L. E.Modesitt - Imager’s Intrigue

I fingered my chin, thinking. Was that why Caartyl had often allied himself and the other guild counselors with the High Holders? Because both had a vested interest in keeping matters as they were and had been? I had another thought. If Cydarth in fact happened to be innocent of receiving the funds Geuffryt had directed Juniae D’Shendael to write about and Caartyl was not…what would be the political implications if both transactions were revealed?

“What would be the reaction if Caartyl were discovered receiving funds from a High Holder?”

“He’d be forced to resign…if something worse didn’t happen. Someone else would replace him-”

“Alucion, most likely, and he doesn’t care much for the High Holders.” Enough, I suspected, that he would rather support Glendyl than Ramsael and the other High Holder Councilors. It wouldn’t hurt the stonecutters because there weren’t any machines that could cut or sculpt stone effectively. Not so far, anyway. “I need to talk to Baratyn about some of this. I probably should have done so already.”

“You can’t do everything all at once, dearest,” Seliora pointed out, looking hard at Diestrya, who actually caught the look and retreated from the stove. “Especially after what you’ve been through.”

“I may not be able to, but I fear that’s what’s required.”

“You can only do what you can do.” Seliora stood. “If you would watch your daughter, I’d like to check on dinner.”

“I can do that.” I scooped up Diestrya and set her in my lap, still thinking about Ferlyn. There was something else…not anything he’d said, but an implication of what he’d said. Things had to change, for the guilds, for the factors, for the High Holders…but they also had to change for the Collegium…and I hadn’t even thought about that.

For the first two glasses on Jeudi morning, from seventh glass to ninth glass, I met with three of the four remaining junior imagers for whom I had become preceptor-Haugyl, Marteon, and Shault. I didn’t have to spend quite so much time with Shault, because I’d been more involved with him from the time Horazt had brought him to Imagisle.

Before he left, though, he did ask, “Will you still watch out for Third District, sir?”

“As I can, but Captain Alsoran also knows the district, and he will do well.”

“Yes, sir.”

I could tell that didn’t totally convince him, and I understood his concern, since Horazt was his “uncle” and his mother still lived in Third District and likely always would, at least until and if Shault attained the rank of Maitre. That was likely years away, since I’d been one of the youngest Maitres when I’d become a Maitre D’Aspect at twenty-six.

Once I’d ushered Shault out, I went looking for Ferlyn, but he wasn’t in his study. Asomyd, the duty second in the administration building, couldn’t say where he might be, other than he’d left with Quaelyn, the not-quite-ancient pattern-master of the Collegium and Ferlyn’s mentor.

After that, I checked with Kahlasa and Schorzat, but neither had any new information, either about events in Cloisera or about leased, sold, or missing barges. As I thought about the afternoon, and the memorial service, where Iryela was certain to be, I realized that I’d never followed up on what might have happened to her brother. He hadn’t been mentioned in any of the recent reports from the Collegium at Mont D’Glace, only in the older report that Dichartyn had received. So I drafted a quick inquiry and sent Beleart to post it.

By then it was noon. Since I knew Baratyn would be at the Council Chateau, after a quiet mid-day meal at the dining hall, I took one of the duty coaches and, again, had the driver-Desalyt, this time-wait so that I’d have a ride down to the Council Anomen for Suyrien’s public memorial service at second glass.

I did enter the Chateau through the narrow gate at the rear, the one reserved for the security force. Although I hadn’t been to the Council Chateau recently, the obdurate guards had clearly been briefed, because the duty sentry outside greeted me by name.

The Council wasn’t in session, and the corridors were quiet, but Baratyn was in his study, seated at his desk and looking down at several sheets of paper. The chamber was without decoration except for the two wall hangings. The large hanging on the wall to the right depicted the four-pointed star of the Collegium Imago. The one on the left depicted the Council emblem, a sheaf of grain crossed by a hammer and a sword. The hangings also concealed, I knew from my time in Council security, listening tubes connected to a number of public places in the Council Chateau, although I doubted anyone but Baratyn could have overheard that much from some of the tubes.

“Good afternoon,” I offered.

“Maitre Rhennthyl…you surprised me. No one visits when the Council is out.”

“That’s why I’m here.” I slipped closed the study door and took one of the chairs opposite him, gesturing for him to sit down. “I need your information and insight.’

“That’s why I’m here.”

“Among a few other things,” I replied dryly.

“There are a few.”

“You do follow the Council deliberations and debates, don’t you?” I was fairly certain he did, but Dichartyn had never actually gone into that with me.

“As I can. I listen more to what is said outside the Council chambers.”

That wasn’t surprising, given all the listening tubes that fed into his study, and the fact that Baratyn doubtless used personal concealment shields. “Which is more valuable, I suspect.”

“Often.” Baratyn smiled faintly.

“I have the impression that Caartyl, for all that he may say publicly, tends to ally himself far more with the High Holders than with the factors. Is this so, or am I missing something?”

Baratyn tilted his head slightly, then frowned before he spoke. “I don’t know that it’s that simple. He’s opposed to anything that might give the factors more power. I even overheard him arguing with Alucion several months ago. He told the old stonecutter that having Glendyl in charge of the Executive Council would be even worse than having Haestyr succeed Suyrien. He also said that, for now, Suyrien was the best to head the Council.” He laughed softly. “Not that there’s much choice now.”

“But?” I paused before adding, “You said it wasn’t that simple.”

“Caartyl’s also fought for better working conditions for those on High Holder lands, and he’s sided with Glendyl on measures to reduce the scope of punishments allowed under High Holder low justice.”

“Did those measures succeed?”

“They finally passed at the end of Erntyn, but they won’t take effect until the beginning of the new year. All the factor Councilors and all the guild Councilors voted for them. In the end, Suyrien brought the measure up for a vote and supported them, against the other High Holders, but I think that was to get some concessions.”

“What concessions?”

“There were some changes before the final vote by the Council. How many were trade-offs or concessions and how many were technical improvements might be a matter of opinion. One change dealt with justiciary review. Under the original proposal, any complaint of abuse of low justice required witnesses and proof before it could be reviewed by a regional justicer. The change added one more requirement. If a complaint is brought by anyone in the immediate family of the High Holder, it must also be co-signed by an individual who is neither employed by the High Holder nor a member of his immediate family.”

“How did they define immediate family?”

“Mother, wife, children, grandchildren, or sibling.”