Paul Kemp - Shadowbred

Meanwhile, Mirabeta had dispatched Elyril to supervise the arrest of any remaining nobles in the city known to be loyal to Endren. Most had heard of the warrant ahead of time and fled before the Helms could take them into custody, but that bothered neither Mirabeta nor Elyril. Without Endren, the nobles resistant to Mirabeta's ascension were headless. They would hole up in their manses or upcountry estates and accept whatever outcome the moot decided.

The city was firmly in Mirabeta's hands, in Elyril's hands, and indirectly, in Shar's hands. The people supported their new overmistress. The ugliness that had occurred in the High Council and on the streets faded from memory.

Ringed by a dozen armed and armored Helms, Mirabeta and Elyril stood outside their carriage on the cobblestone road near Ordulin's southern gate to await the arrival of the Saerloonians. A crowd had gathered around them, eager to see the Overmistress of Sembia, eager to see the pomp that went along with the Saerloonian delegation's arrival. Mirabeta waved to her citizens and they cheered.

Knowing precisely when the Blades would attack. Mirabeta had dispatched a force of Helms a few days earlier to meet the Saerloonian delegation on the road. Ostensibly the Helms were an honor escort, but Mirabeta's true purpose was to win the Saerloonians' goodwill by providing aid either during or soon after the Blades' attack.

"Sending out the Helms was a masterstroke, aunt," Elyril said, rubbing her temples. She had not been able to snuff any minddust before leaving the estate and her head ached from the lack.

Mirabeta held her smile as she waved to the crowd. "Mind your tongue and feign surprise, niece."

The Saerloonian delegation and the Ordulin Helms appeared in the distance. A rider ahead of the main body sped forward. A cloud of dust from the dry road heralded his progress. The crowd murmured in anticipation. As the rider drew nearer, Elyril recognized his green uniform as that of one of Ordulin's Helms.

"One of Raithspur's men," she said.

Many in the crowd made the same observation. The murmur of the crowd grew louder when the blood on the rider's tabard became visible. Mirabeta and Elyril, accompanied by four Helms, stepped forward to meet the man.

The rider pulled his horse to a stop before the overmistress and dismounted. Road dust covered him. He'd seen perhaps twenty winters and had only a thin beard. He bowed to Mirabeta.

"What has occurred?" Mirabeta asked, loudly enough to be overheard.

"The Saerloonian delegation was attacked, Overmistress," the young Helm said. "We arrived in time to aid them. Several of our men were killed as well as several among the Saerloonians."

Mirabeta put her hand to her mouth in shock. Elyril gasped in feigned surprise, though the matter could not have unfolded better. The crowd grumbled with anger.

"Who attacked?" shouted several voices in the crowd. "Who?"

Mirabeta waved them to silence and asked the young man, "Who were the attackers, soldier?"

The soldier hesitated, then said, "They appeared to be men in service to Endren and the Hulorn of Selgaunt."

The crowd gasped. Mirabeta appeared shocked. Elyril had to control a sudden desire to giggle. Several members of the crowd shouted expletives, cursing Selgaunt and Saerb and Endren. Others looked less sure.

"How many among you are wounded?" Mirabeta asked.

"Nearly a dozen, Overmistress."

Mirabeta turned to the Helm nearest her and ordered him, "Summon Jemb to the gates. I want priests here on the doublequick."

The Helm saluted her and sped off through the crowd and into the city.

The crowd watched in a hush as the rest of the Saerloonian delegation approached. Dust covered the carriages and two of them rode on bent axles. The Ordulin Helms rode in a protective circle around the Saerloonian delegation. Raithspur rode foremost. The broad, bearded captain of Ordulin's guard spotted Elyril and Mirabeta. He spurred his horse forward and dismounted.

"We came upon the Saerloonians while they were under attack from dogs out of Selgaunt and Saerb. They fled when they saw us."

"Did you take any of them alive?" Mirabeta asked.

Elyril tensed, touched her holy symbol.

"None," Raithspur said. "And they collected their dead while their wizard's spells delayed us."

Elyril breathed out. Mirabeta said, "A pity, but well done, Captain Raithspur. I have summoned priests to the gates. Gather any that are wounded and we will see to them."

Raithspur turned and issued orders as the delegation dismounted. The soldiers assisted their wounded fellows. The Saerloonians all eyed Mirabeta with unfeigned gratitude.

The drivers of the Saerloonian carriages stepped down from their seats, placed wooden steps on the ground, and opened the carriage doors. The Saerloonian nobles and their advisors stepped forth, glittering in their finery despite the combat. Elyril thought they looked none the worse for wear. She noted a priest of Gond among their number.

The crowd greeted their appearance with a cheer. The nobles seemed taken aback by their reception but managed smiles and waves.

Elyril recognized only one of the faces, that of Genik Ressial, a wealthy Saerloonian merchant whose family had made its fortune in spices and exotic fruits from the south. Road dust coated his jacket, breeches, and boots. His dark hair hung lank over his pale face.

He must have been the delegation's leader because he approached Elyril and Mirabeta as soon as he recognized them. When he reached them, he bowed. "Overmistress Selkirk. Mistress Elyril. Forgive our appearance. The road has been a hard one."

"Do not be silly, Master Ressial," answered Mirabeta.

"Your troops saved our lives, Overmistress."

"Saerloon is our friend and ally, Master Ressial," Mirabeta answered.

"It was fortuitous that you sent out the escort, Overmistress," Elyril observed.

"Indeed," Genik said with a solemn nod. "We had heard the matter with Endren had reached a head, but we had not expected such treachery. This is civil war!"

"Who could have expected this?" Mirabeta answered. "The minds of traitors are impossible to fathom."

Again Genik nodded and Mirabeta smiled.

"But now you are among friends," she said, and touched his arm.

She looked to the rest of the Saerloonian nobles and proclaimed, "You are all among friends now. The traitors failed of their purpose as all traitors must. Your delegation is received with warmth. Welcome to the capital."

The crowd cheered and the nobles bowed and curtsied. Elyril, too, smiled. No doubt the Saerloonians would support whatever Mirabeta wanted to do to put down the "rebellion." As one of Sembia's leading cities, the voices of its nobles would carry much weight in the moot.

Elyril thanked Shar and resolved to reward herself with minddust.

The news of the attack on the Saerloonians burned through Ordulin like wildfire. Mirabeta hired rumormongers to stoke the flames. The news incensed the nobles who had arrived already for the moot. Mirabeta spent the day collecting oaths of loyalty and promises of troops from the nobles. Urlamspyr pledged loyalty, as did the nobles of Mulhessen. Only Daerlun remained neutral, and that mattered little. The Daerlunians were more Cormyrean than Sembian.

Elyril used enspelled rumormongers to start the call among the people that Mirabeta be elected permanent overmistress with war regent authority. She would let the sentiment stew in the heat of the city for a time before encouraging her aunt to broach the subject with the assembled nobility.

She spent the evening with her aunt, creating the edict that would be read throughout the city the next day. It would take Sembia into civil war. Despite the fact that she had been integral in arranging events, Elyril's hand still shook as she read the paper aloud.