Tetrarch

F IFTY

'You knew my sight was going to come back all along,' Irisis accused. 'That's why you were so mean to me.'

'I did not, which is why I said nothing. Sight often does come back after that kind of burn. Equally often, it does not.'

'So why were you so mean?'

'Perhaps I thought the lesson might be good for you.'

'It wasn't!' she snapped.

'You managed to overcome that disability,' Flydd said meaningfully. 'Without you, we would have learned nothing about the nodes.'

They stared over the rail for a while; then the scrutator said, 'On the other hand, maybe I'm just a mean-spirited old sod.'

'Maybe you bloody well are.' Flydd came over the side. 'Done it – I've set Jal-Nish's skeets free. That'll give us a few more days. Where's Ullii?'

'Usual place,' said Irisis.

Ullii was still hunched up in the corner of the cabin, under one of the canvas benches.

'Come out, Ullii.'

Ullii shook her head.

'What's the matter?'

'Don't beat me,' she whispered.

'Why would I beat you?'

Ullii was not going to answer that question. 'Scrutator is angry with me.'

'I've never seen him more cheerful. Come on.'

Ullii emerged reluctantly. 'You look well,' said Irisis. 'I think you might have put on weight lately.'

'Been hungry.'

He put his head around the door of the cabin. 'Hello, Ullii. Have you forgiven me yet?' He chuckled at his own wit.

'No,' said Ullii. Irisis slept what remained of the night and most of the following day, waking to discover that Oon-Mie and Zoyl were gone. She was sorry not to have farewelled them.

Each time she woke the view was much the same – towering peaks clad in snow and ice. From the manufactory the air-floater ran north-west then north, along the rim of the Great Mountains for a hundred leagues. That took two days. They then turned west, to cross at the point where the mountain chain that ran up the east coast of Lauralin, all the way to Crandor, met the vastness of the Great Mountains. The peaks were higher than the air-floater could rise so they had to follow a zigzag course up the valleys and over the lowest passes they could find. It was a wild, rocking ride that left everyone airsick.

'Where are we going?' she asked Flydd on the morning of the fifth day out of the manufactory.

'You'll see when we get there. Pray that Jal-Nish didn't have another skeet hidden somewhere.'

'Why?'

'Because if his version of the tale gets there first, we're done for.'

The air-floater was travelling slowly now, for they were a long way from the nearest node and the field was weak. The machine had descended until it was just skimming the ground. Higher up, the wind blew so strongly from the west that they could not move against it. Down here the wind was erratic, sometimes tossing them on unexpected updraughts, as suddenly ceasing altogether or carrying them as fast as a racing yacht.

Early the following morning, the air-floater turned south and headed towards the ground. The country had changed in the night. There were still mountains all around, but below lay a sunken land, rifted on all sides, with a flat desert bottom upon which lakes glistened. The ones in the middle had dried to salt. Many rivers ran into this desolate lowland but none ran out.

'Kalithras,' said Flydd. 'The Desolation Sink. What a miserable place.'

They were heading towards a dark structure on the southern edge of the sunken land, an escarpment that might have been a thousand spans above the floor of Kalithras, though all around the mountains towered to twice and even thrice that height. Straining her still-sore eyes, Irisis made out an immense fortress or bastion.

'Nennifer,' said Flydd gloomily. 'Our destination.'

A pair of skeets wheeled in the air high above the building, one coming, the other going. Flydd ran up to the pilot, pointing at the descending birds. The air-floater dropped sharply, racing toward Nennifer. A vast square building, four or five storeys high, covered by a mass of steep roofs, it made no concessions to either environment or aesthetics. Plain rectangular windows ran across the front and the front door was set right in the middle. Everything was symmetrical. It looked out of place and was meant to. The scrutators did not have to fit in. They controlled.

Out the front, an area the size of a parade ground was paved with stone all the way to the edge of the escarpment. 'Land there!' Flydd indicated a spot near the brink.

The machine thumped into the ground. Flydd sprang over the side, his eye on the wheeling skeet. Attendants ran out, grasping the tethers and tying them to shiny new brass rings set in the stone.

'Come on, crafter.' Flydd was pacing back and forth, his single eyebrow twitching. 'Ullii, you too. Now we shall see what we see.'

The skeet was gliding towards the rear of the building. Ullii was on the floor of the cabin, searching for her mask. Irisis got down with her.

'What is this place?' she called.

'Nennifer is the hidden bastion of the Council of Scrutators, and I don't expect they'll be pleased to see me. Or you, for that matter. Get a move on.'

'Ullii's lost her mask.' She added, 'I've never heard of Nennifer.'

'It was the most secret place in the world until M'lainte invented the air-floater. I believe it's come as a shock to the Council that Nennifer is no longer hidden.'

'Must have made it difficult for them to rule,' she said, 'being weeks journey from everywhere.'

'They've had plenty of practice. They use hundreds of skeets, as well as… never mind. The querists and perquisitors do most of the work, and not all of the scrutators dwell at Nennifer. Only those on the Council.'

'Here it is.' Irisis jumped out, reaching back for her pack.

'You won't need that,' he said. 'We won't be staying. Or if we do, you still won't need it!'

She flinched. 'Sounds ominous.'

'I didn't mean to alarm you.' He linked his arm through hers. 'Don't look nervous. That's a sign of weakness and as such is deadly here. At the Council of Scrutators you must laugh in the face of death.'

'Is that how you got your scars?'

He chuckled mirthlessly. 'I laughed at the wrong moment. Hush! They're coming.'

A big man strode towards them, scarlet robes flowing behind. Broad-shouldered and handsome, with a noble mane of dark hair and a full beard, he looked everything Flydd was not.

'That's Ghorr,' said Flydd. 'Chief of the Council. He is not my friend.'

Ghorr looked thunderous. Another group of robed individuals appeared on the broad steps behind him, ten in all. They were all sizes, shapes and races. Four were women, the rest men. None were young, but neither did any look ancient, though some, including Ghorr, were well over a hundred years old. But what every one of them did have was power. Irisis did not have to touch her pliance to tell that. They exuded power and unchallengeable authority and Irisis, whose contempt for authority ran deep, despised them for it. Authority was the first weapon of the Council and there was not a soul on Lauralin who had not felt it.

'You've got a damned nerve!' said Ghorr, 'coming here after what you've done. Guards!' He signalled over his head.

'Hear me, Ghorr!' Flydd said with magnificent arrogance. 'I may just save the war for you.'

'That's a claim we're accustomed to hearing,' Ghorr retorted. 'From frauds and liars.'

'You've not heard it from me before.'

'You don't have a lot of credibility left, Flydd.'

'If I haven't more than that charlatan, Jal-Nish -'

'I'd advise you not to take that tone,' said Ghorr.

'Are you prepared to listen or not!' Flydd snarled. 'If not, get out of my way and I'll be off again.'

Irisis caught her breath. His arrogance was breathtaking. She prayed he knew what he was doing.

'You won't be going anywhere, Flydd.' Ghorr gripped his arm.

'I would hear what he has to say,' said a small, dark woman named as Halie.

'And I,' said another woman, old and dumpy. Her sandy hair had been teased up into a nest which could not conceal that she was going bald. 'We can't afford to pass up any opportunity, no matter how…' she studied Flydd like a small worm on a large hook, '… disreputable the messenger.'

'Thank you, T'Lisp.' Flydd bowed in her direction, obsequiously low.

'Don't bother!' T'Lisp snapped. 'I'll be the first to see you flayed should your story fail you.'

'Very well,' said Ghorr. 'I'll give you leave to address the Council, Flydd, though I don't see it doing you any good. Who the hell is this?'

'This is Crafter Irisis Stirm, as you very well know.'

'The woman who slew a mancer though she is not one herself? I will speak to you later about that, crafter. And the other?'

'The seeker, Ullii.'

'Ah! Even so, they must stay behind, Flydd. No outsider may enter the Council.'

'Then we'd better meet on the front steps. Irisis and Ullii are vital to the story and there's no time to waste on pointless formalities. The war can be won, or lost, while we're standing here arguing.' They met on the cold steps, and the displeasure on the faces of the scrutators was manifest. Except for one, little dark Halie who, if not exactly looking pleased to see Xervish Flydd, at least did not appear hostile.

'We have discovered the secret of why the nodes are failing,' said Flydd without preamble.

The group muttered among themselves.

'The Council is listening,' said Ghorr finally, 'but we will not be swayed easily.'

'We have investigated three failed nodes,' Flydd said. 'The first, at Minnien, we found to be regenerating its field.'

'What?' cried Halie. 'This is very good news.'

'Should it prove to be true,' said Ghorr. 'What more have you to say about Minnien?'

'Only that we saw a lyrinx there. It removed an object that had been placed at Minnien some time ago. Afterwards the field quickly grew stronger. It would appear that they have built, or grown, a node-draining device.'

'It is as I suspected,' said Halie. 'Show us this object, Flydd.'

The scrutator faltered. 'I… don't have it.'

Suddenly every eye was on him and Flydd was no longer a worm on a hook; he was an insect being pinned to a board by a throng of cold-eyed philosophers.

'Why not?' Ghorr said with icy calm.

'They took it away.'

'And you allowed them to?'

'I did not realise the lyrinx had taken anything until later, when the node began to regenerate.'

'A costly failure. Had you brought back such a device, we might have reconsidered your position. As you have no evidence that it even exists, I can only assume you're lying to try to regain your standing. No one has ever found a node-drainer.'

Flydd restrained himself, though not without a struggle. 'They've been looking in the wrong place. It doesn't have to be close to the node.'

'In which case it can be anywhere, and impossible to find.'

'Ah!' said Flydd. 'But we did find one.'

That created a sensation. The scrutators began to chatter among themselves. 'He's lying,' said Ghorr.

Halie stood up. 'Where is it, Xervish?'

'In good time, my friend,' said Flydd. 'I must be allowed to give you the full tale.' He called upon Irisis to tell her version of what had happened at Minnien, which she did. One part aroused the interest of all, including the chief scrutator.

'Fields like two planes at right angles,' said Ghorr, glancing at his fellow scrutators. 'Can it be -?'

'We'll come back to that, if you please,' said Flydd.

'So the only evidence of a node-drainer was a few dried-up shreds of leathery plant,' said Halie. 'Not enough, Flydd. Did you do any better at the second node?'

'The one inland from Fadd we found to be completely dead. There was not the least trace of a field.'

'No news there,' said a short man with a black spade beard and a cross-shaped bald patch at the top of an ovoid head. Snake eyes glittered. 'You're not telling us anything we don't know, Ex-Scrutator Flydd.'

'I'm giving a damn sight more than you ever have for your councillor's badge, Fusshte!' said Flydd, so vehemently that the short man drew back. 'It was at Fadd that Crafter Irisis made the breakthrough. Tell them, crafter.'

'I merely wondered,' said Irisis, 'that if a node-drainer was at work, what was happening to all the power it drained. Wherever that power was going, there had to be proof of it.'

'Ahhh!' sighed Halie. 'So I was right after all. They do have a node-drainer.' She cast the others a bitter glance. 'Had the Council listened, we might have solved this problem years ago.'

'We hear a dozen crack-brained ideas every week,' said Ghorr. 'And without evidence, that's all they are. Get on with it, crafter.'

No one interrupted as Irisis told her story, after which the Council questioned her. The process was calm and measured, yet Irisis knew she was being weighed by eleven of the sharpest minds on Santhenar. And not just her words. Every flicker of her eyelashes, every drop of sweat on her brow, was evidence in their interrogation.

And all were mancers. All were probing her with the strange version of the Art that was scrutator magic. The waistband of her pants was soaked with perspiration by the time Ghorr signed that they were done. And, to her relief, he seemed satisfied that what she had said was true.

Flydd resumed his tale. 'Finally, we went back to Irisis's manufactory to inspect the node, which lies deep in the hedron mine.'

'That was a foolhardy deed,' said Halie.

'But essential. That node was already weak -'

'So Jal-Nish has told us,' said Ghorr, 'because you failed to protect it from the enemy.'

'I believe that has already been covered in despatches,' said Flydd.

'Not to my satisfaction.'

'As soon as we started to sense the field it went dead. As if someone had been watching and turned it off.'

'Is that all?' cried Fusshte.

'We could find no node-drainer there either,' said Flydd. 'Then Jal-Nish -'

'Jal-Nish was at the node?' someone cried.

'He, er, interrupted us,' said Flydd. 'Jal-Nish asked the seeker a most interesting question. He asked her if she could see the field of the node. Tell the Council what your answer was, Ullii.'

Ullii had been sitting so quietly, hunched up into a little ball, that she was practically invisible. Now she unfolded, gave the assembled scrutators a frightened glance, and said in a wispy little voice, 'I could see all sorts of fields.'

'Fields?' cried Ghorr. 'Explain, seeker.'

'The node had four fields,' she said, mimicking his voice. She had not done that in ages. 'There was a weak one that people called the field, but it was dead. The clawers had drained it all away.'

'"Clawers" means lyrinx,' said Flydd obsequiously.

'Don't treat us like fools!' said Ghorr. 'Go on with your story, seeker.'

'There were three more fields, like walls going through each other. They were very bright.'

'The strong forces,' breathed Ghorr. 'At last! Have you seen such forces before, Ullii?'

'Yes,' she exhaled.

'Where?'

'I can't remember.'

Ullii was looking distressed and Irisis knew why. No one had thought to ask her the question, but she dared not give that answer.

Irisis took the seeker's hand. 'Ullii,' she said kindly, 'what you know about these fields may be vital. Please think where you might have seen them before.'

'I saw them at the cold place where I helped you – where there was an evil node.'

'Up on the icy plateau near the manufactory? When we were trying to get Tiaan back from the lyrinx?'

'Yes,' Ullii whispered, darting anxious glances at the Council.

'Were there also four fields?'

'I think so. The evil node was double. I could not see it clearly.' Her voice was barely audible.

'If these are the strong forces, why does she not see them all the time?' said Fusshte.

'Perhaps the weak field obscures them,' said Flydd. 'That would explain why she, and the artisan Zoyl Aarp, only saw them after the node was drained.'

'Perhaps,' said Ghorr dubiously. 'We must investigate this further.'

He questioned the seeker at length, but learned no more. Ullii simply saw; she did not understand.

'I then asked Ullii if she could see what was draining the manufactory node,' said Flydd. 'She told us that the drainer was not far away, up the tunnel beyond a roof fall, no doubt caused by the enemy. We found it. Rather, we discovered where it was, though it was not possible to get to it. It was a most strange place; the fabric of matter did not hold there. Jal-Nish fell right into the floor. The rock could not hold him up.'

'Fascinating,' said Ghorr. 'A marvel, should it prove to be true! What happened to the acting scrutator?'

'He survived,' said Flydd regretfully, 'though I'm not sure if all his troops did. He was not a happy man when we left him.' He looked toward the entrance. 'I imagine that will be his despatches now.'

A messenger was hurrying out through the great doors, carrying a sealed skeet packet. Ghorr tore it open and scanned the contents, before passing it to the Council.

'It would appear to confirm the last part of your story,' he said, 'though Jal-Nish takes the credit for it and accuses you… Leave us for the moment, Flydd.'

Flydd, Irisis and Ullii strolled on the edge of the precipice, but shortly were called back to the steps.

'We have accepted your account,' said Ghorr, 'and thank you for bringing it to us.' He did not look pleased to be saying it. 'The Council has voted and, despite several… er, irregularities in your behaviour, agreed to restore you to your position as scrutator, though not to the Council, of course.'

'Thank you,' said Flydd, bowing to each in turn. 'And Jal-Nish? Does he keep his?'

'The acting scrutator's service has been satisfactory. He maintains that rank.'

Flydd was impassive, though it must have been a blow. While Jal-Nish had any authority at all, he would work to bring Flydd down. 'As the Council pleases.'

'I have not finished. The war is coming to a head in the west. The lyrinx are gathering their strength, across the Sea of Thurkad, for a mighty strike – one we cannot resist. We have two choices: to abandon everything west of Worm Wood, or to make our stand now.'

'We cannot abandon Almadin, Rencid and Taltid,' said Flydd. 'A million people dwell there, plus most of the refugees from Meldorin. Besides -'

'Yes?'

'Even if we did draw the line at Worm Wood, we could not hold it. Nihilnor must fall and Oolo soon after, and within months the whole south-west will be gone. Once that happens, not even the might of Borgistry could stand alone. And if the west is lost, the rest of Lauralin must follow.'

'Indeed,' said Ghorr. 'We must make our stand and make it soon. Even so, we are looking at a crushing defeat unless we can convince the Aachim to aid us.'

'Then that must be our primary objective,' said Flydd.

'It is,' Ghorr replied, 'but Vithis of Clan Inthis is a most recalcitrant man.'

'Where is he now?'

'His forces are spread through Almadin, Nihilnor and Borgistry. To the discomfiture of their citizens, it need not be said. His plans for conquest, if that is what they were, appear to be on hold. There is dissension among the Aachim clans which we are hoping to exploit.'

'And the cause of this disagreement?' said Flydd.

'Longstanding clan rivalries, as well as a dispute about their course of action.'

'Please elaborate.'

'Some clans wish to ally with us against the lyrinx, others to take advantage of our present discomfort to seize our best lands for themselves. One or two clans argue that the Aachim cause would be better served by taking the lyrinx side.'

'Does any viewpoint look like prevailing?'

'I cannot say. It is difficult to gain reliable intelligence. But Vithis, as leader of this uneasy coalition, is the key. Presently he has a different agenda, which is why the Aachim have put the invasion on hold. He has sent his entire force after Artisan Tiaan and the flying construct.'

'Ah, yes, the flying construct,' said Halie. 'If we had a dozen of those we would win the war.'

'No doubt Vithis feels the same way.'

'We'd better hope he doesn't find it,' said Flydd. 'If we do attack, where will the battle for the west be fought?'

'There is a place called Snizort, in Taltid,' said Ghorr.

'I know of it,' said Flydd.

'It is the enemy's greatest stronghold on our side of the sea, and where they carry out all sorts of… experiments. Snizort also has some kind of mystical significance to them, though we have not discovered what it is. If we could take Snizort it would be a great blow to the enemy. We've been working on a plan to do that.'

'What is it?'

Ghorr drew Flydd away from Irisis's hearing. 'The lyrinx have dug a great system of tunnels into the stone surrounding the tar pits and seeps of Snizort. The area is walled and heavily defended, but the locale has a natural vulnerability -'

'To fire!' said Flydd. 'You plan to set fire to the tar seeps and burn the lyrinx out, straight onto our spears and javelards.'

'Just so.' Ghorr showed his irritation. 'But it will not be easy, even with a mighty army. To get close enough to bombard them with flaming catapult balls will take every man of the sixty thousand we can muster in the west, and the seven thousand clankers that support them. And even that may not be enough. The lyrinx know how susceptible Snizort is, yet they continue to expand it. It does not make sense.'

'Unless it's so vital to them that it's worth any risk. In which case they probably have secret defences,' said Flydd.

'I don't suppose there's any chance of using air-floaters to attack the place?'

'They can't carry enough weight to be useful in an attack. And they're too vulnerable.'

'I thought as much.' Ghorr walked away, then came back. He seemed more tentative now.

'You want something of me?' said Flydd.

Ghorr was staring at the paving stones. 'Your coming is, er, at an opportune moment. The news you bring, even more so. We have a problem. Rather, a fatal flaw in our plan.'

Flydd waited for him to go on.

'The node at Snizort appears to be weakening,' said Ghorr.

'Snizort has one of the greatest of all nodes. That doesn't make any sense.'

'Unless they are drawing more from the field than the node can replenish. If so, what are they doing there? Nothing to our advantage, you can be sure.'

'Or they may have a node-drainer in place,' said Flydd.

'Why would they drain their own node?'

'To siphon power directly, for other purposes. Snizort is known to be a centre for flesh-forming. Perhaps they're flesh-forming an army there.'

'We may suppose any outlandish idea at all, but it won't help us to win the war. We've been planning this assault for months. It was to be the greatest battle of the war, but without a secure field to drive our clankers we dare not move. We've discussed this and…'

'You want me to go there?' said Flydd. He did not look surprised.

'As soon as the buoyant air in your floater can be replenished. You will take charge and find out what is happening at the node. Base yourself at Gospett. We have people there. Halie will give you the details. Your main task, which is more vital than all others, will be to make contact with Vithis and bring the Aachim into the war on our side.'

Flydd nodded. 'At any cost?'

After a long silence, with Ghorr consulting his colleagues, he said, 'Yes, at any cost, if there is no other option. You must use your discretion. Don't give up our -'

'I will give away nothing but what it takes to secure the alliance,' said Flydd. 'What else do you require of me?'

'One more task,' said Ghorr. 'If the enemy have put a node-drainer in place…'

'Yes?'

'Find it, and destroy it.'

Five simple words, so easy to say, but they were his death sentence. No human could get into such a heavily guarded place – Ghorr knew that as well as he did. It was Ghorr's revenge, and it was perfect. Destroying the node-drainer was vital to the war and the chief scrutator had given a direct order. Flydd could not refuse.

He looked into Ghorr's eyes. The man hoped he would refuse, so he could dismiss him as a scrutator. A death sentence either way. Flydd was not going to give him the satisfaction.

'If I destroy the node-drainer, if there is one, they will simply replace it.'

'If they were easy to make, the lyrinx would have dealt with every node on the planet by now. Since they've only attacked five or six, we must assume that's all the devices they have.'

'Assumptions are perilous things,' said Flydd.

'Destroy it!' said Ghorr.

'That may be… difficult.'

'I'm sure it will be, but we all have our duty to do and it is frequently difficult. If you are having second thoughts; if you don't have the courage -'

Flydd's eyes met those of Irisis. She read nothing there.

'No,' he said. 'I will take it on, surr.'

Ghorr smiled for the first time. Prominent teeth gave him the look of a hyena. 'Good. We'll have dinner inside, brief you fully and then it will be time for you to go. But not you, Irisis. You and Ullii will stay behind.' His smile broadened. 'There is much you two can teach us.'

Ullii gave a terrified squawk and scuttled under Irisis's arm.