you believed him. The Lord of the Skraelings. No wonder Isaiah needs my advice. Perhaps he and DarkGlass Mountain are in league, eh? Perhaps they spy on you with those pyramids, yes?”
“No. Lister knows nothing about DarkGlass Mountain. Nothing. It does not speak to him.”
Oh, there was a question there begging to be asked, but Axis did not think Ba’al’uz was aware of his slip, and he thought it best not to alert the maniac.
“How did Isaiah and Lister come to ally?” Axis said smoothly, leading Ba’al’uz away from what he’d just revealed. “I cannot imagine they met in a tavern, or on a chance walk along the river bank.”
“Lister approached Isaiah two years ago,” said Ba’al’uz, his eyes narrowed, trying to work out how Axis had suddenly assumed the lead in the conversation. “A whispered word from a shadowed envoy. You were a king, you must know how these things work.”
Axis shrugged. “And then Lister sent the pyramids to you.”
“Yes,” Ba’al’uz said slowly, then added, a trifle hastily, “We don’t trust him, you know.”
“Good,” said Axis, “for I doubt very much he is to be trusted. Now, the sun grows hot, and I am somewhat wearied of the view of DarkGlass Mountain. Shall we go to Isaiah?”
Ba’al’uz nodded. Reluctantly, and with a final glance at DarkGlass Mountain, he led Axis towards Isaiah’s private apartments.
The palace of Aqhat was an amazing collection of buildings, spires, minarets, echoing audience and dining chambers, air walks, underground passages, hidden doors, soaring arches and windows, and, above all, of dazzling displays of wealth and power. Gold and jewels glittered on the walls and around the frames of doors and windows in every public chamber.
In stark contrast, Isaiah’s private chambers were almost bare. The walls were unadorned, the furnishings simple if comfortable, and the few accoutrements present subtle. Isaiah allowed few people in here: not even his many wives, for Axis had heard he kept a special chamber for entertaining them in the evenings.
Apart from Ba’al’uz, Axis had never seen anyone else in the quarters, not even servants. While here, Isaiah served himself.
Isaiah beckoned them to a group of chairs set by a window to catch a cooling breeze from the Lhyl.
“You will not be surprised to hear,” Isaiah said to Ba’al’uz as they sat down, “that Axis has agreed to advise me from time to time. I always think it best to have an independence of opinion about my decisions.”
“I am indeed not surprised,” Ba’al’uz said smoothly. “Axis SunSoar has a wealth of experience regarding the Skraelings. We would be wise to listen to him.”
“And thus he sits in on this conversation,” said Isaiah. “Ba’al’uz, I have talked to Lister, and he and I agree that you must go north within the week.”
Isaiah looked at Axis. “As you have realised,” Isaiah said, “Lord Lister and I mean to ally in an invasion of the north. Ba’al’uz is to go north for the next several months in order to, how shall I say this, sow the seeds for our success.”
“Create mayhem and confusion,” said Ba’al’uz, with a decidedly cheerful air. “A small conflict or two as well, should I be lucky.”
“You want to divide the Northern Kingdoms before you invade,” said Axis. “Set them at each other’s throats so they are less likely to notice you sneaking up at their backs, and far less able to respond well. Divide and conquer is surely the first maxim learned by all good tyrants.”
Isaiah looked hard at him at the last, but did not comment on it.
“On the other hand,” said Axis, “you will find the Northern Kingdoms with their forces already mobilised and battle-hardened. The ploy may work as much against you as for you. How good are their generals?”
“The Outlanders have some good leaders, but they are experienced only in inter-tribal warfare. I doubt they could manage a response to the kind of armies Lister and myself can command.”
No one can manage a good response to an invasion of Skraelings, thought Axis.
“Pelemere and Kyros have several good generals,” Isaiah continued.
“Who I intend to take care of,” said Ba’al’uz, studying the fingernails on one hand.
“And the kings and princes?” said Axis, regarding the other two over steepled fingers. “You need only one charismatic leader to take a hopelessly divided muddle of peoples and turn them into victors.”
“As you would know,” said Isaiah. “But there are none who strike me as any potential threat.” He paused. “Or is there someone you think I should know about … ?”
Axis thought about it. It wasn’t so much that he needed the time to think of a name, but to decide if he should mention it to Isaiah and Ba’al’uz.
“There’s a wildcard,” he said finally. “Maximilian Persimius, King of Escator.”
Ba’al’uz smiled derisively. “Escator is a tiny kingdom, and all but ruined. It can hardly raise enough policemen to keep market day traffic under control, let alone an army to repel forces such as Isaiah and Lister command between them.”
“I am not talking of forces,” said Axis. “I am talking of charismatic leaders.”
“You know this Maximilian?” said Isaiah.
Axis shook his head. “I have never met him, but my son Caelum did, and Maximilian was for some time considered a match for my close friend Belial’s daughter. He is highly, highly regarded. You know his story?”
“That he was imprisoned in Escator’s gloam mines for … what … fifteen or more years?” Isaiah said. “And that he was released on the endeavours of several youths and a cohort of ancient monks from what I can recall of the story. Maximilian has ever since been somewhat of a recluse. Axis, why mark him as a charismatic leader?”
“I think of him only as a possibility,” Axis said. “The man survived seventeen years under conditions that killed everyone else within six months. That says something for his character and tenacity. It tells me that he is, to put it simply, a survivor, and that he has depths that should not be lightly disregarded. He is also liked by all who meet him. Highly regarded, as I said. The man has something.”
“But not an army,” said Ba’al’uz. “And unlikely to raise one anywhere. He is also stuck far away on the west coast of the continent. He is no threat.”
Axis shrugged. “You asked, I told.”
Isaiah studied Axis a moment, then looked to Ba’al’uz. “When shall you leave?”
“Within a few days,” said Ba’al’uz. He smiled, all geniality and affability. “I do so like the idea of a vacation.”
When Ba’al’uz was gone, Axis turned to Isaiah and said, “That man is your brother?”
“He terrifies me more
