Krondor the Betrayal (46 page)

KRONDOR THE BETRAYAL

shouted, ‘‘I see Arutha’s banner!’’ He jumped down, and said,

‘‘Lower the drawbridge!’’

James hurried down the steps, rejuvenated, with Locklear and Patrus following. By the time they reached the marshaling yard, the portcullis had risen high enough for James to duck under. He did so and ran to the end of the lowering drawbridge, jumping off before it touched ground.

He had his sword in hand in case one of the bodies wasn’t as dead as it looked, but by the time he reached the bottom of the road, Arutha and his personal guards were riding to meet him. Stopping before the monarch of the Western Realm, he said, ‘‘I was beginning to believe you were going to miss all the fun!’’

‘‘I wouldn’t have you think I was impolite,’’ said Arutha.

‘‘How are the men?’’

‘‘Doing badly. Baron Gabot and his officers were murdered.

Most of the men are dead or wounded, the few that aren’t are exhausted. Another day and you would have found us all dead. Not to sound impolite, but what took you so long?’’

‘‘We came as soon as we got word. Your messengers were ambushed and abducted and it took them a little while to escape and reach me. They arrived only three weeks ago. What of support from the south?’’

‘‘None. I sent word to Romney, Dolth, even to Rillanon.’’

‘‘Others may be coming,’’ said Arutha, ‘‘or those messengers were also ambushed. Owyn told me that you killed the head of the Nighthawks, but they still must have had agents in place before that.’’

James said, ‘‘I fear we may never truly see that nest of murderers obliterated. They are like the legendary snake of the Keshian Underworld: cut off its head, and it grows back.

‘‘But more to the point, we think all this may have been a ploy.’’

Looking at the evidence of destruction all around him, Arutha said, ‘‘An expensive ploy.’’

‘‘But a ploy nonetheless. When Patrus, the old magician we met up here, used his magic, there was no answering magic.’’

Arutha said, ‘‘What of those who are called The Six?’’

‘‘When we last heard they were still in the West.’’

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‘‘The West!’’ Arutha swore. ‘‘This may have been a terrible ploy, one sold convincingly on the lives of thousands of soldiers to get us to move from the Dimwood.’’

‘‘Have you moved all your forces?’’

‘‘No, the garrison near Sethanon was left in place, but I brought the rest of my companies with me. I will send patrols up into the passes to see how many of the enemy are arrayed against us.’’

Arutha looked worried, an expression James had seen on many occasions, and rarely without justification. ‘‘Let’s get to the castle, relieve your command, Seigneur, and sort this out.’’

Arutha turned and passed orders to a young officer, then said, ‘‘I’ve left Gardan near Highcastle, and Captain Philip at the Sethanon garrison. I think between the two of them we can hope they’ll keep Delekhan from achieving an easy strike by this ploy.’’ Then he looked at James. ‘‘But after you’ve eaten, slept, and eaten again, I want you and Locklear and a fast patrol heading back to Sethanon.’’

James grimaced. ‘‘Those long rides, again?’’

‘‘I’ve got a healing priest with us; I’ll ask if he has anything to ease your pain.’’

James looked at Arutha to see if he was joking, and when James saw he wasn’t, said, ‘‘Very well.’’

Arutha’s concern was obvious, and James asked, ‘‘What is it, Highness? I’ve known you too long not to recognize that look.’’

‘‘Just worried about Owyn and Gorath. I sent them to fetch Pug because of what they said about The Six, but if they were ambushed between Malac’s Cross and Krondor, or if Pug had left Krondor on one of his mysterious jaunts and Katala couldn’t find him, or any number of such problems, well, when The Six appear, I suspect we would be well served by a magician.’’

James grinned. ‘‘I have one.’’

‘‘Someone responsible for that lightning display we witnessed as we approached?’’ Arutha mounted his horse.

‘‘Yes.’’ James started walking back toward the castle. ‘‘He’s an original, and I think you’ll find him entertaining. At least for a few minutes.’’

Arutha smiled his half smile, and James felt better for that.

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*

*

*

Gorath looked at the snare and kept motionless. The creature looked like an armored rabbit, or a turtle with long legs, but either way it was the only edible creature they’d encountered so far that wasn’t an insect. Two other creatures had proven inedible after being caught. This world abounded in insects, from tiny gnatlike fliers that would swarm to plague Gorath when he tried to remain motionless, to cockroachlike creatures that were as long as Gorath’s forearm.

He had identified a half dozen edible roots and a prickly fruit that tasted like a sour melon and possessed a tough, stringy pulp, but which contained a lot of water.

They had found a well near the ancient temple, and had created a water bag out of an old piece of leather they had found in the temple.

Gorath!

Just a moment,
he tried to think back. It was still difficult for Gamina and him to speak compared to her and the other humans, but he was getting better. He had to focus his thoughts.

He imagined himself shouting at her.
I am about to catch supper,
he thought.

He received a nonverbal sense of patience.

The armored rabbit moved, and he pulled the snare, tangling the right hind leg. He was on the creature in a moment, and having learned by trial and error, had the creature upside down, so it was forced to stick its neck out. He broke it and quickly had it out of the shell. He had learned to their collective distress that if you didn’t get the creature out of its shell within minutes of killing it, the flesh quickly tainted and the resulting stomach distress was extremely unpleasant. He cut the meat out of the shell and deposited it in his travel pouch.

He turned and hurried toward Gamina.
What is it?
he asked, knowing she’d hear his mind before her ears would register his words.

Owyn and father have found another cache of mana.

Do they think we have enough?

Maybe, she said, as he hiked into view.

She turned, and he followed her down the path to the entrance to the abandoned temple. For whatever reason, religious 321

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prohibition, fear of the Valheru, or fear of Gorath, Pug, and Owyn, the serpent men had not attempted to enter this area.

They had attacked the second time Pug and Owyn went looking for more mana, for Pug had a plan to activate the abandoned rift machine. Gamina had tried to read their minds and had come away confused, for the Panath-Tiandn, who called themselves the Shangri, were a strange mix of very simple and very clever thinking. They were primitive and super-stitious in their daily life, almost animalistic in their thinking, but brilliant in the manipulation of magic. Pug commented that it was ironic they were imprisoned on a planet, which they called Timiri, where magic had to be harvested like a crop.

Pug had declared them magic artisans, probably responsible for the construction of devices for Alma-Lodaka. Given his experiences with the Pantathians, who were obviously related to the Panath-Tiandn, Pug assumed the ancient Valheru had intentionally limited the scope of their intelligence, keeping it focused where it served her.

How they had managed to survive on this blasted world was rapidly becoming apparent to Gorath and the humans, for they had run out of food two days after finding Gamina. It had been a week since, and they were attempting to gather enough of the crystal magic for a plan of Pug’s. Gorath was unsure of how these pieces of ‘‘frozen magic’’ would serve, but he was content to let the human magic users struggle with that problem. He had elected to concentrate his attentions on finding food. Like many places that are apparently barren at first glance, this world was teeming with life if you knew where to look for it.

Since discovering the rift machine, they had explored the entire island, save for the peaks above the temple. The island was large enough that it took Gorath three days to travel from the northernmost point, where the seven pillars of the gods were located, to the southernmost point. It was roughly half that time to travel east to west, though the journey couldn’t be conducted in a straight line due to the rise of mountains down the center of the island.

They thought there might be land to the west, or at least Pug thought it likely, making the observation after watching 322

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the sunset one night. He had mentioned the effects of light over the water and thickness of clouds and other factors which were only interesting in the abstract, at least to Gorath.

Unless they needed to travel to that distant land to find more of the solid magic.

Gamina had a fire ready when Gorath reached the cave and put down his kill. ‘‘Are we going to try to put your father’s plan to work tonight?’’

‘‘I don’t know,’’ she replied.

Gorath watched her, and was forced to admit she was an admirable child, even by his own people’s standards. He knew little of human children, but knew she had to have been subjected to a frightening experience, yet she was calm, focused, and relatively cheerful considering the circumstances.

She was also quite beautiful, after the human fashion, if Gorath could judge such things. She certainly seemed to have Owyn’s attention, though Gorath could tell he was being circumspect either because of her father’s presence or her youth.

Perhaps Owyn dreamed of years to come. Again, Gorath was uncertain of these human conventions.

Owyn and Pug appeared with a large bundle of cloth, one of the woven doors pulled from a hut. Pug had observed that with so many huts and so few inhabitants, the population of this area must be falling. He had wondered what the rest of the planet looked like, but had been unwilling to use any of his arts to explore, fearing they needed to hoard as much of this solid magic as possible.

‘‘I think that should do it,’’ said Pug, as they put down the bundle.

‘‘Good,’’ said Gorath. ‘‘I tire of these creatures as our only catch. I would even welcome those stale breadcakes we ate in the mountains, Owyn, for the change they would bring.’’

‘‘As would I,’’ said the young magician.

‘‘What do we do if this doesn’t work?’’ asked Gorath.

Pug said, ‘‘Then we explore the rest of this island, and if there is no way to be found here, we do what we must to build a boat and make our way westward, to the next body of land.’’

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Owyn closed his eyes and put his thumb and finger to the bridge of his nose.

‘‘The headaches, again?’’ asked Gamina.

Owyn said, ‘‘Yes, but it is passing.’’ Owyn had been experiencing intermittent but severe headaches since having shared the Cup of Rlynn Skrr with Pug. ‘‘And it hurts less than before.’’

Pug said, ‘‘When we return to Midkemia, I think, my young friend, you will discover you have powers you never anticipated.’’

Sighing, Owyn said, ‘‘
If
we get back.’’

Pug looked at Owyn, and his expression was without doubt.

‘‘We will get back.’’

Owyn said, ‘‘Very well. What else do we need?’’

Pug said, ‘‘Nothing but knowledge.’’ He asked Gorath,

‘‘Have we explored every chamber in this complex?’’

‘‘Yes,’’ said Gorath. ‘‘As I told you.’’

Pug said, ‘‘Then we should plan on attempting to return tomorrow.’’

‘‘Why not now?’’ asked Gorath.

Pug said, ‘‘Owyn and I will need as much rest as we can before we attempt this. I know much about rifts and their nature, but that machine is of alien design and may not work as the Tsurani machines I’m familiar with. Therefore, I would not care to make a mistake because I was tired. So, in the morning, after we sleep, then we shall try.’’

Gorath nodded.

Owyn lay back, tired from the long walk carrying the mana.

‘‘Gorath, can I ask you a question?’’

‘‘Yes, Owyn,’’ said the dark elf.

‘‘When you bowed before the Queen, I take it that was some ritual, but I don’t understand it.’’

Gorath sat back on his heels, thinking. At last he said,

‘‘When I first beheld Elvandar, I called it Barmalindar, the name of the legendary world of golden perfection all elvenkind believes is its ancestral home.’’

‘‘Fascinating,’’ said Pug. ‘‘I have spoken to Prince Calin and Tomas and other elves, but this is the first I have heard of such legends. I assumed you were originally from Midkemia.’’

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‘‘We are, as were the dragons and the Valheru, but there is a spiritual source to our race, beyond Midkemia,’’ said Gorath.

‘‘When we die, we travel to a Blessed Isle, where we join with the Mothers and Fathers who have gone before. But we all come from Barmalindar.’’

Gorath looked at Owyn. ‘‘From time to time, one among my people will hear a call, a tugging, that will compel him to travel to Elvandar. My people will hunt such a one down as a traitor if they can, and kill him before letting him reach Elvandar.’’ Gorath closed his eyes, and his tone was tinged with regret. ‘‘In ages past, I did so. But a few get there and those of the eledhel call them ‘returned.’ They take new names and it is as if they had been eledhel all their lives.’’

‘‘What I don’t understand,’’ said Owyn, ‘‘is the Queen saying you had not finished returning. What does that mean?’’

‘‘I still have ties to my past, an obligation which prevents me from completely joining my kin in Elvandar.’’

Owyn asked, ‘‘What obligation? I thought your children dead and your wife had left you?’’

Gorath looked at Owyn, and said, ‘‘I must kill Delekhan.’’

Owyn said, ‘‘Oh,’’ and lay back against the cave wall. They all remained silent while Gamina cooked and Pug prepared for his attempt to revive the rift machine the next day.

James had witnessed torture before, but he took no pleasure in it. Yet Arutha was desperate to learn Delekhan’s plan.

The prisoner was some sort of chieftain or captain, but someone who was obviously in a position to know more than the common trolls and goblins who made up the bulk of this company. The half dozen renegade humans who had been captured made it clear this moredhel was the only one who might know what was going on.