replied Tal, intentionally turning his back on Amafi. He knew he took a risk, for as much as the assassin claimed age was slowing him down, Tal judged him capable of a swift attack from behind if given the opportunity. The attack didn’t come.
Instead, Amafi fell into step beside Tal. ‘You wish to know who sent me?’
‘Yes,’ replied Tal.
‘Lord Piotre Miskovas, though I am not supposed to know this.’
‘He does hold a grudge,’ observed Tal. ‘I haven’t slept with his wife in more than two years.’
‘As I understand it, she became intoxicated at a gala given by Lady Amsha Detoris, and threw the facts of your … liaison into her husband’s face over supper some months after you last left the city. The couple are yet not reconciled and she abides in her suites here in the city, while he resides at their estates in the country. He blames you.’
‘He should look to his own philandering,’ remarked Tal, ‘for had he not been so quick to bed every pretty face he saw, his wife would not have been so eager to receive my attentions.’
‘Perhaps, Magnificence, but it takes a man of unusual character to openly confront his own shortcomings. It’s so much more convenient to blame others.
‘Upon hearing of your planned return, he sought out an assassin – far less discreetly than he should have – and I was hired to remove this –’ he pointed at Tal ‘– blot on his honour. He was at least intelligent enough to have used a … broker … in Salador, lest blame fall upon him here in Roldem. I have “failed”, so I am honour-bound to return his gold, and seek to turn this failure into a triumph. Employ me, Magnificence, and I will serve you. My oath upon it!’
Tal considered his next move. He had been back in Roldem for less than a day and needed reliable eyes and ears. ‘Until such time as you can successfully betray me without risk?’
Amafi grinned. ‘Possibly, my lord, for I have never been a man of constant heart. But oath-breaking does not come easily even to one such as me, and given your rare talents I suspect such a time would never exist, for it would require an opportunity to become even richer than I hope to become in your service.’
Tal laughed. Amafi had a refreshing candour that made Tal think he could trust the assassin – up to a point, anyway – and as long as he didn’t attempt to press him beyond that point, he should prove a reliable servant. ‘Very well, let us to the Temple of Lims-Kragma, where you will swear an oath.’
Amafi grimaced. ‘I was thinking perhaps Ruthia or Astalon,’ he said, naming the Goddess of Luck and the God of Justice.
‘I think wagering your chance at being reborn to a higher station a good hedge against betrayal,’ said Talon, putting away his weapon. ‘Come along. And, we must work on your Roldemish. We may be here a while.’
If Amafi thought even for an instant to draw his weapon and strike, he masked the impulse completely, quickly moving to fall into step beside his new master as they vanished into the fog shrouding the city.
The magician stood in the corner, his features veiled in shadow. Tal knew his face even if he couldn’t see it in the gloom. A single candle burned in the apartment, and that was on the table in the next room, casting a faint light through the open door.
‘Where’s your new man?’ he asked.
Tal said, ‘I sent him on an errand. What did you find out?’
Stepping out of the shadows, the magician revealed himself to be a tall man of lean features, a striking face with a long straight nose, dramatic cheekbones and startling blue eyes. His hair was so pale, it appeared almost white. He said, ‘Informants in Queg have vouched for Amafi. At least they have vouched for his reputation as an assassin.’
‘A reputable assassin,’ said Tal. ‘That’s a quaint notion.’
‘He’s considered something of an “honourable” man in the context of his trade,’ declared Magnus, son of Pug of Sorcerer’s Isle, and one of Tal’s many teachers over the years.
‘It’s beginning,’ said Tal. ‘Lady Gavorkin confirmed last night that Duke Kaspar is to arrive by week’s end and will be ensconced in the palace with his cousin the King. Pasko? How many invitations arrived today?’
‘Seventeen, master,’ he answered.
‘By month’s end, I imagine I will be in a position to make the re-acquaintance of the Duke at one gala or another.’
‘Your plan?’ asked Magnus.
‘I need to establish a link with Kaspar, then find a reason to call out Prince Matthew.’
‘Is that necessary?’
‘Almost certainly,’ said Tal. ‘For while I’m vague on the details I think I have anticipated Duke Kaspar’s larger goals in his manoeuvrings over the last few years.’
‘This is something you didn’t mention before leaving the island,’ said Magnus.
Tal nodded. ‘Because I didn’t fully see the pattern until a few hours ago. And I may be wrong, but I believe all his actions in the north to be nothing more than a bloody, murderous ruse, and his anticipated invasion of the Kingdom through Farinda a feint.’
‘To what end?’
‘To keep the Kingdom busy up north while he works towards his true goal in the south.’
‘And that is…?’ asked Magnus impatiently.
‘I have no idea. But it could involve Roldem or Kesh, and keeping the Kingdom occupied along a long, empty border would work to Kaspar’s advantage.
‘I’m no military expert, but it seems to me if he sends a force into the Kingdom of the Isles, they will respond in strength. If Kaspar sends in small companies, each can occupy a much larger force if they scatter across the plains. From the foothills at the border to the Blackwood north of Dolth, you’ve got almost a thousand miles of grasslands. King Ryan of the Isles would be forced to tie up a huge number of men hunting down a relatively small army.
‘So, the question is, if Kaspar wants that army up in the grasslands, where does he plan on striking?’
Magnus said, ‘I will convey your theory to Father.’ He put a broad-brimmed felt hat on his head, and removed a device from within his dark grey robe, an orb that glowed with copper highlights in the candlelight. He depressed the surface with his thumb and suddenly he wasn’t there, the only sign of his departure being a small inrush of air.
Pasko said, ‘But why?’
‘Why?’ echoed Tal. ‘Why what?’
‘Why all the plotting? Kaspar is as powerful in his own way as the King of Roldem. He effectively rules Aranor; the Prince does his bidding. He either controls or intimidates every nation surrounding Olasko, and he has the King of Roldem’s ear. Why does he want this war with the Isles?’
Tal sat back. ‘I thought it obvious. By destabilizing the region, opportunity arises for Kaspar to gain what he wants most of all.’ Tal laced his fingers together and stared at the candle over balled fists.
