Grog (The Ebon Blades Book 1) by RW Krpoun

Author:RW Krpoun [Krpoun, RW]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-02-20T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

“What is a ‘Sagrit’?” I asked Hatcher as we started back north.

“’Who’, not ‘what’,” she corrected absently. “It is a secret society devoted to the downfall of the Empire.”

“Why would they want the Empire to fall?”

“Pick your reason: it allows slavery, it’s too big, it has some corrupt officials. About half the membership are idealistic fools who somehow think that tearing down the existing political structure can be done quickly and a replacement structure installed without any imperfections before any of our many enemies can react. The other half plan to make up the power structure that replaces the Empire.”

“Huh.”

“They want Provine Sael dead because she won’t give up on her quest.”

“To get a set of cymbals?”

“A set of…no, to get a symbol, something that belonged to the first Emperor. Preferably his helm, but anything of his, really. Such an item would help the current Emperor maintain power, which goes against everything the Sagrit stands for.”

“Huh.” I pondered this for a while. “But Provine Sael hates slavery.”

“So do I, but just because you oppose slavery doesn’t mean you want to pull the entire structure of society down. The Emperor has passed two edicts recently that will, over time, reduce the number of slaves. You want to get rid of slavery you have to make it a gradual process, otherwise you get a war. Slaves are worth a lot of money, and you can’t just go taking away peoples’ property without getting a fight. No, you nibble away at the institution, using the law to erode away the slave population until it fades away or is small enough to simply ban outright.”

“So how does this symbol help the Emperor?”

“Part of it is politics, part is tradition, but either way it makes his hold on the Empire greater. Just as important, old Umbargen, the bastard who built the Empire, and his Red Guard had special gear, magical stuff.”

“Huh.”

“You know about magical swords and what-not, right?”

“Sure, but I thought they were just stories; it’s always someone’s friend who saw one.”

“No, they’re real enough, but they’re rare. You need special materials to bind enchantments permanently, and the only source for the metal needed to make enchanted weapons is far to the north; the Dusmen have controlled it for generations. Provine Sael’s staff is enchanted, and Hunter has an enchanted ring, but they’re arcane focuses; for a weapon you need northern steel. Back in Umbargen’s day, Umbargen the First, I should say, you could still trade for the metal, and naturally he and his Red Guard were at the head of the line when they issued it out.”

“Can’t the Emperor get a magical sword some other way?”

“It’s not the weapon, there are hundreds of enchanted arms in the Empire; my sister has an enchanted short sword, in fact. But legend suggests that what Umbargen the First had was part of the reason he was able to build the Empire. Me, I don’t believe it, because he had most of the Empire built before he

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