Aakuta: the Dark Mage (22 page)

“Thank you,” Lord Marak said as he rubbed his wrists.

The marshal did not reply as he returned to the window and gazed out. Lord Marak wondered what was so interesting beyond the window that the marshal spent so much time gazing out of it. Emperor Bagora walked to the corner of the room near his desk and bent down. When he rose, Lord Marak saw that he was holding the Sword of Torak in his hands.

“This is a very interesting weapon,” remarked the Emperor. “Where did you get it?”

“It was a gift,” Lord Marak replied. “It has since become the symbol of the Torak clan.”

“A very precious gift, no doubt,” the Emperor said as he approached Lord Marak with the sword. “I would not want to see you leave without it.”

The Emperor handed the sword to Lord Marak and immediately turned and walked five paces towards his desk and stopped. Lord Marak’s brow creased in confusion as he surveyed the situation. The marshal had his back turned as he gazed out the window. The Emperor had just handed an accused assassin a sword and turned his back to him. Something did not smell right.

“Marshal Chack,” Lord Marak said loudly, “I wish to leave my sword in your safekeeping. I know the rules regarding weapons in the Imperial Palace, and I agree with them. Please hold this for me until I leave the palace.”

Marshal Chack turned from the window with a grin on his face. He walked across the floor and took the offered sword from Lord Marak’s hands. The Emperor returned to his place behind the desk.

“At least you are no fool, Lord Marak,” smiled the Emperor as he waved his hand in the air.

Lord Marak thought he heard several slight clicks echo through the room, but he was not sure. His eyes roved over the wall design and finally he saw what he was looking for. Cleverly placed in the busy wall design were small shooting holes. There were dozens of them. If he had chosen to use the sword when the opportunity was presented, Lord Marak would have been struck by dozens of arrows before he could harm the Emperor.

“A fool is something that I have never desired to be,” smiled Lord Marak as he walked towards Marshal Chack.

He stopped near the marshal and nodded to the table with the rest of Marak’s weapons on it.

“May I make a demonstration with one of those stars?” he asked.

A worried frown fell over the marshal’s face as his eyes sought the Emperor. The Emperor nodded and the marshal sighed nervously.

“What do you intend, Lord Marak?” he asked.

“Just a small demonstration to remove all doubt that I could have possibly been trying to kill the Emperor and accidentally missed,” declared Lord Marak.

“That is hardly necessary,” the marshal shook his head.

“I think it is,” Lord Marak persisted. “You are of the mind to believe me at the moment, but I sense a small lingering doubt within you. Do you see that bell hanging near the reading chair?”

“Lord Marak,” scowled the marshal, “I tend to believe your story because it is believable. Do not do something so foolish that you make me question my determinations. There is no way that you can hit that bell, and when you miss you will have lost the assurance that you so greatly desired.”

Lord Marak fixed his gaze on the marshal as he picked up the star. He turned and smoothly released the star in a high arc. It appeared at first that Lord Marak’s star would strike the ceiling, but gravity pulled it downward. As the star struck the bell, it clanged loudly. The door at the far end of the room immediately opened and an Imperial soldier came through it.

“Is there something you desire, Emperor?” he asked.

“Yes,” laughed the Emperor. “Bring us some tea.”

“How could you possibly know that you would hit that bell?” asked the marshal.

“As I said early, Marshal,” smiled Lord Marak, “I am a warrior. I spend part of each day practicing my chosen profession. I think you will agree that I could not have missed the Emperor from the distance I was away from him.”

“I do agree,” nodded the marshal as he gently pushed Lord Marak towards the Emperor’s desk. “Sit, Lord Marak.”

Lord Marak sat and the marshal sat next to him. The Emperor smiled and sat down behind the desk.

“Now that we know who did not try to kill me,” the Emperor began, “how do we find out exactly who the assassin is?”

“We should look for someone who considers both you and Lord Marak enemies,” declared Marshal Chack.

“It would appear that Lord Marak has many potential enemies,” frowned the Emperor. “As for me, killing me makes no sense unless one hopes to replace me as Emperor, and that could only be a member of the Lords’ Council. Do you know of any enemies that you might have on the Lords’ Council, Lord Marak?”

Lord Marak frowned at the question. He hesitated a long moment before speaking and he could feel the tension rising in the marshal next to him.

“I have recently learned of an enemy who is a member of the Lords’ Council,” Lord Marak nodded, “but I am hesitant to reveal his name.”

“Hesitant to reveal his name?” the marshal echoed loudly. “I do not believe what I am hearing. You were almost executed because of this attempt on the Emperor, and now you withhold information that I might use to arrest the real culprit? I insist on knowing your enemy’s name.”

“I do not know for a fact that my enemy is the same person who tried to frame me,” Lord Marak responded calmly. “Let me explain.”

“Go ahead, Lord Marak,” the Emperor calmly urged.

“Someone has been ambushing my caravans,” Lord Marak began. “They did not seek to steal my goods, but to destroy the caravans and remove all traces of the attack. Three caravans were attacked and destroyed. The first two attacks left no trace whatsoever, but the third attack had a survivor. This man told of gray warriors attacking near the Three Sisters. He also said that he believed the gray warriors to actually be clansmen in disguise. To learn who my enemy was, I set out to ambush the ambushers.”

“Did you succeed?” asked the Emperor.

“Indeed we did,” nodded Lord Marak. “We defeated the enemy and took two prisoners. It was through these prisoners that we learned the identity of my enemy. We also learned that he sits on the Lords’ Council.”

“Can you prove any of this?” asked Marshal Chack. “I mean the words of your men would normally be sufficient, but you will be accusing a member of the Lords’ Council. I doubt they would accept the words of your men.”

“Highly doubtful,” agreed the Emperor. “A member of the Lords’ Council is supposed to be the most honest and loyal of Khadorans. Do not even pursue this on the words of your men, Lord Marak.”

“Under the law,” Lord Marak asserted, “I have the right to restitution. While I am quite aware of the odds against me in a hearing before the Lords’ Council, there are other avenues of restitution that I may explore.”

“Other avenues?” the marshal shook his head. “What are you going to do, Lord Marak? Are you going to take your Torak armies and knock on the door of a lord with armies that outnumber you twenty to one?”

“If that is what I must do,” shrugged Lord Marak, “then that is what I will do. I told you before that I prefer negotiations rather than a fight, but I will fight when I am attacked.”

“If this story is true,” interrupted the Emperor, “it was a bold and despicable act that was perpetrated against you, but you have no proof. Let it go, Lord Marak.”

“I cannot,” Lord Marak said stubbornly. “Besides, I have an irrefutable witness.”

“No witness is irrefutable,” stated Marshal Chack. “If you attack a member of the Lords’ Council, the Torak clan will cease to exist.”

“Who is this irrefutable witness?” inquired the Emperor. “I demand to know.”

When Lord Marak refused to answer, the Emperor’s voice softened. “Lord Marak, it is important that we have answers to these questions. I am sure that you can see that. Let’s see if we can work together on this. I will promise that the information that you give us will not be used in any way to prevent you from seeking your retribution. In fact, if you prove to my satisfaction your claim of grievance, I may even consider aiding you. The acts against you were most grievous and have no place in Khadoran culture.”

Lord Marak thought briefly on the offer before nodding. “My enemy is Lord Patel of the Nordon clan,” he stated. “My impeccable witness is the Lords’ Council mediator known as Katzu.”

The Emperor rose and started pacing behind his desk, his face a mask of rage. The room was deathly quiet except for the footsteps of the Emperor as neither Lord Marak, nor Marshal Chack spoke. Suddenly, the Emperor halted and stared at the marshal.

“Chack,” the Emperor commanded, “find Katzu and have him sent up here. Cancel this afternoon’s assembly meeting and post a notice regarding Lord Woton’s death. The Assembly of Lords shall have to elect a new member to the Lords’ Council tomorrow. And find that red-haired guard and make him talk.”

Marshal Chack entered the office of the Emperor. He walked sullenly across the room and stood near the Emperor’s desk.

“We found the soldier,” he reported. “His throat was slit and the body was dumped into an empty cell. It was discovered by the workmen trying to assess the damage to the cell area.”

“A dead-end then,” frowned the Emperor. “What of Katzu? Has he returned to the palace yet?”

“He has,” reported the marshal. “He returned last night. I sent a runner to his quarters, and he should be here soon.”

As if on cue, a knock on the door echoed through the room.  The marshal called for the person to enter and the door opened. Katzu stepped into the room and immediately surveyed the inhabitants. His face showed no emotion as he walked across the floor and stood facing the Emperor.

“Greetings, Katzu,” said the Emperor. “I am sure that you are familiar with Lord Marak?”

“I am,” Katzu said as he nodded to the Torak lord.

“I understand that you witnessed a certain occurrence near the Three Sisters,” stated the Emperor. “Please give me your report.”

A slight frown fell over Katzu’s normally emotionless face. He stole a glance at Lord Marak and saw the Torak lord nod his approval.

“A Torak caravan was ambushed,” reported Katzu. “The ambushers wore the clothing of gray warriors, but one of the Torak officers stated that one of the two prisoners had revealed that they were actually clansmen sworn to Lord Patel.”

“So your knowledge of the event is based upon the word of a Torak soldier?” asked Marshal Chack.

“Not at all,” Katzu shook his head. “I give little credence to a biased report. I demanded to interrogate the prisoner who had not been spoken to yet. I explained to him who I was before I questioned him. While he was reluctant to reveal the information, he did confirm that the ambushers were Nordon clansmen working under the direct orders of Lord Marshal Orik. He also stated the Lord Patel had direct knowledge of their orders and had been present when they were given their orders. He also described the location of their hidden uniforms.”

“And why did you not report this immediately to the Lords’ Council?” asked the Emperor.

“I gave my word that I would not until I had allowed Lord Marak to know of it first,” explained the mediator. “It was a most unusual request for silence, but the offense was grievous. If my knowledge became public, I felt the chance for bloodshed would be unavoidable. I had hoped to have a discussion with Lord Marak when I met him here at the Assembly of Lords. It is why I hurried back to Khadoratung.”

“An acceptable answer, Katzu,” nodded the Emperor. “Your logic is, as always, impeccable. You now have that chance to talk Lord Marak out of doing something foolish.”

“Before you speak, Katzu,” interrupted Lord Marak, “I would like to ask that you continue to keep this information secret until I release you from that vow.”

“But I have already reported to the Emperor,” protested Katzu.

“The Emperor had promised me that what is said here will not be used in a manner that would preclude my right of retribution,” insisted Lord Marak.

“Lord Marak is correct,” sighed the Emperor. “I did make that promise in an attempt to locate my assassin.”

“I will obey the spirit as well the actual promise of my Emperor,” declared Katzu, “but I still feel free to offer my advice. Lord Marak, to go against a sitting member of the Lords’ Council is suicide. I know in your short rise to power in the frontier, that you have had stunning successes. I have endeavored to find out the secret arrangements that you have made to avoid bloodshed and have not been able to. Still, going up against Lord Patel will be nothing like battling Lord Ridak. I implore you to assess the risks carefully. Your leadership has worked wonders in the frontier. I do not wish to see you eliminated so early in your life.”

The Emperor’s eyebrows rose as he listened to the mediator’s words. It was the first hint that someone truly appreciated what Lord Marak was doing, and Katzu was not just anybody to the Emperor. He was one of the few people that the Emperor confided in.

“I assure you, Katzu,” smiled Lord Marak, “that I do not intend to amass my armies and strike at Lord Patel’s army. I will seek my retribution in a bloodless way if possible, but I will not let his actions go unpunished.”

“May I ask what it is that you plan to do?” inquired Marshal Chack.

“I am not sure at this moment,” answered Lord Marak. “My goal is not to hurt the Nordon clan, if that is of any help. Lord Patel has been dishonest and underhanded. I plan to force him to abandon such ways in the future. What I can assure you is that I will do nothing before the end of the Assembly of Lords. I will not interfere in the running of this country.”

“That is sufficient to satisfy me,” declared the Emperor. “Katzu, thank you not only for coming so quickly, but for what you do for your country. Marshal Chack, you have your work cut out for you. Seek out our assassin. Do not concentrate so hard on Lord Patel that you ignore other possibilities. While there is no doubt that he is Lord Marak’s enemy, he is not the only one. Personally, I do not see Lord Patel as a suspect for assassination. It is not his style.”

The marshal and Katzu turned to leave the room. Lord Marak rose uncertainly and looked from the marshal to the Emperor. While no longer a suspect, he had not been given leave to depart.