‘Only that I have heard Romney mentioned by those who are in service to Delekhan. There are agents working for him in that area.’
‘Would you know them?’
Gorath shook his head in the negative. ‘Only a few close to Delekhan might know who is working for him among the humans: Nago’s brother Narab, his seniormost advisor, his son Moraeulf, and the Six.’
‘Who are the Six?’ asked Pug. ‘You’ve mentioned them before.’
‘No one knows. They are swathed in robes as dark as those of your Tsurani friend and yourself, with deep hoods.’
‘Pantathians?’ suggested Pug.
‘Not snake priests, I’m certain,’ said Gorath. ‘They speak as you or I do, though there is an accent to their voices. Yet, they serve Delekhan and give him the might to unite the clans. Their magic was powerful enough to force Nago and Narab to heel on two occasions when they sought to distance themselves from Delekhan. And among our people, they were the mightiest of Spellweavers.’
Arutha said, ‘Pug, would you bring that map over here, please?’
Pug got the map indicated by the Prince, one of the central third of the Kingdom. He placed it on the table next to the one brought by Locklear from Yellow Mule. ‘What cause would Delekhan have to operate out of a river town in the heart of the Kingdom?’
Pug said, ‘Perhaps because it is in the heart of the Kingdom?’ He pointed to the location. ‘When Murmandamus came against us, he moved through Highcastle, and crossed the High Wold, moving to the southwest to enter the Dimwood and strike south to Sethanon. What if this time Delekhan ran this pass here, and came down the River Cheston by barge?’
Arutha nodded. ‘At Romney he could turn to the River Silden and north of the City of Silden he could turn westward and force march to Sethanon. It’s his fastest route and his easiest if I’ve got the Armies of the West tied up at LaMut and Tannerus and a dozen other places from here to Yabon. He’d be west of the King’s Armies, too.’
Arutha looked at Gorath. ‘At last something starts to make sense.’
Gorath said, ‘If I go to Romney, I may be able to find you the proof.’
Arutha said, ‘It’s a long step from belief to trust, Gorath. Our people have been enemies too many years for trust to come easily.’
‘Send me with your soldiers, then,’ said Gorath. ‘Delekhan must be stopped. If you blunt his attack, send him back to the north with his nose bloodied, his own supporters will throw him down and my people will be saved. As will yours.’
Arutha considered, and said, ‘I’ve got just the person to put on this task. But Jimmy is out conducting some other business for me right now –’
‘Nighthawks?’ asked Gorath.
‘What do you know of that?’ asked Arutha.
Gorath explained the encounters in the sewers with the false Nighthawks and Squire James.
Arutha nodded. ‘Someone’s anxious for me to send the army into the sewers, cleaning out the Mockers while I’m at it. The two things may be related, but they also may be coincidence.’
‘I think them related,’ said Gorath. ‘I have not heard anyone speak of the Nighthawks, but I have heard them speak of Delekhan having sources of information throughout the Kingdom.’
Makala said, ‘And from what young Locklear said, agents working within the Empire, as well.’ He held up the ruby Locklear had returned to him. ‘These thefts have been under way for some time now.’ The Tsurani magician looked at Arutha. ‘I think these events are all somehow related.’
Arutha nodded. He looked at Gorath and said, ‘I’m returning you to your room, under guard. I’ll send for you in the morning and we’ll map out your journey to Romney. It’s weeks out and back by even the fastest horses, and we need information in as timely a fashion as possible.’
Gorath rose from the table and with a slight nod to Gamina and Pug, he left the room.
Arutha let out a sigh of frustration. ‘So much of what he knows is based upon overheard conversations and rumour. I believe his warning is sincere, but is it accurate?’
Knight-Marshal Gardan, who had remained silent while the moredhel was in the room, said, ‘I don’t trust him, Highness. We fought them too often over the years to trust any of them.’
‘But what other choice do I have, Marshal?’ asked Arutha. ‘If his warning is true, we face another Great Uprising, and if we don’t guess right, we may be in the same situation as we were last time, with armies racing to converge on Sethanon, with the moredhel already there.’
‘Why Sethanon?’ asked Makala, looking at the map. ‘Why do they believe this Murmandamus is imprisoned there?’
Arutha glanced at Pug and said, ‘That is where he disappeared. There’s some rumour about the place, and Murmandamus was deluded into thinking that if he seized that city he would cut the Kingdom in half and defeat us.’
It was a weak lie, and Pug knew it, but Makala said, ‘Often in war decisions are based on bad assumptions. Is there some proof, though, that Murmandamus is indeed dead?’
‘Only my word,’ said Arutha. ‘For I was the one who killed him.’
Makala looked at Arutha and said, ‘And we can pretty safely assume they will not take you at your word, correct?’
Arutha nodded.
Pug shook his head in frustration. ‘My daughter and I must leave for a while, but we’ll be back, Arutha. I am more concerned by these mysterious six magicians than all the other news brought by Gorath.’
‘Yes,’ said Makala. ‘The mysterious magic-users. We of the Assembly will be glad to aid you, Pug, if we can. Just call on us.’
Pug asked, ‘Are you coming to Stardock?’
Makala said, ‘I have some messages to pen to those back on Kelewan. I will join you at Stardock soon.’
Pug nodded, took an orb out of his robe and placed his arm around his daughter’s waist. He activated the orb, and, with a buzz, the pair vanished.
Arutha said, ‘Would that the rest of us could flit from place to place with such speed.’
Makala said, ‘To prevent armies from doing just that is one reason my brotherhood of magicians guards these devices so, Highness. We shall have to be cautious of our part in such matters, though given our Emperor’s disposition –’ he referred to the fact that Ichindar, Emperor of Tsuranuanni, was in favour of close ties with the Kingdom ‘– you can expect aid quickly, should you need it.’
Arutha gave him thanks, and Makala and Gardan departed. Prince Arutha sat in his chamber late into the night, weighing and judging the warning brought by the renegade moredhel chieftain, and no matter how often he wanted to put it aside as a charade, or nothing more than the jockeying for domination between factions in the moredhel nations, he couldn’t. Another war was coming; he could feel it in his bones.
Unless his prized agent, a former thief turned courtier, could somehow steal that war out of the very hands of those who sought to unleash it.
Arutha picked up a bell on his table and rang it. Instantly a page appeared at the door. ‘Highness?’
‘Send word to the guard to notify me the moment Seigneur James returns to the palace, whatever the hour.’
‘Highness,’ said the page, closing the door as he left to do as he was bid.
Arutha still didn’t return to his own quarters, for even having made the decision to send Jimmy with Gorath to Romney, he had a thousand other questions to consider, and foremost among them was ‘Who are the Six?’
Gorath was awake as soon as the door began to open. He rose, fists ready, for while unarmed, he was ready to defend himself. He was not confident that no assassin could find his way into the palace. He remembered events from many years ago where the Princess of Krondor almost died at the hands of one employed by Murmandamus.
Gorath relaxed when he saw his visitor was Squire James. ‘Greetings,’ said the young man.
‘Greetings,’ said Gorath. He sat down in a chair next to a window overlooking a garden. ‘Am I to be questioned again?’
‘No,’ said James. ‘We’re going on a trip to Romney.’
