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.Cale did not bother ro read the rest."She is lying!" Tamlin sputtered."Lying!"Abelar nodded."It is all a lie.My father did not murder the Overmaster, yet Mirabera has condemned him to the Hole of Yhaunn." Uncomfortable glances passed between the men from Saerb at that news.Abelat continued, "Selgaunt and Saerb did not attack the Saerloonians, yet we are named traitors to the nation.The truth no longer marters.The people and rhe nobility believe the lie because they prefer where it leads.Mirabeta has made you, and Saerb, the enemy that she will use to secure her rule.""I will not have it," Tamlin said, shaking his head."Sembia will not have it.""It is already done, my lord," Abelar said."Most of the nobility in the realm are behind her.Only Daerlun stands neutral, but that's only because it contemplates secession to Cormyr.Mirabera has won the rest with promises, fear, and false patriotism.Already she has sounded a muster in Ordulin and Saerloon, and troops from all over Sembia are gathering.Come spring, Selgaunt and Saerb will be assaulted by het two armies.You have two options.You can accept her lies and go meekly to the gallows or you can fight.Thete is no other way.""Fight?" Tamlin said."Fight other Sembians?""Civil war, my lord," Abelar said, nodding."It is already upon us though the armies have not yet met."Tamlin was flushed, sweating.The combat and the news from the capital left him foundering."I need time to think," Tamlin said, rubbing his temples."This is.unbelievable."Cale stepped to Tamlin's side, prepared to steady him by his presence if not his arm."Where are you camped, Abelar?"Abelar regarded Cale coolly."Not far from here." He turned to his men."Regg, have the men assist the Selgauntans in gathering their dead.Then we ride for the camp."The Selgauntans, aided by the Saerbians, set about collecting their fallen.Afterward, the entire force rode south for the Saerbian camp.Tamlin, Cale, and Abelar trailed the main body."You spoke of civil war, yet you ride far east of your home to rescue us?" Cale said to Abelar.Abelar looked at Tamlin as he answered."I needed to ensure the safety and loyalty of the leader of my only sure ally.I have done the former.I hope I have done the latter?"Tamlin nodded absently.Abelar glanced at Cale, then back to Tamlin."You keep unusual company, Lord Uskevren," he said.Tamlin took his point."Mister Cale is a trusted advisor and.priest.""Oh ?" Abelar said, eyebrows raised."Whom do you serve, Erevis Cale?""Yes, whom do you serve, Mister Cale?" Tamlin asked.Cale came within a blade's width of punching Tamlin in the face.Had Tamlin not been Thamalon's son, had Cale not figured Magadon's fate to be tied up in Sembia's, he would have left Tamlin to his own counsel then and there.He looked Tamlin in the eyes, then Abelar.He took the mask from his pocket and held it up for both of them to see."I serve Mask the Shadowlord.I have for over two years." Tamlin looked shocked.Abelar frowned.Cale glared first at Tamlin then at Abelar."I can read your face, Corrinthal.Say what you would."Tamlin, perhaps thinking better of his verbal ambush, said, "Mister Cale has proven his worth to my father and to me countless times, Abelar.His loyalty is beyond question, irrespective of the god he serves."Abelar held Cale's gaze throughout Tamlin's defense.Cale credited him for not faltering.If nothing else, he recognized Abelar as a man he could respect.Abelar said, "I judge men by their deeds, Cale.Not their gods and not their blood." He looked at Cale's skin as if he could see Cale was not a mere man."But Lathander has empowered me to look in men's souls, and there is darkness in you.It is apparent to anyone who can see."Cale knew the words to be true but was too angty to acknowledge them aloud."There is a darkness in every man, Corrinthal," he answered."And I, too, judge men by their deeds.That holy symbol you wear carries no weight with me."They stared at each other a moment longer.Finally Abelar nodded."Well enough," he said."Well enough," Cale answered.When they arrived at the Saerbian camp, Tamlin, Cale, and Abelar took counsel in private around rhe fire, amidst the Saerbian tents.The house guards and Saerbians assigned men to a watch and the rest prepared for sleep.Tamlin looked from Cale to Abelar.The firelight highlighted the circles under his eyes."If we fight." he eyed Abelar, ".and I say 'if,' because even if I agree with your course, I do not have plenary authority to send Selgaunt to war.The Old Chauncel must ratify any such decision."Abelar said "They will fight.An army will arrive at your walls.They will fight or die."Tamlin sighed, continued."Who else can we count on as an ally?"Abelar leaned back and shook his head."No one.The nobles have either sided with Ordulin or are trying to stay neutral until the storm blows over."Cale found Abelar's choice of words ominous.Abelar continued."Even the nobles in and around Saerb have lost their nerve.My father could rally them, but he is in the Hole of Yhaunn—-and I am not him." He looked at Tamlin steadily."I have two hundred and eleven men in this company.Another two hundred, perhaps three, wouldrally to me back in Saerb.That, combined with your forces, is all that stands against Mirabeta."Tamlin shook his head."You have four hundred men? Five hundred at best? Mirabeta will have thousands.I can muster perhaps two thousand men, not many more, assuming all the Old Chauncel agree that war is the only course.""It is the only course," Abelar affirmed, and Cale found himself in agreement."How do we know that?" Tamlin asked, still grasping [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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