The King’s Buccaneer

Arutha said, ‘I’ll have to convince Anita.’

‘She’ll understand, Arutha,’ said Amos with a chuckle. ‘I don’t think you’ll have to do much. As much as she wants to protect the boy, she’ll see the need.’

‘Boy. Do you realize I was only three years older than Nicholas when I took command of my father’s garrison?’

‘I was there. I remember.’ Putting his hand upon Arutha’s shoulder, he said, ‘But you were never young, Arutha.’

Arutha was forced to laugh at that. ‘You’re right. I was a serious sort.’

‘Still are.’

Amos turned to leave, and Arutha said, ‘Are you going to marry Anita’s mother?’

Amos turned in surprise. Then he put his fists upon his hips and grinned. ‘Now, who have you been talking to?’

Arutha said, ‘Anita, and she’s been talking to Alicia. The palace has been thick with gossip about you two for years now: the Admiral and the Dowager Princess. You’ve got the rank and the honors. If you need another title, I can arrange it with Lyam.’

Amos held up his hand. ‘No, rank has nothing to do with it.’ He lowered his voice. ‘I’ve lived a dangerous life, Arutha. And every time I board a ship, there’s no guarantee I’d be back. I can be a mean man, and no more than when I’m at sea. There was always the chance I’d get myself killed out there.’

‘You thinking of retirement?’

Amos nodded. ‘Since I was about twelve I’ve lived on ships, save that bit of scuffling around I did with you and Guy du Bas-Tyra during the Riftwar. If I’m to wed, I’ll stay at home with my lady, thank you.’

‘When?’

Amos said, ‘I don’t know. It’s a difficult choice; you’ve seen some of what the sea can do.’ Both remembered their first voyage together, as they braved the Straits of Darkness in the winter many years ago. Arutha had been changed by the journey, for not only had he faced death on the sea and survived, he had come to Krondor and met his beloved Anita. Amos continued, ‘To leave the sea is difficult. Perhaps one last voyage.’

Arutha said, ‘Martin’s requested some aid in preparing the nw garrison at Barran, up the coast from Crydee. The Royal Eagle is in the harbor, ready to sail with enough weapons and stores to outfit two hundred men and horses for a year. Why don’t you captain it? You can carry Nicholas to Crydee, continue up the coast to the new garrison, then visit with Martin and Briana awhile before you head back.’

Amos smiled. ‘A last voyage, back to where my cursed luck began.’

‘Cursed luck?’ asked Arutha.

‘To meet you, Arutha. Since we’ve met, you insist on ruining my fun every way you can.’

It was an old joke between them. ‘You’ve done well enough for an unrepentant pirate.’

Amos shrugged. ‘Well, I’ve done the best I could.’

Arutha said, ‘Go pay court to your lady. I will join mine shortly.’

Amos clapped Arutha upon the back once, then turned and left. When he was gone, Arutha continued to watch the distant lights of the harbor, lost in thoughts and memories.

Arutha’s reminiscences were interrupted by an unexpected presence at his side. He turned to find the odd little Isalani standing next to him, regarding the city below.

Nakor said, ‘I needed to spend a moment with you.’ Arutha said, ‘How did you get past the guards in the hall?’

Nakor shrugged. ‘It was easy’ was all he said. Then he stared out over the water, as if seeing something distant. ‘You’re sending your son on a voyage.’

Arutha turned sideways, eyes fixed upon the Isalani. ‘What are you: seer, prophet, or wizard?’

Nakor shrugged. ‘I’m a gambler.’ He produced a deck of cards seemingly out of nowhere and said, ‘That’s how I get money most times.’ He twisted his wrist and the deck vanished. ‘But sometimes I see things.’ He fell silent for a moment, then said, ‘Years ago, when I met Borric, I felt drawn to him, so that when he befriended me, I stayed with him.’

He paused and, without asking leave, jumped atop the stones of the low wall, folding his legs under him. Looking down at the Prince, he said, ‘Many things can’t be explained, Prince. Why I know things and can do things – what I call my tricks. But I trust my gifts.

‘I am here to keep your son alive.’

Arutha shook his head, a small motion of denial. ‘Alive?’

‘He moves toward danger.’

‘What danger.’

Nakor shrugged. ‘I don’t know.’

Arutha said, ‘What if I keep him here?’

‘You cannot.’ Nakor shook his head. ‘No, that’s wrong. You must not.’

‘Why?’

Nakor sighed and his smile faded. ‘A long time ago I met your friend James. He said things about you and your life and what he had done to gain your favor. He tells of a man who’s seen things.’

Arutha’s sigh echoed Nakor’s. ‘I’ve seen dead men rise and kill, and I’ve seen alien magic; I have known men born on other worlds. I’ve spoken to dragons and seen impossible visions become flesh.’

Nakor said, ‘Then trust me. You’ve made a choice. Abide by it. But let me and Ghuda go with your son.’

‘Why Ghuda?’

‘To keep me alive,’ said Nakor, and the grin returned.

‘Borric said you were a wizard.’

Nakor shrugged. ‘It serves my purpose at times to let others think such. Your friend Pug knew there was no magic’

‘You know Pug?’

‘No. But he was famous before I met Borric. He has done many wondrous things. And for a time I lived at Stardock.’

Arutha’s eyes narrowed. ‘I’ve not seen him for a dozen years, and word came to us that he had removed to Sorcerer’s Isle, wishing no contact with his old friends. I’ve honored that request.’

Nakor leaped from the wall. ‘Time to ignore it. We will need to see him. Tell your captain we will have to stop there on our way west.’

‘You know where I’m sending Nicholas?’

Nakor shook his head no. ‘I only know that when I saw Ghuda again, after so many years, he was sitting watching the sunset. I knew then that we would eventually journey west, toward the sunset.’ Nakor yawned. ‘I’m going to bed now, Prince.’

Arutha only nodded as the strange little man let himself back into the hallway that led to the balcony. The Prince of Krondor stood silently for a long time, leaning against the wall as he pondered what had been said. Nakor’s words echoed through his mind as he attempted to sort out the conversation.

One thing he knew, as he knew his own heartbeat: of all those whom he loved, Nicholas was the least able to care for himself should he travel in harm’s way. It was many hours before Arutha at last went to his bed.

• CHAPTER TWO •

Voyage

THE PALACE WAS IN AN UPROAR.

Arutha had spent a quiet morning with his wife, and by the time they were finished with breakfast, she had agreed that a year or two with Martin might be the right thing for Nicholas. She had lived at Crydee as Arutha’s guest during the last year of the Riftwar and had come to think fondly of that modest town on the Far Coast. Rough by Krondorian standards though it might be, it was the place where she had come to know her beloved Arutha, with all his dark moods and worries as well as the lighter sides of his nature. She understood Arutha’s concerns over Nicholas, and his fear that the boy could find himself in over his head with the fate of others in the balance; she also knew that Arutha would view such an occurrence as a failure on his part. She relented – though she would miss her youngest child – because she understood this was for Arutha as much as for Nicholas. Out of deference to her, Arutha had protected Nicholas from many of the harsher realities of the world he lived in. His telling argument was the simple statement that Nicholas stood third in line of succession to the crown, behind his brothers, and nothing so far in his life had prepared him for that awesome charge should ill chance unexpectedly bring the crown to him, as it had to his uncle Lyam.

Anita had also sensed something behind his words, more than simple anxiety over a youngster leaving home for the first time, but she could not tell what it was. But most of all, Anita understood that her husband ached to be able to take control, to provide guidance, protection, and support for Nicholas, and that to let him go was perhaps harder for Arutha than it was for her.

Within an hour of Arutha’s telling Nicholas and Harry they were bound for Crydee with Amos, the thousand and one details of making ready for the voyage sent the household into a near state of panic. Yet with practice born of a thousand state occasions, the Royal Steward and his host of squires, pages, and servants rose to the occasion, and Arutha knew that when the ship left the following day, everything the Prince and his companion needed would be aboard.

The Royal Eagle lay ready to carry the arms and stores needed by the new garrison that Duke Martin was establishing. Amos was assuming command, and they would leave for Crydee on the early morning tide. The decision to leave so abruptly was made both because Arutha did not want time to second-guess his choice, and to take advantage of the favorable weather. The infamous Straits of Darkness would be navigable for the next few months, but fall would be upon Amos by the time he left for his return voyage. Once heavy weather set in, the straits between the Bitter Sea and the Endless Sea were too dangerous to attempt except in the most extreme need.

Amos walked down the long hall that led from the guest quarters. In the years he had lived in Krondor, he had never bothered to secure private lodgings outside the palace, as had most of the Prince’s staff. He was the only member of the Prince’s circle of advisers and commanders who was unmarried and did not require a place apart from court demands for a family. As he was at sea nearly three-quarters of the time, anyway, the days he stayed in the palace were few in any event.

But now he was wrestling with the notion of how his life would change after this voyage. He stood a moment, hesitating, then knocked upon the door. A servant quickly answered and, seeing the Admiral without, pulled the door wide. Amos entered and found Alicia sitting upon a divan before a wide glass doorway that gave upon her private balcony, opened to admit the morning breeze. She rose and smiled as he crossed to her.

He took her hand and kissed her cheek. While the servants knew well he had spent the night in this very apartment, they observed the pretense of not knowing in the name of court protocol. Amos had snuck out of the rooms before dawn and had returned to his own quarters. He had changed and journeyed to the harbor for a quick inspection of the Royal Eagle.

‘Amos,’ said the Dowager Princess. ‘I didn’t expect to see you until this evening.’

Amos was at a loss for words, which surprised Alicia. She had understood something was on his mind last night, for while he had been ardent, he had also been somewhat distracted. Several times he had appeared to be on the brink of saying something, only to switch into some inconsequential question or statement.

He glanced around, and when it was clear they were alone, he sat heavily beside her. Taking her hands in his own, he said, ‘Alicia, my darling, I’ve given the matter some thought—’

‘What matter?’ she interrupted.

‘Let me finish,’ he said. ‘If I don’t get this out, I’m likely to lose my nerve, hoist sail, and leave.’

She tried not to smile, for he seemed very serious. But she had a good idea of what was next.

‘I’m getting on in age—’

‘You’re still a youngster,’ she said playfully.

‘Dammit, woman, this is difficult enough without your trying to flatter me!’ His tone was more exasperation than anger, so she was not offended. Her eyes betrayed a merry glint while she kept a straight face.

‘I’ve done many things I’m not proud of, Alicia, and some I’ve confessed to you. Others I’d just as soon forget.’ He paused, searching for words. ‘So, if you’re not of a mind to, I’ll understand and take no offense.’

‘Mind to what, Amos?’

Amos almost blushed as he blurted, ‘Marry.’

Alicia laughed and squeezed his hands tightly. She leaned forward and kissed him. ‘Silly man. Whom else would I marry? It’s you I’m in love with.’

Amos grinned. ‘Well then, that’s it, isn’t it?’ He threw his arms around her and held her close. ‘You’re not going to regret this, are you?’

‘Amos, at my age I’ve had my share of regrets, I can assure you. I married Erland because he was the King’s brother and my father was the Duke of Timons, not because I felt anything for him. I came to love my husband, for he was a kind and lovable man, but I was never in love with him. When he died, I assumed that love would be something I would watch in others younger than I. Then you showed up.’ He sat back, and she gripped his chin in her hand, playfully shaking his head as she would a child’s. Then her hand went to his cheek and she caressed it. ‘No, I haven’t enough time left for making poor choices. For all your rough edges, you’ve a quick mind and a generous heart, and whatever you did in the past is in the past. You’ve been the only grandfather my grandchildren have known – though they know better than to say it to your face – but that’s how they feel. No, this is no mistake.’ She leaned into his arms and again he held her tight. Amos sighed in contentment.

Alicia felt tears of happiness gather in her eyes, and she blinked them back. Amos had never been comfortable with open displays of emotion. Their relationship had been intimate for years now, but she had understood Amos’s reticence in making a proposal, for she knew him a man not given to close attachments. That he cared for Arutha and his family was clear, yet there was always a part of Amos that was distant. She knew that he held back, and nothing she could do would force him to give freely. Age had lent her a wisdom many younger women would not have understood. She had not wished to drive Amos off by asking him to choose between his love for her and his love for the sea.

Amos reluctantly released his hold on her. ‘Well, much as I would love to stay awhile, I have been given a mission by your daughter’s husband.’

‘You’re leaving again? But you only just got here.’ There was genuine disappointment in her voice.

‘Yes, true. But Nicholas is to go to Martin’s court for a year or two of seasoning, and some stores must be taken to the new garrison at Barran on the northwest coast.’ He looked into her green eyes and said, ‘It’s my last voyage, love. I’ll not be gone long, and then you’ll find how quickly you grow tired of having me underfoot all the time.’

She shook her head and smiled. ‘Hardly. You’ll find much to keep you busy on my estates. We’ll have lands to tend, tenants to supervise, and I doubt Arutha will let you stay away from court more than a month at a time. He values your insights and opinions.’

They talked for a while, and then Amos said, ‘We have much to do. I must ensure the ship is ready, and you and Anita will no doubt wish to get about the business of a wedding.’

They parted and Amos walked away from her apartment, feeling both elation and an unusual desire to keep sailing west once he dropped Nicholas off. He loved Alicia like no other woman he had met in this life, but the prospect of marriage was more than a little frightening to the old bachelor.

He almost knocked over Ghuda Bulé as he rounded a corner. The grey-haired mercenary backed away, bowing awkwardly. ‘Excuse me, sir.’

Amos paused. Switching to the Keshian language, he said, ‘No excuse needed …’

‘Ghuda Bulé, sir.’

‘Ghuda,’ finished Amos. ‘My mind was other places and I wasn’t watching my way.’

Ghuda’s eyes narrowed and he said, ‘Forgive me, sir, but I think I know you.’

Amos rubbed his chin. ‘I’ve been to Kesh a time or two.’

Ghuda smiled an ironic smile. ‘I was a caravan guard, mostly; there’s little of Kesh I haven’t seen.’

Amos said, ‘Well, it would have been a port, for I’ve never been farther inland in Kesh than I needed to be. Perhaps in Durbin.’

Ghuda shrugged. ‘Perhaps.’ He glanced around. ‘My companion has vanished, as he does from time to time, so I thought I’d gawk a bit.’ He shook his head. ‘I was in the Empress’s palace in the City of Kesh some years ago, when I traveled with your Prince’s son.’ He glanced at the high vaulted windows that looked out over the landward side of the city. ‘Very different here, yet worth a look.’

Amos grinned. ‘Well, get your fill of gawking, then. We leave at first light to catch the tide.’

Ghuda’s eyes narrowed. ‘We leave?’

Amos’s grin widened. ‘I’m Admiral Trask. Arutha told me you two would be traveling with us.’

‘Where are we going?’ asked Ghuda.

‘Ha!’ barked Amos. ‘Obviously that strange friend of yours hasn’t told you. You and he are coming with us, to Crydee.’

Ghuda turned about slowly, talking to himself as much to Amos. ‘Of course he didn’t tell me. He never tells me anything.’

Amos clapped him on the back in a friendly manner. ‘Well, I’m not sure why, but you’re welcome. You’ll have to share a cabin with the little man, but you seem used to his company. I’ll see you in the courtyard before dawn tomorrow.’

‘Of course we’ll be there.’ After Amos left, Ghuda shook his head. In a sour tone he muttered, ‘Why are we going to Crydee, Ghuda? I haven’t the vaguest idea, Ghuda. Shall we go find Nakor, Ghuda? Certainly Ghuda. Then shall we strangle him, Ghuda?’ With a single nod of his head, he answered himself, ‘With great delight, Ghuda.’

Nicholas hurried along the soldiers’ marshaling yard, where an afternoon drill was under way. He was looking for Harry.

The young Squire was where Nicholas expected to find him, watching the team from Krondor getting ready for a football match with the visiting team from Ylith. The sport, played by Prince of Krondor rules – codified some twenty years earlier by Arutha – had become the national sport in the Western Realm, and now city champions challenged one another regularly. Years before, an enterprising merchant had erected a field and stands near the palace. Over the years he had improved it and expanded it, until it was now a stadium that could easily accommodate forty thousand spectators. It was expected to be full next Sixthday when the match was played. The visiting Ylithmen, the North Precinct Golds, were playing Krondor’s champions, the Millers and Bakers Association Stonemen.

Nicholas arrived to see an attack drill, in which five Stonemen descended upon the goalkeeper and three defenders and, with three deft passes, scored a goal. Harry turned and said, ‘I hate to miss the match.’

Nicholas said, ‘Me too, but think of it: a sea voyage!’

Harry regarded his friend and saw an excitement in Nicholas he had never seen before. ‘You really want to go, don’t you?’

‘Don’t you?’

Harry shrugged. ‘I don’t know. Crydee sounds like a pretty sleepy place. I wonder what the girls are like.’ He grinned at the last and Nicholas grimaced in return. Nicholas was as shy of girls as Harry was shameless. Still, he enjoyed being around Harry when he flirted with the younger girls in the court and the servants’ daughters, because he thought he might learn something – as long as the Squire wasn’t bullying them, as he had the day before. At times Harry could be charming, but at other times he got too rough for Nicholas’s taste.

Nicholas said, ‘You may miss getting put in your place by the local girls, but I feel like I’m getting out of a cage.’

Harry’s usual bantering manner vanished. ‘It’s not that bad?’

Turning away from the practice, Nicholas walked back toward the palace, Harry falling in at his side. ‘I have always been the youngest, the weakest, the … cripple.’

Harry’s eyebrows went up. ‘Some cripple. I’ve got more bruises and cuts from sword practice with you than everyone else combined, and I don’t think I’ve touched you more than twice in a year.’

Nicholas’s crooked smile made him look like his father as he said, ‘You’ve scored a point or two.’

Harry shrugged. ‘See. I’m not bad, but you’re exceptional. How could you be considered a cripple?’

‘Do you have the Festival of Presentation in Ludland?’

Harry said, ‘No, it’s only for the royal family, right?’

Nicholas shook his head. ‘No. It used to be that every noble child was presented to the people thirty days after birth, so that all could see the child was born without flaw.

‘It fell out of practice in the Eastern Realm a long time ago, but it was practiced widely in the West. My brothers were presented, as was my sister – all the children of the royal family, until me.’

Harry nodded. ‘All right, so your father didn’t wish to show you off to the people. What about it?’

Nicholas shrugged. ‘It’s not what you are, sometimes; it’s how people treat you. I’ve always been treated as if there was something wrong with me. It makes it hard.’

‘And you think things will be different in Crydee?’ said Harry as they left the precinct of the stadium and reached the gate to the palace.

Two guards saluted the Prince as he passed, and Nicholas said, ‘I don’t know my uncle Martin well, but I like him. I think I may have a different life in Crydee.’

Harry sighed as they entered the palace. ‘I hope it’s not too different,’ he observed as a particularly pretty maid hurried past. He watched her until she vanished through a side door. ‘There are so many possibilities here, Nicky.’

Nicholas shook his head in resignation.

The rowers pulled and the longboat backed away, as heavy lines ran out to the stern of the ship. Upon the docks Arutha, Anita, and a host of court functionaries stood, bidding Prince Nicholas good-bye. Anita had a glimmer in her eyes, yet she held back her tears. Nicholas was her baby, but she had seen three other children leave home before, and that kept her in balance. Still, she kept a tight hold on her husband’s arm. Something in his manner made her uneasy.

Nicholas and Harry stood near the bow, waving to those upon the docks. Amos stood behind them, his eyes fixed upon his beloved Alicia. Nicholas looked from his grandmother to Amos and said, ‘Well, should I begin to call you “Grandfather”?’

Amos gave Nicholas a baleful look. ‘You do and you’ll swim to Crydee. And when we clear the harbor, you’ll call me “Captain”. As I told your father over twenty years ago, Prince or not, upon a ship none is master save the captain. Here I’m high priest and king, and don’t you forget it.’

Nicholas grinned at Harry, not quite ready to believe that Amos could turn into some sort of raging tyrant once they were at sea.

The harbor crew continued to tow the large ship clear of the royal quay, then cast off. Amos shot a glance at the harbor pilot and shouted, ‘Take the wheel, master pilot!’ To the crew he shouted, ‘Set all topsails! Make ready mainsails and topgallants!’

When the first three sails were deployed, the ship seemed to come to life. Nicholas and Harry felt the movement beneath their feet. The ship heeled slightly to the right as the pilot brought it about. Amos left the boys to their own devices and made his way to the stern.

Slowly the ship moved through the harbor, majestically passing dozens of lesser craft. Nicholas watched every detail as the crew sprang to answer the pilot’s commands. Two smaller coastal cutters were entering the harbor mouth as they approached. Seeing the ensign of the royal house of Krondor atop the mainmast, they dipped their own Kingdom flag in salute. Nicholas waved to them.

Harry said, ‘Not very dignified, Your Highness.’

Nicholas threw an elbow into Harry’s ribs, laughing. ‘Who cares?’

The ship turned into the wind near the harbor mouth, bringing it to a virtual halt. A small rowboat came alongside and the pilot and his assistant hurried down into it, turning command of the ship over to Amos.

Once the pilot’s boat was clear, Amos turned to his first mate, a man named Rhodes, and shouted, ‘Trim topsails. Set mainsails and topgallants!’