2 - The Ruby Knight

by The Ruby Knight [lit]

  get down to cases. We'll march south to Cimmura,

  imprison Lycheas and bully the Elenian General Staff

  into joining with us with their army. We may as well pick

  up the Church soldiers as well. Then we join Soros and

  Bergsten on the Arcian border. We march south to

  Larium, encircle the Rendors and exterminate the lot of

  them.'

  'isn't that a bit extreme, Your Majesty?' Lenda

  objected. 'No, as a matter of fact, it's not. I want it to be at least

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  ten generations before the Eshandist Heresy raises its

  head again.' He grinned crookedly at Sparhawk. 'if you

  serve well and faithfully, my friend, I'll even let you kill

  Martel.'

  "I'd appreciate that, Your Majesty,' Sparhawk replied

  politely.

  'Oh, dear,' Sephrenia sighed.

  "It needs to be done, little lady,' Wargun told her.

  'Obler, is your army ready to move?'

  'They're only awaiting orders, Wargun.'

  'Good. If you don't have anything else planned, why

  don't we start for Elenia tomorrow?'

  'We might as well.' Old King Obler shrugged.

  Wargun stood up and stretched, yawning broadly.

  'Let's all get some sleep then,' he said. 'We'll be starting

  early tomorrow.'

  Later, Sparhawk and his friends gathered in Vanion's

  room to tell the Preceptor in much greater detail what

  had happened in Lamorkand and Pelosia.

  When they had finished, he looked curiously at Flute.

  'just exactly what's your part in all this?' he asked her.

  "I was sent to help,' she replied with a shrug.

  'By Styricum?'

  'in a manner of speaking.'

  'And what was this task you have to perform here in

  Acie?'

  "I've already done it, Vanion. Sephrenia and I had to

  talk with a certain Styric here. We saw him in the street

  on our way to the palace and took care of it.'

  'What did you have to say to him that was more

  important than getting the Bhelliom?'

  'We had to prepare Styricum for what is about to

  happen.'

  'The invasion by the Rendors, you mean?'

  'Oh, that's nothing, Vanion. This is much, much more

  serious.'

  Vanion looked at Sparhawk. 'You're going to Thalesia

  then?'

  Sparhawk nodded. 'Even if I have to walk on water to

  get there.'

  'All right, I'll do what I can to help you get out of the

  city. There's one thing that concerns me, though. If you

  all leave, Wargun's going to notice that you're gone.

  Sparhawk and one or two others might be able to get

  away without alerting Wargun, but that's about all.'

  Flute stepped into the middle of the room and looked

  them over. 'Sparhawk,' she said, pointing, 'and Kurik.

  Sephrenia and me - and Talen.'

  'That's absurd,' Bevier exploded. 'Sparhawk's going to

  need knights with him if he's going to come up against

  Ghwerig.'

  'Sparhawk and Kurik can take care of it,' she said

  complacently.

  'isn't it dangerous to take Flute along?' Vanion asked

  Sparhawk.

  'Maybe so, but she's the only one who knows the way

  to Ghwerig's cave.'

  'Why Talen?' Kurik said to Flute.

  'There's something he has to do in Emsat,' she replied.

  "I'm sorry, my friends,' Sparhawk told the other

  knights, but we're more or less committed to doing

  things her way.'

  'Are you going to leave now?' Vanion said.

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  'No, we have to wait for Talen.'

  'Good. Sephrenia, go and get Olven's sword.

  'But - '

  "just do it, Sephrenia. Please don't argue with me.'

  'Yes, dear one,' she sighed.

  After she had delivered Olven's sword to him, Vanion

  was so weak he could barely stand.

  'You're going to kill yourself doing this, you know.'

  'Everybody dies from something. Now then, gentlemen,'

  he said to the knights, "I have a troop of Pandions

  with me. Those of you who are staying behind should

  mingle yourselves in among them when we ride out.

  Lenda and Obler are both quite old. I'll suggest to

  Wargun that we put them in a carriage and that he ride

  along with them. That should keep him from being able

  to count noses. I'll try to keep him occupied.' He looked

  at Sparhawk. 'A day or two is probably all I'll be able to

  manage for you,' he apologized.

  'That should be enough,' Sparhawk said. 'Wargun's

  likely to think that I'm going back to Lake Venne. He'll

  send any pursuit in that direction.'

  'The only problem now is getting you out of the

  palace,' Vanion said.

  "I'll take care of that,' Flute told him.

  'How?'

  'Maa-gic,' she said, comically drawing the word out

  and wiggling her fingers at him.

  He laughed. 'How did we ever get along without you?'

  'Badly, I'd imagine.' She sniffed.

  It was about an hour later when Talen slipped into the

  room.

  'Any problems?' Kurik asked him.

  'No,' Talen shrugged. "I made a few contacts and

  found us a place to hide.'

  'Contacts?' Vanion asked him. 'With whom?'

  'A few thieves, some beggars and a couple of

  murderers. They sent me to the man who controls the

  underside of Acie. He owes Platime a few favours, so

  when I mentioned Platime's name, he became very

  helpful.'

  'You live in a strange world, Talen,' Vanion said.

  'No stranger than the one you live in, My Lord,' Talen

  said with an extravagant bow.

  'That may be entirely true, Sparhawk,' Vanion said.

  'We may all be thieves and brigands when you get right

  down to it. All right,' he said to Talen, 'where is this

  hiding-place?'

  "I'd rather not say,' Talen replied evasively. 'You're

  sort of an official person, and I gave my word.'

  'There's honour in your profession?'

  'Oh yes, My Lord. It's not based on any knightly code,

  though. It's based on not getting your throat cut.'

  'You have a very wise son, Kurik,' Kalten said.

  'You had to go ahead and say it, didn't you, Kalten?'

  Kurik asked acidly.

  'Are you ashamed of me, father?' Talen asked in a

  small voice, his face downcast.

  Kurik looked at him. 'No, Talen,' he said, 'actually I'm

  not.' He put his burly arm about the boys shoulders.

  'tHis is my son, Talen,' he said defiantly, 'and if anybody

  wants to make an issue of it, I'll be more than happy to

  give him satisfaction, and we can throw out the nonsense

  about the nobility and the commons not being allowed to

  fight each other.'

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  'Don't be absurd, Kurik,' Tynian said with a broad

  grin. 'Congratulations to you both.'

  The other knights gathered about the husky squire and

  his larcenous son, clapping them on the shoulders and

/>   adding their congratulations to Tynian's.

  Talen looked around at them, his eyes suddenly very

  wide and filled with tears at his sudden acknowledgement.

  Then he fled to Sephrenia, fell to his knees, buried

  his face in her lap and wept.

  Flute smiled.

  *Chapter23

  It was that same peculiarly drowsy melody Flute had

  played on the docks at Vardenais and again outside the

  chapterhouse in Cimmura.

  'What's she doing now?' Talen whispered to

  Sparhawk as they all crouched behind the balustrade of

  the wide porch at the front of king Oblers palace.

  "She's putting Wargun's sentries to sleep,' Sparhawk

  replied. There was no point in extended explanations.

  They'll ignore us as we pass them.' Sparhawk wore his

  mail-shirt and his travellers cloak.

  'Are you sure about that?' Talen sounded dubious.

  "I've seen it work a few times before.'

  Flute stood up and walked to the wide staircase leading

  down to the courtyard. Still holding her pipes in one hand,

  she motioned for them to follow with the other.

  'Let's go,' Sparhawk said, rising to his feet.

  'Sparhawk,' Talen Hissed, 'you're right out in plain

  sight.'

  "It's all right, Talen. They won't pay any attention to

  uS. '

  'You mean they can't see us?'

  They can see us,' Sephrenia told the boy, 'at least with

  their eyes, but our presence doesn't mean anything to

  them.'

  Sparhawk led them to the stairs, and they followed

  Flute on down into the yard.

  One of the Thalesian soldiers was posted at

  the foot of

  the stairs, and he gave them no more than a glance as

  they passed, his eyes dull and uninterested.

  'This is very hard on my nerves, you know,' Talen

  whispered.

  'You don't have to whisper, Talen,' Sephrenia told

  him.

  'They can't hear us either?'

  'They can hear us all right, but our voices don't register

  on them.'

  'You wouldn't mind if I got ready to run anyhow,

  would you?'

  "It's not really necessary.'

  'I'll do it all the same.'

  'Relax, Talen,' Sephrenia said. 'You're making it

  harder for Flute.'

  They went into the stables, saddled their horses and

  led them out into the courtyard as Flute continued to play

  her pipes. Then they walked out through the gate past

  King Obler's indifferent sentries and King Wargun's

  patrol in the street outside the palace.

  'Which way?' Kurik asked his son.

  'That alley just down the street.'

  'is this place very far?'

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  'About half-way across town. Meland doesn't like to

  get too close to the palace because the streets around here

  are patrolled.'

  'Meland?'

  'Our host. He controls all the thieves and beggars here

  in Acie.'

  'is he dependable?'

  'Of course not, Kurik. He's a thief. He won't betray us

  though. I asked for thieves' sanctuary. He's obliged to take

  us in and hide us from anybody who might come looking

  for us. If he'd refused, he'd have had to answer to Platime

  at the next meeting of the thieves' council in Chyrellos.'

  'There's a whole world out there that we don't know

  anything about,' Kurik said to Sparhawk.

  "I've noticed,' Sparhawk replied.

  The boy led them through the crooked streets of Acie

  to a shabby section not too far from the city gates. 'Stay

  here,' he said when they reached a seedy-looking tavern.

  He went inside and emerged a moment later with a

  ferret-like man. 'He's going to take care of our horses.'

  'Watch out for this one, neighbour,' Sparhawk warned

  the fellow as he handed him Faran's reins. 'He's playful.

  Faran, behave yourself.'

  Faran flicked his ears irritably as Sparhawk carefully

  pulled the spear of Aldreas out from under his saddleskirt.

  Talen led them into the tavern. It was lighted by smoky

  tallow candles and had long, scarred tables flanked by

  rickety-looking benches. There were a number of roughlooking

  men sitting at the tables. None of them paid any

  particular attention to Sparhawk and his friends, though

  their eyes were busy. Talen went to a stairway at the

  back. "It's up here,' he said, pointing up the stairs.

  The loft at the top of the stairs was very large, and it

  looked oddly familiar to Sparhawk. It was sparsely

  furnished and there were straw pallets on the floor along

  the walls. It seemed somehow very similar to Platime's

  cellar back in Cimmura.

  Meland was a thin man with an evill-looking scar

  running down his' left cheek. He was sitting at a table

  with a sheet of paper and an ink-pot in front of him.

  There was a heap of jewellery near his left hand, and he

  seemed to be cataloguing the pieces.

  'Meland,' Talen said as they approached the table,

  'these are the friends I told you about.'

  "I thought you said there would be ten of you.' Meland

  had a nasal, unpleasant voice.

  'The plans have changed. This is Sparhawk. He's the

  one who's more or less in charge.

  Meland grunted. 'How long do you plan to be here?'

  he asked Sparhawk shortly.

  'if I can find a ship, only until tomorrow morning.'

  'You shouldn't have any trouble finding a ship. There

  are ships from all over western Eosia down at the

  harbour, Thalesian, Arcian, Elenian and even a few from

  CammOria.'

  'Are the city gates open at night?'

  'Not usually, but there's that army camped outside the

  walls. The soldiers are going in and out of town, so the

  gates are open.' Meland looked critically at the knight. 'if

  you're going down to the harbour, you'd better not wear

  that mail - or the sword. Talen says that you'd prefer not

  to be noticed. The people down there would remember

  someone dressed the way you are. There are some

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  clothes hanging on those pegs over there. Find something

  that fits.' Meland's tone was abrupt.

  'What's the best way to get down to the harbour?'

  'Go out of the north gate. There's a wagon track that

  leads down to the water. It branches off the main road on

  the left about a half-mile out of town.'

  'Thank you, neighbour,' Sparhawk said.

  Meland grunted and went back to his catalogue.

  'Kurik and I are going to go down to the harbour to see

  about a ship,' Sparhawk told Sephrenia. 'You'd better

  stay here with the children.'

  'As you wish,' she said.

  Sparhawk found a somewhat shabby blue doublet

  hanging on one of the pegs that looked as if it might fit.

  He took off his mail-shirt and sword and put it on. Then

  he pulled on his cloak again.

  'Where are all of your people?' Talen was asking

  Meland.

  "It's night-ti
me,' Meland replied. 'They're out working

  or at least they'd better be.'

  Sparhawk and Kurik went back downstairs to the

  tavern.

  'You want me to get our horses?' Kurik asked.

  'No. Let's walk. People pay attention to mounted

  men.'

  'All right.'

  They went out through the city gate and on along the

  main road until they came to the wagon road Meland had

  mentioned. Then they walked on down to the harbour.

  "Shabby-looking sort of place, isn't it?' Sparhawk

  noted, looking around at the settlement surrounding the

  harbour.

  'Waterfronts usually are,' Kurik said. 'Let's ask a few

  questions. ' He accosted a passer-by who appeared to be a

  sea-going man. 'We be lookin' for a ship as is bound for

  Thalesia,' he said, reverting to the sailor-language he had

  used in Venne. 'Tell me, mate, could y maybe tell us' if

  there be a tavern hereabouts where the ship-captains

  gather?'

  "/Try the Bell and Anchor,' the sailor replied. "It's that

  way a couple of streets - right near the water.'

  'Thanks, mate.'

  Sparhawk and Kurik walked down towards the long

  wharves jutting out into the dark, garbage-strewn waters

  of the Gulf of Acie. Kurik suddenly stopped. 'Sparhawk,'

  he said, 'doesn't there seem to be something familiar

  about that ship out at the end of this wharf?'

  "She does seem to have a familiar rake to her masts,

  doesn't she?' Sparhawk agreed. 'Let's go and take a

  closer look."

  They walked a ways out on the wharf. "She's

  Cammorian,' Kurik advised.

  'How can you tell?'

  'By the rigging and the slant of her masts.'

  'You don't think - ' Then Sparhawk broke off, looking

  incredulously at the vessel's name painted on her bow

  'Well, I'll be - ' he said. 'That's Captain Sorgi's ship.

  What's he doing all the way up here?'

  'Why don't we see if we can find him and ask him? If

  it's really Sorgi and not just somebody who bought his

  ship from him, this could solve our problem.'

  'Provided he plans to sail in the right direction. Let's go

  find the Bell and Anchor.'

  'Do you remember all the details of that story you told

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  Sorgi?'

  'Enough to get by, I think.'

  The Bell and Anchor was a hdy, sedate tavern, as

  befitted a place frequented by ship-captains. The taverns

  visited by common sailors tended to be rowdier and

  usually showed evidence of hard use. Sparhawk and

  Kurik entered and stood in the doorway, looking