“An empire?”Cenric had rarely ever heard the word.“You mean like the Kelethi?”
Ovrek shrugged.“Why not?”
“They have centuries, hundreds of years of legacy at their backs.”Even Cenric knew the Kelethi Empire had already been old when his ancestors first met the dyrehunds.
“Do you know how empires start?”Ovrek faced Cenric, eyes bright.“Men like me.Men with ambition.Men who see not what is, but what could be.”He gestured across the beach.“You think the first days of Kelethi were grander than this?”
Cenric studied the ships again, wondering if what Ovrek claimed was true.Was it possible the first Valdari king could also become its first emperor?
“I have one hundred men and their households I would send to you,” Ovrek said.
“For what purpose?”
“To serve you,” Ovrek answered, as if it was obvious.“You could settle them where you wish.Your lands are in need of people, and I have more people than I know what to do with.”
“You would make Ombra a colony?”Cenric only knew the word from Hróarr.It was not one he used often.“A vassal region of your realm?”
Ovrek spread his hands in a gesture of goodwill.“You know me, Cenric.Wealth and glory follow me like a cloud.Have I ever failed to reward those who serve me?”
Cenric supposed that was true.He folded his arms across his chest, thinking.But what was there to think about?Ovrek was offering him friendship and Morgi had already shown him the alternative.
“You don’t even have to go to war,” Ovrek added.“Not just yet.”
What Ovrek was describing was no mass raid or even an invasion.He wanted to set up a stronghold in the north, the mainland closest to Valdar.From there, it would be that much easier for his army to march south into Hylden while being supported by their kin in Ombra.
Cenric did have vast swaths of land, empty farms, and abandoned fields.Ombra could reasonably support thousands more than it currently did.He imagined one day having a massive hall like Ovrek, a city of several thousand around it unlike the few hundred that currently lived at the foot of his longhouse.Perhaps it was possible.
And Ovrek was old while his son was young and unliked.Ombra might easily break from Valdar after Ovrek’s death to become its own kingdom.If Cenric took this deal, his children might one day be kings in their own right.What was to say otherwise?
“I will have to hear more about this,” Cenric answered, stroking his beard.He realized now that it was a habit he had picked up from Ovrek.
“As soon as you make the decision, I will send the farmers to you,” Ovrek said.“Sooner is better, if you want them to help with the fall harvest and ready their own winter stores.”
“I must confer with my advisors.”Cenric needed to discuss this with Edric and his other men, not to mention the leaders of his various villages across his lands.Not all of them would agree, no matter what, but the appearance of deference went a long way to keep them from fostering resentment.
The king made a noncommittal sound.“And your wife?”
Cenric couldn’t speak for Brynn.He honestly wasn’t sure what she would say.Brynn was his best and most trusted advisor, but that was not what Ovrek would want to hear.“I am the alderman, not her.”
Ovrek chuckled, seeming pleased.
7
Brynn
SomeonehadintentionallypoisonedOvrek’s concubine.As much as Brynn didn’t want to believe it, the more she considered it, the more likely it seemed.
Simple bad meat or moldy grain wouldn’t have caused that kind of damage to her organs.Nor would it have affected her, but no one else.Intentional poisoning was the only logical explanation.
Worst of all, Brynn had no way of guessing why.There might be any myriad of reasons to poison a woman close to Ovrek.Brynn had no idea how many concubines he might have.It might be a way of getting rid of competition for another desperate woman.It might be something even more complex.There were thousands of people here for the Althing.Any one of them might have a reason to not want Ovrek to have another heir.Then again, it had been Sifma who had not wanted Brynn to attend Gistrid.That did seem suspicious and surely Sifma, as mother of Tolvir, would have her reasons.
This was an emergency, but Brynn had to wait until Cenric returned.She didn’t want to send for him and risk drawing the attention of the king—or the culprit.
Not a day here and already she was getting dragged into the intrigues of this place.
Brynn made her way back toward the beach with Esa, Lena, and Guin.Daven and the others might not be back for a time, but at least Brynn would have the chance to clear her thoughts.
People milled in every direction, carrying bundles and barrels and even leading live animals.The Althing was getting underway, and more people were arriving by the hour.
