The general’s eyes narrowed as he glared at Shel. The mayor saw the coming confrontation and swiftly intervened.
“Wait outside, Shel,” ordered Mayor Robit. “I need to speak to the general in private. Do not leave this building. I have questions for you before you will be allowed to leave.”
“As do I,” snapped the general as Shel quietly exited the room.
The general closed the door after Shel left. He returned to stand in front of the mayor’s desk.
“Allowing such attitudes in the citizenry is not healthy,” the general warned Mayor Robit.
“Shel is known to just about every citizen in Gatong,” shrugged the mayor. “She is often outspoken, but she is easily mollified. To stifle her speech would be to invite trouble. Forget about her. What do you plan to do with the Star of Sakova?”
“I am not sure,” answered the general. “She is a prize indeed, but I must be careful. My first instinct is to transport her to Okata and present her to the Katana personally, but there are potential pitfalls in that plan.”
“Pitfalls?” echoed the mayor. “What could possibly go wrong?”
“I want the credit for capturing her,” explained General Papper. “I need the recognition if I am to rejuvenate my career. If Didyk, or any of the other generals, learn that I am bringing her to the Katana, I suspect that they would seize her and claim the credit themselves.”
“What other options are there?” asked Mayor Robit. “I doubt that you could entice the Katana to come to Gatong during a state of war.”
“That would never happen,” agreed the general. “I could execute her here in Gatong and deliver the body to the Katana. That way her capture and execution would be a matter of public record. Didyk would have no chance of stealing the limelight.”
“That would work,” frowned the mayor, “but I sense that you are not entirely happy with that choice. What are the negatives?”
“She is the leader of the Sakovans,” declared the general. “As a military man I know that her mind holds a wealth of strategic information that could potentially shorten the war. She must be interrogated.”
“So you question her before you execute her,” shrugged Mayor Robit. “I do not see the problem.”
“I could attempt to get the knowledge out of her,” conceded the general, “but they have more persuasive ways of extracting information in Okata. They can use magic to force her to divulge everything. I do not quite understand the methods that they use, but they are extremely effective. This is something that I must dwell upon. The wrong step at this point will ruin my career, but the right move may well vault me onto the Katana’s Council. I will be in my office. Do not disturb me unless the matter is crucial.”
“Inform me of your decision before you do anything,” replied the mayor. “My help in this matter may improve your position.”
General Papper nodded and strode out of the room. He left the door open and Shel peeked her head into the doorway.
“Come in, Shel,” waved the mayor. “I will keep this brief.”
Shel shuffled into the room and stood nervously before the mayor’s desk. She had seen the look on the general’s face as he left, and she did not care for it. She was apprehensive about the forthcoming questions from the mayor.
“You came close to being imprisoned,” declared the mayor. “General Papper is not one to toy with. I would advise you not to mention this episode to anyone. Is there anyone else in Gatong who knows that the Star of Sakova is in the city?”
Shel breathed a sigh of relief at the tone of the mayor’s voice. Even as she felt her apprehension diminishing, her anger began to surface.
“She came her in peace,” declared Shel. “You did not even let her talk before you attacked her.”
“I did nothing,” replied the mayor. “The general recognized her as the enemy and had her arrested. I see no fault in his actions. Does anyone else know that she is in Gatong?”
“I don’t know,” admitted Shel. “I found her in the marketplace crying. I took her to my home to feed her, but it was not her hunger that was disturbing her. It was our hunger that made her cry.”
“I don’t care about her crying,” scowled the mayor. “I need to know if anyone else realizes that she is here.”
“There are others who know she is here,” answered Shel as she recalled the magical conversation Lyra had with the ship at sea. “I do not know of any other citizens of Gatong that know that she is here, but a ship will soon dock in the port. Someone on that ship knows where she is.”
“A ship?” frowned the mayor. “Is it coming to attack us? How do you know this?”
“It is not coming to attack us,” replied Shel. “It is coming to deliver food. It should be here soon.”
“Food?” echoed the mayor as he swiftly rose from his chair. “How much food?”
“Enough to feed the city for several days,” answered Shel.
The mayor raced around his desk and into the corridor. Shel raced after him. Mayor Robit ran through the entry foyer calling for soldiers to follow him. He dashed out the door of the building before Shel could catch up.
Shel moved as quickly as she could, but the mayor continually called for more troops as he ran towards the docks. A large contingent of Imperial Guards followed the mayor and Shel had to slow down as they pushed past her. By the time she reached the docks, she saw that a new ship was already tied up. The pier was crowded with Imperial Guards, and Mayor Robit stood alongside the ship. Shel pushed her way through the gathering crowd until she was close enough to hear what was going on.
Mayor Robit shouted for the captain of the ship to come forward. Shel watched as the captain left the helm and moved towards the mayor. The captain wore a black uniform with a silver lining and the image of sinuous sword on his large belt.
“I understand that you have food onboard,” declared the mayor. “I want to supervise the unloading so that riots do not break out.”
A woman who had been standing on the deck and scanning the faces in the crowd stepped close to the captain and whispered in his ear. The captain nodded.
“This shipment of food is consigned to an individual,” the captain stated warily as he searched the crowd for Lyra. “I must wait for her to arrive before the food can be unloaded. I am sure that the delay will be short.”
The mayor frowned and gazed at the standard flown from the mast. The black flag with a silver sinuous sword on it was unknown to him, but he understood that the captain was expecting to meet the Star of Sakova. The people on the quay were beginning to rejoice that a shipment of food had arrived, and Mayor Robit knew that any delay could well end with riots breaking out. He thought briefly of sending for General Papper, but quickly dismissed the thought. The crowd would not wait for long. He turned and whispered in the ear of the nearest Imperial Guard.
The mayor waited impatiently as the Imperial Guard spread the word. When he was sure that the soldiers were ready. He turned to face the captain again. He raised his right arm high over his head as he did so.
“I am Mayor Robit of Gatong,” declared the mayor as the Imperial Guards raised their bows and trained them on the crew. “I am exercising my authority to seize this ship. You and your crew will kindly leave the ship now. If you do not move quickly, you will be shot.”
Not a single member of the crew moved.
“Am I under arrest then?” snarled the captain. “Are we to be imprisoned for bringing food to this city?”
“You are all under arrest,” replied the mayor. “Evacuate the ship immediately or die.”
The captain gazed past the mayor at the Imperial Guards. Several dozen arrows were aimed at him and his crew. He slowly raised one hand, his fingers contorting in a signal to his crew. Slowly the crewmembers dropped whatever they were holding and began marching off the ship. The crowd on the quay instantly parted as Imperial Guards began escorting the crewmembers off the pier. The captain stood firm until all of the crew had left the ship. He waited until the mage had also left before glaring at the mayor.