A Kingdom Besieged (27 page)

‘They can then move in strength against Krondor from the south, leaving the Kingdom in tatters. I cannot let Krondor be surrounded without support from the north. The only relief from the east is in Salador, and that would take weeks, and who can guess what Kesh is doing in the Sea of Kingdoms? The King may be very ill-disposed to stripping any of his eastern garrisons to come to Krondor’s aid.’

‘But how?’ asked Brendan. ‘How could they put so many men in the field at once?’

‘That, my brother, is the question,’ Martin said. ‘For the moment, we need rest.’

‘You and the others from Crydee sleep,’ said Brendan. ‘We’ll keep watch.’

‘What happened to that band of Leopards?’ Martin asked.

‘Brendan happened,’ said Bethany, patting him on the arm.

‘They rode right into us not knowing we had them by five to one,’ said Martin’s younger brother. ‘They are good, but it was over quickly.’ Then he smiled. ‘But we have their horses so you don’t have to walk to Ylith.’

Sighing, Martin lay down, putting his head on a pack someone had set down behind him. ‘Ylith.’ After a moment as his eyes grew heavy, he said, ‘If Robert is bottled up in Carse, and Gasson cut off up in Yabon. . . .’

Bethany came and lay down behind him, snuggling in close as if to keep him warm for the night. Bethany closed her eyes and was quickly asleep as well.

Brendan saw his brother slip into deep slumber and turned to look at the two sergeants. ‘With Father dead and Hal in Roldem, that puts Martin in command.’

Ruther looked at Magwin. The two sergeants were the oldest members of the garrison, save for Swordmaster Phillip who was with young Henry in Roldem for the Champions Tournament at the Masters’ Court. Finally Magwin said ‘Title or not, that makes him the King’s Warden of the West.’

Ruther looked at the sleeping youth and said, ‘Now all he needs is an army.’

J
IM GROANED
.

His arms felt as if they were about to fall off, yet he knew he had another half-hour or more of pulling hard on the oars of this boat. He glanced over his shoulder and at once regretted it. Sorcerer’s Isle didn’t look a foot closer than it had the last time he had looked.

His Keshian guide Nefu had proved as wily a smuggler as he had hoped, and if he had the chance he’d use him himself, if Kaseem would let him. They had run up the coast on a down-wind tack, then turned and run before the wind northward. Twice they had seen sails on the horizon and Nefu had deftly sailed away before they were noticed.

They had reached an imaginary line between the south-west tip of the island nation of Queg and the distant point of Land’s End over the horizon, and found that it was just as Nefu had feared: heavily patrolled by Keshian warships. He had quickly produced both a Keshian flag and a courier’s pennant and affixed them to the mast. As long as he kept sailing, didn’t get stopped and have to answer questions it would be fine. Though Jim judged it likely that Kaseem abu Hazara-Khan had provided Nefu with a fairly comprehensive set of false papers. There was a likelihood that because Kaseem had been betrayed and his network compromised that many of those patents and passes were no longer valid, but unless those who stopped the smuggler were privy to the most recent changes in the top echelons of government, they might get them through. Jim also knew that had he been in charge, Nefu would have a packet with a lot of impressive-looking seals that were to be opened only by a specific noble, one who wasn’t on whatever boat was stopping them.

He was relieved they had not had to test those ploys. For Nefu was even more resourceful than Jim had imagined. They sailed along the line of ships, staying to the east and looking as if they were bound on imperial business for some destination behind the lines, until sundown, at which point Nefu sailed around in a lazy circle until he was where he wished to be. He had lowered the sails and sculled the ship silently through the darkness. Sculling was a primitive means of propelling a boat, probably used centuries before sail or oar. Jim was amazed to see the long oar come out of the hold; it was in sections that were quickly fitted together and put over the stern as the rudder was hoisted out of the water by means of a clever winch-and-cable mechanism. Then Nefu and two of his men fixed the twenty-five-foot-long oar in a iron cradle bolted to the stern of the boat, slipping it through a cut-out that Jim had assumed was a common feature to allow water splashing up on the deck to run off.

Sculling took a lot of power, and this oar was massive, so two men worked it. It was a slow and tedious way to move a boat, but move the boat it did, and silently they crept between two sentry ships anchored along the line Jim had drawn on the imaginary map in his mind.

By dawn an exhausted crew raised the sails and they set a course for Sorcerers’ Isle. They took down the Keshian pennants and kept a sharp watch for Kingdom warships.

A day later they came within view of two things simultaneously: a smudge on the north-eastern horizon which Nefu claimed was Sorcerers’ Isle, and a dot of white to the south-east that the lookout claimed was a squadron of Kingdom warships.

Despite Jim’s assurances that he could convince the commander of any Kingdom squadron they were there on official business, Nefu declined to see if Jim could effectively keep him and his crew out of a Kingdom prison and his boat from being confiscated. The fact that Jim was without identification of any kind, that the Kingdom was in a state of war, and that there was no guarantee that this particular squadron commander had ever met Baron James Jamison all weighed heavily in the smuggler’s decision.

Hence Jim found himself rowing furiously against the current trying desperately to take him away from his destination. Not for the first time that morning did Jim curse Destan for disabling his Tsurani transport orb.

Jim’s shoulders ached and his back hurt and he knew that this was the first time in his life he was seriously beginning to feel his age. At forty a man’s body begins to betray him, and it’s only male vanity that makes him not believe it.

Jim was well past forty.

He worked hard at staying fit, drinking little and eating well, but the rigours of his trade, both as leader of the Mockers and supervisor of the King’s Intelligence Service, conspired to keep him from taking care of himself as much as he should.

Never in his life had he regretted that fact more than now.

As he pulled hard on the oars, he wondered if it might really be time to settle down and start that family. Assuming there was still a Kingdom in which to raise them after this war was over.

Of course if Kesh was victorious, he could probably find employment in Roldem.

Then he wondered if Franciezka was honest about her feelings for him. He had been thinking of her a great deal lately, a fact which both did and didn’t surprise him. It did because he had walled off his feelings towards women early in life, a necessity given his career; it didn’t because Lady Franciezka Sorboz was far and away the most interesting and devious woman he had ever encountered. Life with her would never be dull. And it didn’t hurt his little daydream that she was still the most arrestingly beautiful woman he knew. But most of all, she was the most intelligent woman he had ever met, and he had met a lot of intelligent women. They had to be intelligent to put up with the idiots they married. That then raised the question of how they could marry idiots and still be called intelligent, at which point Jim decided to put aside the question and concentrate on something simple, like who had started this war, why, and how he could convince Pug to save the Kingdom.

Jim kept rowing.

* * *

The boat rose and fell and in the distance Jim could hear the sound of surf but he refused to look behind, knowing this to be a cruel joke being played by Kalkin, God of Thieves. He knew if he looked the island would be back where it was when Nefu had first put him over the side into this boat.

Twice more the boat lifted and then Jim remembered there were rocks along the western shore of the island and then he looked.

White surf crashed against a massive rock face and Jim started frantically pulling with his right oar, while backing with his left, pulling his little boat around onto a southerly course.

He had rowed until he felt his arms would fall out of his shoulder sockets, and now he let the boat drift. He just shipped the oars, sat back, and watched. Currents took the boat around the island, slowly moving past the rocks to an open, sandy area. Jim had been to Sorcerers’ Island more than once, but he hardly considered himself an expert on geography. His usual landing site when he came by ship was on the south-east corner of the island, and he was now at the south-west.

Given the belligerency of almost everyone currently sailing on the Bitter Sea, Jim expected Pug to have lookouts posted around the island. Then he realized that Pug probably had some magic device or spell that let him know when trouble was on its way.

Jim took a long breath and let it out. At this point he decided he would rather walk for a day than row, so he grabbed the oars and turned the boat towards shore.

He started rowing again.

Magnus watched as the boat came ashore. He used his distant sight to see who it was who had come across the Bitter Sea in a rowing boat designed to cross a harbour at most.

At first he wasn’t sure who the scruffy-looking sailor was, but when the boat rode in on a breaker and the man jumped out, Magnus smiled. Of course.

He willed himself to the beach and Jim nearly leapt from surprise. ‘Damn, I wish you wouldn’t do that! Couldn’t you appear a few yards away, yell “hello” and then walk up in a civilized manner?’

Magnus leaned on the staff he always carried and smiled, genuinely amused. ‘Hello,’ he said. ‘Tell me, how did you get to here in a rowing boat? Tell me you didn’t start in Vykor or Durbin.’

‘I didn’t. Got dropped off by a smuggler about half a day’s sail out, which is why I’ve been rowing for the entire day.’ He glanced around at the light. ‘At least I think so. It is close to sundown, right?’

Magnus pointed. ‘That’s west. That bright round yellow thing hanging above the horizon is the sun. Yes, it is close to sundown.’

Exhausted, Jim said, ‘Just take me to your father.’

Magnus reached out and put his hand on Jim’s shoulder, and abruptly they were in Pug’s presence.

Jim looked around, confused, as he had expected to be taken to the castle. He smiled at Pug as the magician turned to greet him. Pug still wore the black robe he had always worn since his time in the Assembly of Magicians on Kelewan, where he had learned his craft in Greater Path Magic.

‘Jim,’ he said extending his hand.

‘Pug,’ said Jim, looking around. ‘Rebuilding, I see.’

The villa was nearing completion. With the aid of talented magicians as well as skilled craftsmen, a year’s worth of work had been finished in a month. Pug said, ‘Making changes, but it’s much the same as before.’

Left unsaid were the people who would be missing.

Jim said, ‘I’m exhausted. Have you a cup of wine and somewhere we can speak?’

Magnus said, ‘I’ll get the wine, Father.’

Pug motioned for Jim to follow him and led him through the entrance to the main building. It was just as it used to be, a massive square with a huge garden in the middle. Currently the fountain was restored to its formal beauty, comprising three dolphins which would spew water in graceful arcs into the pool around them. It was currently empty, waiting for water. And the soil in the garden was bare, having recently been denuded of weeds.

Jim followed Pug to his office within his personal quarters. The room looked very different. Instead of the large sprawling desk Pug had used for years there was a small work table and a single chair. ‘I thought it time for some changes,’ said Pug. He motioned with his hand. ‘I’m leaving the walls as white plaster. It was Miranda’s idea to paint the quarters that light blue she loved so much.’ At the mention of his wife, Pug’s voice echoed a distant sadness.

The magician motioned for Jim to pull up a chair. ‘So, how is it you come to us in a boat, Jim? Magnus was alerted that someone approached, and went to investigate. I will confess I was surprised to see you. Why didn’t you use the orb I gave you?’

‘Broken,’ said Jim, deciding to leave the details until later.

‘Ah,’ said Pug. ‘Tell me what you can about the madness I see going on across the whole of the Bitter Sea.’

‘Across the whole of Triagia,’ said Jim. ‘Kesh has marched against the Kingdom, on all fronts, apparently.’

Magnus appeared with a pitcher of wine and three mugs on a tray. He poured one for Jim and his father, then one for himself.

‘I will confess I’ve been caught completely off guard,’ said Pug. ‘When we saw the Keshian fleet sailing to the south of us, we began our enquiries, contacting our agents. Without success.’

‘My agents south of the Girdle of Kesh have been eliminated.’

‘All of them?’ asked Magnus.

‘They’ve all dropped out of sight. Probably murdered.’ Jim sipped his wine. ‘In my craft, it’s best to assume the simplest explanation.’ Then he considered Amed Dabu Asam. ‘But I could be wrong. My most trusted agent in the Jal-Pur was turned and tried to kill me.’

‘Turned?’ asked Magnus. ‘You mean he was secretly working for Kesh?’

Jim shook his head. ‘No. That’s the maddening thing.’ He glanced from Magnus to Pug then took another drink. ‘My arms are going to fall off from all that rowing,’ he sighed. He put down the mug. ‘There’s another player in the game.’

‘Who?’ asked Pug.

‘I don’t know. I know it’s not Roldem’s agents, because I have a good relationship with them now, and there is no gain for Roldem and much to lose. Kesh’s intelligence leader is well known to me, and he was caught by surprise: key members of his staff were being murdered when I last saw him. And now you tell me your agents were kept ignorant of the coming war.’ Jim looked as if he was ready to weep in frustration. ‘Some of this is possible, but all of it?’

Magnus said, ‘There’s one possibility, one that even we didn’t think of.’

‘What?’ asked Pug.

‘Magic,’ said Magnus. ‘Whoever has balked all our information-gathering – neutralized it, compromised it, fed us lies – it could all be done with magic.’

Pug was silent for a while, then said, ‘My best contact for years in Kesh, Turgan Bey, Lord of the Keep and personal adviser to the Emperor, has retired. My next highest contact, Januk Hadri, Privy Counsellor to the Emperor, has been silent.’

‘I always thought it odd that Bey would “retire”,’ said Jim. ‘Some of those Truebloods love the life of leisure, but not Bey. Some other man might see a political sea change coming and retire to a villa on the shore of the Overn with a dozen beautiful women, or go hunting for lions or whatever else it is retired Keshian nobles do, but he loved the infighting of politics. I expected him to die on the job.’ Jim leaned forward. ‘He was your agent?’

‘I told you the Conclave had many friends.’

Jim sat back, his hands in his lap. ‘I thought I had a good conduit to Kesh’s court intrigue, but Turgan Bey?’

Magnus smiled.

Jim shook his head. ‘I’m impressed.’ Then he looked at Magnus and said, ‘It must be magic.’

‘A lot of it,’ said Magnus. ‘A spell of influence to get a noble to decide it was time to retire, for instance. It is much more subtle than any overt enchantment or spell of control. Just make a man slightly tired, slightly less interested in the day in and day out, and you might not even have to suggest it’s time to step down. He may even do it on his own.’

Pug said, ‘Yes, magic playing on your man in the Jal-Pur’s divided loyalties, or his greed, or . . .’

Jim closed his eyes. ‘Of course. Amed was of the desert tribes, and blamed the Truebloods for his father’s murder, which is why I could turn him against the Empire, but . . . he was Keshian.’

‘A call to slumbering patriotism,’ said Magnus.