Those two had been friends since their school days in Hellin Daimiel. They had shared several fierce adventures in Kavelin and abroad. Dantice occasionally visited the Marena Dimura during more clement seasons. He lived in Ruderin nowadays but remained in the family business, being part trader, part smuggler, part gangster. Once upon a time, before the wars, his father had been a trader, too. A more legitimate trader.

Aral had one foot firmly in the shadows. Many of his associates over there had spied for Michael Trebilcock.

Dahl said, “Maybe. But Michael would come to him. Michael lives in his own secret kingdom of loyal friends. I couldn’t guess their ideology, if they have one. Probably something like what Bragi’s was. They aren’t after power. They collect information, then dispense it where they think it’ll do some good. And they hide each other when there’s a need.”

“He did support the King.”

“As far as we ever saw, he did. He took extreme risks on Bragi’s behalf but Bragi never trusted him completely. Inger is sure that Michael cleaned out the treasury.”

Kristen caught something. “Dahl? You know something about that?”

“How could I? I was way far away.”

“Dahl. Talk to me. I’m your Queen Mother, remember?”

Sherilee stalked in from the other side, looking ferocious. “Talk, soldier boy! This is something you shouldn’t be hiding.”

“I’m not hiding anything. I don’t know anything. I just remember what contingency plans there were. It’s just a gut feeling.”

Kristen said, “Talk to me about your digestive troubles.”

“Michael might not be innocent, but that’s only because he was involved in the planning. Emptying the treasury was up to Cham Mundwiller and Derel Prataxis. A merchant prince and a Rebsamen don with an abiding interest in economics.”

Both women held their peace but glared in a way that demanded further commentary.

Dahl said, “Prataxis sometimes talked about how a lack of specie could inhibit economic growth. He believed in a money economy. Meaning he thought we’d all live better if there was a lot of trustworthy coinage circulating. You can’t build a state on the barter system. It always made sense when Derel talked about it. He always had examples. Kingdoms like Itaskia, where a lot of money is always in motion, grow strong economically and militarily. In the Lesser Kingdoms, where there isn’t much money, nothing good happens because nobody can pay for it. Kavelin has been an exception because it controls trade through the Savernake Gap.”

“We don’t have that trade anymore,” Kristen said.

“We don’t,” Dahl agreed.

“The theft of the treasury fits how?” Sherilee asked.

“Inger doesn’t have a copper to pay her soldiers. And soldiers don’t usually want their pay in chickens or corn.”

“Ha-ha,” Kristen said. “That may be. But I haven’t heard of any regiments who declared for Inger falling apart because they haven’t gotten paid. And we can’t pay the men who stuck with us.”