King of Foxes (6 page)

“but he wouldn’t be the first man to foreswear in history.”

“I made him swear at the Temple of Lims-Kragma.”

Pasko considered as he pulled off Tal’s boots. “Some men are not even cowered by the Goddess of Death.”

“Does he strike you as such?”

“No, but did Nakor strike you as particularly dangerous upon meeting him for the first time?”

“Your point is made. Keep an eye on him for a while.”

Tal pulled off his leggings and small clothing and slipped under the quilted comforter on his bed. “Now, get out so I can sleep.”

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“Yes, master,” said Pasko as he stepped stealthily through the door.

Tal lay quietly for a while. His mind was busy, and sleep was a long time in coming. For years his purpose had been only one thing: to avenge the destruction of his people. Of all those involved, only two principals were left: the Special Captain of Kaspar’s Household Guard, Quentin Havrevulen, and the Duke himself. Tal had already killed the others.

He forced himself to calm, using one of the mind-relaxation drills taught him at Sorcerer’s Isle, and sleep finally came. But it wasn’t a relaxing sleep. Rather, it was filled with dreams and images of other places and times, his village in the mountains and his family, his mother, father, sister, brother, and grandfather. The girl he had dreamed of as a child, Eye of the Blue-Winged Teal. In his dream she sat upon a seat, one leg crossed under the other, wearing a simple buckskin summer dress, a faint smile on her lips. He awoke with a painful longing he thought he had eradicated in himself years before. He rolled over and willed himself back to sleep, and again the dreams came. It was a restless night, and he felt little benefit from his slumber when Pasko came and awoke him for the dawn’s hunt.

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THREE

HUNT

The horse pawed the ground.

Tal brought his gelding’s head around slightly, forcing him to pay attention to something besides his own boredom. The morning was crisp at first light, with a breeze coming off the ocean, but Tal knew it would be very hot by midday in the hills to the northeast of the city. Even before Duke Kaspar appeared, Tal knew they were after big game, lion or bear, perhaps even one of the more exotic creatures reputed to inhabit the higher mountains, the giant boars—whose tusks reputedly grew to three feet in length—or the valley sloth, twice the size of a horse and despite the name fast when it needed to be, and armed with claws the size of short swords. The array of weapons in the luggage told Tal what he needed to know about the coming hunt: there were boar-spears with crosspieces fastened above the broad blade to prevent the animal from _______________

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running up the haft and goring the spearman; there were giant nets with weights at the edges, and heavy crossbows that could punch a hole the size of a man’s fist through plate armor.

A dozen servants, another dozen guards, and livery boys to care for the horses also waited patiently upon the appearance of the Duke. Another six men had been leaving as Tal had arrived, trailbreakers and trackers wearing the King’s livery, who would mark the most likely game trails. Tal found it intriguing that the hunting grounds lay less than a day’s march away, for Roldem was an ancient land, and he would have expected wildlife to have been pushed far into the mountains by the encroachment of civilization. Having hunted for his entire boyhood, and on many occasions since, he knew that rarely was big game within a day’s ride of a city.

Tal let one of the servants oversee the disposition of his travel gear, which was modest compared to the rest of the baggage being stowed on the horses. Tal knew they’d be following trails that wagons couldn’t negotiate, but it looked as if they could use a pair. Two animals alone were being used to carry what could only be a pavilion. Tal had no problem with sleeping on the ground, but realized the gentry of Roldem might find that objectionable.

Besides Tal, two nobles of Roldem—Baron Eugivney Balakov and Baron Mikhael Grav—waited patiently. Tal knew them by reputation. They were young, ambitious, and held modest but important positions in the King’s court. Balakov was assistant to the Royal Bursar, and he could expedite or slow a request for funds. He was broad-shouldered, with a brooding look, his dark hair cut close, as was his beard. Grav was also associated with the Bursar’s office, but was seconded to the office of the Royal Household Guard, being primarily responsible for seeing _______________

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that the palace troops were armed, clothed, fed, and paid.

He was a thin man with blond hair and a slender mustache he obviously worked hard at keeping perfectly trimmed. Both wore extravagant clothing, a long way from the modest leather tunic and trousers Tal had selected to wear.

As the sun lit the sky behind those distant peaks, Duke Kaspar and a young woman emerged from the palace, quickly making their way to a pair of waiting horses. Tal glanced at the young woman, wondering absently if it might be the Lady Rowena of Talsin, who in reality was another of the Conclave’s agents, Alysandra.

Tal had been frustrated during the time he had spent on Sorcerer’s Isle in determining just what she had been doing in the Duke’s company, for either people didn’t know or they weren’t telling. All he could discover was that it had been Miranda, Pug’s wife, who had dispatched the girl to Olasko at about the same time Tal had been training in Salador.

This woman was unlike Rowena, but she had one trait in common: she was equally beautiful. But while Rowena had been fair with eyes the color of cornflowers, this lady was dark, her skin touched by the sun to a warm tan, her eyes almost as dark as her black hair. The Duke said something, and she smiled, and instantly Tal knew who she was, for there was a hint of resemblance to the Duke.

As if sensing Tal’s thoughts, Duke Kaspar, said, “Ah, young Hawkins, may I have the pleasure of presenting you to my sister, the Lady Natalia.”

Tal bowed in his saddle. “My honor, m’lady.”

It was obvious that the other two nobles were already acquainted with the Duke’s younger sister, who appeared to be in her late twenties or early thirties. Both fell in be-

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hind the Duke and Natalia, leaving Tal either to follow or ride on the flank.

Duke Kaspar said, “We have a half day’s ride before us to get near our quarry.” He looked again at Tal. “That’s a serviceable-looking bow, Talwin. Do you know how to use it?” His voice was light and playfully mocking.

Sensing the mood, Tal smiled. “I’m a better archer than I am a swordsman, Your Grace.”

That brought a laugh from everyone, for Tal, as Champion of the Masters’ Court, was accounted the greatest swordsman in the world. Lady Natalia looked over her shoulder at him, giving him an excuse to ride forward a little. “Are you making a jest, sir?” she asked.

Tal smiled. “In truth, no, m’lady. I have hunted since I was a child, while I only took up the sword after my fourteenth birthday.”

“Then you must be the world’s greatest archer, sir,”

said Baron Eugivney wryly.

Keeping his smile in place, Tal replied, “Hardly, sir.

Elven archers cannot be matched by any man.”

“Elves!” said Baron Mikhael. “Legends. My father used to tell me stories about a great war in my grandfather’s time, against invaders from another world. Elves and dwarves figured in it quite prominently.”

“We’ll talk as we ride,” said the Duke, urging his horse forward.

Tal found himself beside Baron Mikhael, as Baron Eugivney rode forward to flank Lady Natalia. “Not legends, my good sir,” said Tal. “My home is near Ylith, and not too far to the west live those elves of legend. And to the north, in the city of LaMut, many descendants from that other world now live.”

Mikhael looked at Tal as if deciding whether or not the young man was jesting with him. “You’re serious?”

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“Yes, Baron,” said Tal. “And those elves boast archers unmatched by any man living.” Tal didn’t know this from his childhood, but rather from long conversations with Caleb, one of his teachers on Sorcerer’s Isle; Caleb had lived with the elves in Elvandar, their home, for a time.

He spoke their language and claimed only one or two men had come close to matching their skill with a bow.

“Well, then, if you say so,” conceded Mikhael, as if that put a close to the matter. To the Duke he said, “Your Grace, what are we hunting today?”

Over his shoulder the Duke said, “Something special if luck holds. A report has reached the King that a wyvern has flown up from Kesh and is nesting in the mountains.

If that’s true, we have a rare opportunity before us.”

Baron Eugivney blinked in confusion. “A wyvern?”

Mikhael’s expression also revealed uncertainty. “I’m not sure . . .”

Tal said, “Small dragon. Very fast, very mean, and very dangerous . . . but small . . . for a dragon.”

Lady Natalia glanced from face to face, then smiled at Tal at the obvious discomfort exhibited by the other two men. “You’ve seen one, Squire?”

“Once,” said Tal. “In the mountains when I was a boy.” He neglected to mention those mountains were close to Olasko.

The Duke looked over his shoulder as they rode out of the palace gate and turned up the high street that would lead them northward out of the city. “How would you go about hunting one, Squire?”

Tal smiled. “I wouldn’t, Your Grace, any more than I would go looking for a forest fire or tidal wave. But if I must, there are two ways.”

“Really? Say on.”

“Stake out a sheep or deer on a high plateau in plain _______________

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sight. Have archers nearby and when it lands, keep shooting until it’s dead.”

“Sounds like little sport,” observed the Lady Natalia.

“None, really,” agreed Tal. “Most of the time, the objective is to kill a marauding predator, protecting nearby herds, not sport.”

“What’s the other way?” asked the Duke.

“Find its lair. Wyverns like shallow caves or deep overhangs in the rocks. According to my grandfather—”

Tal halted himself. For the first time in ages he found himself on the verge of slipping out of character. He forced Talon of the Silver Hawk down in his mind and continued, “—who heard this from a Hatadi hillman up in the mountains of Yabon—wyverns don’t like to go deep underground the way dragons do.”

Baron Mikhael asked, “So you find its lair, then what?”

“Flush it out. Lay nets over the mouth of the cave if you can, some heavy ropes, anything to slow it when it comes out. Then toss in some flaming brands and have long spears, ten-, twelve-foot stakes, ready. Impale it as it comes out and wait for it to die.”

“Has any man taken one with a bow?” asked the Duke.

Tal laughed. “Only if he has a couple of dozen other bowmen along.”

“No vital spot? No quick kill?” asked Duke Kaspar.

“None that I’ve ever heard of,” said Tal. Realizing he was beginning to sound like an expert, he quickly added,

“But that doesn’t mean one doesn’t exist, Your Grace. It’s just that my grandfather was trying to impress on me how dangerous they were.”

“I think he succeeded admirably,” said Mikhael.

Talk continued on the topic of hunting as they rode _______________

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through the city. In less than an hour, they were out of the city proper and into rolling foothills dotted with small estates and farms.

“After noon,” announced the Duke, “we’ll reach the edges of the Royal Hunting Preserve. The King has graciously permitted us to hunt there.”

That answered Tal’s question as to how large game could be situated so close to the city.

“Your Grace,” asked Baron Eugivney, “doesn’t the preserve extend for several hundred miles?”

“We’re not going to hunt all of it,” said Kaspar with a laugh. “Just the interesting bits.”

Their course followed the highway upward. It was the major trading route to the northern provinces, but when it turned westerly, they took a smaller road to the northeast. At midday they paused to take a meal and rest the horses. Tal was impressed at how quickly the servants erected a small pavilion, complete with clever folding chairs made of canvas and wood, so that the Duke and his guests could relax in comfort. They paused to dine in a large rolling meadow, with a few dairy cows grazing at the other end.

Talk turned to the gossip of the court, for the Duke had been away from Roldem almost as long as Tal, Natalia even longer. Both barons made it clear they saw a potentially beneficial match in the Duke’s younger sister, and kept their attentions focused on her. Not only was she clever and beautiful, she was also a stepping-stone to power. Olasko might be a small duchy compared to the vast expanses found in the Isles or Kesh, but it was a very influential one, second in the region only to Roldem.

After the meal, Duke Kaspar said, “Walk with me a bit, young Hawkins.”

Tal nodded and rose from his seat while the Duke _______________

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waved the two barons to keep theirs. “Sit, gentlemen.

Keep my sister amused, if you will.”

When they were a few yards away from the pavilion, the Duke said, “So, young Hawkins, have you given any thought to the offer of employment I made to you after the Tournament of Champions?”

“In truth, Your Grace, I have. I am very flattered, honored even, but the fact of the matter is I prefer to be my own man.”

“Interesting,” said the Duke as they reached a stand of trees. “Excuse me a moment while I relieve myself.”

The Duke unceremoniously undid the fastening on his breeches and stood with his back to the squire. After he finished, he said, “Now, that is what I admire about you, Squire.”

“What, Your Grace?”

“Your independence.”

“Sir?”

“Look at those two,” he said, pointing over to where the barons were talking with Natalia. “They hover over my sister as if she were a prize in a festival tournament.