9

In this appendix, we will be addressing some of the tangential rumors that have been spread among various sections of the Court and the nobility relating to the incident. In particular, we will look at theories of influence by outside parties on the events, and on the effect of narcotics, psychedelics, depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens that may or may not have been in use by any of those involved.

The committee wishes to observe that it addresses these issues under protest: it is our opinion that for the Empire or its representatives to respond to rumor and innuendo from unreliable sources sets a precedent that can, in the long run, have no effect but to give credence to and encourage such rumor and innuendo. That said, we now examine the substance. . . .

 

Unfortunately, their surprise and timing were perfect; not even Loiosh could warn me. Fortunately, they didn’t want to kill me. These facts were related: the Jhereg would not come after you in the Imperial Palace, and certainly not in the Dragon Wing.

There were four of them. It was just like old times. They wore the stupid gold half-cloak of the Phoenix Guards, and they were big and strong, as Dragonlords usually are. Two came up behind me, two came out of a door I was passing and stepped in front of me. I thought about Lady Teldra—how could I not?—but of course I didn’t draw her. Using Morganti weapons on Dragonlords makes you very unpopular, and even drawing her in the Imperial Palace would have caught the attention of several hundred trained fighters, all of whom would have seen it as in horribly poor taste.

Besides, it would be wrong to destroy people’s souls when all they want to do is give you a good beating, and you know how I am always guided by trying to do the right thing.

Heh.

Look, do you mind if I skip the details? Yeah, I remember them; but if I say them out loud, they’ll always be vivid for me, because that’s how my memory works. And, really, what do you need to know that can’t be told in general?

There they were, two of them in front of me, and Loiosh told me about the two in back, and I knew what was going to happen, because I’d been through it before.

“Keep Rocza out of this.”

What Loiosh replied doesn’t readily translate, but in any case he got Rocza out of the way. He and I had been through this kind of thing a few times, back when I was running my area. He knew by now that I didn’t want to hear any sympathetic words, or anything else; it was just a matter of waiting until it was over.

It always happens so fast, you know? The times I’ve been jumped and managed to avoid it, I’d been out of the situation almost before I knew I was in it. This time, before I really knew what was happening, they’d pushed me into the room and were going to work. I had time to decide what not to do, as I said, but that was about it.

They didn’t draw any weapons—just used their fists and their boots. And they could have made it much worse than they did, if they’d wanted to: They cracked a rib, but other than that didn’t break any bones. They also didn’t say anything—I assumed they took it for granted I knew what it was about.

Eventually they got my arms pinned, though I did them some harm first. A lot of harm, if you remember how much stronger than an Easterner a Dragaeran is. I remember being really annoyed that I had no access to any of the magic, Eastern or Dragaeran, that would help me recover quickly, whereas they’d have their bruises seen to in an hour or so and be feeling fine. It didn’t seem fair, you know?

When they were finished I let them have the satisfaction of seeing me lie there, curled up on the floor, while they walked away. I might have been able to stand up, but if they’d taken it as a signal to start again, I wasn’t sure I’d have the self-control to keep things non-lethal.

“Just like the old days, eh?”

“You all right, Boss?”

“In every important sense, yeah.”

I stood up, which took a long time, and wasn’t any fun; I had to use the wall for support and push up against it, then when I made it up I leaned against it. Nice wall. Good wall. That wall was my new best friend.

Breathing hurt. So did a few other things, though not as much as they were going to. And I was shaking, of course; I always shake after I’ve been through something exciting, no matter how I feel about it.

“Any idea what it was about?”

“One idea. If I’m right, then it may have been worth it just to find out.”

“Someday, Boss, let’s talk about ways for you to learn things that don’t involve people kicking you.”

“Good plan.”

I was glad to be in the room—which may have been an unused coat closet or something—instead of out in the hall, because I didn’t want anyone coming along and asking questions. Or, worse, being sympathetic. Loiosh was carefully not sympathetic; he knows me.

I wanted to get somewhere to bind up my rib. Ever have a cracked rib? Avoid it if you can. Walking hurts. Breathing hurts. Don’t cough. And for the love of your favorite deity, don’t even think about sneezing. And if you make me laugh I’ll kill you. Later.

When I’d caught my painful breath a bit, I pushed away from my friend the wall and wished I hadn’t.

“Where to now, Boss?”

“I’m not sure. I can’t decide if I ought to wait a day or two until the bruises are nice and purple.”

“Wait for. . .?”

“Nah, too much is going on to waste a day on cosmetics. This way.”

I strolled back into the hallway, and then ambled around the corner, after which I sauntered. Anything to look like walking didn’t hurt as much as it did. Which was okay; it didn’t hurt nearly as much as it would tomorrow. As I walked, my heart rate returned to normal. My tongue played with a tooth that was wobbly, but I didn’t think I’d lose it; punches to the face are the easiest to slip, if you don’t mind your neck snapping a little.

The few people I passed—Dragonlords—glanced at me and then looked away, carefully unconcerned. After what seemed like a long, long time, I made it to the long, narrow stair I was looking for. It seemed very, very long indeed, just now. I started up it, using the time to plan. I knew what I wanted to do, I just had to figure out the nuances. The planning distracted me; it wasn’t too bad.

This time I clapped outside of the office. I heard a brusque “Enter,” and did so, suddenly realizing that she might not have been in, and I’d have made that climb for nothing. It would be smart if I thought of those things ahead of time, wouldn’t it?

She glanced up as I came in, and said, “What is—” then stopped and looked at me closely.

“I’d been thinking,” I said, “of waiting a day so you could see the results in all their splendor.”

“That eye is going to swell shut,” she said.

“I imagine it will.”

“It can’t have been the Jhereg, or you’d be dead.”

“It wasn’t the Jhereg.”

“Do you know who?”

“Yes.”

She frowned. “Are we playing a game here?”

“I don’t know. That’s what I came up here to find out.”

“If you have a question, Vlad, just ask.”

“Did you send them?”

She looked shocked. I think she was shocked, which she shouldn’t have been, whether she was guilty or not. She went through some facial contortions, then said, “What kind of game are you playing?”

The kind where I lose if you know the rules. “No game. I just want to know if they were yours.”

“They were Dragons?”

“Oh, yes. Phoenix Guards.”

“And you think I sent them?”

“It had crossed my mind. So I’d thought I’d ask if you did. And, if so, why you didn’t, I don’t know, drop me a note instead.”

“I didn’t send them,” she said.

“All right.”

“And I think you know that,” she added.

“I—”

“Which makes me wonder what you’re trying to do by accusing me.”

“I didn’t accuse you.”

“All right. Asking me.”

She was studying me carefully, suspiciously.

I shrugged, which was a mistake. “What am I supposed to think? I start asking nosy questions about you, and the next thing I know—”

“What questions have you been asking about me?”

“Your suddenly being made Warlord, of course. Why it happened, what’s behind it. You wouldn’t tell me, so—”

“There’s nothing to tell.”

I gave her a brief discussion of fertilizer. She seemed unimpressed with my agricultural expertise. “Believe what you like,” she said. It was good to have permission, but I resisted telling her so.

“Either way,” I said. “If it was intended by you or someone else to make me stop looking into this, it isn’t going to work.”

“I don’t care—”

“Not to mention that if there were nothing to it, why would anyone beat me up over it?”

“Are you sure that’s what it was about?”

“Seems like a good guess.”

“But you don’t actually know.”

I made a disgusted sound.

She started to say something, stopped, inhaled, and let it out slowly. “Very well. We’ll assume you’re right.”

“Thanks.”

She ignored the sarcasm. “I had no part in it,” she stated.

“All right.” She still looked suspicious, as if she didn’t believe I genuinely thought she might be involved. She’s a Dragon; that doesn’t automatically mean she’s an idiot. Besides, she’d spent years in the Jhereg. I said, “Then they acted without your knowledge. Why? What is it every Dragonlord knows that they don’t want a humble Easterner to find out?”

“How should I know?”

I looked at her. I’m not an idiot either.

She sighed. “There are things I’m not permitted to tell you.”

“I figured that part out. What I’m working at is, I’ll bet there are things you could tell me if you wanted to. Things that might help Aliera. Things that might explain why I just got a tooth loosened. Things that—”

“Shut up.”

I did so, and waited.

She looked past me; I gave her time to think.

“It isn’t easy,” she said. “My loyalties are divided. I don’t think there are any right answers.”

I nodded.

“All right. I’ll tell you this much. Her Majesty is not very happy about all of this.”

“Norathar. Warlord. Your Highness. Whatever I’m supposed to call you. I picked up on that.”

She nodded, her eyes still focused past me; I had the feeling that I wasn’t there. “Her friendship with Morrolan goes way back, you know.”

“Morrolan? How does Morrolan enter into this?”

She focused on me, a puzzled look on her face. Then she said, “I keep forgetting how much you don’t know.”

“So. fill me in on some of it?”

“You want a history lesson?”

“No. I don’t. I really, really don’t. I think I’d rather have another beating. But if I need one to understand what’s going on, then I’ll just sit here and take it.”

She made an effort at a smile. “I think we can skip it, for now.”

See? My goddess loves me. “Okay, what do I need to know. That you can tell me.”

She hesitated, then it came out quickly. “When she asked me to be Warlord, she extracted a couple of promises. One I’m breaking now, by talking to you. The other is that Aliera is to escape.”

“Escape,” I repeated.

She nodded.

“I trust Aliera doesn’t know about this?”

“That is correct.”

I sighed. “Well. And the Empress is, you say, a reborn Phoenix?”

Her eyes narrowed. “Just what is that supposed—”

“Sorry. That was out of line. Being stupid doesn’t mean being decadent.”

She said, very precisely, “I do not consider Her Majesty to be stupid.”

“No, I guess she isn’t. In fact, this shows how smart she is.”

“What are you talking about?”

“A stupid person can make only certain, limited types of errors; the mistakes open to a clever fellow are far broader. But to the one who knows how smart he is compared to everyone else, the possibilities for true idiocy are boundless.”

“Vlad—”

“Norathar. Never, ever, will Aliera go along with this. To escape is to admit guilt. Think about it.”

She started to argue, stopped, frowned. I let her work it through. It shouldn’t have taken that long.

“You’re right,” she said.

“Yeah.”

“I have to speak with Her Majesty.”

“Good thinking. Had a whole plan, didn’t you?”

She nodded. I was tempted to smirk, but she might have killed me. Besides, it wasn’t all that funny.

“All right,” I said. “I’ll get out of your way. This clears up a few things, but unfortunately, doesn’t help me. But at least I’m convinced you didn’t order those Dragonlords to attack me.”

“How do you know they were Dragonlords?”

“Huh? Well, for starters, if they were Jhereg they’d have killed me.”

“And if they were Orca?”

I stared at her. She flushed; something I could never have imagined her doing.

“Well done, Boss!”

“Every once in a while, you get a break.”

I let her sit there for a moment and reflect on the difficulty of unsaying something. Then I said, “Don’t feel too bad. I’d been pretty sure of it, anyway.”

She cursed softly under her breath.

“I feel your pain,” I said.

“You will soon,” she said.

“So, feel like filling in the missing piece?”

She glared. “And if I don’t?”

That took me a moment, then I got it and shook my head. “No, no. I’m not going to tell anyone anything about what you did or did not tell me. I’m asking you to fill in the pieces I’m missing. If you don’t, I’ll find out another way; that’s all.”

She bit her lip, then nodded. “What exactly do you want to know?”

“I know the Jhereg and the Orca are working together. On what, exactly? And how are they forcing the Empress to cooperate?”

“All right.” She took a deep breath. “It goes back to before the Interregnum.”

I almost made a remark about how I’d been promised no history, but there are times not to be clever.

“The Jhereg had come up with a big moneymaking scheme that they never got to pull off because the world blew up before they could try it. And maybe for other reasons, too, I don’t know. Anyway, the Left Hand got wind of it a few years ago, started collaborating with the Right Hand and the Orca, and have been trying to put it back.”

“And what is ‘it’?”

“Narcotics, hallucinogens, psychedelics, disassociatives—”

“Norathar, I don’t know most of those words.”

“All right. Opium. Logfungus. Dreamgrass. Laughwort. Koelsh leaf. Poppy extract.”

“What about them?”

“What if they were suddenly illegal?”

“Huh?

“What if—”

“I heard you, I’m just trying to wrap my head around it.”

“What would happen?”

“I don’t know. Um, well, it would drive the prices through the roof.”

“And who would sell it?”

“The Jhereg, of course. Yikes. What a scam! And the Orca?”

“They’d supply it.”

“And the Left Hand?”

“Facilitating deliv—I hadn’t said anything about the Left Hand.”

“It was my own theory. Go on.”

“Facilitating delivery and hiding and selling spells to detect Imperial agents, the way they do now with gambling games.”

“I didn’t know they did that; I never used them.”

“They do. And there is liable to be Iorich involvement too—bribes for mild sentences, and so on.”

“Iorich do that?”

“Funny guy.”

I shook my head. “This is huge. How are they convincing the Empress to go for it?”

“The massacre at Tirma.”

“Huh?”

“Word is about to leak out that it happened because the sergeant was using a combination of koelsh leaves and poppy.”

“Oh. Hmmm. Public outcry?”

The Warlord nodded.

“Is it true? Was he?”

“No.”

“Then why can’t he be made to testify to that?”

“In fact, once this becomes public, that is exactly what will happen.”

“Well, and?”

“And who will believe it? It will be seen by the nobles and the middle classes as a means of distracting attention from the lucrative trade in brain chemicals.”

“How does arresting Aliera help?”

“If Aliera is arrested on an obviously bogus charge, it will add weight to the idea that the massacre in Tirma came from orders on high. It will look like the Empress blames Aliera, but knows she can’t get a conviction on the actual charge, because—”

“Because it must be approved by the Council of Princes, who wouldn’t approve it, so the conviction must be on an Edict, which bypasses peer approval.”

“Well, very good, Vlad. I had no idea you were so well acquainted with the law.”

“I’ve managed to pick up a few pieces here and there,” I said modestly.

“So, now you know, and now I’ve betrayed an oath by telling you.”

“Yeah. And now I know what’s going on, and why, but I’m not sure it helps me.”

“On the contrary,” she said, her eyes narrowing. “It potentially helps you a great deal.”

“How is that?”

“If you reveal what I’ve told you—”

“Oh, come on, Norathar. You know I won’t do that.”

She grunted. “There’s another thing it gets you, then: an ally.”

“You?”

“Yes. Anything I can do without betraying Her Majesty.”

“Hmmm. That may be a bit like, ‘I’ll run any errand you want that doesn’t require me to stand up.’ Still, I appreciate the offer, and I’ll keep it in mind.”

“Do that,” she said.

So there I was: I’d uncovered what was hidden, I’d found the big secret, I’d turned over the key rock, and now I just had the minor, unimportant little detail of figuring out what to do about it. Splendid. I tried to recall some of the vocabulary I’d picked up during my brief stint as a foot soldier, but you have to keep up with those skills or you lose them.

So, back to the beginning. I’d have to wait for Kiera to get some confirmations, and wait for Kragar to learn a few details about the Left Hand. In the meantime—

“Vlad?”

“Hmmm?”

“I asked if there was anything else.”

“Oh, sorry. No. Thank you.”

She nodded and I took my leave. If the fates loved me, I’d make it back to my room alive, and Kiera would be waiting there. I did, and she wasn’t—make of that what you will.

I unloaded a few pounds of hardware next to the bed, and stretched out on it. It felt wonderful for about ten seconds, then I gradually became aware of each bruise. Once, long before and in a different part of the world, I’d removed my amulets to perform a simple spell to get rid of some aches and pains. It had proved a mistake for two reasons: It almost got me killed, and it had given Loiosh a chance to say I told you so. I was willing to risk the first, but I’d rather hurt than take a chance on the second.

I didn’t fall asleep, but to take my mind off how much I hurt, I spent some time wishing someone would bring me something to eat. Loiosh picked up on the thought, and made an offer of sorts which I rejected; I wasn’t that hungry.

“Boss, do we have a plan?”

“We will.”

“Oh, good. I feel so much better when we have a plan.”

“In that case, maybe you come up with one this time. One that doesn’t involve a dead teckla.”

“Division of labor, Boss. That’s what makes this work, you know.”

“Yeah, I keep forgetting that. Division of labor. I come up with the plans, and you laugh at them.”

“Exactly.”

I closed my eyes, the better to concentrate on everything that hurt. No, I don’t know why I do these things; stop asking.

After a while, I heard a clap at the door and at almost the same moment Loiosh said, “It’s Kiera.”

Now, there was good news at a good time. “Please bring your sneaky and most welcome self inside,” I called out.

The door opened and she came in, looking worried. “I heard you were beaten,” she said.

“How did you hear that? Are there more of you than I know about?”

She gave me a reproachful look.

“Sorry,” I said.

She sat down on the edge of the bed and looked me over carefully. Loiosh flew over to her, and she absently scratched under his chin while she studied me. “They did a pretty thorough job, it seems,” she said judiciously.

“I guess. Want to tell me what you learned?”

“Just what you expected me to.”

My heart skipped a beat. Yes, I’d expected it. But I hadn’t really, well, expected it. “Details?”

“Minutes of a meeting called by Her Majesty to discuss the massacre in Tirma.”

“And?”

“The list of those present include the representative of the Jhereg.”

“Is that usual for something like this?”

“No.”

“All right. And the representative said?”

“Nothing that was recorded.”

“Then—?”

“Did they hit you in the head a lot?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact.”

She made a disgusted sound. “Work it out anyway.”

“They wouldn’t have had the Jhereg representative there, except to hear something, or to inform the Empress of something.”

“Yes.”

“And either way, it means the Jhereg has their hand in this.”

“Which you knew.”

“Suspected, then later had confirmed by—uh, I shouldn’t say.”

“All right. Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why is the Jhereg involved.”

“Two reasons. I can’t talk about one, and I don’t need to talk about the other.”

“You don’t need to? What do you mean?”

“Kiera, have you been beaten too, lately?”

Her eyes narrowed as she concentrated, then she said, “Oh. You think it’s all about you?”

“I always think it’s all about me. When I’m wrong I look stupid; when I’m right, I’m still alive to keep looking stupid.”

“It’s a little hard to believe,” she said.

“Why?”

“Engineering a massacre of peasants, embroiling the Empress in—”

“No, no. I don’t think that was about me. That just gave them the opportunity.”

“Ah. You mean, not the problem, but the solution.”

“Yes.”

“The Jhereg knew that if Aliera was in trouble, you’d find out and come back and they could get to you. They were doing something else involving the Empress, and just grabbed the opportunity to pull you into it.”

“Pretty much. You know the Jhereg. Does that seem farfetched?”

“No,” she said with no hesitation.

“It doesn’t to me, either.”

“Do you have an idea of how to deal with it?”

“One. Tell the Empress.”

“Vlad, do you know what happens if you do that?”

“Something pretty unpleasant for the Jhereg. Do I care?”

“What about for the Empire?”

“Do I care about that?”

“And for Zerika?”

“Like she cared how unpleasant it was for Aliera?”

“She did, you know.”

“Stop, Kiera, before you move me to tears. Oh, wait, no, that’s the pain from the beating I got for asking questions about how much she cared.”

“I don’t think that’s why you got beaten.”

“No, neither do I. I think it was because it’s considered rude for Easterners who are also Jhereg to go asking questions about the Warlord.”

“Maybe.”

“You have another idea?”

“No, just a feeling.”

“A feeling.”

“The beating. It doesn’t feel right.” I started to make an obvious remark but she cut me off. “No, listen, Vlad. I’m serious. Try to reconstruct the sequence in your head.”

“It isn’t that hard. I was asking questions about Norathar, and—”

“Of whom?”

“Eh? Well, Norathar, first of all. And Cawti. And a servant in the Palace, who first told me Norathar was now Warlord.”

She nodded. “Go on.”

“Isn’t that enough?”

“Is it? Where did these Dragonlords hear about it?”

“I assume from the Teckla. Or, indirectly from the Teckla.”

“That’s what’s bothering me.”

“You didn’t even know about it.”

She didn’t deign to answer that. “Imagine how they heard it.”

“The Teckla gossips to one of his friends, the Dragonlord overhears it—”

“When is the last time you knew of a Dragon listening to a Teckla’s gossip?”

I shrugged, which sent pain shooting from my rib to the opposite shoulder. “Okay, then the Teckla mentions it to someone who someone will listen. Snake up a rope, as they say.”

“When did you speak to the Teckla?”

“Yesterday.”

“So, how long did this all take?”

“Kiera, how long does it take?”

“I’m not saying it’s impossible. I’m just suspicious.”

“What do you think happened instead?”

“I would very much like to know.”

“If you’re offering to look into it for me, you know I’m not going to turn you down.”

She sat on the edge of the bed, cross-legged, which was only strange when I thought about it later. “I’m not sure,” she said at last. “The fact is, I don’t want to look into it, I want to figure it out.”

“I know that one.”

“So, any ideas?”

“Yeah, give up. At least, it’s never worked for me.”

“Vlad—”

“Look, I still think it was just what it seemed to be. How can I figure out what I don’t think happened?”

“Work with me.”

I sighed. “All right, let’s assume you’re right. In the first place, if the beating wasn’t a message not to investigate the Warlord, then the message didn’t come across very well, because I have no idea what it might be about.”

“I think we can assume they weren’t telling you not to help Aliera.”

“That sounds pretty safe.”

“So, what else have you been doing that might have offended someone?”

“Hiding from the Jhereg. And you know how much Dragons hate that.”

“Heh.” Then she said, “No, wait a minute.”

“Kiera, if Dragonlords start caring about Jhereg business—”

“Vlad, what made you think they were Dragons?”

I sighed. “Everybody is asking me that. Mostly because if they were Jhereg, I’d be dead. And if they were Orca, I’d have won.”

“Orca? What do Orca have to do with this?”

I waved it away. “If they weren’t Dragonlords, who do you think they were?”

“I think they were Jhereg.”

“Then why didn’t they—”

“Because they weren’t hired to kill you, just to beat you.”

“By whom?”

“The Left Hand,” she said.