They slipped out of the inn and spent an emotional hour together, and at the end Erik had come as close as he dared to breaking his word to Calis about not repeating what he suspected. He just warned Kitty that should he not be around when that ‘something big’ she suspected finally happened, she should slip out of Krondor and head to Ravensburg. He knew that when word of the invaders finally reached the city, there would be a little time to flee before the Prince ordered the city sealed. Kitty was smart enough to know what he meant and she would head to the Inn of the Pintail in Ravensburg to be with Freida, his mother, and Nathan, his stepfather. He promised he would find her there.
Erik left two hours before sundown. He knew he would have to put up at an inn along the way, but every hour he could steal would be worth the extra expense. Besides, he was spending the King’s gold, not his own.
Sundown found him still an hour from the nearest inn. The little moon was up, so it wasn’t completely dark, and the King’s Highway was a clearly marked way, but Erik walked his horse rather than risk an injury by having the animal stumble.
His horse was a tough little roan gelding he had selected himself. It wasn’t as strong or as large as most of the horses in the Prince’s stable, but it was likely to possess more endurance than most of the animals Erik might choose.
He would switch mounts often on this journey, and he would be in the saddle from before dawn to after dusk for nearly two weeks to reach Ironpass, and even then he would have to push the horses to the end of their endurance, but it could be done.
Silently Erik cursed his Captain and rode into the night.
Nakor pointed. ‘There, again!’
Sho Pi nodded. ‘As it was last time, Master.’
Nakor resisted the impulse to tell the young man to cease calling him master. It was as pointless as telling a dog not to scratch fleas.
‘Keshian patrols along the south coast of the Sea of Dreams,’ observed Nakor. ‘Last time Calis informed the garrison commander, yet here again we see Keshian lancers riding with their colors unfurled.’ After a moment, he laughed.
‘What is funny, Master?’
Nakor struck the young man lightly with the back of his hand on Sho Pi’s shoulder. ‘It’s obvious, boy. Lord Arutha has made a deal.’
‘A deal?’ asked Sho Pi as the boat’s Captain turned his craft toward the shore.
‘You’ll see,’ said the little man.
He and his disciple had taken ship from Krondor and sailed through the inlet into the waterway between the Bitter Sea and the Sea of Dreams. They were now on a river boat heading to Port Shamata, where they would buy horses and ride to Stardock. Nakor carried documents for Lord Arutha and orders from Prince Patrick and Duke James. Nakor had a nagging suspicion he knew what was in those documents, for several of them bore the King’s own crest, not that of the Prince.
The balance of the journey passed uneventfully, and eventually, Nakor and Sho Pi found themselves on the raft that served to carry passengers and goods across the Great Star Lake to the island of Stardock, and the community of magicians that resided there.
Arutha, Lord Vencar, Earl of the King’s Court and son of Duke James, met them at the landing. ‘Nakor, Sho Pi! It’s good to see you two again.’ He laughed. ‘Our last meeting was far too brief.’
Nakor also laughed. He had spent less than two minutes in the newly arrived Earl’s company before departing with Sho Pi and Pug to travel to Elvandar.
As they jumped the narrowing gap between barge and dock, Nakor said, ‘I have messages from your father.’
Arutha said, ‘Come with me, then.’
‘How did you know we were on the barge?’ asked Nakor.
As they walked to the huge building that was Stardock, the man the King had sent to administer the island of magicians said, ‘Something mundane. Our lookout saw you from up there.’ He pointed to one of the windows in a high tower. ‘He sent word to me.’
‘Must be one of my students,’ said Nakor, nodding.
Inside the building, they traversed a long hall and moved toward what Nakor knew would be Arutha’s office. It was the same one he had taken when he had been placed in charge of the island by Calis. ‘Are Chalmes, Kalied, and the others giving you any trouble?’ asked Nakor.
At mention of the Keshian-born traditionalist who resisted the idea of this island’s being subject to the King’s law, Arutha shook his head and said, ‘None worth mentioning. They grouse a bit now and again, but as long as they’re free to teach and do their research, they don’t complain too much about my administration.’
Nakor said, ‘I suspect they’re plotting.’
‘No doubt,’ agreed Arutha as they reached his office, ‘but I think it won’t amount to much without outside help. They’re too spineless to attempt to secede from the Kingdom without a strong ally.’
Once inside the office, Arutha closed the door. ‘And we’re prepared for that,’ said the Earl as he took the packet of documents his father had sent. ‘Excuse me a moment,’ he said, and broke the seal on the first of those, a personal message from the Duke.
As he read, Nakor studied the Earl. He was as tall as his father, but looked more like his mother, with fine features and an almost delicate mouth. His eyes, though, thought Nakor, were his father’s; they were dangerous. His hair was like his father’s, too, as it had been when James was a young man: tight dark brown curls.
After a moment, Arutha said, ‘Do you know what’s in here?’
‘No,’ said Nakor, ‘but I can guess. Erland has just returned from Kesh. Did he pass this way?’
Arutha laughed. ‘Not much gets by you, does it?’
‘When you’ve lived by your wits as long as I have,’ said Nakor, ‘you learn to pay attention to everything.’
‘Yes, Erland stopped for one night on his way home.’
‘Then you’ve made a deal with Kesh.’
Arutha said, ‘Let’s say we’ve come to an understanding.’
If Sho Pi was lost in the conversation, he gave no sign, seemingly content to let his master and the Earl speak uninterrupted.
Nakor laughed. ‘Your father is the most evil, dangerous man I’ve ever met. It’s a good thing he’s on our side.’
Arutha looked rueful. ‘You’ll get no argument from me in that regard. My life has never been my own.’
Nakor took the message as Arutha handed it across the desk. ‘You don’t seem particularly bothered by this,’ observed the gambler.
Arutha shrugged. ‘I had the usual rebellious nature most young men possess, but truth to tell, most of what my father had me do was interesting; challenging even. My sons, as you may have gathered, were a completely different case. My wife is quite a bit more forgiving of “adventuresome” natures than my mother was.’ He stood
