Deren Ilkur, the Keeper of Duties, rapped his gavel on the table. “The Harmach’s Council is met,” he said. “With your permission, my lords and ladies, we will set aside the normal agenda and proceed directly to the urgent business of the day-the rioting and unrest in the Tailings and other poor neighborhoods.”
No one objected. Then Burkel Tresterfin cleared his throat and spoke. “I suppose I’ll speak first,” he said. “Two more buildings were burned last night. At this rate, there will be nothing left of Hulburg but ashes. What steps can we take to restore order? Can’t the Shieldsworn do something?”
“The Shieldsworn are stretched to their limit,” Kara said. Her brow was creased with a stern frown that hadn’t lifted for days. “We bore the brunt of the fighting against the Black Moon, and many of the harmach’s soldiers were killed or seriously wounded in the struggle to defend the town. The last thing we expected in the wake of the pirate raid was a full-scale revolt by the foreign laborers who have settled here in recent years. I’ve brought as many men in from the post-towers as I dare to, but until Seadrake returns with Geran’s soldiers, it’s all we can do to patrol the major thoroughfares of the town and try to keep the rioting contained in the neighborhoods east of the Winterspear.”
“Is there any news of Seadrake and Lord Geran’s pursuit of the Black Moon vessels that fled?” Theron Nimstar asked.
Kara shook her head. “None that I’ve heard, High Magistrate. We may not hear anything for many days yet.”
Rhovann chose to attack the opening Nimstar had unwittingly provided him. “So the harmach’s plan for quelling the unrest is to wait for Seadrake to return, which might be days, tendays, or never?” he asked Kara. “You have tried for days now to outwait the unrest, and it worsens every night. I think sterner measures are called for.”
“Then I need more soldiers.” Kara looked across the table to Marstel and the heads of the Merchant Council Houses behind him. “Your companies employ hundreds of sellswords. So far they’ve done nothing but guard your own storehouses and compounds. Place those armsmen under the harmach’s command for a few days, and I’ll check the Cinderfists, the Crimson Chains, and the rest of the foreign gangs. It won’t address their grievances in the long term, of course, but it should at least restore calm to the city.”
Marstel shifted in his seat. Rhovann carefully shaped the answer he intended, and willed it through the old lord’s lips. “No,” Marstel said clearly. “We will not place our guards under the harmach’s command. The time has come for the Merchant Council to take more direct action to bring an end to this chaos.”
“Direct action, Lord Marstel?” Kara asked, with a hint of suspicion in her voice. Rhovann could not really blame her for that. Marstel’s bold ideas were often stunning examples of braggadocio or folly.
“It is clear to the Merchant Council that the Tower no longer has the ability to meet this challenge,” Marstel answered. “Therefore the Merchant Council has resolved to assume responsibility for the governance, good order, and security of Hulburg. We have a list of specific demands that must be immediately enacted.”
Several of the council members started to protest, but Rhovann pushed Marstel ahead. Marstel rose to his feet and raised his voice, overriding everyone else at the table. “First, the illegal militia known as the Moonshields must be immediately banned. If we say that one gang of ruffians, vigilantes, and scofflaws is illegal in Hulburg, then all such gangs must be illegal. Since the Spearmeet is simply a thin justification for the Moonshields to meet and organize, the Spearmeet must be disarmed and disbanded as well. We can no longer accept so-called militias taking the law into their own hands!
“Second, the ill-considered ban on the Merchant Council’s employment of a Council Guard must be rescinded. The harmach refuses to safeguard our property and our rights in his domains. Very well; we intend to protect our substantial investments in Hulburg ourselves.
“Third, since the Merchant Council is obligated to see to our own security-at no small expense of our own-we renounce all existing concessions and leases with the Tower. Why should we pay the harmach ruinous royalties for no benefits other than the right to do business in Hulburg?” Marstel glowered fiercely at Grigor Hulmaster, seated above the head of the table. “If the harmach cannot protect our interests in Hulburg, we must do so ourselves.”
The chamber was still as a tomb when Marstel finished. Rhovann hid a small smile behind the ridiculous beard he wore in his guise as a Turmishan mage. Kara Hulmaster was so angry her eyes positively glowed with the tainted magic that marked her azure irises. Shieldsworn guards standing watch over the proceedings pressed their lips together tightly and glared at Marstel, well aware of how much of an insult the old buffoon had delivered to their lord.
“This is impossible!” snapped Wulreth Keltor. The old Keeper of Keys quivered with rage. “We all remember how the so-called Council Guard managed their affairs! And the concessions cannot be renegotiated!”
“I fail to see how disarming Hulburg’s law-abiding citizens and taking steps to enrich the merchant companies will help to restore order,” Deren Ilkur said. He frowned deeply behind his short, black beard. It was his task as Keeper of Duties to chair the council meetings and set the agenda, but it was clear that he couldn’t continue until the question of Marstel’s challenge had been dealt with.
For his own part, Harmach Grigor simply stared at Marstel for twenty long heartbeats, his face sagging in exhaustion. Finally Grigor gathered his strength and spoke. “And if we do not adopt these measures, Lord Marstel?” he asked in a weary voice. “What then?”
Rhovann glanced at Marstel and fixed his will on the old merchant lord. Marstel drew himself up with a pompous sniff. “Then the Merchant Council will take steps to enforce these measures ourselves. House Hulmaster has run this domain into ruin. We will not permit the Hulmasters to prevent us from saving ourselves.”
Kara Hulmaster leaped to her feet, unable to sit quietly any longer. “I have endured years of your stupidity in this chamber, Marstel, but this is intolerable! The freedom to speak your mind does not give you the authority to incite rebellion! You say that the Hulmasters have brought this town to ruin. Need I remind you that only five months ago the harmach and the Spearmeet defeated the Bloody Skull orcs not five miles from where we stand, saving your precious property-and your own worthless hide-in the process!”
“But is it not true that it was Hulburg’s appearance of weakness that invited the Bloody Skulls to attack in the first place? And the Black Moon as well?” Rhovann answered for Marstel. The mage had no idea if that was substantially true or not in the case of the orc tribe, but it was important to stake out the claim. “The Bloody Skull attack should have been sufficient warning that we can no longer afford the luxury of inaction and indecisiveness.”
More people started to speak, but Nimessa Sokol was first. “Master Ilkur, a moment ago you remarked that you did not see the relevance of the Merchant Council’s demands,” she said. “The relevance is this: If the harmach cannot restore order, the Merchant Council must. I have not been in Hulburg for very long, but my family has a substantial stake in the good governance of this realm. I wish to hear Harmach Grigor’s answer to the requirements laid before him.”
Anger flashed in the harmach’s eyes, but he kept his voice level and calm. “I will not ask the Spearmeet to disband or disarm,” he said. “Lord Marstel insists that the companies of the Merchant Council have a right to protect their lives and property. Well, so do the common citizens of Hulburg. And we saw five months ago, and again only a few nights past, the value of a large and well-armed militia.” He looked at Marstel and the merchant leaders behind him sternly. “Some allowances may be possible to meet your other concerns. But I will not give the Merchant Council the ability to enforce their own laws again. We have learned that there must be only one law in Hulburg.”