2 - The Ruby Knight

by The Ruby Knight [lit]

  leagues,' he replied.

  'That still doesn't answer my question, Sparhawk. I

  need to know how long it wil take.'

  He computed it. 'About twenty days.'

  She frowned. 'Perhaps I can shorten that a bit,' she

  said.

  'What are we talking about here?' he asked her.

  'Acie's on the coast, isn't it?'

  'Yes.'

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  'We're going to need a boat to get us to Thalesia.

  Ghwerig's taking Bhelliom to his cave up in the

  mountains there.'

  'There are enough of us to overpower the sentries,'

  Kalten said, 'and dealing with a patrol in the middle of

  the night's not all that hard. We're still not so far behind

  that we can't catch him.'

  'We have something to do in Acie,' she told him, ' - at

  least I do - and it must be done before we go after

  Bhelliom. We know where Ghwerig's going, so he won't

  be hard to find. Ulath, go tell WarGun that we'll accompany

  him to Acie. Think up some plausible reason.'

  'Yes, lady,' he said with the faintest hint of a smile.

  "I wish you'd all stop doing that,' she complained. 'Oh,

  by the way, on your way to Wargun's tent, ask someone

  to bring us some supper.'

  'What would you like?'

  'Goat would be nice, but anything will do as long as it's

  not pork.'

  They reached Agnak just before sunset the following

  day and set up their huge camp. The local citizenry

  immediately closed the city gates. King Wargun insisted

  that Sparhawk and the other Church Knights accompany

  him under a flag of truce to the north gate. "I am WarGun

  of Thalesia,' he roared at the city walls. 'I have King Soros

  of Pelosia with me - as well as these Knights of the

  Church. The Kingdom of Arcium has been invaded by

  the Rendors, and I call upon every able-bodied man with

  faith in God to join with us in our efforts to stamp out the

  Eshandist heresy. I'm not here to inconvenience you in

  any way, my friends, but if that gate isn't open by the

  time the sun goes down, I'll reduce your walls to rubble

  and drive you all into the wilderness where you can

  watch your city burn down to ashes.'

  'Do you think they heard him?' Kalten asked.

  'They probably heard him in Chyrellos,' Tynian

  replied. 'Your king has a most penetrating voice, Sir

  Ulath. '

  "It's a long way from one mountain top to another in

  Thalesia,' Ulath shrugged. 'You have to talk very loudly

  if you want to be heard.'

  King WarGun grinned crookedly at him. 'Would anyone

  care to wager on whether or not that gate opens

  before the sun slips behind yon hill?' he asked.

  'We are Church Knights, Your Magesty,' Bevier replied

  piously. 'We take a vow of poverty, so we're not really in

  a position to gamble on sporting events.'

  King Wargun roared with laughter.

  The city gate opened somewhat hesitantly.

  "Somehow I knew they'd see it my way,' Wargun said,

  leading the way into the city. 'Where will I find your chief

  magistrate?' he asked one of the trembling gate guards.

  'I-I believe he's in the councel-house, Your Majesty,'

  the guard stammered. 'Probably hiding in the cellar.'

  'Be a good fellow and go and fetch him for me.'

  'At once, Your Majesty.' The guard threw down his

  pike and ran off down the street.

  "I like Lamorks,' WarGun said expansively. 'They're

  always so eager to be obliging.'

  The chief magistrate was a pudgy man. His face was

  pale, and he was sweating profusely as the gate guard

  bodily dragged him into WarGun's presence.

  "I will require suitable quarters for King Soros, myself

  and our entourage, Your Excellency,' WarGun informed

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  him. 'This won't inconvenience your citizens all that

  much, because they'll be up all night equipping themselves

  for an extended military campaign anyway.'

  'As Your Majesty commands,' the magistrate replied

  in a squeaky voice.

  'You see what I mean about Lamorks?' WarGun said.

  'Soros will have smooth going down here. He'll sweep

  the whole kingdom clean in a week - if he doesn't stop to

  pray too often. Why don't we go someplace and get

  something to drink while his excellency here empties a

  dozen or so houses for us?'

  After a consultation with King Soros and Patriarch

  Bergsten the following morning, WarGun took a troop of

  Thalesian cavalry and led them towards the west with

  Sparhawk riding at his side. It was a fine morning. The

  sunlight sparkled on the lake, and there was a light

  breeze blowing in from the west.

  "I suppose you're still not going

  to tell me what you

  were doing in Pelosia?' Wargun said to Sparhawk. The

  Thalesian King seemed relatively sober this morning, so

  Sparhawk decided to risk his mood.

  'You know about Queen Ehlana's illness, of course,' he

  began.

  'The whole world knows about it. That's why her

  bastard cousin is trying to seize power.'

  'There's a bit more to it than that, Your Majesty. We've

  finally isolated the cause of the illness. Primate Annias

  needed access to her treasury, so he had her poisoned.'

  'He did what?'

  Sparhawk nodded. 'Annias is not overburdened with

  scruples, and he'll do anything to reach the Archprelacy.'

  'The man's a scoundrel,' Wargun growled.

  'At any rate, we've discovered a possible cure for

  Ehlana. It involves the use of magic, and we need a

  certain talisman to make it work. We found out that the

  talisman is in Lake Venne.'

  his eyes

  narrowed. 'What is this talisman?' WarGun asked,

  "It's a kind of ornament,' Sparhawk replied evasively.

  'Certain people used to wear them.'

  'Do you really put that much store by all that magic

  nonsense?'

  "I've seen it work a few times, Your Majesty. Anyhow,

  that's why we objected so much when you insisted that

  we join you. We weren't trying to be disrespectful.

  Ehlana's life is being sustained by a spell, but it's only

  good for just so long. If she dies, Lycheas will take the

  throne. '

  'Not if I can help it, he won't. I don't want any throne

  in Eosia occupied by a man who doesn't know his own

  father.'

  'The idea doesn't appeal to me either, but I think

  Lycheas does in fact know who his father is.'

  'Oh? Who is it? Do you know?'

  'The Primate Annias.'

  WarGun's eyes went wide. 'Are you sure of that?'

  Sparhawk nodded. "I have it on the very best

  authority. The ghost of King Aldreas told me. His sister

  was somewhat profligate.'

  WarGun made the sign to ward off evil, a peasant

  gesture that looked peculiar coming from a reigning

  monarch. 'A ghost, you say? The word of a ghost won't

  stand up in any c
ourt, Sparhawk.'

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  "I wasn't planning to take it to court, Your Majesty,'

  Sparhawk said grimly, resting his hand on his swordhilt.

  'as soon as I have the leisure, the principals will be

  standing before a higher judgement.'

  'Good man,' WarGun approved. "I wouldn't have

  thought that a churchman would have succumbed to

  Arissa, though.'

  'Arissa can be very persuasive sometimes. Anyway,

  this campaign of yours is directed at another one of

  Annias's plots. I strongly suspect that the Rendorish

  invasion is being led by a man named Martel. Martel

  works for Annias, and he's been trying to stir up enough

  trouble to draw the Church Knights away from Chyrellos

  during the election. Our Preceptors could probably keep

  Annias off the Archprelate's throne, so he had to get

  them out of his way.'

  The man's a real snake, isn't he?'

  That's a pretty fair description.'

  'You've given me a lot to think about this morning,

  Sparhawk. I'll mull it over, and we'll talk some more

  about it later.'

  A sudden light sprang into Sparhawk's eyes.

  'Don't get your hopes up too much, though. I still

  think I'm going to need you when I get to Arcium.

  Besides, the militant orders have already marched south.

  You're Vanion's right arm, and I think he'd miss you

  if you stayed away.'

  Time and distance seemed to drag on interminably as

  they rode west. They crossed into Pelosia again and rode

  across the unending plains in bright summer sunlight.

  One night when they were still some distance from the

  border of Deira, Kalten was in a bad humour. "I thought

  you said you were going to speed this trip up,' he said

  accusingly to Flute.

  "I have,' she replied.

  'Really?' he said with heavy sarcasm. 'We've been on

  the road for a week already, and we haven't even reached

  "Deira yet.'

  'Actually, Kalten, we've only been on the road for two

  days. I have to make it seem longer so that WarGun

  doesn't get suspicious.'

  He looked at her disbelievingly.

  "I've got another question for you, Flute,' Tynian said.

  'Back at the lake, you were very eager to catch Ghwerig

  and take Bhelliom away from him. Then you suddenly

  changed your mind and said that we have to go to Acie.

  What happened?'

  "I received word from my family,' she told him. 'They

  told me about this task I have to complete at Acie before

  we can go after Bhelliom.' She made a wry face. "I

  probably should have thought of it myself. '

  'Let's get back to this other thing,' Kalten said

  impatiently. 'How did you squeeze time together the

  way you said you have?'

  'There are ways,' she said evasively.

  "I wouldn't pursue it, Kalten,' Sephrenia advised. 'You

  wouldn't understand what she's been doing, so why

  worry about it? Besides, if you keep asking her questions,

  she might decide to answer you, and the answers would

  probably upset you very much.'

  *Chapter22

  It seemed that it took them two more weeks to reach the

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  foothills above Acie, the bleak, ugly capital of Deira, which

  perched on an eroded bluff overlooking the original

  harbour and the long, narrow Gulf of Acie. Flute advised

  them that evening, however, that no more than five days

  had passed since they had left the city of Agnak in

  Lamorkand. Most of them chose to take her at her word,

  but Sir Bevier, who was of a scholarly and resolutely Elene

  frame of mind, questioned her about how this seeming

  miracle had come to pass. Her explanation was patient,

  although dreadfully obscure. Bevier finally excused himself

  and went outside the tent for a time to look at the stars

  and to establish his relations with things he had always

  considered rmmutable and eternal.

  "did you understand anything she said at all?' Tynian

  asked him when he returned, pale and sweating to the

  tent.

  'A little,' Bevier replied, sitting down again, 'just

  around the edges.' He looked at Flute with frightened

  eyes. "I think perhaps that Patriarch Ortzel was right. We

  should have no dealings with these Styric people.

  Nothing is sacred to them.'

  Flute crossed the tent on her grass-stained little feet

  and laid a consoling hand on his cheek. 'Dear Bevier,' she

  said sweetly, 'so serious and so devout. We must get to

  Thalesia quickly - just as soon as I can finish what I have

  to do in Acie. We simply did not have the time to plod

  half-way across the continent at the usual pace. That's

  why I did it the other way.'

  "I understand the reasons,' he said, 'but

  "I will never hurt you, you know; and I won't let

  anybody else hurt you either, but you must try not to be

  so rigid. It makes it so very hard to explain things to you.

  Does that help at all?'

  'Not appreciably.'

  She raised up on her tiptoes and kissed him. 'Now

  then,' she said brightly, 'everything's all right again, isn't

  it?'

  He gave up. 'Do as you will, Flute,' he said to her with

  a gentle, almost shy smile. "I can't refute your arguments

  and your kisses at the same time.'

  'He's such a nice boy,' she said delightedly to the

  others.

  'We rather feel the same way about him ourselves,'

  Ulath said blandly, 'and we have some plans for him.'

  'You, however,' she said critically to the Genidian

  Knight, 'are most definitely not a nice boy.'

  "I know,' he admitted, unruffled, 'and you have no

  idea how much that disappointed my mother - and a

  number of other ladies from time to time as well.'

  She gave him a dark look and stalked away, muttering

  to herself in Styric. Sparhawk recognized some of the

  words, and he wondered if she really knew what they

  meant.

  As had become his custom, WarGun asked Sparhawk

  tO ride beside him the following morning as they trekked

  down the long, rocky slope from the foothills of the

  Deiran mountains towards the coast. "I should really get

  out more often,' the king of Thalesia confided. 'After

  almost three weeks coming from Agnak, I should be

  nearly ready to fall out of my saddle, but I feel as if we've

  been on the road for only a few days.'

  'Perhaps it was the mountains,' Sparhawk suggested

  carefully. 'Mountain air is always invigorating.'

  'Maybe that's it,' Wargun agreed.

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  'Have you given any more thought to the discussion

  we had a while back, Your Majesty?' SParhawk asked

  cautiously.

  "I've had a lot on my mind, Sparhawk. I appreciate

  your personal concern about your queen, but from a

  political standpoint the important thing now is to
crush

  this Rendorish invasion. Then the Preceptors of the

  militant orders wil be able to return to Chyrellos and

  block the Primate of Cimmura. If Annias fails to gain the

  Archprelacy, Lycheas the bastard won't have any chance

  of ascending the throne of Elenia. I realize that it's a hard

  choice, but politics is a hard game.'

  A little later, when Wargun was conferring with his

  troop commander, Sparhawk relayed the gist of their

  conversation to his companions.

  'He's not any more reasonable when he's sober, is he?'

  Kalten said.

  'From his own standpoint, he's right, though,' Tynian

  observed. 'The politics of the situation dictate that we do

  everything we can to get all the Preceptors back to

  Chyrellos before Cluvonus dies. I doubt that he cares

  much one way or the other about Ehlana. There's one

  other possibility, though. We're in Deira now, and

  Obler's the king here. He's a very wise old man. If we

  explain the situation to him, he might overrule Wargun.'

  "I don't think I'd care to hang Ehlana's life on that slim a

  possibility,' Sparhawk said. He turned to rejoin Wargun.

  Despite Flute's assurances concerning the actual

  elapsed time their journey had consumed, Sparhawk

  was still impatient. The apparent slow pace nagged at

  him. While he could intellectually accept what she said,

  he could not come to grips with it emotionally. Twenty

  days is twenty days to one's senses, and Sparhawk's

  senses were strung wire-taut just now. He began to have

  dark thoughts. Things had been going wrong so consistently

  that seeming premonitions tugged at his mind. He

  began to think about the forthcoming encounter with

  Ghwerig with a great deal less certainty about the

  outcome.

  At around noon they reached Acie, the capital city of

  the kingdom of Deira. The Deiran army was encamped

  around the city, and their camp was bustling with

  activity as they prepared for the march south.

  Wargun had been drinking again, but he looked

  around with satisfaction. 'Good,' he said. 'They're

  almost ready. Come along, Sparhawk, and bring your

  friends. Let's go talk to Obler.'

  As they rode through the narrow, cobbled streets of

  Acie, Talen pulled his horse in beside Sparhawk's. "I'm

  going to drop behind a ways,' he said very quietly. "I

  want to look around. Getting away in the open countryside's

  very hard. This is a town, though, and there are

  always lots of places to hide in towns. King Wargun's not

  going to miss me. He hardly knows I'm along. If I can