Peter Brett - The Skull Throne

“ Shar’dama! And my brother is first among them! They chant it in the streets while I sit here in the cold doing nothing!”

Jayan threw the letter into the fireplace, followed by his couzi bottle. The ensuing fireball consumed the paper instantly, and everyone took a step back. Thankfully, the blaze did not spread.

Bring the Sharum Ka a fresh cup, Abban’s fingers told Earless, but leave the bottle on the tray.

The mute kha’Sharum did as he was bidden, eyes firmly on the floor. Even stooped he was the tallest man in the room, but Earless’ silent subservience was as good as a Cloak of Unsight. Jayan took the cup without so much as glancing his way.

“You will not find the path to glory at the bottom of a couzi cup, Sharum Ka,” Khevat said.

Jayan made a show of throwing back the cup, wiping his mouth with his white veil. Khevat rankled, but said nothing as Jayan stormed up to him. “Then where will I find it, Dama? You were sent here to advise me, were you not? How long will your son keep the Skull Throne if my brother’s power continues to grow?”

“My son never should have had the throne in the first place,” Khevat said. “That was the Damajah’s doing.”

“And what would you have done instead?” Jayan asked.

“The law is clear,” Khevat said. “The throne should have passed to you. You are the eldest son. Your holy father gave you command of alagai’sharak, and you are the one in foreign lands, fighting Sharak Sun for the glory of Everam. Your brother has only killed a handful of alagai. ”

“And started a movement that will tear the clergy asunder, much as your father did,” Abban said.

Khevat glared at him. “Your opinion was not asked for, khaffit. ”

Abban bowed as Jayan looked his way. “As the Sharum Ka says, honored Dama, we are here to advise.”

“You are the one putting couzi in the Sharum Ka’s hands,” Khevat said. “How can you hope to advise a path to glory?”

“How indeed?” Jayan asked, but there was none of his usual derision. “I would hear the khaffit’s advice.”

Abban smiled. “The Sharum Ka already knows what he will do.”

Jayan crossed his arms, but he was smirking. “Do enlighten us.”

Abban bowed again. “The Sharum Ka could have returned to the capital for the winter. The city on the lake is all but taken, and cold will keep the siege better than warriors. The chin rebellion in Everam’s Bounty is crushed. Why remain here at the head of his armies, with little to do until the thaw?”

“What course is left to me?” Jayan asked. “With the lake frozen and the Hollow tribe outnumbering us to the north?”

“East, to see for yourself the destruction your warriors have wrought upon the heathen monastery that launched the attack upon us,” Abban said. “Your siege engines will gather snow if left so close to the lake, but the Old Hill Road to the north is yet clear.”

“You can’t possibly be suggesting the Sharum Ka attack Angiers,” Khevat said, but Jayan was smiling widely now. “We do not have enough men to hold such a prize.”

“Hold?” Abban asked. “What hold? Sack. The Northern walls are nothing. Kick in their gate and you can flood the merchant district with ten thousand warriors. Empty the warehouses, take anything else of value, and be back in Everam’s Reservoir before winter sets in full.”

Jayan looked disappointed. “You want me to take thousands of dal’Sharum north simply to steal a few wells?”

“Burn the palace down if you wish,” Abban shrugged. “Take hostages, post the duke’s head on the wall. Whatever you like, so long as you do it quickly and be gone before their neighbors can move against you.

“After that, you will have the largest, most seasoned army in the world, mobile and well supplied, and wealth to surpass even your father’s. What matter then, who sits the Skull Throne? Kaji himself spent more years in the saddle than he ever did upon a throne.”

Jayan looked at Khevat, who seemed mollified. “It is a bold plan, Sharum Ka. If the Watchers of the Hollow tribe should spy your movements—”

“They will not,” Jayan cut him off. “My Watchers have spied on the Hollow tribe for some time now. Their patrols do not yet range to the far side of the great wood.”

Khevat looked to Asavi. “Perhaps we should consult …”

“I have already cast the dice at the Sharum Ka’s request,” the dama’ting said. “The Deliverer’s son will shatter the gate and pour thousands of dal’Sharum into the city before the first day is out.”

Jayan moved to a tapestry map of Thesa on the wall, pointing with his spear. “How many warriors remain in Everam’s Reservoir?”

He did not look to Abban, but as few of the others could count so high, the khaffit was quick to answer. “Thirty-five thousand Sharum remain in the wetlands. One hundred twenty kai’Sharum, six thousand, four hundred and six dal, nine thousand, two hundred thirty-four kha, and nineteen thousand, eight hundred and seventy-six chi. ”

“I will take twenty thousand Sharum east.” Jayan turned to Khevat. “Dama, you will accompany me to the monastery and remain there with a thousand men to refortify it to receive the spoils from Angiers, away from prying eyes.”

Khevat bowed. “Yes, Sharum Ka.”

“Captain Qeran will take command of the siege of Lakton under my brother Sharu, who will command our land forces.”

Qeran and Sharu bowed. “Your will, Sharum Ka.”

“Jurim. My father’s pact with the Hollow tribe does not forbid us to steal a few wells. Here and here.” Jayan pointed to villages along the southern border of Hollow County’s influence. Technically Laktonian, the hamlets were too far from Docktown to be of strategic value, and the Hollow tribe had annexed the land. “Take three hundred men. Do not stay in one place longer than it takes to loot and burn or strike in a predictable pattern. Let them think there may be many times your true number.”

Jurim bowed, looking gleeful at the prospect.

“It will not be enough to bring their warriors into our lands, but it will draw their attention and patrols to the south.” Jayan’s finger skirted the map east from Docktown through the wetlands until it met a thin line heading north. “While I take my men north along the Old Hill Road. We will skirt the Hollow entirely and take the Angierians unaware.”

He smiled. “And they will be ill prepared, once Dama Gorja delivers his message.”

The note was written in Darsy Cutter’s blocky print. Like the woman herself, her missives wasted little time getting to the point. Instead of one long letter as some might write, Darsy’s correspondence was a stack of small notes, each its own problem.

Mistress Leesha,

Warded Children have ceased to mind. Don’t report for inspection. Started painting themselves with more than just blackstem. Stefny Inn caught Stela with permanent tattoos under her dress. Yon Gray tried to bring them in line, and Callen Cutter broke his arm.

They live in the woods now, like they say the Deliverer did. Those that sleep at all do it during the day, out of the sun. Gared’s been letting it go because they take a heavy toll on the corelings, but even he’s losing patience.

Said you had a plan in case something like this happened. If you’ve got a trick up your sleeve, now’s the time for it.