"So we are certain of this information? There is no doubt?" King Merrill asked again. Jor-Barnk sighed.
"Yes, your majesty. There is no doubt. The ships were Sessailaine. The spies were Sessailaine. They met with a party on the Spires and escaped not only their ships but ours as well. A number of our ships are missing so we may assume they had a fleet hidden just outside our waters somewhere."
"Are the Sessailaine intending war?" Merrill was, in Jor-Barnk's mind, a fair king but he wasn't brave. Not at all.
"I don't think so, at least, not with us. The information I obtained from the sailors who drank with them tells me they were seeking the Spires. My...sources..on the Spires tell me that a number of engagements were fought before the Sessailaine removed their party. Immediately afterwards, an Examiner left the Spires to report to his superior. I believe the Sessailaine might have been testing the Spires." Jor-Barnk knew that his information from the sailors was accurate. He had tortured them himself. As for the fact that the Examiner was rewarded on his return by becoming Chief Examiner, well, Jor-Barnk wasn't ready to share that with the King.
"So. The Sessailaine may be ready to war with the Spires." King Merrill looked thoughtful. "This could be to our benefit."
Jor-Barnk nodded. "The enemy of my enemy, Sire. I put the loss of our own ships down to the incompetence of Sor-Arhan, who led them. Still, I leave it to you to decide what to do with this information." As the king turned to leave, Jor-Barnk hesistated.
"Was there something more, Spymaster?" King Merrill asked.
"An anomaly. I don't like anomalies, Sire. The party they rescued was apparently a prisoner that the Examiners were extremely interested in and a drudge that rescued her. This prisoner seemed unimportant but clearly she was not. At first I thought it was simply that she was a Sessailaine spy." Jor-Barnk frowned.
"She wasn't. then. So why did the Sessailaine go to such efforts to rescue her?" King Merrill asked.
"That is what I don't know. Sire, if you decide to send an emissary to the Sessailaine to sound them out, may I have one of my men assigned to it?" Jor-Barnk would anyway but it helped allay the suspicions of the king if there was an obvious agent so the secret one could remain hidden.
"I will make it so, Spymaster." King Merrill agreed.
Jor-Barnk left the king and went immediately to his offices. There was a man waiting for him there that the Spymaster needed to speak with. When he arrived at the office, to Jor-Barnk's surprise there were two men. He hated surprises but his men were trained to report immediately to him anything that might affect the security of the Island Kingdom.
Jor-Barnk kept the surprise from his face and, looking at the first man asked, "Is there anything in your report that must be private between us?" The man shook his head. He asked the other man the same question with the same response. Jor-Barnk nodded. These two were among his most trusted agents and had worked together on some assignments. He knew they were as trustworthy as anyone in this game could be.
"Then report!" Jor-Barnk ordered the first man.
"Sir. The Kingdom of Mornan has a new Emperor. On his ascension to the throne he ordered the fleets and armies of Mornan to be increased in size and readied for war. This by itself is nothing as every time a new Emperor arises, Mornan rattles its sabres. However, I can also report that Mornan is massing on the borders of Grale and secret orders have gone out to the area commanders. The borders are closed and even traders are subject to intense searches by the Mornanians. It has all the appearance of war, sir."
Mornan? They have warred with Grale before but they have been quiet for years. Jor-Barnk nodded to the second man. "And you?"
"By itself, Sir, this would be a minor report but as it concerned the Examiner whose departure from the Spires you are aware of, I felt you should know. The Examiner, now Chief Examiner, has departed from all usual practices of the Examiners. It is an odd series of events. First, he ordered an unprecedented search of what they believe to be their unknown storehouse of writings. Then, after receiving some sort of private report on what was found, the Chief Examiner killed two Senior Examiners and a Junior. Afterwards, the Chief Examiner went to the king and had a public argument with him about sending a fleet of vessels to apprehend one he named a heretic, a woman called Aeronwyn. When the king refused, he stormed out of that meeting. To the best of my knowledge, that is a unique occurrence." The man hesitated.
"There's more?" Jor-Barnk was hiding his shock well but he could feel his gut twisting.
"Sir," the man looked at his colleague then back at the Spymaster, "I am not sure how this relates, but as it happened right after the meeting with the king? One of our agents, who I consider reliable, reported to me that the Chief Examiner stopped in the middle of the street on the way back to the Hall. He stood there for a few minutes, then screamed, as if in pain. Since then, there has been a number of deaths in the Examiner Hall, including one of our inside men. I believe that his relationship to us was unrelated but I will leave the conclusions to you."
"Public arguments with a reigning king, deaths of Examiners, requests to send a fleet to Sessailaine to arrest one person, screaming in the streets and Mornan getting ready to start a war, most likely with Grale. This," the Spymaster said, his voice laced with sarcasm, "is all you have to report?"
The two men looked uncomfortable. Jor-Barnk sighed. "I am sorry. You have done well. Take what refreshment and rest you can then get back to your assignments. I need to know as quickly as possible any action taken by Mornan or the Western Kingdom."
Gods! Has the world gone mad? The Chief Examiner asked his king to declare war on the Sessailaine, the Sessailaine may be planning war against the Spires, Mornan and Grale may go to war? There is no choice for us. If possible, we must be neutral, but if we must choose a side, I hope the king understands how powerful the Sessailaine are at sea. As a nation of islands, they may be our best hope for reducing our involvement. What a mess. Jor-Barnk was hurrying back towards the king's chambers. He knew the king would be angry with being interrupted a second time, but their own defenses must be seen to, the Great Lords must be readied in case these events spilled out into the rest of the world. Only the King could take those actions.
