“And the king?” Relam asked sharply.
Thius frowned. “I thought he was killed by a bear?”
“Just checking,” Relam muttered. “Anyway, Lord Thius you are under arrest. You are stripped of your titles and privileges as Head of the Assembly. You will be imprisoned for now, and you will testify to the Assembly later today when I address them to explain the events of the last twenty-four hours. Do I have your word that you will follow the terms of this agreement?”
“You do,” Thius whispered, hanging his head, defeated.
“Good.” Relam turned to his guards. “Galen, Eric. Take him to the Citadel and turn him over to Narin. He will keep our prisoner safe for us.”
And, without another word, the co-conspirator was led from the room, a once mighty and proud lord brought low.
Chapter 46
Five hours later, Relam marched along the River Road with his four guards, Oreius, and Cevet. Their destination loomed ahead of them, Assembly Hall, where the Assembly of Nobles and the High Council met. The building was dominated by an impressive domed roof, and the entrance facing the River Road featured a wide porch with several thick columns supporting a peaked roof.
The small band did not pass through this monolithic entry though. Instead, they moved unobtrusively around the side of the building to a smaller, less ornate entrance. Here, Cevet took the lead and guided the others through a network of narrow hallways until they reached a small anteroom that adjoined the vast hall where the Assembly met.
Relam moved to the far end of the room, so that he was standing beside the door to the main hall. That single, heavy wooden door was all that stood between Relam and hundreds of nobles. He wiped his hands on his pants, trying to dry them, but they started sweating again in moments.
“Remember,” Oreius said gently. “You are not on trial. You have done nothing wrong. You are in the right and you acted as you should have. There is nothing to be worried about.”
“What if some of them were part of Thius’ scheme?” Relam muttered.
“That might be a problem,” Oreius allowed. “But all the same, you’ll be fine. If things get ugly, I’ll knock some heads for you.”
Relam snorted. “I’d like to see that. The greatest sword master of all time versus hundreds of angry nobles. That would be a slaughter.”
“Well, it wouldn’t just be me,” Oreius pointed out. “Your guards will be there as well, just in case.”
“That’s right,” Wil piped up from behind Relam. “You say the word, your majesty, and we’ll put them in their place.”
“No fighting,” Relam said quickly. “Unless things get extremely out of hand. This will be a peaceful, organized meeting and we will smoothly move on from this catastrophe.”
“Hopefully,” Oreius muttered. But his guarded expression said that he believed their chances of accomplishing that were slim.
“It’s time,” Relam murmured, glancing at the door. “Are you ready?”
“We’re right behind you, your majesty,” Galen promised.
Relam nodded and took a deep breath. “Right. Form up and follow me.”
His guards formed two files behind Relam, Oreius slightly in front of the first row. Relam checked the formation, then reached out and opened the door to the Assembly Hall, stepping through quickly.
He was not prepared for the wall of noise that assaulted his ears almost immediately. Whispering, murmuring, shouting, calling, yelling. A cacophony of sounds as over two-hundred nobles argued about this and that while they waited for the meeting to start. Fortunately, this also meant they were distracted when Relam entered and it gave him time to survey the room as he walked to the podium.
Most of the space was taken up by a semicircular section filled with curving rows of seats. The back wall was lined with pillars that soared up to a half-dome ceiling covered with gold leaf and intricate scrollwork. Aside from the door Relam had just come through, there was only one other exit, a set of double doors at the back of the room, directly opposite the podium.
The podium was a simple, square lectern. Sturdy and useful, but not overly impressive or intimidating. It stood on a raised section in the center of the semicircle, at the front of a small, square stage. In front of the podium, at ground level, was a long, strangely shaped table. The edge closest to the stage was straight as an arrow, the other side gently curved to match the curvature of the room. Behind the table sat the High Council of the Assembly, the great lords mixed in with a few high-ranking minor lords.
Relam strode directly to the podium and looked out over the room, at the sea of milling bodies. Few had noticed him, but conversation was slowly dying out as others became aware of their unexpected guest. Nobles stopped in place and turned to look at him, mouths dropping open in astonishment.
When at last silence came over the hall, Relam leaned forward over the podium.
“Please, be seated,” he called. “Then we can begin this special meeting of the Assembly.”
The nobles hesitated, then scurried to their places around the room, settling amongst a rustle of rich fabrics. Relam waited a moment longer, looking around to see where everyone had ended up, then spoke again.
“Thank you. Now, some of you are no doubt surprised to see me here, since I disappeared from a burning room in the palace last night. I am before you to present the events of the last twenty-four hours, and some occurrences leading up to those events.”
“Where is Lord Thius?” a minor lord called from the fifth row.
Relam met the man’s gaze evenly. “You will hear from him,” the young prince said. “But perhaps not in the capacity you are accustomed to.”
Murmuring swept through the hall at this.
