Chapter sixteen

Amansk

 

Lady Natasha was in tears, the Praefectus was almost too stunned to speak, and their son was ready to go to war. This meeting of the Amansk first family was not going well. Their officers and servants had left them alone in the residency drawing room, a huge space which seemed to place them in a lonely cave.

Arnon sat with his back to the massive fire, which was so far away that it could never warm him. Toby stood, as if to attention, in front of him. Natasha was next to him with the letter, staring at it intently, as if somehow she could alter its meaning with the power of her despair.

‘We must fight them’ said Toby, stiffly, ‘this is unbearable! How could they do such a thing to us? It’s a blatant act of war’

Arnon stared up at him. He had not even begun to digest the contents of the note.

‘Toby’s right’ sobbed Natasha, ‘they’ve taken your daughter – you must do something...’

‘What though?’ murmured Arnon, ‘we have no army to match the Formish’

‘This isn’t Formor, it’s some crank group of lunatics’ said Toby, standing up even straighter, ‘I’ve never even heard of them’

‘Will you send an envoy to the King, darling?’ said Natasha, ‘surely he’ll listen. Can’t he sort this mess out and get Lily back?’

Arnon shook his head and shivered. Why was this chair so far away from the fire?

‘I haven’t heard from him for months; I think he may have been caught up in all this stuff as well. I think that this von Eisen is his cousin or something...’

‘It’s still worth a try, isn’t it?’ pleaded Natasha, leaning over to take her husband’s hand. He laid his other hand on top of hers to stop it from shaking.

‘Yes of course it is. I’ll try anything’

‘And the Confederacy’ said Toby, ‘they’ll send troops’

Arnon shook his head again, even more emphatically.

‘I doubt it. This wouldn’t trigger the treaty – it’s not a direct enough threat’

‘My father would send troops’ said Natasha, ‘you know he would’

‘I’m sure that he would’ sighed Arnon, ‘but Gorodnikov has a navy, a big defensive garrison and a few hundred elven archers. They won’t prevail against Castle Uberwald, built on the side of a mountain. Not even the massed Ethian army has ever managed that’

Toby began to walk round the room in a great circle, stopping by the fire to warm himself, but still too cold inside.

‘There must be something that can be done?’ he growled, ‘can’t we mount a raid and snatch her from those bastards?’

‘No, Toby, we can’t. It would be suicide and you know it’

Arnon finally found the strength to get up. He walked over to Toby and embraced him, as much as anything to shut him up. They both wept for a moment or two and then Arnon broke free.

‘Von Eisen has sent his envoy – he’s waiting outside the house. I think that I’ll have to meet him’

It was both a statement and a question. However, there was no clear answer and so he went out to meet the mysterious envoy.

 

***

Arnon had never heard of Balliwick, which wasn’t all that surprising, although the Grand Master seemed to imply that he was someone important. Here he was anyway, wrapped in a dark coat as if he were standing in the wind. Viktor had arranged for him to meet the Praefectus in a small ante room, sometimes used for visiting dignitaries. Arnon realised now how bare it was, and how small.

Balliwick put out his hand and smiled.

‘My lord, I am very grateful that you have agreed to receive me, given the circumstances’

Arnon breathed in deeply and thought for a second: he’d never felt more angry or closer to striking a complete stranger, but he also knew that this wasn’t the man who had kidnapped his daughter.  He knew who that man was and one of his emerging long term plans was to knock him to the ground senseless. Meanwhile, he needed patience.

Balliwick looked at him curiously. It was clear that he was wondering why Arnon wasn’t speaking or shaking his hand.

‘My lord?’

‘You can put your hand down – I have no intention of shaking it. You should know that that is a peculiarly Ethian custom. Here we embrace welcome visitors’

Balliwick dropped his hand and shrugged.

‘Very well’

There was another silence, during which Arnon studied the visitor carefully. Judging from his demeanour and accent he was a minor aristocrat and probably had no brains. He might well, however, have a lot of influential friends. 

‘Can I introduce myself, Praefectus?’ the Ethian, asked, quite cautiously

Arnon shrugged.

‘I don’t care either way…’

Balliwick smiled again. In his mind’s eye Arnon saw a grinning fox. 

‘My name is Stanley Balliwick of Fanemouth.  I am Lord Thomas’s cousin and the Grand Master’s, umm, diplomatic advisor’

‘You’re a long way from home then’

‘Yes, but I am delighted to be able to act to help sort out this terrible predicament…’ 

‘Your leader has kidnapped my daughter – she’s only fifteen and has nothing to do with any of this. Is that the ‘predicament’ that you refer to?’

‘Yes, my lord. I think that von Eisen has overreached himself. One of my jobs is to ensure that his plans can reach fruition with as little friction as possible’

‘So – you can get Lily back, can you?’

Balliwick smiled again and nodded. His eyes smiled along with his lips, and the lines above his cheek furrowed deeply. He obviously did a lot of smiling.

‘Yes, I think I can. All that my master requires is safe passage down to Ortia’

‘That’s not what he said in that evil ransom note’

‘Well, as I said – overreaching, and all that’  

‘He wrote of wanting my allegiance, garrisoning his troops here and help from me in his dealing with Marth…, with, the proconsul’

Balliwick’s eyebrows rose a little when he heard this slip. Arnon was immensely annoyed with himself. It didn’t help his cause if the Crimson Flame knights knew he was on first name terms with the proconsul.

‘Well, the allegiance thing is just a formal gesture, so I wouldn’t worry about that. I can persuade him that all you need to do is make a verbal declaration. It will sound good but it won’t be legally binding’

This still sounded dreadful to Arnon, but the thought of his daughter trapped in that huge black castle trumped everything else. Any concessions would be worth having, and maybe this envoy’s obvious political cunning might have its uses.

‘And the proconsul?’

‘All you have to do is warn her, how will he ever know exactly what you did?’

Arnon snorted. This was ridiculous.

‘Because you’ll tell him, perhaps?’

‘I want to see his mission succeed, but complete honesty might not be the best way to achieve that’

‘What exactly is the “mission”?’

‘As he said in his letter – to reclaim the lost lands of East Visneoria for the Emperor, starting with Monurbis and then striking into the territories once ruled by White Cloak, the Sun God’

 ‘That sounds extremely hazardous and utterly foolish’

‘Not at all – it is a well-planned operation, with a high probability of success’

‘Actually, I don’t care – I have no intention of committing any of my troops to such a mad venture. And I’m sure that the proconsul will feel the same’

‘I respect your view, of course, and, in any case, we won’t need military help except maybe some guiding and tracking’

Arnon scowled.

‘If that’s so, why does he need a garrison here?’

Balliwick frowned and looked uncomfortable.

‘Again, that’s a negotiating point. Once you have shown that you will co-operate, as far as you can, then I’m sure we can smooth out that wrinkle. I’m certain that the Grand Master won’t want to waste men here, so far from the action, so to speak’

‘So, you will go back and put those points to him? And after that I will get my daughter back?’

Arnon gripped the top of a chair. This was one of the most difficult conversations he’d ever had.

‘I will try my best, honestly I will’ said Balliwick, smiling sympathetically again, this time with his bright blue eyes holding Arnon’s gaze, ‘I can’t even imagine how dreadful this must be for you’

Arnon felt his anger rising higher and higher – he knew when he was being played, but what could he do but try to find a better deal? He had to get Lily back, but it was also his duty to what was best for the city.

‘Go now’ he said, pushing the chair over with a crash, ‘take my offer to the Grand Master and go’

Viktor escorted Balliwick very rapidly out of the room. All that the Ethian did was nod earnestly. He didn’t seem at all taken aback by the Praefectus’s rage. 

Arnon watched his back as he retreated down the hall corridor. What was in it for him, he wondered. He couldn’t make him out at all. What he was sure of, however, was that he wouldn’t trust him even to go out and buy him a loaf of bread.