"Then perhaps we should escort Naitachal back to his room," Captain Lyam suggested. "Where Alaire's possessions are." The Dark Elf's heart sank; he had hoped Lyam would be an ally, but it looked otherwise.
Perhaps he still is. There's enough smoke in this room to smother a horse.
"Before you go anywhere," the King said, yawning.
"Arrest Kai. Throw him in the dungeon, until further notice."
"No!" Kai shrieked, leaping to his feet. "You can't do that! I'm your son!"
"You were my son. No longer. Take him away."
Two of the guards came forward with shackles. The boy looked ready to fight, but all his energy drained out of him before Naitachal's eyes. Once shackled, feet and hands, he walked out of the King's chamber with a loud rattle, his head down. Sir Jehan looked positively gleeful.
"Oh, and one more thing," the King said, address- ing Naitachal. "Any idea why Althea would be massing troops near our southern border?"
"Your Majesty? Are you sure about that?" Certainly there must be a mistake!
"Quite. I await your response."
"I know nothing of this, either," Naitachal said.
Someone must have lied to him.
The King smiled. "That is an unacceptable an Ambassador. Now, you were saying, Soren?"
The wizard trembled. "I need a relic. A possession of the secretary's, if I may."
The King waved at him. "Take what you need.
Jehan, you go with them. Ambassador, until we resolve this matter, I ask you to place yourself voluntarily under guard of Captain Lyam. If you resist, or try to return to Althea, you will share the dungeon with the former Prince Kainemonen, and a state of war will exist between our two kingdoms. It would seem by the actions of your own army that such a state may already exist. Do you understand the severity of this situa Ambassador?"
"Indeed I do," Naitachal replied. "I will assist you any way I can. I cannot explain why our forces are gathering on your borders, but I doubt they are con- sidering an invasion."
The King only smiled a little more, as if he had expected this answer; it pleased him. "Your lack of total conviction is disturbing, Ambassador. The only thing we would like you to do now is provide a posses- sion of the young man's to Soren, then confine yourself to your room. Captain Lyam will be person- ally responsible for your continued residency here."
"Then by all means," Naitachal said, "let's go and get what you need."
The grim procession of four to Naitachal's room attracted a great deal of unwanted attention. It looked for all the world like the group was on its way to an execution, and Naitachal was the guest of honor. Sev- eral of the palace guests stood and stared at the group, the news of the situation and the return of the Prince having spread quickly through the halls. This treat- ment was nothing new to Naitachal; the natives of this wretched, backwards kingdom gawked at him anyway.
The Dark Elf knew it wasn't time to direct blame.
He must remain calm and professional, and play along with whatever they wanted. They hadn't thrown him in prison ye Sir Jehan stayed behind them several paces, keeping a distance from Naitachal. The nobleman had made a habit of avoiding his eyes, perhaps because he knew what a Necromancer was.
In the old days we killed with a look, made all the easier if we made eye contact, Naitachal thought stormily as they approached the room. And I have a very good reason to kill you; you are the one behind all of this.
He berated himself for being so stupid He knew he should have concluded this long ago, but had not -- because it was too obvious? Naitachal hoped that was not the case . . . but feared it was. Oversubtlety was a character flaw of his, no doubt abo Naitachal noted with a kind of reluctant admir -- in the way that one admires the efficiency of a poi- son, or the potency of a snake's venom -- that Jehan had conveniently and convincingly accomplished both these deeds over a single evening. It would seem that somebody in the Kings circle of confidants would take notice, but evidently nobody did. Or else -- they were all in Jehan's pocket as well.
Do they know Sir Jehan patronizes the tavern dis- trict too? Perhaps not. The man is shrewd, to bring this off as far as he has. He planned all this from the beginning; my arrival was never more than a slight inconvenience. He's planning on my use of magic to save myself and Alaire. The question is, does he think his magicians are better than I am? Not only has he declared war on Althea, he's declared war on me.