Oathbreaker

'And went on to you. Logical.' Tarma nodded thoughtfully. 'And what prompted their dissatisfaction?'

'Oh, a variety of causes -- from the altruistic to the realistic.' He wrinkled his brow in thought. 'Mind you, I don't personally know as much about the clergy as I do the Court, but they seem to be appropriate responses given the personalities of those I spoke with and the philosophies of their orders.'

'Huh. When we start to get clergy on our side....'

Tarma propped her feet up on the table, ignoring Kethry's frown of disapproval, and sat in thoughtful silence for a long time. 'All right,' she said, when the silence had begun to seem unbreakable, 'It's time for some hard choices, friends. We're getting the support, and not only are we moving a bit ahead of schedule, but we're getting some unexpected help. So which of the plans are we going to follow?'

She tilted her head at Jadrek, who pursed his lips thoughtfully. 'I'd rather not run a full-scale uprising, frankly,' he said. 'It's too unwieldy for this situation, I think; your commanders really have to be in the field for it to succeed. Tarma, you are the most militant of us, and we need you here -- so that would leave me or Kethry.'

'Not me,' Kethry objected. 'Fighters don't like following a mage, and I don't blame them. I'm no strategist, either.'

'And I am neither fighter nor strategist,' Jadrek replied.

'Stalemate,' Tarma observed, flexing her shoulders to try and relax the tense muscles there. 'Not that I don't agree with you both. Warrl?'

:I, also. It is too easy to lose a civil war.:

'All right, we're agreed that rousing the country-side is out, then?'

The other two nodded, slowly.

'Assassination.'

:That, I favor,: Warrl replied, raising his head from his paws. :lt would be an easy thing for me. Wait until he is in the garden with a wench -- over the wall-: He snapped his jaws together suggestively. :lt would give me great pleasure, and I could easily be gone before alarm could be effective.:

'Not clear-cut enough,' Jadrek asserted. 'There will always be those wanting to make a martyr out of Char. It's amazing how saintly a tyrant becomes after he's dead. We want Stefan firmly on the throne, or this country will be having as many problems as it already has, just different ones.'

Warrl sighed, and put his head back down.

'Sorry, mindmate -- I sympathize. That leaves the small-scale uprising; here, in the city. Can we pull that off?'

'Maybe. By Midsummer we'll have the working people solidly behind us; those that aren't losing half their incomes to Char's taxes are losing half their incomes because the others have less to spend,' Kethry said, nibbling at her thumbnail. 'What I've been working with are the merchants, and they are vastly discontent with the way things are going. If there's an uprising, they will be on our side of the riot. The problem is that these are not people used to righting.'

'Maybe not, but I'll bet most of them have a few hired fighters each, either as guards for themselves, or for their goods,' Tarma pointed out. 'If there were some way that we could promise that their property would stay safe, I'll bet they'd turn those fighters over to us for -- say -- two days. Assuming that they are professional enough to fight together as a force instead of a gaggle of individuals.'

'I'll work on that.' Kethry replied.

'I suspect we'll have most of the clergy, too, by Midsummer,' Jadrek offered. 'And for many of the same reasons. And I know of at least two militant orders within the city walls. Those Warriors will fight as a single unit.'

'Good. What about the highborn? Don't they have retinues?'

Jadrek shook his head with regret. 'No, not inside the city walls. That was one of Destillion's edicts; no noble can have more than four armed retainers when at Court. And you know the size of Char's guard force.'

'He's got a small army, not even counting his personal guard,' Tarma agreed ruefully. 'Still -- maybe I can come up with a notion. I might be able to work a bit of subversion in Char's forces, who knows? Let's stick with the local uprising plan. I think we're all agreed it's got the best chance of success.'

She swung her feet down off the table, and noticed with surprise that the light coming through the closed shutters was red. 'Damn! Sunset already? I've got to be getting back. Char's got another drunken orgy he's holding tonight, and wants his back safe.'