“Very well” the prince replied. “For all your harsh assessment of my people, you are correct that we have the finest assassins in the world, and I intend to use them against your old nemesis. Velutio has the most powerful army in your empire, but that won’t help him if his head wakes one morning next to his body.”
Kiva shook his head. “That’s bad planning, Ashar, and you know it. You’re more desperate than you let on, otherwise you’d have thought this through further.”
“Explain.” A simple demand from the Pelasian.
“If you kill Velutio,” sighed Kiva, “all you do is take away the incentive for the lesser lords to behave themselves. If Velutio dies, the chaos will increase, not decrease.”
The prince nodded. “I realise that that is a possibility, but it would be easier to put down the smaller lords than the master himself. Besides, what other choice is there?”
It was Athas who picked up the conversation now. “Did you ever play ‘towers’ when you stayed in the capital? It’s a very good strategy game that the captain and I used to play regularly. The objective is to destroy enough of the opposition’s towers that the remaining ones are too far apart to support each other. I was never all that good, though the captain was better… but Quintus was the best player I ever saw.”
The prince narrowed his eyes. “I believe I see where you are going with this, but do go on.”
Athas smiled. “He’s the only player I ever saw completely demolish the opposition. He left not a tower standing. The game was nice and evenly balanced one minute and then he pulled a trick I’d never even thought of and in only three moves I had no pieces left. It was unbelievable.”
Ashar nodded. “But this is no game and we have no Quintus. We have Quintillian and the towers are real and filled with armies and hungry lords. A nice story, but how does it apply?”
Athas coughed. “I’m not actually sure yet. The captain and I have discussed the future a few times though and it always comes back to the game. All the towers have to go at once, as we only have a couple of pieces ourselves.” He glanced across at Kiva. “There’s only one man here with the kind of tactical genius that Quintus had, so we’ll have to wait until the captain here has a flash of inspiration.”
The prince nodded. “It’s up to you then Caerdin. If you have plans for the boy, I will not interfere. Perhaps we will work together when the time comes? I will wait upon your magnificent brain and when you think the time is right and your plans become clear, call my name. I will never be very far away.” He smiled at the boy. “And we’ll drink to the health of your future ruler and my future ally.”
Raising his glass the prince stood, saluted Quintillian, and drained the amber liquid. Dropping the glass back to the table, he reached into his surcoat and spun around. A chisel-tipped throwing knife whistled through the air with an accuracy that surprised even Kiva and entered the innkeeper’s throat just below the chin. Turning back to the table, the prince refilled his glass and smiled. “I told him price would not be a problem” he joked as behind him the innkeeper slithered down the wall leaving a trail of red.
Quintillian blinked. “Why him?”
Kiva patted him on the shoulder again. “If his highness hadn’t have done it, I would have. Within a day Velutio would know you’ve been here and the barman would be able to retire a wealthy man.”
The prince laughed loudly. “Unless you’ve undergone some miraculous training in the last two decades, you’d not even have hit the wall, let alone the barkeep!” Taking a sip of his drink and replacing the glass, he wandered over to the bar to retrieve his knife. Returning and wiping the blood on a bar cloth before sheathing the blade, Ashar raised an eyebrow and regarded Kiva as he sat. “What are you planning to do then until your miracle comes to pass? Remain on the move? In hiding?”
This was of course a question Kiva was ill-prepared to answer, having only the loosest idea himself. He watched the prince suspiciously. Still, the Pelasian would know what he was doing as he did it if not before and had as much at stake here as anyone. Sometimes the least trustworthy of people became the ones you had to rely on.
“We head for Serfium. I’ve friends there from the old days who’ll keep us out of the way of Velutio’s hunters. Quintillian wants to return to Isera though I’m loathe to walk into the bastard’s hands like that.”
Ashar nodded. “Foolish indeed. Perhaps some of my information will be useful to you, at least in preventing such insanity.”
Kiva pricked up an ear. “You know about what’s going on in the capital then? Anything you can tell us might help. I’m stuck at an impasse at the moment.”
The prince laughed loud. “When was I ever in the dark about current events, Caerdin?” The smile faded and with another sip of wine he placed his hands on the table. “Very well. Velutio is well aware of how the three fugitives escaped Isera. He now has a chart showing the old Imperial escape route as his commander spent a week on the island with everyone there. I believe some harm came to the minister, though no report yet has suggested that he has passed away, so I presume he still runs the island. There was some altercation between the commander of Velutio’s army and the captain of his personal guard and I believe a man called Sabianus is commanding both units. Other than that events on Isera are a bit of a mystery. It was hard enough gathering intelligence on the island before Velutio’s troops landed there and my source on the island stopped signalling once Sabianus landed. All the information I have now has been gleaned from sources in the city.”
As Ashar took a breath before continuing, Kiva held up his hand. “What kind of man is this Sabianus? Do you know anything about him?”
The prince shrugged. “Only a little. He has a good reputation as a commander and very highly paid. He’s been sent to deal with insurrections by some petty lord to the south at the moment. Velutio’s left a small garrison on the island and it really would be ridiculous to go there. Now that he knows about the escape route, you can be sure there’s no secret way in any more.”
Kiva smiled. “There’s always a card up my sleeve, highness. There’s more than one secret passage through the reefs. Just have to know them, that’s all. Still, I agree.” He turned to Quintillian. “Going back to the island is nothing short of surrender and probable suicide. We have to find another way forward, and I think I’m getting an idea.”
The prince raised a questioning eyebrow. “Your mind works fast general.”
“Sometimes.” He drummed his fingers on the table thoughtfully. “Though this relies on stirring up a lot of trouble. Can you find out about this commander Sabianus for me? If he’s a good commander, he might be someone from the old days. There were an awful lot of lesser officers I didn’t know, but if he commanded in the Imperial army, you can be sure that I’ll know someone who knew him. On the whole Imperial officers would tend to be more sympathetic, but I don’t want to push anything until I know more.”
There was a scraping noise as Athas pulled his chair across to their table. “Do I take it we’re getting ready to act, captain?”
Kiva grinned. “Anything that stops you and Mercurias nagging me night and day has to be worth a leaping into the mouth of hell with a very long rope.” He turned back to the prince. “Ok. If you’re really in this the whole way, we might as well make some plans, but if we are going to actually commit to something I have to have absolute control. You have to submit to my command, alright? I want the old oath from you and from all your men.”
The prince frowned. “I will not take your soldier’s oath Caerdin. I will not be bound to you for the rest of my life, but I will remind you that I am still bound by an oath to the boy’s uncle. We have an accord between our nations that supersedes anything you may ask for, and that oath stands for my men also, as it does to any Pelasian.”
The captain nodded. “I’ll accept that, though I want your men back here and I want to hear you all reaffirm that oath to Quintillian.”
“Very well, general. I will submit to your command. What would you have us do?”
Kiva smiled and rummaged in his pack, producing a stylus and a wax writing pad. Scraping off the existing text, he started to scribble furiously. “This is a list of the few Lords I can think of who might consider joining us. They’re all currently free men, but all live in the shadow of Velutio. You’ll need to use my name and that of Quintillian to convince them.” He slid the tablet across to the prince, who picked it up and rand down the list of names.
Another rummage in his pack and the captain withdrew three items. Two flasks emblazoned with the insignia of the Wolves appeared on the table, next to a ring with a seal. He passed one of the flasks to Ashar. “This should be proof enough you’ve spoken to me.” Pushing the ring across, he stared meaningfully at the prince. “This is the only one of its kind left, so be very careful with it. The Imperial seal. They were all destroyed, but as a member of
