Krondor: The Assassins

by Raymond E. Feist

  Soon, the unseen onlooker saw a ragged band of Keshian travelers continuing their journey toward the west.

  It took them most of the day to be certain they were no longer being watched. Treggar called a halt half an hour before sundown and said, ‘‘Let’s double back to that wadi we passed a half-mile back and leave the wagon and the animals.’’

  James said, ‘‘At least we’ve discovered the location of their hideout.’’

  Treggar said, ‘‘How do you reckon that, squire?’’

  James knelt and drew in the dust. ‘‘Here—’’ he made a point with his finger ‘‘—is about where I judge they picked us up, about an hour before we made camp.’’ He drew a line a few 230

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  inches to the left and made another point. ‘‘Here is where we camped last night.’’ He drew another point and said, ‘‘Here is where our unseen friend stopped following us.’’

  ‘‘And?’’ prompted the captain.

  James said, ‘‘Remember the map?’’

  Treggar said, ‘‘Yes.’’

  ‘‘At midday we were due north of a large plateau, one that gives a commanding view of this entire area for miles in every direction.

  ‘‘That wadi you want to leave the animals in runs up into the hills to the south. A half-mile from the trail we’re on, it swings to the southeast as it rises up to . . . ?’’

  ‘‘The plateau!’’ William finished.

  ‘‘And the ancient fortress!’’ said Treggar. ‘‘Yes, it’s a natural sally-port! Only one way in or out.’’

  ‘‘It’s the only possible location around here.’’

  ‘‘So what next?’’ asked William.

  Treggar said, ‘‘Squire, care to state the obvious so it seems less dangerous and stupid than it would if I did?’’

  James winced, then said, ‘‘We scout the wadi. If Prince Arutha comes riding through here and sees signs we’ve gone that way, he could be riding into a trap. We have to make sure that doesn’t happen.’’

  ‘‘Sir?’’ asked one of the soldiers.

  ‘‘Yes?’’ answered Treggar.

  ‘‘If that wadi is the way in, what do we do with the wagon and the animals?’’

  Treggar looked at James. ‘‘We can’t leave them around here where they might be found.’’

  William said, ‘‘We three will stay then?’’

  James nodded. ‘‘One man will have to drive the cart, and 231

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  we can tie the camel to the back of it. The other will have to herd the goats along.’’

  Treggar gave that order to the two soldiers. ‘‘Keep moving until an hour past sundown,’’ he finished, ‘‘and stay in camp for three days. If someone doesn’t make contact, return to Krondor the best way you can. Try for the outpost on the southern shore of Shandon Bay, or get to Land’s End. Report what we’ve found here. But get back to Krondor.’’

  The soldiers saluted, and their grim expressions showed how likely they judged that outcome.

  Stripping off his heavy robe, Treggar looked like a common mercenary, wearing a tunic and leather jerkin, a sword at his side, and no helm or shield.

  James was likewise dressed except that his baldric held a rapier. William’s choice of weapon was a heavy hand-and-a-half sword, carried on his back.

  Treggar looked around and said, ‘‘We stay close to the south side of the trail, hugging the rocks just in case we’re not alone.’’

  The shadows were getting longer by the moment, and James said, ‘‘We should be able to stay out of sight if we don’t stir up too much dust. I’ll lead the way.’’

  Treggar didn’t object, and as James moved eastward, the captain cast his gaze over his shoulder at the disappearing cart and his two soldiers.

  William didn’t know the men, but he knew what the captain was thinking: Would those two make it safely home again? As he turned his attention to the rocks above, William wondered if any of them would make it safely home again.

  Bats flew overhead, seeking out the insects that somehow thrived in this arid land. James knelt in the darkness, trying to 232

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  see in the gloom what his mind told him must be there, an ambush or trap. So far, nothing. If anyone was aware of the three men’s approach, they were not revealing that fact.

  James held up his hand, and turned as Treggar and William neared. He whispered, ‘‘I don’t like this. We’re walking up to their front door.’’

  Treggar said, ‘‘What do you propose?’’

  ‘‘Have you ever seen any fortification without a back door?’’

  Treggar said, ‘‘A few, actually, but nothing on this scale.

  To control this large an area, even in ancient times, the Keshians would have had to garrison at least a hundred men here, more likely two or three hundred. That makes it a prime target if there’s a war. Which means you need a way to slip men in and out.’’

  ‘‘But where?’’ asked James in frustration. ‘‘On the other side of the fortress?’’

  William whispered. ‘‘If the fortress was still standing, maybe we could have gleaned its location, but with all the above-ground structure missing . . .’’ He left the thought unfinished.

  James said, ‘‘Let’s go a little further, then if nothing pans out I suggest we move back down to the trail and start again from the eastern side of the plateau.’’

  William said nothing, but he knew that would mean climbing the rock face. While they moved, he prayed silently they wouldn’t have to do that. He had no love of heights.

  They moved slowly through the night, and then a thought touched William’s mind.

  ‘‘Wait,’’ he whispered.

  ‘‘What?’’ asked Treggar.

  ‘‘Something . . .’’ William held up his hand and then closed 233

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  his eyes. His mind reached out and he detected the thoughts of a rodent scurrying through the rocks. Wait! he sent to it, gently.

  The rat’s thoughts were primitive and difficult to understand. It hesitated as it considered flight. The three large creatures were a potential threat, and there was nothing of interest nearby.

  As a child, William had spoken to rodents, mainly squirrels and rats. He knew they had a limited attention span and little ability to communicate. But he also knew they had a firm grasp of routes in and out of their lairs.

  He tried to send a question, asking if something large had a lair nearby. The creature quickly flashed back an impression of a large tunnel, long enough for William to get a sense of location. Then the rat fled.

  ‘‘What is it?’’ repeated Treggar.

  ‘‘I think I know where the back entrance is.’’

  ‘‘How?’’ asked the captain.

  ‘‘You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,’’ said William. ‘‘This way.’’ He pointed up the wall against which they crouched.

  ‘‘We’re going to have to do some climbing to reach it.’’

  Treggar nodded and said, ‘‘Show us.’’

  William looked around and pointed upward. ‘‘It should be above this rock wall.’’

  James said, ‘‘Follow me.’’ He felt for a handhold in the darkness, and reached up, running his hand along the rock face.

  When he found a good grip he pulled and raised his right leg, finding a toehold after experimenting a little. Step by painfully slow step, he moved upward.

  William turned to Treggar and asked, ‘‘Captain, does climbing this rock face in the dark fit the obviously dangerous and stupid category?’’

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  Treggar said, ‘‘Almost certainly, lieutenant.’’

  William reached up to follow James’s lead. ‘‘Just wanted to be certain.’’

  Treggar waited until William was on his way, then followed silently.

&
nbsp; Middle Moon rose while they climbed, and before long James found a cut in the rocks which was large enough for all three of them to crouch in. When Treggar reached them, William asked, ‘‘How high?’’

  James said, ‘‘Not far. A hundred feet or so.’’

  William shook his head in disbelief. ‘‘I thought at least twice that.’’ He pushed aside an almost uncontrollable urge to refuse to move from the ledge. He had made the climb so far by sheer will power, ignoring the terror which every second threatened to rise up and consume him. It had been a seemingly endless struggle of reaching up blindly and feeling for cracks and ledges, testing them, pulling up a few inches, moving a foot, trying not to give in to terror when rock crumbled beneath his toes or broke off in his hand.

  ‘‘Feels like it, doesn’t it?’’ asked the captain.

  ‘‘Look,’’ said James, pointing upward. Above they could see the night sky lit by the moon and stars, and it was clear that the top of the ridge they had climbed was no more than twenty feet above.

  To William it looked like two hundred. He glanced down and saw darkness. He decided that not being able to see how far he had come made things worse. He decided not to look down again.

  James said, ‘‘Well, no good comes from waiting.’’ He started climbing again.

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  ‘‘Go slowly,’’ cautioned Treggar.

  William started to climb and said, ‘‘Trust me; I’m in no hurry.’’

  Slowly William went up the crevasse, using one foot on each side of the gap to push himself to the top. As he neared the top, he felt James’s hand reaching down to help him. He let the squire pull him up, then lay on his stomach, reaching down to help Treggar up. When all three were safe, James looked right, then left across the relatively flat ridge and said quietly, ‘‘We can walk from here.’’

  ‘‘Where now?’’ asked the captain.

  William looked around. The impression of the tunnel he had got from the rat was difficult to associate with these surroundings. Even if he had been sitting there in broad daylight, he would have had problems: the scale of the tunnel from the rat’s perspective was of an immense cavern, and William suspected it was really a narrow bolt-hole that could accommodate just one or two men at a time.

  ‘‘I think that way,’’ said William, as he scurried along. There would be two moons tonight, Middle and Small, and by the time Middle Moon had reached the zenith, the smaller moon would have caught up with it, bathing the entire countryside in enough light for them to be seen by any watchful sentry.

  James looked from side to side, while Treggar periodically glanced over his shoulder. The ridge they followed was rocky and broken, large upthrust fingers of rock worn smooth by centuries of wind-blown sand. At times they had to step carefully around needles of rock that provided scant room for them to pass.

  After nearly an hour of this, William said, ‘‘If friend rat 236

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  knew what he was talking about, the entrance should be somewhere below us.’’

  ‘‘Friend rat?’’ asked Treggar.

  ‘‘I’ll tell you later,’’ said James. ‘‘Right now we need to find a way down.’’

  William looked around then caught a glimpse of light.

  ‘‘What’s that?’’

  James looked in the direction in which his companion pointed and said, ‘‘Moonlight reflecting off something.’’

  ‘‘How far do you judge?’’

  ‘‘Twenty feet,’’ answered James, years of running across the rooftops of Krondor having taught him to judge distances accurately.

  ‘‘How do we get down there?’’ asked Treggar.

  ‘‘Hang and drop,’’ said James.

  ‘‘Even hanging by your fingers means a fall long enough for you to break your legs,’’ said the captain. ‘‘You don’t know what’s down there.’’

  James glanced at the rising moon. ‘‘Wait a few minutes.’’

  As the moon climbed higher in the sky, the deep shadows cleared. After a few minutes, Treggar said, ‘‘It’s a pathway!’’

  Below them, between two walls of stone, a narrow passage to the ancient fortress ran alongside the larger pathway they had left.

  James said, ‘‘William, lie down and lower me, then I’ll drop.

  I’ll catch you two.’’

  Quickly the three men made their way down to the narrow pathway, and Treggar said, ‘‘I hope we don’t have to retreat in a hurry.’’

  ‘‘Retreat?’’ asked William.

  ‘‘No room to fight, lieutenant,’’ answered the older soldier.

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  William realized he was correct. Even with daggers, all a man could do in this narrow confine would be to hold an opponent at bay. The rocks on either side rose twelve feet above his head and he had scant inches of clearance to left or right.

  ‘‘This way,’’ said William, who found himself in the lead.

  Even if they had wanted a different order, there was no room, save to climb over one another. No one suggested it.

  When the two moons were directly overhead, William whispered, ‘‘Look at the walls!’’

  James stopped and examined the rocks. ‘‘This is new work.

  You can see the chisel marks.’’

  Treggar said, ‘‘Our friends, I guess.’’

  James said, ‘‘That means the old entrance is almost certainly trapped.’’ He was silent, then he said, ‘‘No horse could get through here, so they must either have a third way in or out, or they have a stable and forage hidden away close by.’’

  ‘‘The latter, almost certainly,’’ suggested Treggar.

  As they moved along the pathway, it widened a little, until they reached what appeared to be a dead end. As William raised his hand toward the stone wall, James said, ‘‘Don’t touch anything.’’

  William withdrew his hand and James said, ‘‘Move back and let me squeeze by.’’

  They did so and James stood motionless for a time, looking closely at the rock surface. He whispered, ‘‘I wish we could risk a light.’’

  ‘‘We can’t,’’ answered Treggar.

  ‘‘Quiet,’’ instructed James.

  He reached out to the wall on his right, then moved his 238

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  fingers forward until they reached the junction with the wall in front of him. He touched the surface lightly, barely putting any pressure on it, then quickly withdrew his hand.

  He repeated the examination with his other hand, starting from the left wall to the wall in front of him, and again quickly withdrew his fingers. Turning, he said, ‘‘It’s trapped.’’

  ‘‘How do you know?’’ asked Treggar.

  James said, ‘‘I know.’’

  ‘‘What kind of trap?’’ asked William.

  ‘‘A very nasty one, I wager,’’ said James, as he knelt. He examined the ground before the wall, again inspecting the intersection where they joined. ‘‘Stand back,’’ he instructed.

  They retreated a few feet. ‘‘If you want to know how I know, captain, spend half your life negotiating traps and you develop a sense for them. This one is pretty fair, but no natural rock formation has a continuous seam on both sides, from top to bottom, of almost exactly the same dimension. Someone cut this rock in front of us and put it here.’’ James reached down and pushed slightly. The entire wall effortlessly tilted toward him for an instant, then swung back. He put his fingers under the lower edge of the hidden doorway and lifted up. Silently and without effort it rose until it was parallel to the ground, suspended on two hidden pivots. Looking over his shoulder he said, ‘‘They cut this door to match very closely the other rock around here, but it’s not an exact match. Now, don’t touch anything but the ground. In particular, don’t touch the door as you crawl under it.’’ Then he vanished into the darkness below t
he suspended door.

  William and the captain followed.

  The tunnel was pitch-dark, and James whispered, ‘‘Don’t move.’’

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  A few painfully slow moments passed, then a light flickered into existence, a tiny speck of flame ignited by James.

  ‘‘How did you do that?’’ asked Treggar.

  ‘‘I’ll show you later,’’ said James. He handed a tiny burning taper to William. ‘‘Move down the tunnel a little.’’

  He then carefully put the door back as it had been, and turned, holding out his hand. William gave him back the taper.

  The tiny light did a remarkable job of illuminating the area around them, just enough for them to see where to step, but not casting light very far down the tunnel. They would be almost upon anyone before their light was detected.

  Whispering, James said, ‘‘Now we must use all our senses.

  Be wary.’’

  He set off. The tunnel inclined downward, leading them deeper into the earth.

  After a long, silent walk, a light appeared in the distance. James extinguished the burning taper and put it away. Just before reaching the source of the light, they encountered a tunnel which crossed the one they were in. James turned right, away from the light, and motioned for William and Treggar to follow. When they were once again in the darkness, he relit the taper.

  They moved down the corridor. It was clearly a manmade passage, with close-fitted stone on both sides, and large paving stones beneath their feet.

  William said softly, ‘‘I think this is the way the rat indicated.’’

  ‘‘What rat?’’ asked Treggar.

  ‘‘Probably means the kitchen or food storage isn’t far from here,’’ replied James, ignoring the question.

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  They heard the sound of someone moving a few yards ahead. James quickly extinguished the taper again. Moments later, they saw a light appear, as two men crossed before them, from right to left along a perpendicular tunnel. Neither spoke, and it was hard to tell what they wore, save their clothing was dark.