When he reached the Iron Palace, Aralim told one of the guarding Aura that he would like to talk to Soot. He followed the Aura until the steps up to the front of the Palace, but then waited. The Aura delivered a note to the Second Court, which was mid-session. Instead of interrupting their business, Aralim awaited a discreet reply. The Aura brought another note in response to Aralim’s first. Soot had written with a small wedge of charcoal: “We can meet after Court adjourns.”
That gave Aralim half a day to find something else to do. He decided to sit in on the Third Court as Lyo had recently invited him. He got waves from a dozen familiar faces; both Hayan and Lyo grinned and called welcome to him. Then the Selected got back to it, reviewing a complaint filed by a business against another storekeeper who had stooped to slander. Aralim looked around as the hours passed; there were several new faces. There was always a competitive shuffle on the Third Court—and Aralim knew at least one face was missing because the gang had laid it to rest.
The most interesting request that day was from a family—a mother and three children—seeking financial aid in light of a slain husband. The husband had died as collateral damage in one such attack late last year. To Aralim’s surprise, two Selected offered to give the widow funding for a year. Hayan leaned over and told Aralim that several Selected did this in order to build or improve their reputations amongst the townspeople. Aralim frowned for that was certainly not indicative of progress on the Path.
Later, Aralim climbed the steps to the front of the Palace. The line of citizens that had been sent to speak with the Second Court after seeing the Selected had dispersed and the Councillors of the Second Court were speaking in clusters or walking away from their seats. Raug’za had Lerela in tow—both offered kind words of greeting as they passed Aralim. Even Nera Ryiar smiled to him as she passed.
Soot was chatting with Igrahm until he saw Aralim. He then quickly excused himself from the conversation, grabbed a folder of notes from the day, and approached. “Glad to see you again, Ambassador. We can speak over there, if it’s privacy you seek.”
“By all means,” Aralim said.
Councillor Soot led the way past two of the iron columns, perpendicular to the staircase. The politician had dark brown hair trimmed short on all sides and a small moustache, equally well-kept. They stood near the one-storey ledge at the side of the Palace’s rectangular shape; from here, Aralim could see over the courtyard in front of the Palace and hear the hubbub of bartering, conversation, and announcements that went on, even as the Court day concluded.
“How can I help you today?” Soot asked, over the murmur of other voices.
“Well—do you want to tell me why you were attacked?” Aralim asked. He did not feel like playing the usual word games. “Or do I need to ask the right questions?”
Soot chuckled. “I knew I’d enjoy talking to you,” he said. “Let’s see. I suspect there will be further attacks against politicians, but you’re right—they may have targeted me for personal reasons. For starters, I am in charge of a group that seeks to overthrow the Emperor.”
Aralim blinked. He glanced into the shadows of the Iron Palace to see members of the Aura lurking there. Nothing said on the Palace grounds escaped their immortal ruler’s hearing. He looked back to Soot, but the Councillor continued unbothered.
“The obvious questions arise: wouldn’t we make better allies than enemies? Does the stealthy gang not want the Emperor usurped? All valid concerns,” Soot said. “The reason that Rema’s enemies have tried to kill me is likely because of what I know. Strangely, despite their skill at disguise and secrecy, this group has failed to learn that I have already told the government everything. I had the conversation that started these attacks in our streets—but they are not my doing.”
Aralim’s eyebrows raised even higher. Wella had been right to say that Soot spoke directly and unabashedly. “It is odd that a group would attack both guards and someone who wishes to overthrow the Emperor…. What was this conversation you mentioned?”
Soot spread his hands. “I’ve never worked with Ovoe—never could see eye-to-eye with him on certain craft philosophies: threats, lies, and unnecessary murders…. Nonetheless, after his network disassembled, some of his people sought safety in my ranks.”
This is useful information, Aralim thought. And he certainly approved of Soot’s notion of the late Ovoe.
“Well, I got into an argument with one of Ovoe’s higher ranking minions,” Soot said, with a sigh, “a man named Paneran. He was trying to explain that Ovoe’s plan had been to kill everyone that the Emperor cared about—to break what couldn’t be killed, essentially. I told him that was an awful idea. The Emperor has already lost everyone he cared about, many times over. The only thing that he has never lost is Rema. That’s… that’s what I said. And I could see the gears turning in Paneran’s mind. I’d take it back if I could.”
Like everything Soot had said so far, his regret seemed genuine. Aralim scratched a bug away from his ear. “That sheds some much-needed light on the situation. Thank you,” he said, and paused. Then: “You speak quite fondly of Rema for someone trying to overthrow it.”
Soot smiled. “I don’t want to destroy Rema. I, like so many others, just want to be a king. I’m only different because I’m willing to admit it.”
“A conversation for another day,” Aralim said, returning Soot’s grin. “So, it’s safe to say attacks on politicians will increase. If attacking guards didn’t cause enough unrest, dismantling the Courts on which Rema stands is the next step…”
Soot nodded.
Aralim continued, “Their method of attacking you spends man power. You injured or slew more than a dozen men by the looks of that street. They either have an amazing healer or are recruiting new members for each attack.”
“I think they’re recruiting,” Soot offered. He turned to look across the courtyard. “I happened to have a good-sized troop with me—I suspect the nighttime attacks last year did not kill as many of their attackers. Nonetheless, their people must have been brought from somewhere else.”
“Do you have anyone that would be able to find their recruiters? Both of us are too easily recognized.”
Soot shrugged. “I’ve been trying to follow up on Ovoe’s contacts overseas, but without being a part of his outfit it’s difficult and slow. Maybe if Aglo didn’t see me as an insignificant annoyance, the process would be easier.”
“The reverse sounds more likely,” Aralim joked, before moving on, “but you think that they’re being imported completely? From the East, amidst their sizeable conflicts?”
“I cannot fathom that they have managed to turn enough of our own townspeople against us without alerting us,” Soot explained. He rubbed his forehead and frowned. “Even if they are recruiting from another city under Tag’na’s rule… surely we would hear something from one of our outlying rulers. It’s been a year since the first attack.”
Though Aralim could do the math—he had received Miresh’s letter about the new crime wave during his first visit to Crossroads—it surprised him that a year had passed. “It also means that we’ve missed them smuggling people in for a year as well.”
Soot nodded. “It simply makes no sense.”
“This isn’t a battle between us and the gang… or even between His Ascendance and the gang,” Aralim suggested. “It’s between Rema and those that oppose it. Perhaps it’s time we had Rema fight for itself.”
“How do you mean? We’ve already implored them to report any suspicious activity to the point that the First Court had to hire someone to sift through them for worthwhile leads,” Soot explained.
Aralim raised an eyebrow. “We’ll see what can be done. What was that name of that… investigator? I should speak to him before I discuss anything with the Emperor.”
“Lord Sunaza was appointed. He is a nephew of Councillor Rellu.”
“Excellent. You make for good conversation, Soot. Let’s talk again when things calm down. I don’t know many aspiring kings,” Aralim said. He offered a hand and Soot clasped it. Soot headed down the steps with him, but then continued on toward the Palace Gate. Aralim turned right and sought out the Magician’s Hall to see if Miresh had finished her training that day.