David Gemmell - Echoes of the Great Song

'How many men in this army?'

'Five thousand, split into fifty groups of one hundred each. Every man has a bronze breastplate and helm, and a bronze-reinforced shield of hard wood. Most are armed with short swords, though the front rankers use twelve-foot spears.'

'An interesting development,' said Viruk. 'You want me to kill Ammon?'

'No. We may need this army.'

Viruk laughed. 'You think the Mud People will fight alongside us?'

'If they don't they will be either assimilated or annihilated by the newcomers.'

'You fear they will be that strong?'

Rael leaned back in his chair and rubbed his tired eyes. 'We have maintained control with a mere five hundred. The newcomers — and their major cities — have survived. There will be thousands of them, Viruk. The Source alone knows what kind of weaponry they possess.'

'What would you have me do?'

'Go to Ammon. Tell him what has happened. Assure him that if the Erek-jhip-zhonad are attacked we will support him in any way we can. But do not ask for his help. There must be no show of weakness. If he offers it, accept graciously.'

'Would this… embassy… not be better undertaken by a Questor, cousin? I am no diplomat. I would as soon cut the savage's throat as dine with him.'

'That is why you are the best man for the role, Viruk. Ammon knows of you and your skills. He will be wary, but he will listen. I have watched him closely since he became king. He is a stronger man than his father, and wiser than any chieftain we have dealt with so far. He could be a strong ally.'

'Or a deadly enemy.'

'Indeed so. Remain in his capital as my ambassador. I have sent him a message that you are coming.'

'I would prefer to be here when the newcomers arrive,' objected Viruk.

'I am sure that you would.'

'This means you have turned down my request to join Talaban on the Serpent?'

'There will be battles enough, I fear. When they come I want you to support Ammon.'

Viruk rose and filled a goblet with cool water from a stone jug. 'The five cities could soon be under attack, cousin. You have no-one who fights as well as I. It is folly to send me away at such a time.'

'You may be right, Viruk. But what if their ships sail past us and into the mouth of the Luan? What if their first assault is into the lands of the Mud People? Then they would be both before and behind us. If I were attacking this coast that is what I would do. The five cities are strong, the Mud People less so. It would be hard for us to fight on two fronts, Viruk. And since this is my greatest fear I am sending my greatest warrior. Take ten Avatars with you. The very best.'

Viruk chuckled. 'You seek to win me over by flattery. And damn my soul if it hasn't succeeded. Very well, cousin, I will do this for you.'

Rael nodded and rose. 'If they come, Viruk, defend Ammon as if he was your own blood. If they attack they will seek to kill the king. They must not succeed. And if they break through get him here, with as many of his men as you can.'

Viruk laughed. 'Only a few days ago I sent him a promise to rip out his entrails. Now I am to defend him?

Life is never dull with you, Rael. Now, if you will excuse me, I have work to do in my garden.'

Rael smiled. 'I notice your gardener is looking well. I could have sworn the last time I saw him he looked older.'

'Working with me obviously agrees with him,' said Viruk.

Rael shook his head. 'You break too many rules, cousin. Be careful.'

'Kale is very valuable to me. He saved my pulsatillas by improving the drainage and cutting back surrounding growth to allow them more light. They would have died without him. And what would a garden be without pulsatillas?'

'I have changed my mind,' said Rael, with a broad smile. 'Do not think of Ammon as one of your blood, but as one of your flowers.'

'Well, it's true I'd like to see him planted in the earth,' replied Viruk.

Questor Ro had been sitting in judgment for two hours and he was growing bored. In the main the cases brought before him were petty, and only two defendants had been sentenced to be crystal-drawn — and these would lose only five years each. He gazed down at the two lists before him. One detailed the cases, the other the needs of the Crystal Treasury. According to the latter they needed today twenty-two full sentences of death in order to meet the treasury requirements. Ro fully understood the need to maintain power, and he had little regard for Vagars. Yet the law was the law, and no amount of pressure would make Ro yield on any point of it. If a man stole bread — without use of violence — to feed his family it was a misdemeanour, punishable by a maximum of five years. Ro had rounded on the prosecutor who tried to claim that when the victim gave chase to the thief he fell and sprained his wrist, making this a crime of violence.

Questor Ro was not in a good mood. He did not like courtroom three in the eastern district. It was small and cramped, the magistrate's dais raised only two feet from the floor, the magistrate being forced to enter from a side room, walking past and beneath the public seating. This alone left Vagars looking down on Ro, which he felt was not becoming. The magistrate should enter from behind the dais, as in all other courtrooms.

Ro tugged at his forked blue beard and fixed his gaze on the public gallery. There were no Avatars present, and the benches were only half full. Ro adjusted his royal blue robes, sipped water from a crystal cup and nodded to the guards to bring in the next defendant.

The case was one of rape. The victim, a rich fat Vagar woman of middle years, claimed her gardener had climbed into her room and subjected her to a horrifying ordeal — an ordeal that was only ended when her husband burst in. The prosecution called for the death sentence.

'Were any weapons found on the scene?' Ro asked the prosecutor.

'No, Lord Questor. The man used his physical power to overwhelm the lady.'

Ro idly examined the evidence sheet, then looked up at the short skinny defendant. The man was blinking nervously and sweat was dripping into his eyes. 'I see his clothes were found downstairs, along with the lady's gown. How, pray, did he convince her to go upstairs with him?' asked Ro.

The prosecutor — already aware of Ro's growing irritation — visibly paled. 'He threatened her life, Lord Questor.'

Ro read the evidence sheet once more. 'According to this he has been employed by the lady and her husband for four years and lives, with four other workmen, in a small house on the estate. Is it your intention to try to convince this court that a man would risk his life and his livelihood, in the sure and certain knowledge of being caught, in order to bed his employer's wife against her will? I do hope not, prosecutor. According to the evidence there was no bruising upon the alleged victim, nor any tearing of her clothes. Her gown, I understand, was neatly folded over a couch. Added to which two goblets of wine were found in the bedroom. Come forward.'

The man approached the dais. He was a young Avatar, the son of a minor Questor serving the eastern district.

Ro leaned across the desk. 'You are not — one supposes — a foolish man. So why has this ridiculous case been brought before me? It is obvious she was seducing her employee when her husband caught her. She has invented this tale. And a poor invention it is.'

'Her husband is one of our staunchest supporters, Lord Questor. He is a man of some standing among the Vagars.'

Ro waved him back. The charges against this man are dismissed,' he said. 'Bring in the next defendant.'

The guards brought in a tall young woman with long dark hair. She was dressed in a simple gown of green homespun wool, poorly dyed. She was charged with three offences: magicking — contravening an ancient law first brought in by the Vagars long before the Avatar conquest; taking employment within the city limits without a permit; and having upon her person less than five silver pieces, thus falling foul of the law governing vagrancy.