By midmorning the next day, the Wang Clan had taken its places among the lower seats of the hall. The Dao Clan sat beside them. Behind the Crimson Bastion delegation sat the City Lord's household. Ben looked from one group to the other before sitting at his grandfather's left. His father took the seat on Tiexin's right.
Senior Investigator Qin Hualing rose. Her cultivation pressed across the hall, and the remaining conversations stopped.
"We will hear the grievances of the Crimson Bastion," she said. "Those questioned will answer truthfully. Evasion will be treated as defiance of the domain's authority."
She began with the five delegates killed on the road after the Redstone auction, giving their names one by one. Then came the two thousand four hundred mid-grade spirit stones the capital had sent to the Xue Clan and lost with its fall. The third grievance concerned the outsiders who had acted without the Domain Lord's permission.
Ben listened beside his grandfather. Yesterday's questions had left room for answers. This morning Qin went straight from the grievances to what the clan must do.
"First, surrender those responsible for the delegates' deaths. They will stand trial under domain law."
Ben thought of Shen Wuyan. He had suspected him ever since news of the deaths reached them. His grandfather had since told him that Wuyan was a nascent soul cultivator. Even if the Wangs named him, how were they to surrender him?
"Second, compensation of fifteen thousand mid-grade spirit stones."
Someone drew a sharp breath. Ben heard others stirring in their seats. That sum could ruin half the clans of Redstone put together.
Qin continued before anyone spoke.
"Third, the Crimson Bastion will place a delegate in Redstone to hold the Blackwood Forest for twenty years. The Wang Clan's patrols and stores will be at his disposal. No Wang cultivator may enter the forest without his permission."
The Wangs had patrolled the Blackwood for years. Ben looked along the seats beside them. Much of the city's livelihood came from that forest; every hunter who depended on it would have to live under the delegate's rule.
"Fourth, the Wang Clan has gained most from the fall of the Xue. Its formation masters will therefore serve the Crimson Bastion and its allies each year. The clan will surrender its newest array designs and provide whatever labor the Bastion requires."
Commander Wei Zhennan briefly looked pleased. Ben had been watching him as Qin spoke, and caught it before his face became still again. He could not account for that satisfaction.
Qin had delivered the first three demands without hesitation. She had spoken the fourth more carefully, giving each part its full measure. To Ben, she seemed less at ease with it than with the demand for stones.
He looked back at his grandfather. Five people had died; he did not dismiss that. But the compensation alone far exceeded what the capital had lost in the Xue Clan. Whoever had shaped these demands also wanted the forest and the work that sustained the Wangs. Ben still had no name for that person.
"You have three days to consider and respond," Qin said. "The outcome will be decided at the final session. The first three demands are not open to discussion. The fourth requires clarification. Patriarch Wang, come forward."
Tiexin rose and walked to the front of the hall.
There Qin specified sixty days each year for the clan's formation masters to serve the Bastion and its allies. Their newest designs would be taken, and the domain would decide what work it required of them. Tiexin listened until she had finished.
"The terms are extensive," he said.
"The alternatives are more extensive still."
Tiexin inclined his head. He gave no assent, and Qin asked for none. Ben watched him return down the hall and take his seat between them.
"If I may address the delegation."
Prince Huo Zhanlong rose among the spectators. Ben saw the royal insignia at his shoulder as he stepped clear of the seats. Wei's face hardened.
"Your Highness," Qin said.
The Prince moved to where he could face both the delegation and the clans.
"The Bastion's grievances are legitimate. They must be answered. But the domain is not the only power with a claim on the Wang Clan's work. The kingdom is at war, and Azure Dragon Fortress has been hard-pressed. It needs formation masters from this domain."
He turned toward Tiexin.
"The Wangs are a formation clan. Their work belongs in the defense of that fortress. If it is to be claimed, the kingdom claims it first, for its defense rather than the convenience of the Bastion and its allies."
Qin gave a slight nod and drew breath to answer.
Wei spoke before she could begin. "Domain Lord Tie Wushan approved the terms, Your Highness."
Qin closed her mouth and looked at him coldly.
The Prince smiled. "I know quite well what Domain Lord Tie would approve of here. I have no doubt he would support the recommendation I have made."
Ben watched the two men. They spoke as though the Wangs' protectors would have to accept whichever use they chose for the clan. He could not tell what either knew about those protectors. The Prince had offered them a way out of the Bastion's claim, but he wanted their formation masters too.
City Lord Huo Zhenyang broke the silence.
"Perhaps an arrangement can be found that serves both domain and kingdom."
He looked toward the Wangs. Others turned with him, until Ben felt himself watched from both sides of the hall. His grandfather rose beside him.
"Your Highness honors the Wang Clan with your interest in our work," Tiexin said. "This is not an offer my clan can answer in a single sitting. Will Your Highness allow us a few days to consider it?"
He addressed the Prince throughout. Ben listened, waiting for him to say more, but his grandfather had finished. He had asked for time without accepting or refusing any of the Bastion's four demands.
Wei opened his mouth. The Prince answered first.
"The Wang Clan will have the time it needs. I would rather have it willing than forced."
Tiexin bowed his head in thanks.
Wei tried again to speak, but Qin turned her eyes on him. He stopped. She brought the session to a close without asking Tiexin for another answer.
His grandfather looked to Tian, then to Ben. They rose to join him and left the hall side by side.