The speaker of the majority Empire Party, spoke next. "If it weren't for our ill-advised expedition to Kormehr, and the outrages at Ferny Cove, none of this would have…"

Murdoth interrupted angrily. "That vile Dynast has lived for more than two centuries, and has dreamed of our destruction the whole time. She-"

The emperor's light gavel struck the bell in front of him, its brittle clang cutting Murdoth off sharply. "Lord Murdoth, we have rules of courtesy here. Do not interrupt again." His gaze went to Varia. "Lady Cyncaidh, do you have any comments on the role of the Sisterhood in this?"

"Speculative comments, Your Majesty. The Dynast has always been strongly prejudiced against Your Empire, and taught us to fear and loathe it. But the Rape at Ferny Cove seems clearly to have changed her approach. Previously she'd had a treaty only with the Kormehri, and that only for the use of an area of land, and the protection of the Sisterhood within its boundaries. While giving the Kormehri unique rights in marketing the Sisterhood's products."

"May we suppose that the military commander is one of her people? Perhaps the commander of her guard forces?"

"It seems quite possible, Your Majesty."

At this, Captain Docheri raised his hand.

"Yes, Captain?"

"We know a bit about the commander's identity, Your Majesty. His name is Makurdi. He's said to be an Ozman, who somehow came to Tekalos and led a rebellion that overthrew the king there."

Macurdy! At the name, Cyncaidh's glance went to Varia, just for a moment. Her bright green gaze had snapped to the captain like a compass needle to a lump of magnetite.

"An Ozman," the emperor said thoughtfully. "The Ozmen have a considerable military reputation."

He turned the discussion to how they might respond to the invasion. After consulting briefly during a break, the Empire Party, with its plurality in both the Council and the biennial Great Parliament, kept as close as it could to its isolationist tradition. Its position was that the militias and garrisons should carry the burden of defense, the March taking the major responsibility. The Throne Army should not be involved; the invaders couldn't possibly fight their way to the border of the empire. However, to reassure the Marches, a senior crown officer, perhaps Lord Cyncaidh, should coordinate the defense.

The A'conal Party-in these days the center party-went a long step further. Lord Finntagh was its official spokesman in the Council, to support the fiction of the Emperor's neutrality. Finntagh recommended that the 1st Imperial Legion be sent south to the Elmintoss military reservation, ready to enter the Inner Marches if the invaders reached them.

Predictably, Murdoth proposed that the ducal armies be imperialized, and march south with the Throne Army, to crush the invaders utterly so they could never come back.

When he'd sat down, Cyncaidh stood. "Who," he asked, "do you propose should lead that army?"

Murdoth glared, and after a moment answered, "If the decision was mine, I'd name General Quaie."

"And what disposition would you make of enemy prisoners?"

Murdoth's glare intensified, his face threatening to swell like a balloon. "I'd hold a slave sale," he said.

Cyncaidh nodded. "Would they be safe to keep around as slaves? In large numbers?"

"There'd be no large numbers."

"Ah. I suppose not, with Lord Quaie in command. And what would you recommend he do with his army, when he reached the Big River?"

Murdoth turned to the Emperor. "Your Majesty, I object to your chief counselor's insults!"

"Your objection is noted, but I fail to see an insult. Please answer. I'm interested."

Murdoth took a steadying breath. "He should do with it-whatever Your Majesty wishes."

"Thank you, Lord Murdoth. Lord Cyncaidh, what was your motive in asking?"

"General Quaie might be tempted to cross the river on his own determination, to punish the Rude Lands for their invasion."

Murdoth broke in. "General Quaie might very properly wish to. As I would. But he'd never make such a move without Your Majesty's authorization."

"Indeed he wouldn't. Because if I were to imperialize the ducal armies, which I would only do if my own forces were insufficient, I would not appoint General Quaie to their command. He is a skilled and proven military leader, but I have learned not to trust his judgement in victory." He paused, looking around the table. "Well. Gentlemen, I will not make any firm decisions without knowing more than we do now. Which we certainly will, quite soon. And while there are other matters we could discuss, there are none that can't wait. I am going to conclude this meeting."

He turned to Cyncaidh. "Chief Counselor, do you have any last words?"

"Only that I'd like to question Captain Docheri on details that may cast light on southern strengths and limitations."

"As you wish. Gentlemen, we'll meet here again tomorrow at nine. We may well have further information on the war by then; perhaps the invaders' initial success will have been reversed. Meanwhile, good day."

Chair legs scraped, feet shuffled, and the Council left. The Emperor watched the last of them out, then nodded Cyncaidh and the captain into his adjacent chamber, an intent Varia following. When they were seated, the emperor looked musingly at her before speaking. "Lady Cyncaidh, you seem to have heard something in Captain Docheri's testimony that I missed; something that seemingly your husband also caught. Something to do with the southern commander. Perhaps we should clear that up before questioning the captain on other matters."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. You are most considerate." She turned to Docheri. "Makurdi. It's certainly a strange name. Is it his given or his surname?"

"Your ladyship, that brings us to a somewhat less believable part of the story. He's said to be an escaped Ozian slave. And if that's true, he has no formal surname."

She gnawed a lip. "A slave. What brought an Ozian slave to Tekalos?"

"The stories our sources told are at second hand, or third or fourth, which makes them more difficult to accept. Some of them seem-quite fanciful. The important part is what we know for certain: he is formidable."

"Nonetheless, the stories may reflect elements of truth. And the Merchants Guild may be able to refer my husband to men who were in Tekalos during the rebellion or since. The more he knows, the better able he'll be to question them. I want you to tell us everything you've heard of this Makurdi, regardless of how unlikely it seems."

"Well, my lady," Docheri said, "the story is that although a slave, this Makurdi had somehow married one of the Sisterhood. And she'd been stolen from him, and he'd run away from his master to find her." The captain paused, as if to see if she'd had enough. She nodded him on. "Then somehow, with the help of dwarves he'd rescued from bandits-" the captain paused again, shrugging, as if to say that should give them some idea of how far-fetched the stories were "-with the help of dwarves, he freed a number of rebels held prisoner in the king's very courtyard, standing off and killing a number of king's men single-handedly while they escaped. Then, supposedly, he got away and fled into the mountains, where he met a great boar and ensorceled it to carry him on its back. That's another thing: he's said to be a magician. He then gathered together an army of Kullvordi." Docheri shrugged. "Supposedly his lieutenant is a beautiful Ozian spear maiden who followed him out of love, but he's spurned her because he cannot love any woman but his lost wife, who'd cast a spell on him."

He spread his hands apologetically. "And that seems to be all of it. Oh! Except that he has two rows of teeth, all the way around!" The captain showed his own in an almost smile.

The emperor had watched Docheri's aura for any sign that he was making it up, in whole or in part. Seemingly he was being entirely honest.