Not on this sea, no, said Pug. The ships were square-rigged, fast in a following breeze, most carrying only a single mast, with one or two larger vessels possessing a second mast with a lateen-rigged sail. The shorter ships had four rowers a side and the longer ships eight, so it was clear the rowing would only be for short periods of manoeuvring, not for long travel. On the bow of each ship was a colourful figure: a dragon, eagle or hawk, each with a carved womans head in miniature just below, painted in bright hues. Theyre Keshian.
Ive never seen their like in Durbin, said Jack.
Those are Brijaner longships, from the eastern shores of the Empire of Great Kesh. The Brijaners are raiders, but this is too far from home for them to be operating without the Empires approval. Something is going on. He waved his hands and the image vanished.
I see sails farther to the south, said Jack, peering as if he could will himself to see further than the limits of his sight.
Pug said, Ill go take a look. And he disappeared.
An instant later Pug stood in mid-air, using his arts to keep him aloft. He was so high that if a lookout on the topmast of one of the ships below glanced up, hed appear like nothing more than a bird soaring aloft.
Pug lingered long enough only to apprise himself of what was underway, then he returned to the villa construction site.
Magnus said, Father?
Send word, I want everyone back here as soon as possible for a meeting of the Conclave.
Everyone? Since the attack on the island during which his wife Miranda had died, Pug had never requested more than two or three members of the Conclave be present at any one time. The mad magician Leso Varen had somehow managed to circumvent the islands many magical defences and Pug had become almost obsessed with never allowing his most important lieutenants to gather and become a single target again.
Everyone, Pug repeated.
Magnus didnt hesitate, using his considerable skills to transport himself in an instant to his fathers study in the Black Castle. A device had been constructed that could be used to summon any or all members of the Conclave of Shadows inner circle, those men and women upon whom the organization effectively rested. The device was a large sphere with runic markings around it, each attuned to a member of the inner circle. By depressing the mark associated with that member, the indicated person would receive an unmistakable sensation, a feeling akin to an itch that couldnt be scratched, annoying enough to awaken any but the soundest sleeper. It would last for ten seconds and then repeat in half an hour and would continue until the member arrived on the island. Pug used the irritation the device caused to drive home the point that these devices he provided were precious and needed to be closely guarded. The idea of having to travel from the other side of the world by conventional means with the recurring itch was a strong goad.
Almost immediately members of the inner council began to arrive. Magnus could feel the magical energies even as far away from the meeting cave as he was. He transported himself to a position just outside and walked into the large cavern set within the hillside on the north side of the island.
Pug was already there, along with Jason, the magician who acted as Pugs reeve when he and Magnus were both absent from the island, and the first of the thirty-three summoned members of the Conclave.
Grand Master Creegan of the Order of the Shield of the Weak, the martial order of the Temple of Dala, shook his head ruefully. I trust this is important. I was about to begin a meeting with the senior members of my order when the call arrived. I can put them off for a few hours, but even the authority of my office has limits.
Understood, said Pug, shaking his hand.
The arrivals continued for a full twenty minutes. The last to make it through were those on the other side of the world, who had been asleep when the call came, several of whom still looked barely awake. A quick head count showed they were all present save two, and Pug began. We cant wait. Im sorry to convene this meeting so abruptly, but something has occurred and we need to address it at once.
The cave had remained unchanged since they had first been introduced to it by Gathis, the odd, goblin-like servant of Macros the Black. Like so many things associated with Macros, two things remained a mystery: the whereabouts of Gathis who had simply vanished one day, leaving Pug alone in charge of the Island; and the true nature of the cave.
At first it appeared to be little more than a deep depression in the side of the hill, but when you turned a corner inside it, the cavern presented itself. In a semi-circle along the walls was a ledge of stone that provided a natural seating area, allowing the members to sit in relative comfort. And in the centre of the cavern rose a pillar of stone, on top of which rested a statue to Sarig, the lost god of magic. Over the years the aspect of the bust had changed by mysterious means so that it represented men, women, and other beings who were somehow at that moment an avatar of the god.
Pug could never quite fathom if there was something truly significant about the statue, or if it was merely some manifestation of Macross love of the theatrical.
A still-sleepy magician named Jerome hurried in, obviously having just got dressed after bathing, his wet hair still plastered to his skull. Sorry, he said, nodding in greeting.
That left just one member missing. Glancing around the cave, Pug said questioningly, Sandreena?
It was Grand Master Creegan who replied. There is no reason I can imagine that would keep her from answering the call. She must be incapacitated somehow.
Magnus said, Or the device failed.
Pug sighed and nodded. The ancient Tsurani transportation orbs were becoming a problem. Translocation or teleportation was one of the more difficult feats, even for practised magicians. Magnus was unparalleled in his ability to travel anywhere he had visited before, as well as certain places he had never seen on the basis of unique features well described to him. Pug could travel easily to any place he could see, or knew, and Magnus had helped him master greater range. But only a handful of magicians could match even Pugs more limited abilities, and many of the agents of the Conclave, like Grand Master Creegan, were not magicians.
Pug whispered to Magnus, If its the device, make sure to turn off the summons. I cant have her itching every half-hour. He paused. Unless youd like to face her and her mace when she finally does get here?
Magnus vanished and in a moment he was back. Taken care of, Father.
Pug said, And Amirantha?
Magnus said, Despite his residency here for the last few years, youve never formally invited him into the Conclave, so he doesnt have means to return in a hurry. Ill have to fetch him from the elven city.
Pug said, Later. Id rather not disturb him while hes at Ebar. His gaze travelled around the assembled members of the Conclave. Then he took a deep breath and announced, Apparently a very large war is erupting between the Empire of Great Kesh and the Kingdom of the Isles.
Everyone in the room appeared surprised, yet there was little evidence of shock. One magician, by the name of Brandtly, whom Pug had serving as a liaison with Stardock, said, Weve heard rumours, and some of the Keshian magicians at Stardock have been absent of late, but rumours of war in the Vale are constant.
Grand Master Creegan asked, Youve had no word from agents in either court?
We dont properly have an agent in the court in Rillanon, Pug said, though we enjoy a special relationship with their intelligence service. Most in the room knew of Pugs treatment of the future King of the Isles, Prince Patrick of Krondor, at the end of the war with the Emerald Queen, when Kesh had tried to press its advantage against the Kingdoms weakened defences in the West. Pug had ended the war, but had publicly embarrassed the hot-tempered young monarch. Since then, relations between the Conclave and the Kingdom had been strained at best, hostile at worst. If James Jamison had heard anything that had any bearing on this, I cant imagine he wouldnt share that intelligence with us. He more than anyone in the Kings service has a sense of what is at stake, what dangers are still out there. His hand waved vaguely towards the cave entrance, but everyone knew he meant those unknown beings behind the onslaught of demons against this realm. It may have been years since our enemies last assaulted us, but they will come again, there is no doubt. And we will need every force at our disposal to oppose them. We cannot permit this war. Two devastated armies will not do; two plundered populations will not do. His voice rose. Two severely weakened nations will not do.
None of our friends in the court of the Emperor have hinted at such an undertaking. Weve had reports detailing debates within the Chamber of Lords and Masters, some calling for a more aggressive policy towards the Kingdom, especially regarding the Vale of Dreams. But no warnings, no alarms, nothing. Pug let out a long breath. This is no mad adventure conducted by dissidents or a break-away faction in the Empire. For something of this scale, the Emperor himself had to give approval, or at least be in no position to object.
Pug looked at Creegan. Had the temples any warning?
No, just the usual: some members of the Congress of Lords urging a more belligerent posture towards Kesh, and closer ties with Roldem. He stopped. Usually, those in favour of adventure turn their eyes to the Eastern Kingdoms, seeking to expand in that direction. War with Kesh is never anyones notion of a good idea. He paused, then added, But we havent received any reports from our temples or shrines in the south of Kesh for over a month now. And Sandreena was investigating some reports of
What? prompted Pug.
Just some things that sounded to her as if the Black Caps might have returned.
The Black Caps were a group of murderers and thugs attached to those who had been in the service of Belasco, the mad magician who had attempted to bring the Demon King Dahun into this realm and had been possessed by him for his trouble. In the end both the magician and the Demon Lord had been destroyed, but many of those serving them had escaped into the wilds of Kesh. Any rumour of their re-emergence would have attracted Sandreenas attention, as she had more run-ins with them than anyone else.
You didnt think this worthy of a mention? asked Magnus.
I would have once she returned, said Creegan. Members of the Conclave were not merely Pugs agents, but powerful men and women in their own right, and many bristled at the idea they had to defend their choices within their own areas of influence.
Pug held up his hand, forestalling any argument. I trust each of you to let me know whats critical.
He looked from face to face, almost as if trying to read their thoughts, then seized upon something Creegan had said. Sandreena ventured to the south of Great Kesh?
Yes, somewhere below the Girdle, said the Grand Master.
Have any of you received reports from your agents south of the Girdle recently?
Glances were exchanged, and finally a woman named Veronica said, No. But then its not unusual to not hear from them for months. There is very little that happens in the Confederacy that has any particular bearing on our interests, save the occasional magician who is found and recruited for the Academy or your island.
Pug nodded. If our enemies know us as well as I think they do, where better to stage a massive operation against us than somewhere we just choose to ignore?
Daniel, a highly-placed warrior in the martial order known as The Hammer, stood up. The Hammer was a disavowed sect putatively associated with the Temple of Tith-Onanka. In fact they were close to being a mercenary army, tolerated on both sides of the border between Kesh and the Kingdom. They answered only to their leader, the Knight-Marshal of the order, and it had taken years for Pug to place an agent within their ranks: like other martial orders associated with the temples, they were wary of spies and had magical means by which they could ferret them out. How big was the fleet you saw, Pug? Daniel asked.
I counted over one hundred ships making for Port Vykor or Krondor.
If theyre sending that many ships into the Bitter Sea, they have other fleets as well. Theyll not leave their coasts unprotected from pirates, raiders, retaliation, or other disasters. Moreover, the combined fleets of Roldem and Isles in the Sea of Kingdoms needs be met with a show of strength. Daniel paused, thinking. To muster such a fleet south of the Girdle and then sail up to the Straits of Darkness and into the Bitter Sea within a few weeks to catch the Kingdom unawares He stopped. What Im trying to say is the execution may have only taken weeks, but the planning thats been months, perhaps years. Food, weapons, drinking water: its a massive cargo! It all has to be moved somewhere out-of-the-way, somewhere they have a reasonable expectation of privacy. Daniel looked around the room as if looking for someone to argue against his point. No one did.
South of the Girdle would be an obvious choice, said Magnus. We presume, perhaps wrongly, that the Empire is primarily in a position to pacify, not to be used as a staging area.
Ah, but theres more than simply hauling a few casks of water, some loaves of bread, hogsheads of hard cheese and dried beef and leaving them on a beach for ships to pick up, continued Daniel. Moving goods through the market sets up ripples. He looked at the tall, white-haired magician. Youre smarter than most, Magnus, but like all of us youre ignorant about one thing or another.
Im in logistics, and thats how I made my way into The Hammer, feeding the bastards. He laughed. The point is, if I wander into a city and buy up enough food for a thousand men, prices go up, others cant find what theyre seeking, and word goes out to the world that that city needs whatever it is I bought. Shippers then scramble, buying whatever they think they can quickly get to market where I am, and that creates more demand further away. He wiggled his fingers. Ripples, you see? Like a rock in a pond. The thing is: with this bastard of a fleet sailing around there are no ripples.
Pug nodded. Which means goods are being supplied from outside the normal channels of supply. From somewhere we have no informants. He waved his hand and an image appeared in the air. This is a likeness of a map I found years ago in Macross library, of the southern half of the Empire. From what Ive learned since I found it, the borders are fluid, the clans and nations variable, and little can be fixed beyond the location of a few big towns on the coast.
It looks as if its mainly desert, swamps, and mountains, said Daniel. And I know what little farmland is down there is old, worn out and dry. The Confederates are always looking for an excuse to push north. And any large supply of food there would get be eaten, not warehoused.