King of Foxes (11 page)

When they were safely outside the palace, Amafi asked, “Magnificence, what transpired?”

“We are now in the service of Duke Kaspar of Olasko, Amafi.”

The former assassin grinned, for a moment looking positively lupine. Then he said, “So, now our rise to greatness begins!”

“Yes,” said Tal, though inside he felt as it was a descent into darkness that lay before them.

__

The ship beat against the rolling combers as a stiff breeze hurried it toward the most magnificent city Tal had ever seen. No, he thought, more magnificent than he could have imagined.

Rillanon stood outlined against the hills, a stunning _______________

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creation of colored stone and graceful arches. The late-afternoon sun etched its form with brilliant highlights set against deep shadows. Tal had been told of its history, that the Mad King, Rodric IV, had ordered the city rebuilt, with every drab façade replaced by cut stone of brilliant hue. Kings Lyam, Patrick, and now Ryan had continued with the project, and now nearly every building in the capital of the Kingdom of the Isles was a study in splen-dor. A thing of marble and granite, Rillanon glimmered white and purple, yellow and amber, with hints of pink, green, red, and blue scattered across the scene. As they approached, details resolved, and both Tal and Amafi stood in mute astonishment in the bow of Duke Kaspar’s ship,
The Dolphin
.

A voice from behind them said, “Is this your first visit, Squire?”

Tal turned to see the Duke and bowed before he answered. “Yes, Your Grace.”

Amafi stepped away discreetly, giving his master and the Duke the opportunity to speak in private.

“I am second to no man in my pride in my homeland, Squire,” said the Duke. “Opardum is a magnificent city in its own way, but I’ll concede that upon first viewing, no city matches Rillanon in beauty.”

“I must agree, Your Grace. I have read histories . . .”

Tal forced himself to remember his place. “When I was a student, my father insisted I master the history of the Kingdom.” He turned, and waved his hand. “But this . . .

it’s beyond description.”

“Yes, isn’t it?” Duke Kaspar chuckled. “If one were to wage war upon the Kingdom of the Isles, it would be a tragedy to have to sack such a wonder. It would be far better to force them to surrender before having to storm those towers, don’t you agree?”

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Tal nodded. “Though I would think
not
going to war with the Isles the wiser choice.”

“There are other means of winning a struggle besides armed conflict,” said the Duke. He spoke as much to himself as to Tal. “There are those who will avow that war is the result of failed diplomacy, while others will tell you that war is but another tool of diplomacy; I’m not enough of a scholar to decide if there’s really any difference between those two positions.” He turned and smiled at Tal.

“Now, get to your cabin and change into your finery. We shall be dining in the King’s palace tonight.” He glanced at the sails. “I judge us to be less than an hour out of the harbor, and we shall have clear sailing to the royal docks.”

Tal went below and did as instructed, and by the time he was ready for presentation in court, he heard a knock upon his door. Amafi opened it to find a cabin boy standing before the portal.

“Yes?”

“Duke’s compliments, Squire. You’re to join him on deck.”

“I’ll be along straightaway,” said Tal.

Tal quickly adjusted his new tunic and grabbed his hat, an outfit tailored for him in Roldem prior to leaving. He had spent the week lying low as Kaspar had suggested, avoiding public places for the most part. It hardly mattered anyway, for the invitations from Roldem’s elite had stopped immediately after his humiliation of Prince Matthew. Tal assumed Kaspar had sent out word that Tal was now under his protection, for there had been no attempt at reprisal, at least none that Tal and Amafi could see.

Tal hurried up on deck as the ship approached the breakwater outside the harbor. If Roldem had been breathtaking the first time Tal had seen it from a ship, Ril-

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lanon was astonishing. The closer they got, the more stunning the vista became. For not only was the city constructed of polished marble and granite, it was trimmed in all manner of ways: there were flower trellises, hillside gardens, colorful pennants and banners, and windows of quartz and glass. The late-afternoon sun set the stones ablaze with reflected gold, amber, rose, and white highlights.

“Amazing,” said Amafi.

“Yes,” said the Duke. “I always try to arrive before sunset, just to see this.”

A royal cutter flying the banner of the Kingdom of the Isles was on an outward tack, and dipped its pennant in salute to the Duke of Olasko. Sailors on both ships waved greetings, and Tal was rendered almost mute by the grandeur around him. Ships from every nation on the Sea of Kingdoms were at anchor or sailing in or out of the harbor. He saw Keshian traders, ships from the Eastern Kingdom, and cargo haulers from every point in the known world.

Sails were reefed, and
The Dolphin
slowed as the captain allowed a smaller boat to come alongside. A rope ladder was dropped and up it scampered the Harbor Pilot, who quickly made his way to the quarterdeck. He took control of the ship: from that point on, it was his job to sail the ship into the royal docks.

Tal tried to drink in every sight before him. He remembered his first view of Latagore, then Krondor, Salador, and Roldem. Each had offered new impressions and new sensations, but Rillanon eclipsed them all.

The ship’s last sails were reefed, and the ship drifted comfortably into the designated slip, where dockmen waited with long poles to hold off the ship while fenders were dropped alongside the quay. Then the fore and aft _______________

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lines were thrown ashore, and before Tal knew it, the ship was secured.

Lady Natalia came up from her quarters, her servants behind her, and flashed a brilliant smile at Tal. “We’re here, I take it.”

“Yes, m’lady,” said Tal with a grin. “We most assuredly are.”

Natalia’s smile remained in place, but her eyes darted around, as if wary. Then she focused on Tal. “We must be sure to be on our best behavior, Squire.”

Tal nodded. It was an unnecessary warning. He knew he was being evaluated every minute between Roldem and their eventual destination of Opardum. His humiliation of Matthew was so untypical of him that suspicion was directed at him even by the Duke’s sister. Their night of passion seemed entirely forgotten, and Tal thought better of mentioning anything to her that might be per-ceived as an overture. In this situation, he decided, it was better to let the lady take any lead.

Duke Kaspar was the first to depart, followed by his sister, then the other members of his entourage. Tal followed, since his status as a member of Kaspar’s court had not been yet formalized. Then came Amafi and the other servants.

Carriages awaited, each bearing the royal crest of the Kingdom of the Isles, a golden lion rampant on a field of crimson holding a sword aloft, a crown hovering over its head. Liveried coachmen waited. Kaspar and his sister entered the first, most ornate carriage, and the rest of the Duke’s retinue followed. The coach Tal entered with Amafi behind him was serviceable and clean, but far from luxurious.

Tal half hung out the window as the carriage wended its way through the streets of the city, taking him past _______________

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shops and houses, through large squares with majestic fountains, and up the hill toward the palace. The city rested upon a series of hills, so that at times they saw the ground fall away as they crossed soaring bridges. Several times Tal looked down to see small rivers running toward the sea. “This city is wonderful,” he said to Amafi in the King’s Tongue.

“Assuredly, Magnificence,” said his valet. “It is said that when the first King of the Isles built his fortress, he picked the highest peak here, and a series of wooden bridges protected his band of men—who were little more than pirates, it is said. Over the years the city has grown up from the docks and down from the palace, so that now you have this maze of streets and bridges.”

As they crossed the second to last bridge on their way to the palace, Tal looked down and saw houses built into the very hillsides, it seemed, with clever cantilevered supports below and narrow flights of stairs leading up to the streets above them. Below them, the River Rillanon raced toward the sea over a series of small cataracts, hemmed in on both sides by mighty granite walls.

As they neared the palace, Tal said, “I wonder if those who live here get used to this beauty.”

“Undoubtedly, Magnificence. It is the nature of man to become oblivious to that which is around him daily,”

Amafi commented. “It is something a good assassin understands. The trick to not being discovered until it is too late is to become part of the expected surroundings.

Stealth is more the art of blending in with the background than sneaking through dark shadows.”

“You’re probably right,” said Tal.

“Of course I’m right, Magnificence, for were I not, I would by now be long dead.”

They were speaking the King’s Tongue, which seemed _______________

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appropriate to their setting, but Tal realized he could be overheard. Switching to the Quegan tongue, he said,

“There are some things you must do.”

“I live to obey, Magnificence.”

“When I do not need you at my side, I wish you to hang back, to keep a short distance away. I want you to be my second set of eyes, my second pair of ears. Watch who watches me, listen for any words about my lord Kaspar or myself.” He waved his hand to indicate everyone else around them. “As far as anyone else is concerned, you do not speak the King’s Tongue. We will converse only in Quegan.”

“As you instruct, Magnificence.”

The carriages rolled across the last bridge to the palace, and by the time the door opened, Tal could see the Duke’s carriage and several of those that had followed immediately behind were already gone, having been returned to the royal carriage house. Tal stood mute.

If the palace appeared splendid from the docks, up close it was almost unbelievable. An ancient stone keep had risen upon this hilltop centuries ago, but since then wings and new buildings had been added, until it had become a sprawling creation of corridors and galleries, gardens and fountains. The courtyard itself was three times larger than the palace at Roldem. But what set this palace apart was its façade. Every inch had been covered with matching stone, a white granite flecked with gold and silver. In the rosy glow of the setting sun it was a thing of glittering pinks and dazzling orange punctuated by indigo shadows. Every window was of arched, clear glass, and high in the towers brilliant pennants flew. Flowers grew everywhere on trellises or in window boxes.

A servant approached. “Squire Hawkins?”

“Yes?” Tal replied.

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The servant motioned, and a royal page appeared, a boy of no more than thirteen years of age. “Show the squire and his man to their quarters,” the servant instructed.

Tal knew his luggage would be brought later. He set off, his eyes upon the back of the boy who led them up the broad steps to the palace entrance. Two guards stood to the side of each step, so that a dozen men were standing at attention on the right and left. All wore polished metal helms with flared edges, and red tabards emblazoned with the golden royal lion, over black tunics and trousers.

Their boots were polished to a glassy sheen, and each man held a halberd.

Upon entering the palace, Tal could see directly ahead to a huge pair of open doors revealing a garden and a stone path to another open pair of doors into a gallery. Tal and Amafi followed the boy to the right and down a series of long halls until they reached the guest apartments. The page stood before Tal’s door, and said, “Sir, Duke Kaspar is at the other end of that hallway.” He pointed to the far end of the hall. “It is a bit of a walk, sir.” He opened the door, and Tal entered first.

Tal was impressed. As a minor member of Kaspar’s party, he expected modest quarters, and if these were such, then Kaspar’s room must rival the King’s in Roldem.

There was a large bed that had a canopy with heavy curtains, which were drawn back. The bed was bedecked with a heavy comforter and several bolsters and pillows. A huge fireplace stood in the opposite wall, currently cold.

This time of the year there was no need, though Tal judged it probable that there was a fire going all through the winter.

Large tapestries hung on every wall, cutting the cold of the stones, for this was an older part of the palace, Tal _______________

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suspected, even if not part of the original keep. The page pointed to the door on the left of the fireplace and said,

“Your man has a bed in there, sir.”

Tal opened the door and stuck his head in. It was a closet, but a closet bigger than his apartment in Roldem. Enough clothing to wear different outfits every night for a year could fit in here, along with the bed, table, nightstand, and chair that were in place for a servant’s comfort.

Tal turned and said, “That is sufficient.”

The page said, “Sir, through the other door is your water closet.”

“Thank you,” Tal replied, and the boy made to depart.

As he reached the door, the page said, “Should you need anything, pull this cord, sir. The reception for the Duke is in two hours, so you should have time to refresh yourself, sir.”

He opened the door, and Tal saw that there was a group of palace servants outside. As the page slipped past them, his luggage was brought into the room. Another servant entered with a tray of delicacies, small cakes, fruit pastries, and bunches of fresh grapes. Yet another servant brought in a tray laden with goblets of chilled wine di-luted with fruit juices, and a pewter pitcher of ale, with half a dozen cups.