Lords of Deception (War of Four Kingdoms 1)

4. MARLAN

Thorendor Castle, Wallevet Ministry

Midspring, 3034

Marlan shook his head. "I could have done better, Master. I was careless."

"Nonsense," Arasemis said.

"I didn't intend to blind the king's courier. We're lucky he was well enough to make it to Eglamour to convey what happened."

"You went in and came out undetected. You eliminated Raymond. Nothing else matters. Concentrate on your studies and training again, until the next task."

Marlan wanted to ask what the next task would be, and when. But he had learned that Arasemis only provided details when everything was prepared. As Marlan sat down to eat, he noticed the place was too quiet. "Where are Bertwil and the others?"

Arasemis looked up from his scrolls. "They have begun a new task. It begins in Barres Ministry, and then they are bound for Leauvenna."

"Are they ready for a mission without me?"

"Individually they are not as talented as you, Marlan. But together they should be fine." Arasemis returned to his reading.

Marlan occupied himself with an ancient Naren-Dra alchemical text while he ate. He loved all the harvest charts and ingredient tables. The mixture sequences and formulas. And the peculiar glyph writing of the Naren-Dra. Marlan slipped a hand into his tunic, reaching for his alchemy belt. He pulled out a small, soot-dusted egg and held it up to the candlelight.

"I've told you before to empty your pouches and belt downstairs before coming up," Arasemis said without looking up. "Particularly the shroud eggs."

"I wanted to tell you that these did not work as quickly this time. The lord minister took at least a minute to choke. And he didn't vomit."

"If you shot a dart in his throat he likely wouldn't," Arasemis said. "Especially if you didn't mix in enough toad vinegar." The master stood and plucked an empty glass jar from a shelf. He filled it from the water pitcher and set it before Marlan. "Drop it in."

They watched the surface of the water cloud as the soot washed off the egg. Arasemis jabbed his knife into the egg, and black powder surged out into the water like webbed hands. Then it congealed and fell to the bottom of the jar while tiny white granules floated to the top.

"You see?"

"I needed more toad skins for the vinegar," Marlan said.

Arasemis nodded. "And be patient with the distilling. It is one of the most important conversion methods of chemina arcana. Slowly feed the powder into the hollow eggs when you're sure it's completely dry." Arasemis flipped through the Naren-Dra alchemy book. "There—'Death should occur within one minute or less. Good vomiting and itching should be shorter still.' Now, go down to the laboratory and empty your belts. Refill them and a second set with our standard poisons, incendiaries, and illusories. Put it all in the carriage, then come back so we can discuss the next task."

"Yes, Master Arasemis."

Marlan went down to the large room hidden beneath the floor of the great hall that served as the laboratory. Shelves from floor to ceiling were crammed with every size and shape of bottles, jars, alembics, canisters, and other vessels made of glass, ceramic, stone, iron, and wood. There were two large hearths hung with cauldrons and numerous workbenches strewn with tools and leftover raw ingredients.

He walked to his worktable and carefully removed the bottles from the belts under his tunic, then unstrapped the belts. He glanced at the barrel in the corner of the room. Unable to resist, he walked over and peered at the hilt of a sword resting on the lip of the open barrel. The whole blade was submerged in a shimmering solution.

"Unchanged, damn..." he muttered. It wouldn't be ready in time for the next task. He visually inspected the sachets of stones hanging in the solution. Particles were slowly melting out of the sachets, falling along the blade and resting on the barrel's bottom.

Marlan went back to the shelves and filled his belts with everything he would need. He did the same for Arasemis's belts, then stuffed it all into the pack. He carried the pack to the stables and placed it in the carriage, his mind still on the sword. When he returned to Arasemis he found the master poring over a map.

"You didn't touch it, did you?" Arasemis asked without looking up.

"No. But it looks the same as when we put it in."

"Patience. It's worth waiting for." Arasemis pointed at a small blot on the map, east of Thorendor Castle. "We leave tonight for Delavon Ministry, to a free city called Mordmerg."

"We?" Marlan was surprised. The master rarely left Thorendor.

"We'll go by carriage, disguised as merchants, to meet with a group of criminals called the Blackhoods. They fancy themselves protectors of Mordmerg's free city status, which they think is threatened by Lord Minister Maillard Valient. But the Blackhoods rob their own people because there is no actual threat to the city...yet."

"I don't understand. We're going to meet with petty thieves in a neighboring ministry? I'm sure Vorrault has thieves if you want to hire—"

"Listen and try to follow. When you killed Raymond it disrupted his ongoing negotiations to preserve the Empire Alliance. Maillard is likely to continue those negotiations. The vast wealth and skilled soldiers of the Valients make doing a task against Maillard more difficult. We're not going to do things as we normally would."

"So the Lord Minister of Delavon is our next target." Marlan nodded with satisfaction. "Why don't you let me creep into his castle and do it myself? I can easily get past his—"

"He is not in Rachard, he's in Eglamour. He's too well protected, Marlan, even on the road. If Bertwil and the others were here, it would be possible. But it doesn't matter, because I have a better plan."

"What could be better than killing another lord minister?" Marlan asked.

"Quiet and follow what I'm saying. Instead of directly attacking Maillard, we'll encourage a revolt against him in Mordmerg, not too far from his capital in Rachard. Like all the free cities, Mordmerg is an enclave within Maillard's lands but under Almerian influence. The Blackhoods are there and itching for a fight, which we'll help arrange. After the revolt, the Donovards and Almerians will blame each other."

"I see," Marlan said. "Donovan and the Almerian Confederation will be at each other's throats, more than they already are. We'll exploit the weakness of the Empire Alliance."

Arasemis nodded. "If Maillard becomes the negotiator between alliance members, trouble in Mordmerg will put him in a difficult spot—if we can get the Blackhoods to do what we want. My hope is that they'll cause enough problems that Maillard himself will go to Mordmerg when he returns from Eglamour. I doubt he'd bring a large force so as not to provoke the Almerians in the city. That will give us an opening to assassinate him."

"Then the alliance falls and the Pemonian kings are at each other's throats, giving Candlestone room to thrive," Marlan said. "I like this plan. But can I kill Maillard myself, or at least manage the Blackhoods solo?"

Arasemis shook his head. "The leader of the Blackhoods, a man named Navarron, is a skittish fellow. I suspect he is an agent of the Almerians, but I can't be sure. I had some dealings with him years ago. Navarron will remember me, but he wouldn't trust you if I sent you alone. We'll meet him together, then you'll stay in Mordmerg to carry out the plan."

"If this works, will we do the same in the other free cities?"

"It probably wouldn't be difficult, especially if the alliance falls and the Donovards pillage the free cities. But we have too much to do. After Mordmerg, our focus must be on the king, his most powerful supporters, and the full resurrection of Candlestone."

"I'll ready the horses," Marlan said.

Copyright 2019 Christopher C. Fuchs. All Rights Reserved.