Industry & Intrigue (38 page)

Ulas followed the king out
o
f the
throne room and down the darkened corridor. They were soon outside
and had a view of the capital as they walked. The city was ancient,
founded several thousand years ago by the Kaltian tribes migrating
south. It sat on the shore of Lake Boar, a body of water so large
it stretched all the way to Ze Feros. Both nations maintained naval
patrols on the surface.

The city had long been the
capital of the nation of Trusha
and become the Galrian capital after Cyrus
the First, the current king’s grandfather, had unified the Galrian
states. It had survived attacks by Tal Feros, Ze Feros and even
agorids. The palace was located at the southern end of the city,
the oldest parts in the north, near the river mouth.

The royal guards opened the
doors to the Green Chamber for them.
The chamber was named for its color and
extravagant decorations. The ceiling was coated in green paint and
emeralds sparkled here and there, stuck to the ceiling and
walls.

Ulas thought it ridiculous to
have precious stones lying around unguarded. But when a thief had
been cau
ght
trying to remove emeralds from the room, the king had his arms and
legs broken. Then he had the man tossed into a pit with starving
boars and watched as he was eaten alive. No one ever tried to steal
emeralds from the Green Chamber again.

Seated at opposite ends of
the
large
wooden table were the ambassadors from Ze Feros and Silund, the
elf, Arin jol’Kolsan and the kitsune, Kagami,
respectively.

Arin was dressed in simple fare
for a
Zefey,
brown pants and a yellow jacket. Normally the elves preferred
gaudier outfits. Ulas suspected he was trying his best to fit in,
but he looked uncomfortable. Ulas wondered who he had wronged to
get this assignment; while they were allies, the Zefey disliked
dealing with Galrians in face to face.

Kagami
wore blue clothes and a layer of
light armor. He was not in danger, as a foreign dignitary he was
guaranteed safety.

I wonder how much such
guarantees are
worth anymore
.
It didn’t help Atoli.

He wondered if the armor was a
reaction to the assassination. The Silunders were a cautious people
and Ulas had never seen Kagami wear armor when meeting with the
king before.

The king
took a seat at the head of the
table and Ulas sat next to him. “I am glad that both of you could
come to this meeting at such short notice,” said Cyrus, his voice
far more pleasant than it had been in his throne room.

“
Of course, Your
Highness
,”
replied Arin, while Kagami silently lowered his head.

“
I would like to thank you for
all the support you have both shown Galria and its people during
this trying time.
I appreciate that you are willing to stand with me in the
face of injustice.”

“
The killing of
a
n envoy,
particularly one as high as your foreign minister is a serious
matter,” said Kagami. “The Banking Council of Silund supports your
position. However we are not yet convinced that the Alkon
government is responsible for this crime. If you declare war, Your
Highness, Silund will remain neutral. Our treaty is defensive in
nature. Silund will only aid you if you are attacked. Without a
sufficient casus bali, I cannot promise you that my government will
join you in war.”

Ulas had
expec
ted as
much. Silund was small, but it was a rich nation and had a wide
expanse of holdings, including colonies in Vinacia and Kordatia.
The Cholsa colony in Kordatia gave it a steady flow of wealth via
its iron and silver mines. The plutocratic rulers of the nation had
not made themselves wealthy by hastily jumping into
wars.

The king said nothing, Ulas had
warn
ed him
to expect this answer from Kagami. Cyrus looked over at the Zefey
ambassador.

“
Your Highness, Ze Feros finds
the crime committed by Alkos outrageous. If Alkos does not
pres
ent the
criminals responsible and refuses to acquiesce to the list of
demands you have presented them, then we stand with you,” said
Arin. “Galria has the moral high ground and my government sees no
reason not to offer you our complete support. We guarantee
ourselves as your allies should it come to war.”

This was another answer Ulas had expected.
In spite of the elf’s posturing about which nation was in the
right, their motives were more practical. If Ze Feros joined them
in war, they would focus their eyes on Tal Feros, their traditional
enemies. A war like this would give them the opportunity to seize
Prophets Isle.

The island was
the final resting
place of the elven prophet Kartec, founder of the Kartism religion.
After his death his followers had eventually split into two groups
the Kartecs and the Malites. Ze Feros was Kartec dominated, while
Tal Feros was controlled by the Malites.

Of course, over time there had
been back
and forth wars and annexations, so the different elven
races had converted and mixed along the borders. Many had adapted
well, although as history had shown, they tended to be targeted
first whenever war broke out.

They were usually
viewed as turncoats
by the other side. A foolish notion in Ulas’s opinion. Many of them
had lived and been raised in their religion for generations, so
calling them turncoats was ridiculous. But when it came to the
elves, blood and religion were more important than anything
else.

The last war had been forty
years ago,
ending in a stalemate, with both nations each controlling
half of their sacred island. Ulas had no doubt that the Caliph of
Ze Feros was eager to seize all of the island and humble their old
enemies.

“
And I appreciate your
support
,”
bellowed the king. “It is most welcome. My chief-of-staff, Lord
Ulas Katanin, will keep you up to date on everything as it
progresses. There is one request I would also like to
make.”

“
Yes, Your
Hig
hness?”
asked Arin.

“
Do you have a military
representative at your embassy at the moment?
” asked Cyrus. “In the event of
your support, my generals are keen to coordinate our forces
movements.”

Ulas blinked. He hadn’t
pr
epared for
the king to go so far. “You Highness, do you not think it is
premature to open up a military dialogue?”

“
No Ulas, I do not. Now shut up
and let Ambassador jol’Kolsan answer my question.”

Ulas frowned. Something wasn’t
right about this. There was no point in starting military
coordination until a declaration of war had been
i
ssued.

Arin nodded. “As a matter of fact
Commander Sador qur’Jidais is currently visiting the embassy. He
serves under General rah’Qisik, our northern general. I can make
him available to meet with your senior officers.”

“
Excellent, thank you
ambassador. There is one
final item. Last night I received a telegram from
Emperor Lawrence of Alkos. He is willing to treat with any
representative I choose to send. I have no idea what he plans to
say, but I am planning to send a contingent to hear him out. They
will meet on the final day of my ultimatum.”

Both of the ambassadors acknowledged the
information. The king stood and said, “Once again, I thank you for
meeting with me, but I have many other matters to attend to.” Both
of the ambassadors thanked him in return.

Ulas followed the king out of
the chamber and back towards the main section of the palace.
“Your Highness, may
I ask what the military-,” he started to say, but the king
interrupted him.

“
Be qu
iet Ulas. What my military does, is
not your concern. Focus on the capital and your actual
duties.”

Ulas bowed his head. “Is there anything
else you require, Your Highness?”

“
No. I have a pressing
engagement. My pets are due for a feeding.” And the king left Ulas
at the interior door. The king’s statement meant he was attending
another execution. Feeding criminals to his wild boars had become
his favorite method of execution. The boars had acquired a taste
for human flesh, so much that they now refused to eat anything
else. Ulas had noticed that the crimes for which one could be
executed by the king’s pets had grown wider and wider. The king did
not want them going hungry.

Chapter 36

Atira
waited in the side room of the luxury
suite her father had rented in Alkos City. The room contained
closets and desks for storage, but was otherwise nondescript. She
could hear everything being said on the other side of the door, her
agorid hearing picking up sound far better than most
bipeds.

She was a
tig
er
agorid, the most agile and cunning of the agorid races. She had
never seen the steppes her people inhabited though. Her father had
raised her in Wurnburg. He had hired the best tutors for her
schooling and the best warriors Enz had to offer, to train her into
a deadly fighter. He had raised her in the same beliefs he shared,
he was the leader of a secret religious order, known as the
Endless.

When she turned twenty, he
revealed everything to her, about his
order, his plans and his final goal.
She had embraced them wholeheartedly and he put her to work in
aiding him. He observed how skilled she had become and whenever he
needed something done that required absolute trust, he gave it to
her. Her feline head was trimmed slightly, she didn’t like her fur
to grow too long. Orange and black striped fur covered hard, lean
muscles and she wore a simple blue, two-piece outfit that gave her
free flow movement for combat.

The talking stopped
a
nd the
female voice said farewell. Atira heard the woman exit the room.
She opened the door to the main room of the suite and walked
in.

“
So you struck a
deal with her
then?” she asked.

“
Oh, yes,” replied Varko
Kulthon, the leader of the Order of the Endless and the man she
considered as her father. “She was more than eager to have access
to raw materials from Streighas. She fully expects a war to arrive
and if there is one thing Tegan Mordain knows, it is business. No
doubt Typhon’s accounts will soon be filling up with government
arms contracts.”

Atira smiled. Her father was a
brilliant
man. He had helped to engineer this war and now he was
profiting from it. “No doubt she was impressed when her socialist
problem evaporated.”

“
For now
,” replied Varko. “There’ll always be
more cockroaches to crawl out from under the wood, ready to
rebel.”

Her father
moved from behind his desk and
walked over to her. He brushed his hand along her face, his usual
sign of affection. She closed her eyes. Her father had been so busy
of late, she had not been able to see him much. Such was the price
of greatness and she did not begrudge him it.

“
What word is there from
Kamura?”
he
asked. She handed him the telegram that had arrived in the morning.
It was encoded of course, only members of Varko’s inner circle
would be able to know what it said. Kamura was a young kitsune from
Minakaya who had been recruited in his teen years. His skill at
thievery and aptitude with mechanical devices had advanced him to a
position as her father’s chief spy. Right now he was positioned in
the Galrian capital, monitoring the mood of the palace to let them
know when and if war would come.

He looked at the
telegram
as
she gave him the outline of Kamura’s report. “The Galrian court is
divided, but the king is acting aggressively.”

“
As I knew he would. Egotistical
monarchs are easy to predict,” scoffed Varko.

“
King Cyrus agreed to send an
envoy to meet with Emperor Lawrence, but Kamura discovered
something else. He copied notes from one of the Galrian high
commanders.”

She pointed to the bottom portion of the
telegram with her clawed finger and her father’s eyes quickly
translated the coded message.

He laughed
heartily. “King Cyrus is bolder
than I gave him credit for. His bodes well, if the Galrians go
through with this, there will be war and it will not end
quickly.”

Atira smiled, she
wa
s glad to
see her father in such a good mood. His long plans were finally
coming to fruition and in time they would both soon bask in the
glory of the Endless.

“
What about the books Senna
retrieved? Were
they of use?”

“
I studied them well, father.
Most of them did not tell us anything we did not already know.
However there was one that gave details
to an item in the Crean Valley,
buried amongst the bones of the dragons.” She walked over to the
pile of books on the nearby table and picked up top one. She pulled
open the page she had marked and showed him.