He neared the imperial residence and noticed a great dome inscribed with glowing characters. The huge gazebo-like structure was the exhibition site for traitors. The merman wondered who suffered there now?
He swam below the roof, nodding to the guards who observed him as he neared the dead. Several corpses floated in anchored nets, their bodies in pieces as cleaner fish and crabs slowly snipped off small bits of rotting meat. Unidentifiable parts of several different species were in some nets.
"Imperial justice, as swift and careful as always," he muttered as he swam to the wax placard inscribed with symbols. A guard, stationed to tell the illiterate what the sign said, relaxed as the ambassador looked over the words.
"CONDEMNED BE ALL TRAITORS WHO WOULD KILL THE EMPEROR ON HIS THRONE. THOSE WHO WOULD SERVE OTHER MASTERS ARE ETERNALLY DEVOURED HERE AND IN THE ABYSMAL DEPTHS."
"Guard," the aristocrat inquired in a bored tone. "What happened to bring these traitors here?"
Laquatus had left the seacoast having heard just that a message had arrived for him. Fearing that the coastal mission might have orders to arrest him, he continued to the capital, hoping he still might intercept Captain Satas.
He and his champion had swum through the caverns in pursuit, leaving all behind but a single guide for fear of the soldiers' loyalty to their captain. The ambassador wanted nothing to prevent the appropriate action, should they catch the tresias. They had swum without rest through the arteries of the continent. But Satas could travel the more direct paths, while Laquatus and especially the massive Turg made costly detours. They missed the good captain by days when they reached the coast.
The frog kidnapped a servant whom the merman interrogated before releasing with false memories of what occurred. The ambassador knew that he was recalled, not the reason for it. He and his jack left immediately for the capital. Only the knowledge that doom might await him tempered Laqua-tus's joy to be free of dry land. Now he hoped to hear what news might influence his return.
"These and other traitors appeared in the palace through a transport pool and reached the throne room," the guard related in a voice grown bored with repetition. "The emperor himself beat the attack off. The army still looks for traitors who may have escaped."
Laquatus nodded in thanks and continued on his way. An assault on the emperor might provide opportunities to explain his actions. He could explain fear of enemies intercepting his reports led to his silence regarding the orb. The palace grew closer, and he noted the observers peering from houses along the way.
The homes of nobles were closed up, few signs of the inhabitants visible. Years before the emperor and his wife had split, the cast-off empress had styled herself as queen in her own right. Many nobles, outraged by the emperor's arrogant and arbitrary manner, retired to the southern court. Aboshan became convinced that conspiracies must be in motion against him.
Laquatus had connections in both courts, and while no evidence existed against him, his exile to dry land soon followed the rift. Though the ambassador had no affection for the emperor, he had even less for his estranged wife. Llawan had become a champion of the displaced in Aboshan's rise to power. Laquatus had little use for those without the will or wiles to preserve their position.
His own exile he viewed as a purely temporary state. In addition, the queen opened dialogues with the air breathing races of the sea and the denizens of the deep ocean. Such species had their place, but it was subservient to the mer races and the upper ocean.
The ambassador swam directly to the palace, confident that his reception would be good. He concealed his fear. Revelation of any doubt might doom him if reported to the emperor. The guard recognized him and ushered him through the gates immediately. Laquatus was escorted through the entry halls, amazed at the high number of guards. He reasoned it merely a reaction to the earlier attacks. The interior of the palace hummed as counterspells resonated with the building's very fabric.
Laquatus was no longer as hopeful of his reception. He reminded himself that no mere amphibian could bring him down, Captain Satas be damned. The doorman failed to announce him, and briefly the ambassador wondered if an execution squad waited inside.
The emperor reclined in the nearly empty room with only a few courtiers present. Turg picked up the ambassador's nervousness and began to glower. His master sent him reeling back under a mental barrage. Though the mer ruler appeared unprotected, the hidden guardians were well known to those familiar with the court.
"Laquatus," Aboshan cried, rising and swimming closer. "How good to see you." The monarch had his trident in hand, and the ambassador decided boldness was in order.
"I am pleased and grateful to be here," Laquatus said and tried to appear concerned. "I was relieved to hear that you survived the attack."
"What do you know?" the emperor growled, raising the trident.
The ambassador reminded himself of the hidden guardians and the ruler's known powers.
"Only what I have heard on my way to the capital," Laquatus exclaimed, lowering his head in supplication. "I saw the bodies of the traitors and came immediately to see that you were well. I ask only how I may serve."
"They invaded our court through those very gates," Aboshan said angrily, pointing his trident. The walls seemed to move slightly as guardians almost revealed themselves at the violent gesture. "We were alone, our guards laid low by poison."
The ambassador nodded without fear, finding it unlikely that the monarch would kill his audience.
"We directed the waters to sweep our enemies away," the ruler said, his eyes lost in a refined memory. "Our guards finally came in, but a half-dozen of the scum still swam for us. We killed them in close combat despite receiving grievous wounds. We questioned the only survivor, but he took his own life before we could force the queen's involvement from him."
Laquatus nodded, sure that the enemies would become an even dozen before an official account of the event was set down. Perhaps they would be immortalized in a living mural on the palace walls.
"That brings us to you," Aboshan said with a pointed smile. "You have relationships with the queen's court. You might provide us invaluable service in proving her complicity." He swam back toward the throne, the ambassador following.
"I fear that my former acquaintances will not be forthcoming, sire," Laquatus said, careful to stay well away from the emperor's seat. "My banishment to the continent may have convinced them that 1 am no longer in your confidence or a position of power." A little of the bitterness at his exile leaked through despite the merman's best efforts to hide it.
"Easily remedied," Aboshan assured him. "We will give very public signs of our favor, concurring upon you suitable awards and titles."
"Then I fear those in the queen's court will question my motives," Laquatus replied, drifting in front of his sovereign with his head bent in humility.
"Tell them that your long sojourn on land has made you more amenable to the southern court," Aboshan said as he reclined in the stinging tentacles. "We are confident in your abilities at deception."
Laquatus could only humbly nod.
The great windbag, the ambassador thought, looking back on the interview. The emperor recited hours of conspiracy theory, searching for enemies everywhere. He called in secret informers who gave the most banal reports, which Aboshan tried to turn into damning indictments. Only the emperor's precarious hold on reality prevented him from unleashing pogroms.
The monarch acted at once to rebuild Laquatus's political stature, awarding him with a gold medallion and the appellation, Friend of the Emperor. The bauble was too heavy, and the friendship would last until Aboshan thought him conspiring with others or of no more use. Finally, the ambassador was able to reclaim his jack and pursue his true mission – locating Satas and the prize.