Theft Of Swords: The Riyria Revelations (75 page)

“What about me?” Mauvin asked, holding his side and sitting up on his cot. “You’re not going to leave me, are you?”

“You have to take him,” Arista declared. “He killed two of Guy’s men.”

“Can you ride?” Royce asked.

“If I had a horse under me, I could at least hang on.”

“What about Thrace?” Hadrian asked.

“I don’t think you need worry about her,” Royce told him. “I was just by the bishop’s tent. Tomas is demanding that they declare her empress.”

“Empress?” Hadrian said, stunned.

“She killed the Gilarabrywn right in front of the deacon. I guess it made an impression.”

“But what if they don’t? We can’t leave her.”

“Don’t worry about Thrace,” Arista said. “I’ll see she’s taken care of. Now you all need to get out of here.”

“Theron wanted at least one of his children to be successful,” Hadrian muttered, “but empress?”

“You need to hurry,” Arista said, helping Royce pull Mauvin to his feet. She gave all three of them a kiss and a gentle hug and then pushed them out like a mother sending her children to school.

Outside the tent, Magnus arrived with three saddled horses. The dwarf looked around nervously and whispered, “I could have sworn I saw guards watching this tent earlier.”

“You did,” Royce replied. “Three horses—you read my mind.”

“I figured I needed one for myself,” the dwarf replied, pointing at the shortened stirrups. He looked at Mauvin with a scowl. “Now it looks like I’ll need to get another.”

“Forget it,” Royce whispered. “Ride with Mauvin. Take it slow and make sure he stays in the saddle.”

Royce helped Hadrian up onto a gray mare, then started to chuckle to himself.

“What is it?” Hadrian asked.

“Mouse.”

“What’s that?”

Royce pointed to the horse Hadrian sat on. “Of all the animals he had to choose from, the dwarf stole Mouse.”

Royce led them away from the camp, walking the horses across the scorched land, where the ash muffled their movement. He kept a close eye on the distant sentries. No outcry, no shouts, no one appeared to notice, and soon they slipped into the leafy forest. Once there, he turned back toward the river in order to throw off anyone who might look for their tracks. Once he had them safe in a shallow glen near the Nidwalden, Royce ordered them to stay put while he went back.

He crept up to the edge of the burned area. The camp was as it had been before. Satisfied they had made a clean escape, he walked back toward the river. He found himself on the trail that led to the Woods’ farm and the shell of the old building. Inexplicably, the fire had never reached this far and it remained untouched. There was one change, however; in the center of the yard, where they had first seen the old farmer sharpening
his scythe, there was a mound of earth. A stack of stones borrowed from the walls of the farmhouse circled the oblong mound. At its head, driven into the ground, was a broad plank, and burned into it were the words:

THERON WOOD
FARMER

Royce could just make out the additional words scratched into the plank below that:

Father of the Empress

As Royce stood reading the words, he noticed it—a chill making the hair on his skin stand up. Someone was watching him. On the edge of his sight, a figure stood in the trees. Another stood to his left. He sensed more behind him. He turned his head, focused his eyes to see who they were—nothing. All he saw were trees. He glanced to his left and again nothing. He stood still, listening. Not a twig snapped, nor a leaf crinkled, but he could still feel it.

He moved away from the clearing into the brush and circled around. He moved as quietly as he could, but when he stopped, he was alone.

Royce stood, puzzled. He looked for tracks where he had seen the figures, but none existed, not even a bent blade of grass. At last, he gave up and returned to where he had left the others.

“All’s well?” Hadrian asked, sitting atop Mouse with the sun on his bare shoulders and his chest wrapped in broad strips of white cloth.

“I suppose,” he said, mounting up.

He led them southwest along the highlands near the falls, following a deer trail that cut through the deep forest. It was the same trail he had found in his hours searching for a tunnel to the tower. Hadrian and Mauvin appeared to be doing better than expected, though each of them winced in pain whenever his horse took a misstep.

Royce continued to look back over his shoulder but nothing was ever there.

By midafternoon they had cleared the trees and found the main road heading south to Alburn. Here they paused to check Mauvin’s and Hadrian’s bandages. Mauvin started to bleed again, but it was not bad and Magnus turned out to be almost as good a nurse as he was a sword smith, fashioning a new pad for his side. Royce searched through the saddlebags and found Hadrian a suitable shirt.

“We should be fine,” Royce told them, going through their inventory. “With a little luck we should reach Medford in a week.”

“In a hurry, are you?” Hadrian asked.

“You might say that.”

“Thinking about Gwen?”

“I’m thinking it’s time I told her a few things about myself.”

Hadrian smiled and nodded.

“You think Thrace will be all right?”

“Tomas seems to be watching out for her pretty well.”

“Do you think they’ll really make her empress?”

“Not a chance.” Royce shook his head and handed the shirt to him. “What do you plan on doing now?” Royce asked Magnus.

The dwarf shrugged. “You mean assuming you don’t kill me?”

“I’m not going to kill you, but your old employer, the
church, might now that you’ve turned on them. They will be coming after you just the same as they’ll be after Mauvin and Hadrian. And without the church’s support, you won’t last long on your own. Towns in Avryn aren’t too friendly to your kind.”

“Nowhere is.”

“That’s what I meant.” Royce sighed. “I know of a very out-of-the-way place you might be able to hold up at. A place the church isn’t likely to visit. They need a lot of stonework done and could use an experienced craftsman like you.”

“How do they feel about dwarves?”

“I don’t think you’ll have a problem. They’re the kind of people who tend to like everyone.”

“I could do with getting back to stonecutting.” Magnus nodded.

“Myron will drive him crazy with his quest to get the monastery exactly the way it was,” Hadrian said. “They’ve gone through five builders so far.”

“I know,” Royce replied with a little grin.

Royce climbed back on top of Mouse as Magnus went ahead to check on Mauvin.

Hadrian shook out his shirt before slipping his arm in the sleeve. “Arista told me you two were with Esrahaddon in the tower last night. She said he needed help with something, but wouldn’t tell me what it was.”

“He was using the tower to look for the Heir of Novron,” Royce replied.

“Did he find him?”

“I think so, but you know how Esra is. It’s hard to be sure of anything when dealing with him.” Hadrian nodded and winced as he pulled the shirt over his shoulders.

“Having troubles?”

“You try getting dressed with broken ribs sometime. It isn’t so easy.”

Royce continued to look at him.

“What is it? Am I that entertaining?” Hadrian asked.

“It’s just that you’ve worn that silver medallion ever since I’ve known you, but you never told me where you got it.”

“Hmm? This?” Hadrian said. “I’ve had this forever. My father left it to me.”

A
DDIE
W
OOD
: Mother of Thrace, wife of Theron

A
LBERT
W
INSLOW
, V
ISCOUNT
: Landless nobleman used by Riyria to arrange assignments from the gentry

A
LBURN
: Kingdom of Avryn ruled by King Armand and Queen Adeline

A
LENDA
L
ANAKLIN
, L
ADY
: Daughter of Marquis Victor Lanaklin and sister of Brother Myron of the Winds Abbey

A
LLIE
: Daughter of Wyatt Deminthal

A
LRIC
B
RENDON
E
SSENDON
, P
RINCE
: Member of ruling family of Melengar, son of Amrath, brother of Arista

A
LVERSTONE
: \al-ver-stone\ Royce’s dagger

A
MBROSE
M
OOR
: Administrator of the Manzant Prison and Salt Works

A
MRATH
E
SSENDON
, K
ING
: \am-wrath\ Ruler of Melengar, father of Alric and Arista

A
MRIL
, C
OUNTESS
: \am-rill\ Noblewoman that Arista cursed with boils

A
NTUN
B
ULARD
: Historian and author of
The History of Apeladorn

A
PELADORN
: \ah-pell-ah-dorn\ Four nations of man, consisting of Trent, Avryn, Delgos, and Calis

A
QUESTA
: \ah-quest-ah\ Capital city of the kingdom of Warric

A
RCADIUS
V
INTARUS
L
ATIMER
: Professor of lore at Sheridan University

A
RCHIBALD
B
ALLENTYNE
: Earl of Chadwick

A
RISTA
E
SSENDON
, P
RINCESS
: Member of ruling family of Melengar, daughter of Amrath, sister of Alric

A
RMAND
, K
ING
: Ruler of Alburn, married to Adeline

A
RT
,
THE
: Magic, generally feared by nobles and commoners due to superstition

A
RVID
M
C
D
ERN
: Son of Dillon McDern of Dahlgren

A
VEMPARTHA
: Ancient elven tower

A
VRYN
: \ave-rin\ Central and most powerful of the four nations of Apeladorn, located between Trent and Delgos

B
ALLENTYNE
: \bal-in-tine\ Ruling family of the earldom of Chadwick

B
A
R
AN
G
HAZEL
: Goblins of the sea

B
ELINDA
P
ICKERING
: Extremely attractive wife of Count Pickering, mother of Lenare, Mauvin, Fanen, and Denek

B
ELSTRADS
: \bell-straads\ Family of knights from Chadwick, including Sir Breckton and Wesley

B
ERNICE
: Handmaid of Princess Arista

B
ERNUM
R
IVER
: Waterway that bisects the city of Colnora

B
ETHAMY
, K
ING
: Ruler reputed to have had his horse buried with him

B
LACK
D
IAMOND, THE
: International thieves’ guild centered in Colnora

B
LACKWATER
: Last name of Hadrian and his father, Danbury

B
LYTHIN
C
ASTLE
: Castle in Alburn

B
OCANT
: Family who built a lucrative industry from pork, second most wealthy merchants in Colnora

B
OTHWICKS
: Family of peasant farmers of Dahlgren

B
RECKTON
B
ELSTRAD
, S
IR
: Son of Lord Belstrad, knight of Chadwick, considered by many to be the best knight of Avryn

B
RODRIC
E
SSENDON
: Founder of the Essendon dynasty

B
UCKET
MEN
: Term for assassin used by the Black Diamond thieves’ guild

B
YRNIE
: Long (usually sleeveless) tunic of chain mail formerly worn as defensive armor

C
ALIAN
: \cal-lay-in\ Pertaining to the nation of Calis

C
ALIANS
: Residents of the nation of Calis, darker in skin tone, with almond-shaped eyes

C
ALIS
: \cal-lay\ Southern-and easternmost of the four nations of Apeladorn, considered exotic, in constant conflict with the Ba Ran Ghazel

C
ASWELL
: Family of peasant farmers from Dahlgren

C
ENZARS
: \sen-zhars\ Wizards of the ancient Novronian Empire

C
HAMBERLAIN
: Someone who manages the household of a king or nobleman

C
OLNORA
: \call-nor-ah\ Largest and wealthiest city of Avryn, merchant-based, grew from a rest stop at a central crossroads from various major trade routes

C
OSMOS
D
E
L
UR
: Colnora’s richest resident

C
RIMSON
H
AND
: Thieves’ guild operating out of Melengar

C
ROWN
T
OWER
: Home of the Patriarch, center of the Nyphron Church

C
UTTER
: Assassin of the Black Diamond, best friend of Royce, boyfriend of Jade

D
AGASTAN
: Major and easternmost trade port of Calis

D
AHLGREN
: \dall-grin\ Remote village on the bank of the Nidwalden River

D
ANBURY
B
LACKWATER
: Father of Hadrian

D
ANTHEN
: Woodsman from Dahlgren

D
AREF
, L
ORD
: Nobleman of Warric, associate of Albert Winslow

D
ARIUS
S
ERET
: Founder of the Seret Knights

D
AVENS
, S
QUIRE
: Boy who Arista had a youthful crush on

D
EGAN
G
AUNT
: Leader of the Nationalists

D
ELANO
D
E
W
ITT
, B
ARON
: Nobleman who hires Hadrian to steal Count Pickering’s sword

D
ELGOS
: One of the four nations of Apeladorn. The only
republic in a world of monarchies, Delgos revolted against the Steward’s Empire after Glenmorgan III was murdered and after surviving an attack by the Ba Ran Ghazel with no aid from the empire.

D
E
L
ORKAN
, D
UKE
: Calian nobleman

D
E
L
UR
: Family of wealthy merchants

D
ENEK
P
ICKERING
: Youngest son of Count Pickering

D
ILLON
M
C
D
ERN
: Dahlgren’s blacksmith

D
IOYLION
: \die-e-leon\
The Accumulated Letters of Dioylion
, a very rare scroll

D
IXON
T
AFT
: Bartender and manager of The Rose and Thorn Tavern

D
ROME
: God of the dwarves

D
RONDIL
F
IELDS
: Count Pickering’s castle, once the fortress of Brodric Essendon, the original seat of power in Melengar

D
RUMINDOR
: Dwarven-built fortress located at the entrance to Terlando Bay in Tur Del Fur

D
RUNDEL
: Peasant family from Dahlgren consisting of Mae, Went, Davie, and Firth

D
USTER
: Moniker used by Royce while a member of the Black Diamond

E
CTON
, S
IR
: Chief knight of Count Pickering and military general of Melengar

E
DMUND
H
ALL
: Professor of geometry at Sheridan University, reputed to have found Percepliquis, declared a heretic by the Nyphron Church, imprisoned in the Crown Tower

E
LAN
: The world

E
LDEN
: Large man, friend of Wyatt Deminthal

E
LLA
: Cook at Drondil Fields

E
LVEN
: Pertaining to elves

E
NDEN
, S
IR
: Knight of Chadwick, considered the second best to Breckton

E
REBUS
: Father of the gods, also known as Kile

E
RIVAN
: \ear-ah-van\ Elven empire

E
RLIC
, S
IR
: Knight competing in Dahlgren contest

E
RVANON
: \err-vah-non\ City in northern Ghent, seat of the Nyphron Church, once the capital of the Steward’s Empire as established by Glenmorgan I

E
SRAHADDON
: \ez-rah-hod-in\ Wizard, onetime member of the ancient order of the Cenzar, convicted of destroying the Novronian Empire and sentenced to imprisonment

E
SSENDON
: \ez-in-don\ Royal family of Melengar

E
SSENDON
C
ASTLE
: Home of ruling monarchs of Melengar

E
STRAMNADON
: \es-tram-nah-don\ Believed to be the capital or at least a very sacred place in the Erivan Empire

E
STRENDOR
: \es-tren-door\ Northern wastes

E
TCHER
: Member of the Black Diamond thieves’ guild

F
ALINA
B
ROCKTON
: Real name of Emerald, waitress at The Rose and Thorn Tavern

F
ANEN
P
ICKERING
: \fan-in\ Middle son of Count Pickering

F
AULD
, T
HE
O
RDER OF
: \fall-ed\ Post-imperial order of knights dedicated to preserving the skill and discipline of the Teshlor Knights

F
ENITILIAN
, B
ROTHER
: Monk of Maribor, made warm shoes

F
ERROL
: God of the elves

F
INILESS
: Noted author

F
LETCHER
: Maker of arrows

G
ALEANNON
: \gale-e-an-on\ Kingdom of Avryn, ruled by Fredrick and Josephine

G
ALENTI
: \ga-lehn’-tay\ Calian term

G
ALEWYR
R
IVER
: \gale-wahar\ Marks the southern border of Melengar and the northern border of Warric and reaches the sea near the fishing village of Roe

G
ALIEN
, A
RCHBISHOP
: \gal-e-in\ High-ranking member of the Nyphron Church