Free Shards of a Broken Crown by Raymond Feist

that?” asked
Pug.
    Nakor said, “I
move around. I listen to things. Generals may keep their mouths shut,
but soldiers talk. Soldiers serve in the General’s tent, then
they talk to traders and camp girls, and the traders and camp girls
talk to wagon drivers, and pretty soon everyone knows what the
General’s doing.
    “Kesh
doesn’t want a war, even if the Kingdom is weak. They’ve
never fully pacified the southern nations below the Girdle of Kesh.
The Keshian Confederacy would rise up again at any excuse, and your
King knows this. So, the Empire doesn’t want war, and the
Kingdom doesn’t want another war—they’re busy with
the one they have now— and we all sit around while the outcome
is already known.”
    “Save one
thing,” said Pug.
    Nakor said,
“Stardock.”
    Kalied said,
“That matter is settled.”
    Pug shrugged. “I
know it is. I told Nakor to make whatever deal necessary to get you
to help save the Kingdom; the threat of you acting against Kesh if
they turned aggressor tipped the balance in our favor. But there’s
still the matter of explaining to the King how I managed to give away
one of his duchies.”
    Kalied said, “I
am dining with the members of the council. As Robert de Lyes has
decided to continue serving in Darkmoor with the Prince, we need to
replace him on the council.” He rose and said, “But keep
in mind, Pug, despite your legendary power and our abiding respect
for what you founded here, Stardock is no longer your personal
fiefdom. We have Nakor’s pledge that you would honor the
arrangements he made to gain the Kingdom our aid. The council now
governs, not on your behalf while you’re off somewhere, but on
behalf of all those who reside here. You are entitled to no more or
less a voice than any other member of the Academy.”
    Pug was silent
for a moment, then said, “Very well. I will honor that pledge
and insure the Kingdom acknowledges your autonomy.”
    “Autonomy?”
said Kalied. “That’s an interesting choice of words. We
prefer to think of it as independence.”
    Nakor waved away
the remark. “Don’t be stupid. Pug can convince the King
to let you govern yourself, but don’t expect him to make the
King accept the proposition of an independent entity located entirely
within the boundaries of the Kingdom. Besides, while you protect the
Kingdom from Kesh, the Kingdom also protects you from Kesh. Do you
think for a moment the Emperor would be as generous?”
    Kalied said
nothing for a long moment, then said, “Very well. I will
present this to the council, and I am sure they will choose not to be
‘stupid’ in this matter.” With a dark look directed
at Nakor, he bowed to the others in the room and departed.
    Kalari turned to
Nakor and said, “I assume your earlier comments on diplomacy
are more in the theoretical area rather than from practice?”
    Miranda laughed.
Pug joined in. “Well, I still have a lot to explain to the
Prince, and I think there’s no putting that off. I suspect that
Patrick will be even less enchanted with the idea of an autonomous
Stardock within his borders than Kalied.”
    Miranda said,
“We go to Darkmoor?”
    Pug nodded.
“Nakor?”
    Nakor nodded.
“I’m done here. The Blue Riders are again ensconced among
the students, to make sure magicians who train here don’t get
too stuffy. Besides, I need to spend some time with Dominic and some
of the other Ishapians who have ended up next to the Prince. Let me
fetch Sho Pi, and we’ll all go together.”
    He left, and
Kalari said, “Pug, a question.”
    Pug turned to
regard the Tsurani Great One.
    “Since
coming to Stardock on behalf of the Emperor, I’ve pieced
together a view of how things stood here. I’m curious as to why
you, yourself, didn’t come to the Assembly and seek our aid in
dealing with the threats from this Emerald Queen.” He lowered
his voice. “I’m not sure what fully transpired here, but
I get the strong impression that a great deal more was at stake