Roo nodded.
Duncan drew back his fist and struck the man in the chair. The man’s head snapped back and blood began running down his nose. ‘Wrong answer,’ said Duncan.
Herbert McCraken said, ‘I don’t know.
Duncan hit him again.
Roo said, ‘It’s very simple, McCraken. You tell me who arranged for you to embezzle my gold and who has it, and we’ll let you go.’
‘They’ll kill me if I do,’ he answered.
‘We’ll kill you if you don’t,’ said Roo.
McCraken said, ‘If I tell you, I’ve got no bargaining power. What’s to keep you from cutting my throat once I talk?’
‘No profit in it,’ said Roo. ‘The gold is mine; it’s not as if we’re trying to break the King’s law in getting it back. If I take you to the City Watch office and file charges with the Duke’s constable, once we get a magistrate who can understand that puzzle of accounts you created, you’ll be working on the harbor gang for the next fifteen years.’
‘If I tell you?’
‘We’ll let you leave the city … alive.’
He thought a minute, then said, ‘Newton Briggs is the man’s name. He arranged for the transfer of funds.’
Roo glanced at Jason, who stood in the shadows behind McCraken, where he couldn’t see him. Softly Jason said, ‘He was a partner in the countinghouse before we bought it.’
McCraken said, ‘He wasn’t happy to lose control. I think someone paid him to steal from you. All I know is he promised me enough gold to buy a Quegan title, and a villa, and set up my own business.’
‘Why Quegan?’ asked Duncan.
Luis, who stood behind the man, keeping him in the chair, said, ‘Many in the Kingdom dream of being a rich Quegan noble, living in a villa with a dozen young slave girls’ – then he shrugged – ‘or boys.’
Roo laughed. ‘You’re an idiot. You were played for a fool. You set foot on the docks of the city of Queg and within minutes you’d be on your way to the galleys. Whatever gold you had would be forfeit to the state. Unless you have powerful allies there, noncitizens of Queg have no rights.’
McCraken blinked. ‘But I was promised …’
Roo said, ‘Let him loose.’
‘Just let him go?’ asked Duncan.
‘Where’s he going?’
Luis had found McCraken waiting at a warehouse for a rendezvous with someone – now they knew it to be Briggs – less than four hours earlier. Duncan had already sent a rider to bring back those men heading for Sarth; if all went according to plan, they should be back at Roo’s headquarters within the hour.
The man stood up and said, ‘What am I to do now?’
‘Go to Queg and try to buy a patent of nobility,’ said Roo. ‘But use someone else’s money. If you’re in the city by sundown tomorrow, it won’t be just your confederates who will be trying to kill you.’
The man wiped his bloody lip with the back of his hand and stumbled out the door. Roo said, ‘Wait a minute, Duncan, then follow him. He’s too scared to try to get away on his own. If there’s another player in this, he may lead us to him. And don’t let him really get away; we may need him to give testimony to the Royal Courts. He may be the only thing that stands between us and a charge of robbery.’
Duncan nodded. ‘Where will you be?’
‘At the docks,’ said Roo. ‘Just against the possibility there is a ship that might be Queg-bound on the morning tide. Send for us there.’
Duncan nodded and left.
Roo said, ‘Jason, return to the office and wait there. Luis and I will send word if we need you somewhere else.’
Jason departed. Luis said, ‘We have a ship ready to sail as soon as you give word.’
‘Good,’ said Roo. ‘If we find our gold thief is making a break from the city, I want to catch him out beyond the breakwater. By the time any royal warship comes to investigate, I want the matter settled. I want the gold in our possession should some revenue cutter board us. It will be much easier to explain then.’
Luis shook his head. ‘Why move the gold? Why not just stick it somewhere in a back room and wait for the Bitter Sea Company to fold?’
Roo said, ‘Because that’s both smart and risky. If you knew these boys were going to get out of the city and not talk, it would be the smart thing to do. But if you thought they might be caught and forced to talk, well, eventually this trail will lead back to whoever is the brains behind this fraud, and at that point’ – he snapped his fingers – ‘we come with every sword we can hire, and it’s a free-for-all.’ He sighed. ‘But if the gold is safely gone, on its way to some port or in a wagon heading over the mountains …’ He shrugged.
‘Whoever planned this certainly timed things correctly,’ said Luis.
Roo said, ‘That’s what has me worried. Not only did those bastards at the countinghouse have to be in on this, they had to know something more about the Bitter Sea Company and its finances than they could from people like McCraken and Briggs.’ He held up one finger. ‘They had to know that Jason or someone else would be close to discovering the fraud. It’s just been going on too long.’ He held up a second finger. ‘And they had to know that we’re a few weeks from being able to cover such a loss.’ He shook his head in frustration. ‘We’ve got caravans coming in from the East, and a grain shipment putting into Ylith today. Our Far Coast fleet should be at Carse or putting out for the return leg home. Any of those will be bringing enough gold to cover that shortfall’ – he struck his fist into his hand – ‘but not today!’
‘A spy?’
‘An agent of some sort,’ said Roo. He moved toward the door. ‘Besides Duncan, you are the only person I fully trust, Luis. You were with me in the death cell and you swam the Vedra River with me. We’ve looked death in the face together, and except for Jadow and Greylock, there’s not a man left in Krondor I’d want at my back besides you.’
Luis’s expression was one of mild amusement. ‘Even with one hand?’
Roo opened the door. ‘You’re better with a knife in one hand than most men are with a sword and two hands. Come along, let’s start combing the docks.’
Luis slapped his employer on the back as he followed him through the door and shut it behind him. The shed was one of many the Bitter Sea Company owned in the Merchants’ Quarter, and from there the pair moved quickly toward the docks.
After they had left, a figure rose from the roof of the shed. Lightly jumping to the cobbles, the shadowy observer watched Luis and Roo as they vanished into the darkness, then turned and whistled lightly, pointing after them. Two more figures emerged from a block farther down the street and rapidly approached the first. The three figures conferred for a moment, then one of the two returned the way he had come. The others followed Roo and Luis toward the dock.
‘Ambush!’ shouted Renaldo.
‘Wedge!’ shouted Calis and instantly every man was deploying. The column was in a large gallery, easily two hundred feet across, with six entrances. As they had trained, forty of the men formed a shield-to-shield wedge, with their swords poised to strike down any attacker. The other twenty men unshouldered shortbows and calmly set arrows to bowstrings as an inhuman snarling and shrieking filled the gallery.
From three tunnels ahead streams of Pantathians rushed forward to attack Calis’s Crimson Eagles. Erik attempted a rough estimation of the opposing forces, but quickly stopped trying to count as the first wave of attackers began to fall to the bowmen. Then they struck the shield wall.
Erik laid about him with powerful strokes of his blade. Twice he heard steel break under his strikes as Pantathian soldiers tried to block with their swords. He discovered little skill in their opponents. Without waiting for instructions from Calis, he shouted, ‘Second rank! Swords, and follow me!’
The twenty bowmen dropped their bows and drew swords. Erik circled around the right end of his line and hit the Pantathians in the flank. As he had suspected, they quickly collapsed in confusion.
But rather than flee, they simply hurled themselves at the Kingdom soldiers, until suddenly the last two went down before Calis’s men and the gallery fell silent. Boldar Blood said, ‘Like hacking firewood.’
Erik glanced at the strange mercenary and noticed that the blood that was splattered on his armor was running off, as if unable to cling to the strange white surface. Catching his breath, Erik said, ‘They were brave, but these weren’t warriors.’ He signaled two men toward each tunnel mouth, to stand alert in case other Pantathians might be heading this way.
‘Not brave,’ said Boldar. ‘Fanatics.’
Calis looked to Miranda, who said, ‘We’ve never heard of anyone fighting them hand to hand. They prefer to use stealth and cunning to make war.’
Erik used the toe of his boot to turn one over and said, ‘It’s small.’
‘They are all small,’ said Calis. ‘Smaller than the one we found yesterday.’
Erik glanced at de Loungville. ‘Are they sending youngsters against us?’
‘Maybe,’ said the Sergeant Major. ‘If they’re as beat up in other parts of this warren as that crèche we found yesterday was, they may be desperate to keep what’s left intact.’
Erik quickly inspected his own men, while Calis and Miranda inspected the Pantathian dead. No man of Calis’s command had suffered a significant injury. ‘Only cuts and bruises,’ Erik reported.
‘A few minutes’ rest, then we move on,’ said de Loungville.
Erik nodded. ‘Which tunnel?’
De Loungville repeated the question to Calis.
‘The center, I think. If we need to, we can double back,’ said the Captain.
Erik hoped that was so, but he kept his thoughts to himself.
Roo crouched behind a bale as a strong contingency of armed men moved warily through the darkness. Fog had rolled in, and in the early morning gloom a man could barely see his hand at arm’s length from his face.
Roo and Luis had scouted the docks when one of Roo’s men reported a large company of guards and a wagon heading for the docks. Roo had followed while sending Luis to fetch more men.
Suddenly Roo spun, reacting to the soft sound of movement behind him. As Roo had his sword ready, Duncan held up his hand and whispered, ‘It’s me!’ Roo dropped the point of his sword and turned to look at the wagon as he came up the quay. Duncan knelt next to his cousin. ‘McCraken’s headed here. I lost him for a moment in the fog, saw someone – you – duck down that alley’ – he pointed behind Roo – ‘and followed. I expect we’ll see Herbert show any moment.’
Roo nodded. ‘It’s our gold in that wagon, no doubt.’
‘Are we going to hit them on the docks?’
Roo counted. ‘Not unless Luis gets back with our men before they get that boat launched,’ he whispered. ‘All our men are either on the Bitter Sea Queen or at the warehouse, waiting for orders.’
The wagon came to a halt and a voice cut through the darkness. ‘Down to that longboat.’ A single shuttered lantern was uncovered and the wagon and the men around it were now clearly seen, as silhouettes outlined by the faint light.
Men unlatched the tailgate and began unloading several small chests. Suddenly another figure stumbled out of the dark into the small pool of lantern light around the wagon. Swords were drawn, as an alarmed voice said, ‘It’s me! McCraken!’
A man jumped off the wagon seat and grabbed the lantern as two guards gripped Herbert’s arm. The man with the lantern held it up and stepped forward.
Roo sucked breath hard. It was Tim Jacoby. Then at his shoulder he could see Tim’s brother, Randolph. Tim said, ‘What are you doing here?’
‘Briggs never showed,’ said McCraken.
‘Fool,’ said Tim Jacoby. ‘You were told to wait until he showed up, no matter how long it took. He’s probably at the warehouse looking for you right now.’
Randolph said, ‘What happened to your face?’
Herbert raised his hand to his face, then said, ‘I fell in the dark and hit my lip on a crate.’
‘Looks like someone hit you,’ said Tim Jacoby.
‘No one hit me,’ said McCraken, too loud for Tim Jacoby’s liking. ‘I swear it!’
‘Keep your voice down,’ Tim ordered. ‘Did anyone follow you?’
‘In this fog?’ said McCraken. He took a breath. ‘You’ve got to take me with you. Briggs was supposed to show up at sundown with my gold. I waited and he never got there. I was promised fifty thousand gold for my part in this. You’ve got to make good on this.’
‘Or what?’ asked Tim.
Suddenly McCraken was afraid. ‘I …’
Roo noticed that none of the men around the wagon had moved since McCraken’s arrival. The longboat at the bottom of the quay’s steps rocked gently against the stones. ‘Keep talking,’ urged Roo silently, knowing that each passing minute brought Luis and his own men that much closer. Taking them here would be so much easier than a sea battle. He had only until sundown to pay the note, and if he couldn’t take Jacoby’s men on the docks, he would be forced to try a sea chase and taking Tim’s ship before noon.
Whispering to Duncan, he said, ‘If I need to, I plan to keep them here until Luis comes. Can you circle around behind them?’
‘What?’ whispered Duncan. ‘You want just the two of us to try to stop them?’
‘Slow them down, that’s all. Get behind them and follow my play.’
Duncan rolled his eyes and whispered, ‘I hope to the gods you’re not going to get us killed, cousin.’ Then he turned and disappeared into the fog.
McCraken said, ‘If you don’t make good on this, I’ll testify before the Duke’s constable. I’ll claim you and Briggs forced me to falsify the accounts.’
Tim shook his head. ‘You’re a very stupid man, McCraken. We were supposed to have no contact. That was Briggs’s job.’
‘Briggs never showed!’ said McCraken, his voice nearly hysterical.
Tim nodded, and suddenly the two guards gripping McCraken’s arms tightened their grip, holding him motionless. Jacoby swiftly drew a poniard from his belt and drove it into McCraken’s stomach. ‘You should have stayed in the warehouse, McCraken. Briggs is dead, and now’ – the accountant slumped in the grip of the two guards – ‘so are you.’ With a motion of his head he indicated they should dispose of the body in the harbor. The two guards took two steps down the stairs beside the longboat and threw the body into the water a few feet in front of the bow. Another body found floating in the harbor would hardly be worth mention in Krondor.
Roo waited until he calculated almost all the gold was loaded on the boat, then he stepped out and with as much authority as he could muster shouted, ‘Don’t move! You’re surrounded.’
As he hoped, those near the wagon and the boat couldn’t see who was out there in the fog, and that hesitation gave Roo the advantage he had hoped for; had they instantly charged him, as good a swordsman as he was, he would have been overwhelmed.
A strangled cry sounded from the back of the wagon and a man fell to the cobbles. Roo wondered at this, until he heard Duncan’s voice shout, ‘We told you not to move!’
A man near the body glanced down and said, ‘It’s a dagger! This ain’t the City Watch!’
He took a step and was brought down by another dagger, and a different voice said, ‘We never said we were the City Watch.’ Moving slowly forward from beyond the other side of the building that had sheltered Roo, a figure could be dimly seen. Roo thought he recognized the voice, and then he made out some familiar features. Dashel Jameson walked casually forward until he was visible to both sides.
In the distance, hooves striking cobbles could be heard and Dash said, ‘And we also have reinforcements on their way. Put down your weapons.’
Some of the men hesitated, when a third dagger sped out of the darkness from where Dashel had emerged and thudded into the side of the wagon. ‘He said put down your weapons!’ shouted a different, odd-sounding voice.
Roo prayed to Ruthia, Goddess of Luck, that it was Luis and his men whose hooves clattered through the early morning, approaching rapidly. Jacoby’s guards slowly knelt, placing weapons on the cobbles.
Roo waited another moment, then came forward. ‘Good morning, Timothy, Randolph.’ He tried to sound casual.
Jacoby said, ‘You!’
Just then Luis rode into view and a dozen horsemen came after, fanning out to surround those men already on the ground. Several carried crossbows, which they leveled at the wagons and at the boat.
‘Did you think I’d let you flee with my gold?’
Jacoby nearly spat, he was so angry. ‘What do you mean, your gold?’
Roo said, ‘Come along, Tim. McCraken and Briggs told us everything.’
Jacoby said, ‘Briggs? How could he? We –’
‘Shut up, you fool!’ commanded Randolph.
Roo glanced to where McCraken floated in the bay. ‘So you sent Herbert to join Briggs, did you?’
‘I’ll send you to join them in hell!’ snapped Timothy Jacoby, pulling his sword from his belt, despite the crossbows pointed his way.
‘No!’ shouted Randolph, pushing his brother aside as three bolts were unleashed.
Two bolts took Randolph in the chest and another in the neck, and blood exploded across the men standing behind him. He hit the ground like a fly swatted out of the air by a human hand.
Tim Jacoby rose up from the ground, holding his sword in one hand and a poniard in the other, and there was only madness and rage in his eyes. Luis started to draw back his dagger to throw, but Roo said, ‘No! Let him come. It’s time to finish this.’
‘You’ve been a thorn in my side since the day we met,’ said Tim Jacoby. ‘You’ve killed my brother!’
Roo leveled his sword and said, ‘And Helmut died at your hands.’ He motioned for Jacoby to come toward him. ‘Come on! What are you waiting for?’
The men stepped back and Jacoby rushed Roo. Roo was the experienced soldier, while Jacoby was nothing more than a murdering bully, but now he was a murdering bully inflamed by hatred and the desire for revenge.
He closed on Roo faster than he’d anticipated, and Roo was forced to defend and retreat against the lethal two-handed attack.
‘Light!’ commanded Duncan, and quickly men opened the shutters on the one lamp, throwing an eerie glow through the fog as the two men struggled. One of the horsemen jumped down, opened a saddlebag, and pulled out a bundle of short torches. He struck steel and flint while Roo and Jacoby slashed and parried, and brought a light to life. He quickly lit and distributed flaming brands to Luis’s men, and a circle of light surrounded the two combatants.
Luis had his men pick up the weapons Jacoby’s men had put down and moved the guards toward the wagon. Roo fought for his life.
Back and forth the attacks and defenses moved the two men, each waiting for the other to make a mistake. The fury was finally flowing out of Jacoby as he tired, while Roo vowed he would never go so long without practicing his weapons again. Clashing steel echoed across the harbor. Upon distant ships at their moorings, guards lit lanterns and called questions.
A watchman came out between two buildings, saw Randolph lying in a spreading pool of blood, the two fighters, and the two bands of men, and retreated hastily. When he was safely out of harm’s way, he produced a tin whistle and began blowing it fiercely. A squad of three constables appeared a short while later, and the watchman explained what he had seen. The senior constable sent one of his men to headquarters for more men, and then accompanied the other man back toward the dock.
Roo felt his arms begin to ache. What Jacoby lacked in skill he gained back by using two weapons, a style of fighting difficult to defend with a single blade.
Jacoby had a tricky move, an advance with his sword extended, followed by a slash with his left hand. It was designed to cut across the chest of any opponent who tried to engage his sword and riposte. The first time he tried it, Roo barely escaped with a tear in his tunic.
Roo wiped perspiration from his brow with his left hand, keeping the point of his sword directed at Jacoby. Jacoby’s right boot heel tapped, and then he extended and advanced, following with the left-hand slash. Roo leaped backward. He chanced a glance over his shoulder and saw that he was being driven toward a large pile of crates, and once his back was against them, he would have no room to escape.
The tap of Jacoby’s boot heel against the cobbles saved Roo’s life, for he leaped backward before he turned to look again at Jacoby, and barely missed the poniard slashing through the air. Roo crouched.
As he expected, he heard the boot heel tap again, and without hesitation Roo leaned forward. He beat aside Jacoby’s extended blade, but rather than come straight in, Roo dropped his own blade, extended his left hand downward to touch the stones, and ducked under the vicious slash of the poniard. For a moment he was completely vulnerable, but Jacoby’s blades were in no position to take advantage. Roo knew that any experienced fighter might kick with his boot, sending Roo to the stones, but he doubted Jacoby had ever seen this move. With his right hand, Roo thrust upward, catching Jacoby in his right side, just below the ribs. As the sword traveled upward, it pierced lung and heart.
Jacoby’s eyes widened and a strange, childlike sound issued from his lips, and his fingers ceased to possess any strength. Sword and poniard fell from his hands. Then his knees wobbled and he collapsed upon the ground as Roo yanked his blade free.
‘Don’t anyone move,’ said a voice.
Roo glanced over his shoulder and saw the senior constable approaching with riot club in one hand, absently slapping the palm of the other. Gasping for breath, Roo felt a giddy admiration for the officer of the Prince’s City Watch, willing to confront two dozen armed men with nothing more than his badge of office and a billy.
Roo said, ‘Wouldn’t think of it.’
More horsemen could be heard approaching as the constable said, ‘Now then, what have we here?’
Roo said, ‘It’s simple. These two dead men are thieves. Those men over there’ – he pointed to the disarmed guards by the wagon – ‘are hired thugs. And that wagon and that boat are loaded with my stolen gold.’
Seeing no one was attempting to cause trouble, the constable put his billy under his arm and rubbed his chin. ‘And who might that wet fellow floating in the harbor be?’
Roo blew out and took a deep breath. ‘By name, Herbert McCraken. He was an accountant at my countinghouse. He helped those two steal my gold.’
‘Hmmm,’ said the constable, obviously not convinced. ‘And who might you be, sir, to be having countinghouses, accounts, and large shipments of gold?’ He glanced down at the Jacoby brothers, and added, ‘And a surplus of corpses.’
Roo smiled. ‘I’m Rupert Avery. I’m a partner in the Bitter Sea Company.’
The constable nodded. As horsemen rounded the corner and approached the group, he said, ‘That’s a name few haven’t heard in Krondor in the last year or so. Is there someone here likely to vouch for you?’
Dash stepped forward. ‘I will. He’s my boss.’
‘And who might you be?’ asked the constable.
‘He’s my grandson,’ said the lead rider.
Trying to see the figure on horseback through the gloom, the constable said, ‘And then who might you be?’
Lord James rode forward into the circle of torches and lanterns and said, ‘My name is James. And in a manner of speaking, I’m your boss.’
Then the other newly arrived riders appeared, soldiers in the garb of the Prince’s personal guards, and Knight-Marshal William said, ‘Why don’t you take these men’ – he pointed to the Jacoby guards – ‘into custody, Constable. We’ll deal with these other gentlemen.’
The constable was nearly speechless at being in the presence of the Duke of Krondor and the Knight-Marshal, and hesitated a long moment before he said, ‘Yes, sir! Titus!’
From out of the shadows came a young constable, barely twenty years of age by his appearance. He carried a crossbow. ‘Yes, Sergeant?’
‘Arrest that lot over there.’
‘Yes, sir!’ said the young constable and he pointed his crossbow at them in menacing fashion. ‘Come along, and no funny business.’
Other constables appeared and the sergeant moved them to positions surrounding the dozen captives, escorting them away.
Roo turned to Lord James and said, ‘I don’t suppose you just happened to be out for a very early morning ride, m’lord?’
James said, ‘No. We had you followed.’
Out of the shadows came the girl Katherine and Jimmy.
‘Followed?’ asked Roo. ‘Why?’
‘We need to talk,’ said James. Turning his horse, he said, ‘Get cleaned up and get your gold to safety, then come to the palace for breakfast.’
Roo nodded. ‘Straight away, m’lord.’ To Luis and Duncan he said, ‘Get the gold off the boat and back to our offices.’ Then he turned to Dash and said, ‘And tell me: whose employee are you? Mine or your grandfather’s?’
Dash grinned and shrugged. ‘In a manner of speaking, both of yours.’
Roo said nothing for a moment, then said, ‘You’re discharged.’
Dash said, ‘Ah, I don’t think you can do that.’
‘Why not?’ demanded Roo.
‘Grandfather will explain.’
Roo shrugged. Suddenly too tired to think, he said, ‘I could use some food and coffee.’ He sighed. ‘A lot of coffee.’
The men began loading the gold back into the Jacobys’ wagon, and two men took the Jacoby brothers’ bodies to load into the wagon beside the gold. Roo put his sword away, wondering what was coming next. At least, he reasoned, he could meet the demand note and keep his company alive. Never, he vowed silently, would he let his company become that vulnerable again.
Roo sipped at the coffee and sighed. ‘This is excellent.’
James nodded. ‘Jimmy buys it at Barret’s for me.’
Roo smiled. ‘Best coffee in the city.’
The Duke of Krondor said, ‘What am I to do with you?’
‘I’m not sure I take your meaning, m’lord.’
They all sat around a large table in the Duke’s private quarters. Knight-Marshal William sat beside the Duke, while Jimmy, Dash, and Katherine filled out the company. Owen Greylock entered the room and sat.
‘Good morning, m’lord, Marshal, Roo,’ he said with a smile.
‘As I was explaining to your old friend here, Captain Greylock, I’m at something of a loss as to what to do with him,’ said James.
Greylock looked confused. ‘Do with him?’
‘Well, there are several dead bodies down at the docks and a lot of gold with little explanation as to how it got there.’
Roo said, ‘M’lord, with all due respect, I’ve explained this all to you.’
‘So you say,’ replied James. He leaned forward and pointed a finger at Roo. ‘But you’re a convicted murderer, and several of your business dealings in the recent past have bordered on the criminal.’
Roo’s fatigue made him prickly. ‘Bordering on the criminal isn’t the same as being criminal … m’lord.’
‘Well, we could impound the gold and hold a hearing,’ said Marshal William.
Roo sat straight. ‘You can’t! If I don’t get that gold to my creditors by the end of the day, I’ll be ruined. That was the entire thrust of Jacoby’s plans.’
James said, ‘Will everyone but Mr Avery please leave us for a while. Breakfast is now finished.’
Greylock looked at the food still on the table with regret, but he rose and departed with the others, leaving Roo alone with Lord James.
James stood and came to the empty chair next to Roo and sat. ‘This is how it is,’ he said. ‘You’ve done very well. Remarkable doesn’t begin to cover how well you’ve done in your rise, young Avery. At one point I thought we might have to take a hand in seeing you survive the attempts your enemies made upon you, but you didn’t need our help. That’s to your credit.
‘But my threat wasn’t hollow; I want you to understand something, and that is, no matter how powerful you become, you are no more above the law than you were when you and Erik killed Stefan von Darkmoor.’
Roo said nothing.
‘I’ll not attempt to impound your gold, Rupert. Pay off your creditors and continue to prosper, but always remember that you can be put away as quickly now as you were when we first tossed you into the death cell.’
Roo said, ‘Why are you telling me this?’
‘Because you are not done with our service, young Avery.’ James stood and paced as he said, ‘Reports from across the sea are worse than we thought they’d be; far worse. Your friend Erik may already be dead for all we know. Everyone who went with Calis may be.’ He stopped his pacing and looked at Roo. ‘But even if they reach those goals they set out to achieve, this much you can bank on: the host of the Emerald Queen is coming, and you know almost as well as I that if she lands on these shores, your hard-won riches mean nothing. You and your wife and children will be nothing more than objects to sweep aside as she marches toward her goal: the destruction of every living thing on this world.’
Roo said, ‘What do you want me to do?’
‘Do?’ said James. ‘Why do you think I want you to do anything?’
‘Because we wouldn’t be having this meal if you were only trying to remind me either of your ability to hang me on a whim or about the terrible things I saw when serving with Calis.’ Roo’s voice rose in anger as he said, ‘I bloody well know both those facts!’ He slammed his fist on the table, causing dishes to jump and clatter. Then he added, ‘M’lord.’
‘I’ll tell you what I want,’ said Lord James. He leaned over, hands on the back of one chair and the table, and put his face before Roo’s, eye to eye. ‘I need gold.’
Roo blinked. ‘Gold?’
‘More gold than even a greedy little bastard like you can imagine, Rupert.’ He stood up. ‘We’ve the biggest war in the history of this world about to be unleashed on these shores.’ He walked to a window that overlooked the harbor and made a sweeping motion with his hand. ‘Unless someone with a great deal more power and intelligence than are possessed by every ruling lord in this Kingdom comes up with an unexpected solution, we will see the biggest fleet in history come sailing into that harbor in less than three years’ time. And on that fleet will be the biggest army ever seen.’
He turned to look at Roo. ‘And everything you see from this window will be ashes. That includes your house, your business, Barret’s Coffee House, your docks, your warehouses, your ships, your wife, your children, your mistress.’
At the last, Roo felt his throat almost close. He thought no one knew about his relationship with Sylvia. James spoke calmly, but his manner betrayed a tightly controlled anger. ‘You will never understand the love I feel for this city, Rupert.’ He motioned around the hall. ‘You will never understand why I hold this palace dear above all other places on this world. A very special man saw something in me that no one else would ever have seen, and he put out his hand and elevated me to a station that no one of my birth could ever have imagined.’ Roo saw a slight sheen of moisture in Lord James’s eyes. ‘I gave my own son that man’s name, to honor him.’ The Duke turned his back to Roo, to look out the window again. ‘And you have no idea how much I wish we could have that man with us here, now. Of all men, he would be the one I would wish to tell us what to do next as this terrible day approaches.’
Taking a deep breath, the old Duke composed himself. ‘But he is not here. He is dead, and he would be the first to tell me that dreaming of things that cannot be is a waste of time.’ He looked again into Roo’s eyes. ‘And time is something we have far less of than we had thought. I said that fleet would be here in less than three years. It may be here in less than two. I won’t know until a ship from Novindus appears.’
Roo said, ‘Two, three years?’
‘Yes,’ said James. ‘This is why I need gold. I need to finance the biggest war in the history of the Kingdom, a war that dwarfs any we’ve fought. We have a standing army of fewer than five thousand men in the Principality. When we raise the banners of the Kingdom, both Eastern and Western Realms, we can put perhaps forty thousand men in the field, trained veterans and levies. How many men does the Emerald Queen bring against us?’
Roo sat back, remembering just those forces at the mercenaries’ rendezvous. ‘Two hundred, two hundred fifty thousand if she can get them all across the sea.’
James said, ‘She has six hundred ships as of our last report. She is producing two new ships a week. She’s destroying the entire continent to keep production that high, but she’s got her heel on the throat of the entire population down there and the work continues.’
Roo calculated. ‘Fifty weeks, minimum. She needs at least one hundred more ships to carry provisions for that many men. If she’s prudent, she’ll build for another one hundred weeks.’
‘Have you seen anything to indicate prudence?’
‘No,’ said Roo, ‘but on the other hand even someone willing to kill every man in her service must have some idea of what she needs to accomplish her goals.’
James nodded. ‘Two or three years from now, they will be in that harbor.’
Roo said, ‘What part do I play?’
James said, ‘I could tax you until you bleed to finance this war, but even if I sent out the army to grab every coin from the Teeth of the World to Kesh, from the Sunset Islands to Roldem, it wouldn’t be enough.’ James again leaned over and spoke softly, as if he feared someone might be listening. ‘But in that two or three years, with the proper help, you might be able to finance that war.’
Roo looked as if he didn’t understand. ‘M’lord?’
James said, ‘You need to make enough profit in the next two years so that you can loan the Crown what we’re going to need to finance this coming war.’
Roo let out a long breath. ‘Well, that’s unexpected. You want me to get rich beyond dreaming, so I can lend it to the Crown, to fight a war that we may not win.’
James said, ‘Essentially.’
‘From what you said, I suspect the Crown may not be in a position to repay me in a timely fashion if we survive this coming ordeal.’
James said, ‘Consider the alternatives.’
Roo nodded. ‘There is that.’ He rose. ‘Well, if I’m to become the richest man sitting atop the ash heap in three years, I’d better set about gathering more wealth. To do that, I need to pay off my creditors by sundown.’
‘There is one other thing,’ said James.
‘What, m’lord?’
‘The matter with the Jacobys. There is the father.’
‘Do I need to fear more attacks?’
‘Possibly,’ said James. ‘The judicious thing to do would be go see him at once, before he learns that you killed his sons. Forge a peace, Rupert, because you need allies, not enemies, for the coming years, and I cannot help you in all things; even my reach has limits.’
Roo said, ‘After I settle with Frederick Jacoby, I’ll need to tell all this to my partners.’
‘I suggest you buy them out,’ said James. ‘Or at least gain control of the Bitter Sea Trading and Holding Company.’ Then James grinned, and Roo could see both a reflection of the boy thief who had once run the streets of Krondor and the echo of his grandsons in his face. ‘You were planning on that eventually, anyway, weren’t you?’
Roo laughed. ‘Eventually.’
‘Better sooner than later. If you need a small amount of gold to accomplish that, the Crown can lend it to you; we’re certainly going to take that back and a great deal more besides.’
Roo said he would let the Duke know, and he departed. As he left the palace he considered how his fate was once again linked to that of the Crown, and how no matter how he tried, he could not free himself of the fate dictated for him the moment he and Erik had killed Stefan.
As he reached the gate, he realized he had neither horse nor carriage waiting for him. Then he decided the walk to the office would help set his mind to what he would need to say to Frederick Jacoby when he told him his sons were dead.
Erik directed the scouts to check the gallery ahead. They had been hearing faint sounds for nearly ten minutes, but the origin of them was unclear. There were side passages and galleries in profusion, and noises echoed in strange and disorienting fashion.
A few minutes later they returned. ‘It’s filled with lizards,’ whispered one of the scouts. Erik signaled the man to follow him to where Calis and the others waited and the man quickly diagramed how the gallery was laid out.
It was an almost perfect half circle, with a long ramp down from the entrance, running to the right, and a flat ridge running to the left. The swordsmen would charge down the ramp, while the archers would follow, deploying to the left, to rain arrows down upon the serpents.
Calis gave orders, and Erik and de Loungville relayed them. Erik heard Calis tell Boldar to stay with Miranda and guard her, then Calis was moving past, insisting on taking the lead personally.
As was the case before, each man did exactly as he was bidden to do, without hesitation or confusion, but once into the gallery, the battle was joined. And as Erik had learned firsthand, and had read in every book William had given him to read, once the battle was joined, plans were so much chaff on the wind.
These Pantathians were full-sized adults, half again as big as those young warriors they had fought earlier in the day. The tallest measured just short of Erik’s chin, and their best warrior was no match for Calis’s meanest, but they had numbers on their side.
Two hundred or more had gathered in the gallery, and Erik noted in passing that some showed recent wounds. But he hadn’t time to dwell on where else the Pantathians were battling. He assumed it was with that third player Calis referred to.
Every man in the company knew that surprise only gained them a slight advantage, and that they must quickly press that advantage, killing as many Pantathians as possible. Orders were passed on the other side of the hall, the hissing language of the serpent priests impossible to understand. Erik laid about him with as much efficiency as he could muster; in the first two minutes of battle, a snake man died for each blow he delivered.
Then the defense got organized and began to push the attackers back. Just as the tide of battle seemed to tip, the twenty bowmen took up position on the ridge overlooking the gallery and began to rain arrows down upon the Pantathians.
Erik shouted, ‘Advance!’ and waded into the dying foe-men, and could hear others repeat his order. As before, the Pantathians refused to yield and stood their ground, dying either by arrow or by sword blow.
Then it was silent.
Erik glanced around and could see twitching bodies all around. A few were his own men, but most were green-skinned. He glanced around, taking mental inventory, then after looking twice, turned to find de Loungville, gasping for breath, standing a short distance away. ‘We have seven down, Sergeant Major.’
De Loungville nodded. Erik directed others to get the wounded and move them back up to the ridge where the archers waited. Erik then joined de Loungville, Calis, and Miranda in inspecting the hall. Scouts were sent into nearby galleries, barely visible in the light.
The air was humid and hot. Breathing was difficult. A crack in the floor along the far wall bled steam in a steady flow. Several of the Pantathians were still alive, and Calis’s men quickly executed them. The orders had been defined: if it was a Pantathian, kill it. No serpent man, woman, or child was to be spared. Erik had felt little concern for the order, but the men had discussed it.
After a battle in which comrades had fallen, carrying out the orders was easy enough. Then a scout called out, ‘Sergeant! Over here!’
Erik turned and trotted over. ‘What is it?’
‘Look, sir.’
Erik looked at a gallery and saw a bubbling pool of hot water in the center of the room. It had obviously been hollowed out by the serpent priests, as the marks of tools were visible in the rocks. More than a dozen large eggs were arrayed around the pool, close enough to incubate, but not so close as to cook the young.
One of the eggs was moving.
Erik approached the egg as a fracture appeared along one side, and then with a loud crack, it split. The tiny body that tumbled out was little larger than a dog. It blinked as if confused and cried in a sound that was eerily like that of a human baby.
Erik raised his sword and hesitated as the tiny creature made its inquisitive crying sounds. Then the baby Pantathian turned its gaze upon Erik.
The baby’s eyes narrowed, and Erik saw hatred in those new-born orbs. With animosity bordering on rage, the tiny creature hissed and hurled itself at Erik.
Reflexively Erik brought his blade down, severing the tiny creature’s head from its shoulders.
Erik felt his gorge rise, and swallowing hard, shouted, ‘Break them!’
The scout joined him and they smashed the remaining eggs. Tiny bodies spilled from the eggs and Erik found himself wishing he could have been anywhere else. The stench that quickly rose from the creatures was noxious beyond anything he had endured.
Leaving the chamber after the grisly work was over, Erik saw others repeating his actions in other galleries close by. More than one man left the galleries retching at what they had seen.
After a few minutes, Miranda said, ‘There is something …’
‘What?’ said Calis.
‘I don’t know … but it’s close.’
Calis stood motionless, then said, ‘I think I know what it is.’ He moved to a tunnel leading downward. ‘This way.’
De Loungville said, ‘Two dead, five wounded, only one too badly to keep up.’
Only the briefest flickering of the muscles along Calis’s jaw betrayed his pain at hearing that report. Calis was starting toward the ramp leading to where the wounded were being cared for when de Loungville said, ‘I’ll ask him.’
Erik knew that Bobby was going to ask the man if he preferred a quick death at the hands of his comrades, or if he wished to risk being left alone to whatever fate brought him, hoping that Calis’s company would return this way and be able to pick him up. Erik knew which choice he would have made, or at least he thought he did, and wondered how de Loungville could volunteer for such a task.
Then, as the other wounded and the archers descended the ramp, Erik realized that he knew exactly why Bobby could do it. He had seen the horrors of the Pantathians and their allies firsthand, and a well-thrust knife blade and a single moment of hot pain was far better for one of your companions than the lingering agony you would suffer if captured.
A strangled grunt of pain told Erik how the man had chosen. De Loungville returned, his face set in an unreadable mask, and he said, ‘Form up the column.’
Erik gave the order and the men got ready to move on.