Guardians of the West

a moment's thought. "He is just a little unreliable, isn't he?"
    "A little?" Garion laughed.
    "Are we agreed, then?" Cho-Hag asked. "It has to be Porenn, right?"
    Anheg grumbled, but finally agreed.
    The Algar King turned to Garion. "You'll probably have to issue a proclamation."
    "Me? I don't have any authority in Drasnia."
    "You're the Overlord of the West," Cho-Hag reminded him. "Just announce that you recognize Porenn's regency and declare that anyone who argues about it or violates her borders will have to answer to you."
    "That should back Drosta off." Anheg chuckled grossly. "He's almost more frightened of you than he is of 'Zakath. He probably has nightmares about your flaming sword sliding between his ribs."
    In another corridor, Errand came upon General Varana and Sadi the Eunuch. Sadi wore the mottled, iridescent silk robe of the Nyissans, and the general was draped in a silver Tolnedran mantle with broad bands of gold-colored trim across his shoulders.
    "So, it's official, then?" Sadi said in his oddly contralto voice, eyeing the general's mantle.
    "What's that?" Varana asked him. The general was a blocky-looking man with iron-gray hair and a slightly amused expression.
    "We had heard rumors in Sthiss Tor that Ran Borune had adopted you as his son."
    "Expediency." Varana shrugged. "The major families of the Empire were dismantling Tolnedra in their scramble for the throne. Ran Borune had to take steps to quiet things down."
    "You will take the throne when he dies, though, won't you?"
    "We'll see," Varana replied evasively. "Let's pray that his Majesty will live for many years yet."
    "Of course," Sadi murmured. "The silver mantle of the crown prince does become you, however, my dear General." He rubbed one long-fingered hand over his shaved scalp.
    "Thank you," Varana said with a slight bow. "And how are affairs in Salmissra's palace?"
    Sadi laughed sardonically. " The same as they always are. We connive and plot and scheme against each other, and every scrap of food prepared in our kitchens is tainted with poison."
    "I'd heard that was the custom," Varana remarked. "How does one survive in such a lethal atmosphere?"
    "Nervously," Sadi replied, making a sour face. "We are all on a strict regimen. We routinely dose ourselves with every known antidote to every known poison. Some of the poisons are actually quite flavorful. The antidotes all taste foul, however."
    "The price of power, I suppose."
    "Truly. What was the reaction of the Grand Dukes of Tolnedra when the Emperor designated you his heir?"
    Varana laughed. "You could hear the screams echoing from the wood of the Dryads to the Arendish border."
    "When the time comes, you may have to step on a few necks."
    "It's possible."
    "Of course the legions are all loyal to you."
    "The legions are a great comfort to me."
    "I think I like you, General Varana," the shaved-headed Nyissan said. "I'm certain that you and I will be able to come to some mutually profitable accommodations."
    "I always like to be on good terms with my neighbors, Sadi," Varana agreed with aplomb.
    In another corridor, Errand found a strangely assorted group. King Fulrach of Sendaria, dressed in sober, businesslike brown, was speaking quietly with the purple-garbed King Korodullin of Arendia and with the scabrous-looking Drosta lek Thun, who wore a richly jeweled doublet of an unwholesome-looking yellow.
    "Have either of you heard anything about any decisions concerning a regency?" the emaciated Nadrak king asked in his shrill voice. Drosta's eyes bulged, seeming almost to start out of his pock-marked face, and he fidgeted continuously.
    "I would imagine that Queen Porenn will guide the young king," Fulrach surmised.
    "They surely wouldn't put a woman in charge," Drosta scoffed. "I know Alorns, and they all look at women as subhuman."
    "Porenn is not exactly like other women," the King of Sendaria noted. "She's extraordinarily gifted."
    "How could a woman possibly defend the borders of so large a kingdom as Drasnia?"
    "Thy perception is awry, your Majesty," Korodullin told the Nadrak with uncharacteristic bluntness. "Inevitably, the other Alorn Kings will support her, and most particularly Belgarion of Riva will defend her. Methinks no monarch alive would be so foolhardy as to counter the wishes of the Overlord of the West."
    "Riva's a long way away," Drosta suggested, his eyes narrowing.
    "Not so far, Drosta," Fulrach told him. "Belgarion has a very long arm."
    "What news hast thou heard