A Stolen Crown, page 6
However, instead of a reasonable conversation, Cerric had flatly turned down the proposal and accused Carlis of conspiring with the Smith’s Guild to rob him and cripple the treasury. Before Carlis could even begin to explain the basic costs of equipping a soldier and a horse, and why it would save him a fortune in gold if he would be strategic about his use of the smiths and their forges, Cerric flew into a rant, saying that the terms Carlis had put before him were tantamount to treason. That was when Carlis made his mistake.
He had always put Maramyr first. Even while he made deals that were profitable to himself, he made sure that the good of the kingdom was the main priority. It had been one of his own principles that the kingdom and its people should benefit from his efforts if and when at all possible. And now he was virtually being accused of treason. It was one of the few times in his life that Carlis had lost his temper and that had been a grave mistake.
Indignant and frustrated with Cerric, Carlis had yelled back at the king and asked him what he planned to do when the workers were tired because they could not afford food. He asked what weapons would the soldiers bring to battle when the smiths and armorers had no more metal to work because the mines of Maramyr were no longer worked by skilled men but criminals whose last interest was the prosper of the kingdom, which had been another one of Cerric's schemes that was proving disastrour. He asked what Cerric would do when the people who were working their hardest to help him gave up in frustration because they were in danger of being accused of some crime or another, just because their resourcefulness and energy seemed suspicious to the king’s advisors. Many had already begun to distance themselves from the palace and Carlis was one of the few who had continued to dutifully serve the crown, but the additional workload was beginning to take its toll on him.
Taken aback at first, Cerric had listened to Carlis and waited until he had finished, then he coldly told him that if he was unclear on the way things now worked in Maramyr, then perhaps he would benefit from a demonstration. That was when two guards grabbed Carlis on either side and held him in place. Cerric himself descended from the dais and swung his fist into the magistrate’s stomach. When he doubled over from the pain, the king swung his other fist into the side of Carlis’ head, leaving him standing only because he was held in the grip of the palace guards. Cerric then ordered the guards to throw Carlis from the palace and made it clear that he not be allowed to return. Still reeling from the shock of what had just happened, Carlis had been subjected to further indignity by being cast down the steps to the palace by the guards, who took Cerric's command literally. As he exited the palace grounds and entered the city, he did not look back.
The more Carlis thought about what had happened, the more he hurried down the road, worried what might be next. He had heard a few rumors of such things already happening to others in Maramyr and not soon after they had run afoul of the king, they also wound up dead in an alley or some other unsavory location where bodies could be left. He had not believed such stories when he had first heard them, but now he knew the truth of things. Carlis hoped he would be able to leave the city with his life, but he had a stop to make and it would not be his own residence, for he was not so foolish as to show up there.
Carlis rounded another corner and found the building he wanted. At the second door along the heavy stone wall, he knocked five times then once again and it opened. He was admitted into a simple room by a single servant and told to wait. The room was bare except for a small table set against one wall and with two chairs, one on either side. Carlis thought about sitting down to wait but he was still too shaken and worried that if he sat, he would not be able to stand again. Instead, he paced around the small room. It was only a short time when a large round-bellied man entered from the opposite door and smiled. He carried a book in his hand at his side.
“Lord Carlis,” said the man named Bensa, the head of the local trade guild. “What business brings you to my office that cannot be dealth with at the guild?”
“Good day to you Bensa,” Carlis greeted him. “My business in Maramyr is over. I am leaving the city and I thought to give you a warning to do the same. Cerric has rejected the latest proposal from the Smiths and verily accused me of treason because the terms were not enough in his favour.” Bensa frowned.
“Cerric couldn’t get better terms that that unless he dissolved the guild and went with forced labor,” the big man joked. When Carlis did not laugh, Bensa realized that the idea he had just suggested as being unthinkable, might be exactly what Cerric would do. He sighed and noticed that Carlis had blood on his face and was a little peaked. “Do the Smiths know?” Bensa asked.
“No,” Carlis told him. “I just came from the palace where, as you can see, my welcome was cut short.” He gestured to the blood drying on the side of his face.
"Damn soldiers," Bensa cursed. "You'd think they could at least be civil."
"It was his majesty, Cerric himself, actually. He's quite the powerful man now."
Bensa looked at Carlis for a moment, then he stepped over to the door from which he had entered and knocked on it twice. The door opened and the servant from earier appeared. Bensa said a few words to him and then the man retreated back down the passage behind the door.
“Thank you for bringing me this information, Lord Carlis,” Bensa said. “Now, what else I can do for you?”
“I wish to transfer my holdings,” Carlis said. “I will be leaving the city for longer than I care to think about, possibly for good.”
Bensa frowned and let out a great sigh.
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible."
“What do you mean?”
“Just what I said. Your holdings with the Trade Guild at Maramyr have been confiscated by the crown,” Bensa told him, with a blank expression on his face.
“When?” Carlis felt his face redden with anger.
The big man looked at the floor, no longer able to hide the fact that he himself was displeased with what he had to tell the former magistrate. The servant reappeared with a bowl of water, a washcloth, two cups and a bottle of liquor. He set the water and cloth on a small table with a mirror that was set against the wall and placed the cups and bottle on the desk. Bensa gestured to the basin, for Carlis to tidy himself up and he poured two cups of the liquor.
“Two days ago, Cerric sent down a list of nobles who were to be stripped of their titles and properties," Bensa explained as Carlis wet the cloth and dabbed at the blood on his face. "Any gold, valued currency or property titles held in trust by this Guild were to be transferred to the treasury by order of the king.”
“All of it?” Carlis was astounded.
If what Bensa was saying were true, then Cerric had planned this even before their meeting, and he had lost a fortune! It was theft, plain and simple. But Carlis knew there was little he could do about it. Cerric was the king, and his word was law. Bensa opened up the book he carried and offered it to Carlis.
“In this ledger, you will find a reckoning of your accounts,” Bensa said with a glimmer of a smile. This big of news was something he was more pleased to impart to Carlis, a man he had long respected and would have called friend were the rules of the Trade Guild more permissive. “I must say that, given recent events in Maramyr, your investments at Aghlar were timely indeed.”
Carlis accepted the book and opened it curiously. He did not remember having made any purchases in Aghlar. He quickly flipped through the ledger to the most recent pages. There, on the line above his recent transfer to buy into the Smith’s Guild most recent proposal, was the purchase of a shipyard at Aghlar. His jaw dropped at the sum. Bensa smiled warmly at him and handed him a cup of liquor.
“I must say that it took some doing to transport that much gold to Aghlar, especially on such short notice, but the Trade Guild employs very capable people in matters such as these. A message arrived just this morning confirming that your gold has arrived at Aghlar and that the transaction was authorized by the Guild there. Should you wish to finalize the purchase of the shipyard, you have thirty days to do so. In the meantime, your gold awaits you at Aghlar. I personally think you have made a very wise investment and, if I were you, I would see to it personally that it is properly managed.” Bensa drank the liquor in his cup, then placed it back on his desk and rubbed his hands together. “Now, if you will excuse me, I have a great deal of business to attend to before king Cerric takes the rest of my business away from me.”
The big man turned to leave.
“Thank you,” was all Carlis could manage.
Bensa waved a hand at him as he exited the room. Carlis held the book loosely in his hand for a moment and a piece of parchement fell from it to the floor. Bending, he picked it up and looked at the writing. It was the list Bensa had mentioned, of all the nobles whose money was to be confiscated. Carlis noticed that the names were all of those who had successfully built up fortunes at trading and investment and, more importantly, all those who had been loyal or whose families had been loyal to Cerric's brother, Gregor when he was still alive.
Carlis scanned the parchment and also saw that his friend Lady Valamyr was on the list. She was to lose everything but her family's country estate, lands that had been entitled to her family for many generations as the Valamyr's were one of the oldest noble families in Maramyr. Elaine would not be pleased, that was to be sure. The lands she retained did not produce much in the way of saleable goods these days and her family had long ago converted their wealth to various merchant enterprises, all of which had now been confiscated. Cerric might as well have burned down her family palace at Maramyr, for she would no longer even be able to afford its upkeep let alone keep it supplied and staffed with servants.
Given the climate in the crown city of late, Carlis considered it fortunate that Elaine and her neice had recently left for the country. They might at least be able to live for a while on what little money that did remain, though he wondered whether remaining in the kingdom was a particularly wise decision, considering what was happening in the kingdom, in general. Another page was stuffed in the book and Carlis saw a recent order from Cerric citing several antiquated Maramyrian laws that authorized the use of force and summary judgement in the event that individuals were to resist any of the king's edicts. Carlis decided that the Valamyr country estate would be his first stop upon leaving the city, and he left in a hurry.
*****
“Get out of this house immediately!” Elaine’s voice shrilled at the leering militia captain. His greasy, unshaven face, yellowed teeth and the stale smell that lingered about him suggested that he had likely been deputized from the ranks of the lowest country tavern in Maramyr.
“Or what?” he asked mockingly as the rest of his men searched through the many luxurious rooms of the Valamyr country manor. Ehlena sat quietly at a nearby table, ignoring the men’s prying eyes as they passed back and forth, opening every box and cupboard in every room of the house.
“Or the king will have your head.” Lady Valamyr stood up as tall as possible in an effort to command some respect for her nobility. The soldier merely laughed at her.
“King’s orders, milady.” He grinned and gestured at the jewels and gold his men were carrying out to their horses. “Your contribution to the army. We’re going to war, in case you hadn’t heard. Care to make a personal contribution?” He leered at the noblewoman and her neice.
“I think you’ve taken enough for the army. I will have words with Cerric himself about this,” she told him flatly.
“That might not be a good idea,” Carlis said as he walked past one of the militia men standing at the entrance the sitting room where Elaine had squared off against the captain. He noticed before he entered that the man had his hand on his sword, even though the people his superior was interrogating were unarmed women who hardly posed a threat. The captain of the militia turned and Carlis walked right up to him. "What is your name?" he asked.
"Parson," the man replied. "Captain Parson of the Royal Militia."
"Thank goodness," Elaine said and then walked over to a nearby bureau and poured herself a glass of strong liquor, while Ehlena sat quietly, not saying a word.
“And who are you?” The captain cast a suspicious look at the former magistrate. Carlis smiled.
“I am Lord Carlis, Maramyrian Magistrate and trade negotiator for the throne,” Carlis lied, giving him the court title that had just been stripped from him. “I am conducting a survey of the war acquisitions on behalf of his majesty, King Cerric, to ensure that your men do their jobs professionally. Have you searched every room in this house?”
The man stood up a little straighter. He didn’t mind threatening a lady noble and her neice, but if this Lord Carlis was under the king's orders, he thought that he had better not irritate him. Carlis looked important and the captain did not want any trouble, not on his first day on the job, for this was a good piece of work for him and his men. The king was letting them keep a piece of what they confiscated and, if the other estates they had been told to visit were as loaded with gold and valuables as this one, they stood to live a life of plenty for a very long time.
“Just finishing up, Lord magistrate, sir,” the man said, doing his best to sound professional.
“Good. Then you must excuse me, for I have further business with Lady Valamyr, on behalf of the King," Carlis told him then he leaned in close to the man and lowered his voice. "They are cousins, you know." He told the lie then inclined his head at toward the doorway, indicating that the man should leave. The man nodded, worried that he might have overstepped his bound, and he gave Carlis his best, but horribly unprofessional salute before exiting the room. As soon as he had gone, Elaine walked over to Carlis and slapped his face.
“You too! I never thought you would sell yourself to that vicious bastard…” she started but Carlis held up his hand, glancing over his shoulder to see that the militia men were out of earshot.
“That's the second time I have been struck this day, first by Cerric, and now by you. Do you really think I would cow to that villain of a man?” Carlis asked her, more than a little offended that she would believe such a thing. Still, it was better that she unleashed her ire upon him than on the brute of a man who had just left, one who no doubt would have run her through with his sword without a moment's hesitation, since those were the orders that had been given. Carlis walked over to the window could that see the milita men had mounted their horses and wagon and were now riding out from the property. "Good, they're gone."
“And they took everything we had that was valuable. Everything, Carlis, stolen, by the magnanimous king Cerric.”
"They did not get everything," Carlis told her. "You still live, and that is what is most important."
Elaine gave him a skeptical look and it was obvious she did not understand the position she was in. As soon as Carlis had seen the list of nobles and the order that Bensa had tucked into the ledger, he knew that they were also likely marked for death. Cerric still needed the support of some of the more powerful families in the land in order to raise his armies and consolidate his power, and it would not inspire much loyalty among his supporters if he were to simply take away the lands of long-standing nobles. No, Cerric was more devious than that. The orders were not explicit that anyone be killed, but it was not difficult to imagine that most people would resist having their homes invaded and their belongings taken from them and how that could be considered resistance. Cerric's concerns were confirmed when he saw the type of man who had been put in charge of the so-called militia, one who was more likely to talk with his sword than anything else. Elaine had been in real danger and it was very fortunate he had arrived in time, before Lady Valamyr tested the patience of the overly eager and self-serving militia.
"So what are you doing here?" Elaine asked.
“I thought to warn you, but I see that I have arrived too late to prevent all but the worst of it,” Carlis sat at one of the large upholstered chairs. “Cerric has confiscated property from a long list of nobles and merchants, including myself. Despite what I told that man who was here, as of this day, I am no longer a magistrate of the Maramyrian kingdom, as that title has also been stripped from me. I was trying to negotiate an arrangement at the palace for several of the guilds, but Cerric has decided just to take them over insead and he has decreed that workers will be paid barely enough to feed themselves, all of it in the name of this coming war with Kandara.”
“How can he do such things?” Elaine asked. “Is there no recourse, no way we can challenge such action?”
“Not unless you want to lose more than your gold,” Carlis told her. “I’m sorry Elaine. Cerric himself gave the orders. Be glad he couldn’t take your land outright. The only reason he would not is the Valamyr name appears far too many times in the old stories for him to dishonor your family so openly. It would send the wrong message to the nobles who currently support him. As for me, he confiscated my properties and all my holdings with the Maramyrian Trade Guild as well.”
“That’s horrible,” Elaine exclaimed. "I am appalled, simply appalled."
She knew that even though Carlis was only a very minor noble and his family estates were small and provincial, he had been working for years to amass the wealth to buy more lands and increase his stature at the Maramyrian courts through his work as a magistrate. Such a move would, under normal circumstances, entitle him to more respect and possibly a higher ranking in the courtly order as a reward for service rendered to the crown. Elaine had always hoped Carlis would succeed in this for then, she felt, she might be able to consider him as a husband, which was something about which she would occasionally tease him after one too many glasses of wine. However the prospect of being granted land and title by the king as reward for services and loyalty seemed less and less likely under Cerric, and now it was all but impossible.
