tumbles. He leaned towards his self-invited guests, hands in his lap.
'Tell me all your names,' he said.
'I am Furlthia, as you know. The elderly man next to me is Serbicuis, a chieftain from the Altes hills. My companion in the robe is Leraates; an Askhan, as you have guessed. The last of us is Kubridias, until recently of Magilnada.'
This last name Aegenuis actually recognised, though he could not recall the man. He was one of the chieftains of the Free Country; or had been, until Ullsaard had started his invasion.
A serf appeared at Aegenuis's shoulder, a bowl of chicken stew in hand. With a glance at Furlthia, he set the meal down before Aegenuis, brought a platter of bread closer and quickly retreated to a place next to the fire pit.
'You run my hall better than me,' said the king. 'Think that you might run my lands better as well?'
'Not at all,' said Leraates. 'It is because we want you to stay king, and Ullsaard to leave your lands, that we are here.'
'Go on,' said Aegenuis, waving a spoon at the Askhan, mouth full of chicken.
'Ullsaard does not have total support within Greater Askhor. His attack on Salphoria is against the wishes of many. We would rather the agreement of King Lutaar was maintained.'
'I'm not the one that broke the treaty,' said Aegenuis, dunking a fistful of bread into his stew. 'You can take that up with your oath-breaking king.'
'We plan to do better than that,' said Leraates. He pushed his plate to one side and leaned his elbows on the table. 'When Ullsaard is defeated in Salphoria, we will restore the true line of the Blood to its proper place.'
'You have Kalmud somewhere, do you? Or maybe Erlaan.'
Leraates was taken aback.
'Don't mistake a drunkard for an idiot,' growled Aegenuis. 'And I'm not drunk at the moment. Carry on.'
'It's simple,' said Furlthia, raising a hand to hush Leraates reply. 'Ullsaard's rule in the empire is new and weakly held. It is only fear of his legions that brings him anything like loyalty from his governors. Without the threat of the Askhan armies, he is nothing. Those inside Askhor want to see him fail as much as we do. If we can deal a blow to Ullsaard in our lands there are those who are backing him that'll withdraw their support.'
'Sounds fine when you say it like that,' said Aegenuis. 'Simple enough, yes. All I have to do is defeat the most powerful army in the world, and this Askhan cat-buggerer will do the rest?'
Leraates took the insult without reply. Furlthia picked at the scraps on his plate as he continued.
'If you can retake Magilnada, the whole campaign fails.'
Aegenuis laughed, spearing his knife into another piece of chicken. He plucked it from the blade with his teeth and chewed noisily.
'You might have noticed,' the king sprayed gravy as he spoke, 'that the whole Askhan army is between Carantathi and Magilnada. Oh, and I don't have an army. '
'You wouldn't have to lift a sword,' said Serbicuis, talking excitedly over Furlthia. 'Anglhan will turn on Ullsaard.'
'Anglhan?' The king's voice dropped to a harsh whisper, the name forced through gritted teeth. 'That oathless, traitorous, shit-eating, corpse-fucking smear of an arse stain! He steals a city from me and then promises to give it back?'
'By right of the treaty with King Lutaar, Magilnada was not your city,' said Leraates.
'None of that matters,' said Furlthia, cutting in before Aegenuis could react. 'At the moment, like it or not, Anglhan is governor of Magilnada and the lands around the city. He's offering to return to the Free Country agreement that existed before Ullsaard moved in. Anglhan's a greedy bastard, don't forget, and I wouldn't trust him as far as I could spit, but if we can offer him something that makes it worth his while, it gives us all chance to get what we want.'
The other men looked to Aegenuis for a reply. The Salphorian king said nothing, still fuming at the gall of Anglhan trying to trade off a stolen city. Aegenuis chewed laboriously as he considered his options. Part of him wanted to walk away without anything further said. Being king had brought him wealth and influence, but ruling over the Salphors was an uncertain privilege at the best of times. The most likely reward for turning back the Askhans, if it could actually be done, would be a knife in the back from Medorian or one of the chieftains looking to become king over a newly secured Salphoria.
'Perhaps Anglhan has the right idea,' said the king. He held up his hand to silence Furlthia, who was leaning forward eagerly. 'You misunderstand me. Perhaps I should treat with Ullsaard directly. It seems to me I'd be better off as a governor for Askhor than a defeated king.'
'No, you cannot do that,' said Kubridias.
'Why not?' said Aegenuis. 'Seems to be that the future of an Askhan governor might not be so bad.'
'Let me make myself clear,' said Kubridias. 'There are those of us that will not suffer Askhan rule by any means. We consider any man who works with the Askhans as a traitor to our people. You would not live long enough to make such a deal with Ullsaard, and if you did you would not enjoy the position for long.'
Aegenuis's plate crashed across the table as the king rose to his feet, smashing dishes and cups.
'You come to my hall and threaten me?' roared Aegenuis. 'You deal with that cock-hungry mongrel in Magilnada and call me a traitor? I'll cut your balls off for that!'
Kubridias stood as well, angrily wiping spatters of wine and gravy from his face. Serbicuis lunged across the wide table, snatching at the other chieftain's arm as he reached for his knife.
'Everybody sit down,' said Leraates. His voice was like a blade on stone, cutting through the snarled insults and posturing of the men around him. Aegenuis looked incredulously at the Askhan, astounded by the man's affront; the others quietened immediately, cowed by his tone.
'Have I fallen so low that even here, in my own hall in Carantathi, an Askhan is telling me what to do?' Aegenuis said.
'Yes,' replied Leraates. 'Sit. Down.'
The Salphorian king's eyes bulged with anger, but his stare was met with a look of such cold malice from the Askhan that his ire froze in his gut. In that moment, Aegenuis realised that he had misjudged the situation. Furlthia was representing Anglhan, and both were mistaken in their view that they were in charge. As the other Salphors heeded the Askhan's command like hunting dogs called to heel, the king saw where the true power in this group was found. An Askhan did dare to give him orders in his own hall, and with good reason; in time these lands would belong to Askhor, one way or the other. Leraates was offering Aegenuis an alternative to direct rule by Ullsaard, though the deal had not yet been spoken.
Aegenuis knew who Leraates was, in type if not individually. His robes, his style, his wish to see the plans of Ullsaard dashed pointed to one conclusion: the Brotherhood. What little Aegenuis had heard of the strange Askhan sect had been unpleasant. He had not the slightest doubt that Leraates was here because he had a use for the Salphorian king. If Aegenuis proved unsuitable to that use, he might as well slit his own throat on the spot.
Hesitantly, Aegenuis lowered himself back onto his throne, his eyes never leaving Leraates.
'Thank you, king,' said the Askhan. He studied Aegenuis for a moment. 'Everything you are thinking is true, Aegenuis. Anglhan is not to be trusted, but that is not your concern. One step at a time, king. Let me make the situation clear for you. Ullsaard has overstretched his reach. He thought he could conquer Salphoria in a single season. At this moment he is making winter quarters hundreds of miles to dawnwards, tightening his grip on the lands he has held. Masons and engineers and labourers will come in the winter. They will build roads and towers, fortify towns and erect bridges over the rivers. By the first sun of spring, armies will be able to move from Magilnada to Daruin in thirty days rather than sixty. Grain carts and other supplies will be like the cord of a newborn babe, linking them to the life of Greater Askhor.'
Throughout, Leraates spoke in a measured tone, his language the tongue of the dawnwards Salphorian peoples tinged by his Askhan accent. His eyes pinned Aegenuis to his throne, but his voice, his words, were intended for every man at the table.
'That cord must be severed if you wish to keep Ullsaard from being at your door within the year. You cannot do that from here. Your son tries to convince the chieftains to attack Ullsaard, but that attack will fail. Only Anglhan is in a position to hurt Ullsaard. He is a toad of a man, and your reputation will suffer dearly, but you must give Anglhan what he wants in return for his cooperation. Refuse and you will be dead before the year is out; either by the hand of Ullsaard or one of your own chieftains. That is a warning, not a threat.'
