"Yes," UrLeyn said. "I have heard of such things. Naharajast, the last Imperial mathematician, claimed to have used one directed at the skies to make his predictions concerning the fire-rocks which appeared in the year of the Empire's fall. Last year an inventor — or someone who claimed to be an inventor — came to our palace and showed us one. I had a look through it myself. It was interesting. The view was cloudy, but it was undeniably closer."

The young ambassador seemed not to hear. "The telescope is a fascinating device… a most fascinating device, sir, and this one is a particularly fine example." He pulled the device apart so that it clicked out to three or so times its compacted length, then held it up to one eye, looking at UrLeyn, then round the painted panels of the room. UrLeyn formed the impression he was hearing a memorised script. 'Hmm," the young ambassador said, nodding his head. "Extraordinary. Would you care to try it, sir?" He stood and held out the instrument to the Protector, who motioned the ambassador to approach. Clutching the hide instrument's protective cylinder awkwardly in his other hand, the captain stepped forward, offering the eye-piece end of the device to UrLeyn, who leant forward in his chair and duly took hold of it. The ambassador let go of the thicker end of the instrument. It began to fall to the floor.

"Oh, heavy, isn't it?" UrLeyn said, quickly bringing his other hand round to save the device. He had almost to jump out of the chair to keep his balance, going down on one knee towards the young captain, who took a single step back.

Ambassador Oestrile's hand suddenly held a long, thin dagger which he swept up and then brought swinging down. UrLeyn saw this even as his knee hit the dais and he finally caught the seeing-piece. With his hands full, still off-balance and kneeling beneath the other man, UrLeyn knew instantly that there was nothing he could do to parry the blow.

The crossbow bolt slammed into Ambassador Oestrile's head an instant after glancing off the high collar of his coat. The bolt lodged in his skull just above his left ear, most of its length protruding. If either man had had the time and inclination to look, they would have seen that a small hole had appeared in the painting of the bustling city square. Oestrile staggered back still clutching the dagger, his feet slipping on the polished wooden floor. UrLeyn let himself fall back against the chair, putting both hands to the eye-piece end of the telescope. He started to swing it back behind him, thinking to use it as a club.

Ambassador Oestrile gave a roaring bellow of pain and rage, put one hand to the crossbow bolt and gripped it, shaking his head, then suddenly threw himself forward again at UrLeyn, dagger first.

With a resounding crash DeWar burst through the thin plaster panel depicting the city square. A wave of dust rolled out across the gleaming floor and plaster shards scattered everywhere as DeWar, sword already drawn,

thrust the blade straight at the ambassador's midriff. The blade broke. DeWar's momentum carried him onwards so that he side-charged into the ambassador. Still roaring, the ambassador was toppled to the floor with a thud, waving his dagger. DeWar threw away the broken sword, spun to one side and drew his own dagger.

UrLeyn had dropped the heavy telescope and stood. He drew a small knife from his jacket and took shelter behind the tall chair. Oestrile reared to his feet, the crossbow bolt still in his skull. His boots struggled to find purchase on the polished wooden floor as he stumbled towards the Protector. DeWar, bare footed, was on him before he'd taken half a step, coming quickly up behind him, putting one hand over his face and pulling his head back with fingers stuck into the man's nostrils and one eye. Ambassador Oestrile screamed as DeWar sliced his dagger across the man's exposed throat. Blood sprayed and bubbled as the scream was drowned.

Oestrile crashed to his knees, finally dropped the dagger, then fell sideways, neck spurting blood on to the gleaming floor.

"Sir?" DeWar asked UrLeyn breathlessly, still half watching the body twitching on the floor. Sounds of a commotion came from outside the chamber's doors. Thuds sounded. "Sir! Protector! General!" a dozen voices babbled.

"I'm fine! Stop breaking the damn door down!" UrLeyn shouted. The commotion became a little less intense. He looked at where the painted plaster scene of the busy city square had been. In the little cupboard-sized room which had been revealed behind there was a stout wooden post with a crossbow fastened to it. UrLeyn looked back at DeWar, and put his own small knife back in its pocket sheath. "No damage done, thank you, DeWar. And you?"

"I am uninjured too, sir. Sorry T had to kill him." He looked down at the body, which gave out one final bubbling sigh and then seemed to collapse in on itself a little. The pool of blood on the floor was deep and dark and still spreading viscously. DeWar knelt, keeping his dagger at what was left of the man's throat as he felt for a pulse.

"Never mind," the Protector said. "Took some killing, too, did you not think?" He gave an almost girlish chuckle.

"I think some of his strength and his bravery came from a potion or some such drug-brew, sir."

"Hmm," UrLeyn said, then looked to the doors. "Will you shut up!" he yelled. "I'm perfectly all right, but this piece of shit tried to kill me! Palace guard?"

"Aye, sir! Five present!" shouted a muffled voice.

"Get Commander ZeSpiole. Tell him to find the rest of the diplomatic mission and arrest them. Clear everybody away from those doors, then enter. Nobody but the palace guards are allowed in here until I say so. Got all that?"

"Sir!" The commotion intensified for a while, then began to subside again until there was almost no noise in the painted chamber.

DeWar had unbuttoned the failed assassin's coat. "Chain mail," he said, fingering the coat's lining. He tapped the garment's collar. "And metal." He gripped the shaft of the crossbow bolt, strained, then stood and put one bare foot on Ambassador Oestrile's head, eventually pulling the bolt free with a delicate crunching noise. "No wonder it was deflected."

UrLeyn stepped to the side of the dais. "Where did the dagger come from? I didn't see."

DeWar crossed to the tall chair, leaving bloody footprints. He lifted first the telescope and then the hide cylinder it had been transported within. He peered into the case. "There's some sort of clip at the bottom." He inspected the telescope. "There is no glass at the large end. The dagger must have nested inside the device when it was inside the case."

"Sir?" a voice came from the door.

"What?" UrLeyn shouted.

"Guard Sergeant HieLiris and three others here, sir."

"Come in," UrLeyn told them. The guards entered, looking warily about. All looked surprised at the hole where the city painting had been. "You have not seen that," the Protector told them. They nodded. DeWar stood cleaning his dagger on a piece of cloth. UrLeyn stepped forward and kicked the dead man in the shoulder, sending him flopping on to his back.

"Take this away," he told the guards. Two of them sheathed their swords and took one end of the body each.

"Better take a limb each, lads," DeWar told them. "That coat's heavy."

"See to the clear-up, will you, DeWar?" asked UrLeyn.

"I should be at your side, sir. If this is a determined attack there might be two assassins, the second waiting for us to relax when we think the attack has failed."

UrLeyn drew himself up and took a deep breath. "Don't worry about me. I'm going off to lie down now," he said.

DeWar frowned. "Are you sure you're all right, sir?"

"Oh, I'm fine, DeWar," the Protector said, following the trail of blood as the guards carried the body to the doors. "I'm going off to lie down on top of somebody very young and plump and firm." He grinned back at DeWar from the doors. "Proximity to death does this to me," he announced. He laughed, looking down at the trail of blood, then at the black pool of it by the dais. "I should have been an undertaker."