'Another mystery – and in my opinion, the most dangerous one. Among the members of this club are some of the finest minds around, academics and mages, but all we have discovered so far is that there is neither God nor daemon called Azaer. The last man who worked on the problem must have been getting somewhere, for Azaer decided to make an example of him. He was haunted by his own shadow and died, with his wife, in a locked room. I cannot and will not ask anyone else to face such a death again.
'Even so, it continues to snare others, victims of chance whose deaths serve no purpose that I can fathom beyond Azaer's own amusement.' The king leant forward on his desk as he spoke, his knuckles whitening.
Isak pointed to the book on the desk. 'According to Cardinal Disten, the man who wrote that book, Azaer was not really worshipped as such. Malich was a necromancer, he dealt with daemons. Cardinal Disten says he ifivoked Azaer's name as a warning, a threat to others.'
Isak felt a little foolish; Emin surely knew far more than he did, but he gave no sign of impatience.
'Then that in itself is instructive,' he said, contemplatively. 'Daemons require worship from their followers as Gods do. From what I can work out, Azaer encourages only fear, causing misery and pain whether his – its – name is mentioned or not. It's a subtler mind at work than a daemon, and I think perhaps, given how infrequently he acts, it is reasonable to say his power is weaker too, more suited to encouraging others along a certain path than creating the path itself. Azaer lives in the shadows-' He paused as Isak flinched, but the Krann said nothing.
After a moment Emin continued, but he was watching Isak carefully now. 'Azaer lives in the shadows, manipulating events, perhaps even thoughts, but why, we don't know. Those foolish few we've found worshipping Azaer have treated him as a daemon or a God, but generally it's been an individual, out for personal gain, rather than a huge group of people. My suspicion is that Azaer tolerates such a use as long as his name is associated with fear.'
'So what does he want with me?'
'The same as the Gods, the same as the Knights of the Temples, and probably the White Circle too. And right now I'm afraid we have more pressing concerns than even Azaer poses.' He raised a hand to ward off further questions and called out, 'Coran, bring them in please.'
Isak turned to the door as it opened to admit a group of men, varying in age. The white-eye took up position by the wall at Emin's desk. The first two men into the room were so engrossed in discussion they didn't even notice Isak, until a third gave a strangled squawk at the sight of him.
'Gentlemen, please come in and find yourselves a seat,' called Emin in a schoolmasterly tone. They turned to the king and collectively mumbled assent. From their clothes, Isak realised they were noblemen, but none of them looked at him with the suspicion he'd been greeted with at the baths.
'Lord Isak, may I introduce you to some friends of mine? The two elderly conversationalists at the front are Norimin Dele, Chief Librarian of the College of Magic, and Anversis Halis, my uncle. I'm not entirely sure why he's here, so we will ignore him for the time being, until he cannot keep himself from talking any longer and Coran throws him out.'
The librarian gave a throaty chuckle and patted his companion on the shoulder as Halis dismissed his nephew's words with an abrupt wave of the hand and sank into an armchair. From the glare Coran was giving Halis, it might be less of a joke than Emin was making out.
'Norimin, how goes your search for the Stigmata of the Last Battle?'
'Ah, well now!' the librarian exclaimed with enthusiasm, 'we have several interesting reports to follow up on – a young woman in Cholos has apparently had bouts of bleeding down the centre of her skull since the spring of last year. One of our friends has agreed to bring her to Narkang, so I hope to be able to bring her to the club and investigate matters further.'
'Excellent, I look forward to it. Please, take a seat. Next, Lord Isak, we have two rather more reputable men – in that they were founding members of the criminal organisation that so plagues this city. Sir Creyl, and Marshal Dorik of Tohl. Sir Creyl is also Commander of the Brotherhood.'
The two each gave a respectful bow and found chairs opposite the older men.
'And Counts Alscap, a long-time ally, and Antern, whom you have already met.'
These men bowed also. Antern positioned himself closest to King Emin, while the large, ruddy-faced Count Alscap was content to sit beside Isak and eye him suspiciously.
'Count Alscap is one of the newest members of our club and thus knows less of our activities than most,' the king added softly. 'I hope to persuade him that his influence could be better employed here than for further increasing his already impressive fortune.'
'Well, he's not convinced of that, and is in no rush to discover more – but he is in the king's debt and willing to be of what service he can,' Count Alscap said to Isak, his voice deep and rather abrasive.
'Well,' declared Emin, realising they were now all staring curiously at his guest, 'I hope my news will be sufficiently mundane for you, Count Alscap. Antern, Creyl and Dorik know this already, but for those of you who do not, you may have noticed that this year the Spring Fair is going to be the largest yet. Every tavern, inn and stable is already full; some enterprising spirits have even erected tents as temporary inns.'
He looked around the room. So far no one looked that interested. That in itself is not a problem,' he went on. 'However, it has come to my attention that there are more men coming in than have taken lodgings.'
Isak saw Count Alscap and the two older men sit up straighten
'Too many of the wagon-trains have too few wares, and too many attendants, if you pay the attention some public-spirited thieves do.'
'Have they been able to investigate the wagons?' asked Isak cautiously.
'No,' replied Sir Creyl, leaning forward in his seat, face flushed purple with anger. 'Two of our boys were caught and flogged to death by the guards. No local man would dare do that, not go up against both the law
they were bribed to ignore it, a good amount too. Fortunately for us, they quietly took the money and left to report it immediately to Commander Brandt. We encourage our watchmen to appear open to such offers.'
'Lots of men, wagons that they don't want thieves to investigate
– who's planning the rebellion then?' Isak looked round at the assembled faces, but they were all turned to the king.
The king cleared his throat. 'As far as we can tell, it's the White Circle. We've identified a number of known mercenary captains among the men coming in, which the Devoted would have no need for, even if they weren't noted for executing mercenaries at every opportunity.'
'But that's not like the White Circle, they've never led or funded an uprising anywhere,' protested Alscap. 'They've always used influence and money to get what they want. Even the war in Tor Milist
– they may be the guiding force, but they're neither paying for it or fighting it. Why would they change tactics now? Their detachment has worked well in the past.'
Everyone was nodding in agreement, though Isak wasn't quite sure what they were talking about: the White Circle kept cropping up, but all he really knew was that it was a sisterhood of rich women and Lesarl had not been able to infiltrate it – unless his beautiful assassin had managed to inveigle her way in by now. Everyone knew Helrect was run by a woman, Siala, a duchess by marriage – but she used no title, to underline the fact that she ruled without her husband's participation.
True enough,' replied Count Antern, 'but Narkang is rather greater a prize. Three months ago they brought a man into the city – we think he's to be the leader of this uprising. Most mercenaries will take money from women, but not orders, and none of the men associated with the White Circle here are capable of leading an army of any sort.'
'None still alive, you mean,' muttered the librarian, Dele, darkly. 'I can think of several men who'd have done it well enough before they contracted 'sudden illnesses' soon after their wives decided to join the White Circle.'
That bastard Jex,' bellowed the king's uncle suddenly. Half the room flinched at his unexpected outburst.
Halis muttered an apology as his nephew said, 'Correct uncle,
Herolen Jex. It took us a long time to discover who he was exactly, but even without his history, it's clear he could fill the role perfectly.' He looked at Isak. 'You probably won't have heard of Jex: he was a pirate captain from Vijgen, apparently quite famous if you have time for pirate tales, but he is both ruthless and intelligent for certain.'
'In any case,' Count Antem said, 'the end of the Spring Fair would be the logical time to attack. All of our
