“They got themselves out,” he said. “The aiji’s men are mopping up over there, and the dowager’s dealing with the details. How close is your boat to seaworthy?”
“My own estimate?” Toby said. “With luck, about two days.”
“I’d send you off in mine,” Bren said, “but you met a good reason not to be out at sea at the moment. This is a major operation. There’s a good likelihood the boat that tried to sink you came out of the township to the south, and that means either the opposition stole it or they have allies there with assets. The aiji will be calling in naval forces, probably from up in the Islands, but it’s going to be a few days. You’re better off here.”
“Are we safehere?” Barb asked.
“Safe as anybody can be with Guild on the hunt,” Bren said. “The whole region is going to be dangerous. There could very easily be another boat out there, trying to make a run in here. The village is on the alert, watchers up and down the coast, so we hope we will get a warning. Figure that any move that’s easy to see could be a diversion. The enemy lost a senior Guild team trying to get at me. And they damned near made it—might have, if we hadn’t scrambled who was in what room.”
“At you,” Toby said, “specifically? Twice?”
“Very possibly. Sounds a little egotistical on my part, but my security seems to read it that way. They’ll take other targets if they can get them, no question. But the operation probably started when they knew I was coming in. They’re making a play to get at their old enemies the Edi, and to own the southwest coast—the Marid is a maritime power; they have no assets in the central regions. But they do have ships. They’ve got more ships than the aiji’s navy does, if it comes to that: they can convert their island traders and become real damned difficult to deal with if they can get a few ports to use unchallenged, up on this coast.”
“This is the same bunch that supported Murini.”
“And that made the trouble in the aishidi’tat before that,” Bren said, “when Cosadi made a try to link up with the Kadagidi. We’ve got that one troublesome clan up in the Padi Valleyc”
“The Kadagidi, you mean.”
Bren nodded. “That lot has been conniving with the Marid from the time the Ragi set up the Western Association. They’re Ragi—skin deep. But they have Southern ties and they tried to stop the Association getting organized in the first place. They were the holdouts. They were trying to form an association with themselvesat the center—at the same time the Marid was trying to pull out of the Ragi Association. That’s the history of it. But the rest of the Padi Valley Ragi were so relieved to find somebody knocking the Kadagidi in the head, they came right into the new Association and turned on the Kadagidi—then helped the Association organize the west coast. Then the Marid came into the Association—before they got forced in—and immediately demanded special privileges—which they didn’t get; demanded to run the Southern trade—which they did get, in return for giving up some of their navy. They’d started to try to form an alliance with the East, when the aiji—Tabini’s grandfather—knocked the pins out from under them by bringing Ilisidi in.”
“This Ilisidi.”
“There’s only one,” Bren said. “The Marid would like to see her deadc for old time’s sake, if nothing else. Murini and the Kadagidi made their recent try at overthrowing Tabini—Murini went down. The Kadagidi are in disarray. The Marid has the space station over their heads now, they have Tabini back in power, they have the Western Association more united than they’ve ever been, and the weakest spot they can reach is their old enemies the Edi, up and down the southwestern coast. The Edi have never had a strong central authority. They’re inclined to go their own way, village by village, house by house. They were always on the losing side with the Ragi, until they linked up with the Maschi, who understood the Ragi and understood them—Lord Geigi’s house. Tiny clan. Big influence. Lord Geigi’s in space, indispensible up there. But he’s going to have to come back to deal with the mess in his affairs down herec his nephew’s been a fool, playing politics with the Marid during Murini’s administration. He thought he was being smart. Now he’s got bedfellows, and Geigi’s house, the house that holds the Edi together—the house that has the Edi man’chi, if Baiji hasn’t lost it—is just damned close to disintegrating. That’s what’s going on, brother. If the Edi fragment and start fighting among themselves again, the Marid can start gnawing away at them, piece by piece, village by village, right up the coast. The Marid has got the ships; Tabini doesn’t. If the Marid can find some handful of Edi willing to make deals, they’ll createsome figurehead to be another Geigi. I’m getting the impression the new aiji in that region was using Murini—and Murini would have been dead the first time he disappointed the Marid. Now this new fellow—remember his name for Shawn—” Toby was not unacquainted with the President of Mospheira. “Machigi.”
“Machigi.”
“Out of the Tasaigi district, Tanji clan, aiji in Tanaja. Bad news. Reallybad news, if this whole thing is his planning. Apparently he’s got the Senji and the Dojisigi districts and probably the Dausigi district of the Marid working with him. Meanwhile the Farai, out of the Senji district, are sitting in myapartment in the Bujavaid, right next to Tabini’s—claiming, incidentally, kinship with the Maladesi, who used to hold this peninsula, besides that apartment. The Maladesi no longer exist as a clan. Their last generation married into the Farai’s adjunct clan, the Morigi, and the Farai consequently have a claim on the Maladesi prerogatives and territory, because now the Morigi are extinct and the Farai claim all they had. The Farai, of the Senjin Marid, claimedmy apartment under Murini’s occupation; they then turned coat again and opened the doors of the Bujavid to Tabini’s forces when he came back. Supposedly they’ve been trying all winter to broker an agreement between Tabini and the Marid to settle all the old bad politics, which is why I’ve been living in Tatiseigi’s apartment and not bothering the Farai. The hell they’re brokering a peace deal! They’re in this Tasaigi move up to their ears, and unless they prove to have secretly informed the aiji and set up Machigi for a fall, they’re going down, and I’mgetting my apartment back.”
Toby blinked. Barb looked totally puzzled.
“It’s quite simple,” Bren said. “I get my apartment. And very bad news for the Marid that I’m still alive and even more that the Edi are going to be massively upset if they aren’t already. Geigi hasto get down here and take the reins in person—kick Baiji out officially and probably stay here, patching up what’s been disturbed. That means he’llbecome the main target, and the aiji’s going to have to take special measures to protect him. Tell Shawn that, too. This coast’s become a powder keg and my coming here lit the fuse just a little prematurely.”
“You’re not safe here.”
“I’m on a peninsula—well, at the head of it—with a loyal village at my back, a harbor where I can see trouble coming, and the aiji’s forces occupying the neighboring estate and township, with help from the dowager besides. This is as safe as I could be, for now, granted there isn’t a landing party from that wrecked boat working its way in this direction. You’re both safer here than trying to run for it until the aiji is in firm control of the sea approach. Trust me in that.”
“Trust you,” Toby said, “no question. How can we help?”
“Stay in the harbor. Get that boat of yours patched and fit to sail. You may have to take out of here before you get her beautified. There’s a guard on my boat: but just keep an eye on things in the harbor, be my eyes on the shoreline, and keep radio contact with the house if you see any movement. If something comes at us overland, protect yourselves and get out when you can. There’s no way you can go up against a Guild operation. All right?”