Samual (27 page)

As soon as he had the elders' attention Sam began telling them what he knew. What they needed to know.

“Cameral's a short wind. He talks a good fight, but he doesn't have the numbers to back his words. His keep is run down, with perhaps five hundred men at arms in it, and maybe another two thousand across the entire province he could call on, if he truly needed to. And they would take many days to assemble and then march. He also has a problem with dire wolves which ties up his patrols. That's why he desperately wants your gold, and he believes that you have plenty of gold as well as mithril.”

“His real strength is in his markets, which bring in more trade from across all of Fair Fields than any others, and in his spies, of which he is reputed to have legions. He also has some of the strongest mages around, and the reason that he's happy to walk out here and meet with you in the open is that several will be nearby, readying their most powerful magics to protect him.”

That raised a few eyebrows. Among the nobles of Fair Fields Cameral was almost a legend for his paranoia, and for his flock of highly expensive wizards he kept at his beck and call. In fact it was reported that they were the reason his keep was so run down. They took all his gold. But among the elves Sam suspected, his spell casters would prove to be less impressive.

“It's to his advantage for his people to trade with you, as much of that money goes into his coffers as taxes. Any commitment you can make to him about purchasing from his markets will be well received.”

“Unfortunately he's also a bully and greedy with it. If he finds weakness he will go for the throat, and by every means possible. Magic, armed force, deception, even sabotage; he will use any and all of them just to steal the people's wealth. He also will not care how many innocent people he hurts along the way. He cares nothing for anyone but himself. But if he finds strength he'll back down fast and take whatever you offer.”

“The key is to make him feel vulnerable. I advise you to first look for his mages. They won't be far away though they may be hidden with spells of concealment. Then bring them back to the table and accuse them as acting as spies. While you do so point out their weakness against true elven mages, of which you have hundreds if not thousands. At least that's what you must let him believe. Without his protection he'll take anything you offer just to get out of here.”

Sam felt absolutely no guilt in betraying Cameral's self-serving nature to the elves. Once, as the son of the king of these very lands he might have, though as a knight of Hanor he probably wouldn't. Knights protected the people, and Cameral was every bit as bad as the rest of the nobles. But he trusted the elves to do the right thing, and he'd never liked this particular lord. He had a barbaric sense of justice that he inflicted upon his subjects, and a crude sense of humour with which he regaled the other nobles, usually while stabbing them in the back through the actions of his agents.

It was a strange thing to have to admit, but while he found the elven system of rule frustrating and confusing, of the two dozen or so fiefdoms, baronies and principalities that comprised Fair Fields, he could think of none that were fairer to their people than them. Nor any that as a commoner he would find easier to live under. But that could be because of the elves themselves rather than their strange and convoluted system of governance. They were an inherently decent people, little concerned with things like wealth or power. Instead, they seemed to have a driving need to help one another. It was almost as though they were a large family rather than an entire people.

His message given, Sam backed up a dozen or so paces and stood guard by one of the wagons, exactly as another eight or so were doing, trying not to look out of place, and awaiting any sign he might be wanted. Despite the fact that the guards seemed to do very little most of the time, it wasn't easy. They had to stand stiffly to attention for many long hours while the elders and the lords spoke, remembering to always keep their spear properly positioned, and hope they didn't cramp up.

Still, it had its rewards. For Sam at least. Because while standing there he was able to listen to the Lord's account of what had gone on in Fall Keep just a few short weeks before. The elders claiming their usual curiosity, asked him about it at length. That didn't surprise Sam as he knew the elders were still a little concerned about the brevity of his report back to them as to what he'd done there. However, Lord Cameral was more than willing to oblige.

His extensive network of spies meant he had a very accurate picture of the night's events. The only thing he had wrong was that he believed that Sam and Harmion Fallbright had acted together, and that once Harmion had fallen, Sam had apparently fled. Though why someone who could ring an entire keep with an eighty foot high wall of fire for over a week would flee, wasn't clear. Presumably whoever his agents had bribed for information had been unwilling to admit that Sam alone had had them all at his mercy. But at least none of the keep's soldiers had died, which was a relief to Sam as he'd never really considered them to be enemies, and surely a relief to the elders. It had taken some three days to chip the last of the soldiers out of the stone floors into which they had sunk and a few were still in care.

Of more interest to Sam, was what else the lord knew or believed. Things like how the fight had gone, and the price of treachery being paid by the rest of the Fallbright House. For a start his brother had cheated, using a poisoned dart someone had apparently managed to smuggle in. Trust Heri to cheat in a matter of honour, was Sam's first thought when he heard of it. It was almost Heri's only talent. Certainly it was his greatest. But surprisingly for once Sam couldn't accuse him of having won unfairly as he hadn't been the only one to cheat. Harmion had coated the tip of his sword with dragon bile, and Heri's armour had begun to rot and fall off him from the very first blow. It had actually been a fair fight in the end. The most cunning rat had won.

After the battle Heri had quickly placed the entire blame on the Fallbright House and had demanded recompense. Thus, as well as burying a son and brother, the family were paying for the repairs to Fall Keep. The bill was so large it was rumoured that the Fallbrights would have to sell large tracts of arable land, and their finest herds to pay it. And that was before they even began to look at the punitive damages which Heri was still adding up. Yet none of that would have hurt a fraction as much as having to publicly declare their dead son a traitor, as Heri had demanded of them. They were not a nice family, but they still cared for their kin.

Sam on the other hand had been publicly declared as a traitor to Fair Fields by Heri himself, something he would no doubt have enjoyed immensely. A sizeable reward had also been placed on his head. Sam didn't think it was any coincidence that Lord Cameral was asking for twenty thousand gold pieces, a sum that matched exactly the price on his head. No doubt that was the real reason the Lord was so eager to discuss the matter. He knew Sam was half elven, and probably that his mother had come from Shavarra. Putting two and two together, he was trying to work out if Sam might be among them. If so he presumably guessed that that the elves might hand Sam over in lieu of paying the twenty thousand gold pieces, so that Lord Cameral could then claim those reward monies for himself. Of course he didn't stand a chance of being paid the reward, and even he should have understood that.

Heri had put out the reward in all likelihood simply to save face. Branding Sam as a dangerous criminal was simply a cover for his own crimes. To not do so would be a tacit admission of his own guilt, or worse his fear. A king could not show fear. But he had no intention of actually hunting Sam down. He would be terrified by the thought that his people might actually find him. That's why the reward was only offered to Heri's personal guards; he offered it as a way to atone for their failure in Heri's own words. Cameral presumably had a way to hold Sam and then claim the reward for himself, presumably while ingratiating himself to Heri and at the same time finding a soft spot in his back to stick his dagger in.

The one thing Sam was certain of was that none of those guards were ever going to be free to do any bounty hunting. Heri wouldn't allow it. And since all of them had seen him in action, even if they did become free one day, they weren't likely to take up the offer anyway. Nor, if they truly had been imprisoned by his fire wall for more than a week, would any of the soldiers from the keep. And Heri's assassins for much the same reasons, had all been recalled. Heri had at last learned fear.

Cameral though had a different lesson to learn. Disappointment.

The elders, in keeping with their people's great love of honesty and sophistry, told Lord Cameral that there were at least two hundred thousand elves in their caravan, and it was quite possible that Sam could be among them. He was welcome to search, provided he didn't delay their progress or upset any elves. The people were upset and it was unclear how much more strife they could endure before something gave, and then the consequences could be dire.

That set Cameral's teeth grinding away in anger. He'd obviously hoped that they would simply bring Sam out to him to be led away. Clearly they weren't so inclined. That meant if the Lord was to find Sam he had to search through the caravans, and hope that his actions didn't cause a riot. All his soldiers put together couldn't restrain such a large group of angry elves and he knew it. Yet he had to at least appear cordial. His face flushed with anger as he continued his tale but he said nothing untoward.

In the weeks that had followed Harmion's death, Heri had raised the taxes and demanded new measures from his lords to show their loyalty. Primarily they included having one child from each of the noble families to remain in Fall Keep at all times. Heri apparently, had decided to take hostages. Faced with a ruined keep, and one example of brazen treachery, Heri had chosen to reign in his errant lords by any means necessary.

To Cameral it was merely a way of retaining power, even though one of his own kin was also now a hostage. Sam though saw it as a sign of true evil, as Heri was now using the same weapon he had previously levelled against him. If he had said it once he had said it a thousand times; Heri had all the cunning of a rat in a dung heap, and even fewer morals.

Cameral's news made Sam sad as well as angry. Sad not only for the people who would now suffer, but also for his brother who it seemed still had learned nothing of right and wrong. There seemed little hope that he would ever become a man their father might be proud of. And while those he would be holding as hostages might for the most part be no better than him, there would be some who were entirely innocent. Meanwhile the taxes Sam could guess weren't going to be used to repair the throne or the castle. Instead the money would be used to bolster his army.

It was another sure sign of a paranoid king, which was exactly how Cameral saw it as well. What neither he nor Heri could seem to understand was that it would be the people who would suffer for that paranoia, as they would have to work ever longer hours to pay those taxes, and then would no doubt be killed when hostilities broke out. A paranoid king taking hostages? That had to end badly.

Meanwhile the Fallbrights, openly angry at the loss of their youngest son, were actively talking about sedition from Fair Fields. It was just talk though; angry words which would never become actions. They didn't have the resources to back such an act. Their lands were fertile, and they had some very fine herds of both horses and cattle, but they had no metal. Their lands were not blessed with any mines other than a few clay pits. Thus they would have to buy steel, weapons and armour if they wanted to fight, and their few market places weren't popular with outside traders because of the high fees they charged for setting up a stall.

Heri's rule was safe for the moment and their bluster was mainly simple anger – and perhaps a hope of stirring up some of the other lords against him. But while his rule was secure for the moment, Heri's life wasn't so safe.

Though he doubtless had had no choice and everyone knew it, when Heri had killed Harmion he had created an enemy for life out of his family. An enemy that would use whatever means they had at their disposal to kill him. They might not be able to go to war with the entire kingdom, but they could happily weave a trail of chaos and anger through the entire court, and they would. They could spread rumour and gossip, leaving his subjects disenchanted with him, undermine his rule in a thousand ways and even belittle him discretely. Likewise they could hire agents and assassins to destroy Heri's achievements and if possible kill him. Meanwhile a court that was already angry at Heri for holding their kin hostages would be more than a little receptive to their actions.

His brother would not sleep easy for many years to come, and when he tried to enforce his will he might well find it challenged by the various nobles. His only solution would be royal decree, which basically left every lord with the choice of either obedience or outright betrayal and war. But Heri had neither the soldiers nor the wealth to enforce his every command. No more could he use the hostages. The moment he did, war would ensue. They were of value only while they were kept safe. He would have to pick and choose those commands he really wanted followed. He would also have to surround himself with guards and pray that the various families didn't think of a way through them.