The Invisible Hands - Part 1: Gambit (28 page)

He pointed to a large map against the wall, in front of his chair.

“Just look at the distances involved. The logistics alone would be a nightmare. Not to mention the fact that he must know that we can make the Highlands impregnable against all but an enemy vastly superior in numbers. No, the menace comes from elsewhere.”

“What if Tenashosh loses the war?” Timishi asked.

“Precisely. There the real danger lies. Again, look at the map. Suddenly, we would have a gigantic empire for a neighbor on our southern 23
border. Moreover, Lorsanthia does have those overwhelming numbers I was speaking of.”

“So you want Ximerion to win this conflict, so it can serve as a buffer.” Lethoras said.

“Hm. I want something more. But close enough. I want to elimin— ate Lorsanthia as a threat for us.”

“Maybe it's my turn to tell you to look at the map. You seem to have overlooked the difference in size of both our countries.” Tomar observed.

“No, I haven't,” Anaxantis countered, with just the suspicion of a smile on his lips. “Giants have a drawback, however. Their vulnerabil— ities are just as out of proportion as the rest of them. If you know what they are, you can't miss them.”

“You're making that up,” Tomar scoffed. “Besides, do you even know what those so called weaknesses are?”

“Not for certain, though one at least seems obvious. I plan to find out, though. That's where you come in, rouwin.”

“Me?” Timishi asked. “How?”

“We know next to nothing about Lorsanthia. The only contact we've ever had was with the province bordering Ximerion. Even so, it didn't amount to much. Just some trade. There are some old accounts of lone travelers that have partially survived, but they're antiquated at best. We can't send Ximerionians, they would be recognized at once.

And, something tells me you wouldn't mind some trade connections.”

The Mukthar quedash grinned.

“Ah, that's the reason for your generosity. Fair enough. We could sail down, run into the harbors we encounter—”

“No, rouwin, I want you to go straight to the heart of the beast. To Tyleme. Or, as it is called in the old scrolls, the Marble Pearl. The 23
capital is located on a roughly triangular promontory, jutting out into the sea. If the ancient records are correct, there should be two harbors.

One on either side.”

“What do you want us to look out for?” Lorcko asked. He looked at Timishi. “You weren't thinking of going without me, were you?”

“Never,” Timishi said.

“Anything, really,” Anaxantis answered Lorcko's question. “You're both smart enough to know when you see or hear something useful. I do have some specific questions, but there'll be more than enough time to go over them during the Midwinter Revels at Landemere Castle.”

“Are we relying on finding some fatal flaw?” Lethoras asked. “Suppose there is one, and suppose they find what it is, even so it will take weeks, months before we learn about it. Then we have to devise a plan and execute it. By then it could be too late.”

“Don't underestimate my father,” Anaxantis replied. “He won't go down without a struggle. And, if necessary, we Tanahkoses fight dirty.

But I agree, we haven't got all that much time.”

Ehandar hadn't said anything during the further exchange of views. He had only partaken in the conversation when it had veered to more trivial subjects.

“You're not really relying on discovering a fatal flaw, are you?” he asked while they were climbing the stairs to their apartments.

“No, I'm not. But it's never a good idea to show all your cards at once.”

“Ha. Have you thought about what a victory of Ximerion would mean for us? If Father, and our brothers have their hands free once again?”

23
“That's exactly the problem, love.”

“We still have our arms and our swords,” Ehandar said, full of confidence. “Just let them try.”

Anaxantis's smile reflected his brother's confidence.

“Yes, you would fight to the last, wouldn't you, my foolish, valiant hero? You would stand at our border with whatever strength you could muster, and you would oppose them till your last breath. And you would probably go down fighting, sword in hand, and die. I am not going to let that happen. I'm not going to let them come near you, brave as you are.

“I want to see Lorsanthia defeated, yet I don't want Ximerion to win. I just want it not to lose the war.”

The door to the room that contained his cell opened.

“Quick, take off your tunic and your loincloth,” Uckmyo said, slightly out of breath. “The senator is here and he wants to see the wares.”

He opened the little metal door to let Lexyntas out from behind the bars. Then he noticed the boy hesitating and the red color on his face.

23
“I'm sorry, Lexyntas, but that's just how it is. You can't expect a man to buy something he hasn't been able to inspect thoroughly beforehand, now can you?”

Lexyntas, although reluctant, started to pull his tunic over his head. The movement obliged him to stretch his body, and the head slave couldn't help admiring the lanky legs and the flat, delicately muscled stomach of the boy. He took a hold of himself.

“Tell you what. I'll turn around, and you just drop your tunic and your loincloth on my shoulder. I'll hang them on that peg on the wall there. Stand upright, your feet apart, hands clasped behind your back, and wait for the senator and the master. Meanwhile, I'll leave. I won't look back. I promise.”

“Thank you,” Lexyntas whispered in a raw voice, grateful for small mercies. “Don't bother, though. I suppose it doesn't matter that much.

I'll have to get used at being on display, won't I?” he added. He lowered his head.

Uckmyo hesitated, then with a conscious effort, he turned away and fixed his eyes on the wall before him.

“No, Lexyntas, that's not at all how it's going to be. This is an exception. Once you're part of the household of a noble kinship, only your master will have, eh, certain privileges. Chances are he won't use them. Or not that much.”

He felt first one, then the other piece of garment being put on his right shoulder. It took all the willpower he could muster not to turn around back again.

“Good. Stand upright, shoulders back, and keep your face expres— sionless. Believe me, you want Senator Mennio to buy you. It is the best that can happen to you, given the alternatives. Let him see you from your best side, and if he wants to inspect you any closer, just let him.”

24
“Yes,” Lexyntas replied, in a small, demure voice.

“I'll leave you then,” the head slave said, with some regret, as he walked out.

“Uckmyo…”

“What?”

“Thank you, Uckmyo. You've been very kind.”

“It was my pleasure, Lexyntas,” Uckmyo said, without turning around. “I'm sorry to see you go. You're a fine young man. I wish you all the best.”

“Maybe, one day, I'll be able to pay you back.”

“Not likely, kiddo,” the head slave thought.

“That's quite all right,” he said out loud. “Just look after yourself.”

Standing naked before his cell, exactly in the position Uckmyo had told him to adopt, Lexyntas waited on what was about to come.

It didn't take very long. The door was opened again, this time by Yphainas. He let a grave-looking man, clad in a long-sleeved, heavy tunic that doubled as mantle, enter first. The senator was in his late forties, still had all his hair and wore an expression as if he suffered from a mild, but persistent toothache. He was handsome in a rugged way, with a strong face. Its most prominent feature was an aquiline nose.

The senator took one look at Lexyntas.

“He's healthy, you said?”

“Healthy as can be, Excellency. But, please, see for yourself.” He turned to the boy, who once again had flushed. “Turn around, boy, and—”

24
“That won't be necessary,” the senator interrupted him. “I believe you.” He smiled lopsidedly. “Anyway, any hidden defects and you'll reimburse me. The full price.”

“Of course, Excellency, of course,” the slaver hastened to agree.

“Why is he red in the face?” the senator wondered.

“Ah, yes, you see, Excellency, he hasn't been a slave for his whole life, you see.”

“Of course he has been a slave for his whole life,” the senator said.

“He just hasn't had a master until now.”

“Well… actually, he chose this himself to keep his siblings from starving.”

“Well, there you are. A free man, a true free-born man would have found another way to take care of his relations. He never would have chosen this course, were it not that on some deep level he must have felt he couldn't face the responsibility to be a free man. He knew he needed a firm hand to guide him, to tell him what to do and when to do it. Just like a dog, he needs a master if he is to survive.”

He looked Lexyntas over, his eyes lingering just a fraction of a second on the boy's crotch. Then he looked away brusquely. He sucked in air through one side of his mouth, as if he had just felt a jolt of sharp pain.

“Let him get dressed. You've made a sale, slaver,” the senator said, already leaving the little room.

Yphainas made an assenting sign to Lexyntas, who hastened to put his loincloth back on.

“I expect he isn't going to be any trouble,” they heard from the hallway.

“No, your Excellency, we have taught him proper manners.”

24
The slaver looked at Lexyntas, who was donning his tunic.

“You're so fortunate,” he whispered.

To Lexyntas's surprise, instead of going to Naodyma, they took the opposite direction. The senator had mounted his sedan chair, carried by four sturdy slaves. He himself had to walk behind it, in the middle of six other attendant serfs.

Yphainas might not be a senator, but he certainly was as wealthy as one. The senator's mansion was remarkably similar to that of the slaver, although it lacked a surrounding wall. The lane leading up to the main house was bordered on both sides with huge, ancient looking trees.

Lexyntas gasped when he stepped on a sharp rock. The slave to the right of him snickered. The one to the left, a big fellow of about thirty, leaned over to him.

“Take care, boy. That one is too stupid to realize it, but if the others notice that you have soft soles, they will immediately know that you were not born a slave. They will make your life miserable if they get the chance. They will try to make you a slave of slaves. Humiliating a once free man seems to take them out of their own misery for a while.

Try to walk as if nothing's the matter. I'll tend to your foot as soon as we're home.”

Lexyntas looked up at the man, thanking him with his eyes. The tall slave nodded, without smiling.

“Hey, Bull, leave the new one alone,” a slave, obviously an overseer of some kind, said. “He's meant for the young master, so don't you get any ideas.”

24
Bull

grumbled

something

incomprehensible

by

way

of

acquiescence.

Lexyntas and his self-appointed protector were sitting in a cubicle made of thin wood that provided them with a modicum of privacy from the rest of the barn-like structure.

“Bull?” Lexyntas inquired.

The man shrugged.

“At the time the master — not this one, but his father — had run out of regular names. He began to give the newborn slaves animal names. I was lucky. You could even say I grew into my name.”

“Oh… you were born on the estate.”

“Yep. Born and raised a slave,” Bull said, without any outward sign of emotion. “I've always wondered what it would be like to be free, if only for a few days. Incidentally, the one who mocked you is called Ass. He too grew into his name.”

They both laughed. All the while Bull had been looking at Lexyntas's foot.

“Well,” he said, rubbing his chin with one hand, “I suppose we could bandage it. On the other hand, the bleeding has stopped, and a dressing would just draw attention to it, without making all that much of a difference. Your choice. I'm going to fetch a bucket with water to clean the wound.”

A few minutes later Lexyntas was bathing his hurt foot.

“Do you know what's going to happen to me?” he asked, while nursing the wound.

Bull's face remained impassive.

“Ah, yes. That. Just brace yourself. It is customary—“

24
“Hey, you, new one,” the overseer who had returned interrupted him, looking into the cubicle. “Come with me. The master wants you.

Now.”

Lexyntas stood up. He looked at the tall slave, hoping he would finish his explanation, but Bull had averted his eyes.

Without another word, the overseer led him into a small append— age to the main house and told him to wait in the middle of the room, between two pillars. Two slaves stood, without speaking, against the wall to the left of him. It didn't take long for a door in front of him to open. The master entered and sat down on a chair. A boy, about a year younger than himself, Lexyntas estimated, stood beside him. He was dressed according to his rank, but that couldn't disguise that he was fat, a fact that was accentuated by his rosy cheeks and double chin. He wore his high-blond hair very short, so that, from a distance, his rotund head seemed almost bald. He looked around as if none of what was going on was any concern to him.