the diplomatically viable military strength of the state still hinged on the Guild presence. Their one regiment commanded more respect than his native seven.
Kavelin had greedy neighbors, and their intentions, what with three national leaderships having changed within the year, remained uncertain.
"If I could just get the Armaments Act through...."
Soon after war's end Fiana had decreed that every free man should provide himself with a sword. Ragnarson's idea. But he had overlooked the cost. Even simple weapons were expensive. Few peasants had the money. Distributing captured arms had helped only a little.
So, for years, he had been pushing legislation which wouldenable his War Ministry to provide weapons.
He wanted the act so he could dispense with the Mercenaries. The Thing wanted rid of the Mercenaries first. An impasse.
Bragi was finding politics a pain in the behind.
Reskird and Haaken returned, then Turran and Valther. Empty-handed. "That kid Trebilcock, and Rolf, got there first," Reskird explained. "Tough old sow anyway."
"Sour grapes?" Bragi chuckled. "Valther, you heard anything from Mocker yet? Or about him?"
Most of a year had passed since he had sent the fat man south. He hadn't heard a word since.
"It's got me worried," Valther admitted. "I made it top priority two months ago, when I heard that Haroun had left his camps. He's gone north. Nobody knows where or why."
"And Mocker?"
"Practically nothing. I've scoured the country clear to Sedlmayr. He never made it there. But one of my men picked up a rumor that he was seen in Uhlmansiek."
"That's a long way from Sedlmayr...."
"I know. And he wasn't alone."
"Who was he with?"
"We don't know. Nearest thing to a description I have is that one of them was a one-eyed man."
"That bothers you?"
"There's a one-eyed man named Wilis Northen, alias Rico, who's been on my list for years. We think he works for El Murid."
"And?"
"Northen disappeared about the right time."
"Oh-oh. You think El Murid's got him? What're the chances?"
"I don't know. It's more hunch than anything."
"So. Let's see. Mocker goes to see Haroun. El Murid's agents intercept him. Question. How did they know?"
"You've got me. That bothers me more than where Mocker is. It could cost us all. I've tried every angle I can think of. I can't find a leak. I put tagged information through everybody who was there when we conned Mocker into going. Result? Nothing."
Ragnarson shook his head. He knew those men. He had bet his life on their loyalties before.
But the word had leaked somehow.
Had Mocker told anybody?
Thus the spy mind works. There had to be a plot, a connection. Coincidence couldn't be accepted.
Habibullah hadn't had the slightest idea of Mocker's mission. He had simply set his agents to kidnap a man, acting on news, which was common talk in the Siluro quarter, that he was traveling to Sedlmayr. Mocker had spread that story himself. The man in black had other resources.
"Keep after it. In fact, get in touch with Haroun's people."
"Excuse me?"
"Haroun has people here. I know a little about your work. I've done some in my time. Admit it. You know them and they know you. Ask them to find out. Or you could go through our friends from Altea. They're in direct contact. Even if you find out they don't know anything, we're ahead. We'd know Mocker didn't reach the camps. Oh. Ask the Marena Dimura. They know what's happening in the hills."
"That's where I got my Uhlmansiek rumor."
The Marena Dimura were the original inhabitants of Ravelin, dwelling there before Ilkazar initiated the wave of migrations which had brought in the other three ethnic groups: the Siluro, Wessons, and Nordmen. The semi-nomadic Marena Dimura tribes kept to the forests and mountains. A fiercely independent people-though they had supported her during the civil war-they refused to recognize Fiana as legitimate monarch of Kavelin. Centuries after the Conquest they still viewed the others as occupying peoples....
Kavelin had greedy neighbors, and their intentions, what with three national leaderships having changed within the year, remained uncertain.
"If I could just get the Armaments Act through...."
Soon after war's end Fiana had decreed that every free man should provide himself with a sword. Ragnarson's idea. But he had overlooked the cost. Even simple weapons were expensive. Few peasants had the money. Distributing captured arms had helped only a little.
So, for years, he had been pushing legislation which wouldenable his War Ministry to provide weapons.
He wanted the act so he could dispense with the Mercenaries. The Thing wanted rid of the Mercenaries first. An impasse.
Bragi was finding politics a pain in the behind.
Reskird and Haaken returned, then Turran and Valther. Empty-handed. "That kid Trebilcock, and Rolf, got there first," Reskird explained. "Tough old sow anyway."
"Sour grapes?" Bragi chuckled. "Valther, you heard anything from Mocker yet? Or about him?"
Most of a year had passed since he had sent the fat man south. He hadn't heard a word since.
"It's got me worried," Valther admitted. "I made it top priority two months ago, when I heard that Haroun had left his camps. He's gone north. Nobody knows where or why."
"And Mocker?"
"Practically nothing. I've scoured the country clear to Sedlmayr. He never made it there. But one of my men picked up a rumor that he was seen in Uhlmansiek."
"That's a long way from Sedlmayr...."
"I know. And he wasn't alone."
"Who was he with?"
"We don't know. Nearest thing to a description I have is that one of them was a one-eyed man."
"That bothers you?"
"There's a one-eyed man named Wilis Northen, alias Rico, who's been on my list for years. We think he works for El Murid."
"And?"
"Northen disappeared about the right time."
"Oh-oh. You think El Murid's got him? What're the chances?"
"I don't know. It's more hunch than anything."
"So. Let's see. Mocker goes to see Haroun. El Murid's agents intercept him. Question. How did they know?"
"You've got me. That bothers me more than where Mocker is. It could cost us all. I've tried every angle I can think of. I can't find a leak. I put tagged information through everybody who was there when we conned Mocker into going. Result? Nothing."
Ragnarson shook his head. He knew those men. He had bet his life on their loyalties before.
But the word had leaked somehow.
Had Mocker told anybody?
Thus the spy mind works. There had to be a plot, a connection. Coincidence couldn't be accepted.
Habibullah hadn't had the slightest idea of Mocker's mission. He had simply set his agents to kidnap a man, acting on news, which was common talk in the Siluro quarter, that he was traveling to Sedlmayr. Mocker had spread that story himself. The man in black had other resources.
"Keep after it. In fact, get in touch with Haroun's people."
"Excuse me?"
"Haroun has people here. I know a little about your work. I've done some in my time. Admit it. You know them and they know you. Ask them to find out. Or you could go through our friends from Altea. They're in direct contact. Even if you find out they don't know anything, we're ahead. We'd know Mocker didn't reach the camps. Oh. Ask the Marena Dimura. They know what's happening in the hills."
"That's where I got my Uhlmansiek rumor."
The Marena Dimura were the original inhabitants of Ravelin, dwelling there before Ilkazar initiated the wave of migrations which had brought in the other three ethnic groups: the Siluro, Wessons, and Nordmen. The semi-nomadic Marena Dimura tribes kept to the forests and mountains. A fiercely independent people-though they had supported her during the civil war-they refused to recognize Fiana as legitimate monarch of Kavelin. Centuries after the Conquest they still viewed the others as occupying peoples....
Similar Books
