Shards of a Broken Crown

Shards of a Broken Crown

Serpentwar Book 4

Raymond E. Feist

ACAILA
—leader
of the eldar, in the Elf Queen’s court

ADELIN
—elf
in Elvandar

AGLARANNA
—Elf
Queen in Elvandar, wife of Tomas, mother of Calin and Calis

AKEE
—Hidati
hillman

AKIER
—Lieutenant
on
Royal Bulldog

ALETA
—young
disciple in Temple of Acrh-Indar

ASHAM IBIN
AL-TUK
—Keshian General

AVERY, RUPERT
“ROO”
—merchant of Krondor

AVERY,
KARLI
—wife of Roo

BOYSE
—Captain
of Duko’s forces

BRIAN
—Duke
of Silden

CALHERN,
THOMAS
—acting Lieutenant of Palace Guard

CALIN
—elf
heir to the throne of Elvandar, half-brother to Calis, son of
Aglaranna and King Aidan

CALIS
—”The
Eagle of Krondor,” special agent of the Prince of Krondor, Duke
of the Court, son of Aglaranna and Tomas, half brother to Calin

CHALMES
—ruling
magician at Stardock

CHAPAC
—twin
brother of Tilac, son of Ellia

D’LYES,
ROBERT
—magician from Stardock

DE SAVON,
LUIS
—former soldier, assistant to Roo

DELWIN
—constable
in Krondor

DESGARDEN
—swordsman
in Krondor

DOKINS,
KIRBY
—snitch in Krondor

DOMINIC
—Abbot
of Ishapian Abbey at Sarth

DUGA
—mercenary
captain from Novindus

DUKO
—General
in the Emerald Queen’s Army

DUVAL,
MARCEL
—squire from Bas-Tyra

ELLIA
—elf
in Elvandar, mother of Chapac and Tilac

ENARES,
MALAR
—servant discovered in wilderness

ERLAND
—brother
to the King and uncle to Prince Patrick

FADAWAH
—former
general commanding the Emerald Queen’s Army, self-styled “King
of the Bitter Sea”

FRANCINE
“FRANCIE”—-
daughter of the Duke of Silden

GREYLOCK,
OWEN
—Knight-Marshal of the Prince’s Army

HAMMOND
—Lieutenant
in King’s Army

HERBERT OF
RUTHERWOOD
—scribe in Port Vykor

JACOBY,
HELEN
—widow of Randolph Jacoby, mother of Natally and
Willem

JALLOM
—Captain
of Duko’s army

JAMESON,
JAMES “JIMMY”
—elder son of Arutha, grandson of
James

JAMESON,
DASHEL “DASH”
—younger son of Arutha, grandson
of James

KAHIL
—Fadawah’s
intelligence chief

KALEID
—ruling
magician at Stardock

LELAND
—son
of Richard of Mukerlic

LIVIA
—daughter
of Lord Vasarius

MACKEY
—Sergeant
of Palace Guard

MATAK
—old
soldier in Duko’s command

MILO
—owner
of the Inn of the Pintail in Ravensburg, father of Rosalyn

MIRANDA
—magician
and ally of Calis and Pug

NAKOR THE
ISALANI
—gambler, magic-user, friend of Pug

NARDINI
—Captain
of captured Quegan ship

NORDAN
—General
in Fadawah’s army

PAHAMAN
—Ranger
of Natal in Elvandar

PATRICK
—Prince
of Krondor, son of Prince Erland, nephew to the King and Prince
Nicholas

PICKNEY
—clerk
at Krondor

PUG
—magician,
Duke of Stardock, cousin to the King, grandfather to Arutha,
great-grandfather to Jimmy and Dash

REESE
—thief
in Krondor

RICHARD
—Earl
of Mukerlic

RIGGERS,
LYSLE
—the Upright Man, leader of the Mockers

ROSALYN
—Milo’s
daughter, wife of Rudolph, mother of Gerd

RUDOLPH
—baker
in Ravensburg, husband of Rosalyn, stepfather to Gerd

RUNCOR
—Captain
of Duko’s army

RYANA
—dragon
shape-changer, friend of Tomas and Pug

SHATI,
JADOW
—Lieutenant in Erik’s company

SHO PI
—former
companion of Erik and Roo, student of Nakor

SONGTI
—Captain
of Duko’s army

STYLES
—Captain
of
Royal Bulldog

SUBAI
—captain
of the Royal Krondorian Pathfinders

TALWIN
—spy
for Arutha

TILAC
—twin
brother of Chapac, son of Ellia

TINKER,
GUSTAF
—prisoner with Dash, later Constable

TOMAS
—Warleader
of Elvandar, husband of Aglaranna, father of Calis, inheritor of the
powers of Ashen-Shugar

TRINA
—female
thief, Daymaster of the Mockers

TUPPIN,
JOHN
—thief with lumpy face, leader of Krondor’s
“bashers”

VASARIUS
—Quegan
noble and merchant

VON DARKMOOR,
MATHILDA
—Baroness of Darkmoor, grandmother to Gerd

VON DARKMOOR,
GERD
—Baron of Darkmoor, son of Rosalyn and Stefan von
Darkmoor, nephew to Erik

VON DARKMOOR,
ERIK
—Captain of the Crimson Eagles

WENDELL
—Captain
in Krondor

WIGGINS
—Patrick’s
Master of Ceremony

WILKES
—soldier
in Erik’s army

ZALTAIS
—?

Duty cannot exist without faith.

—
Benjamin Disraeli
Earl of Beaconsfield
TANCRED,
BK. II, CH. 1

The general
knocked.

“Enter,”
said the self-styled King of the Bitter Sea as he looked up from a
hastily scribbled note just handed him by his Captain of
Intelligence, Kahil.

General Nordan
entered and shook off the snow from his cloak. “You found us a
cold land to rule, Majesty,” he said with a smile. He gave
Kahil the briefest nod of greeting.

Fadawah, former
Commanding General of the Army of the Emerald Queen, now ruler of the
City of Ylith and the surrounding countryside, said, “At least
it’s a cold land with food and firewood.” He waved in a
vague fashion to the south. “We’re still getting
stragglers in from as far away as Darkmoor who paint a bleak picture
about conditions throughout the Western Realm.”

Nordan motioned
to a chair and Fadawah nodded. While old companions, they observed
the formalities, as Fadawah prepared to launch his spring campaign.
The General still wore the ritual scars on his cheeks, marks given
him when swearing loyalty to the Pantathians. He had considered
attempting to find a witch or healing priest who could remove them,
for when he had finally realized that the Pantathians were as much
dupes as he was, he had killed their remaining high priest. As far as
Fadawah was concerned, he was no longer bound to anyone. He was his
own man, and he was in a rich land with an army. But Kahil had
reminded him the scars were intimidating and kept the men in awe of
him. Kahil had served the Emerald Queen before she had been destroyed
by the demon, but he had proven a valuable and trusted advisor since
the change in leadership of the invading army.

By last count
over thirty thousand men had found their way into the south end of
the province of Yabon. He had organized them, stationed them, and now
controlled all the lands from Ylith south past Quester’s View,
north to the outskirts of Zun, west to the city of Natal, which was
now occupied by more of his own men than their own pitiful defenses.
He had also captured Hawk’s Hollow, a small town, but one
giving him control of a vital pass through the mountains to the east.

“Some of
the men don’t like the idea of staying,” said Nordan. The
stocky soldier rubbed his bearded chin, and cleared his throat.
“They’re talking of finding a ship and going back across
the sea.”

“To what?”
asked Fadawah. “To a land burned out and overrun by barbarians
from the grasslands? Besides the dwarven stronghold in the Ratn’gari
Mountains and some surviving Jehsandi in the North, what is there
left of civilization? Did we leave a city standing? Is there anything
there to support us?” Fadawah scratched his head. He wore a
single long fall of hair and shaved the rest of his head, another
sign of his devotion to the Emerald Queen’s dark powers. “Tell
any of the men who are talking this way that come spring, if they can
find a ship and take it, they’re free to leave.” He
looked off into space, as if seeing something in the air. “I
want no one here who isn’t ready to serve me. We’re going
to have a serious fight on our hands.”

“The
Kingdom?”

Fadawah said,
“You don’t think they’re going to sit idly by and
not attempt to regain their lands, do you?”

“No, but
they were terribly mauled at Krondor and Darkmoor. The prisoners tell
us they don’t have much of an army left to put in the field.”

Fadawah said,
“If they don’t bring their Army of the East over from
Darkmoor, true. But if they do, we need to be ready.”

“Well,”
said Nordan, “we won’t know until spring.”

“That’s
only another three months,” said Fadawah. “We need to be
prepared.”

“You have
a plan?”

“Always,”
said the wily old general. “I don’t want a two-front war
if I can help it. If I was stupid, I could find myself in a
four-front war.” He indicated a map on the wall of the room.
They were currently occupying the estate house of the Earl of Ylith,
dead by all reports along with the Duke of Yabon and the Earl of
LaMut. “If our information is right, we face a boy up in
LaMut.” He rubbed his chin. “We need to take LaMut as
soon as the spring thaw begins, and I want Yabon in our grasp by
midsummer.” He smiled. “Send a message to the leader in
Natal. . .” He turned to Kahil. “What’s his title?”

“The First
Councilor,” supplied his Captain of Intelligence.

“Send the
First Councilor our thanks for his hospitality in providing billets
for our men this winter, and send him some gold. A thousand pieces
should do.”

“A
thousand?” asked Nordan.

“We have
it. And we’ll get more. Then withdraw our men and bring them
here.” He looked at his old friend. “That will at least
keep the First Councilor on our good side until we return to Natal,
take and keep it.”

He pointed to
the map. “I want Duko and his men down in Krondor by then.”

Nordan raised an
eyebrow in curiosity.

Fadawah said,
“Duko makes me uneasy. He’s an ambitious man.” He
frowned. “It was only chance that put you and me first and
second on the Pantathian’s roles, else we could be taking
orders from Duko.”

Nordan nodded.
“But he’s a good leader, and he’s always obeyed
without question.”

“That he
is, which is why I want him at the front. I want you down behind him,
in Sarth.”

“But why
Krondor?” Nordan shook his head. “There’s nothing
there.”

“But there
will be,” said Fadawah. “That’s their Western
Capital, their Prince’s City, and they will move back there as
quickly as they can.” He nodded to himself. “If Duko can
keep them busy until we seize all of Yabon, then we can turn our
sights on the Free Cities, this Far Coast region.” He pointed
to the western coast of the Kingdom. “We’ll reoccupy
Krondor and move back toward the old battle line. What’s that
place?”

“Nightmare
Ridge.”

“Well
named.” Fadawah sighed. “I’m not a greedy man.
Being King of the Bitter Sea is enough. We’ll let the Kingdom
of the Isles keep their Darkmoor and the lands to the east.”
Then he smiled. “For now.”

“But first
we must retake Krondor.”

Fadawah said,
“No, first we must make them think we want to retake Krondor.
These Kingdom nobles are not stupid, they are not self-consumed like
those of our homeland.” He remembered how shocked the
Priest-King of Lananda had been when Fadawah and his army had refused
to heed his order to leave his city. “These are smart men,
duty-bound men; they will come at us, and they will come hard. We
must expect that.

“No, let
them think Krondor is the prize, and when they realize we are firm in
Yabon, perhaps they will negotiate, or perhaps not, but either way,
once we have control of Yabon, we are here for good. Let Duko get
punished lest he become ambitious.”

Nordan stood.
“If you permit, I’ll tell the men those who wish to leave
in the spring may.”

Fadawah waved
his permission.

“Majesty,”
said Nordan, leaving Fadawah alone with Kahil.

To Kahil,
Fadawah said, “Wait, then follow Nordan and see who he speaks
with. Mark the men who are the leaders of these dissidents. They will
have accidents before the thaw, and then we can put to rest this
nonsense about returning to Novindus.”