Free Imperial Spy by Mark Robson Page A

been crucial to maintaining her façade as an ambassador, Femke would
have dismissed them all. However, her party had been chosen for her and there was no time to exchange them, so Femke gritted her teeth and endured their idiosyncrasies.
    ‘Thank Shand!’ Femke sighed when they crested the ridge to the north of Mantor and saw the city for the first time. ‘Hold for a moment,’ she announced, deliberately
interrupting Kalheen’s latest story mid-flow. ‘Let’s go over our plan again before we enter the city.’
    Everyone halted their horses and looked at her. Sidis wore an expression of bored disinterest, Kalheen looked irritated at having his story interrupted and Reynik appeared distracted. The young
soldier kept looking towards Sidis as if seeking guidance on whether to listen to her, or ignore her. The only one who appeared to be attentive was Phagen. He looked embarrassed at the rudeness of
the others. Though he said nothing, there was a flash of anger in his eyes as he glanced around at them.
    ‘All right men, I’ll keep this brief. When we enter the city we’ll head straight for the Palace. Ask for directions if necessary, but don’t be drawn into conversation.
Keep heads and eyes straight ahead as much as you can. We must give the impression of discipline and focus. I hardly need remind you we’re here on behalf of the Emperor to speak to the King
of this land. I’m not the only Ambassador here. Each of us is on display to the people of Thrandor today, so let’s show them we’ve come to do business. Sidis, Kalheen and Phagen
will accompany me to the audience with the King. Reynik, if you can get leave to go out into the city, I want you to go and do the shopping we discussed. Please, all of you keep your eyes and ears
open. Anything we can learn about these people and their customs will be useful information to report to the Emperor. We’re not here on a cloak and dagger mission so don’t do anything
foolish. Is everyone clear on what they have to do?’
    The men all nodded and Femke met each set of eyes in turn as she swept her gaze around. They all returned her stare with enough confidence to satisfy her.
    ‘Very well, men, let’s go visit the King of Thrandor.’
    The two soldiers wheeled their horses and took the lead, with Reynik holding the white truce flag so that it fluttered above his head in the breeze. Femke took up position directly behind them
and the two servants followed along at the rear, leading the short train of packhorses.
    The Thrandorians were curious to see Shandese folk visiting their capital under the white flag. All eyes followed them from the moment they arrived. The guards at the city gates were unwilling
to let Femke and the others proceed inside the city without an escort. They insisted that Sidis and Reynik give up their weapons before entering, but Femke had anticipated this. The two soldiers
handed their swords and bows over without argument. Then there followed a short delay while the Thrandorian soldiers raced to get four men mounted on horseback so they could accompany the Shandese
group.
    The final ride through the city to the Palace took some time. The horses walked at a steady pace, but the city covered the entire hillside and the King’s Palace was at the summit. Femke
kept her head forward the entire way, but her eyes were roving and her mind accumulating information about the city structure.
    Mantor’s hilltop construction was different from Shandrim’s. The relationship between wealth and position on the hillside made class distinction easy. As they climbed through the
city, the houses became progressively more luxurious. Femke wondered how the darker elements of the city found this. Thieves would know which houses held the most potential loot, but one would also
assume that if a militia patrol found someone in the higher levels of the city who did not belong there, then blame for any crime in the area would be automatically assigned. This