‘I thought your nephew was your heir,’ the Prince explained with some exasperation. ‘Certainly something more than merely your aide.’
Realisation dawned on Bastorran. ‘I fear we’re at cross purposes, sire. My fault entirely. I am Devlor, Lord High Chief of the Paladins. You’re thinking of my late uncle, Ivak.’
Melyobar blinked at them, like a myopic trying to focus. ‘Late?’
‘Sadly, sire, yes. My uncle passed on some months ago, the victim of a notorious radical. You were informed at the time, Majesty.’
The Prince sighed. ‘Another triumph for him.’
‘With all due respect, Your Highness, I hardly think the assassin’s deed could be termed a triumph.’
‘Assassin? I suppose he is, in a way. The great slayer is a kind of ultimate assassin. Yes, I like that.’
Bastorran and Meakin exchanged glances; the former one of vexation, the latter puzzlement.
‘Apologies, sir,’ Bastorran said, ‘but I misconstrued your meaning. You’re speaking of Death, naturally.’
‘Of course I am. Who else? The grief over the loss of your uncle has obviously skewed your senses.’
‘Yes,’ the paladin replied as best he could between clenched teeth, ‘that must be it.’
‘What a pity your uncle couldn’t have modelled himself on my own dear father,’ Melyobar suggested, ‘the only person in history, so far, to defy the Reaper’s dominion. Truly a shining example to the rest of us.’
‘Indeed, sire.’
‘So, why are you here?’ the Prince asked brightly.
The change of topic and mood almost stumped Bastorran. ‘I’m here to be officially recognised as the new Clan leader, Majesty.’
‘To receive my blessing.’
‘Er, yes. In a way. It’s a formality, of course, but-’
‘And what kind of leader will you be?’
‘What kind, Your Majesty?’
‘As compared to your late uncle.’
‘I would hope to emulate all his best qualities, Highness. Though in some respects I’m departing from his style of leadership.’
‘How?’
‘One of my Uncle Ivak’s many virtues was that he had too much heart, Your Majesty.’
This came as a surprise to Meakin, but naturally he kept silent.
‘Commendable as this quality was,’ Bastorran went on, choosing his words carefully, ‘it had the regrettable effect of encouraging Your Highness’s enemies.’
‘He was soft on the terrorists?’
‘I’m not certain that was his intention, sire, but it’s how his actions were perceived.’
‘Whereas your policies will be firmer.’
‘Considerably. I’d go so far as to say that under my leadership recent events might have taken a very different turn.’
‘You would have prevented this exodus of rebels I’ve been told about?’
‘I take it Your Royal Highness is referring to certain antisocial elements escaping justice by fleeing to the Diamond Isle. It was hardly an exodus.’
‘But how would you have stopped it?’
‘Simply by ensuring that there were no rebels to escape, Majesty. Unlike my uncle, and, if I may say so, certain other decision-makers in the security services, I would never have tolerated these traitors’ existence in the first place.’
‘It seems we share a similar view, High Chief.’
‘I’m pleased to hear you approve, sire.’
‘Oh, yes. If a fire rages, cut down the trees it feeds on.’
‘Precisely, sir.’
‘My father often says that the best way to catch a fish is by draining the sea.’
It struck Bastorran and Meakin that this was an odd analogy, quite apart from Melyobar’s use of the present tense, but both dutifully nodded.
‘I wonder how they dealt with him during the Dreamtime?’ the Prince said.
‘Your pardon, Majesty?’ Bastorran replied.
‘Death. Would he have walked the land in those days?’
They realised he was drifting again.
‘I have no idea, Majesty,’ the paladin ventured. ‘Hasn’t Death always been in the world?’
‘He must have been, mustn’t he? I mean, if he wasn’t, the Founders would still be here, wouldn’t they?’
‘Yes, I suppose that’s-’
‘It’s a sobering thought, isn’t it? Even the mighty Founders, subject to his whim. It goes to show how worthy an opponent he is, doesn’t it?’
‘As you say, Highness.’
Something like clarity seemed to inform the Prince’s features. ‘Still, it’s all irrelevant now, of course. Or about to be.’
‘Sire?’
He gave them a smile that was almost impish. ‘You’ll see.’
14
It had been snowing hard in the northern wastes. Zerreiss’s army was forced to halt, and even the warlord himself, usually a patient man, had grown restless. But as night fell on the third day, the snow finally died down.
In the warlord’s tent, bathed by the soft glow of oil lamps and candles, Zerreiss stood by a hide map on an easel.
‘Finally ending here,’ he concluded, pointing to a spot on the chart.
‘But what you’re suggesting doesn’t make up the time we’ve lost, sir,’ commented Sephor, the younger of his two closest aides. ‘In fact it adds a significant amount of time to the original plan.’
‘I’m aware of that. But can it be done, logistically? Wellem?’
‘It’s not impossible, but it’ll need a great effort and a lot of preparation. You’re talking about taking the bulk of the army to sea for the first time, and the practicalities of that are complex.’
‘But that was always our intention.’
‘Yes, chief, but not this soon in the campaign. The number of ships we’ll need-’
‘That’s why I propose taking port cities here, here and…here,’ Zerreiss said, indicating sites on the map.
‘Even if we captured every vessel in all three locations,’ Sephor noted, ‘which assumes the defenders wouldn’t move or torch them, we still wouldn’t have all the ships we need.’
‘Then we’ll build more. We have the manpower, and the skills.’
‘Would we have the materials?’ Wellem asked.
The warlord turned to his map again. ‘There are forests here and here. Not too far to haul timber from, assuming the weather’s kind to us.’
‘You’ve heard this before, chief, but I’m worried we’ll spread ourselves too thin. You’re proposing three sieges to take place more or less simultaneously, and what could be a massive boat-building programme. That’s in addition to the forces needed to guard the places we’ve already conquered.’
‘But recruitment continues apace,’ Zerreiss told him. ‘There’s always a net gain. Everywhere we go, they flock to us.’
‘Faster than we can train or equip them.’
‘The best training they can have is in the field. It’s how I got mine. And remember that most of the men we’re attracting to the cause are military anyway. They’re not tyros.’
‘Sir,’ Sephor ventured awkwardly, ‘you’ve told us what you want to do, but you haven’t said why.’
