2 - The Ruby Knight

by The Ruby Knight [lit]

  muttered a naughty word in Styric. 'You'd better show

  them, Sephrenia. Otherwise they'll stand here all night

  asking foolish questions.'

  There was a large mirror - a sheet of polished brass,

  actually - on one wall of Sephrenia's room. 'Would you

  all come over here, please?' Sephrenia said, going to the

  mirror.

  They gathered around the mirror, and she began an

  incantation Sparhawk had not heard before. Then she

  gestured. The mirror became momentarily cloudy. When

  Page 169

  Eddings, David - Elenium 2 - The Ruby Knight.txt

  it cleared, they seemed to be looking down at the lake.

  'There's the raft,' Kalten said in astonishment, 'and

  that's Sparhawk coming to the surface. I don't understand,

  Sephrenia.'

  'We're looking at things that happened just before

  noon yesterday,' she told him.

  'We already know what happened.'

  'We know what we were doing,' she corrected. 'There

  were others there as well, however.'

  "I didn't see anybody.'

  They didn't want you to see them. just keep

  watching.'

  The perspective in the mirror seemed to change,

  moving away from the lake towards the sedge which

  grew thickly on the Peat-bog. A dark-robed shaPe was

  crouched down, hidden in the marsh-grass.

  The Seeker!' Bevier exclaimed. "It was watching us!'

  "It wasn't the only one,' Sephrenia told him.

  The perspective changed again, sliding several

  hundred yards north along the lake to a clump of scrubby

  trees. A shaW, grotesquely deformed shape was

  hidden in the grove.

  'And that's Ghwerig,' Flute told them.

  That's a dwarph?' Kalten exclaimed. "It's as big as Ulath.

  How big is a normal one?'

  'About twice as big as Ghwerig,' Ulath shrugged.

  'Ogres are even bigger.'

  The mirror clouded again as Sephrenia spoke rapidly

  in Styric. 'Nothing important went on for quite a while,

  so we're skipping that part,' she explained.

  The mirror cleared again. 'There we go, riding away

  from the lake,' Kalten said.

  Then the Seeker rose from the marsh-grass and with it

  about ten wooden-faced men who appeared to be

  Pelosian serfs. Numbly, the serfs shambled down to the

  -lake-shore and waded into the water.

  "we were afraid that might happen,' Tynian said.

  The mirror clouded again. They continued the search

  all through yesterday, last night and today,' Sephrenia

  told them. 'Then, just over an hour ago, one of them

  found Bhelliom. This part might be a little hard to see,

  because it was dark. I'll lighten the image as much as I can

  for you.'

  It was a bit hard to make out, but it seemed that one of

  the serfs emerged from the lake carrying a mud-caked

  object in his hand. 'King Sarak's crown,' Sephrenia

  identified the object.

  The black-robed Seeker rushed along the lake-shore,

  its scorpion-like claws extended and clicking eagerly, but

  Ghwerig reached the serf before Azash's creature could.

  With a mighty blow of his gnarled fist he crushed in the

  side of the serf's head and seized the crown. Then he

  turned and ran before the Seeker could summon its

  followers out of the lake. Ghwerig's run was a peculiar

  loping gait involving both legs and one extraordinarily

  long arm. A man might be able to run faster, but not by

  very much.

  The image faded.

  'What happened next?' Kurik asked.

  'Ghwerig stopped from time to time when one of the

  serfs began to overtake him,' Sephrenia replied. "It

  looked as if he were deliberately slowing down. He killed

  them one by one.'

  'Where's Ghwerig now?' Tynian asked.

  Page 170

  Eddings, David - Elenium 2 - The Ruby Knight.txt

  'We can't tell,' Flute told him. "It's very hard to follow a

  Troll in the dark. That's why we have to get out into the

  open countryside. Sephrenia and I can feel Bhelliom, but

  only if we can get clear of all these townsmen.'

  Tynian considered it. 'The Seekers more or less out of

  the picture now,' he said. "It's going to have to go out and

  gather more people before it can go after Ghwerig.'

  'That's a comforting thought,' Kalten said. "I wouldn't

  want to have to take them both on at once.'

  'We'd better get started,' Sparhawk told them. 'Put on

  your armour, gentlemen,' he suggested. 'When we run

  across Ghwerig, we might need it.'

  They went back to their rooms to gather their

  belongings and to dress themselves in steel. Sparhawk

  clanked down the stairs to settle up with the fat

  innkeeper, who stood leaning against the doorway of the

  empty tap-room, sleepy-eyed and yawning.

  'We're going to be leaving now,' Sparhawk said to

  him.

  "It's still dark outside, Sir Knight.'

  "I know, but something came up.'

  "you've heard the news then, I gather.

  what news was that?' Sparhawk asked him

  cautiously.

  "there's trouble down in Arcium. I haven't been able to

  really get the straight of it, but there's even been talk that

  it might be a war of some kind.'

  Sparhawk frowned. 'That doesn't make much sense,

  neighbour. Arcium's not like Lamorkand. The Arcian

  nobles foreswore their blood-feuds generations ago at

  the king's command.'

  I can only repeat what I heard, Sir Knight. The word

  that I've picked up is that the kingdoms of western Eosia

  are all mobilizing. Earlier tonight some fellows came

  through Venne in quite a hurry - fellows who weren't

  very interested in going off to fight in a foreign war - and

  they say that there's a huge army gathering to the west of

  the lake conscripting every man they run across.'

  'The western kingdoms wouldn't mobilize because of a

  civil war in Arcium,' Sparhawk told him. 'That kind of

  thing is an internal matter.'

  That's what puzzles me too,' the innkeeper agreed,

  but what puzzles me even more is that some of those

  timid fellows have said that a fair portion of that army is

  made up of Thalesians.'

  'They must have been wrong,' Sparhawk said. 'King

  Wargun drinks quite a bit, but he still wouldn't invade a

  friendly kingdom. If these men you mentioned were

  trying to avoid being conscripted, they probably

  wouldn't have stopped to examine the men who were

  chasing them, and one man in a mail-shirt looks much

  like another.'

  'That's probably very true, Sir Knight.'

  Sparhawk paid for their night's lodging. 'Thank you

  for the information, neighbour,' he said to the innkeeper

  as the others began to come down the stairway. He

  turned and went out to the courtyard.

  'What's going on, Sir Sparhawk?' Berit asked, handing

  Sparhawk Faran's 'reins.

  'The Seeker was watching us while we were in the

  lake,' Sparhawk replied. 'One of its men found Bhelliom,

  but Ghwerig the
Troll took it away from him. Now we

  have to go and find Ghwerig.'

  'That might be a little difficult, Sir Sparhawk. There's

  Page 171

  Eddings, David - Elenium 2 - The Ruby Knight.txt

  fog rolling in off the lake.'

  'Hopefully, it'll burn off before Ghwerig gets this far

  north.'

  The others came out of the inn. 'Let's all get mounted,'

  Sparhawk said to them. 'Which way do we go, Flute?'

  'North for now,' she replied as Kurik lifted her up to

  Sephrenia.

  Berit blinked. "She knows how to talk!' he exclaimed.

  'Please, Berit,' she said to him, 'don't repeat the

  obvious. Let's go, Sparhawk. I can't pinpoint Bhelliom's

  location until we get away from here.'

  They rode out of the innyard and into the foggy street,

  The fog was thick, hovering just this side of rainy drizzle,

  and it carried with it the acidic reek of the peat-bogs

  which surrounded the lake.

  'This isn't a good night for coming up against a Troll,'

  Ulath said, falling in beside Sparhawk.

  "I doubt very much that we'll run across Ghwerig

  tonight,' Sparhawk said. 'He's on foot, and it's a long

  way from here to where he found Bhelliom - that's

  assuming he's even coming this way.'

  'He almost has to, Sparhawk,' the Genidian said. 'He

  wants to get to Thalesia, and that means he's got to get to

  a seaport on the north coast.'

  'We'll know better which way he's moving once we get

  Sephrenia and Flute out of town.'

  'My guess would be Nadera,' Ulath speculated. "It's a

  bigger seaport than Apalia, and there are more ships

  there. Ghwerig's going to have to sneak on board one.

  It's not likely that he could book passage. Most seacaptains

  are superstitious about sailing with Trolls

  aboard. '

  "would Ghwerig understand enough of our language

  to find out which ships are going to Thalesia by eaves~

  dropping?'

  ulath nodded. 'Most Trolls have a smattering of Elene

  and even Styric. They usually can't speak any language

  but their own, but they can understand a few words of

  ours.'

  They passed through the city gate and reached the fork

  in the road north of Venne shortly before daybreak. They

  looked dubiously at the rutted track that led up into the

  mountains towards Ghasek and ultimately to the seaport

  at Apalia. "I hope he doesn't decide to go that way,' the

  white-cloaked Bevier said with a shudder. "I don't really

  want to go back to Ghasek.'

  'is he moving at all?' Sparhawk asked Flute.

  'Yes,' she replied. 'He's coming north along the lakeshore. '

  "I don't quite understand this,' Talen said to the little

  girl. 'if you can sense where Bhelliom is, why didn't we

  just stay at the inn until he got closer with it?'

  'Because there are too many people in Venne,'

  Sephrenia told him. 'We can't get a clear picture of

  Bhelliom's location in the middle of all that welter of

  thoughts and emotions.'

  'Oh,' the boy said, 'that makes sense - I suppose.'

  'We could ride down the lake-shore and meet him,'

  Kalten suggested. 'Save us all a lot of time.'

  'Not in the fog,' Ulath said firmly. "I want to be able to

  see him coming. I don't want to get surprised by a Troll.'

  'He's going to have to pass through here,' Tynian said,

  or at least very close to here - if he's headed towards

  the north coast. He can't swim across the lake, and he

  can't go into Venne. Trolls are a little conspicuous, or so

  Page 172

  Eddings, David - Elenium 2 - The Ruby Knight.txt

  I'm told. When he gets closer, we can ambush him

  "It's got some possibilities, Sparhawk,' Kalten said. 'if

  we've got his probable line of travel pinpointed, we can

  catch him unawares up here. We can kill him and be

  half-way to Cimmura with Bhelliom before anyone is any

  the wiser.'

  'Oh, Kalten,' Sephrenia sighed.

  'Killing is what we do, little mother,' he told her. 'You

  don't have to watch if you don't want to. One Troll more

  or less in the world isn't going to make all that much

  difference. '

  'There could be a problem, though,' Tynian said to

  Flute. 'The Seeker's going to be hot on Ghwerig's heels

  just as soon as it gathers up enough men, and it can

  probably sense Bhelliom in the same way you and

  Sephrenia can, can't it?'

  'Yes,' she admitted. '

  'Then you're forgetting that we may have to face it just

  as soon as we dispose of Ghwerig, aren't you?'

  'And you're forgetting that we'll have Bhelliom at that

  point and that Sparhawk has the rings.'

  'Would Bhelliom eliminate the Seeker?'

  "Quite easily.'

  'Let's pull back into those trees a ways,' Sparhawk

  suggested. "I don't know how long it's going to take

  Ghwerig to get here, and I don't want him coming up on

  us while we're all standing in the middle of the road

  talking about the weather and other things.'

  They withdrew into the shadowy cover of a stand of

  trees and dismounted.

  'Sephrenia,' Bevier said in a puzzled tone of voice, 'if

  Bhelliom can destroy the Seeker with magic, couldn't

  you use ordinary Styric magic to do the same thing?'

  'Bevier,' she replied patiently, 'if I could do that, don't

  you think I'd have done it a long time ago?'

  'Oh,' he said, sounding a bit abashed, "I didn't think of

  that, I suppose.'

  The sun came up blearily that morning. The pervading

  fog from the lake and the heavy mist out of the forest to the

  north halfclouded the air at ground-level, although the sky

  above was clear. They set out watches and checked over

  saddles and equipment. After that, most of them dozed in

  the muggY heat, frequently changing watch. A man on

  short sleep in sultry weather is not always very alert.

  It was not long after noon when Talen woke

  Sparhawk. 'Flute wants to talk to you,' he said.

  "I thought she'd be asleep.'

  "I don't think she ever really sleeps,' the boy said. 'You

  can't get near her without her eyes popping open.'

  "Someday maybe we'll ask her about that.' Sparhawk

  threw off his blanket, rose to his feet and splashed some

  .water from a nearby spring on his face. Then he went to

  where Flute huddled comfortably next to Sephrenia.

  The little girl's huge eyes opened immediately. 'Where

  have you been?' she asked.

  "It took me a moment to get fully awake.'

  'Stay alert, Sparhawk,' she said. 'The Seeker's

  coming.'

  He swore and reached for his sword.

  'Oh, don't do that,' she said disgustedly. "It's still a

  mile or so away.'

  'How did it get this far north so fast?'

  "It didn't stop to pick up any people the way we

  thought it would. It's alone, and it's killing its horse. The

  Page 173

  Eddings, David - Elenium 2 - The Ruby Knight.txt

  poor beast is dying right now.'

  'And Gh
werig's still a good distance away?'

  'Yes, Bhelliom's still south of the city of Venne. I can

  get snatches of the Seeker's thought.' She shuddered.

  "It's hideous, but it has much the same idea that we have.

  It's trying to get far enough ahead of Ghwerig to set up an

  ambush for him. It can pick up local people to do its work

  for it up here. I think we'll have to fight it.'

  'Without Bhelliom?'

  "I'm afraid so, Sparhawk. It doesn't have any people to

  help it, and that might make it easier to deal with.'

  'Can we kill it with ordinary weapons?'

  "I don't think so. There's something that might work,

  though. I've never tried it, but my older sister told me

  how to do it.'

  "I didn't think you had any family.'

  'Oh, Sparhawk,' she laughed, 'my family is far, far larger

  than you could possibly imagine. Get the others. The

  Seeker will be coming up that road in just a few minutes.

  Confront it, and I'll bring Sephrenia. It will stop to think which

  is to say that Azash wIll, since Azash is really its

  mind. But Azash is far too arrogant to avoid a chance to

  taunt Sephrenia, and that's when I'll strike at the Seeker.'

  'Are you going to kill it?'

  'Of course not. We don't kill things, Sparhawk. We let

  nature do that. Now go. We don't have much time.'

  "I don't understand.'

  'You don't have to. just go and get the others.'

  They ranged out across the road at the fork, their

  lances set.

  'Does she really know what she's talking about?'

  Tynian asked dubiously.

  "I certainly hope so,' Sparhawk murmured.

  And then they heard the laboured breathing of a horse

  very near to fatal exhaustion, the unsteady thudding of

  staggering hooves and the savage whistle and crack of a

  whip. The Seeker, black-robed and hunched in its

  saddle, came around the bend, flogging its dying horse

  unmercifully.

  'Stay, hound of hell,' Bevier cried out in a ringing

  voice, 'for here ends your reckless advance!'

  'We're going to have to talk to that boy someday,'

  Ulath muttered to Sparhawk.

  The Seeker, however, had reined in cautiously.

  Then Sephrenia, with Flute at her side, stepped out of

  the trees. The small Styric woman's face was even paler

  than usual. Oddly enough, Sparhawk had never fully

  realized how tiny his teacher really was - scarcely taller

  than Flute herself. Her presence had always been so

  commanding that somehow in his mind she had seemed