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The commanders of the First and Second used that same week to formally present, purely coincidence of course, their new wage demands and to casually remind him of past promises of land for the mercenariesStarting, it was suggested delicately, with their commanders
He’d wanted to order the two of them throttledHe’d wanted to fry their greedy, wine-sodden brains with a blast of his own magicBut he couldn’t afford to do it; added to which, exercising his powers was still a process of some real strain so soon after the encounter in the woods that had nearly killed him
The encounter that no one in this peninsula even believed had taken place
What he had done was smile at the two commanders and confide that he had already marked off in his mind a significant portion of the newly claimed Nievolene lands for one of themSiferval, he said, more in sorrow than in anger, had been put out of the balenciaga motorcycle handbags running by the conduct of his own men, but these two well, it would be a hard choiceHe would be watching them closely over the next while and would announce his decision in due course
How long a while, exactly, had pursued Karalius of the First
Truly, he could have killed the man even as he stood there, helmet under his arm, eyes hypocritically lowered in a show of deferenceOh, spring, perhaps, he’d said airily, as if such matters should not be of great moment to men of good will
Sooner would be better, had said Grancial of the Second, softly
Alberico had chosen to let his eyes show just a little of what he felt
Sooner would let whichever of us you choose have time to see to the proper handling of the land before spring planting, Grancial explained hastilyA little ruffled, as he should be
Perhaps it is so, Alberico had said, noncommittallyI will give thought to this
“By the way,” he added, as cartier tank louis they reached the door”Karalius, would you be good enough to send me that very competent young captain of yours? The one with the forked black beardI have a special, confidential task that needs a man of his evident qualities Karalius had blinked, and nodded
It was important, very important, not to let them grow too confident, he reflected after they had gone and he’d managed to calm himselfAt the same time, only a genuine fool antagonized his troopsThe more so, if he had ultimate plans to lead them homeBy invitation of the Emperor, preferably, but not necessarilyNot, to be sure, necessarily
On further reflection, triggered by that line of thought, he did raise taxes in Tregea, Certando, and Ferraut to match the new levels in AstibarHe also sent a courier to Siferval of the Third in the Certandan highlands, praising his recent work in keeping that province quiet
You lashed them, then enticed mulberry leather bag themYou made them fear you, and know that their fortunes could be made if you liked them enoughIt was all a matter of balance
Unfortunately, small things continued to go wrong with the balancing of the Eastern Palm as autumn turned into winter in the unusually cold weeks that followed
Some cursed poet in Astibar chose that dank and rainy season to begin posting a series of elegies to the dead Duke of AstibarThe Duke had died in exile, the head of a scheming family, most of whom had been executed by thenVerses lauding him were manifestly treasonous
It was difficult thoughEvery single writer brought in during the first sweep of the khav rooms denied authorship, and then, with time to prepare, every writer in the second sweep claimed to have written the verses
Some advisers suggested peremptory wheels for the lot of them, but Alberico had been giving thought to a larger issueTo the marked chanel jumbo flap difference between his court and the Ygrathen’sOn Chiara, the poets vied for access to Brandin, quivering like puppies at the slightest word of praise from himThey wrote paeans of exaltation to the Tyrant and obscene, scathing attacks on Alberico at requestHere, every writer in the Eastern Palm seemed to be a potential rabble-rouserAn enemy of the state
Alberico swallowed his anger, lauded the technical skill of the verses, and let both sets of poets go freeNot before suggesting, however, as benignly as he could manage, that he would enjoy reading verses as well-crafted on one of the many possible themes of rich satiric possibility having to do with Brandin of YgrathHe had managed a smileHe would be very pleased to read such verses, he’d said, wondering if one of these cursed writers with their lofty airs could take a hintInstead, a new poem appeared on walls all over the city two mornings tiffany jewelry canada la