Vagrants: Book 2 Circles of Light series (6 page)

If Hargon wished to
visit Far, he would be welcome to speak with this Verim, who was
somewhat reluctant to go anywhere near Rhaki’s vicinity. Hargon
read over the letter several times, then he called the armsman
guarding his door to summon Navan. Then he read Seboth’s letter
once again. When Navan arrived, Hargon pushed the paper across the
table to him. The armschief scanned it rapidly then read more
slowly, finally meeting Hargon’s stare.

‘I think we should
visit Far, have a chat with this Verim as Seboth
suggests.’

Navan nodded. ‘What
about Lord Rhaki? Will he wish to accompany us?’

‘He will be too busy
with his building hopefully to decide to join us. At tonight’s
evening meal, I will tell him it is a rather boring habit of
routine politeness that we simple Lords have fallen into. Visiting
each other regularly to show our good intentions towards each
other.’

Navan grinned. ‘How
long will we be gone Sir?’

‘A day and a half to
reach Far, a day and a half back, say one full day of planning. We
will tell Rhaki six days or less.’

Hargon shuffled the
letters together, sliding them into a leather folder. Bending, he
pressed one of the wall stones near the floor. It swivelled open
and he pushed the folder into the deep cavity, ensuring the block
closed again flush with the wall.

‘Instruct Fryss that he
will be in charge while we are gone.’ Hargon frowned. ‘No. Have
both Fryss and Mallit report to me.’

Navan headed for the
door. ‘A full band as escort tomorrow Sir?’

‘Twenty armsmen will be
enough.’

Shortly the door guard
knocked and held the door open for the two armsleaders Fryss and
Mallit. They stood stiffly to attention before Hargon’s
table.

‘I am going to Far
tomorrow. I need Lord Rhaki to think such a visit is a routine
trip, a regular habit between the Lords of Sapphrea. You are aware
this Lord Rhaki is of some concern?’

Fryss and Mallit
exchanged quick looks, then nodded.

‘You, Fryss, will
command here in my absence. Mallit, continue to watch Rhaki and
report to Fryss. Both of you will share the first meal and the
evening meal with the Lord. Be very wary. Let the Lord lead the
conversation if he will, otherwise tell him only of local gossip.’
Hargon spread his hands palms up. ‘You get the idea?’

The two armsleaders
nodded again.

‘I will be five or six
days. Treat the Lord with great caution – and do not drink too much
in his presence, for vagrants’ sake. Dismissed.’

Fryss hesitated by the
door when Mallit had gone through. ‘Sir?’

‘Yes?’

‘As I’ve told Navan
Sir, this Lord has spoken to me a few times. He asked how many
bands of armsmen Return could raise, and other questions regarding
our strength. Does he truly plan to try to rule us Sir?’

Hargon crossed the room
to stare out of the window. ‘I fear it seems so Fryss. But he is so
strong in that accursed power that we must be very careful in
deciding just how we may best deal with him. And
survive.’

‘Thank you Sir.’ Fryss
saluted and marched briskly from the room.

Hargon rubbed his
forehead. The sooner he reached Seboth and found out more from
Verim the happier he would feel. But then, judging from Verim’s
reaction when Seboth told him that Lord Rhaki was here, perhaps he
would not feel happier.

Dawn was barely
lightening the sky next morning as Hargon rode out of Return, Navan
at his side and armsmen behind. They took a gentle pace until they
were beyond any watching eyes in the town, then Hargon urged them
into a faster speed. By midday, they reached a small stream with a
handful of scrubby trees clinging to its banks, and a roughly built
stone shelter, open on one side.

The men loosened the
koninas’ saddles and led them to drink from the stream. Travellers’
shelters such as this were set up every ten leagues or so along the
main trails throughout Sapphrea, and were favourite places for
Gangers to attack. No Gangers would consider attacking a band of
armsmen though, preferring the easier prey of traders and farmers.
The men drank water and refilled their leather flasks and ate bread
and meat from their packs. As the sun tipped from its highest
point, Navan ordered the armsmen back into their saddles and they
rode on.

At the next travellers’
shelter, they made camp for the night, lighting a fire to brew tea
and for its cheerfulness. They ate the rest of the bread and meat
each man had been issued with when they left barracks. Hargon’s
messenger would have reached Far soon after Hargon and his band had
begun their ride. Hargon was not surprised next morning when ten of
Seboth’s armsmen appeared on the trail ahead.

They saluted, and
turned their koninas to escort the Lord of Return into the town of
Far. As they entered the town, Hargon noted the outer wall was
being repaired and there was an air of busyness about the place as
he rode into Seboth’s central manor. Stableboys came running to
lead the koninas away and Hargon’s men were shown to the guest
barracks. Seboth’s seneschal led Hargon and Navan deeper into the
building and then left them to wash off the dust of their
travelling.

In a brief time, they
followed an armsman back down to Seboth’s workroom. Seboth rose as
they entered, his hand outstretched to clasp Hargon’s
forearm.

‘Welcome Hargon! And to
you Navan! I had food set in here for you so we need waste no time.
I guess you don’t want to be absent from Return too
long?’

Seboth waved them into
chairs and seated himself. He was not quite as tall as Hargon, his
body deceptively plump and his broad face innocently open. His
faded blonde hair receded from his temples, enhancing the innocent
expression. Hargon had learnt from experience that Seboth was
neither soft nor simple. The Lord of Return began to summarise
Rhaki’s arrival as he reached for a handful of sliced fruits from a
dish on the table. There was also bread, chunks of cheese and meat,
pastries and two large pitchers, one of ale, the other of water.
When Hargon had finished his story, Seboth smiled.

‘I will call Verim to
speak with you in a while, but I can tell you he is terrified of
Lord Rhaki. When Verim first came here and offered his services to
me, he was rather confident that a simple Sapphrean Lord such as I,
would be overwhelmed at the chance of having a man of his calibre
fighting for me.’ Seboth grinned disarmingly. ‘You’d be surprised
how much you learn if everyone else thinks you are a near idiot.
Anyway, Verim was a trifle put out to find that I am not quite so
slow minded as he had thought.’ Seboth refilled their mugs with
ale. ‘He has given me a fair amount of information on the methods
the northern Fighters use in battle, and details of those monsters
that appeared here so suddenly.’

Hargon leaned his
elbows on the table.

‘Seboth, you’ve seen
Lord Rhaki doing some of his ‘tricks’ with the power. No one spoke
against it because he is of the People, not Sapphrean. But it is
what we exterminated from these lands, and he made most of my
people believe it was just an amusement, quite
harmless.’

‘You speak of ancient
history Hargon. Most Sapphreans wouldn’t know if it was true or
just an old tale.’

‘I believe it was true
Seboth.’

Navan nodded his
agreement.

‘Some of us could use
those evil powers long ago, and they rent our lands, turning
fertile regions to desert, changing the course of rivers – you can
see the old dried out riverbeds in many places still today. All
those families who used the power – who survived – those we exiled.
They were cursed to lead the lives of vagrants, forbidden to set
foot in Sapphrea eternally and whipped and stoned on their way with
the barest possessions.’

‘I know the old stories
as well as you Hargon. Perhaps there is some truth in them, who
knows after all this time? I see no point in worrying over the
past, it is the present and the future that concerns me. And I will
agree, that Lord Rhaki seems extremely strong in the use of power.
You tell me he has really quarried all the blocks for his building
with power alone?’

‘Indeed Seboth. And as
I’ve already said, he fell to the ground the first few times and
slept for many hours. He still seems to lose consciousness, but he
needs less sleep afterwards each time. It appears the more he uses
the power, the stronger he grows.’

Seboth rose. ‘I will
have Verim sent here to you. Have you told Raben or Zalom of these
worries?’

‘Yes, and I will visit
them very soon. Neither of them have met Rhaki, but as they are
Lords of the next towns south of us, I think they would do well to
be prepared.’

At the evening meal,
talk was general as Seboth was attended by Lallia, the mother of
his children, and she by two maids. Hargon spoke to her politely
but distantly, as befitted conversation with a mere female. Hargon
and Navan retired for the night, Seboth confirming that he would
meet them in his workroom at midmorning.

He was already sitting
at his table when Hargon and his armschief entered.

‘You found Verim of any
help?’ he enquired.

‘Limited help I think.
I would guess he lied about his importance in the ranks of the
Fighters. But he told us a few things which may prove
useful.’

‘I have decided that it
is time I visited Zalom of Andla, Hargon. Although for slightly
different reasons, I do agree with your view that Lord Rhaki poses
a serious threat to us all. I will go to Zalom, if you consent, and
tell him of our discussions here. Then I could suggest he join me
in visiting Raben of Tagria. If you then tell Rhaki that you must
pay your courtesy visit to Tagria, all four of us border Lords
could hold council.’

Hargon considered the
idea. ‘Agreed. I am grateful for your ability to understand that
time is short. I feel we must be ready to withstand Rhaki very soon
indeed. Shall we say we will meet in Tagria in a ten-day
then?’

‘A ten-day,’ confirmed
Seboth.

Rhaki had just arrived
in the quarry as the sun lifted over the horizon. He sat on a
boulder and surveyed the section of rock from which he would
extract his blocks today. He was learning as he went along how best
to mitigate some of the effects of drawing so much power. He had a
leather satchel with him and he put it on the side of the boulder
which would remain in shadow throughout the day. In it was some
dried fruit and a loaf. A leather flask filled with water stood
beside the satchel. Taking a deep breath, Rhaki relaxed, letting
his senses feel through the rock until he was sure of where he
would make the cuts. Then he began.

Several hours later, he
slid from the boulder, his head feeling as if it would burst, and
lay flat on the ground for a short time. As the roar in his head
diminished, he groped for the satchel. He fumbled until he could
grasp a handful of fruit and forced himself to chew them.
Swallowing with difficulty while still lying on his back, he tore a
piece of bread from the loaf. When he had chewed and swallowed
that, he continued to lie, eyes closed, a few moments
longer.

Then, very carefully,
he eased himself up to a half-sitting position and reached for the
flask of water. Tilting it against his mouth, he drank thirstily
then ate some more of the bread. When he had eaten nearly the whole
loaf and finished all the water, he sighed. Glancing at the sun he
estimated that he had been prostrated barely two hours. The time
was lessening every day he used the power. He pushed himself to his
feet and swayed, briefly dizzy. Then he looked at the blocks of
stone neatly spaced in the wagons ready for hauling to his building
place.

He picked up the
satchel and the flask and slowly began the walk back to Return. He
could have used a konina but the solitary walk gave him the privacy
to recover even more before he met anyone. He smiled to himself as
he walked. Accidentally, he seemed to have discovered a means of
increasing his power. Who knew what he could achieve by the time
his tower was built?

Chapter
Five

The word spread quickly
that the band of Guards from Gaharn was only a league away from the
stronghold. The Delvers in the Domain of Asat were opening archways
between the parallel lines of tunnels and the relief Guards had a
more pleasant journey than had Emla and her first band of Guards.
The Delvers were much impressed by the kalfi that drew narrow carts
loaded with supplies. It had been agreed that fengars were too much
of a liability in the tunnels and were also unwilling to be
harnessed to carts.

The placid kalfi had
disliked the snow and gale force winds, which raged as they plodded
from Gaharn north to the beginnings of the tunnels. They seemed
much happier once they were undercover, regardless of the
constricted passages.

Gan was sitting in
Nolli’s room, one of the Snow Dragons lying by the doorway. Gan
thought it was Ulla, the older female. He was gradually learning to
tell them apart – they all looked so alike. He recognised their
different voice tones in his mind quite easily but unless they
spoke, he still made mistakes in identifying them.