Paludan grunted, gave Else a dark look.

Else said, "See who's doing the job out there. Bring them back where their competence can do the most good."

Paludan and Gervase stared at Else like he was a genius talking with the mouth of a fool. Because there was a tacit understanding that Bruglioni who left the city freed themselves from their Brothen obligations.

Paludan said, "That has possibilities, Hecht. I'll consider it." With condescension. “Tell us how to avenge ourselves on the Brotherhood."

"What? Revenge? The men responsible are dead."

Paludan scowled at Else, possibly wondering why he was ignorant one moment and well informed the next. Was he not supposed to know? What about the heads? How about what the priest went through before he fell into the Teragi a half mile upstream from Castella dollas Pontellas? Everyone in the Bruglioni citadel knew all that. Which meant the details would be common knowledge outside the citadel, too.

Else said, "In your place, I'd worry more about protecting myself from the Brotherhood."

"That's a good point, Paludan," Gervase said. "We don't want to get into a war with them."

Else suggested, "Give them the men who did the killing. Say they exceeded their orders."

"That's what they did do. They were just supposed to grab Rodrigo Cologni. So my boys could rescue Rodrigo from them. But the Brotherhood turned up. And Obilade's patsies had minds of their own. They were like supernatural monsters. Anyway, I couldn't give them up if I wanted. Obilade was the only one who knew how to get in touch."

Gervase said, "We're not going to have any choice about bringing family in from the country, Paludan. We need more people here with a stake in keeping family secrets."

Paludan whined, "What happened? Ten minutes ago I was busting with plans. I was going to make Sublime ache. Now I'm facing a potential siege. I'm surrounded by people I can't trust."

Gordimer the Lion's predecessor had used similar words to describe his own situation before his fall. Else said, "Don't change your goals. Just change your plans to reflect your strengths and weaknesses."

Gervase observed, "We have more weaknesses than strengths. We haven't kept our swords sharp."

Else said, “To plan, we need to know what our adversaries might be thinking. We need to know who our potential adversaries are. We need an honest assessment of our own strength. And firmly established goals."

"Meaning?"

"We need to find out what the Brotherhood, the Cologni, the Patriarch, and the Collegium are up to. We need to know how they see the Bruglioni. You have an uncle in the Collegium. He has friends. The Bruglioni have a tradition of being major players on the Brothen stage. You have vast resources. Get them catalogued. Imagine what can be done with them."

Else sensed that Paludan had received no training for the position he held. He was faking it and hoping for the best.

Paludan said, "Gervase, follow up on what Hecht's saying. Real life seems to be closing in. Dugo, boys, come with me." Paludan rose.

Dugo protested, "We were going out to …"

"Be quiet. Weren't you listening? People who have a grudge against us are probably planning to do something about it. I don't want you out where they can get you. Come along."

Dugo pouted. It looked like he would have to survive a harsh, close call before he started listening.

GERVASE SALUDA SAID, "IF MY CHIN KEEPS HITTING MY CHEST it's because I just witnessed the longest run of intelligent, responsible thinking ever seen from Paludan Bruglioni."

"Oh?" Else said.

"Until Acato and Gildeo were killed he spouted the same nonsense as Dugo. Which is why Dugo was all confused."

"How did he keep the family going, then?"

"Inertia. And he hasn't. Not well. He never really had to be responsible, growing up. He's always let things ride while he had a good time. He got away with it until the disaster in the Madhur Plaza."

"The world caught up?"

"It didn't change who he is but it did make him realize that there're challenges beyond just seeing if he can't bed more women than his father did. Even so, he passed the work on to us. He has no faith in himself."

"And?"

"You have to understand. Besides his character shortcomings, Paludan just isn't very bright. He isn't subtle. His preferred solution to any problem is to hit it with a hammer."

"The way Dugo would."

"The way Dugo would. Though now it seems he's started to catch on. He knows that he has to start doing the right thing. For the family's sake. Meantime, his major adviser, which would be me, might not be any smarter or subtler."

"Really?"

"My genius and my gullibility got us into this. Sylvie Obilade manipulated me. I sold Paludan on the priest. Like his ideas were mine. I thought Obilade wanted the best for the Bruglioni."

"Maybe he did."

"Sure, he did. He was a good priest. But he wanted to be something more. He wanted to make the Church all-powerful, temporally as well as spiritually."

"That doesn't sound exciting." Dreanger was not terrible but there were smaller principalities within the Realm of Peace where religious rule smothered everything.

"We need to make peace with the Church over Father Obilade."

"Being a country boy from the far frontiers I'm obviously missing some critical local angle. Six members of the Bruglioni household were killed. The priest caused that. The men who murdered them were killed themselves."

"So you think the scales are balanced?"

"Yes, actually."

"The Church wouldn't agree. If Church people screw you you're supposed to take it with a smile and beg for more because it feels so good."

"This will take getting used to." It might be the sort of thing he could use to stir confusion and distract the Patriarch from organizing a new crusade. "I need to know Brothe better. Like Paludan said. Even taking into account the natural arrogance of people who believe God speaks with their mouths, there's a lot of flawed thinking in this city."

"Going out there could be dangerous."

"How? Even if word is out that I've been hired nobody knows what I look like except a few Arniena. And they're on our side."

"I don't know."

"Uhm?"

"I'm not sure we should trust anybody out there, right now. I'm not sure why Paludan and I decided Rodrigo Cologni would defect. Father Obilade probably sold us. We know that wasn't true, now. Rodrigo kept faith."

“Treachery is the most popular sport in town. I'll learn what I can, outside. You get Paludan to decide what he wants to accomplish so we can start planning. Find out if he wants to hire real swords. Those bodyguards were make-believe."

"I don't think he'll stand for the extra expense. Right now we're completely clear on who to blame if anything goes wrong."

"I'll do my utmost to ensure that your faith in me is justified."

Else parted with Saluda still unsure of the man. Was he bright or dim? Was he manipulating Paludan Bruglioni? Was he Paludan's dedicated friend?

BROTHE WAS UNIQUE AMONG CITIES ELSE HAD KNOWN. IT showed its age much more than did even the oldest pities of Dreanger. There were ruins everywhere. In Dreanger they cleared the old away in favor of the new. In Dreanger the surviving ruins were not inside cities, they were out in the deserts and mountains and, as it had been from the most archaic times, they were occupied only by the dead.

The priests who had tended them had been massacred by Josephus Alegiant a thousand years ago. Alegiant's successors had been massacred in turn by warriors of the Praman Conquest five hundred years later.

Reminders of the glory days of the Old Empire were everywhere, usually overgrown by creeping vines and brush. Remnants of triumphal arches still spanned the streets. Weeds and brush grew atop them. Else wondered where the soil came from.