5.Death of Chaos
II
Nylan, Recluce
THE BLACK STONE exterior of the hillside building frames a series of windows overlooking either the harbor of Nylan, the Gulf of Candar, or the great Eastern Ocean. On only the north side are there no windows. The windows-both those that slide open and the larger central expanses of glass that do not-are framed in black oak fitted so closely that the lines of the mitred corners are invisible. Behind the south-facing second-story window with the optimal view of both the harbor and the breakwater is the main council chamber of the Brotherhood.
In the late afternoon, whitecaps crown the two-cubit-high waves off the southern tip of the isle continent of Recluce. The same cool fall wind that raises the whitecaps blows through the narrow western windows of the chamber and out the equally narrow eastern ones. The three councilors sit behind the antique curved table that faces the now-empty chairs reserved for those meeting with the Council.
“Maris, do you have any sense of what is coming?” The broad-shouldered mage in black looks at the bearded man.
The thin-faced woman lifts a goblet and sips the green juice. Her eyes gaze blankly out the wide window in the center of the southern wall, but she says nothing.
“You seem to think I'm blind because I'm a trader. We see things. We just see them differently,” offers Maris, the fingers of one hand brushing his square beard. “That's one of the reasons why the Council has a trader, and not just-”
“Heldra represents the people, and you-” Talryn begins slowly.
“Spare me the fancy words, Talryn.” Maris sighs. “Heldra is a mage who is also a marine leader. She represents arms, and the people with the coins to buy them. She also likes to play marine leader in her spare time. I also represent coins, the traders with coins, and I detest playing with blades. You represent the order-masters of the Brotherhood, who have few coins, but the black iron warships and the power of wizardry. Arms, coins, and power, that's what we represent, and you've got two votes in real terms because no one can make the Brotherhood do anything. But you need our coins, and I need your visions.” Marts pauses and sips from his goblet. “I can see that there will be problems in Candar, but exactly where? I can also see that we're back to the problem of chaos focuses again. Chaos focuses disrupt things in Candar, and that disrupts trade-every time. But when? And in what market?”
“It doesn't seem to hamper the Hamorian traders,” observes Heldra.
“They deal in mass-produced, low-cost goods, and that's what people buy in troubled times. We deal in quality goods, and those are what people don't buy when there's trouble.”
“Maybe you traders should take the words from the Hamorians' scrolls.”
“Heldra, you can't be that stupid...” Mans fails to keep the exasperation from his voice. “The only true commodity we could produce and export is iron, and you and Talryn have-”
“Enough,” rumbles Talryn. “You were speaking about the problem of chaos focuses.” His eyes flicker toward the water beyond the harbor where the Gulf and the Eastern Ocean run together. His fingers twist around the stem of his goblet. “We don't have a problem with chaos focuses right now. The last one was Antonin, and young Lerris took care of him. Rather neatly, I might add.”
“Too neatly.” Heldra's sharp green eyes swing from Talryn to Maris and back to Talryn. She purses her lips. “He cannot have been as ignorant as he seemed when he left here. No one could have been that ignorant, not with Gunnar as his father.”
“He was,” insists Talryn. “You didn't teach him. I did.”
“You said we don't have a problem with chaos focuses now. That would indicate that we might before long.” Maris fingers his beard again.
“All that chaos that Lerris released has to go somewhere.” Talryn's fingers leave the stem of the goblet.
“Have you talked to the Institute?” pursues Heldra.
“Gunnar, you mean? He may be a weather mage, but he's not a real part of the Brotherhood,” points out Talryn. “The Institute-Gunnar, anyway-hasn't exactly been an ally of the Council, even if he hasn't ever actively opposed the Council. If I asked, all he'd do is quote the Balance. Besides, his son is part of the problem-his son and his brother.”
“That's what I mean. Gunnar's the one who pushed his son into early dangergeld. Why?”
“Heldra...” Maris offers an exasperated sigh.
“He sent his son into dangergeld long before we detected his power. The boy didn't really even know why he was going, for darkness's sake.” Talryn clears his throat. “And Gunnar told us that Lerris could be a danger to Recluce if he didn't undertake dangergeld early. That doesn't exactly sound like favoritism, even from the head of the Institute.”
“Yet, barely two years after Lerris completed dangergeld training, he took on and defeated a white master who was also a chaos focus? We didn't train him as an order-master. So who did?” Heldra sets down the goblet. “The whole thing is still hard to believe.”
“You're both forgetting one thing,” suggests Maris.“Who did young Lerris just happen to run into within an eight-day of arriving in Candar?”
“Justen.” Heldra nods. “It was no accident.”
“Maybe not,” responds Maris, “but you haven't answered my question. Are we going to have problems with another chaos focus? How soon? It might be nice for us traders to know where we could run into trouble-before it happens.”
“Trade, always trade,” mutters Heldra.
“Trade pays the bills, and supports the trio, not to mention the Council and a lot of the Brotherhood's expenses.”
“Trade is important,” interjects Talryn, “and we're still likely to have a problem with the next chaos focus. I personally think it's going to be Gerlis, but I can't tell you when. Not yet, anyway.” Talryn pours greenberry into his empty goblet and takes a sip. “The amount of chaos seems to be growing in Hydlen, and we don't know any other whites there. There's something happening in Sligo, too.”
“Wonderful.” Maris coughs. “We have young Lerris in Kyphros, Gerlis in Hydlen, Justen going wherever he wants, and now you tell me that there's going to be more trouble in Sligo. But you can't tell me when.”
“The trouble in Sligo is your humble would-be hermit,” Talryn points out to Heldra.
“Is that the smith who wanted to be a scholar and teach the world?” asks Maris. “Sammel?”
Talryn nods. “There are some volumes missing from the hidden shelves. Old volumes, some attributed to Dorrin.”
“You were all so worried about Lerris.” Maris frowns. “He seems to keep to himself. If this Sammel has all that old knowledge...”
“So Sammel has old knowledge? Who outside of Recluce-or Justen-has the ability to apply it? That's exactly why I worry about Justen.” Heldra shrugs. “He was an engineer, and gray wizardry is the sort of bastardization that could destroy us all. Where chaos is concerned, nothing is certain. We didn't know Lerris would become an order focus, either. Who's to say he might not follow Justen?”
“We have time if that should occur.” Talryn sips his greenberry. “Gerlis is a more imminent problem. Especially with Colaris pushing to reclaim the Ohyde Valley.”
“Ohyde hasn't been part of Freetown for hundreds of years.” Maris snorts.
“They haven't forgotten, and Colaris is using the issue to stir people up.”
“Just send one of the trio,” suggests Heldra.
“Just in case.” Maris nods. “Have the Llyse pay a port call in Renklaar.”
“As you wish,” Talryn answers.
“What about Lerris? Or Gunnar?” asks Heldra.
“Right now, there's nothing to be done. Do you want to take on Gunnar?” Talryn looks at Heldra. “Or those he's gathered at the Institute?”
“No, thank you. Let sleeping dragons lie.”
“You've been talking to Cassius again. We've never had dragons on our world. He admits they didn't exist on his, either.”
“Gunnar's still a sleeping dragon!”
“What about Justen?” asks Maris.
“Justen doesn't usually confront chaos focuses; he somehow works around them.” Talryn takes a deep breath. “That might be why he's survived so long. Somehow, he can anticipate what will happen.”
“You seem to be hinting...”
“I think young Lerris is going to get sucked into dealing with one chaos focus after another. Justen is a gray wizard. We all know that.”
“Lerris can't keep surviving chaos focuses,” observes Maris. “Each one will get stronger.”
“That's going to be a real problem,” adds Heldra. “We'll be right back in the mess that existed in the time of Fairhaven, and we don't want that. Even Gunnar wouldn't like that.”
“No.”
“No.”
The three look to the whitecapped surface of the Eastern Ocean beyond the harbor.