Soon they were alongside the ship and a rope lad-der was dropped. Two sailors shinnied down ropes and helped Calis climb aboard. Erik waited to be last, then bade the two fishermen good-bye.
When he got on deck, he found Nakor, Sho Pi, and Roo waiting. Roo came over and the two boyhood friends embraced. After a moment, Erik said,
“It’s good to see you— more than you can ever know.”
Looking at the five men, sunburned, undernour-ished, ragged, and dirty, Roo shook his head. “Just you five?”
“That we know of,” said Calis. “Miranda had a dozen with her.”
Nakor said, “If they aren’t here by now, they didn’t get out. She got to Elvandar with a strange man named Boldar. I saw them there. Then Pug sent me to Roo so I could come get you.”
Calis stood. “There is much we must talk of, prince.qxd 9/4/02 10:39 AM Page 564
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things I saw under the mountains that I don’t yet understand. Perhaps your odd perspective on things might help me sort it out.”
“We have a long voyage ahead,” said Nakor.
“Plenty of time to talk. First you need to eat, then sleep. Then Sho Pi and I will look at your wounds.”
The other three men were shown below, and Erik said to Roo, “Why you?”
Roo shrugged. “Duke James was loath to lend Nakor a ship. I’ve come into some money and had a few ships lying around the harbor, so I thought I’d give him one.” Glancing at the retreating Isalani’ s back, he said, “Then when I considered what a mani-ac he could be, I thought it best if I came along to make sure I got my ship back.”
Erik laughed. Roo said, “De Loungville?”
Erik lost his smile. “Up there,” he said with a tilt of his chin toward the distant mountains, their peaks hidden by clouds.
Roo was silent for a long moment before he turned toward the quarterdeck. “Captain!”
“Yes, Mr. Avery?”
“Take us home.”
“Aye, aye,” said the captain. He gave word to the first officer and the ship came about, slowly turning away from Novindus.
Erik put his arm over Roo’s shoulder and asked,
“Any trouble getting here?”
Roo laughed. “We had a run-in with one of the Queen’s smaller cutters. I’d brought along some of the nastier brawlers I could hire on short notice and we let them come alongside us, then we boarded and sank her. I don’t think they have much experience with pirates down here.”
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Erik laughed. “So are you the richest man in the Kingdom yet?”
Roo said, “Probably. If not, I’m working on it.”
He laughed. “Let’s get you some food.”
The two men went below, and the ship came fully around and began the long journey back the way she had come, heading for a distant port that the two men called home.
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About the Author
Raymond E. Feist's novels include Magician; Silverthorn; Faerie Tale; Prince of the Blood; and The King's Buccaneer; as well as his New York Times-bestselling Serpentwar Saga: Shadow of a Dark Queen; Rise of a Merchant Prince; Rage of a Demon King; and Shards of a Broken Crown; and The Riftwar Legacy: Krondor: The Betrayal; Krondor: The Assassins; Krondor: Tear of the Gods. He is the creator of the immensely popular computer games
"Betrayal at Krondor" and "Return to Krondor."
Mr. Feist lives in Southern California.
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Books by Raymond E. Feist
Magician
Silverthorn
A Darkness at Sethanon
Faerie Tale
Prince of the Blood
The King's Buccaneer
Shadow of a Dark Queen
Rise of a Merchant Prince
Rage of a Demon King
Shards of a Broken Crown
Krondor: The Betrayal
Krondor: The Assassins
Krondor: Tear of the Gods
With Janny Wurts:
Daughter of Empire
Servant of Empire
Mistress of Empire
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Praise for The Serpentwar Saga
The San Diego Union-Tribune: "An epic reading experience."
Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel: "A massive, entertaining tale."
Chicago Tribune: "Classic ... Feist has a command of language and a natural talent for keeping the reader turning pages."
Portland Oregonian: "Action and intrigue and evocative writing.... Feist brings a new world alive."
San Francisco Chronicle: "Adept storytelling ...
true readability."
Locus: "A place to start for those yet to discover Feist's fantasy worlds."
Booklist: "Vivid and well-choreographed battles ... real emotional impact.... The action is nonstop.... Feist remains in the forefront of fan-tasists."
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of either the author or the publisher.
RISE OF A MERCHANT PRINCE: Book Two of The Serpentwar Saga. Copyright © 1995 by Raymond E.
Feist. Published by arrangement with the author. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transfer-able right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmit-ted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of PerfectBound™.
PerfectBound ™ and the PerfectBound™ logo are trade-marks of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
Adobe Acrobat eBook Reader edition v 1. September 2002 ISBN 0-06-053896-1
First Avon Books Printing: August 1996
First Avon Books International Printing: May 1996
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About the Publisher
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Please visit www.perfectbound.com for free e-book samplers of PerfectBound titles.
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