Bellamus had charmed and bullied and bribed to achieve what the nobles of Suthdal had considered impossible: a network of reliable Anakim spies within the Black Kingdom itself. In previous invasions of the north, their knowledge of the enemy they faced and their tactics had been woefully inadequate. Bellamus had made himself indispensable through knowing more than anyone else; and had shown a scarcely credible flair for command to boot. “He was always said to be promising,” he answered Lord Northwic. “But whether he actually commands is in doubt. I am told that a senior officer in the country,
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