but we all know how tenacious Lord Wyvernspur can be when he gets to bulling around. I shouldn’t be surprised if he managed to destroy every bridge in the realm and set half the cities ablaze before the Sembians finally tracked him down.”
“Then call him off,” said Goldsword.
Filfaeril’s answer was simple and plain. “No.”
Goldsword’s face began to redden, and Tanalasta continued, “There are also the Letters of Marque to consider.”
“Letters of Marque?” It was Longbrooke who asked this.
Tanalasta turned to Hector Dauntinghorn, Commodore of the Imperial Flotilla based in Marsember. He was attending both in his capacity as a naval officer and as a representative of the Dauntinghorn family, his uncle being in the north with half the family retainers and King Azoun.
“After Ambassador Hovanay’s visit, the crown issued Letters of Marque to every ship loyal to Cormyr,” Hector explained. “In the event of a Sembian invasion, they are to consider any vessel flying a Sembian flag or entering or leaving a Sembian port as an enemy. In the event of said invasion, they are authorized to capture or sink every such vessel they encounter and keep all booty recovered.”
Goldsword’s eyes narrowed. “You would plunge Cormyr into a second war rather than accept aid in winning this one?”
“The crown would fight a second war rather than let its nobles sell the kingdom cheap,” Queen Filfaeril corrected. “But the choice is yours. As I said, we can’t stop the nobles from doing what they will do.”
“But you don’t have to!” burst Orvendel Rallyhorn. “You know how to stop the ghazneths!”
Tanalasta tried to warn the boy off with a quick shake of her head, but he was too busy looking around in surprise as everyone turned to face him.
“What did you say, Lord Rallyhorn?” asked Emlar.
The flattery was all that was needed to make the youth continue. “Princess Tanalasta knows how to rob the ghazneths of their power. She and Alaphondar have been working on it for more than a month. All they need is some help from us to catch them.”
“Is that so?” asked Lady Calantar.
Trying to ignore the angry look her mother flashed her, Tanalasta sighed and half-nodded. “After a fashion. We know how to weaken the ghazneths temporarily, but with the spy on the loose we have not been able to get close enough to the monsters to put our knowledge to use.” The princess did not need to explain which spy she meant. The entire royal court was abuzz with speculations about the identity of the ghazneth’s informant. Tanalasta furrowed her brow at Orvendel. “The ghazneths know every trap before we set it. Orvendel knows this.”
Orvendel was too caught up in his moment of fame to heed her warning. He turned to Emlar Goldsword. “What I know is that if you weren’t such a coward, Princess Tanalasta would have troops to put everywhere, then it wouldn’t matter if the ghazneths had a spy.”
Emlar gave him a cobra’s smile. “We can see that you need never fear the princess’s assassins.”
“Actually, neither do you,” said Queen Filfaeril. “These assassins belong to Princess Tanalasta no more than they belong to you. I can assure you of that personally.”
A stunned silence fell over the room as the nobles worked through the implications of Queen Filfaeril’s words. Even Tanalasta found her head reeling at what she thought she heard her mother saying. For the queen to know who did not control the assassins suggested she knew who did. If that were so, Tanalasta could only guess at the reason her mother had kept the knowledge secret.
Emlar seemed to reach his conclusion before everyone else. “You are to be commended for defending your daughter’s reputation, Majesty,” he said.
Filfaeril’s pale eyes grew icy. “Do you call me a liar, Goldsword? Or perhaps you think me irresolute enough to let such behavior go unpunished.” The queen leaned back and looked past Ildamoar Hardcastle to Korvarr Rallyhorn, who had been assigned to stand guard over Emlar personally. “Lord Goldsword has impugned the dignity of the queen. Execute him.”
“What?” Goldsword’s face grew stormy and indignant, and he braced his hands on the table so he could stand and look toward the queen. “You can’t-“
Korvarr cut the objection short by catching Emlar by the hair and pulling him off-balance to the rear to prevent him from defending himself. For a moment, Tanalasta thought the lionar would stop there, but then he jerked his captive’s head back and pressed his dagger under Lord Goldsword’s quivering jaw.
“Wait!” Tanalasta cried.
Korvarr cast an inquiring glance at Filfaeril, who raised one finger to delay the execution. “You have something to say before we proceed, Princess?”
Tanalasta started to say that her mother could not simply have a man executed, but of course she could.
The princess swallowed, then said, “If Lord Goldsword were to apologize, perhaps he might be excused for challenging your claim, Majesty. I myself doubted I understood you correctly until I considered The Rule of Law- particularly the passages relating to Time of War.”
The icy hint of a smile crossed Filfaeril’s lips, and Tanalasta knew with a sudden hollowness that she had guessed right. While Iltharl the Abdicator’s treatise The Rule of Law was not exactly the law of the land, it had been quoted as precedent for more than a thousand years and was certainly the foundation of Cormyrean common law. The particular passage Tanalasta referred to stated that during Time of War, any royal representative of the crown had complete authority to punish crimes against the crown. While it might be argued that execution was a rather severe penalty for affronting the queen, the treatise stated explicitly that during Time of War, the punishment was at the representative’s sole discretion and could not be appealed. In other words, Queen Filfaeril could execute not only Emlar Goldsword, she could execute any noble who committed even the smallest breach against the crown-and questioning Tanalasta’s right to call for troops could well be construed as a crime against the crown.
Queen Filfaeril remained silent, apparently considering her daughter’s appeal. A soft murmur rose around the table as the few nobles familiar enough with The Rule of Law to know the passage she cited explained it to those who did not. A lot of faces paled, and the unarmed lords began to cast uneasy glances at the dragoneers standing behind their benches. The loyal lords-Ildamoar Hardcastle, Hector Dauntinghorn, Roland Emmarask, and a handful of others-appeared more astonished than frightened. Only Orvendel Rallyhorn’s reaction did not make sense. Though he was practically touching Lord Goldsword, who remained off-balance with Korvarr’s dagger to his throat, Orvendel did not look astonished or frightened or even alarmed. He looked frustrated-frustrated and worried.
After giving the lords a few moments to appreciate their dilemma, Queen Filfaeril turned from Tanalasta. Her gaze lingered on Orvendel an instant and flashed icy hatred before continuing on to Lord Goldsword, and the princess knew that her mother’s surprises for the day were far from done. The queen had insisted on young Rallyhorn’s presence for a reason. Tanalasta had the sinking feeling she knew what it was-and this time, she would not be able to beg the crown’s mercy.
The queen let her gaze rest on Emlar until the room grew quiet again, then asked, “What say you, Lord Goldsword? Do you apologize?”
Emlar nodded. “Aye, I apologize for doubting you but not for speaking against the princess. I hold the Sembians to be Cormyr’s best hope now more than ever, and I’ll not apologize for that.”
“And I would not ask you to,” said the queen. “Obviously, the crown finds your opinion mistaken, but at least it is honest and takes into account Cormyr’s interests as much as your own. We are not in the habit of executing people for bad opinions and honest mistakes.”
Filfaeril motioned to Korvarr, who pulled his dagger away from Emlar’s throat and gently lowered him to his seat. The color returned to the lord’s face and to the faces of his supporters. Tanalasta knew that in a few moments of terror, her mother had won the cooperation she had been struggling to earn for months.
Emlar knew it as well. “Her majesty is most forbearing.” He inclined his head to the queen, then tried to salvage at least the appearance of compromise by adding, “The Goldsword house shall abide by the decision of this council.”
Filfaeril ignored him and turned to glare at Melot Silversword. “What the crown cannot abide are self-serving intriguers who straddle the wall until they see on which side the most profit will lie for their house. Such nothingarians cause harm enough when the realm is at peace, but during Time of War, they are tantamount to spies.”
