Just by way of clarification here, Hunter's always been the most secret of Drasnian intelligence agents, and he--or she--frequently has a little private agency--a kind of secret service within a secret service.
Drasnians are like that. They absolutely love secrets.
"We think this Asharak fellow might have doubled back, Ancient One," Talvar advised me.
"When he left here, he was going southeasterly toward the Tolnedran Mountains, but there are some things going on in Vo Mimbre that seem to have his distinctive footprints all over them."
"Oh?"
"There's a Murgo trade delegation there, and they're spending a lot of money bribing assorted Mimbrate knights. Mimbrates aren't very bright, and they usually go into debt in order to make an impression on their fellows. Asharak's always been very free with his gold. When you start seeing blood-red coins, you know where they're coming from. It may be something he set in motion in the past, but I personally don't think so.
The sudden influx of Murgo gold suggests a new ploy. Track the money, Ancient One. You'll get more information from that than from anything else."
"You're a Drasnian to the bone, Talvar," I told him.
"That's why Hunter put me here, Ancient One. Anyway, the whole thrust of all of this is to subvert the crown prince, who's probably deeper in debt than anybody else in all of Arendia." He made a face.
"If I weren't working for my government, I could make a fortune down here. Some of these Mimbrate idiots would pay exorbitant interest just to clear their debts."
"Keep your eyes on what we're doing, Talvar," I told him.
"Don't get sidetracked. Make money on your own time, not on mine. Does Asharak have his hands around the crown prince's heart yet?"
"Probably not. Young Prince Korodullin still has a sense of honor, despite all his debts. He's resisting the Murgo blandishments, but I think he's starting to waver. He needs somebody to stiffen his backbone."
"I think I know just the man. Get me some names, Talvar. I need to know just who these bought-and-paid-for Mimbrate knights are. I'll send the man I've got in mind to Vo Mimbre to deal with the matter."
"Now I know why they call you Holy Belgarath," he said.
"Don't mix
"Holy" and ""money," Talvar. You'll get in trouble if you do."
Then I went on to Vo Ebor, where Mandorallen was in training under the tutelage of the baron. The baron of Vo Ebor had recently married a young noblewoman, Nerina by name. The baron's duties were such that he had very little time for his new wife, but there was a handsome and honorable young knight handy who sort of filled in for him--nothing improper, you understand, but it did create an interesting situation.
I got straight to the point when I arrived.
"Just how good is your pupil, my Lord Baron?" I asked the older man.
"He doth far exceed our expectations. Ancient One," the baron replied.
"I doubt that any knight in all Arendia is his match."
"Good." I looked at Mandorallen.
"I want you to go to Vo Mimbre,"
I said.
"There are some people there who need chastisement. They've been taking money from the Murgos to lead Prince Korodullin astray.
Make them stop. The Drasnian ambassador to the old King's court will know who they are. Issue a few challenges and break a few bones. Try not to kill too many of them in the process, though. There are things you have to do later on, and I don't want you embroiled in any blood feuds when the time comes for you to do them."
"I shall strive to mine utmost to do as thou hast commanded me, Holy Belgarath," the young man replied.
"My lance, my sword, and my good right arm stand ever at thy service, and, forasmuch as I am--as all the world doth know--the mightiest knight on life, I doubt not that the overthrow of these miscreant knights shall be but a light task, which I gladly undertake, and my skill and my prowess are such that, barring accident, I may confidently assure thee that their overthrow shall not do them permanent injury."
Lord, Mandorallen can be windy once he dives headlong into a sentence!
As I recall, though, the face of the Baroness Nerina positively glowed at his modest announcement of his invincibility. Arendish ladies are like that.
I never did get the full details of the scheme Chamdar had set in motion at Vo Mimbre. I suppose it might have been nothing more than a delaying tactic to keep me from snapping at his tail feathers. Chamdar'd seen my face at Annath, and I'm sure that he'd have done almost anything to avoid seeing it at close range again.
A report from the Drasnian ambassador at Vo Mimbre caught up with me a couple of months later, and I gather that Mandorallen had more than fulfilled his promise. Windy or not, Mandorallen--once he'd shut his mouth and got started--was something on the order of a natural disaster. A fair number of the knights he met in the lists that day actually had to be cut out of their armor before their injuries could be tended.
By the time Mandorallen had finished talking and got down to business, however, I was already at the Drasnian embassy in Tol Honeth.
"How good is he?" I asked Javelin, pointing at Silk. It probably wasn't very polite to ask the question right there in front of the rat-faced little spy, but recent events had eroded my good manners noticeably.
"He shows a certain amount of promise, Ancient One," Javelin replied.
"He has a slight tendency to get sidetracked, though. Honesty's not one of his strong points. He's got the soul of a thief, and he can't seem to be able to pass up the opportunity to steal things."
"Javelin!" Silk protested. Prince Kheldar was wearing the typical Drasnian black doublet and hose. He was a wiry little fellow with a sharp face and a long, pointed nose. He was only about twenty at the time, but his eyes were already cynical and intelligent far beyond his years.
"All right then, gentlemen," I said, "let's get down to business.
There's a Grolim named Chamdar who usually goes by the name of Asharak the Murgo. He was in Sendaria recently, and he did some things there that seriously irritated me. As closely as I can determine, he recently passed through Arendia, and he was coming this way. I want him.
Find him for me."
"He gets right to the point, doesn't he?" Silk said to his friend. Then he gave me that impudent little grin that's always irritated me for some reason.
"Just out of curiosity, Ancient One, why have I been selected for the great honor of assisting you in this quest of yours? I'm a relative novice, after all."
"Because Chamdar knows me, and he probably can also recognize most of Javelin's more experienced agents on sight. You're new enough in this business that your face isn't widely known. That's why I've looked you up specifically. I'm hoping that your anonymity's going to make it possible for you to search him out for me."
"Do you want me to kill him?" Silk's eyes grew bright.
"No. I just want you to find him. I'll take it from there."
"Spoilsport."
"Is he always like this?" I asked Javelin.
"Usually, yes. Sometimes it's worse."
"What would the location of this Asharak be worth to you, Ancient One?" Silk asked in a sly tone of voice.
"Silk!" Javelin snapped.
"I was only joking." The little fellow grinned.
"I've known Holy Belgarath since I was a boy. He knows that I like to tweak his beard now and then." He looked at me.
"In point of fact, Asharak the Murgo's in Tol Rane right now. I can give you the name of the inn where he's staying, if you'd like. Now, is there anything else I can do for you?"
"Are you sure he's in Tol Rane?" I demanded.
"As sure as we can be about anything in our peculiar business.
Tolnedran intelligence isn't really very good, but they do have a lot of people out in the streets, and they've always kept an eye on this Asharak fellow."
"How did you find out about it?" Javelin asked him.
"I have some contacts inside Tolnedran intelligence," Sil
k replied with a lofty expression as he buffed his fingernails on the front of his doublet.
"Anyway, Ran Borune's involved in trade negotiations with the Murgos right now, and the Murgo trade delegation reports directly to Asharak. They've had messengers burning up the road between here and Tol Rane for the past two weeks."
"How did you find out about that?" Javelin demanded.
Silk smirked at him.
"I have my sources," he replied.
"More to the point, why didn't you report it to me?"
"I'd have gotten around to it--eventually. I wanted a few more details before I laid it on your desk. You always ask so many questions, Javelin. I've got it under control, and you've got other things on your mind."
"You're an absolute gold mine of information. Prince Kheldar,"
Javelin said sarcastically.
"At least you are once I manage to pry your jaws open." Then he moved on rather quickly.
"What's Ran Borune trying to sell to the Murgos?"
Silk shrugged.
"A bit of this, a bit of that," he replied evasively.
"Describe the "this" and the "that," Silk."
Silk winced.
"All right, if you're going to be that way about it. Ran Borune's got a nephew who's in business in the commercial enclave at Riva. The nephew's come very close to cornering the market in the spring shearing on the Isle of the Winds, and he'll be able to make a very tidy profit if he can find a way to sell all that wool to the Murgos. I've got a friend on the Isle who's trying to outbid the nephew, though. If Ran Borune does manage to strike a deal with the Murgos, he may very well make my friend rich instead of his own nephew."
"And you're getting a commission from your friend, aren't you?"
Javelin demanded.
"Naturally. I am supplying him with information on the trade negotiations, after all. Fair's fair, Javelin."
"If your uncle finds out that you're using the resources of the intelligence service for your personal enrichment, he'll have apoplexy. You do know that, don't you?"
"Then we'll just have to make sure he doesn't find out, won't we?"
Silk replied blandly.
"My uncle's the king of Drasnia, Javelin. He's got enough on his mind already without concerning himself with something like this." The little swindler looked at me.
"Did you want me to go with you to Tol Rane?" he asked.
"I think so, yes. You have contacts there, I assume?"
"Old friend, I have contacts everywhere. Did you want to know what Salmissra had for breakfast this morning?"
"Not particularly. Why don't you go throw a few things together?
We'll be leaving for Tol Rane tomorrow morning."
"I don't have to throw things together, Belgarath. My bags are always packed."
The next morning Silk came down into the courtyard of the embassy wearing a maroon velvet doublet and a bag-like black velvet hat cocked over one ear.
"Isn't that a little fancy for a long trip on horseback?" I asked him.
"One must look the part, Ancient One," he replied.
"I'm known in Tol Rane as Radek of Boktor. I do business there on occasion, and I've found it useful not to use my real name. That "prince" my family tacked onto me has a tendency to make various merchants think that I'm an easy mark. Believe me, nobody tries to swindle Radek of Boktor. I've cut some very sharp deals in this particular guise."
"I'm sure you have. Let's get started."
We took the high road to Tol Rane and arrived in that snow-clogged city about a week later. Since Tol Rane's right up against the border of what used to be Maragor, it's high up in the mountains, and it gets almost as much snow as Val Alorn or Boktor do each winter. We went to the inn where Silk usually stayed when he was in town and took a fairly opulent suite of rooms on the top floor, "for the sake of appearances," as he put it.
Not long after we arrived, one of the local Drasnian agents stopped by to pay a visit, and he and Silk held an extended conversation in the secret language. It wasn't really necessary to do it that way, of course, but I think Silk was showing off.
After the other Drasnian had left, my little companion filled me in on some of the details of their discussion. There were a number of large gaps, but I didn't bother to correct him. He didn't really need to know that I understood all that finger-waving.
"Asharak's been here, right enough," the little man concluded, "but no one's seen him in the past several days. I'll nose around a bit and see if I can turn up anything more specific."
"Do that," I told him.
"I'll stay here. There's no point in announcing the fact that I'm in Tol Rane, and Chamdar knows me on sight. If he catches so much as a glimpse of me, he'll be across the border into Cthol Murgos before the sun goes down."
Silk nodded, and then he left.
No sooner had the door closed behind him, though, than I altered my appearance enough to be unrecognizable and followed him. I didn't do it because I didn't trust him, although Silk's not the most trustworthy man in the world, but I wanted to see him in action. He didn't know it yet, but the Guide was going to be very important as time went on, and I wanted to be sure that he would be able to handle the things he'd come up against.
He didn't disappoint me. Prince Kheldar was already as smooth as his nickname implied. He hadn't shaved in the week or so that we'd been on the road from Tol Honeth, and that hint of a beard gave him the appearance of being older than he really was, and he was able to assume mannerisms that reinforced that perception in the eyes of others. I'm convinced that if Silk had really wanted to--and if the business of being a spy hadn't been so exciting for him--he might very well have been able to make a fortune as an actor. I've assumed various disguises over the years, so I'm in a position to recognize genius when I see it.
All right. Silk, don't let it go to your head. I'll freely admit that you're very good, but isn't that what I hired you for?
"Radek of Boktor" drifted around the snowy streets of Tol Rane, and he concluded a fair number of business transactions as he went. I stayed in the background, so I couldn't actually hear any of the details, but I get the strong impression that
"Radek" sold a lot of things that he didn't actually own that day. He glibly promised delivery, however, and I'd imagine that he probably made good on most of those promises. Silk isn't above swindling people on occasion, but he was still working very hard to establish "Radek's" reputation.
Eventually he worked his way across town to the district where the Murgos normally stayed, and in the common room of an inn there he got down to business. After he'd sold some things that he didn't really have title to, he made a few discreet inquiries. He was sitting at a table with three scar-faced Murgos, and he leaned back, idly toying with his tankard.
"If any of you happen to know a man named Asharak, you might pass the word along that Radek of Boktor's got a business proposition for him,"
he declared.
"Why should I go out of my way to make Asharak richer?" one of the Murgos countered.
"Because Asharak pays good commissions," Silk replied.
"I'm sure he'll make it worth your while. The proposition promises to be very lucrative."
"If it's that good, I might be interested myself."
"I don't want to insult you, Grachik," Silk said with a thin smile, "but you don't have the resources for this particular transaction. It involves a commodity, and we all know how expensive commodity transactions can be."
"What kind of commodity?"
"I'd prefer to tell Asharak about that privately. Sometimes things have a way of leaking out, and I have some competitors I'd sort of like to keep in the dark. If they find out that Radek's coming into the market, prices are going to start climbing. That wouldn't do either me or Asharak much good."
"Asharak isn't here in Tol Rane," Grachik told him.
"He left for Tol Borune two days ago."
One of the other Murgos kicked the talkative Grachik under th
e table.
"Well," Grachik amended quickly, "that's what I heard, anyway. With Asharak, you never really know. He has dealings all over Tolnedra, you realize. For all I know, he could be in Tol Horb by now." It was pitifully transparent. Grachik had let something slip that he was supposed to keep to himself.
"Asharak's an elusive one, all right," Silk agreed.
"I've been trying to track him down for two months now. The proposition I have in mind is very large, and Asharak's probably the only man around who can afford it.
If you happen to know anybody who can get word to him, let him know that I'll be going back to Tol Honeth in a day or so. Tell him that I usually stay in that large inn near the Drasnian embassy, and that if he wants to double his money, he should look me up. I'm not going to waste any more of my time looking for him."
Silk talked with the Murgos for about another half hour, and then he left. I stayed around long enough to hear the other two Murgos berate Grachik for his slip of the tongue and long enough to see Grachik try to cover his blunder by sending a pair of burly hirelings after my little friend.
The Murgos were obviously willing to go to any lengths to keep Asharak's location a secret.
The pair of hired assassins caught up with Silk in a dark, snow-clogged side street, but Silk clearly knew that he was being followed, and he seemed to be confident that he could deal with the situation. I wasn't all that sure myself, so I stayed close enough to be able to lend a hand if it became necessary.
It wasn't. I've never seen anyone quite as agile as Silk can be in tight quarters. The assassins were a pair of knockabout Tolnedran footpads, and they were no match at all for my little Drasnian friend. He spun on the two of them, pulled one dagger out of his boot and another from down the back of his neck, and killed the pair of them in the space of about six heartbeats. Then he kicked snow over the two bodies and continued on his way. This boy was good!
I managed to reach our lodgings a couple of minutes before he did, and I was sitting before the fire when he arrived.
"Well?" I said when he came in.
"Did you find anything?"
Rivan Codex Series Page 80