earlier, during the Unseelie invasion.
'Your primary mission,' said Paet, 'is to make contact with several of the local authorities in Blood of Arawn who we believe may be particularly resistant to the current political situation. Since Mab conquered Annwn five years ago, the populace has become more and more restless. There have been four separate rebellions quashed by the Unseelie contingent there. All of them minor, but there does seem to be a trend.'
'What are we after?' asked Silverdun. 'Annwn is a bit of a backwater, isn't it?'
'Yes,' said Paet, 'but it's a backwater that provides a massive amount of tribute in the form of gold and a fair-sized army that can be mobilized against the Seelie Kingdom should Mab see fit to do so.'
'Do we have intelligence that leads us to believe she might?'
Paet nodded. 'We have evidence that proves she already has. One of our spotters along the border near Wamarnest spied two companies of Annwni cavalry training alongside their Unseelie counterparts.'
Ironfoot frowned. 'Why train so near the border? Wouldn't it make sense to hide that kind of force?'
Paet made a noncommittal gesture. 'It may be that they wanted us to see it, to frighten us.'
'It's also the only place they've got to drill cavalry,' said Silverdun. 'Any farther north and the ground is too unstable to risk horses. They build those cities in the sky for a reason.'
'Regardless,' said Paet, 'if we can find some way to undermine the Unseelie in Annwn then we're that much closer to surviving a war.'
'You'd like the two of us to whip up an armed insurrection? That shouldn't be too difficult. We'll hand out a few sharpened sticks and some pamphlets and that'll be the thing done.'
Paet sighed. It was childish to needle him, but it was also gratifying.
'There are other methods that may prove more effective,' said Paet, ignoring him. 'As you may know, the political system in Annwn is rather unlike ours. Overall, they're ruled by the Unseelie, but Mab typically doesn't dismantle the existing structure unless it suits her to do so, and in the case of Annwn, it did not.'
'So what's the existing structure?' asked Ironfoot.
'The city of Blood of Arawn, and thus the world at large, is run by a number of elected magistrates, who themselves elect seven of their number to act as a high council.'
'Who elects them?' asked Silverdun. 'The people?'
'Yes,' said Paet. 'Property holders, anyway.'
'Very progressive,' said Silverdun.
'Anyhow, this system of elections is rife with corruption, and any given election can be bought fairly easily. A few bags of gold distributed to the right people-'
'And we can help place in power those favorable to our cause,' finished Silverdun.
'Precisely,' said Paet. 'As Everess has told you both, our battles aren't fought on the field. Our offensives are a bit more judicious.'
'I imagine it would be fairly expensive to buy out the entire body politic,' said Silverdun. 'Or do your pockets run deeper than I suspect?'
'Any trouble we can cause,' he said, 'even enough to disrupt troop movements between worlds for a while, could give us a useful advantage. And if we can help arrange a rebellion with the vague promise of Seelie assistance ...' Paet let the words linger in the air.
'But there wouldn't be any real Seelie assistance, would there?' said Ironfoot.
'Not unless we wanted to start the war on our own, no. But allowing a few rebels to believe it is a different matter altogether.'
Silverdun smiled. 'I see that Everess's way of thinking has rubbed off on you,' he said. 'Anything for victory.'
'Yes,' said Paet. 'For this victory, yes.' He leaned forward. 'For this victory I will lie and cheat and steal and kill if I must. If the choice is between a single life and a way of life, then there is no contest.'
He glared at Silverdun. 'Spend some time in Annwn under Unseelie rule and then tell me what you think about it.'
Paet had a fine way of making even the most ruthless actions seem reasonable. No wonder Everess had him in charge.
Paet waited for what seemed a calculated moment and then added as if in afterthought, 'There's something else I'd like you to check into while you're in Annwn.'
