‘Then tell Steelsoul and Michael Waylander that I expect both men to be here in three days’ time, along with Reeves and the other local leaders of the various factions, and should either not appear, I will know he has a hand in black murder. I’ll issue the death warrant myself. If they both show up, I’m locking all of them in a room and neither side will be permitted to leave until we have a settlement of these differences. I don’t care if they have to pee on the floor, or die of starvation, I’ll have an end to this business before any of them sees the sun again.’
Convinced of the Earl’s earnestness in the matter, James said, ‘My companions and I will be off in an hour, m’lord.’ He bowed and returned to the Black Sheep, where two workers were helping Jason move the bodies so they could be piled up on a waggon and taken from the city for cremation. Owyn waved James over.
‘Find anything interesting?’
‘Just this,’ said Owyn. He held out two items. One was a small silver brooch, looking like an oversize spider.
‘What’s this?’ asked James.
‘Turn it over,’ said Gorath.
James did as he was bid and saw a large groove running down the centre of the item. In it a tightly-packed gummy substance could be seen. James lifted the device to his nose and sniffed. ‘Silverthorn!’ he said.
‘Are you sure?’ asked Owyn.
‘I’d recognize that odour anywhere, trust me,’ replied James.
‘It’s an assassin’s tool,’ said Gorath. ‘You run the edge of a dagger along that groove and even if you don’t strike a killing blow, the victim dies within hours.’
‘What else?’ asked James.
Owyn held out a brass tube with glass at each end. ‘A spyglass?’ asked James.
‘Look through it,’ suggested Owyn.
James did and his perspective altered. The colours through the glass changed and he suddenly saw shifting patterns on the clothing of his companions as well as on the walls of the building. Pulling it away from his eye, he said, ‘What is this?’
Owyn said, ‘It’s magic. I will have to study it, but I think it lets you see things you otherwise can’t see, such as magically-hidden items.’
James looked down at the two items. He wished he had better clues, but these two would have to do as a start.
• EIGHT • (#ulink_e0646b6c-aae0-5225-979c-9bc7c29fa75a)
Secrets (#ulink_e0646b6c-aae0-5225-979c-9bc7c29fa75a)
DARK SHAPES MOVED IN THE EVENING SHADOWS.
James pointed to them and Owyn asked, ‘What?’
Gorath said, ‘I see them.’
They had ridden south at midday, pushing the horses as much as possible, to reach the village of Sloop and deliver the Earl’s ultimatum to Steelsoul and Waylander. As sundown approached, they had crested a rise and come within sight of town. Armed men were filtering through the trees at the north end of the town, heading toward a clump of houses.
Gorath urged his horse forward, pulling his sword. James and Owyn were on his heels a moment later. They charged the men, while James started shouting, ‘Alarm! Raiders in the village!’
He knew that depending on the make-up of this village, the response to a call of alarm would either be for the men of the village to rush out with weapons in hand, or for doors and windows to be locked down. In the west he knew there would be a dozen men in the streets to meet the invaders in a minute. Here in the relatively calm east, he wasn’t so sure.
As they passed the first house, he saw a curious face peeking through a window. Again he shouted, ‘Raiders in the village! To arms!’
The man slammed shutters, and James could imagine him barring the door as James left the house behind.
Gorath was upon the first swordsman, leaping from his horse onto the man. James considered that he probably should devote at least one afternoon teaching the dark elf how to fight effectively from horseback.
Owyn, on the other hand, had become quite adept at using his heavy staff from horseback, cracking skulls and breaking arms with quick efficiency.
Within minutes the raiders were on the run, heading back into the woods. James rode to where Gorath seemed poised to give chase and shouted for him to halt. ‘It’ll be dark soon,’ he said. ‘Even with your woodland skill, we don’t want to try chasing a half-dozen angry Nighthawks into a dark forest.’
Gorath said, ‘Agreed,’ and turned to find his horse.
James went to the house that was the obvious target of the raid and dismounted. He pounded on the door. ‘Open in the King’s name!’ he shouted.
Through a viewing slit a pair of eyes, wide with fear, regarded him. The door opened and Michael Waylander said, ‘Squire. What was all that noise about?’
James said, ‘It looks like someone is taking the game to a higher stake. We just chased off a band of Nighthawks coming to see you.’
Waylander turned pale. ‘Nighthawks?’ His knees went weak and he gripped the doorjamb to stay on his feet. ‘What have I got myself into?’
James said, ‘That’s what we’ve come to talk about.’
Gorath and Owyn tied their horses next to James’s and came to the door as Waylander stepped aside to admit them. It was a modest house, but James noticed at once it was well kept. There was enough wealth evident in the furnishings and appointments that it was clear Michael Waylander was very well situated for a common worker in a small village. The house, while not large, had three rooms, a bedroom visible through a door, and James saw the bed was a well-carved four-poster with a mesh netting and canopy. Through the other door James could see a kitchen. Waylander sat heavily on a chair, and James sat in the other one next to a table.
‘Someone wants you dead, Michael,’ said James. ‘Who could that be?’
Waylander sat back, a look of defeat on his face. ‘I’m a dead man.’
‘Maybe not,’ said James. ‘I represent Prince Arutha and while you’ve obviously irritated some powerful people, the Prince of Krondor is still the most powerful man in this nation after the King. If you co-operate, I may be able to get you under his protection.’
Waylander stared off into space a moment, as if thinking. ‘I’m in over my head. I’ll do whatever I must to get out of this.’
James leaned forward and suggested, ‘Why don’t you start with what “this” is.’
‘About a year ago, some men came to me from Silden. They had an idea, and I took that idea to Arle Steelsoul.’
‘What was the idea?’
‘The idea was to take control of all the business along the river, from Silden to the small villages in the mountains.’
‘How were they to accomplish this?’ asked James.
‘They said they had connections in the Riverpullers, who had told them the Guild was going to raise prices for hauling cargo up the river.’
‘So the Guild wanted to raise their rates?’
‘Yes,’ said Waylander. ‘They’re usually cautious about that, because if the rates go too high, merchants start using waggons to send goods north along the King’s Highway.’
‘But if there was a lot of trouble on the Highway, merchants would be forced to use the barges and the Riverpullers,’ finished James.
‘Yes.’ Waylander nodded agreement. ‘These men said that they could ensure the Riverpullers would have no competition. Then we, Arle Steelsoul and I, would organize the other guilds in Romney and the surrounding villages to stand against the Riverpullers. When things got bad enough, the King would declare martial law, and the Riverpullers would be put out of business.’
