Rise of a Merchant Prince
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Bobby said, “What do we do with it?”
“We destroy it,” said Calis.
He took a staggering step forward, and both Erik and de Loungville hurried to help him walk. Erik felt his skin tingle and fought back the urge to scratch as he came nearer the artifacts. Besides the armor, a set of emerald jewelry was displayed: a tiara, a necklace that was a full choker of huge stones, matching bracelets, and rings. Calis gently reached out and touched the breastplate. Then he snatched his hand back, as if his fingers had been burned.
“No!” he said.
“What?” asked de Loungville.
“It’s . . . wrong.” He quickly touched each item in the room and said, “It’s all contaminated. Something has . . . changed this.”
Suddenly, and for the first time since Erik had known him, Calis revealed fear in his expression.
“I’m a fool! Almost as big a fool as the Pantathians.”
To Bobby he said, “We must destroy this as quickly as we can, but most of all, we must escape.”
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De Loungville said, “You’ll get no argument from me, Captain.”
Calis said, “Erik, you were a smith. How best to destroy this armor?”
Erik picked up the breastplate, a shimmering thing of green metal with a serpent depicted in bas-relief upon it. As he touched it, strange images, haunting music, and an alien rage flooded through him. He dropped it to the floor. It rang as it struck the stone. “I don’t know if it can be destroyed, at least by normal means,” said Erik. “To forge metal, great heat is needed; great heat can also rob steel of its temper. If we could build a hot enough fire …”
Looking around, Calis said, “What can we burn .
. . ?” Then he collapsed, and Bobby lowered him to the floor.
Looking at Erik, he shouted for Alfred. When the corporal reached them, de Loungville said, “To my distress, I find myself suddenly in command. At this moment, I would appreciate any suggestions either of you might have.”
Alfred said, “We should get the hell out of here, Sergeant Major. That door won’t hold much longer.”
“What about these damned things?” Bobby asked Erik.
Erik tried to think as quickly as he could. “I know nothing of this magic business. I know armor, horses, and fighting.” Then he continued, “All I know about these things is Miranda’s warning not to let them come into contact with one another. If each man wrapped a single item, we might bring them with us. At least that would keep them out of their hands.” He indicated the thudding door.
“Do it.”
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Erik gave orders and the men grabbed tapestries and wrapped the armor, jewelry, and other objects in cloth. Erik said, “Each man is to watch those around him. If any other man looks . . . different—lost, confused, or distracted—tell me at once!”
He distributed the items among different men, no one man carrying anything, no matter how small, without another standing next to him. De Loungville said, “You start. I’ll follow. If they don’t break in the door, I’ll leave in ten minutes.”
“See if you can jam this other door after you get through it,” suggested Erik.
“Get out of here,” said de Loungville with a mocking smile.
Erik lit a torch and hurriedly led the men carrying the artifacts through the second door. A flight of stairs led up into the gloom and he began climbing.
Nakor lay under a tree dozing when he suddenly sat up. Glancing around, he saw Sho Pi sitting a short distance away, watching him. The mad beggar also sat watching him.
“What is it?” asked Nakor.
“I didn’t wish to disturb you, Master, so I waited; Lord Vencar has arrived. The Prince has sent him to take control here.”
“Not that,” said Nakor, standing. “Didn’t you feel it?”
“Feel what, master?”
Nakor said, “Never mind. We’re leaving.”
Sho Pi also stood. “Where are we going?”
“I don’t know. Krondor, I think. Maybe up to Elvandar. It depends.”
Sho Pi followed Nakor as he hurried toward the prince.qxd 9/4/02 10:39 AM Page 543
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large building that dominated the island. Near the building, the mad beggar hurried off toward the kitchen. The bandy-legged Isalani gambler entered the building and headed straight to the central hall, where he found a well-dressed man sitting at the head of the table, Kalied, Chalmes, and the other magicians sitting there as well.
The Earl of the Court said, “And you must be Nakor.”
Nakor said, “I must be. I have to tell you a couple of things. To begin with, these here are all liars.”
The other magicians gasped or objected, but Nakor simply kept talking. “They don’t mean to be, but they’ve become so used to doing things in secret they can’t help themselves. Don’t believe anything they say. But otherwise they mean well.”
Arutha, Lord Vencar, began to laugh. “Father said you were remarkable.”
“I think Lord James is pretty unusual, too,” said Nakor. “Hell of a card player.” He winked. “Only man I’ve ever met who could cheat me at cards. I admire that.”
Arutha said, “Well, we can talk about this over supper.”
“No we can’t,” said Nakor. “I’ve got to leave.”
Arutha, who looked something like his father but with lighter hair, said, “This minute?”
“Yes.” Nakor turned toward the door. “Tell these stubborn dolts that something really bad is going to happen soon and they’d better stop fooling around and get serious about helping the Kingdom or there won’t be any point to anything anymore. I’ll be back in a while.”
If the Prince of Krondor’s representative had any-
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thing more to say, Nakor didn’t hear it as he turned down a hallway and almost ran, he was walking so fast.
Sho Pi said, “Master, I thought you said we were leaving.”
“We are,” replied Nakor as he started to climb a flight of stairs.
“But this isn’t the way to the docks. This is the way to—”
“Pug’s tower. I know.”
Sho Pi followed Nakor as he climbed the circular stairs that led to the top of the tower. When they reached the top floor, they were confronted by a wooden door with no apparent lock. Nakor pounded on it. “Pug!”
A strange shimmer covered the surface of the door, and the wood flowed and twisted, forming a face. “Begone!” said the face. “This room shall not be entered.”
Nakor ignored the admonition and pounded upon the door even louder. “Pug!” he shouted.
Sho Pi said, “Master, he’s not been here—” He stopped speaking when the door opened.
Pug looked out. “You felt it too.”
“How could I not?” said Nakor.
Sho Pi said, “But they said you weren’t here.”
Nakor narrowed his gaze as he looked at Sho Pi.
“Sometimes I despair, boy. Are you stupid or just too trusting?”
“How long have you known?” asked Pug, motioning for them to come inside.
They moved inside and the door closed behind them. “First day I got here. You make a lot of noise coming and going.” Then he grinned. “One day I prince.qxd 9/4/02 10:39 AM Page 545
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came up the stairs, really quietly, and I heard you and your lady friend.” His eyes grew wide and he shook his hand as if touching something hot. “You two!”
He laughed.
Pug looked heavenward. “Thank you for not disturbing us.”
“No reason to. But we’ve got to go.”
Pug nodded. “We risk attack.�
�
Nakor said, “I don’t think so. Whatever we feel is making enough noise out there that even if anyone is looking for you, they won’t notice you moving the three of us. Where are we going? Krondor?”
Pug shook his head. “No. We’re going to Elvandar. I need to speak with Tomas.”
Nakor motioned for Sho Pi to stand close and took his student’s hand. Pug linked hands with the two of them and the room shifted and shimmered; then they found themselves in a forest glade.
Pug said, “Follow me,” and led them a short distance to a shallow river. “This is the river Crydee,”
said Pug. Then he called out in a loud voice. “I am Pug of Stardock. I seek counsel with Lord Tomas!”
A few minutes later two elves appeared on the other side of the bank. One called out, “You are bidden enter Elvandar!”
They waded across the stream and Pug said to Sho Pi, “None may enter Elvandar unbidden.”
Once they were on the other bank, Pug said, “I hope you don’t mind if I hurry along.”
The elf said, “Not in the least.”
Pug smiled. “Galain, isn’t it?”
“You remember,” said the elf.
Pug said, “I wish I had the time to be social.”
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court in a few days’ time. Perhaps then we may visit.”
Pug smiled. He took Sho Pi’s and Nakor’s hands again and moved them to another location in the forest.
Sho Pi’s eyes widened, and Pug remembered his first reaction to seeing the heart of the elven forest.
Giant trees, dwarfing the most ancient oaks, rose to form an almost impenetrable canopy. Some of the trees showed leaves of the deepest green, while others had leaves golden, red, or silver in color, a few white as snow; a strange soft light bathed the area.
Giant boles rose with steps cut into the living wood, and branches broad enough to serve as walkways spread in all directions.
“It’s a city of trees,” said Sho Pi.
“Yes,” said an old man who stood nearby, leaning on a long bow. His hair was pure white, and his skin showed years of aging, but his body was still erect, and he wore the green leathers of a hunter.
“Martin!” said Pug, stepping forward.
The old man took Pug’s extended hand and shook. “It’s been a long time.”
“You look well.” Nakor grinned.
“You old card cheat!” said Martin, gripping Nakor’s hand. “You don’t look a day older.”
Nakor shrugged. “For one not gifted with long life, Martin, you look remarkable.”
The old man smiled. “For a man my age, you mean.” He glanced around. “Here I linger. Elvandar has been kind to me. I think the gods decided to let my final years be peaceful.”
Pug said, “You deserve some peace in your time.”
Martin Longbow, once Duke of Krondor, brother to King Lyam and uncle to King Borric, said, prince.qxd 9/4/02 10:39 AM Page 547
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“Seems that once more peace is at risk.”
Pug nodded. “I need to speak to Tomas and Aglaranna. Is Calis here?”
Martin picked up his bow. “I was sent to wait for you. Miranda arrived an hour ago, with the strangest young man.” He began walking. “Tomas said you’d be here shortly. Calis is . . . well, he may not return.”
“Ill news,” said Nakor.
“Who is this?” Martin motioned to Sho Pi. Nakor said, “Sho Pi. A disciple.” Martin laughed as he moved through the trees. “Seriously, or are you doing the mendicant holy man act again?”
“Seriously,” said Nakor, looking injured. “I never should have told Borric about that scam. He’s told every one in his family about it.”
Martin’s brown eyes narrowed. “There was a reason.” Then he laughed. “It’s good to see you again.”
“Are you coming?” asked Pug.
“No, I rarely sit in the Queen’s Council anymore.
I am content to be a guest here, waiting out my time.”
Pug smiled. “I understand. We’ll talk this evening, after supper.” He gripped Sho Pi’s and Nakor’s hands, and closed his eyes, and again the air shimmered and they were someplace else.
They stood in the center of a large platform set high in the trees. A voice said, “Welcome, Pug of Crydee.”
Pug couldn’t help but laugh. “Thank you, old friend.”
A large man, easily six inches over six feet in height, approached and took Pug’s hand, then hugged him. “It is good to see you again, Pug.” His features were youthful, but his eyes were ancient. His features were a blend of human and elf, with high cheek-
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bones, pointed ears, and blond hair. To any who had seen Calis, there was no doubt this was his father.
Pug slapped his friend on the back. “Too many years, Tomas,” he said with genuine regret.
Sho Pi and Nakor were introduced to Tomas, Warleader of the Elven Host of Elvandar. Then they were presented to a stunning woman of regal bearing, Aglaranna, Queen of Elvandar. Nakor smiled and said, “Nice to meet you, Lady,” while Sho Pi knelt in greeting. The Elf Queen was a young-looking woman, despite her centuries of age. Her hair was a fine red-gold, her eyes a deep blue, and her beauty breathtaking, despite being alien.
An elf who looked young by human standards came to stand next to Tomas. “This is Calin,” said Tomas, “heir to the throne of Elvandar and brother to my son.”
Prince Calin greeted the two newcomers, then said to Pug, “Miranda arrived an hour ago.”
“Where is she?” asked Pug.
“Over there.” Tomas indicated a second platform, off to the side of the first.
Sho Pi followed in awe. The trees themselves were alive with lights and magic. There was a profound sense of peace and rightness here that he had not imagined possible.
They came to the indicated place, where Miranda was inspecting a strange glowing gem, as well as a helm. None of the elves gathered near her touched anything, but they peered closely at the objects.
Pug hurried over. “Miranda!”
She turned and, upon seeing him, nearly flew to him, throwing her arms around his neck. “It’s so good to see you again.”
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“Calis?” asked Pug.
“He’s been injured.”
“How badly?”
“Badly.”
Pug held her a moment, then said, “Tell me where to find him.”
“I can’t. He wears a ward that protects him from magic sight. It shields him from the Pantathians, but it shields him from us as well.”
“Tell me about it,” said Pug.
Miranda reconstructed the events of the journey, the discovery, and the escape. “I left six men, those who survived the fights on the way out, in a frigid cave in the peaks,” she finished. “I pray they’ve gotten down from the mountains, but I fear they are all dead.”
Pug said, “Every one of us knew the risks.”
Miranda nodded, clutching his hand, but her face was drawn. “There is this,” she said, “and Calis judged it critical I bring it here.”
Pug looked at the key. “What is it?”
“A Pantathian thing. A key to free the Green Lady from the Lifestone,” said Miranda.
Pug looked dubious. He looked at the object for long minutes, placing his hand over it, but not quite touching it. He closed his eyes several times, and his lips moved. Once a tiny spark of energy leaped from the palm of his hand to the stone. At last he stood upright and said, “It’s a key of some sort, that’s certain, but to free the Valheru....”
He looked at the assembled Spellweavers of Elvandar and addressed the eldest. “Tat
har, what do you see?”
“This is something of those whose name may not prince.qxd 9/4/02 10:39 AM Page 550
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be spoken,” said the senior adviser to the Queen.
“But there is an alien presence here as well, one of which I have no knowledge.”
Pug said, “The demon you spoke of, Miranda?”
“No. It was a nearly mindless thing, a killing device, pure and simple. I witnessed it at work, and while it was powerful and able to hold a dozen serpent priests at bay, it had cunning but no intelligence—at least not enough to have conceived this device. Whatever fashioned this thing was more than that simple being. Someone sent it through a rift into the heart of the Pantathian home to wreak havoc and destroy them, the same intention as ours.”
Pug said, “Once before, we dealt with duplicity; why not now?”
Tomas stood next to his friend and said, “What do you think?”
Pug stroked his beard. “As Murmandamus was but a false icon, to manipulate the moredhel to rise up and capture Sethanon, a Pantathian ruse, so might not this be a demon ruse to use the Pantathians to capture the Lifestone?”
“Toward what end?” asked Aglaranna.
Pug sighed. “Power. It’s a powerful tool, no matter who wields it.”
“Weapon,” said Nakor. “Not a tool.”
“What of the Valheru?” asked Tomas. “Can some other force imagine they can do anything with the Lifestone, use it somehow, without having to deal with those trapped within the stone?”
Pug said, “The problem is that the only source of lore we have is what you remember, from the memory of AshenShugar.” Tomas possessed the memories of the ages-dead Dragon Lord whose armor he prince.qxd 9/4/02 10:39 AM Page 551
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had donned during the Riftwar. “But he alone of the Valheru had nothing to do with the creation of the Lifestone. He knew something of its nature, something of its purpose, that it was to be a weapon to destroy the new gods, but beyond that he was ignorant of its nature.”
“So you suspect that someone else, whoever is behind this demon’s entering our world, may have a purpose for the Life-stone that hasn’t occurred to us?” said Miranda. “Could they simply grab the Lifestone and use it as a weapon, the way a man might use a sword or crossbow?”