There was a final moment of tension and then the Imperials seemed to relax. I had to admit they were a tough looking crew, they lacked the strut and swagger of proper Condottieri, but the certainly looked like they could handle themselves. I peeled back the curtains and looked out over the city. Smoke was rising in several places, a sure sign that the fighting extended beyond the palace.

"These were Marco's men," I announced, to the general surprise of everyone in the room. It was a pretty typical reaction from millitary men, they were normally hypnotized by the tits and hips and any use they imagined for my mouth didn't involve speaking. The fact they had no idea who had taken their ambassador or where they might look for him also hadn't occured to them.

"Meaning what?" Kian asked, holding a hand up to stop the troops from marching out. I drew a deep breath.

"Meaning that Marco dosen't have your Ambassador, or he wouldn't be sending people looking for him, and he wouldn't be sending people looking for him if he didn't need him for something. Probably he has already seized the gold your Emperor Frank sent and he needs your ambassador to ratify that HE is the ruler of Remas and thus the gold is his," I explained speaking very slowly as though to children. Kian coughed.

"You were... speaking Tilean there," he told me and I coughed with embarassment.

"Who do you think took him then?" Kian asked, smoothing saving me from having to repeat the whole thing.

"Well, by process of elimination it has to be one of the other Triumirs," I continued in Riekspiel.

"They probably want him as a hedge against Marco," I told them. I didn't mention they might kill the ambassador and try to hang the whole thing on Marco. I doubted it. It wasn't the way of Remas politics to forclose an option so soon but one never knew. If Marco's coup was going to be successful then the Ambassador was a powerful barganing chip.

"What should we do then?" Muller demanded.

"You should defend this wing," I advised, "the ambassador is useful, but the rest of you are witnesses. So long as you hold here though you have leverage. One party or the other will have to deal with you."

"Why here, there are better places to fort up surely?" Muller demanded. That was true, the gatehouses and the citadel were literal fortresses.

"Once you are out of the palace, it will be too easy to barricade you out, plus they will be able to say you ran away and they had to 'save' your ambassador," I explained.

"Listen bitch we don't run away from..." Muller flared.

"I run away all the time," I cut him off, "but the right move now is for me to go and figure out where your ambassador has gotten off to."

Muller looked at Kian arching an eyebrow in question. The priest nodded his agreement.

"Alright boys, fan out, knock some of this fancy furniture over and build some barricades, start barring windows. Krieger, take a couple of lads and raid the kitchens, lets not make it easy starve us out," the old veteran barked. I leaned close to Kian as soldiers began tramping this way and that.

"If I'd sucked your cock last night, you'd be ready to swear I was Shyalla returned," I whispered.