"You have dealt with risings before. You are used to them. We fear, Baron Meliadus, that you may be forsaking your King Emperor's interests in favor of personal interests…"
"My personal interests are your interests, Great King Emperor, your interests are my personal intereststhey are indivisible. Am I not the most loyal of your servants?"
"Perhaps you believe yourself to be so, Baron Meliadus…"
"What do you mean, Powerful Monarch?"
"We mean that your obsession with the German Hawkmoon and that handful of villains he has as friends could not necessarily be in our interest. They will not return-and if they should dare return, why, we can deal with them then. We fear that it is vengeance alone which motivates you and that you have rationalised your thirst for vengeance into a belief that the whole Dark Empire is threatened by those you would be avenged upon."
"No! No, Prince of All! I swear that is not so!"
"Let them stay where they are, Meliadus. Deal with them only if they reappear."
"Great King, they offer a potential threat to the Empire. There are other powers involved who support them-else where could they have obtained the machine which plucked them away when we were about to destroy them? I cannot offer positive evidence now -but if you would let me work with Taragorm to use his knowledge to discover the whereabouts of Hawkmoon and his company-then I will find that evidence and you will believe me!"
"We are dubious, Meliadus!" There was a grim note now in the melodious voice. "But if it does not interfere with the other duties at court we intend to give you, you may visit Lord Taragorm's palace and seek his assistance in your attempts to locate your enemies…"
"Our enemies, Prince of All…"
"We shall see, baron, we shall see."
"I thank you for your faith in me, Great Majesty. I will-"
"The audience is not ended, Baron Meliadus, for we have not yet told you of those duties we mentioned."
"I shall be honoured to perform them, noble sire."
"You spoke of our security being in peril from the Kamarg. Well, we believe that we may be threatened from other quarters. To be precise we are anxious that the East may promise us a fresh enemy that could be as powerful as the Dark Empire itself. Now, this could have something to do with your own suspicions concerning Hawkmoon and his supposed allies, for it is possible that we entertain representatives of those allies this day at our court…"
"Great King Emperor, if that be so…"
"Let us continue, Baron Meliadus!"
"I apologize, noble sire."
"Last night there appeared at the gates of Londra two strangers who claimed to be emissaries from the Empire of Asiacommunista. Their arrival was mysterious-indicating to us that they have methods of transport unknown to us, for they told us they had left their capital not two hours before. It is our opinion that they have come here, as we would visit others in whose territories we were interested, to spy out our strength.
We, in turn, must try to gauge their power, for the time must come, even if it is not soon, when we shall be in conflict with them. Doubtless our conquests in the Near and Middle East have become known to them and they are nervous. We must discover all we can about them, try to convince them that we mean them no harm, try to persuade them to let us return emissaries to their domain. Should that prove possible, we should want you, Meliadus, to be one of those emissaries, for you have greater experience of such diplomacy than any other among our servants."
"This is disturbing news, Great Emperor."
"Aye, but we must take what advantage we can from the events. You will be their guide, treat them courteously, try to draw them out, make them expand upon the extent of their power and the size of their territories, the number of warriors their monarch commands, the power of their weaponry and the capabilities of their transports. This visit, Baron Meliadus, offers,. as you can see, a much more important potential threat than any which may come from the vanished castle of Count Brass."
"Perhaps, noble sire…"
"No-certainly, Baron Meliadus!" The prehensible tongue flickered from the wrinkled mouth. "That is to be your most important task. If you have any time to spare, that can be devoted to your vendetta against Dorian Hawkmoon and the rest."
"But, Mighty King Emperor…"
"Bide our instructions well, Meliadus. Do not disappoint us." The tone was one of menace. The tongue touched the tiny jewel that floated near the head and the globe began to dull until it had the appearance of a solid, black sphere.
Chapter Seven
THE EMISSARIES
BARON MELIADUS COULD still not rid himself of the feeling that his King Emperor had lost trust in him, that King Huon was deliberately finding means of curtailing his own schemes regarding the inhabitants of Castle Brass. True the king had made a convincing case for Meliadus's need to involve himself with the strange emissaries from Asiacommunista, had even flattered him by hinting that only Meliadus could deal with the problem, and would have the opportunity, later, of becoming not only the First Warrior of Europe, but also Paramount Warlord of Asiacommunista. But Meliadus's interest in Asiacommunista was not as great as his interest in Castle Brass-for he felt that there was evidence for believing Castle Brass to be a considerable threat to the Dark Empire, whereas his monarch had no evidence to suppose that Asiacommunista threatened them.
Clad in his finest mask and most sumptuous garments, Meliadus made his way through the shining corridors of the palace towards the hall where the previous day he had sought out his brother-in-law Taragorm.
Now the hall was to be used for another reception-to welcome, with due ceremony, the visitors from the east.
As the King Emperor's deputy, Baron Meliadus should have considered himself fully honoured, for it gave him prestige second only to King Huon's; but even this knowledge did not entirely ease his vengeful mind.
He entered the hall to the sound of fanfares from the galleries that ran around the walls. All the noblest of Granbretan were assembled here, their finery splendid and dazzling. The emissaries from Asiacommunista had not yet been announced. Baron Meliadus walked to the dais on which were placed three golden thrones, mounted the steps and seated himself on the throne in the middle. The sea of nobles bowed before him and the hall was silent in anticipation. Meliadus himself had not yet met the emissaries. Captain Viel Phong of the Order of the Mantis had been their escort up to now.
Meliadus looked about the hall, noting the presence of Taragorm, of Flana, Countess of Kanbery, of Adaz Promp and Mygel Hoist, of Jerek Nankenseen and Brenal Farnu. He was puzzled for a moment, wondering what was wrong. Then he realised that of all the great warrior nobles, only Shenegar Trott was missing.
He remembered that the fat count had spoken of a mission. Had he left to fulfill it already? Why had not he, Meliadus, been informed of Trott's expedition?
Were they keeping secrets from him? Had he truly lost the trust of his King Emperor? His brain in turmoil, Meliadus turned as the fanfares sounded again and the doors of the hall opened to admit two incredibly garbed figures.
Automatically Meliadus rose to greet them, astonished at the sight of them, for they were barbaric and grotesque-giants of over seven feet high, walking stiffly like automatons. Were they, indeed, human? he wondered. It had not occurred to him that they would not be. Were these some monstrous creation of the Tragic Millenium? Were the folk of Asiacommunista not men at all?
Like the people of Granbretan, they wore masks (he assumed those constructions on their shoulders were masks) so that it was impossible to tell if human faces were within them. They were tall things, roughly oblong in shape, of brightly painted leather in blues, greens, yellows and reds, swirling patterns on which had been painted devil features-glaring eyes and teeth-filled mouths. Bulky fur cloaks hung to the ground and their clothes were leather, painted to travesty human limbs and organs, reminding Meliadus of the coloured sketches he had once seen in a medical text.