The Chaoswar Saga: A Kingdom Besieged, A Crown Imperilled, Magician’s End

‘There are syndicates across the Sea of Kingdoms and in the Bitter Sea where underwriters of cargo are already losing fortunes, because goods contracted and paid for are not being delivered. Men sitting in Barrett’s Coffee House in Krondor, Rufino’s Tavern in Salador, and Hanson’s Inn in Rillanon, men who were wealthy a month ago, now stand on the edge of poverty. Lives are being ruined. Shop owners will run out of goods to sell and people will go hungry.’ He turned and looked at Ty. ‘At least so far Kesh hasn’t sent any assassins to kill me.’

‘That we know of,’ said Ty. ‘We’ve kept you out of sight … until now!’ He laughed.

‘But now we are just two young men spending a pleasant afternoon out and about, walking, taking in the sights, talking about life, and getting out of your father’s lovely establishment which is currently my gaol!’

Ty laughed. ‘Was there ever so fine a gaol?’

‘True. But I am getting fat,’ Hal said patting his stomach. ‘I could use a hunt, a few days on the trail, some camp cooking, and I’d be able to get back into these trousers.’

‘Or you could eat less?’

‘Of Francisco’s cooking?’ asked Hal, looking as if what Ty had said was sheer madness.

‘Well, he is very good.’ Ty looked around and his eyes narrowed.

‘What?’ Hal’s gaze followed Ty’s.

‘Those men over there. I think they’re watching us. Don’t stare.’

Hal turned his back on them as if he were in conversation about something private with Ty and said, ‘Tall man, black cloak, short fellow, green vest over dirty grey shirt?’

‘Those are the two,’ said Ty glancing off in another direction as if listening to something he didn’t want to hear.

‘Saw them watching us before we came around the corner. I thought they might be following us.’

‘You didn’t think to mention it to me?’

‘I didn’t want to cause needless alarm.’ Hal kept his back to them. ‘What are they doing now?’

‘Not watching us, and working hard at it.’

‘Do you know a disreputable ale house not too far from here?’

Ty grinned. ‘Just the place, around this next corner.’

‘Back door?’

‘On a nice alley. I have had to employ it occasionally.’

‘Fights?’

‘Women.’

As they moved down the street, glancing out of the corner of their eyes at the two men, Ty continued, ‘When we first arrived here, I was new to many things, including the charms of the ladies.’

‘You don’t have ladies in Olasko?’

‘I had a mother in Olasko.’

Hal laughed. ‘I understand.’

They turned the corner. ‘My mother thinks I need to settle down. She’s …’ His voice dropped. ‘My mother went through a great deal … well, let us leave it that she would be happier if I found some nice young woman and started a family.’

‘How does your father feel?’ asked Hal as Ty pushed open the door to the tavern. He glanced up at the sign they passed beneath. It showed a painting of a man in fancy livery being chased by a large black dog which was nipping at his heels.

‘Father thinks I’ll get around to it in my own good time,’ Ty answered. ‘He’s been through a lot as well, but it’s left him with a different perspective.’ He opened his arms expansively. ‘Welcome to the Running Footman.’

It was just what one would expect of a riverside tavern in a port town: crowded, filled with workers, sailors, river men, and no doubt thieves and cheats. ‘Not exactly the River House,’ muttered Hal.

‘True, but for me that’s the charm, don’t you see?’ Ty moved to the bar and shouted, ‘Babette! My love! Miss me?’

The woman behind the bar was at least fifty years of age, possibly more, with sallow skin and a badly applied mask of rouge on her cheeks. She had darkened her eyes with kohl, or kajal as it was sometimes called, and wore the most impossibly red wig Hal had ever seen, including those worn by travelling players and clowns. She smiled. ‘Ty! You wound me with your absence.’ Her voice was so gravelly that for a moment Hal wasn’t certain she wasn’t a man in some horrible mummery; but that might have been the result of the pipe that hung from her lips, or from its smoke, from the very pungent and strong tabac she preferred. ‘Who’s your friend?’

‘By name, Henry.’

‘Hal.’ He extended his hand and she took it and gave the fingers a squeeze.

‘Pleasure.’

‘We’re thirsty,’ said Ty, and Hal nodded.

‘Two blacks!’ she shouted and a young man behind her grabbed two large porcelain mugs and filled them with a very dark brew. He brought them forward and Ty slapped a silver coin down. ‘Let me know when that’s used up.’

He led Hal to a waist-high shelf against the far wall where they could place their drinks and stand, for there were no empty seats at any table. Hal took his first drink and was greeted by a thick, frothy mouthful unlike anything he had tasted before. It was nutty and slightly bitter, yet it had a lingering sweetness. ‘This is remarkable,’ he said. ‘What is it?’

‘Porter,’ answered Ty. ‘It’s been brewed for years for the porters who work up and down the docks and river. It’s unique to Roldem, and what we have here is an example of the best; Black Beauty it’s called.’ Lowering his voice he said, ‘Just sip it. It’s OK to look drunk, just don’t get drunk.’

Hal nodded. ‘How long?’

Ty knew what he meant. ‘If they don’t come in after us …? Maybe an hour, then we leave out the back. If they’re watching the front and waiting for us, we’ll skulk around the corner and see them before they see us.’

‘What if they’re watching the back?’

Ty grinned. ‘I guess we’ll see them at the same time they see us.’

‘Tell me about Olasko.’ The two young men had been constant companions for nearly a month since word of the possibility of war had come, and had got to know each other well enough for Hal to count Ty a friend. Yet there was much about him that remained a mystery.

‘Not much to tell, really,’ said Ty. ‘The original settlers were colonists from Roldem, so the language is much the same, save for an odd word here, or a strange accent there. It’s not much of a task to learn the difference quickly. Among the Eastern Kingdoms it was very influential, as the last ruler before the present Duke Varian, a man named Kaspar, was very powerful and held sway. But that was a long time ago.’ He sighed and his face became a mask for a moment, and suddenly he looked a great deal older. Then his smile returned and he said, ‘But the mountains are magnificent and the hunting remarkable.’

Hal said, ‘I should like to see it, and to go hunting.’

‘Then we shall do so, once this current madness is resolved. What of Crydee? How’s the hunting there?’

‘Very good. It’s mainly forested land from the foothills and up into the Grey Tower Mountains. We have boars that stand man-high at the shoulder.’

‘Certainly not!’

‘We do! The forest boars are big, fast, and mean. You need a boar spear ten feet long with a steel head and bolted cross below it or they’ll run right up the shaft and gore you while you wait for them to die! We have brown bears and lions, though they’ve almost been hunted out, and plenty of wolves and deer, stag, and elk.’ He shrugged. ‘And the occasional wyvern.’

‘Wyvern?’ said Ty, looking askance. ‘I bought the boar, but a wyvern? Dragon-kin?’

‘So they say, though that’s like saying one of those little dogs the ladies at court carry around is wolf-kin.’

‘You’ve seen one?’

‘Ha! My father has the head of one down in the basement. It used to hang in the trophy hall, but Mother made him take it down. Said it disgusted her.’ He grinned. ‘It was pretty disgusting, really. All droopy eyes and fangs, and the man who mounted the head for great-grandfather managed to make a botch of the ears, so they sort of went this way—’ he made a gesture with two fingers one pointing up and the other one pointing to the side.

‘Ladies?’

It was Hal’s turn to laugh. ‘Nothing like you have here, that’s for certain.’

‘There’s nothing like the ladies of Roldem anywhere,’ said Ty. ‘Men who hold riches, power, and rank, it’s a lodestone for beauties of all ranks, noble and common. Now, the ladies of Crydee?’

‘Few,’ said Hal with a shrug, ‘if you mean ladies of noble birth.’

‘Girls, then,’ said Ty impatiently.

‘A few worth spending time with.’ His expression grew wry. ‘Remember that problem you have in Olasko?’

‘Mother?’

‘I have one too, in Crydee.’ He sighed theatrically. ‘And she knows everyone, and I do mean everyone in the town. She cares for the ill and makes sure anyone who’s fallen on hard times has food, and takes charge of all shopping for the Duke’s household …’

‘So, gossip?’

‘Yes. There was one girl, a miller’s daughter, who caught my eye and I swear my mother had me in her room, bending my ear about not using my rank to take advantage … I was thirteen! It was my first kiss!’

Ty roared with laughter. ‘So, not a lot …?’ he shrugged.

‘No, not a lot. A few, mostly when mother was away or I travelled, but nothing like here. In Crydee, I’m … well, I’m the Duke’s son, the next duke, so … it’s not like here.’ He took a deep drink.

‘Easy,’ Ty said.

‘One won’t hurt.’

‘But it’s never just one. Now, what do you mean, it’s not like here?’

‘Your father, is he noble?’

‘In a manner of speaking. He has a patent from the Isles, a knighthood in your part of the Kingdom, from around Ylith or Hawks Hollow, or somewhere. But we’ve lived in Olasko so long that it’s home.’

‘Well, there you have it,’ said Hal. ‘You can’t swing a dead cat in Roldem without hitting a nobleman. So even if you’re nobility, you’re not that noble.’ Ty fixed him with a mocking gaze. ‘You know what I mean. I mean if you carouse and end up in some tavern wench’s bed or she in yours, it’s only something of the moment. If I do it, I’m the Duke’s son. In a day everyone in the town would be gossiping …’

‘And your mother would find out.’

‘Yes,’ agreed Hal.

‘Sympathies, my friend,’ said Ty, feigning a sip at his drink. With a quick glance he looked to see if anyone was watching, and seeing no eyes upon them, he spilled some of his drink on the straw-covered floor.

‘Besides, there’s Bethany.’

‘Who’s Bethany?’

‘The daughter of Lord Robert, Earl of Carse and vassal to my father. Everyone expects us to wed.’ He sighed.

‘Not pretty?’

‘On the contrary. She’s … quite beautiful. Bright, funny, and can shoot a bow better than anyone in the entire duchy, save perhaps for my brother Brendan. Not counting elves, of course.’

‘Of course, not counting elves.’ Ty rolled his eyes. Like most Easterners, he found tales of elves, dwarves, goblins, and trolls problematic, bordering on myth and lore.

Hal went on, ‘She’s probably one of the more attractive girls in the duchy, it’s just …’

‘What? You don’t like her?’

‘I like her well enough, but I’m not in love with her.’

‘Love?’ Ty looked genuinely surprised. ‘You’re a duke’s son. You’ll marry for political reasons, Hal. Love has nothing to do with it.’

‘It’s different out west,’ said Hal. ‘The King hardly cares who we wed, so …’ He fell silent. Then he said, ‘Beth is like my sister. I’ve known her since she was born. She’s the same age as my brother Martin. We used to splash around in the same bath, all three of us.’

‘Well, I’m certain it will be fine. At least it’s not like marrying a stranger, like some of these lot do.’ His gesture indicated the royal part of the island, so Hal knew he was speaking of Roldemish nobility.

‘Yes,’ said Hal. ‘If I must, I must, and probably I can’t do better than Beth, and certainly I could do worse. But …’

‘What?’

‘It’s my brother Martin.’

‘What about him?’

Hal smiled a rueful smile. ‘He’s in love with her.’

‘He’s told you?’

‘No, actually, I think he’s too stupid to admit it to himself, but there’s been something going on between them for the last few years.’ He shrugged. ‘Even that would be less of a problem, for Martin’s as reliable and loyal as you could want a brother to be, but …’

‘What?’ prodded Ty, now very interested.

‘I think Beth loves him back.’

‘Oh,’ said Ty, nodding. ‘A brother who’s loyal being in love with your wife is one thing, but your wife being in love with your brother …’

Just as Hal was about to reply, his eyes widened.

Ty glanced over his shoulder to see two men entering the tavern. One was a red-bearded fellow in a grey jacket with a sailor’s cutlass at his side, and the other was black-haired with a dark green waistcoat and two long dirks in his belt. They were not the same men who had been watching them, but Hal noticed they took a good look around the room, their gaze lingering for just the briefest moment on Hal and Ty before they moved toward the bar.

Looking down at his porter, Ty asked, ‘Did you—?’

‘I saw,’ answered Hal. ‘They recognized us.’

‘Follow me.’

Ty moved with purpose but not with haste toward the bar and through a door to the right. ‘They’ll think we’re going to the jakes to relieve ourselves, but that will be good for less than five minutes.’

From the smell of sour beer and human waste emanating from the corridor, Hal had no doubt they were approaching the jakes, but at the end of the hall there were two doors, and Ty pushed open the rear door, then pulled Hal into the one on the side. It was a large closet containing a bucket, dirty mop, two straw brooms, and barely enough additional room to accommodate both of them.

‘Be silent,’ whispered Ty. He kept his hand on the latch and peered through a tiny crack between the door and the jamb.

Five or so minutes passed, then Hal heard the sound of men passing, then running out of the back door. Ty waited for a moment, then said, ‘Half the wall next to the jakes is down, so it’s no task to jump over the stonework and get out into the alley. They are no doubt running around back there looking for us, so we shall go out the front.’

They hurried out of the hall, through the main room, and left without anyone taking notice. Outside, they turned back towards the River House and Ty said, ‘I think that was enough adventure for the day.’

Hal was about to reply when the first two men they had seen watching them stepped out of a nearby doorway, weapons drawn.

‘Or then again, perhaps not,’ said Ty drawing his own sword.

Hall drew his weapon and stepped to the right, giving himself a little room next to his companion. The street had solid shop fronts on one side, and the river on the other, so the two men would be forced to come straight at them. Both young swordsmen relaxed and stood ready. Softly Ty said, ‘You think these two didn’t hear about the Masters’ Court?’

As the two men suddenly charged, Hal answered, ‘I don’t think they care.’ He knew from experience there was a profound difference between formal duelling and combat.

Ty discovered that in the first instant, when he attempted to beat aside his opponent’s blade and discovered it was a feint not to gain blade position but so that he could bring up a short knife in his left hand and drive it into Ty’s stomach. But Ty was fast enough to recognize the threat. Turning slightly, he let the man go by. ‘So, that’s how it’s going to be?’ He kicked out and left the man sprawling.

Hal knew he faced a brawler from the way the man made one lunge, then retreated into a crouch. Suddenly he realized something. The other two men would be back. ‘We’d best kill them swiftly and be on our way.’

‘I know,’ said Ty. He watched as his man made the fatal mistake of trying to turn while still on the ground and as he stood up he impaled himself on the tip of Ty’s sword.

Ty turned to see Hal’s opponent backing away. His eyes widened, and Ty turned around and saw the two men who had run out of the tavern appear, coming from the other direction at a run. Ty crouched as the two men came close.

But rather than attack, the two men slowed and approached with their palms upraised. ‘Wait!’ shouted one, the red-bearded man.

‘Why?’ demanded Ty, standing over the body of the man he had just killed.

‘That,’ said the second man, pointing behind Ty.

‘Hal, what does he mean by “that”?’ asked Ty, not taking his eyes off the two men from the tavern.

‘Look,’ said Hal. From the other end of the street a half dozen men were coming at a run.

‘Come with us,’ said the red-bearded man.

‘How do we know we can trust you?’ asked Ty.

‘You think you can trust that lot?’ replied the man, pointing again.

Ty looked once more and saw the men who were approaching had their weapons drawn.

‘Fair enough!’ shouted Hal, lashing out with a sudden move that took his close opponent across the ribs. It was not a killing blow but would slow the man down enough to stop him joining in the hunt.

They took off on a mad dash and the red-bearded man motioned for them to turn a corner and race towards the harbour. Hal glanced over his shoulder and saw the men behind them now numbered a full dozen, all looking ready for blood.

Normally the crowded streets of Roldem’s river and harbour district would have been a hindrance, but because business had fallen off, the docks were as empty as if it had been a temple holy day. They charged through one big square, down another street and came to the docks. The red-bearded man turned right and the other three followed. At the end of the docks a ship was tied up and before the gangplank stood a dozen armed men.

Ty began to slow, but the dark-haired man shouted, ‘It’s all right. Come on!’

The men in front of the gangway parted and the four of them ran up to the deck of the ship. They looked back just in time to see the dozen men run up to the men gathered before the ship. They slowed just out of reach and hesitated.

Ty said, ‘If they attack do we go back down?’

‘They won’t attack,’ said the red-bearded man.

‘Why?’ asked Hal.

‘That’s why,’ said his companion, pointing to the far end of the dock.

Where the dozen pursuers had turned, there now came a squad of men in the uniform of the Roldem city guard. Steel helmets gleamed in the day’s sun and half of them carried pikes.

The leader of the pursuers saw them coming, shouted an order and they broke into a run and dashed down an alley, away from the docks.

The leader of the watch came to stand before the dock workers and demanded, ‘What’s all this, then? Got a dead man back around the corner and saw a bunch of men dashing this way.’

One of the dock men said, ‘Jumped one of our lads in the alley and a fight broke out. We came and got them then they got their friends, then they came here, and tried to fetch our lads.’

The watch leader looked dubious then he glanced over and saw which ship he was standing by. ‘Oh, this is …?’

‘Yes,’ said the dock man. ‘I think it was a ruse to get aboard.’

‘Well, we can’t have that,’ the watch commander said. ‘They’re long gone, no doubt, but we’ll have a look after them and see if we can find anything.’ His attitude suggested he wouldn’t look very hard and expected to find nothing. With a wave he gestured for his company to follow and he set off along the alley down which the other gang had fled.

‘Well, that’s done,’ said the red-bearded man. He turned to Ty and Hal. ‘Follow me, please.’

Seeing no alternative, they did and he led them through a door to a cabin at the rear of the ship.

In the room they found two people waiting, a young man in naval uniform and a beautiful young woman. She smiled and said, ‘There you are.’

‘Ma’am,’ said Hal, and Ty touched his forelock in salute.

She sighed theatrically. ‘I am Lady Franciezka Sorboz, a loyal servant to His Majesty the King.’

‘And I am Albér,’ said the young officer. ‘We met at—’

‘You’re the Prince!’ blurted Ty. ‘Highness …’ He bowed.

Hal followed suit. ‘Your highness.’

The young man grinned. ‘Here I am Captain, not Prince.’

‘This is your ship, High— Captain?’ asked Ty.

‘Yes.’ He motioned for the two men to sit opposite Franciezka on a padded seat in front of the large stern windows. Even though these were the captain’s quarters, there wasn’t a lot of room.

‘We were content merely to watch over you from a distance,’ said Lady Franciezka, ‘until you so foolishly decided to go out brawling.’

‘Actually, my lady,’ said Ty, ‘he decided to go out. I went after him to ensure he was safe, and the brawling was not our idea. It just sort of happened.’

‘It’s been a month,’ said Hal, as if that explained everything. ‘So, were those Keshians? They didn’t look like Keshians.’

‘Those were common thugs, though I suspect at least one among them may have been a trained assassin,’ said Lady Franciezka. ‘You would both have been found dead, or you dead, Prince Henry, and you wounded, young Hawkins, and the story would be that it was a dockside brawl among many men, and the witnesses would have conflicting stories. Create enough confusion and the truth is hidden.’

‘And while the city watch was sorting things out,’ added Prince Albér, ‘my father would have the difficult task of informing King Gregory that a distant cousin of his was killed in a brawl.’

Hal realized something. ‘You didn’t answer me. They were Kesh’s agents, right?’

‘No,’ said Lady Franciezka. ‘Despite the fleet looming off the harbour mouth, we’re actually on good terms with Kesh these days, at least relative to what the Kingdom of the Isles is dealing with; no, we have sure knowledge those weren’t Keshian agents trying to kill you.’

‘Who then?’ asked Ty.

‘That’s the question, isn’t it?’ said Albér.

‘Yes. It wasn’t Kesh and it certainly wasn’t Roldem,’ offered Lady Franciezka. ‘That means there’s another, unknown, player taking a hand.’

• CHAPTER SIXTEEN •

Revelations

AMIRANTH TENSED.

He waited to see if anything went awry as Gulamendis completed his preliminary enchanting. The two had spent most of his visit determining a means of investigating the demon realm without actually exposing themselves to an attack from there.

‘I think I’m ready,’ said the elven Demon Master.

‘I’d be calmer if you had not said “think”.’

Gulamendis glanced at his friend and then gave him what passed for an amused smile; Amirantha had come to appreciate the subtleties of elven expression over the two and a half weeks he had been the Demon Master’s guest. He’d also come to appreciate his people more, though the experience was leaving him with mixed feelings.

Amirantha nodded once, and Gulamendis began his final summoning.

The warlock waited for the tell-tale bristle of energies that signalled the breach of the barriers between the mortal realm and the demon realm. Gulamendis finished his preparations.

Nothing happened.

‘Well, that was disappointing,’ said the elf.

‘What did you feel?’

‘Nothing.’ He looked at his human friend. ‘Just, nothing. It was as if there was no one on the other side, no demon present.’

‘Odd,’ said Amirantha.

Gulamendis and he were standing in the middle of a large empty room, slated to be a storage area in the future, but presently unused. They had been given permission by Tanderae, the Loremaster and highest ranking member of the Regent’s Meet that was not hostile to them to use it, and had taken almost three days in preparing wards against an accidental summoning. The wards were strong enough in Amirantha’s judgment to hold anything this side of a demon prince in thrall should one come through, and the intent was not to reach through and bring over a demon but simply control a demon in the other realm long enough to speak to it. Had it gone as designed, they’d have seen the image of the demon standing in the centre of the ward and would have been able to communicate with it.