“I am very pleased that you have found time to visit,” welcomed Lord Marak. “Marshal Tingo indicated that I should expect you. I trust all is well in Woodville?”
“Very much so,” opened Lord Zawbry. “I could not help notice the healthy fields of grain you have cultivated in Fardale. It would appear that you have a better feel for the soil than Lord Lashendo did.”
This was an obvious reference to the fact that Lord Marak’s mother was a Soil Mage and that Lord Zawbry knew it. “My family has always held a great regard for the soil,” nodded Lord Marak. “When properly cared for, it will yield what you desire.”
“Marshal Tingo informs me that you have some concern with the current agreement allowing for our transit across your lands,” Lord Zawbry stated.
Lord Marak noticed that the Ragatha Lord liked to get right to the point when he was prepared for an issue. He offered none of the standard goodwill statements which normally occurred at a first meeting of Lords. Obviously, Lord Zawbry was prepared for a confrontation or actually hoping for one. “The current agreement is not acceptable,” confirmed Lord Marak. “Perhaps this is a good time to execute a new one.”
“The current agreement was acceptable to Lord Lashendo,” declared Lord Zawbry. “I fail to see why anything has changed.”
“As the new Lord of Fardale,” smiled Lord Marak, “I have caused many changes. I would think that you would be eager to execute a new agreement, considering the delicate position Woodville is in.”
“Delicate position?” questioned Lord Zawbry with a rising voice. “What makes you think Woodville is in a delicate position?”
“Perhaps I am not seeing things clearly,” offered Lord Marak. “I thought the rest of the Ragatha estates were to the West. If you are not in a delicate position, why do you seek an agreement to take your caravans to the East? That would appear to be the long way around.”
Lord Zawbry bit his lip slightly and Lord Marak could almost hear the gears turning in his opponent’s head. “We do not like being beholden to the Litari,” Lord Zawbry finally answered. “I fail to see what that has to do with this discussion, though. Either you will honor the agreement made with Lord Lashendo or you will not.”
“The current agreement does not offer any compensation for the use of Fardale land,” Lord Marak pointed out. “My Bursar has informed me that this will result in our losing title to the land in a number of years. Surely, you can see why I seek a new agreement?”
“The agreement was fairly made,” suggested Lord Zawbry. “Do you seek to change it after its signing? Is this the way the Situ do business?”
“A fair agreement?” mused Lord Marak. “Do you really believe this is a fair agreement?”
“Of course, it is fair,” blustered Lord Zawbry. “Why would a friendly neighbor object to you using his land if it is only for transit?”
“Well, you certainly have a point there,” agreed Lord Marak, “and the Ragatha are certainly friendly neighbors. Wonderful, then you will have no objections to penning a like instrument allowing our transit through your lands to the West. I will have it drawn up immediately and, in the meantime, we can discuss other issues which affect both of our estates.”
Lord Zawbry’s mouth hung open. This was one twist he had not envisioned. Giving the Situ a land grant across Woodville would never be accepted by Lord Sevrin, but he had just indicated that it was a normal and friendly thing to do. “I would have to pass the new agreement by Lord Sevrin before I could sign it,” dodged Lord Zawbry.
“Lord Lashendo did not have to get the current agreement authorized by Lord Ridak, did he?” Lord Marak innocently inquired. “I have authorization to enter into such an agreement myself if I so desire.”
“The Ragatha Clan has different requirements than the Situ,” bluffed Lord Zawbry. “Any new agreements should have little bearing on the current agreement, anyway. The question is whether or not you are going to honor the current agreement.”
“Do you have an objection to changing the agreement to allow for the payment of a single copper coin per year in compensation?” asked Lord Marak. “That is the merest of payments I could think of.”
Lord Zawbry was biting his lip again and Marak knew then that this meeting was intended to fail. Lord Zawbry had no intention of changing the agreement. In fact, he was waiting for Marak to demand a change to it so he could storm out of the room, but that was hard to do when Marak was only asking for a single copper coin per year. No one in Khadora would take that excuse for provocation. Yet, if Lord Zawbry refused to change the agreement, Fardale would be giving its land away in the form of a land grant.
“It is not the money that is at the heart of this discussion,” Lord Zawbry finally stated. “It is whether or not the new Lord of Fardale will live up to the agreements of his predecessor. You will either live up to the agreement or you will not. Which will it be, Lord Marak?”
Marak signaled to Kasa, who had slipped in right after Lectain Zorkil, and she came over to him. “Bursar Kasa,” Lord Marak smiled, “have you had a chance to examine the agreement?”
Lord Zawbry looked at the young woman with contempt. It was against all tradition to allow a woman into a position of power and it strengthened his resolve to remove the Situ from this area of the country. He finally had this Lord Marak where he wanted him. There was nothing left for the young Lord to say except that he would not honor the agreement. He had been worried for a while with some of the devious suggestions the young Lord had made. He could not allow Marak to come up with any solution to the problem because the troops from the other estates were already on the march. Within a couple of weeks, Fardale would exist only as a Ragatha estate.
“I would prefer that this agreement be renegotiated for the good of all parties,” commented Bursar Kasa. “It is not a well written agreement to begin with.”
Lord Zawbry smiled as Lord Marak asked, “What is wrong with the agreement, Bursar?”
“Well, the most obvious problem that I have with it,” smiled Kasa, “is that it doesn’t allow for any compensation to us. The money is not an issue, but the law is clear. If we continue to let the Ragatha use the land under this contract, they would gain legal title to the land after three years.”
“Yes,” sighed Lord Marak, “I thought that was what you said. I have so much trouble understanding these complex documents. Are there any other problems?”
“Actually, there is,” Kasa replied, trying hard to suppress her grin. “According to the way this contract is written, we must allow Ragatha wagons to cross Fardale, but there has been no provision made for anything else. Wagons are specifically mentioned and because of that no one could interpret this document to mean that anything else must be allowed to cross Fardale. There is no mention of guards for the caravans. Boy, is that foolish. Imagine, a caravan without guards?”
Lord Zawbry’s lower lip was in his mouth now and Lectain Zorkil was obviously having trouble keeping a straight face.
“In fact,” Bursar Kasa continued, “this contract does not even mention horses or people. I can’t imagine how the wagons are going to be able to move.”
“Lord Zawbry,” smiled Lord Marak, “I will honor this agreement if you really want me to, just so you know that Fardale does honor its prior agreements, but I think we really should execute another agreement for both our sakes.”
Lord Zawbry stood and banged his fist on the table. His face red with fury, he pushed the chair against the table. “I will not stand for being made out a fool,” he blustered. “The agreement shall stand as it is. Should you try to stop my people from crossing your land, there will be a penalty to pay.”
With that, Lord Zawbry stormed out of the room with an embarrassed Marshal Tingo in his wake.