seen Master Dichartyn standing there? After a moment, I sat down at the desk. I needed to think about what I wanted from Geuffryt and how to approach him, as well as what I could ask or say to keep him off-balance.
I almost laughed. I was more likely to be the one off-balance.
I thought. I took notes. I scratched them out. I thought some more. I checked some of the reports in the files. Slowly, I came up with questions and information I needed to know. Before I knew it, ten bells had rung out noon.
Since I was now officially back at the Collegium, and since Seliora was engaged in furious cleaning, I walked over to the dining hall for the mid-day meal. There were only a few at the masters’ table-Kahlasa, Ferlyn, and Chassendri. All were Maitres D’Aspect, and all but Kahlasa had been masters when I’d been a mere secondus.
Ferlyn gestured for me to join them.
“Congratulations,” offered Kahlasa with a smile. “You’ve already impressed Schorzat.”
“Only with my ignorance, I fear; but I thank you for the courtesy.” As Schorzat’s second, she had certainly heard how I was doing…or not doing. “How’s Klaustya?”
“She’s five. Do I need to say more?”
I grinned. “No. I can hardly wait.”
“You and Seliora should have another. You two need to be outnumbered, if only to give the children a chance.”
“At some point, we probably will be.” I sat down immediately to Chassendri’s left.
“Not soon enough,” quipped Kahlasa.
Abruptly, I wondered where Maitre Dyana was, since she certainly couldn’t be eating at her still-demolished dwelling or the yet-unrepaired Maitre’s dwelling. Then, she might be meeting with someone.
“Are you going to leave the Civic Patrol?” asked Ferlyn.
“I’m still a captain, but I’m detailed to help with matters here for now.”
Ferlyn shook his head, then grinned, but didn’t press the question.
As I cut into one of the veal cutlets, I had to admit that the food at the Collegium was better-and far less costly, since I didn’t have to pay for it-than the infrequent mid-day meals I’d been having in the various bistros and cafes in Third District over the past five years. Then again, with more eating and far less walking, I’d really need Clovyl’s morning exercises and runs.
After several moments, Ferlyn looked at me. “Rhenn, what can you tell us about who was behind the attack on the Collegium?”
I finished a sip of the red wine before replying. “Since the barge carrying the bombards exploded, we have no evidence of who was actually firing the weapons. They were obviously skilled in antique weapons, and they were unfriendly. Unfortunately, we have more than a few enemies at present.” I paused, then inclined my head in Kahlasa’s direction. “Wouldn’t you say so?”
Kahlasa nodded.
Ferlyn shook his head again, then chuckled. “You covert types.”
“You’ve always known that,” said Chassendri mildly. “You just like to point it out whenever you can.”
“And you like to point out that I do.”
After that, we speculated on whether the advanced Ferran land-cruisers and other devices would survive the Jariolan winter, or if the present Cloiseran conflict would end up in the same stand-off as had the first. We came to no resolution, and I headed back to my study, and the reports and the unresolved questions.
At two quints before second glass, I made my way to the duty coach station, where there were two coaches waiting, one specifically for me.
“Maitre Rhennthyl? To the Naval Plaza?” asked Desalyt.
“The Bureau building there,” I confirmed, then slipped into the coach.
Desalyt took the Bridge of Desires and then followed the Boulevard D’Council to the Council Chateau and around it, and then half a mille northwest to the Naval Bureau, located in a gray stone building on the east end of the Naval Plaza. The Naval Command was in a larger imposing structure at the west end.
A lieutenant was waiting for me by the guard desk just inside the entry doors. “Maitre Rhennthyl, sir?”
“Yes.”
“This way, if you would, sir.”
I followed him a good fifty yards back to a wide staircase with polished marble steps and a brass balustrade, and then up to the second floor and back to an outer anteroom, with a senior clerk-rating seated behind a desk. Marshal Geuffryt’s spacious corner study had windows on both outer walls. He stood as I entered.
“Good afternoon, Maitre Rhennthyl.”
“Good afternoon, Marshal.”
Geuffryt gestured to the small round conference table set back from the windows at the north end of the study. There were four chairs. I took the chair that faced the door. He took the one to my right.
“How might I help you…and the Collegium?”
“As I am certain you always have, with information.” I smiled.
“We always attempt to be of assistance.”
“What other potentially dangerous explosives, munitions, or military equipment is missing or otherwise unaccounted for?” I offered the question casually.
“I can’t really tell you that,” Geuffryt replied.
“I don’t mind so much if you you’re not allowed to tell me,” I said. “But I’m going to be very worried if no one in the Naval Command knows whether such materials are missing. After all, the last batch of missing munitions and equipment had some very unfortunate consequences. Especially for the Collegium.”
“I really can’t say.”
“Should I be worried, then?”
“I can’t-”
I image-projected pure fury at the Sea-Marshal. Given the way I felt, it wasn’t difficult.
He turned pale.
I smiled. “Let’s try this again. The Collegium has the responsibility of protecting the Council and Imagisle itself. The Naval Command has the responsibility for maintaining and safeguarding munitions and equipment. It’s rather difficult and costly for us to do our job when we don’t have any idea what you and the Army have lost or allowed to be stolen. And if nothing else is missing, then there’s certainly no reason to hide that. Your response indicates fairly clearly that other explosives and equipment are missing. I don’t think anyone on the Council would want to know that you’re trying to hide that.”
I had to give Geuffryt credit. Outside of the momentary paling and the slight dampening of his brow, he hadn’t reacted.
“You’re only surmising,” he said with a faint smile.
“No. I know. Proving it might be harder, but I’m an imager, and if I go to certain members of the Council and suggest that’s the case, as well as pointing out that the Army Depot Commander vanished and that no one still investigated matters there…” I shrugged, then paused. “I’d rather not. You’d rather I didn’t. So what exactly is rumored to be missing?”
“We don’t know. There’s nothing missing on the scale of the bombards. But we have five major depots and some twelve smaller port and fleet depots, with tens of thousands of tonnes of munitions. We have four hundred armed vessels. Some only have three-digit cannon, but those still require munitions.” He shook his head. “We’re fairly certain we’re not missing something on the order of a thousand tonnes, but accounting errors, errors in resupply…how do you tell the difference between that and a tonne or so of Poudre B bags or the like that might have been deliberately misrouted or diverted? A few tonnes aren’t that much spread across four fleets.”
“But they’re quite a bit spread across five or ten cities and set in the right place.” I nodded. “You could have told me that to begin with. You didn’t. That suggests…a number of possibilities. How much do you think you’re missing?”
“There are two dubious manifests from the main resupply depot for the rework yard at Solis. They’re for one and two tonnes of bagged Poudre B for the standard five-digit guns.”
“Those are the most common fleet guns, I take it?”
