Pavitt
A person's footing is more secure than you'd expect in this jagged landscape. When Dosker notices a building that's there at the top of the ridge, he believes he can get there before long. Can he take stability of the pathway for granted? Even if he can't, he's determined to reach the building. He knows it isn't the one he's been looking for, but it might give some clues. He turns back to see Ryal, the team's leader, and Ryal's nine companions. They see Dosker, and he signals the intent. Before moving upward he studies the land in various directions. But it's only for a moment. Though he likes to see the river and the distant, vast forest, what's close by is more important. The landslide from the ridgetop all the way down to this point has been recent, within the past two years. It's obvious that people have been coming down and going back up. He isn't convinced there was a settlement in the area. No doubt someone could have died when the dislocation happened. He'll never know about it. As he begins moving upward he can hear that the men are talking, and he thinks the gist is pleasantly speculative, not practical.
He arrives at the building and he can see that it doesn't have much resemblance to the one associated with the Benefactors' Expedition. Yes, that previous group would have constructed something as durable as this, but its design and evident purpose would be much different. He thinks if the station was nearby it would have been buried in the avalanche. Like him his companions have no sense of discovery when they arrive and see the structure.
They're about to continue what's left of the journey : returning home. After two more days camping and scouting in the area they sign their names to the official report. They make evaluations. They do this now because they won't be together as a group when Ryal and Dosker make their way back to the city of Cagdrin. Three of the men have assignments that take them elsewhere. Back home Dosker will be spending much of his time with one person especially, an official who works for the same city division, but he also looks forward to seeing a man named Largent, one of Ryal's close friends. Everyone in leadership has questions about the kingdom of Yatirif, a place the group of eleven travelers almost managed to reach. There's a good reason they didn't get close enough to achieve that special purpose of the mission. But they did get some cartographic results. The kingdom's near the furthest of the mountains that surround the other major features in the region : the city of Cagdrin, a huge lake and some limited prairies.
Their happy return to the homeland doesn't seem to get much notice. They come through the main entrance of the city, the huge ornamental gateway. They pass through the group of molded or sculpted forms that make a protective screen. A pulsating force emanates from these works of art. The force covers each person so as to pacify and sort one kind from another. This gives the city authorities the information they need about visitors. For some visitors the result can be discouraging - permanently so. And a few of Cagdrin's loyal citizens have their own psychic and esoteric results from the screening method.
Ryal states an opinion that he's expressed many times in the past. He reminds everyone that he has contempt for the surfeited, hopelessly tame city dwellers.
When Dosker sees his other boss - Bertlow - for the first time in several months, both men are in the library that's reserved for city leaders. No one else is present. They discuss the problems of Ryal's Expedition, and they acknowledge concerns about their countrymen.
In doing this they ignore a figurine that's occupied a pedestal in the room for several years. This is quite similar to the screening statues at the city gate, and makes use of a background music that provides calm concentration of the mind for people reading or having conversation. There's another side to it, of course. In the wrong hands the same instrument can be used as a kind of psi-bludgeon.
Dosker begins, "As expected, we made tremendous progress when we could travel by river."
He speaks of some minor situations relating to transport, and then he's done with anything like tourist anecdotes.
"The rumors we've been hearing haven't changed," Bertlow tells him. "There's a person in the city who claims the greatest prize of the Benefactors' Expedition. It was brought six years ago from just beyond the mountains. People disagree about the nature of the treasure, apart from the fact that it's described as a panoply. They also disagree about who has it and how he got it. But they know what he wants it for."
Naming the person, Dosker says, "Emerick, you mean."
The man referred to has been famous for twenty years or so. He's a builder - warehouses, cargo ships, other things.
"Emerick's my guess," Bertlow agrees. "And there's another person to consider. I've only heard him described as the scholar from Yatirif, a man who came back with Benefactors. How much does he know about it? We'll need to see him in a few days, if possible."
At the beginning, though some of the men in the city had been told of an unrivaled treasure, there was no reason for thinking it was out past Yatirif. It could be anywhere in the vast world they call Pavitt. Or somewhere else, for that matter. But no one talks about it being found in the legendary separate land - the world from which humans had supposedly come when they discovered Pavitt. Where is that world? Would it be celestial? Dosker has never heard of anyone making the return trip.
He says, "Nobody expected us to find the station, did they?"
"Some were thinking you would," Bertlow replies. He knows the other man accepted his mission reluctantly.
Dosker says, "Most of the experts think the landslides will become less frequent. But if they're that massive it only takes a few to prevent us from finding traces."
"Nobody's complaining if you didn't find the station."
A new cartographic system is made use of here. It's great for the purpose of illustrating Ryal's Expedition. Dosker knows that he'll soon have a command of the system. As they confer they use it for showing precisely the locations where they experienced the greatest difficulties. The method also tells them about places quite removed from their journey's route, especially the vast area controlled by the power known as the Cuestas' Imperium. Even these days the Imperium has occasional spurts of expansion.
Then they talk about the region of the unexplored wastelands, the side trip Ryal would have included with eagerness if the mission had gone as planned. Dosker didn't expect the other man here to spend so much time today reviewing that aspect. Bertlow's disappointment may be understated. But then they consider the place called Yatirif. It's remarkable that so much can be known about its history. Dosker tells the reason for turning back too soon. A messenger from Yatirif had been waiting to see Ryal - waiting at a stopover and market place a good distance from Yatirif. He wasn't speaking for his monarch. He was warning Ryal of the monarch's intention. There was a fear that Ryal was bringing the panoply to be used as a weapon against the ruling class in the kingdom. Imprisonment was the best thing that might happen to the team from Cagdrin. To those who know about it the panoply doesn't seem like a weapon, especially. But they do see it as a great advantage.
Finally Dosker and his boss consider the realities of life closer to home. There's a scheduled public activity that everyone hears about.
Bertlow says, "Our kingdom's artistic values have always been well-defined, but they don't seem to matter as long as the popular celebrations are guided by Lorraine or some such newcomer. She may be there for a long time."
The mandatory celebrations are called Pavitt Legend, and Lorraine's a 'newcomer' in the sense of having been promoted. She's married to a man whose fortune has increased recently, drastically and without apparent cause. You can't say she's bashful.
"There for a long time," Dosker agrees, "with people fuming at what she brings to the main ceremony."
He's silent for a bit, as if offended himself.
"The inclusion of - " Bertlow prompts him, not that he can't guess.
"Those emblems that stand for the different regions and the different events in those regions. But they're stressing, even glorifying, what's disastrous. Her favorite events are the avalanches."
"I think she knows more about it than most people," the older man admits. "It sounds like she's read the history."
Humans founded and slowly built Cagdrin, this kingdom along the safe side of a lake - the largest lake anywhere in Pavitt. This is the side least threatened by avalanches that come with such frequency from the hills and mountains in the region. Two relatively safe corridors lead away from the kingdom. Ryal's Expedition had followed a not so safe route when they undertook their mission. Of course they'd studied some of the accounts written by travelers. For the people of this land there's a favorite narrative that tells about a huge military force which planned to conquer Cagdrin. Before the army reached its target it was destroyed, completely buried by a landslide. The peculiar danger in this land is acknowledged by countries everywhere.
Ancient Lake is concentrated to the east, but also curves around to the north. At a 'safe' distance to the west lies the sprawling Duchy of Koppel, the most extensive and thriving portion of a kingdom that's existed for millenia. Absurdly or not, the duke overshadows the king. But compared to Cagdrin the Duchy's a modest power that's always been loosely organized. After the intended conquest of Cagdrin, the Duchy would have been next.
One problem they haven't mentioned are the events called hostile geysers - debilitating 'sorcery torture' that afflicts the mind. They originate below ground, probably from the most extreme depths. Researchers claim that these are natural events. Humans are traumatized, usually paralyzed and sometimes killed. Many suffer lasting delusions. No studies of the pattern to these events have ever shown a meaningful connection between the geysers and the landslides. In ancient times the geyser experience gave rise to the making of psi-bludgeon weaponry. Someone described the weapons as a feeble imitation of the geysers. The description was misleading.
Besides Lorraine there's another enthusiast of public display, a voice not strictly authorized, who's very well-known. Bertlow and Dosker both understand they have to be mindful of the strident Millis, a lesser light of the royal family. With some degree of backing she can meddle in policy. And Millis has the ability to misrepresent, without working at it, the policy makers. In relation to talk about the city's official measures, the woman can be a distraction. She has devotees, but few of them are serious followers. To most observers the woman's physical presence contrasts with all expectations. Though attractive, her appearance is too casual to seem royal. Everyone knows that she's the monarch's relative - some sort of cousin. In spite of her zealous nature, Millis typically defers to the queen.
The formal submission doesn't keep her from hatching mischievous plans with Lorraine. They've hired someone to uncover damning evidence against a merchant, one they believe to be in league with Emerick. The person they hired had spent some time in the realm of Mullicrane, learning the necessary tactics. In recent years he's excelled at malign, surreptitious entry. He does this in a way that's beyond the aptitude of home grown prowlers. After speaking to the women and taking the assignment, he gets past the estate sentinels at the home of the merchant. The night is exquisite, with dazzling ripples of strange light crossing the sky. The lights please numerous viewers, frightening no one. The intruder moves confidently down a tiled path. He's unaware this is a true corridor of death. His presence triggers a bolt of radiance that should frighten a brave man. When his corpse is found it's a desiccated mass.
The security trigger mechanism has been deactivated, and two of the sentinels are examining the corpse. They've notified the merchant. He and his wife come out to the tiled pathway.
The rich man makes a quick judgment and says, "From what you've told me, this is a different kind of intruder."
The sentinel crouching by the dead man replies, "I'm guessing how he got in." The watchman doesn't sound apologetic - yet. "I haven't seen this before, what he's got with him."
The sentinel refers to extremely specialized and strange-looking tools of the trade. The criminal could have applied these with disastrous effect.
Soon the merchant's physician has made his way out from the dining room. He notices the object of everyone's interest.
He groans. "What is it now?"
After he makes his examination he announces, "Your vaunted security methods have come through, as usual." He glances at the sentinels, then looks back at the rich man. "You know the laws about this. He goes straight to the medical school."
Everyone here knows how the man died.
The merchant's wife comments, "There's another law we have to obey. My husband will be questioned about this death. So will I."
The others don't seem to know how to answer this.
Finally the doctor speaks again. "I see this person neglected to remove his martial talisman. It tells us he was admitted to the elite group in the celebrations. Lorraine might have known him." The doctor finds this encouraging. "It's a place to start."
"You think he'd be that careless?" a watchman asks.
The physician tells him, "You'd be surprised."
He then considers a point that's discouraging. If there's a serious investigation, both Lorraine and Millis might receive royal protection. The doctor's quiet. He doesn't dare pursue the matter.
The next day Bertlow and Dosker speak to the king. Their first impression is a bit shallow, because he's wearing the tailored, obscenely expensive garments that he reserves for the most enviable gatherings. Already today such a gathering has happened, though Bertlow and friends have missed it.
Vollney, the king, tells them, "Most people have a crude, simple notion of what correctness entails when it's introduced by the leadership of Cagdrin. We don't leave the discarded wrongdoers in back alleys to writhe in fatal torment. We don't burn their houses to the ground. Our methods are less direct."
He glimpses each of them to make sure they're paying attention. Of course they are.
"Think about the danger of treason," he continues. "The danger can be increased when there's anxious uncertainty. At the time of my accession there were some things a clever person was more likely to get away with. My views were just then becoming well-known. But the danger is still here. Even patricians might miscalculate and thereby offend me. It appears that one member of the first expedition had loyalty to someone outside my family. That's how we failed to gain the panoply. It's been held by someone else in Cagdrin."
An advisor to Vollney remarks, "The other person probably belongs to one of the oldest families, not necessarily the wealthiest. The king has reasons for being so patient with this matter."
The advisor is always permitted to say what he thinks.
Bertlow comments, "I believe you know the explanation of why this group had to turn back without reaching Yatirif."
The king nods - patiently. He confides, "I've been stymied. The point is to achieve what we need without it having too high a price for the citizens of Cagdrin. The man from Yatirif who came here with the previous expedition has recently left us because he feared for his life. He resides now in the Duchy."
For some reason Vollney doesn't name the person who's believed to have threatened the scholar. The person is Emerick.
The advisor gives Ryal's men some useful information. The monarch speaks again before long.
"Society means well," Vollney proclaims, "but most people are hindered by a kind of pessimism. This is merely augmented by those creatures of the salons. They try to dazzle with personality and works of art. They're the most comprehensive study in hubris."
At length he states his opinion of some prominent specialists. They've got projects they're working on, but one of them could come to their assistance with short notice. Dosker's reminded of what he overheard several years ago : a man explaining to some foreigner that "In this land we don't call them wizards, we call them specialists."
Finally the king makes an assertion of policy. He has a pleasing lack of long-windedness.
When his guests leave his presence, going through a doorway that's close to one end of the palace, they're surprised to see Millis. The woman's been talking to a member of the staff, and the talk is almost finished. Her face has a look of self-esteem that doesn't exactly surprise them. Further along their walk the visitors glimpse the bodyguards, the potion-controlled sentries. A strange artifice confines the bodyguards, but allows them sufficient movement for doing their work. The visitors have no trouble exiting the palace.
A short time later Vollney fantasizes about possible use of the incandescent creatures that guard the royal precinct. They're capable of some things beyond the ability of human sentries. They're not spirits. They can be seen, appearing as movement. They're living beings, and they can be trained. They can also be killed, if you make the right application of energy. He likes the fact that they can be trained to intimidate without killing. He'd love to see them let loose from their small rooftop cells. He also recalls, in the context of safeguards, a project that was described by a specialist : assemble a group of experts to develop methods for controlling the hostile geysers.
But then he ponders the man of influence who had come here from the land called Feldmar. The man has been residing here in Cagdrin, waiting for several weeks. He'd agreed to take the place of the expert from Yatirif - the careful scholar who's been threatened by Emerick. Vollney summons the foreigner.
The man arrives and is questioned by the king. To one question he gives a very encouraging answer.
He says, "From the way the panoply has been described to me I'd say it can be made full use of by your engineers."
He may be right about that. Engineering methods developed by the people of Cagdrin include a device which can be used at any time to probe the rock and soil in a recent landslide. The probe detects and identifies minerals worth finding. It also uncovers artifacts. When Bertlow was a youth he was fascinated, like others, by the news of some such recent find. The object they'd acquired from the dislocated earth was puzzling by its unique nature. Though everyone thought the object was a product of skilled workmanship, no one could describe how it would have been made. Intuitive judgment said it was that kind of product. Years later Bertlow accompanied a crew to the secret location - a frightening vault - where the object had been stored in the meantime. The crew stayed in the vault for a while. They saw some obscure, startling movements. When Gerrie, a woman standing next to him, spoke a cryptic response to what she noticed, Bertlow could tell this was a vision - a group experience. The cryptic response hasn't been forgotten. Somebody with influence is willing to take the young woman seriously.
Dosker and Largent have a discussion at Largent's home. A much older man than his guest, Largent has a look of decadent pallor. He likes to pretend he's constantly being surprised by another person's intelligence. Also taking part is Largent's wife, who keeps up with such literature as concerns both Largent and Ryal. There's one more person present - Gerrie, who's given various labels, mostly flattering. But the most familiar label is 'mystic.' They're together in a spacious room.
Dosker says, "Not much has been written about how the mind is affected by earth disruptions. A person who could tell us something is the man who's known to have survived the winter mudslide of thirty-four years ago. It sounds like he faded from sight."
Largent answers, "He died last year. We could hold a seminar on the topic, if you'd like."
Dosker says, "For some reason you don't think about the danger when you're moving along a well-traveled path. But even that kind of pathway gets obstructed by slides now and then. It's the old story of Cagdrin - the reason why few people come here to live."
What about the most famous traveler? Largent comments, "On that subject Ryal himself doesn't claim any special wisdom. I can think of one scholar who accused him of not caring. Especially nowadays you can't get Ryal to go into that. He'll say he's got too much to think about - always having to advise the policy makers in regard to the exotic artifacts and the maps of regions that are so distant from this country."
Largent's wife changes the subject, slightly. "They should ask Millis to get after him. She can inspire him, expose him, whatever it takes."
Dosker can tell she doesn't like Millis.
Gerrie speaks up. "There's a much more dangerous pathway in the direction of Leverett. You wouldn't hear about that destination if it wasn't favored by the Commissioners. They'd like to increase our traffic moving to Leverett." Unusual for this woman, she now sounds disapproving. "They won't talk about the debris hazard. But our people have always emphasized it. There's no excuse."
"They've heard about your craze for the supernatural," Dosker claims, gently mocking.
"They don't dismiss her," Largent replies. "They let her into the secret vault."
"A long time ago, as they see it," the young woman answers.
"It wasn't that long ago," he says.
The subject of exploration involves an odd sort of controversy. Dosker hasn't been much offended by that.
He points out, "Ryal's group and all the others have been expected to find something that changes the world. But when the goods are brought in and studied, people don't agree on what was accomplished. It comes down to a problem with education - everyone's education."
Gerrie says, "You mean it has nothing to do with good will? It's just a matter of what people know, or don't know?"
There's a bit of a turn here. Largent's wife declares, "Treachery is the oldest cliche in our theater. It gets blamed for everything, but it shows up in the most adored people. Millis could betray her own husband with a poisonous beverage. The leaders of charity groups have gotten into trouble for crimes we all know about, but the most famous one has gotten away with it." Dosker and Gerrie have both heard she has a playful imagination. It's harmless, up to a point. So Millis brings out the worst in her. She continues, "But it's a bigger danger in some circles than others. Administrators could betray Vollney without needing to be prodded."
Landslides have nothing to do with this, but that isn't why Largent is getting nervous.
It's been reported that Emerick made his own journey through much of Pavitt. It sounds rather exaggerated. What's hardest to believe is the claim that he learned some great skill from a colony of wizards who live in a valley just outside the reaches of the Cuestas' Imperium. Most people think the colony exists, but would the inhabitants bother with a man like Emerick? Supposedly they're too wise to help a selfish upstart gain power. There's also the fear that he was cultivating some alliance with a group of scheming citizens in Mullicrane. They'd give him weapons and warriors to bring home against Vollney, if such a thing was possible. The experts think it isn't.
Whether he wanted to or not, he helped inspire the latest expedition. He's had other consequences, too. An example is the fact that Ryal's composed a solemn testimony for a small group of readers. In his journal he summarizes the suspicions and hopes that were communicated by Vollney before he sent Ryal's team on its way to Yatirif. One concern was about Emerick, and a special demand was made on the team of explorers. These men - and the king's men here at home - should take extreme steps to locate the builder's allies. It's hard to believe the most powerful man of Cagdrin would be as confessional as the testimony says he was when talking to Ryal. The king has had strong, perhaps fantastic, views about the changes that should take place in the homeland. The transformation required something they'd bring back from the farthest point of their travel, something to be combined with the panoply. Besides the king's advisors, a select very few of the patricians are allowed to read the testimony. This looks like a blunder. It's the case that secrets from the journal are being circulated among several families of the nobles. This will be a danger to the king.
Ryal is frequently celebrated - as many of the elite class are celebrated - by Largent. That's his profession. A short time ago he wrote a lengthy depiction of Emerick, but his purpose involved something besides making the man seem very important.
Competitor of great wealth, proponent of scary dogma, clever tactician. Each of these labels would be applied to the man who supposedly holds the instruments brought to Cagdrin by the Benefactors' Expedition.
His glorious abode compares to an abode of longer standing - the monarch's. But the difference is pleasing. Like manor houses from the past, Emerick's avoids the brazenly experimental. A person gladly recognizes the inconspicuous variation. It takes the form of columns being placed at surprising but cautious intervals. And as with houses from the tradition, columns are not given much emphasis. Wall designs in relief may excel those of predecessors. The building allegedly has protection in terms of outright sorcery, but the claim is given no credence by Bertlow, who has had a good look at the property. He was there for a lavish banquet and musical troupe in the year before the Benefactors' Expedition. He doesn't dismiss everything called sorcery, but he thinks this isn't the kind of house. Another matter is the expedition's prize. Bertlow can't do much about the possibility that it's there in the building or the neighborhood. When Largent was permitted to spend time with Emerick he restrained his usual adoration of the most privileged class. The restraint was perceived and appreciated by the great man. Largent's attitude wouldn't keep him from publishing a reasonable description of the furnishings and the man himself. But somehow the builder has little in common with other celebrated persons. A skilled artist has been able to represent the house by means of images on a set of metallic plates. These are different views of the house, from different exterior positions. They'll be objects of increased attention during the next wondrous age in the kingdom of Cagdrin. They fascinate Vollney himself.
A strange process, carefully observed, takes place the day after Bertlow and Dosker's audience with the king.
This is called 'adjustment,' and it's taking place in a group of sparsely-furnished compartments. The man leading the effort has four subordinates. They've gotten hold of a special resource - a criminal who's officially listed as missing. He's been rendered unconscious. He lies on a bed, having no sense of his impending contribution to the welfare of Cagdrin's inhabitants.
One of the assistants carries a measuring device that he uses repeatedly to check the criminal's neural state. When he isn't measuring he's talking.
He says to the leader, "The noble families are bound to recognize your greatness. I think you'll be established on the Arbitration Committee, established with Final Privilege."
The leader answers, "I'd rather scratch a living in the Drolod Steppe."
It doesn't avail the criminal that he's always been well-dressed and socially well-situated. In a nearby, small compartment - the receptacle - a yeoman is waiting to be immersed in the criminal's mind. There's an ingenious way of doing that. It's as if the yeoman occupies a nightmare closet or similar dreadful space. Perhaps it's even worse, and he's below ground, inside the bedrock. There's nothing definite for a time, and then he flounders in something like undersea oblivion. Mobile creatures are here and then they're quickly gone. He grieves at not being able to see their complete form. Sounds are continuous but too faint. Before this goes on much longer he senses the modulation. This is the part that's necessary. Measuring devices attached to his garments will tell the experts what they need to know, the vital treasure of criminal schemes. Being understood, they can be defeated. Now is the stunning visceral conclusion. Everything is different. The yeoman slumps to the floor, staying for a moment on his knees. The victory and status which are his for discerning the modulation - this is the peak of emancipating fervor! He rises to his feet when they open the compartment. His posture declares what he believes in : the long-awaited perfection. They see him exulting.
When they bring news of what he's learned to the king, he displays a restrained look of confidence.
He says, "That's the hope we anticipated."
They also bring in a very efficient officer, one with knowledge of the well-dressed criminal's associations. He's pleased to hear of how the man was interrogated.
"A good choice for a study," he says. "I take it there's new information against him."
"Not so much against him, but very much against another person," Vollney replies. "And we know we have to do something." His candor is frequently expressed.
The subordinate will admit he's perplexed. "Naturally the Benefactors' treasure has caused a frenzy among the mystics. But you can also hear the petty criminals talking about it, and some of the midlevel businessmen would like to have a look. Among the highest ranks, though, there's less willingness to seem enthused. Oddly enough, the treasure has had a strange effect on the market for esteemed relics. No one actually calls it a relic, but the thing fascinates people who run those emporia."
Vollney wants to know some things which had not been learned by having the man interrogated. Especially : did the man have a message from this or that foreign country?
"I believe he has," the officer answers, "but I can't say so conclusively."
He states his reasons for believing it. The reasons prove to be elaborate.
The king will keep this in mind, but he returns to questions about the sale of relics.
He says, "They tell me you know something about the history of that profession."
"I've read some books," the officer admits. "You could call it the amateur's indulgence."
Relics can be confusing and fascinating, perhaps more so than recent manufactures. It's thought they have their own link to the occult. Some of the most eldritch anecdotes are believed by sophisticated people.
The king seems deadly grim. "What do you know about the ceramic face of imprecation?"
The other man is not bemused, exactly. "Imprecation. Well, there have been several of those." He remembers quickly. "Of course you've heard that one of them was used against your predecessor. I was told that you dismissed the accusation."
The king nods.
The officer says, "There've been quite a few unsuccessful attempts to use the faces against governors and judges. Apart from that, they've been used to commit murders. There's an element of danger. But nobody understands much about the origin of those wares, or their final purpose." Now he thinks of a righteous imperative. "Sellers of relics? Though I don't blame everything on that class, I do think there should be a crackdown - very extensive."
The king is courteous. "Thank you for your time." The officer leaves.
Vollney says to one of his advisors, "Proceed with our stratagem."
Some of the king's relatives maintain a tradition that's intriguing though usually derided. According to one of their teachings the 'great advantage' would be gotten from a distant land. Vollney had learned of the prediction. It's amusing to think that Millis would reject this idea. She hasn't merely been agreeing with a skepticism that the queen expressed. Millis is more dogmatic than the queen. Though it can be explained how Vollney had some idea what to expect from the returning travelers, no one's explained, at least publicly, what became of the instrument after it reached Cagdrin. The mystery was embarrassing. It's known that the expedition's leader was banished from the realm. It's been reported that he's living in a place called Frawblis. The noblemen suspected of grabbing the panoply were investigated with caution.
Now, as the king's men begin another skilled clandestine effort, Lorraine is busy defending Ryal. He's excoriated for his inability to reach Yatirif. Slanted personal comments have been frequent. He's extremely privileged, he's unimaginative, hopelessly timid, and so on. The nature of his decision to turn back - the reason for it - has been misreported, according to his most famous critic. The actual reason must be more shameful. Lorraine had better come to his rescue, because her program of celebration features a masque in his favor. But Ryal isn't too worried.
A man who never seems worried is Emerick the oligarch, even if he spends quite a bit of time these days at some alternate locations. He's developed his final unscrupulous plan. In fact he sent a letter to Gerrie, phrasing it with ambiguous language that Gerrie, and no one else, could rightly interpret. He'd use her for his messenger of deception, someone to help him wreak slaughter on the rich and powerful. Fortunately for Cagdrin, she comes down with a serious illness.
Just before this happened she wrote an open letter of advocacy.
"To the prominent decision makers in our kingdom : Thank you for giving attention and opportunities. A great enterprise favored by the Women of Discourse is now being promoted by several groups of high standing. We need some pathways and thresholds that have been unfamiliar. Still another vigorous expedition must be organized. At least five sizable regions of Pavitt should be explored, and can be, with the goal of identifying resources that have potential for the market. These places have been neglected for some reasons hard to explain. Many locations are crying out for intuitive study. One benefit of study is even more important than commercial benefit : survival. The leaders in the Cuestas' Imperium have stated their murderous intentions. They'd like to subjugate our greatest allies. They'll find that more difficult to do if we expand our holdings across Pavitt. We can't afford to have illusions about the Cuestas. Educated, wealthy pillagers are pillagers all the same. I hope you'll agree."
- Submitted by an optimist, known to the king's advisors.
In the future the young woman will increasingly use a telepathic skill that comes from the artifact she'd been permitted to view in the vault. She knows about a place called Devereg, a land of ravines and rock formations. For thousands of years in communities all across Pavitt, reports about Devereg have been made by explorers. Still, most people in Cagdrin haven't heard of that area though it's been given attention by cartographers. It has tremendous wealth of minerals that no one has ever used, and soon the place will be occupied by a workforce from Cagdrin. Apart from a few experts, Gerrie's the only person in the homeland who knows the importance of Devereg.
The panoply, of course, continues to drive the action. Dosker talks to a well-traveled historian, an elderly man who'd lived in Yatirif several years prior to the Benefactors' Expedition. Though he'd consulted the man before leaving on his own journey with Ryal, Dosker is only now learning something specific about the origin of the panoply. Now he's being informed at length about the precise characteristics of the instrument that was brought here from beyond the mountains. A foreigner living in Yatirif could have learned these things from that city's wise men. The scholar speaks of Emerick with contempt, though he recognizes a few accomplishments. Emerick, he says, definitely harbors the prize.
Along with this the old man has a grievance. Perhaps he's too blunt, considering the person he's talking to.
He says, "I returned to Cagdrin a year prior to Benefactors. I gave warnings to court officials. What I told them still applied years later for the Ryal group. But by then the VIPs had forgotten. When I heard your mission fell through, I sent a letter to the king. I reminded him about the warning and I explained a few things. I don't hesitate to say what I think. Vollney talks a good fight, but that's all there is too it."
"You're saying we should have known what to expect - you could tell who the next king in Yatirif would be, and you could tell he'd resent the Benefactors' Expedition."
"To put it mildly."
Dosker speculates. "Ryal's decision could have been made in the light of something Vollney had told him - and hadn't told the rest of us. No one told the rest of us. We've all been disappointed." He changes the subject. "So you think Emerick wants to keep us from learning the value in foreign traditions."
"And he keeps from being obvious about it," the old man says. "But I've been paying attention."
Dosker states, "The king doesn't tell us much about that man."
"It's because he believes if he said too much Emerick would effectively use the prize against him. The king would be deposed. I should say it's the likelihood. As for me, I've made the recommendations I can think of. I've tried to make the city's leadership aware of the problem, but I haven't done a very good job."
Dosker listens to a few interesting, specific allegations. Then he gets to the point.
"Well then, what are we supposed to learn from the culture of Yatirif?"
The scholar's been waiting for this cue. "They have one practice, more than the others, that would be good for us to accept. They have a symbolic gesture, a dedication, if you will. On one day in the summer season each of the patricians will come to a shrine that's near the royal palace. In front of the shrine each one grovels before the people's chosen representative. The body language is more degrading than you can imagine. The people choose a malformed specimen for their own representative."
"And you think this practice benefits the entire kingdom."
"It makes all the difference. I've broken bread with some noblemen after they submitted to the gesture. They've become thoughtful, humane leaders."
"I don't think the gesture would work in Cagdrin."
The old man is adamant. "It's the infallible remedy!"
After a while Dosker leaves the old man's house. A bit annoyed, he's still glad that he visited.
Soon there's more news about the other legendary artifact - the one Bertlow's been fascinated by since his youth. Someone has informed Ryal that the object's original context has been discovered. With epigraphic material, including some that's been long available, the reasoning is conclusive. The object had been placed within a dignitary's tomb. The landslide exposed traces of a prehistoric and grandiose culture. A new study of the script has made a breakthrough. It reveals a priesthood or monarchy that was otherwise unknown to Cagdrin's historians. Ryal tells the news to Bertlow, Dosker and the others.
The background for all this doesn't need much explaining. The avalanche that exposed the artifact happened twenty-four years ago. Later Vollney commissioned the group to make the journey beyond the mountains. The group would stop in Yatirif on its way to the final destination, then again on the return. The public was told nothing about the final destination except that whoever lived there could provide the expedition's prize. They gained the panoply, and when they stopped in Yatirif on the way back, the king of that land offered the services of a great expert - someone who knew the artifacts of the prehistoric culture and the locations of what had been great cities. The expert came with the Benefactors' team all the way to Cagdrin.
Right now public discussion is the same nuisance of riddles, only more so. Millis antagonizes people by talking about a conspiracy that would be very dramatic if it happened. She insinuates that Vollney and Emerick are both being targeted by extremists who'd like to use the prize for their own rebellious purposes.
The queen has tried to placate Millis. The younger woman's followers include a special 'corps.' Some high-level officials doubt these followers' loyalty to the crown. Bertlow himself, having reason to consult with Lorraine on a different matter, will speak of the corps as a supposed peril. Before they get to that question he hears the woman give part of a biographical summary.
She tells him, "You have no concept of the agonizing choices that are made by a priestess. I don't know by first-hand experience, but I can empathize. For one thing, I've been told about certain situations and you haven't. Several accomplished women including Millis were tested, shall we say, and Millis was the only one who passed the test. In the following years the vitriol against her has only increased. This is pressure coming from outside the sisterhood."
"So your friend is a priestess," Bertlow replies. "And it's been kept a secret, at least from people outside the sisterhood."
"She ministers to a small group of women," Lorraine answers.
After some prefatory comments about the zealous corps, he senses the woman's readiness for dispute. He's careful.
He says, "We need to know if these adherents would rather take sides with Emerick."
Without complete sincerity Lorraine tells him, "They will if he can guarantee some improvements for the less privileged classes." Her tone of voice becomes acrid. "This wouldn't be a bribe. They're not poor people just looking for handouts."
Different kinds of influence that Vollney has felt over the years now abruptly converge. He overcomes one of his inhibitions. He gives a timely command to his guardsmen. They start their belligerent action.
There's no need to hide what they're doing. They still don't have the fully developed method for controlling hostile geysers, but they have the next best thing. They approach the target with an array of psi-bludgeon weaponry. The neural damage done to Emerick's team of security officers will be more than sufficient. There's a dreadful but slightly muffled noise. The king's advisor that accompanies this force takes his time looking at the losers. They're sprawled across a pavement. Reaching a conclusion, he tells the king's guardsmen it's all set for what's next.
They send a contrived tremor against the huge manor house. This is a daring move. Anyone can see the building's under attack - a strange enamel soon covering all sides of the house. It seems harmless to the touch if you approach one of the walls to feel it. The chief guardsman gives it several minutes before he walks up to the front door and yells something at the people inside. Not long afterwards, at a point quite a ways to one side of the door, a man's arm comes through the enamel from inside the dwelling. He finds that his ability to twist or contort his arm in that situation is extremely limited. Knowing he can't make it all the way through, he draws his arm back inside. The chief guardsman expects the person to emerge at the one place where that might be possible - where the enamel is most thinly applied. That's the front door. Still, the resident might need help coming through when he tries to do so. Two men with large, absurd gloves are standing by for that purpose. When the person inside finally appears he doesn't need help. He looks at several of the guardsmen. He seems to be more curious than frightened or defiant.
The chief guardsman says, "You're not Emerick."
It doesn't matter much if he isn't. He's a glorified yeoman, and he proves to be useful when they threaten him. He tells them his employer's last known location - which was elsewhere, but not far. He leads them to a corner of the basement where he quickly brings the prize into view. These interlopers know the person to send for.
The man they bring into the house can make a reliable judgment about the Benefactors' prize. When he came from Yatirif along with the previous expedition it wasn't assumed he'd know more than someone else about this object. He's done what they expected, making a study of the finds from the nearby avalanche. His progress doing that over the years has been a bit disappointing. In the last year, though, he's learned about the prize. In Emerick's paranoid mind it was thought the foreigner would know too much about the panoply. His attempt on the foreigner's life was unsuccessful. The man who was being targeted made his way to the Duchy of Koppel. Now on his return to Cagdrin he's encouraged because he's finally guaranteed protection by the king. He stands here by the panoply, with a knowing look that's perceived by another man who's been summoned - Bertlow.
A second foreigner is brought to the house. The two men are introduced, and they both sense the usefulness of the exotic instrument. There's a well-versed exchange of remarks about far-flung Pavitt. They talk about many separate dominions - Mullicrane, Leverett, Sonsteby and of course the Cuestas' Imperium, as well as others. They describe the immense body of water they call the ocean. They talk in loving detail about the kinds of wilderness.
Vollney has a sense of defeat he'll take with him to the grave. That would be in spite of a fortunate development : the capture of Emerick, which happens two days after the seizing of his house. There's an immediate legal judgment against him, and he's permanently confined. The capture has been seemingly haphazard. A severe worsening of his physical health is uncanny. It's another dramatic onset, not caused by torture because no one tortured him.
The reason for a sense of defeat is tentative. There's been a prompt agreement between the learned foreigners. The agreement will satisfy two dominions - Yatirif and Feldmar. Whether it's good for Vollney's kingdom will be frequently debated in the coming years.
One day Bertlow gives out copies of a note he's written for his coworkers. The note says, "The festive theatrics under Lorraine's supervision have been well-received, and they continue for several more days. All persons working here will have an extra day free from their duties, with the understanding that the day will be spent in the Great Plaza, taking in the spectacle of the performing arts."
Largent soon resolves to write the great story of the panoply. He composes the first page. It tells the reader that the advantage is of recent manufacture. The book will give sundry clues about the society, or agency, to be found beyond the mountains. The people there, the relevant ones that Vollney somehow knew about, were expected to have something for the travelers from Cagdrin. The king was sure the advantage would transform life in the city beside the huge lake. But even in this kingdom Largent has the freedom to state his disbelief concerning the transformation. The book will say 'alas' more than once.
One afternoon a few weeks later Gerrie and her husband are standing out on the balcony at their house. Believe it or not they rarely talk about the questions that fascinate Ryal or Dosker. Gerrie's husband is awfully conventional. Today they've enjoyed the weather, but something serious and probably harmful takes place. There's a strange noise coming from quite a distance. Repercussions are definite. Along with others Gerrie will be summoned to a place not far from the city, not far from the lake. This is the greatest earth disturbance to have happened so close to the city. Excavations will soon begin, and the finds at the different sites will be among the obsessions that mark a new age in the history of Cagdrin.