Shards of a Broken Crown (38 page)

The men nodded.

Dash said, “Now,
headquarters will be here in the palace until we can get the city
courts and jail rebuilt. The prison here is the only one we have. We
don’t have a lot of room, so I don’t want it filled with
drunks and brawlers. If you have to break up a fight, send them home
with a kick in the butt, but if you have to bring them in, don’t
be shy. I’ll assume that if someone is stupid enough to not
take a chance to get off with a warning, they need to talk to a
judge.

“We’re
going to lift curfew at the Old Town Market; people are using it to
trade now as the rest of the city rebuilds, and it’s starting
to be a trouble spot, but if we’re going to have trouble, I
want it in one place, not all over the city. So, pass the word, the
market is open from sunset to midnight now. The rest of the city is
still under curfew unless the person is on their way home from the
market. And they better have the goods or gold to show they’ve
been trading.

“Anyone
causes you trouble, deal with it. We don’t have enough swords
to get you out of trouble if you get in over your head.” He
looked around the room at the faces of the men he now commanded and
said, “If you’re killed, I promise we’ll avenge
you.”

One of the men
said, “That’s comforting,” and the others laughed.

“I’ll
lead the first of you down to the market. You lot on the night shift,
turn in. You’re going to patrol the entire city, and if you see
anyone outside the market after dark, bring them in for questioning.

“For
today, anyone asks, you tell them you’re the Prince’s
Law. Let’s get the word out that order is returning to Krondor.
Now, let’s go.”

The twenty men
on the day shift rose and followed Dash outside the room. He moved
through the large courtyard of the palace to the newly restored
drawbridge over the still-dry moat. Some of the water system was
still under repair and the palace wouldn’t be isolated from the
city by the moat again for a few more weeks. As they crossed the
drawbridge, Dash said, “If no one causes any trouble and forces
you to haul them back to the jail, I want you to keep moving. I want
you everyplace you can reasonably reach. I want the citizens seeing
lots of those red armbands . . . let them think we’ve got a
dozen men for each one of you. If anyone asks, you don’t know
how many watchmen there are, just lots of them.”

The men nodded,
and as they walked toward the market square, Dash began splitting off
pairs of constables and sending them along different routes,
directing their activities for the first day of his new
responsibility. More than once he silently cursed Patrick for his
choice.

Dash was down to
four men when he reached the market square of Krondor. Shortly after
the original keep of the castle had been built, when the first Prince
of Krondor had declared this city the capital of the Western Realm of
the Kingdom of the Isles, the traders and local fishermen and farmers
who lived in the region began regularly gathering in this market to
trade, barter, and sell their wares. Over the years the city had
grown, developed, and evolved to the point where the vast majority of
trade was conducted by businessmen in all quarters of the city, but
the ancient market square endured, and it was the first place for the
reviving city to find its financial soul. It was thronging with men
and women of all stations: merchants, nobles, fishermen, farmers,
traders, peddlers, whores, beggars, thieves, and vagabonds.

Several people
cast a wary eye at the five men, for while there were swordsmen here
or there, the majority of soldiers had departed the city with Duko
heading south, or with the Armies of the West, heading north. Only
the Prince’s Royal Household Guard remained, and they remained
in the palace.

A short distance
from where they had entered, Dash spied a familiar face. Luis de
Savona was unloading a wagon, helped by a woman who turned out, to a
surprised Dash, to be Roo Avery’s wife Karli. Dash turned to
his men and said, “Start wandering through the crowd, but
unless you see a murder in progress, just keep looking.”

The men spread
out, and Dash crossed to where Luis and Karli were unloading the
wagon. A local trader was watching closely as Luis handed down boxes
of freight to the trader’s boy.

Dash said, “Mrs.
Avery! Luis! How are you?”

Luis looked over
and smiled. “Dash! It’s good to see you.”

“When did
you arrive in Krondor?”

“Very
early this morning,” replied Luis.

They shook
hands, and Karli said, “I was very sorry to hear about your
father. I still remember the day I first met him, at our house.”
She glanced over in the general direction of where their townhouse
had once stood, across the street from Barret’s Coffee House,
now a burned-out husk of a building. “He was very kind to Roo
and me.”

Dash said,
“Thank you. It’s very difficult, but. . . well, you’ve
lost your father, so you know.”

She nodded.

Luis fingered
the armband and said, “What is this?”

“I’m
the new Sheriff of Krondor, and it falls to me to uphold the Prince’s
peace in the city.”

Luis smiled.
“You’d be better off coming back to work for Roo. You’d
lose your noble office, but you’d make a great deal more money
with far less work.”

Dash laughed.
“Probably you’re right, but as it is, we’re very
short-handed and Prince Patrick needs all of us pulling our weight.”
He glanced at the freight. “Goods from Darkmoor?”

“No,”
said Luis. “We unloaded our cargo from Darkmoor when we got in
early this morning. These are from the Far Coast, actually. The ships
still can’t get into the harbor, but they’re anchoring
off of Fishtown and we’re ferrying the goods ashore with
fishing boats.”

Karli asked,
“How is your brother?”

“He’s
fine; he’s running an errand for Patrick. He should be halfway
to Port Vykor about now.”

Luis finished
unloading the cargo, and said, “Give us a minute, then I’ll
buy us an ale.”

“That
would be welcome, Luis.”

Karli counted
out the gold the merchant gave him, under the watchful eye of the
merchant’s bodyguard, and then said, “Luis, we can’t
get young Dash drunk, so maybe we should get him to share a bite.”
She looked at Dash. “Hungry?”

Dash said,
“Actually, I am.”

They walked
across the market to an open-air kitchen, where hot meat pies were
being sold. Karli purchased three, then they moved to an ale wagon,
where Luis got three jacks of cold brew for them. Like most of those
eating in the market, they stood and made do with keeping out of the
way of those walking through the aisle.

Luis said, “I
was only partly joking; I could use someone of your talents. Things
are beginning to turn around and men of talent are going to get
rich.” He motioned with his bad hand while juggling the hot pie
with his good one. “Since Helen and I married, Roo has made me
manager of all Avery and Jacoby business while he’s gone.”

Karli said,
“It’s Avery and de Savon, now. Helen insisted.”

Luis smiled
slightly. “It wasn’t my idea.” He put down the pie
and picked up the pewter jack of ale. After he took a drink, he said,
“I’m so busy I don’t know what I need to do next.
The wagon builders in Darkmoor are getting our freight business back
to where it was before the destruction of the city, and the orders
for cargo are starting to come in.”

“What
about the other businesses that Roo held?”

Luis shrugged.
“I’m in charge of the Avery and de Savon business. Most
of the other was Bitter Sea Company. Roo hasn’t said much. I
get the feeling most of that is gone with the destruction of the
city. I know he had some holdings in the East, but I think he’s
borrowed a great deal to get this enterprise underway. I know much
about his business, but there is more that I don’t know.”
He looked at Karli.

“Roo has
told me most everything about his business interests,” said
Karli. “Except some things to do with the crown. I think the
Kingdom owes Roo a large debt.”

“No
doubt,” said Dash. “My grandfather got several very
sizable loans from the Bitter Sea Company.” Dash looked around.
“While I suspect they will eventually be paid, as you can see,
the Kingdom has a great deal to repair here before debts are
settled.” He finished his pie. With a long pull he drained the
jack of ale, and said, “1 thank you for the meal—”

Before he could
say more, a shout from the next aisle caused him to turn. “Thief!”

Dash was off,
hurrying toward the source of the disturbance. He rounded a corner
and saw a man running right at him, looking over his shoulder to see
who was behind. Dash braced himself, and as the man turned to look
ahead, Dash struck him hard across the chest with an extended arm. As
Dash expected, the man’s feet went right out from under him and
he fell hard upon the ground.

Dash knelt, his
sword across the man’s throat before he could regain his wits,
and said, “In a hurry?”

The man started
to move, but at the gentle pressure of the blade against his neck he
relaxed. “Not anymore,” he said with a grimace.

Two of Dash’s
constables appeared, and Dash said, “Take him to the palace.”

Dash stood as
they hoisted the thief to his feet and took him away. Dash moved to
where Luis and Karli were finishing their meal, and said, “I’m
going to borrow your wagon a moment.” He moved to where the A
very and de Savon wagon was tied and mounted it. He stood up on the
driver’s seat and shouted, “My name is Dashel Jamison! I
am the new Sheriff of Krondor! The men you see wearing red armbands
like mine are my constables. Pass the word that the law is returning
to Krondor!”

Several
merchants gave a weak cheer, but the majority of those gathered in
the quarter seemed indifferent or openly contemptuous. Dash returned
to where Karli and Luis stood. “Well, I think that went rather
well, don’t you?”

Karli laughed,
and Luis said, “There are many here in the square who would
just as soon not see any return of law to the city.”

Dash said, “And
I think I just spotted another of them. Excuse me,” he said,
darting into the crowd after a youngster he saw stealing a trinket
from a distracted merchant.

Karli and Luis
watched him until after he vanished into the press, and Karli said,
“I always liked that young man.”

Luis said,
“There’s a great deal of his grandfather in him. He’s
a charming rogue.”

Karli said,
“Don’t call him that. He has far too deep a sense of duty
to be a rogue.”

Luis said, “I
stand corrected. You are, of course, right.”

Karli laughed.
“Helen has you trained well, doesn’t she?”

Luis laughed in
return. “It was easy. I would never wish to make her unhappy.”

“Scant
chance of that,” said Karli. “Well, we have another load
waiting at the docks. Let’s go get it.”

As Luis mounted
the wagon, Karli put her hand on her lower back and stretched. “I
won’t be doing this much longer. I hope Roo finished up his
business to the north and gets back soon.”

Luis nodded
agreement as she climbed the wagon, then he flicked the reins,
getting the horses headed toward the harbor.

Lord Vasarius
glanced to his left and said, “Have you come to mock me,
Avery?”

“Not in
the least, my Lord Vasarius. I came out to enjoy the night air, as
did you.”

The defeated
Quegan noble looked at his former business associate and current
enemy. “Your Captain has been almost gracious in allowing me
some liberty from that cabin.”

“As is
befitting your rank. Had our positions been reversed, I suspect I
would be belowdecks on a Quegan ship, pulling against an oar.”

“As is
befitting your rank,” replied Vasarius.

Roo laughed.
“You haven’t entirely lost your sense of humor, I see.”

“I wasn’t
joking,” Vasarius answered flatly.

Roo’s
smile faded. “Well, as fate would have it, you will enjoy a far
less dire fate than I would have, it seems.”

“I would
have had you killed,” said Vasarius.

“No
doubt.” Roo was silent a moment, then said, “My Prince is
almost certain to return you to Queg by the first Free Cities ship
heading there, as he has no desire to further antagonize your
Emperor. It seems to me we have this opportunity to reach an
accommodation.”

Vasarius turned
to face Roo. “Accommodation? To what purpose? You’ve won.
I am close to ruin. My last copper piece was tied up in those ships
and the cargo we sold to Fadawah. It’s now at the bottom of the
sea, and I can’t see how you can be of any help to me,
considering you were the one who sank my treasure!”

Roo shrugged.
“Strictly speaking, you sank the treasure. I was merely trying
to steal it.

“In any
event, that wealth was stripped from the citizens of the Kingdom, and
perhaps some from those living across the sea. I can’t feel
much sympathy for you losing that fortune, if you can see my point.”

“Barely.
But it’s entirely academic, now, isn’t it?”

“Not
necessarily,” said Roo.

“If you’re
proposing something, propose.”

“I had
nothing to do with your greed, Vasarius. If you had been anything
near cautious, you wouldn’t have dispatched your entire fleet
to the Straits of Darkness on the strength of a rumor.”

Vasarius
laughed. “Of course, it was a rumor you spread.”

“Of
course,” said Roo, “but any decent investigation might
have made you reconsider the plan.”

“Your Lord
James was far too clever, by half. I’m sure, had I checked, I
would have found more rumors to support the story of a vast treasure
fleet coming from across the Endless Sea.”

Roo said, “There
is that. James had the most facile mind I’ve ever encountered.
But that’s not the point. The point is you have something to
gain as do I, and we need to agree to that before we reach Krondor.”