The Hidden City

Ulath turned to see who was being so offensive.
    The man was a richly dressed Dacite. He was riding a spirited black horse, and his face bore the marks of habitual dissipation. Though he had never seen the fellow before, Ulath recognized him immediately. Talen’s pencil had captured that face almost perfectly. Ulath smiled. ‘Well, now,’ he murmured, ‘that’s a little better.’ He stepped out into the street and followed the prancing black horse.
    Their destination was one of the grand houses near the royal palace. A liveried servant rushed from the house to greet the sneering Elene. ‘We’ve been eagerly awaiting your arrival, my Lord,’ he declared, bowing obsequiously.
    ‘Get somebody to take care of my horse,’ the Elene snapped as he dismounted. ‘Is everybody here?’
    ‘Yes, Baron Parok.’
    ‘Astonishing. Don’t just stand there, fool. Take me to them at once.’
    ‘Yes, my Lord Baron.’
    Ulath smiled again and followed them into the house. The room to which the servant led them appeared to be a study of some kind. The walls were lined with book-cases, though the books shelved there showed no signs of ever having been opened. There were about a dozen men in the room: some Elene, some Arjuni, and even one Styric.
    ‘Let’s get down to business,’ Baron Parok told them, negligently tossing his plumed hat and his gloves down on the table. ‘What have you to report?’
    ‘Prince Sparhawk has reached Tiara, Baron Parok,’ the lone Styric told him.
    ‘We expected that.’
    ‘We did not, however, expect his treatment of my kinsman. He and that brute he calls his squire followed our messenger and assaulted him. They tore off all his clothes and turned all his pockets inside out.’
    Parok laughed harshly. ‘I’ve met your cousin, Zorek,’ he said. ‘I’m sure he richly deserved it. What did he say to the Prince to merit such treatment?’
    ‘He gave them the note, my Lord, and that ruffian of a squire made some insulting remark about a twenty-day journey on horseback. My cousin took offense at that and told them that they only had fourteen days to make the journey.’
    ‘That was not in the instructions,’ Parok snapped. ‘Did Sparhawk kill him?’
    ‘No, my lord.’ Zorek’s tone was sullen.
    ‘Pity,’ Parok said darkly. ‘Now I’ll have to attend to it myself. You Styrics get above yourselves at times. When I have leisure, I’m going to run your cousin down and hang his guts on a fence as an example to the rest of you. You’re being paid to do as you’re told, not to get creative.’ He looked around. ‘Who’s got the next note?’ he asked.
    ‘I have, my Lord,’ a rather prosperous-looking Edomishman replied. ‘You’d better hold off on delivering it. Zorek’s cousin upset our timetable with his excursion into constructive creativity. Let Sparhawk cool his heels here for a week or so. Then give him the note that tells him to go on to Verel. Lord Scarpa wants his army to start moving north before we give Sparhawk that last message—the one that tells him to go on to Natayos for the exc.’
    ‘Bhaarnogne Parok,’ a baggy-eyed Arjuni in a brocade doublet said arrogantly, ‘this delay—particularly here in the capital—poses some threat to my king. This Sparhawk person is notoriously irrational, and he does still have the jewel of power in his possession. His Majesty does not want that Elene barbarian lingering here in Arjun with spare time on his hands. Send him on to Verel immediately. If he’s going to destroy some place, let it be Verel instead of Arjun.’
    ‘You have amazingly sharp ears, Duke Milanis,’ Parok said sardonically. ‘Can you really hear what King Rakya is saying when you’re a mile from the palace?’
    ‘I’m here to protect His Majesty’s interests, Baron. I have full authority to speak for him. His Majesty’s alliance with Lord Scarpa is not etched on a diamond. Keep Prince Sparhawk moving. We don’t want him here in Arjun.’
    ‘And if I don’t?’
    Milanis shrugged. ‘His Majesty will abrogate the alliance and make a full report of what you people have been doing—and what you’re planning to do—to the Tamul Ambassador.’
    ‘I see that the old saw about the stupidity of trusting an Arjuni still holds true.’
    ‘Just do as you’re told, Parok,’ Milanis snapped. ‘Don’t bore me with all these tedious protests and racial slurs. Don’t make any blunders here, old boy. His Majesty’s report to the ambassador has