Gary Gygax - Dangerous Journeys 1 - Anubis Murders (25 page)

"You think knife or dagger unusual tools for a regicide? They are old, Caesar himself was struck down thus. I had no guesswork to do, however, prince. The servant sent by Lord Tallesian to fetch the venom was easy enough to get the truth from."

"The fool druid was to get the stuff himself!"

"Perhaps. He ignored your orders for once, though, Llewyn. I suspected some poison would be employed in slaying the king, so agents went round to all those dealing in such substances. One admitted selling a special venom to a man in the employ of Lord Tallesian. Magick can be used for many purposes, and I used much to garner the form of your deed. Sir Murdough recalls it not, for he was under a geas, but he revealed most of it."

The pale face of Prince Llewyn was a mask of hatred. "That fool soldier knew not half!"

"You forget I am a cleric as well as a mage," the Egyptian told Llewyn. "I used the former to overpower the mind of your chief druid, and the latter to spin such dweomers as to find the whole web you had set out. Then and there we might have brought you to heel, but your father loved you too much, thought you would repent before striking, just as he said. Thus, we all had to act out our parts in this pretend murder. Thanks to the power of the talisman I wrought so carefully for him, you would not have succeeded had you plied a greatsword laden with the poisons from a score of death adders."

"But you were dropped into the prison pit! The fall, the paralyzing gas, the drugs which the druid used . . ."

Inhetep shook his head. "I expected the fall, and as Rachelle and I plummeted, a charm secreted on my person was invoked, and the lady and I fell to the hard stones with hardly a bump. As for the gas, your father's stout retainers had already cleared away the numbing stuff, replacing it with harmless vapors of similar color so had you looked you would have noted nothing amiss. When the druid applied his mind-blanking herbs to the two of us, he did so without knowing that he saw but phantoms. As Tallesian suspected no dweomers, he sought for none and understandably failed to notice the illusion cast to make the whole seem real. We watched, as did your own father, as the archdruid performed his vile duties."

"So there was never a chance?"

"That is so," Inhetep answered.

"No," King Glydel corrected the wizard-priest, "there was a chance." He looked at his son, and his eyes were misted. "You could have done other than you did."

Llewyn hung his head, saying nothing more. Inhetep had to tell the defeated man the final portion. "I took Tallesian's place after he thought he had administered his drugs to Rachelle and me. The king gave me permission to do so only then. The form that you thought was me was a construct I fashioned with magickal energy, mine own heka, using naught alive or ever living, save blood from a slaughtered pig, so that when the automaton was hacked by the guards it would appear to die properly in a welter of ruddy gore. There you have it all, Prince."

"All. Yes, I will have it all! Somehow I'll escape and get revenge on you all! I'll get aid— yes, that's it! I can call for aid from the north!"

"Silence!" Inhetep shouted the command, and the prince obeyed. He could not do otherwise, for Setne had laden his word with magickal power, which silenced the man. Turning to King

Glydel, Inhetep said, "You must not allow your son to speak as he was about to, for who can say what might occur if he did so."

"I understand, Egyptian wizard-priest," the monarch replied coldly. His anguish was turning against all now. "Guards! Chain this criminal, for before you all I disown him as my son, deny his royal blood. He is a common criminal, and you will treat him as such."

"Majesty ..." Setne prompted. "He must not speak!"

"Gag the criminal," the king said in a grating voice. "Put him in a special cell below, one reserved for confinement of those capable of using dweomers—just as is the case of our former chief druid, Tallesian."

The soldiers hastened to obey. Llewyn was dragged out, and then the bodies of the Behon and Sir Murdough followed. King Glydel stared at the procession a moment, then looked at Inhetep. "I should thank you, Magister, for your work, for saving my life, but I cannot find it in my heart at this time. Goodbye," he said, and without anything further, the ruler of Lyonnesse left the chamber.

—— 17 ——

I REASONED THUS

The council room was now deserted save for Inhetep and the young subaltern of guards. The Egyptian was seated in a chair, staring sightlessly into space. Anyone who knew Magister Inhetep would have realized he was both reviewing in his mind what had occurred and at the same time feeling discontent. For almost half an hour he sat thus, and the young guardsman remained quiet, waiting. Inhetep seemed unaware that the officer was there, despite the fact that he began to shift from foot to foot restlessly, then actually paced here and there. Finally, the guardsman came near to the wizard-priest where he sat and cogitated.

"Setne?" the officer said with surprising familiarity.

Inhetep started, glanced at the subaltern, then shook himself, rising. "Ah, yes. Sorry to be so dilatory, my dear. I had forgotten . . ."

"That's all right, Setne, I understand," the guardsman said, laying his hand on the tall

Egyptian's arm in a caressing gesture. "You have been through much these past weeks—but then, so have I," he added with a vigorous tone. "Can you manage to direct your attention to me

now?

"Your wish is my command," the man said, and without further discussion, Inhetep placed both of his long-fingered hands on the subaltern's shoulders and spoke four words. Rachelle's form replaced that of the guardsman. "Is that what you desired?"

"No," the amazon said with mock disappointment. "I had hoped you'd place a charm on the subaltern's person so that I'd be irresistible to the ladies-in-waiting here," she told Inhetep with a serious face. The wizard-priest seemed to be unaffected by her words, and Rachelle's expression changed from one of playfulness to concern. "Aren't you feeling well?"

"I'm in exceptionally fine health, and my body functions properly," he replied.

"No, silly old shave-pate. I mean, is your heart heavy? Your mind troubled?"

The green eyes turned to look into the almost black ones of his friend and confidante. Inhetep realized then, more than ever before, how much he truly cared about Rachelle, and she for him. Perhaps that was why he felt for her as he did. "I am troubled, dear little protectress, even though there is little or no cause for feeling thus. Something remains which is not right. There is a cloud of a malign sort which still prevails here in Camelough, perhaps pervading all Lyonnesse. I just don't know."

"Come along," Rachelle ordered, taking the tall Egyptian by the arm and leading him from the chamber. "You need something to eat and drink, a rest—my care, too. In a bit you'll be feeling splendid elation. After all, you have done a magnificent job here!"

He pondered the case as they traveled the brief distance to their quarters. He had broken open the whole treasonous plot, and the worms involved had shriveled away in the bright light of discovery. Not only was this kingdom and its monarch saved, but three others, states and sovereigns alike, as well. The ruler of Albion was implicated. He would be dethroned soon, of course. His cousin, Richard, would in short order rule the kingdom of Albion, the fourth monarch of that name to wear its crown. Furthermore, his efforts had both allowed the Five Crowns of Avillon to retain their objects of power and prevented the most evil enemy on Yarth from gaining these artifacts. That was certainly worthwhile. But the Egyptian still felt depressed, even after recounting all that in his mind.

After having herbal tea, biscuits, then some wine and fruit, Rachelle saw that Setne was still quite glum, so she resolved to brighten his spirits in a way no man could resist, let alone the cere-

bral wizard-priest. He was stretched out, half-reclining, on one of the several couches in the sitting room which divided their separate bedchambers. Without being asked, Rachelle brought a little tray of additional refreshments and placed it near the Egyptian, then tossed a cushion on the floor beside his divan and sat down with crossed legs. "Setne, dear, can you please explain a few things about the Master of Jackals affair to me?"

"Explain? I'm quite uncertain what needs explanation," he responded slowly and without real interest.

"Oh, you know! I'm just not very good at solving problems—not like you are, anyway. I don't understand how you
knew
all you knew. Tell me how you caught on to Aldriss so quickly."

Although he strongly suspected she was manipulating him, Inhetep had to cease his brooding and give the warrior girl the information for which she asked. Pride of accomplishment and a desire to instruct his protegee demanded it. "More by chance than any inkling of the truth," he told her almost ruefully. "You know I have a penchant for learning new things—"

"More an unquenchable thirst after knowledge, you rogue." She smiled up at Setne. "You display an insatiable appetite for all things pertaining to heka, dweomers, and the arcane."

"Be that as it may—and I'll neither affirm that assessment, girl, nor deny it—it was due to my curiosity that I caught on to the bard."

Rachelle knew he needed just a little more priming. "That's fine for you to say, and I know how your mind goes from one little curious bit to whole new realms of information, but I still don't know what you did, or what Aldriss did to reveal his duplicity to you."

Inhetep settled back in the soft cushion of the couch, fingers toying idly with the rim of the wine glass beside him. "You'll recall, dear Rachelle, that while you were busily accepting the compliments and unseemly attentions of the bard, I was attending to the magicks he employed."

"I recall your making notes and observing most closely," she agreed. Rachelle thought Setne's assessment of her reception of the bard's harmless flirting grossly overstated, but she was wise enough to allow that matter to pass.

"Exactly. That is what put me onto the right path, but later. Who could have guessed that three men traveling hundreds of miles to request my assistance in a matter of life and death could be the actual villains?"

"Never I," Rachelle said earnestly. "But you did—sooner than I, for you cautioned me about Aldriss in your note."

"The one you missed reading aright—but no matter. Outstanding was the initial choice of victims."

"How so? Svergie was the state, as I recall,"

Rachelle added as she puzzled over the matter. "It is a kingdom with sufficient wealth, rather cold and isolated, but . .

"But nothing! It is home to the Eldest Spae-wife, the chief Wisewoman, and that is key."

"How so?"

"They are a counter to witchcraeft, of course. Then the description of what had occurred in other places, Ys particularly, the inability to determine what sort of casting was employed to slay, the irretrievability of the victims, gave me concern. The first cause for that is evident."

She tugged at his sleeve. "No, it isn't."

He looked down at her dark ringlets, seeing that she was attentive and truly puzzled. "Yes, you do know, only you aren't thinking hard enough," Setne admonished. "Such circumstances point toward the involvement of great practitioners—ones at least
more
than human. In this case the
blame
was directed at Set, of course, and collaterally at Anubis. That was the first and grossest error in judgment the plotters showed. Had they determined to use someone else as their dupe, one not steeped in the pantheology of Egypt, then the inclusion of Anubis would not have rung so false a note. After all, his association with death and the Duat tend to mislead the uninformed." Inhetep was warming to this recounting now, and he paused a moment to sip some of the light red wine and nibble a grape or two. "The second possibility with respect to the clueless murders lay in some unknown form of magick and a whole organization of criminals determined to use their abilities to evil ends. So, because a good detective never discounts the possibility of anyone with motive and opportunity being guilty, no matter where suspicion points, and regardless of seeming irrationalities, I kept the three Kellts as suspects in the back of my mind."

"It did seem a little odd that they knew where we were and came all that distance to find you," Rachelle noted.

"Hmmm, yes," Inhetep responded. He hadn't actually reasoned that way, because it was, to him, not all that strange that one of his talent would be sought out thus. There was a lesson in that, and the wizard-priest made a mental note not to be so smug in the future. "Anyway, my sharp-witted amazon, it began to come together after Crown Prince Llewyn displayed the statuette and told us all of the facts—what he desired us to believe as the whole truth, I should say. I had opportunity to study the dweomers used in the enspelling of the figurine, and I found strange similarities between them and the magick used by Aldriss when he hastened our voyage. Then I thought to compare what I knew about bardic powers with the practice of troubadours, skalds, and the rhyme-singers of Kalevala. There was the strand to follow! Still, it was a

mere thread, so when I left you that warning it was vague."

Rachelle got up and brought the flagon to where they sat. "More wine, Setne?"

"Perhaps a few drops more, if you please," he replied without actually paying attention. "You see, the possibility of Set's involvement still remained. He too is 'of the North,' of course. When you were kidnapped, I took time to search out information in the underworld."