"Kiin, you old bear,' one of the men called from the dining room. He was a stately man with graying lines of silver hair who wore a sharp martial uniform. "Are you going to feed us or not? Domi knows I only came because I heard you were going to fix some of your roast ketathum."
"The pig is turning as we speak, Eondel." Kiin called back. "And I made sure to prepare a double portion for you. Keep your stomach in check for a little while longer."
The man laughed heartily, patting his belly-which, as far as Sarene could tell, was as flat and hard as that of a man many years younger. "Who is he?" she asked.
"The Count of Eon Plantation," Kiin said. "Lukel, go check on the pork while your cousin and I gossip about our guests."
"Yes, Father," Lukel said, accepting the poker and moving to the firepit room at the back of the kitchen.
"Eondel is the only man besides Raoden that I've ever seen openly oppose the king and get away with it." Kiin explained. "He's a military genius, and owns a small personal army. There are only a couple hundred men in it, bur they're extremely well trained."
Next Kiin pointed through the slightly open door toward a man with dark brown skin and delicate features. "Thar man beside Eondel is Baron Shuden." "Jindoeese?" Sarene asked.
Her uncle nodded. "His family took up residence in Arelon about a century ago, and they've amassed a fortune directing the Jindoeese trade routes through
the country. When Iadon came to power, he offered them a barony to keep their caravans running. Shuden's father passed away about five years ago, and the son is much more
traditional than the father ever was. He thinks Iadon's method of rule contradicts the heart of Shu-Keseg, which is why he's willing to meet with us.
Sarene tapped her cheek in thought, studying Shuden. 'If his heart is as Jindoeese as his skin. Uncle. then he could be a powerful ally indeed."
"That's what your husband thought," Kiin said.
Sarene pursed her lips. "Why do you keep referring to Raoden as 'your husband'? I know I'm married. No need to keep pointing it out."
"You know it," Kiin said in his deep-throated rasp, "but you don't believe it yet."
Either Kiin didn't see the question in her face. or he simply ignored it, for he continued with his explanations as if he hadn't just made an infuriatingly unfair judgment.
'Beside Shuden is the Duke Roial of Ial Plantation," Kiin said, nodding to the oldest man in the room. 'His holdings include the port of Iald-a city that is second only to Kae in wealth. He's the most powerful man in the room, and probably the wisest as well. He's been loath to take action against the king, however. Roial and Iadon have been friends since before the Reod."
Sarene raised an eyebrow. "Why does he come, then?"
— Roial is a good man," Kiin explained. "Friendship or not. he knows that Iadon's rule has been horrible for this nation. That, and I suspect he also comes because of boredom."
"He engages in traitorous conferences simply because he's bored?" Sarene asked incredulously.
Her uncle shrugged. "When you've been around as long as Roial, you have trouble finding things to keep you interested. Politics is so ingrained in the duke that he probably can't sleep at night unless he's involved in at least five different wild schemes-he was governor of Iaid before the Reod, and was the only Elantris-appointed official to remain in power after the uprising. He's fabulously wealthy-the only way Iadon keeps ahead is by including national tax revenues in his own earnings."
Sarene studied the duke as the group of men laughed at one of Roial's comments. He seemed different from other elderly statesmen she had met: Roial was boisterous instead of reserved. almost more mischievous than distinguished. Despite the duke's diminutive frame, he dominated the conversation. his thin locks of powder-white hair bouncing as he laughed. One man, however. didn't seem captivated by the duke's company.
"Who is that sitting next to Duke Roial?"
"The portly man?"
"Portly?" Sarene said with a raised eyebrow. The man was so overweight his stomach bulged over the sides of his chair.
"That's how we fat men describe one another," Kiin said with a smile.
"But Uncle," Sarene said with a sweet grin. "You're not fat. You're… robust."
Kiin laughed a scratchy-throated chuckle. "All right, then. The 'robust' gentleman next to Roial is Count Ahan. You wouldn't know it by watching them, but he and the duke are very good friends. Either that or they're very old enemies. I can never remember which it is."
"There's a bit of a distinction there, Uncle," Sarene pointed out.
"Not really. The two of them have been squabbIing and sparring for so Iong that neither one would know what to do without the other. You should have seen their faces when they realized they were both on the same side of this particular argument-Raoden laughed for days after that first meeting. Apparently, he'd gone to them each separately and gained their support, and they both came to that first meeting with the belief they were outdoing the other."
"So why do they keep coming?"
"Well, they both seem to agree with our point of view-not to mention the fact that they really do enjoy one another's company. That or they just want to keep an eye on each other." Kiin shrugged. "Either way they help us, so we don't complain."
"And the last man?" Sarene asked. studying the table's final occupant. He was lean, with a balding head and a pair of very fidgety eyes. The others didn't let nervousness show; they laughed and spoke together as if they were meeting to discuss bird-watching rather than treason. This last man, however, wiggled in his seat uncomfortably, his eyes in constant motion-as if he were trying to determine the easiest way to escape.
"Edan," Kiin said, his lips turning downward. "Baron of Tii Plantation to the south. I've never liked him, but he's probably one of our strongest supporters." "Why is he so nervous?"
"Iadon's system of government lends itself well to greed-the better a noble does financially, the more likely he is to be granted a better title. So, the minor nobles squabble like children, each one trying to find new ways to milk their subjects and increase their holdings.
"The system also encourages financial gambling. Edan's fortune was never very impressive-his holdings border the Chasm, and the lands nearby just aren't very fertile. In an attempt to gain a bit more status. Edan made some risky investments-but lost them. Now he doesn't have the wealth to back his nobility."
"He might lose his title?"
"Not 'might'-he's going to lose it as soon as the next tax period comes around and Iadon realizes just how poor the baron's become. Edan has about three months to either discover a gold mine in his backyard or overthrow Iadon's
system of allocating noble titles." Kiin scratched his face. as if looking for whiskers to pulI in thought. Sarene smiled-ten years might have passed since the burly man's face had held a beard, but old habits were more diffieult to shave away.
"Edan is desperate," Kiin continued, "and desperate people do things completely out of character. I don't trust him, but of all the men in that room, he's probably the most anxious for us to succeed."
"Which wouId mean?" Sarene asked. "What exactly do these men expect to accomplish?"
Kiin shrugged. "They'll do about anything to get rid of this silly system that requires them to prove their wealth. Noblemen will be nobleman. 'Ene-they're worried about maintaining their place in society."
Further discussion was halted as a voice called from the dining room. "Kiin," Duke Roial noted pointedly. "we could have raised our own hogs and had them slaughtered in the rime this is taking you.'
"Good meals take time, Roial," Kiin huffed, sticking his head out the kitchen door. "If you think you can do better, you're welcome to come cook your own."