“I was wondering why our profits in carpets have been falling off," Yarblek mused. "That's all?" he asked.

"I swear it is, Yarblek."

"Your oaths tend to be a little worthless, my King."

Drosta had been looking at Vella appreciatively. "Are you absolutely positive you don't want to sell this girl?" he asked.

"You couldn't really afford me, your Majesty," Vella told him, "and sooner or later your appetite would get the better of you. I'd have to take steps at that point."

"You wouldn't actually draw a knife on your own king, would you?"

"Try me."

"Oh, one other thing, Drosta," Yarblek added. "From now on, Silk and I will be paying the same import duties you're charging the Malloreans."

Drosta's eyes bulged even more. "That's out of the question!" he almost screamed. "What if Brador found out about it?"

"We'll just have to make sure he doesn't, then, won't we? That's my price for keeping my mouth shut. If you don't cut those fees, I'll just have to let it be known that you have. You'll stop being so indispensable to Zakath at that point, won't you?”

"You're robbing me, Yarblek."

"Business is business, Drosta," Yarblek said blandly.

King Anheg of Cherek had journeyed to Tol Honeth to confer with Emperor Varana. When he had been admitted to the imperial apartments, he got right to the point. "We've got a problem, Varana," he said.

"Oh?"

"You know my cousin, the Earl of Trellheim?"

"Barak? Of course."

"He hasn't been seen for quite sometime. He's off with that oversized ship of his and he's got some friends with him."

"It's a free ocean, I suppose. Who are these friends?"

"Cho-Hag's son Hettar, that Mimbrate Mandorallen, and Lelldorin the Asturian. He also has his own son Unrak along and the Ulgo fanatic Relg."

Varana frowned. "That's a dangerous group," he noted.

"I couldn't agree more. It's sort of like a natural disaster looking for a place to happen."

"Any ideas about what they're doing?"

"If I knew which way they're going, I could make a few guesses."

There was a polite tap on the door. "There's a Cherek out here, your Imperial Majesty,” one of the guards outside the door announced. “He's a sailor, I think, and he says he needs to talk with King Anheg."

"Send him in," the emperor instructed.

It was Greldik, and he was slightly drunk. “I think I’ve solved your problem, Anheg. After I dropped you off on that pier, I wandered around on the docks for a while to see what kind of information I could pick up."

"In taverns, I see."

"You don't find sailors in tearooms. Anyway, I came across the captain of a Tolnedran merchantman. He'd picked up a cargo of Mallorean goods, and he was coming south across the Sea of the East toward the southern end of Cthol Murgos."

"That's very interesting, but I don't quite see the point."