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“We bring him into our fold,” confided Marak. “Lord Burdine is already on his way here to meet with the emissary.”

Lord Quavry nodded vigorously. “He is as guilty as I am,” Quavry chuckled. “While I did not enjoy your victory over me, I will enjoy watching Burdine suffer the same fate. He will arrive with an escort, though, and we can not conclude our business with the emissary watching.”

“The emissary will be delayed until the morning,” declared Lord Marak. “Burdine’s escort will be welcomed to the festival currently going on outside. They will not, of course, be told the reason for the festival. They will assume it is a victory celebration for your defeat of the Fardale estate.”

“You are more devious than I could hope to be,” admired Quavry, “and yet you have not spoken a lie yet. What will you tell the emissary?”

“Nothing,” chuckled Marak. “You will explain that we have come to a peaceful understanding of our dispute and you wish to retract your grievance.”

Lord Quavry slipped out of bed and began dressing. “I can not say that I enjoy reporting to you, Lord Marak,” Quavry said as he slipped on his clothes. “You are , however, going to make life interesting. If we can bring the Litari into our fold, we will have enough might to withstand Lord Ridak.”

“More than that,” added Lord Marak. “We will have enough of a position to start influencing Khadora. As I said before, your power and influence will be greater under me than it could ever possibly be alone.”

“Then I would like to assume my position as Lord of the Sorgan, if you will permit me,” requested Lord Quavry.

“You are a most welcome addition,” granted Lord Marak. “I will meet you in the Meeting Chamber when Burdine arrives.”

Marak turned and left the Lord of Watula Valley to his grooming needs. Cortain Tagoro shook his head as he followed Marak out of the room. Marak had often shared his personal feelings with his old friend, but he had never expounded on his plan to change the culture of Khadora. Tagoro felt as though he was seeing the true Marak for the first time and he liked what he saw.

Marak explained to Tagoro what his plan was while they waited in the Meeting Chamber. Tagoro nodded and smiled for half an hour before Lord Quavry arrived. Marak sent Tagoro off to Fardale with orders for Lectain Zorkil and then spent his time discussing strategy for the upcoming meeting with Lord Burdine.

Their scheming was just completed when the door opened and Lord Burdine and Marshal Yenga entered.

“I took the liberty of inviting our Litari guests to the victory celebration, My Lord,” saluted Marshal Yenga.

Although the Marshal had purposely not specified which Lord he was addressing, Lord Quavry replied. “Thank you, Marshal Yenga. Lord Burdine, welcome to Watula Valley. Allow me to introduce Lord Marak of Fardale.”

Lord Burdine scowled at Marak and extended his arms to greet Lord Quavry. “Lord Quavry, I see that you deliver on your promises,” greeted the Litari Lord. “Where is the emissary from the Lords Council?”

“He has been delayed, I fear,” smiled Lord Quavry. “I am sure he will be here by morning.”

“Morning?” objected Lord Burdine. “Then why have you brought me here tonight?”

“I am afraid that is my doing,” smiled Lord Marak. “I thought it would be best to talk about what you intend to tell the emissary before he actually arrived.”

“Your doing?” howled Lord Burdine with a tone of incredulity. “I plan to tell them about your incursion into Glendale, home of the Litari. What else would I tell them?”

“You might try the truth,” suggested Lord Marak, “although that may not bode well for you, will it?”

Lord Burdine cast suspicious glances at both Lord Marak and Lord Quavry. “What is going on here?” he demanded. “Why is Marak still alive to talk?”

“I am alive because I won the contest,” grinned Marak. “The real question today is whether you wish to remain alive or not.”

Lord Burdine heard Yenga’s sword clearing its leather sheath and the blood drained out of his face. “You won?” quizzed Burdine. “How could you have won? This must be some kind of a joke, but I am not laughing. I have seen the victory celebration going on. I will not stand for being treated this way.”

“But how should a liar be treated?” asked Marak. “You have sworn a grievance to the Lords Council and that grievance is false. I will swear that it is false. Lord Quavry will swear that it is false. Tachora will swear that it is false. In fact, every person in Fardale and Watula Valley will swear that it is false. What are your plans, Lord Burdine?”

Lord Burdine slid into a chair, leaned on the table and propped his head up with his hands. For several moments Burdine sat there staring at Lord Quavry while his eye twitched. “I want to know what happened here,” he finally demanded. “I will not let Glendale fall into Situ hands.”

“I do not need to go into a detailed explanation of what has occurred here in Watula Valley,” declared Lord Marak. “What is important is that you are guilty of a most heinous crime and I can prove it. Your fate rests in my hands, but even my ability to ease your plight will be very limited when the emissary arrives. He will have no mercy for someone who has sworn a false instrument to him.”

“So,” spat Lord Burdine, “is it so much better to die at your hand than at the hand of the Lords Council? At least the Lords Council will not hand Glendale over to the Situ.”

“Nor will I,” promised Lord Marak. “I will claim the Vows of Service from every member of the Litari Clan as my just due for your transgression, but those Vows will be to me, not to the Situ Clan. You will be allowed to continue to rule in Glendale with a few minor restrictions.”

“Rule?” growled Lord Burdine. “You mean for me to turn the entire Litari Clan over to you and you will humble yourself to allow me to be your puppet! I think not. Go ahead and kill me. I will not be a stooge for the Situ.”

“You have little choice,” declared Lord Marak. “If you will not agree to my terms, you will force me to subdue Glendale by force. With both Fardale and Watula Valley attacking, your Army will have little chance, especially when they are surprised.”

“Lord Burdine,” reasoned Lord Quavry, “listen to what he has to say. He is not claiming our lands for the Situ. He has promised that will never happen. I am remaining in control of Watula Valley and I think it will be better than before. Our Clans will survive and our seats in the Assembly of Lords will remain. With the armies of our three estates combined, even Lord Ridak will be hesitant to bother us. Lord Marak’s reforms are not odious. He has freed all of my slaves, but they are so jubilant that they may actually perform better. If the Lords Council gets involved in this, Glendale and Watula Valley may actually end up in Situ hands. Depending on how one looks at Lord Marak’s position, Lord Ridak may actually claim a grievance against us, and win.”

Lord Burdine looked curiously at Lord Marak as if seeing him for the first time. “Exactly what is your relationship to Lord Ridak?” Lord Burdine asked. “I understood that you are the son of a slave.”

“That is correct,” answered Lord Marak. “Lord Ridak has given me Fardale with absolute control. All of my people have sworn Vows of Service to me, but not to the Situ Clan. Lord Ridak’s only control is through me and I promise you and the people of Glendale that I will never turn their allegiance over to the Situ. If we all work together, our combined influence will be far greater than the sum of our individual influence. I would like to get one of you seated on the Lords Council.”

“You are asking me to turn my people over to you so I can have greater influence?” queried Lord Burdine. “You must take me for a child.”

“Lord Burdine,” lectured Lord Marak, “you have brought this situation upon yourself. Your greed and avarice sought to destroy Fardale. Do you think I should just forget the incident? I will have Glendale with or without you. The only difference will be whether or not the Litari Clan continues to survive as a distinct entity. If I have to take Glendale by force, it will become part of the Sorgan holdings. I would prefer that you stay alive to keep the heritage of the Litari from fading.”