Elantris

What good will it do to aid the king now?'

Sarene gritted her teeth in annoyance. Then, however, she caught a twinkle in the elderly duke's eye. He knew. The duke reportedly had a spy network as extensive as most kings'-he had figured out what Hrathen was trying to do. He had asked the question not to provoke her, but to give her an opportunity to explain. Sarene exhaled slowly, grateful for the duke's tact.

'Someone is sinking the king's ships.' Sarene said. 'Common sense confirms what my father's spies say. Dreok Crushthroat's fleets couldn't be sinking the boats-most of Dreok's ships were destroyed fifteen years ago when he tried to take the throne of Teod, and any remnants have long since disappeared. Wyrn must be behind the sinkings.'

'All right, we accept that much,' Ahan said.

'Fjorden is also giving financial support to Duke Telrii.' Sarene continued.

'You don't have any proof of that, Your Highness,' Eondel pointed out.

'No, I don't,' Sarene admitted, pacing between the men's chairs, the ground soft with new spring grass. They had eventually decided to hold this meeting in the gardens of Kae's Korathi chapel. and so there was no tabIe for her to circle. Sarene had managed to remain seated during the first parr of the meeting, but had eventually stood. She found it easier to address others when she was on her feet-something of a nervous habit, she realized, but she also knew that her height lent her an air of authority.

'I do, however, have logical conjecture,' she said. Eondel wouId respond well to anything following the word 'logical.' 'We all attended Telrii's party a week ago. He must have spent more on that ball than most men make in a year.'

'Extravagance isn't always a sign of wealth.' Shuden pointed out. 'I've seen men poor as a peasant put on dazzling shows to maintain an illusion of security in the face of collapse.' Shuden's words rang true-a man at their own meeting, Baron Edan. was doing just what Shuden described.

Sarene frowned. 'I've done some checking around-I had a lot of free time this last week, since none of you managed to get this meeting together, despite its urgency.' None of the noblemen would meet her eyes after that comment. She'd finally gotten them together. But, unfortunately, Kiin and Lukel hadn't been able to attend because of a prior engagement. 'Anyway, rumors say that Telrii's accounts have swelled drastically during the last two weeks, and his shipments to Fjorden turn fantastic profits no matter what he chooses to send, whether it be fine spices or cow dung.'

'The fact remains that the duke has not aligned himself with Shu-Dereth.' Eondel pointed out. 'He still attends his Korathi meetings piously.'

Sarene folded her arms, tapping her cheek in thought. 'If Telrii openly aligned himself with Fjorden, his earnings would be suspicious. Hrathen is far too crafty to be so transparent. It would be much smarter for Fjorden to remain separate from the duke. allowing Telrii to appear a pious conservative. Despite Hrathen's recent advances, it would be much easier for a traditional Korathi to usurp the throne than it would be for a Derethi.'

'He'll take the throne, then make good on his pact with Wyrn.' Roial agreed.

'Which is why we have to make sure Iadon starts earning money again very soon,' Sarene said. 'The nation is running dry-it is very possible that Telrii will earn more in this next accounting period than Iadon, even including taxes. I doubt the king would abdicate. However, if Telrii were to stage a coup, the other nobles might go along with him.'

'How do you like that. Edan?' Ahan asked, directing a hearty laugh at the anxious baron. 'You might not be the only one who loses his title in a few months-old Iadon himself might join you.'

'If you please, Count Ahan,' Sarene said. 'It's our duty to make sure that doesn't happen.'

'What do you want us to do?' Edan asked nervously. 'Send gifts to the king? I don't have any money to spare.'

'None of us do. Edan,' Ahan responded, hands resting on his ample belly. 'If it were 'spare' it wouldn't be valuable now, would it?'

'You know what he means, Ahan,' Roial chided. 'And I doubt gifts are what the princess had in mind.'

'Actually, I'm open for suggestions, gentlemen,' Sarene said, spreading out her hands. 'I'm a politician, not a merchant. I'm a confessed amateur at making money.'

'Gifts wouldn't work,' Shuden said, hands laced before his chin contemplatively. 'The king is a proud man who has earned his fortune through sweat, work, and scheming. He would never take handouts, even to save his throne. Besides. merchants are notoriously suspicious of gifts.'

'We could go to him with the truth,' Sarene suggested. 'Maybe then he'd accept our help.'

'He wouldn't believe us,' Roial said with a shake of his aged head. 'The king is a very literal man, Sarene-even more so than our dear Lord Eondel. Generals have to think abstractly to outguess their opponents, but Iadon-I seriously doubt he's had an abstract thought in his life. The king accepts things as they appear to be, especially if they are the way he thinks they should be.'

'Which is why Lady Sarene fooled His Majesty with her apparent lack of wits,' Shuden agreed. 'He expected her to be foolish, and when she appeared to fit his expectations he dismissed her-even if her act was terribly overdone.'

Sarene chose not to rebut that remark.

'Pirates are something Iadon understands,' Roial said. 'They make sense in the world of shipping-in a way. every merchant considers himself a pirate. However, governments are different. In the king's eyes, it wouldn't make sense for a kingdom to sink ships filled with valuable merchandise. The king would never attack merchants, no matter how tense the war. And as far as he knows, Arelon and Fjorden are good friends. He was the first one to let Derethi priests into Kae, and he has given that gyorn Hrathen every liberty of a visiting nobleman. I seriously doubt we could convince him that Wyrn is trying to depose him.'

'We could try framing Fjorden.' Eondel suggested. 'Making it obvious that the sinkings are Wyrn's work.'

'It would take too long, Eondel,' Ahan said, shaking his jowls. 'Besides, Iadon doesn't have many ships left-I doubt he'll risk them in those same waters again.'

Sarene nodded. 'It would also be very difficult for us to establish a connection to Wyrn. He's probably using Svordish warships for the task-Fjorden itself doesn't have much of a navy.'

'Was Dreok Crushthroat Svordish?' Eondel asked with a frown.

'I heard he was Fjordell,' Ahan said.

'No,' Roial said. 'I think he was supposed to be Aonic, wasn't he?'

'Anyway,' Sarene said impatiently, trying to keep the meeting on track as she paced across the loamy garden floor. 'Lord Ahan said he wouldn't risk his ships in those waters again, but the king obviously has to keep them shipping somewhere.'

Ahan nodded in agreement. 'He can't afford to stop now-spring is one of the best buying seasons. People have been cooped up all winter with drab colors and drabber relatives. As soon as the snows melt, they're ready to splurge a little. This is the time when expensive colored siIks go for a premium, and that is one of Iadon's best products.

'These sinkings are a disaster. Not only did Iadon lose the ships themselves, he lost the profit he would have made off all those silks. not to mention the other cargo. Many merchants nearly bankrupt themselves this time of year by stockpiling goods that they know they can eventually sell.'

'His Majesty got greedy,' Shuden said. 'He bought more and more ships, and filled them with as much silk as he could afford.'

'We're all greedy, Shuden,' Ahan said. 'Don't forget, your family earned its fortune by organizing the spice route from Jindo. You didn't even ship anything-you just built the roads and charged the merchants to use them.'

'Let me rephrase. Lord Ahan,' Shuden said. 'The king let his greed make him foolish. Disasters are something every good merchant should plan for. Never ship what you can't afford to lose.'

'Well put,' Ahan agreed.

'Anyway.' Sarene said, 'if the king only has a couple of ships left, then they have to deliver a solid profit.'

' 'Solid' isn't the right word, my dear,' Ahan said. 'Try 'extraordinary.' It is going to take a miracle for Iadon to recoup from this little catastrophe-especially before Telrii humiliates him irreparably.'

'What if he had an agreement with Teod?' Sarene asked. 'An extremely lucrative contract for silks?'

'Maybe,' Ahan said with a shrug. 'It's clever.'