L. E.Modesitt - Imager’s Intrigue

“Did he have any indemnity?”

I hadn’t even thought of that, although I should have. “I don’t know. I’ll have to see.”

“We do. It’s not cheap, either. Years ago, Grandmama worked it out with L’Excelsis Indemnity. She got a whole group of artisans and shop-keepers to go together…” Seliora caught the look on my face, and asked, “What is it?”

“One of the buildings that was destroyed here was their building.”

“They don’t hold their golds there. Their accounts are with several banques.”

“You still might want to have your mother look into it, if she hasn’t already.”

“I’ll ask her.” She paused, then asked, “Was it the Ferrans? The ones who destroyed Glendyl’s works?”

“I’d guess so, but there’s no real proof, except the act itself and the way it was planned.”

“Where did they get the explosives?”

“It appears as though they were stolen from the Navy depot in Ferravyl.”

“That seems rather convenient.”

“Oh…it’s no coincidence. It’s probably why they picked that depot to raid. Glendyl has guards, but he didn’t ever think-or his director didn’t-about the fact that his workers might not be working for him. All the security was directed at keeping outsiders from doing damage, but not much thought was given to those inside.”

“That’s not something most people think about. Look at Odelia and Kolasyn. The only losses they’ve had are from his brother, not from strangers.”

“That’s probably true of Iryela and Kandryl, too.”

“Will you ever be able to prove that?”

“I have no idea. No one’s seen Johanyr since he left Mont D’Glace. He’s vanished.”

“That’s not like him, from what you’ve told me.”

At that moment came a loud cry from upstairs, and our conversation was postponed.

We did not attend anomen services that night. Perhaps that wasn’t showing thanks to the Nameless, but at that point my gratitude was directed to one special other.

Much as I disliked forcing myself to get up and exercise on Lundi, I did. But I helped Seliora get Diestrya ready and still managed to be at the administration building before seventh glass. There, I immediately hunted down Schorzat, catching him as he was coming down the corridor.

“The word is that you had a busy weekend,” he offered.

“Except for yesterday afternoon, it was.” I waited for him to open his study door, then followed him inside and closed the door behind us.

“In a moment, I’m going to see Maitre Dyana…”

“As you think best, sir.”

“The Ferrans sabotaged and blew up Glendyl’s turbine works and most of his manufactory buildings in Ferravyl. I do think we need to discuss the matter and what the Collegium should do next.” I smiled. “Don’t you?”

“Yes, sir.” Schorzat looked worried.

“Before I do, I need to know a few things.” I paused. “How many imager agents are there in the northern fleet?”

“No more than a score.”

“How many of them can image fire at a distance…a half mille, say, if they can see?”

“Half, perhaps.”

“How many field agents can you assemble who can do that as well?”

“Fifteen at best.”

“How many junior imagers are there in the various collegia who can do the same?”

Schorzat frowned at that. “I wouldn’t know. There might be thirty.”

“That should be sufficient if we use all of them.”

“What do you have in mind, Maitre?” Schorzat asked.

“Winning the war and teaching the Ferrans another lesson.” I smiled again. “Now…I’d like you and Kahlasa to assemble all the material you have on the barges and the bombards and everything else dealing with the attack on Imagisle. I imagine I’ll need it in less than a glass.”

“We can do that.”

“Thank you. I’d appreciate it if you and Kahlasa remained available until I get back to you. It shouldn’t be that long.”

“We’ll be here.”

He didn’t sound happy, but, given what had happened over the weekend, neither was I.

For what ever reason, I was in the anteroom before Gherard was, or perhaps he was running an errand. So I knocked and stepped into Maitre Dyana’s study.

She looked up from the papers before her, possibly my report, and flipped a brilliant green silk scarf back over her shoulder, not that almost all of her scarves weren’t brightly colored. “Do you have anything to add to this?”

“A few things. Did you discover anything in Rivages?”

“Only a few more High Holders who no longer are. As we discussed before, that will wait. Is the damage to Glendyl’s works as bad as you initially reported?”

“It’s that bad, if not worse. What I didn’t report was that an inordinate number of workers suffered injuries, illnesses, and disappearances over the last year, and the majority of those hired to fill the vacancies seemed very well qualified. That was what the works director told me. Just before the first explosion, he and I were attacked by two workers using the same kind of heavy rifles that have been used here in L’Excelsis by those we’ve suspected of being Ferran agents. The day after the explosions, Director Huesyt told me that they found incomplete installations of explosives in the parts of the works that weren’t destroyed.” I paused. “Oh…I also sent a message to Frydryk-the young High Holder Suyrien-telling him about the attack on Glendyl’s works and suggesting that he might wish to take a closer look at his shipworks.”

“Not a bad idea.”

“We need to talk to Glendyl together when we’re finished here.”

“That should not take too long.”

“It won’t.”

“You’re the head of security,” Maitre Dyana pointed out. “What do you propose to put a stop to all of this? Do you think it’s possible?”

“It will be hard to stop what ever the Ferrans have already set up, but I do have a plan for putting an end to their meddling.”

“That sounds rather grandiose. Even you can’t image their country into ruin, Rhenn. More to the point, you aren’t leaving Solidar. Preferably not even L’Excelsis.”

I had thought of taking the lead on implementing my proposal, but I just replied, “True, but a hundred imagers could destroy every port city in Ferrum. Perhaps even thirty or forty could.”

“You aren’t serious, I trust?”

“I’m very serious. Let me explain….” From there I laid out what I’d thought out on the way back from Ferravyl and on Solayi afternoon.

When I finished, she looked at me. “From where did you get that idea?”

“From Ferlyn. Indirectly, of course. He made the point that the world was changing, and I realized that the Collegium needed to change. I didn’t quite see how until Seliora pointed me in the right direction. The way machines work is by breaking work down into small repetitive steps. This is just an application of that principle.”

“The Navy won’t want to cooperate.”

“They will…after we meet with Sea-Marshal Valeun.”

She looked at me. “Then we had best deal with Glendyl first.”

The air had finally cleared and was cold and clear, with both moons almost lost in the brightness of the winter sky as we walked from the administration building to the infirmary.

Draffyd hurried to meet us, shaking his head. “Maitres…The good Councilor has expressed his desire to depart, most forcefully.”

“Could he?” asked Dyana. “Safely?”

“I’d prefer he remain another day or two, but…” Draffyd shrugged. “If he’s careful and keeps the stitches clean and changes the dressing…”

“He’ll stay,” declared Dyana. “That way, he’ll more likely recover, and Caartyl will have to be more cautious.”