Krager had been tidied up a bit, he was wearing chains on his wrists and ankles as an indication of his status, and he turned out to be a brilliant witness. He made no effort to offer excuses for himself, but was bluntly, even brutally, honest about his many flaws. He even went so far as to provide the details of the arrangement that was protecting his head. The implication that he had very solid reasons for absolute truthfulness was not lost on the Hierocracy. Faces blanched. Many Patriarchs prayed audibly. There were cries of outrage and horror as Krager in a matter-of-fact tone described in detail the monstrous conspiracy which had come so very close to success. He did not, however, make any reference to Bhelliom. That omission had been decided upon fairly early on in the planning. ‘It might have all worked, too,’ Krager concluded in a tone of regret. ‘If only we’d had one more day before the armies of the western kingdoms arrived in Chyrellos, the Primate of Cimmura would be sitting on that very throne. His first act would have been to order the militant orders disbanded, and his second to order the Elene monarchs to return to their own kingdoms and demobilize their armies. Then Otha would have marched in without any resistance, and within a generation, we’d all be bowing to Azash. It was such a very good plan,’ Krager sighed, ‘and it would have made me one of the richest men in the world.’ He sighed again. ‘Ah, well,’ he concluded.

Patriarch Emban had been sprawled in his seat, carefully assessing the mood of the Hierocracy. He hauled himself to his feet. ‘Do we have any questions for this witness?’ he asked, looking pointedly at Makova.

Makova would not answer him. Makova would not even look at him.

‘Perhaps, my brothers,’ Emban continued, ‘this might be the proper time to adjourn for lunch.’ He smiled rather broadly and clapped his hands to his paunch. ‘That suggestion coming from me didn’t really surprise anyone very much, did it?’ he asked then.

They laughed, and that seemed to relax the tension. ‘This morning has given us many things to consider, my brothers,’ the little fat man continued seriously, ‘and unfortunately we’ll have little time to consider them. With Otha camped in eastern Lamorkand, we don’t have much time for extended contemplation.’

Dolmant adjourned the Hierocracy then and declared that they would reconvene within the hour.

At Ehlana’s request, Sparhawk and Mirtai joined her in a small chamber in the Basilica for a light lunch. The young queen seemed a bit distracted and scarcely touched her food but sat instead scribbling rapidly on a scrap of paper.

‘Ehlana,’ Mirtai said sharply. ‘Eat. You’ll waste away if you don’t eat.’

‘Please, Mirtai,’ the queen said, ‘I’m trying to compose a speech. I have to address the Hierocracy this afternoon.’