“Indeed,” Marstel said. He shifted in his seat, leaning forward with a determined frown on his face. “To that very point, I’m instructing the Council Guard to begin an immediate crackdown on all Hulmaster loyalists or sympathizers, known or suspected. This brutal assassination, this fiendish arson, have forced my hand! All persons of suspect allegiance are to be closely questioned regarding their activities over the last two tendays; I want to know where they’ve been, who they’ve associated with, and what they’ve been saying to each other. All arms and armor are to be confiscated. Personal wealth or property that can’t be adequately accounted for are to be confiscated as well; we’ll smother this little rebellion before it spreads any further.”
Old Wulreth Keltor, the keeper of keys, looked stricken. He was the only member who’d also served on Harmach Grigor’s council, and his duties pertained to the Tower’s treasury and administration. “Forgive me, my lord harmach,” he said, “but such an action simply isn’t countenanced in Hulburg’s body of law.”
The false Marstel waved aside Wulreth’s objections. “And well I know it. I’ll issue a decree to set it all down in black and white. But to put it simply, old friend, these are extraordinary times and they demand extraordinary measures. No effort can be spared to secure Hulburg from lawlessness and anarchy!”
“I’m afraid I share Master Keltor’s concerns,” Nimessa Sokol said. “How many people of suspect allegiance do you intend to move against, my lord? As a member of the Merchant Council, I am frankly worried about the effect a widespread confiscation of property would have on our interests. House Sokol’s business in Hulburg will be sorely damaged if our customers and suppliers are impoverished or run out of town arbitrarily.”
“Speak for yourself,” Captain Miskar Bann retorted. He was the ranking member of Mulmaster’s House Veruna present in Hulburg, a big, round-faced mercenary who had a mouthful of gold teeth and wore an iron brace on one knee. The Verunas had been evicted from Hulburg after their role in Sergen Hulmaster’s attempted coup, and they’d eagerly provided mercenaries to help Marstel and the Cinderfists seize control of Hulburg during the Black Moon troubles a few months later. Of course, they’d profited greatly by scavenging property confiscated from old Hulburg and awarded to Cinderfists. No doubt Captain Bann was already salivating at the new possibilities in Marstel’s plan. “I’m a member of the Merchant Council too. Everyone knows you’ve got a soft spot for the Hulmasters, Lady Sokol. I think the harmach’s men ought to begin by searching your compound.”
Nimessa flushed. “The laws of concession prohibit any such intrusion.”
“Do you have something to hide?” Bann taunted.
“Do you?” she retorted. “If Sokol opens its gates to the Council Guard, I’ll insist that every coster in Hulburg does the same. I doubt that Geran Hulmaster is hiding in the Veruna compound, but I wonder whether you’ve got any stolen goods or slaves stashed away in your mistress’s storehouses, Miskar. Trading in slaves is still against the harmach’s law, is it not?”
Rhovann studied the half-elf thoughtfully. As Miskar Bann observed, it was certainly possible that Geran and his sorcerer friend had been aided by one of the other merchant costers. Clearly House Sokol was not without sympathies for the Hulmaster cause, but it was also possible that a neutral company such as the Double Moon Coster might have aided the Hulmasters in order to weaken the Cinderfists. Unfortunately Rhovann had to exercise care in making any such accusations against one of the great Houses, lest he drive the merchant costers into closing ranks and defending their precious laws of concession. On the other hand, he had means to quietly spy out the Sokol compound without any public accusation necessary.
Miskar Bann bristled, but Captain Edelmark cleared his throat and spoke before the merchant lord. “The Council Guard will, of course, implement the lord harmach’s instructions immediately,” he said. “Disloyalty and sedition cannot be tolerated. But I fear that we are dealing with a symptom, not the disease. The ultimate source of this incipient rebellion is the Hulmaster enclave in Thentia. As long as the Hulmasters have a safe haven in Thentia to rebuild their army and foment trouble, we are threatened. If we want to put down this rebellion not just for this month but forever, we must deprive the Hulmasters of their refuge outside our borders!”
“What do you suggest, Captain?” the false Marstel asked.
“My lord, I propose that we muster the strongest army we can gather and march on Lasparhall. We can destroy the Hulmasters’ army before it organizes, seize their supplies and arms, and raze their barracks and the old manor for good measure. The Hulmaster cause could never recover from such a blow.”
Subtlety is not Edelmark’s strong suit, Rhovann reflected. He caught Marstel’s eye and gave an imperceptible shake of the head. Marstel frowned, weighing the captain’s words, as Rhovann leaned forward to answer for him. “A bold plan, Captain,” the elf said to Edelmark, “but I can’t see a way to do what you suggest without making an enemy of High Lord Vasil and Thentia. Perhaps a show of strength would convince the high lord to stop coddling our enemies-but it might instead drive him to throw in with the Hulmasters entirely. For now Thentia is staying out of our quarrel, and that favors us far more than a Thentian intervention. Each day the Hulmasters remain in Thentia, their position grows weaker and ours grows stronger. We should be in no hurry to change that.”
Marstel nodded. “Well said, Rhovann,” he rumbled. “But, Edelmark, you are right to bring the threat of the Hulmaster army to our attention. We must be ready to strike and strike hard the moment they sally out from behind Thentia’s skirts! I want you to make all necessary preparations to meet an attack from Thentia, no matter how improbable it may seem. And see if our agents can’t spread a little gold around in Thentia’s taverns to find out what the Hulmaster’s soldiers think they’re up to, as long as we’re waiting.”
Edelmark bowed. “As you wish, my lord harmach. I will review our defenses immediately, and redouble our efforts to hire more sellswords abroad.” He smiled cruelly. “After all, we may have an unexpected windfall in the form of confiscations from those who are disloyal to the throne. I see no reason why they shouldn’t contribute to the common defense.”
Rhovann looked over to the simulacrum, and decided that it would not be wise to test it too aggressively in its debut. “My lord harmach, we should be mindful of your need for rest,” he said. “You are still recovering, after all.”
The false Marstel nodded. “Of course, of course,” he said. “I confess that I am tiring already. I trust the council to work out all the necessary details of the decisions we’ve made today.” He pushed himself to his feet, and the councilors around the table quickly stood as well, bowing as the old lord made his way to the stairs.
“The Harmach’s Council is adjourned,” Rhovann said. “Captain Edelmark, I’ll speak with you soon.” Then he hurried over to join his simulacrum and made a show of helping the harmach climb the stairs back toward the private quarters of the castle. Behind them, chairs scraped and voices murmured as the councilors and their various clerks and seconds began to leave or huddled together, discussing the harmach’s decrees.
All in all, a very satisfactory debut, the mage reflected. The simulacrum had performed flawlessly with only the most minimal preparation and prompting. The real advantage of the creature was that it could incorporate his direction into its own reason and judgment, masquerading as Marstel while working toward the goals he specified without the constant enchantments and contest of will he’d had to endure in keeping the original Marstel under control.