doors. The terrace was roofed and looked down over a formal garden with a low wall to the stream valley below.

Tyrena gestured to a small circular table with three chairs. The place without a chair was the one that would have faced away from the garden.

Quaeryt took one of the end chairs, and Tyrena sat in the one opposite him. As soon as they were seated, a red-haired serving maid in black livery appeared.

“Would you like something to drink? I have the stewards providing some refreshments for your men.”

“A pale lager, if you have it.”

“That, we can do.” Tyrena nodded to the serving maid, who slipped away, then addressed Quaeryt. “Just courtesy?”

“To provide information and courtesy. You may already know, but apparently Submarshal Myskyl had fallen under the influence of the three.”

“After I returned from Variana, I heard rumors of such.”

“When I arrived, they attempted to kill me. In the events that followed, they and the submarshal and Commander Luchan perished. The main hold house at Fiancryt burned to charred walls. It is likely that the holding will revert to Lord Bhayar. Oh … and Lady Myranda rode off with her personal retainers while the hold house was still burning.”

Tyrena looked unsurprised.

“You already knew, didn’t you?”

“I knew the hold house had burned and that Myranda had fled. I did not know what had happened to cause the fire.” Tyrena paused. “Are you certain that the three perished?”

“I know that three imagers died and their bodies were burned to ash and bone. I understood that the term ‘the three’ was not precisely accurate, at least not in terms of numbering the imagers who served Kharst.”

“That was correct, but it’s likely that there were only three left. I did receive a letter before the battle at Variana that hinted that some were present at the Chateau Regis, as some always were when there were High Holders there. There were never more than a handful and one or two more.”

“Ryel worried about them?”

“Everyone worried about them. Anyone with any sense.” Tyrena looked up as the serving maid reappeared, carrying a tray on which there were two silvery glass beakers with black glass bases. The beakers both held pale lager.

The server offered the tray, allowing Quaeryt to choose. He took the closest beaker.

Tyrena smiled. “Most would take the far one.”

“I know, and I know that you knew I would. I trust you in this.”

She laughed lightly. “Because my fate rests not just with you, but with your wife.”

Quaeryt nodded, then waited for Tyrena to take the second beaker. Then he raised his beaker slightly. “To trust.”

“To trust,” she replied.

They drank.

“Why did you tell young Paliast that I was the most dangerous man in Lydar?”

“Besides the fact that you are?” Tyrena smiled. “Because he is young and arrogant and has less in the way of brains than does a toad. And so that when he complains about what will happen to him, he will have no excuses. He will make them anyway, and Daefol will likely listen.”

“And Seliadyn?”

Tyrena shook her head sadly. “He still thinks his daughter is alive.”

“And that she is twelve? How long ago was that?”

“Five years ago.”

“Kharst?”

“No. She was headstrong and took a boat into the river during the spring high waters. There was a sudden flood, and her mother drowned trying to save her. Seliadyn was in Variana, at Kharst’s command. He was much older than Maereth, but he loved them both deeply. Maereth almost died having Seliatha, I was told, and she could never have children after that.”

“And who will inherit Vaestora?”

“That will be up to Lord Bhayar, I imagine. Seliadyn had no brothers or even cousins.”

Quaeryt nodded. Perhaps Calkoran. He would do well there.

“You might recommend someone who would fit and be loyal.”

“I likely will, but Lord Bhayar will decide. He often follows my recommendations … but far from always.”

“And you do not press him?”

Quaeryt smiled. “If I cannot convince him by my words, it is as he says.”

“What did you do to convince him in my case?”

“I told him the facts.”

“Including who I once was?”

“Eventually.” That was true enough.

“He did not change his mind?”

“I pointed out that you were to be trusted far more than any man in being loyal, for you had everything to lose. Vaelora agreed. So did Bhayar.”

“I said you were the most dangerous man in Lydar.”

Quaeryt shrugged. “Tell me what Bhayar and I should know about Rivages and the north.”

“The land is everything to the High Holders, and golds are everything to the factors…”

Quaeryt listened, asking a few questions, for well over a glass, before he finally took his leave and began the ride back to Fiancryt.