‘And what does it matter if some heads get broken along the way?’ asked Owyn dryly.
‘Waylander,’ asked James, ‘what made you think the Riverpullers would be out of business if the King declared martial law?’
‘We planned on having Damon Reeves, head of the Riverpullers’ Guild, murdered.’ He hung his head as if ashamed at this admission. ‘I didn’t want that, but by the time they told me of the plan, I was in too deep. They said they’d make it look like Nighthawks did it, so that no blame would fall to us. In fact, they said they’d make it look like someone within the Guild did it, to get Reeves out of the way, and the Guild would fall apart from dissension within. I’ve known Damon for years; he’s an old friend, but there was nothing I could do.’
James glanced at Gorath and Owyn. ‘Whose idea was it to cast blame on the Nighthawks?’
‘The men from Silden,’ said Waylander. ‘Why?’
‘Just that the notion is familiar to us.’
Owyn realized James was talking about the false Nighthawks in the sewers of Krondor and nodded in understanding.
‘What should I do?’ asked Waylander.
‘Get Steelsoul, get to Romney, and sit down with the Riverpullers and make peace. If you don’t, the Earl will hang you two and Reeves, and start over with whoever replaces you.’
‘The Earl’s never resorted to threats before. Why is he suddenly threatening us now?’ asked Waylander.
‘Because someone just murdered fifty Royal Lancers in his city,’ answered James.
Waylander’s eyes widened and his face turned ashen. ‘Fifty! Gods of mercy!’ He gripped the table and said, ‘Who could do such a thing?’
‘Chance has you crossing paths with the Nighthawks, it seems,’ suggested James. ‘And by all appearances they don’t seem all that pleased by these attempts at implicating them in deeds for which they are not responsible. No matter how clever you gentlemen thought you were being, you were being played for fools by agents of a man who is called “the Crawler”. He’s attempting to dislodge the Mockers in Krondor and seems to want to control the docks in the eastern cities as well. They were not helping you; you were being set up to create a situation where they would emerge in control after you, Reeves, Steelsoul, and anyone else inconvenient to their goals were out of the way. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Crawler’s agents hadn’t leaked the information to the Nighthawks about your attempting to hang the blame for Reeves’ murder on them.’
‘As if another charge of murder is going to make them any more hunted,’ Gorath observed.
‘True,’ said James, ‘but it’s been my experience that criminals take a certain pride in their own crime, but want nothing to do with blame for crimes for which they are not responsible. It’s odd, I know, but that’s the way it is.’
‘You talk as if you’ve known a lot of criminals,’ said Waylander.
‘Yes, I do, don’t I?’ James’s smile lacked even a suggestion of warmth.
‘What do I do after I see the Earl?’
‘I suggest you beg for leniency,’ said Owyn.
James nodded. ‘People have died as a result of your choices, and you and Steelsoul have much to answer for. But if you help the Earl restore order and help us uncover those behind this plot, we’ll do what we can to keep you off the gibbet.’
‘Maybe I should just run,’ said Waylander.
‘You won’t reach Silden,’ said James. ‘They would be on you like hounds on a hare, and where would you go, anyway?’
‘I have connections in Kesh,’ said Waylander. ‘If I can get to Pointer’s Head, I can take a caravan over the Peaks of Tranquillity.’
‘Well, don’t do anything rash,’ said James. ‘If my friends and I have our way, the Nighthawks will not be a problem much longer. My advice is to see the Earl, then sit tight. I’ll get word to you when it’s safe.’
‘But what about the men in Silden?’
James stood up. ‘They’re also a problem.’
‘But I only know them by sight and first names, Jacob, Linsey and Franklin, and they may not even be their true names.’
‘Probably not,’ said James. He took the spyglass and the silver spider out of his travel bag and said, ‘What can you tell me about these?’
Waylander said, ‘The spider I got from a trader named Abuk. He travels the roads between Malac’s Cross and here, stopping in at Silden each way. I last saw him there, so he may be on his way toward us right now. He drives a trader’s waggon painted green, with his name in red letters on the side.’
Owyn winced at the description. ‘We can hardly miss that.’
James’s expression turned dark. ‘We found this spider this morning among the bodies of the dead lancers.’
Waylander said, ‘It can’t be the same one, then!’
‘Why?’ demanded James.
‘I bought one from Abuk, but I gave ours to the false Nighthawks who were sent to kill Damon Reeves.’
James looked at the device and said, ‘There may be more than one, but you’ll need more proof of your innocence than that.’
Waylander examined the spider, then said, ‘Look!’ He pointed to the groove containing the poison. ‘I don’t know what this is, but mine had deadly nightshade in it!’
Gorath said, ‘Silverthorn would be hard to locate this far south.’
‘But not impossible,’ said James. ‘Still, I’m inclined to believe you. What about the spyglass?’
‘I don’t know anything about that,’ said Waylander, ‘but it’s the sort of thing Abuk trades for as well.’
James led the others to the door. ‘Get to the Earl, Michael,’ he said. ‘You and Arle should be there before sundown tomorrow if you value your heads. We’re in the inn until dawn, and then we’re going south.’
‘I’ll walk with you as far as Arle’s house,’ said Waylander. ‘And then we’ll see the Earl tomorrow. Where south are you going?’
‘First to Silden to find Abuk and those three men you mentioned. If we have any luck, we’ll put paid to this mess within a few days.’ Waylander said nothing, and James knew it was because even if all the Nighthawks and Crawler’s men vanished overnight, there would still be crimes to pay for. But even years in a dungeon, thought James, were better than dying. At least in a dungeon there was the chance of escape.
The last thought made him smile as he headed up the road toward the inn.
As they neared the town of Silden, they slowed. A band of men were also riding toward the town, coming in from the west. ‘We don’t know they’re looking for us,’ said James. ‘But as many times as you’ve been attacked, Gorath, I’d just as soon wait to see what they’re up to.’
Gorath had no disagreement, so he remained silent. The riders crossed over the bridge which arched over the River Rom into the town proper. Because it was built on a bluff that sloped down to a deep harbour, Silden had no foulbourgh outside the city walls. Rather, a series of small villages dotted the coastline around the bay of Silden, and a large village dominated the western shore of the bay, on the other side of the bridge.
They rode into the northern gate of the city, and passed a bored-looking pair of city watchmen. James turned to Owyn and asked, ‘Any friend or relatives here?’
‘Not that I’m aware of,’ said Owyn. ‘Or at least none my father would admit to.’
James laughed. ‘I can understand that. This isn’t exactly a garden spot, is it?’
Silden was only important to two groups: those who lived in it and smugglers. The majority of trade coming up the river to the north entered through the much larger trading port of Cheam, which had spacious docks, a huge warehouse district, and was the second largest port on the north shore of the Kingdom Sea after Bas-Tyra. Silden was therefore a far more profitable destination for those seeking to conduct business without benefit of Kingdom Customs officers. They made an attempt to curtail smuggling, but with the host of villages within a day’s ride to the east and west, keeping smuggling under control was impossible. As a result, control of Silden had for years been an ongoing goal of competing criminal gangs, from the Mockers of Krondor, Keshian drug smugglers, and bully gangs from Rillanon, to an alliance of local thieves. This constant struggle had turned Silden into the closest thing to an open city seen in the Eastern Realm of the Kingdom.
The Earldom of Silden, while a reasonably attractive fiefdom, with rents and income sufficient to keep a noble family in style, was an absentee office. The last Earl of Silden had died during the Riftwar, in the great attack by King Rodric IV against the Tsurani in the final year of the war. King Lyam had yet to award the Earldom to anyone, which was fine with the Duke of Cheam, who presently enjoyed the income from the property in the Earldom. James was of the opinion it should be turned into a proper duchy and run from here in the city. A resident noble would clear up a lot of the problems of this valuable port city. He would have to mention it to the Prince when he returned, but for the moment, it was still a neglected, backwater town without proper oversight.
