Chapter 10
The Hands That Pull the Strings
Château d'Arielle, near Ladrieu, Arielle, Bonaventure
Count-Regent Joseph was not related to House Ladrieu by blood. Rather, he married the sister of the late Count Stephan. Though he could not properly claim the title of Count of Arielle for himself, he would rule in the stead of his son until the younger Joseph came of age. He had every intention of having his son name him co-ruler so that he could continue to reign for many years to come. The untimely death of his brother-in-law seemed like a golden opportunity, but the Black Widow bent the law to hold on to the comital throne until she met her own untimely end.
It would figure that the elder Joseph would not reign long before his lands were thrown into a crisis. Several weeks had passed and still he did not have any satisfactory answers. Thousands of people suddenly appear one night, stark naked, none of them speaking Venturi or the languages of their nearest neighbors. The ones who were even vaguely intelligible were speaking archaic forms that had not been seen in hundreds of years if the linguists could be believed. Hundreds of years ago... Like before the Cataclysm...
Some of these mystery people were being held in jails or sanitaria, but there was not room enough to house them all. Some better-organized townships put together temporary shelters while they worked toward a solution. How many of the mystery people were still running loose, taken in by good-hearted citizens... and by those who were not so good-hearted?
Then there was the matter of the ancient bronze statues, all gone the same time the mystery people appeared. Many were found near the bases of the missing statues. A number of eyewitness reports claimed the mystery people were the spitting image of the missing statues. Could it be? If magic was involved, surely nothing was impossible.
The elder Joseph knew little of how magic worked. His late sister-in-law was rumored to be a witch, but she was never registered with any of the mages' guilds. Before the Mage Ban, you were not likely to find an unregistered mage, but it was not impossible. If her weird daughters were any indication, the rumors had to be true.
Speaking of Mariana and Iliana, they were flanking him like a pair of foo dogs at a Heping joss house. While their mother had an affection for Pingese fashion, the two girls preferred to dress as a pair of Dragomerean bisque dolls, all lace and ruffles. The way they could just stand there with their unnerving stare, you might think they actually were oversized dolls. If only there was a cupboard big enough to shut them away.
They often sat in while the elder Joseph attended to matters of state. They may have been the Count's direct descendants, but a couple children—and girls at that—had no business there. That was what the elder Joseph thought, but whenever the idea of sending them away came into his head, it went away just as quickly. He feared he had been bewitched, but there did not seem to be anything he could do about it. Could he seek out another mage to help him? Would his nieces' hold on him even allow him to do so?
For now, he focused on the task at hand, the mystery people, or the Cast-offs as some were calling them. He wanted to deal with the matter quietly, but the situation was probably too far out of hand already.
Mariana rested her hands on the elder Joseph's right and Iliana rested her hands on his left.
Leaning in to whisper in his ear, Mariana said, "You must act, Uncle."
"You must act," Iliana echoed from the other side.
They would always do this. The elder Joseph found it infuriating, but once they started, there was nothing he could do but listen and obey. Their bewitchment of him was all the worse because they robbed him of his will while keeping his mind intact. It was almost as if they wanted him to be fully aware of his powerlessness. Was their mother like this? Surely she had to be. Where else would they have learned it from?
Mariana continued, "The Cast-offs—no, the Ancients... They are a danger."
"They are a danger," Iliana repeated.
"They destroyed the old world."
"They could destroy this one."
The elder Joseph found that he was permitted to speak, or else it would seem as if his mouth was wired shut.
"What am I to do? Surely you are not expecting me to order their extermination."
"Mustn't kill them, Uncle," Mariana said.
"Mustn't kill them," Iliana said. "Not yet."
"We should learn from them first, but they need to be controlled."
"Must control them."
"Gather them in one place."
"Where would have enough room?" the elder Joseph asked. "There are thousands, maybe even tens of thousands."
"The barracks would do," Mariana said.
"If I put the Anci—, the Cast-offs in the barracks, where would the troops go?"
"There are houses enough for them."
"Quartering soldiers in peacetime?" the elder Joseph balked.
"You are Count-regent, are you not, Uncle?" Mariana said. "The citizens will listen."
"The citizens will obey," Iliana added.
"If they do not, that is what the soldiers are for."
"That is what soldiers do."
"The soldiers are not there to police the citizenry," the elder Joseph said.
"Then use the police," Mariana countered. "Remember what is important, Uncle."
"Remember, Uncle."
"The fate of the world hangs in the balance."
"The Ancients can tip the scales."
"The truth of the Old World has been hidden so long."
"It must not come to light."
"But we should know."
"We must know."
"The power of the Old World will be ours."
"The power of the Old World will make us strong."
The elder Joseph could scarcely believe what the two girls were suggesting.
"If the Prince were to find out... If the League were to find out..."
Surely there were some who worked in secret to unlock the secrets of the Lost Technology and other relics of the Old World, but many who did were caught and punished to the full extent of the law. Officially, Lost Technology was a total unknown and it was meant to stay that way. The mages' guilds were permitted a measure of leeway to conduct strictly limited research, but ever since they were disbanded, all traces of Lost Technology were to be submitted to the Ministry of Antiquities, either for safekeeping or destruction.
If the Cast-offs really were Ancients, there were thousands of living, breathing pieces of Lost Technology scattered about and the girls wanted them all in one place to squeeze whatever knowledge they could out of them. All while threatening to stir the citizenry into riot by pushing soldiers into their houses, no less.
"This plan of yours will not work," the elder Joseph insisted. "You put my neck on the chopping block and nothing will be left for you. If the Witch-hunters knew about you—"
Mariana gripped his hand firmly.
"Do not speak of the Witch-hunters, Uncle."
"Do not speak of them," Iliana hissed.
"There is nothing to fear from them."
"But they do annoy."
Bold talk from a pair of half-grown girls. The elder Joseph had to wonder if they were merely posturing for the sake of their pride.
Mariana continued, "If they cut off one head..."
"Two will grow in its place," Iliana said.
"If they tread upon one head..."
"Ten will strike them."
The elder Joseph did not know what they were talking about, but there was no denying the foreboding in their words. They seemed to be forgetting that they were just children. Even if they were witches, their powers should not have been any match for ARCANUM's licensed wizards, or even the rank-and-file Witch-hunters trained to deal with rogue mages. And yet they did not show any sign of fear, only annoyance, exactly as they had said. It was like the Witch-hunters were nothing more than gnats buzzing about the rubbish pile.
'Cut one head and two will rise in its place'... Where had he heard that before?
"Call Mister Lafitte," Mariana said.
"Have him write up the order," Iliana said.
The elder Joseph wanted to say no. He wanted to send the two girls away. He very nearly felt like having them drowned in a well, but the more his mind resisted, the stronger the compulsion to obey.
His hand quaked as it moved contrary to his will, reaching for the decorative silver bell on his desk. As he took it in his hand, there was one final moment of resistance before the Count-Regent was forced to yield.
The bell rang and his secretary promptly poked his head in the door.
"You rang, Excellency?"
"Yes, Arnaud," the elder Joseph replied. "I need you to draw up a document and send it to every mayor in the county. They are to immediately collect all of the foreign vagrants, commonly known as Cast-offs, and transport them to Ladrieu to be interned at the Ladrieu Barracks. There shall be no exceptions. Anyone who resists this order is to be placed under arrest for crimes against the public order. The municipalities will be compensated for the cost of escort and transportation at a later date."
Lafitte had taken out his notepad and was busily scrawling notes, muttering to himself, "Every mayor, all the Cast-offs, Ladrieu Barracks, no exceptions, crimes against the public order, compensation at a later date..."
Lafitte had quite the talent for fleshing out official communiqués with the necessary verbiage.
"Also, draw up a letter to Colonel Mazarin," the elder Joseph added, "telling him that the regiment is to vacate the barracks to make room for the new arrivals. And write to Mayor Bradamante telling him to make arrangements to quarter the men of the regiment. Tell him to try to limit the impact on the general public as best he can."
Lafitte finished writing his notes, then asked, "Anything else, Excellency?"
The elder Joseph gave a dismissive wave of his hand and said, "That will be all, Arnaud."
Lafitte bowed.
"Very well, Excellency. I will have the drafts ready for your perusal within the hour."
"Good man."
Once Lafitte closed the door, Mariana spoke up.
"He is a good man."
"Good and obedient," Iliana said.
"Do not think everyone will be so good and obedient," the elder Joseph said. "You may well have made me stir up a hornets' nest."
"Let the insects buzz, Uncle," Mariana said.
"Swat them down if you must," Iliana said.
The elder Joseph held his head in his hands. These two devils would be the death of him yet.