Chapter 7 Part 7

Tyson sat at a table in the House study. He snacked on an exotic fruit that he had seen earlier that morning and had requested the kitchen to furnish for him. His report to Miguel had gone well. The young priest of Ragnera was ecstatic to learn that in Tyson's opinion, the prophesies stored at Tycho were not connected with the arrival of himself and the others.

Miguel also had good news. Another slave girl had announced her pregnancy. In Miguel's eyes, it was another chance to produce a male heir. Tyson simply saw it as a foolish gamble on the part of the girl. Miguel was thirty years old. In the fifteen years or so since he had impregnated his first slave, he had sent over a hundred maidens to the sacrificial altar. At least that is what the cook had said during idle conversation one day. Not once had an heir been produced. He wondered that no one had made any magical attempts to control the gender of the offspring. Surely Morteous had the ability, he thought.

Tyson finished his snack and called a slave to take the food away. The young woman responding smiled suggestively. Tyson understood her meaning, but pretended that he did not. There were times when he would have been more than happy to let her seduce him, but he had other thoughts on his mind at the moment.

Tyson left the study with a destination of the throne chamber in mind. He wanted to report on his mission to Keron, but the morning schedule of audiences had made an earlier report unlikely. Now he thought to catch Morteous during the lunch hour.

When he approached the audience chamber, the guard snapped to attention and immediately opened the door without question. Ever since Serpent had rewarded his act of saving their lives in the wasteland, Tyson had found very few places in Aspberg that he did not have access to. "One of those places was the vault where the Tome of Creation was stored, and another was the private laboratory of Morteous Blackheart. Tyson understood both situations. The Tome was far too valuable to allow anyone at all unsupervised access to it. And no mage in the world left his workshop door unlocked. Each mage had secrets that he kept to himself. Tyson had his, Ultrecht and Armegon had theirs, and Morteous had his.

As the doors parted, Tyson entered the room. There were several courtiers lingering about. Tyson's experience with the nobles of Aspberg were rarely favorable. They viewed him as one of low birth who had lied cheated and squirmed his way into the good graces of their lord. Tyson viewed them as nothing more than back stabbing and gossip mongering imbeciles. It was a view that Morteous privately shared with him. He had said so himself during a more clandestine meeting.

"Tyson, faithful servant of House Blackheart, and Left Hand of the Lord of Aspberg," announced the master of ceremonies. Tyson approached the throne with his head held high. His title as the Left Hand, of the Lord of Aspberg had been his reward from Serpent after the battle in Gly-ou-vogue.

The left hand of a head of state was usually his magician or truthsayer. The right hand was normally either an administrator of military leader. In Morteous' case, it was the administrator. Morteous hated the details of state, and only one bearing the title of right hand could govern in the absence of the city's lord.

Tyson approached the throne and bowed. Morteous looked totally bored and uncomfortable. Tyson pitied him. "My liege," Tyson began. "I have returned from Keron with word that my mission was successful." That is all he really needed to say. There were spies everywhere, so why give them the advantage of knowing what the mission was. He had to protect the alchemist's identity. An agent was not worth very much if it was general knowledge that he was an agent.

"We are pleased to hear this," Morteous said. "We ask that you join us later this evening for wine."

Tyson nodded. That meant Morteous wanted to know more, and that later they would get together and discuss what happened. "I would be honored my lord."

Tyson bowed again and backed away from the throne. As another suitor came forward. Tyson filtered through the scattered bodies until he was inconspicuously out of sight. He went to a heavy tapestry and slipped behind it. He was immediately met by a guard. The guard detained Tyson long enough to identify him then allowed the mage to depart.

It was considered bad form to depart the Lord of Aspberg's presence before the lord himself retired. Sometimes, however, it was necessary for certain agents to do so, and those agents were privy to hidden entrances and exits from the chamber. Tyson was glad to be privy to that information. He had no desire to stand around all day listening to the chattering of minor nobles.

Tyson walked back to his own chamber. He thought about taking a nap before the evening meal. After that, he would go to see Morteous privately.

Morteous was fairly distraught. He gave the unmistakable impression to those about him that he was not going to be patient with anyone who came to him with trivial problems.
His minister of administration, Tonia, was a woman of excellent capabilities and control. The fact that she was in her mid thirties and had successfully avoided Miguel's bed spoke a great deal of her discipline, dedication, and wisdom. The fact that she had done so without insulting the youngest son of the Blackheart bloodline told volumes of her diplomatic capabilities as well. That was one of the reasons why she was the House administrator, as well as one of the reason why she was one of very few female executives in service of the House.

Tonia's abilities had done wonders at reducing the load that Morteous had to deal with. That was primarily why she was at such a high station. In fact, anything that she felt serious enough to require Morteous' attention, was something that either involved two nobles in conflict, a matter of secrecy, or something that jeopardized the interests of the dynasty. It was for that reason alone that Morteous, though appearing bored, listened carefully to the suitors who had been granted audience.

Morteous was presently listening to the complaints of a pair of noblemen, both of whom claimed ownership of a river barge that was loaded with valuable cotton. It seemed that a sale of the barge and its contents had been conducted to raise capital on the part of the selling party. Unfortunately the instigator of the sale, the salesman, had not the authority to sell cargo.

One merchant, the buyer, claimed that the barge and the cargo were both his according to the bill of sale. The other merchant, claimed that the barge was sold, and remains so, but the merchandise was not for sale as the agent was not authorized to deal with cargo, nor was he licensed to do so by the city.

The buyer claimed that the cargo was included in the deal and that the cargo was the main reason for his buying the barge in the first place. He asked for the entire package, or his money back.

The other merchant said that the barge was sold to raise capital to make another business deal, and that not only have the funds already been returned into circulation, but the sale of the barge was made. He added that the value of the barge was easily comparable to the price paid, and to include the cargo would be a sale for a loss.

Morteous listened for a few more moments. He had made up his mind how to handle the situation within the first few minutes. He understood why Tonia had referred this case to him. The judgment he was about to render would undoubtedly step on someone's toes.

Morteous allowed the two to argue for a few more moments before he raised his hand. "I have found a solution," he announced. "You," he pointed to the buyer, "Squire Devag. You made the mistake of not checking the credentials of the person with whom you have done business."

He addressed the other merchant. "And you, Sir Porten, are responsible for the unlawful sale of cotton by an agent of yours. In addition, my administrator has informed me that in fact you did not invest the payment until after the complaint was made."

"For your foolishness," he said to the squire, "I am confiscating the cargo. The barge's value is good. You got your money's worth." He turned to the knight. "For your lie and for your irresponsibility, I am seizing your assets in an amount equal to the value of the cargo. All of this will be liquidated and turned over to the House funds."

Morteous saw the anger in their eyes. Good. They would know that House Blackheart's policy would be to settle disputes by taking the disputed item for itself. They would either learn to get along, or they would make House Blackheart rich. Morteous didn't really care which.

Those who had witnessed the display mumbled and many of the more intelligent disputers settled their quarrels with amazing rapidity. The list of visitations diminished with considerable speed, still, it was several hours later when Morteous finally escaped from the hustle and bustle of state matters. He took the private corridor connecting the audience chamber to his private quarters. He was quite anxious to hear what Tyson had to say. The agent's letter of apology had insinuated that Tyson had been very convincing and effective.

The private chambers had been drastically redecorated since Serpent's departure. Instead of maps of the political influences of the world, The tapestries were now depicting scenes of mages in action. There was a collection of scrolls on one wall and several rows of iron bound books on a shelf. the window was closed and bolted shut. A brazier in the center of the room sat next to a desk. On the desk was a tripod with a small crystal gently cradled in its arms.

The crystal was the first thing Tyson looked at when he entered the chamber. As he approached the desk, he paused long enough to lift the crystal and peer inside. The scene within had not changed. Sam still clung blissfully to Marlena.

"I am told your adventures have gone well," Morteous said as Tyson replaced the crystal.

"Your agent in Keron has repledged his service," Tyson told him. He went on to describe the encounter. When he was finished, Morteous laughed.

"I approve," the warlock said.

"Was there something else you wanted to discuss?" Tyson asked.

"In fact, there is," Morteous said. He seated himself at the desk and gestured for Tyson to do likewise. "What would you say if I told you we had the boy?"

Tyson involuntarily glanced at the crystal. "I don't understand." He knew Morteous was aware of how fond he was of Sam. There was no use in denying it.

"We have the boy's body in custody. It was captured by the Doyr," Morteous told him. "I was thinking of giving the body to you as a gift."

Tyson wanted to beg for Sam's body, but that would only show his weakness. "Did we take any damages?"

"Oh yes," Morteous said. "It seems that the compound was heavily defended by a druid."

"Are you sure that’s all there was?"

"It seems so." Morteous replied. "The druid was taken alive, but there was no sign of your compatriots."

Tyson rubbed his chin. "Where can they have gotten to?" Tyson wondered aloud.

"Exactly the question I want you to answer," Morteous said. "I want you to travel back to the Doyr temple and get our two prizes. You did such a wonderful job with that idiot in Keron, I want you to interview the druid and find out where they are, and what they are doing."

Tyson nodded. "I’ll leave at first light."

"That will be fine," Morteous said. "Have a good trip."

Tyson bowed and vacated the room. He wondered about this new twist as he headed back to his quarters. How does one get a druid to talk?