“Bring me the prisoner that you have not interrogated,” demanded Katzu. “Do not speak to him.”
Cortain Talli nodded and walked over to the second prisoner. He grabbed his arm and brought him to his feet. The man looked around as he was guided towards Katzu. He saw the Imperial troops and shook his head.
“I am Katzu,” the mediator declared when the prisoner was halted in front of him. “I am a mediator for the Lords’ Council. What clan do you belong to?”
“I have nothing to say,” scowled the prisoner.
“Let me make something clear to you,” Katzu said calmly, “I represent the Lords’ Council. Not even a lord sitting on the Lords’ Council would dare to defy me without full approval of the entire council. Your Vows of Service cannot even shield you from answering me. The Lords’ Council supersedes your vows. Now, I know that your uniforms are already being gathered from the cave beyond the ridge. Make this easy on yourself. Answer my question.”
The prisoner turned and glared at the other prisoner. Katzu’s hand grabbed the prisoner by the chin and turned the man’s head to face him.
“You will look at me when I am speaking to you,” demanded Katzu. “I am only going to ask my questions once. If you do not answer, I have the authority to force you to answer. Trust me, you do not want me to use that authority. Answer.”
“I am a soldier in the Nordon clan,” the prisoner said softly.
“Under whose authority are you acting at this moment?” asked Katzu.
“Direct orders from Lord Marshal Orik,” answered the captive.
“Is Lord Patel aware of these orders?” asked Katzu.
“He is,” nodded the prisoner. “He was present when Lord Marshal Orik sent us off.”
“And what exactly where your orders?” pushed the mediator.
“We were to wait at the Nordon estate outside of Deep Bend,” answered the prisoner. “When we were notified that a Torak caravan would be coming, we were to dress like gray warriors and destroy it.”
“Destroy it?” asked Katzu.
“Aye,” nodded the man. “Kill everybody and destroy the wagons. We are supposed to hide the evidence so that nobody would know that the caravan ever existed.”
“Do you know why the Nordon clan is doing this?” asked Katzu.
“No,” the man shook his head. “They don’t tell us the whys of things. They just tell us what we are to do. What will happen to me now?”
“That is up to Lord Marak of the Torak clan,” shrugged the mediator. “Go back and sit where you were before.”
“Do you understand the predicament that I am in?” asked Cortain Talli.
“I do,” nodded Katzu. “I probably should take this matter before the Lords’ Council immediately. To have this type of behavior from a lord sitting on the council saddens me greatly. This is not the Khadora that I love.”
“Technically,” smiled Cortain Talli, “no clan has asked for mediation in this matter. Would it be permissible to ask for your vow of silence until Lord Marak learns of this treachery?”
“And what can Lord Marak do?” questioned the mediator. “The Torak clan is not going to stand up to Lord Patel. He would be crushed too easily.”
“I cannot say what Lord Marak will do with the information,” shrugged the cortain, “but I feel he has a right to know before this is made public. It is Torak bodies and cargo that have littered this road three times before. If Lord Patel knows that his identity has been revealed, his armies will march on the Torak clan immediately.”
“You are correct about Lord Patel’s reaction,” frowned Katzu. “If I brought this matter before the Lords’ Council, the Torak clan would be wiped out before the matter was resolved in Khadoratung.”
“And that would not be fair,” Talli pointed out.
Katzu nodded as he thought. Finally he said, “There has been no request for the services of this mediator. I am privy to certain knowledge of events in this part of Khadora, but I see no immediate need for me to act upon that knowledge. I will instruct my Imperial escort that discussion of this incident is not in the best interests of Khadora at this time. Tell Lord Marak to contact me when he learns of this treachery.”
“It shall be as you say, Katzu,” bowed Cortain Talli.
Katzu returned to his escort of Imperial soldiers. He mounted his horse and waved his escort forward as the Torak soldiers cleared off the road. Within minutes the Imperial troops had passed out of sight. A Torak soldier carrying a green and white uniform ran up to Cortain Talli.
“He told the truth,” gasped the soldier. “There are enough uniforms in there for an entire corte. Were those Imperial troops that I saw down here?”
“They were,” nodded Cortain Talli. “We need to clean this area up before somebody else happens along. Send the caravan to the campsite they had chosen. We will meet them there later.”
The cortain signaled for another soldier. He gave orders to drag the dead into the woods and bury them. Then he ordered the two prisoners bound and placed in one of the wagons.
It took almost an hour to clean up the ambush site and catch up to the caravan. When the Torak cortes arrived, Cortain Talli walked over to the air mage.
“I need to send a message to Fardale immediately,” declared Cortain Talli. “Can you do that?”
“Give me just a few moments and you can deliver the message directly to Lord Marshal Yenga yourself,” nodded the mage.
* * *
The Council Room was large and immaculately white. A long white marble table occupied the center of the room with six chairs around it. Occupying the six chairs were the most powerful lords in all of Khadora. They were the Lords’ Council.
“Unless there is any other pressing business,” said Lord Mirakotto, “I think we should adjourn for today.”
“We still have not addressed this business with Lord Marak,” interjected Lord Patel. “The longer we let this type of behavior fester, the harder it will be to remove it.”
“What is there to discuss?” questioned Lord Mirakotto. “The man is death waiting to happen. Why waste our time in this chamber discussing him?”
“None of us has gotten to where we are by leaving loose ends hanging,” argued Lord Patel. “All we have to do is issue a decree from this body to remove the Torak clan from Khadora. We can outlaw it.”
“We cannot,” Lord Woton shook his head. “Only the Emperor can disband a clan.”
“But this body actually certified this Torak clan,” protested Lord Patel.
“Lord Woton is correct,” shrugged Lord Mirakotto as he smiled at Lord Patel. “The Lords’ Council can recognize a new clan, but once we have done so, only the Emperor can dissolve it. Look, I agree that Lord Marak must be dealt with, but I wonder if the Lords’ Council is the proper venue? The Torak clan is a small bothersome group at the very edge of Khadora. Historically the frontier has been a land of misfits whose only purpose was that of a buffer zone to protect the Imperial Valley from intruders. Without Lord Marak, the Torak clan will cease to be a problem.”
“And without the Torak clan, Lord Marak is harmless,” countered Lord Garic. “Removing either will end this foolishness about freeing the slaves. Lord Marak is but a gnat.”
“And not worthy of the Lords’ Council’s time,” nodded Lord Mirakotto as he fixed his gaze upon Lord Patel. “His fate awaits him no matter what this body decides.”
“Perhaps you are right,” nodded Lord Patel as he caught his colleague’s meaning. “Perhaps you and I can discuss this outside of chambers, Lord Mirakotto?”
Lord Mirakotto shrugged and adjourned the meeting.
Chapter 9
Khadoratung
The barge from River’s Bend docked at Khadoratung and the group disembarked. They moved together to the edge of the market place. Lord Marak stopped and pointed to a tall white structure visible over the top of the row of inns bordering the market place.
“That is the Imperial Palace,” Lord Marak said. “I will be spending my days inside it. Unfortunately, they do not welcome Sakovans and Fakarans. I will send one of my men out to the market place daily. We can keep in touch that way. There is a large park between this market place and the Imperial Palace. Perhaps that would be a good place to meet?”