Read Online Lord Toede by Jeff Grubb - Free Book Online

of spine Groag had shown since Toede encountered him in the kender
     encampment. Toede was afraid his companion had been swept away by a world of goose-cooking
     and poetry. Groag seemed to be regaining his old manner, now that he was restored to
     basking in Toede's illustrious presence. Well enough. If Gildentongue proved unwilling to
     step aside, Toede might need someone with the fortitude to jam a knife between the
     draconian's ribs. At the moment, until he could gauge his own popular support, Toede had
     an army of one, and that oneGroaghad to suit. Groag returned the smile uneasily, as if he
     were unsure whether the highmaster was laughing with him or at him. When no immediate
     rebuff came from his superior, Groag relaxed. Toede looked out at his city, still
     stench-ridden but wrapped behind a new cloak of stone. Even so, he was home. “Well,
     there's nothing for it, then,” he said. “Let's go tell Gildentongue that his master has
     returned.” Wrapped about a deep-water harbor on the western shore of Blood Bay, Flotsam
     was so named for its red-tinged beaches and proximity to the larger (and more
     crimson-tinged) Blood Sea. The original city was built from the ruins of Istar (and other
     pre-Cataclysm sites now covered by the scarlet ocean) that had washed up on the new
     shoreline. The city's name reflected both the original junk used to make the houses and
     the nature of its population: a collection of drifters, refugees, would-be warriors,
     fleeing fighters, leaderless mercenaries, merchants, corsairs, and all manner of
     middlemen. The great majority of the city evinced a hodgepodge of styles slapped together
     with whatever construction supplies were available at the moment. The most noticeable
     exception was the eastern part of the town, where a rugged headland jutted into the sea,
     forming the safe barrier of Flotsam Harbor. Here on “The Rock” were the most beautiful
     homes, the finest inns, the best taverns, and of course, raised just a little above all
     the others, the resplendent manor of Highmaster Toede himself. During the war Flotsam had
     proved a haven for rebels and dragon highlords alike, under the supposedly ever-watchful
     eye of Highmaster Toede. Until the day of his disastrous hunt, Toede had ruled with a
     combination of carrot and stick, offering benefits to those who abided by his rule of law,
     and punishment to those who did not. All the players quickly learned what could and could
     not be done within Toede's city. Trade caravans from the inland territories made Flotsam
     their terminus for Blood Sea cities, and the city attracted those men and women looking
     for easy coins. Toede's court was full of them: sycophants and inventors and adventurers
     with all manner of honeyed words and magical maps and wonderful ideas. In short,
     individuals who made Groag look like a pillar of wisdom and strength. Except Gildentongue.
     He had always been a tricky one, Toede reflected, even then. Always dealing with the
     dragonarmies and the highlords. Always playing politics. And subtle, always subtle, such
     that Toede could never pin anything underhanded or treacherous on him. Toede mused about
     how Gildentongue ought to resignon bended knee or with a flurry of blades. The surrender
     approach would be much preferred, he reflected. He pictured himself striding into his
     reception hall, with Gildentongue sitting there, signing some meaningless proclamation.
     The pen would fall like a lead weight from Gildentongue's hand, and the draconian's scaled
     face would react first with shock, then anger as the consequences of his misrule sank into
     his reptilian brain. Reaching for a handy halberd and uttering a great curse, Toede's
     unworthy successor might try to charge him. Gildentongue would take all of three steps
     before he was cut down by the loyal guardsmen, who would then drop as one on bended knee
     before their master: Toede, Earl