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d her brother, the knowledge that it was Cadillac who had

removed the Shogun's head left several members of the family council

feeling that the honour of the nobility had been besmirched.

Witchcraft might have achieved what a brave and selfless band of

samurai could not, but in their eyes, it was an unwholesome and

unacceptable way of achieving power which demeaned the warrior ethic

and should not be pursued further.

Sakimoto himself was privately unrepentant. The deed had been done and

not one of the 'purists' now expressing reservations had raised this

issue before the Mute witches had been despatched. What they wanted

was to have their cake and eat it, but Sakimoto - who did not enjoy the

same autocratic power as his predecessor - could not afford to alienate

them by pointing this out.

To maintain the unity needed to win the war against the Toh-Yota, he

agreed to dispense with the services of Cadillac and Rain-Dancer

forthwith, and reduce the lavish reward they had been promised to a

minimum.

All of which was easier said than done. The friendly demonstration of

the grass-monkeys' magic had been alarming enough. What hellish

creations might they unleash if they became angry?

With Clearwater and Roz demanding action, Cadillac knew he had to move

fast, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to cut through the

swathe of officials and gain an audience with Sakimoto. The Regent,

who blamed the current civil unrest for his unavailability, was always

courteous and deeply apologetic for the brevity of their meetings, but

kept evading the question of the promised reward each time it was

raised. Cadillac realised he was being given the runaround but he was

determined not to leave empty-handed.

Removing the Shogun and Ieyasu had not been the only reason for coming

to Ne-Issan, but it was the stunning success of that venture which now

hindered his hopes of concluding an agreement on trade and cooperation

between the Yama-Shita and the She-Kargo.

Aishi Sakimoto repeatedly assured him of the family's desire to

maintain trade-links with the Plainfolk, but explained that the bulk of

their energies and resources were now being poured into the armed

conflict with the Toh-Yota and the handful of domain-lords who had

rallied to their defence.

The giant wheel-boats used on the Great Lakes trading expeditions were

needed to ferry troops and to act as mobile gun-platforms in the river

war now being fought along the navigable length of the Hudson, and

around the island garrisons - such as Manatana, Sta-tana and Govo-nasa

that controlled access to the sea, to Aron-Giren and the coastal

domains further south.

Sakimoto also pointed out - with a remarkable lack of rancour - that

the present shortage of suitable vessels had been aggravated by the

loss of five large wheel-boats at the hands of the She-Kargo. He

accepted Cadillac's assurance that he and his two female companions had

taken no part in that particular battle, but - as his honoured guest

'must surely understand - there could be no further trading expeditions

until those vessels had been replaced and the present conflict had been

resolved.

In other words, 'don't call us, we'll call you'! Cadillac knew the

Regent was bluffing. The Yama-Shita were pretending they didn't need

the business in the hope of wringing concessions from the Plainfolk.

The family needed to trade; opening up the Great Lakes route to the

Western Lands had boosted their wealth and power.

But they could afford to wait - and get even at the same time. Having

squeezed the Mutes dry for years, they had a layer of fat to live off

until their raggedy-assed clients became so desperate, they'd cut each

other's throats in order to be first in line to do a deal.

Just like it was before ....

It didn't seem a good time to tell Sakimoto that the new Plainfolk

Council had decided to shift the trading post inland to Sioux Falls, or