Magician (78 page)

“And Father is committed to a
long front and has no men to spare.” He looked at Charles.
“Where would you expect the attack to come?”

The former Tsurani slave looked over
the map, then shrugged. “It’s difficult to say, Highness.
Should the situation be decided solely upon military merits, the
Warlord should attack against the weaker front, either toward the
elves, or here. But little done in the Empire is free of political
considerations.” He studied troop dispositions on the map, then
said, “Were I the Warlord, in need of a simple victory to
bolster my position in the High Council, I would attack Crydee once
more. But were I the Warlord and my position in the High Council
precarious, in need of a bold stroke to regain lost prestige, I might
risk an all-out offensive against the main force of the Kingdom,
those armies under Duke Borric’s command. To crush the main
strength of the Kingdom would give him dominance within the council
for years to come.”

Fannon leaned back in his chair and
sighed. “Then we are faced with the possibility of another
assault upon Crydee this spring without recourse to reinforcements
for fear of attack elsewhere.” He indicated the map with a
sweep of his hand. “Now we face the same problem as the Duke.
All our forces are committed along the Tsurani front. The only men we
have available are those in the towns on leave, only a small part of
the whole.

“We can’t maintain the army
in the field indefinitely; even Lords Borric and Brucal winter in
LaMut with the Earl, leaving small companies to guard the Tsurani.”
Waving his hand in the air, he said, “I digress. What is
important is to notify your father at once, Arutha, of the
possibility of attack. Then should the Tsurani hit his lines, he’ll
be back from LaMut early, in position and ready. Even should the
Tsurani bring ten thousand fresh troops, he can call up more soldiers
from the outlying garrisons in Yabon, fully another two thousand.”

Amos said, “Two thousand against
ten thousand sounds poor odds, Swordmaster.”

Fannon was inclined to agree “We
do all we can. There are no guarantees it will be enough.”

Charles said, “At least they will
be horse soldiers, Swordmaster. My former comrades still have little
liking for horses.”

Fannon nodded agreement “But even
so, it is a bleak picture.”

“There is one thing,” said
Arutha, holding up a parchment. “The message from Lord Dulanic
stated the need for intelligence to give credence to our request for
aid. We now have enough intelligence to satisfy him, I think.”

Fannon said, “Even a small
portion of the Krondonan garrison here would give us the strength to
resist an offensive. Still, it is late in the season, and a message
would have to be dispatched at once.”

“That’s the gods’
truth,” said Amos. “If you left this afternoon, you’d
barely clear the Straits of Darkness before winter shuts them off. In
another two weeks it’d be a close thing.”

Arutha said, “I have given the
matter some thought. I think there is enough need to risk my going to
Krondor.”

Fannon sat up straight in his chair.
“But you’re the commander of the Duchy’s army,
Arutha. You can’t abandon that responsibility.”

Arutha smiled “I can and I will.
I know you have no wish to resume command here once more, but resume
command you will. If we are to win support from Erland, I must
convince him myself. When Father first carried word of the Tsurani to
Erland and the King, I learned the advantage of speaking in person.
Erland’s a cautious man. I will need every persuasion I can
bring to bear.”

Amos snorted. “And how do you
plan on reaching Krondor, begging Your Highness’s pardon?
There’s the better part of three Tsurani armies between here
and the Free Cities should you go overland. And there are only a few
luggers fit for coasting in the harbor, and you’d need a
deep-water ship for a sea journey.”

“There’s one deep-water
ship, Amos. The Wind of Dawn is still in port.”

Amos’s mouth dropped open. “The
Wmd of Dawn?” he cried in disbelief “Beside the fact
she’s little better than a lugger herself, she’s laid up
for the winter. I heard her captain crying over her broken keelson
when the muddleheaded fool came limping into harbor a month ago. She
needs to be hauled out, have the keel inspected and the keelson
replaced. Without repair her keel’s too weak to take the
pounding she’ll get from the winter storms. You might as well
stick your head in a rain barrel, begging Your Highness’s
pardon. You’d still drown, but you’d save a lot of other
people a great deal of trouble.”

Fannon looked incensed at the seaman’s
remarks, but Tully, Martin, Roland, and Arutha only looked amused.
“When I sent Martin out,” said Arutha, “I
considered the possibility I might need a ship for Krondor. I ordered
her repaired two weeks ago. There’s a swarm of shipwrights
aboard her now.” He fixed Amos with a questioning look. “Of
course I’ve been told it won’t be as good a job as if
they’d hauled her out, but it will serve.”

“Aye, for potting up and down the
coast in the light winds of spring, perhaps. But you’re talking
about winter storms, and you’re talking about running the
Straits of Darkness.”

Arutha said, “Well, she will have
to do I’m leaving in a few days’ time. Someone must
convince Erland we need aid, and I have to be the one.”

Amos refused to let the subject drop
“And has Oscar Danteen agreed to captain his ship through the
straits for you?”

Arutha said, “I’ve not told
him our destination as yet.” Amos shook his head. “As I
thought. That man’s got the heart of a shark, which is to say
none, and the courage of a jellyfish, which is also to say none. Soon
as you give the order, he’ll cut your throat, drop you over the
side, winter with the pirates of the Sunset Islands, then head
straight for the Free Cities come spring. He’ll then have some
Natalese scribe pen a most grieving and flowery message to your
father, describing your valor just before you were lost overboard in
high seas while fighting pirates. Then he’ll spend a year
drinking up the gold you gave him for passage.”

Arutha said, “But I purchased his
ship. I’m ship’s master now.” Amos said, “Owner
or not, Prince or not, aboard ship there is but one master, the
captain. He is King and High Priest, and no man tells him what to do,
save when a harbor pilot’s aboard, and then only with respect.
No, Highness, you’ll not survive this journey with Oscar
Danteen on the quarterdeck.”

Faint lines of mirth began to crinkle
at the corners of Arutha’s eyes “Have you another
suggestion, Captain?”

Amos sighed as he sank back into his
chair. “I’ve been hooked, I might as well be gutted and
cleaned. Send word to Danteen to clear out the captain’s cabin
and discharge the crew. I’ll see to getting a replacement crew
for that band of cutthroats, though there’s mostly drunkards
and boys left in port this time of year. And for the love of the
gods, don’t mention to anyone where we’re bound. If so
much as one of those drink-besotted scoundrels learns you mean to
risk the Straits of Darkness this late in the season, you’ll
have to turn out the garrison to comb the woods for deserters.”

Arutha said, “Very well. I’ll
leave all preparations to you. We depart as soon as you judge the
ship ready.” He said to Longbow, “I’ll want you to
come as well, Huntmaster.”

Longbow looked a little surprised. “Me,
Highness?”

“I’ll want an eyewitness
for Lord Dulanic and the Prince.”

Martin frowned, but after a moment
said, “I’ve never been to Krondor, Highness.” He
smiled his crooked smile. “I may never have the chance again.”

Amos Trask’s voice cut through
the shriek of the wind. Gusts from the sea carried his words to a
confused-looking lad aloft “No, you warped-brained landlubber,
don’t pull the sheets so damn tight. They’ll be humming
like a lute string. They don’t pull the ship, the mast does.
The lines help when the wind changes quarter.” He watched as
the boy adjusted the sheets. “Yes, that’s it; no, that’s
too loose.” He swore loudly. “Now; there you have it!”

He looked disgusted as Arutha came up
the gangway. “Fishing boys who want to be sailors. And
drunkards. And a few of Danteen’s rogues I had to rehire. This
is some crew, Highness.”

“Will they serve?”

“They bloody well better, or
they’ll answer to me.” He watched with a critical eye as
the sailors crawled over the spars aloft, checking every knot and
splice, every line and sheet. “We need thirty good men. I can
count on eight. The rest? I mean to put into Carse as well as Tulan
on the way down. Maybe then we can replace the boys and less
dependable men with experienced seamen.”

“What of the delay clearing the
straits?”

“If we were there today, we would
manage. By the time we get there, a dependable crew will prove more
important than arriving a week earlier. The season will be full upon
us.” He studied Arutha. “Do you know why the passage is
called the Straits of Darkness?”

Arutha shrugged. Amos said, “It’s
no simple sailor’s superstition. It’s a description of
what you find there.” He got a far-off look as he said, “Now,
I can tell you about the different currents from the Endless Sea and
Bitter Sea that come together there, or about the changing, crazy
tides of winter when the moons are all in the worst possible aspect
in the heavens, or how winds come sweeping down from the north,
blowing snow so thick you can’t see the decks from the yards.
But then. There are no words to describe the straits in winter. It is
one, two, three days traveling blind. And if the prevailing wind’s
not blowing you back into the Endless Sea, then it’s blowing
you to the southern rocks. Or there’s no wind, and fog blots
out everything as the currents turn you around.”

“You paint a bleak picture,
Captain,” said Arutha with a grim smile.

“Only the truth. You’re a
young man of uncommonly practical wits and cold nerve, Highness. I’ve
seen you stand when many men of greater experience would have broken
and run. I’m not trying to put any scare upon you. I simply
wish you to understand what you propose to do. If any can clear the
straits in winter in this bucket, it is Amos Trask, and that’s
no idle boast. I’ve cut the season so fine before, there’s
little to tell between autumn and winter, winter and spring. But I
would also tell you this: before leaving Crydee, say tender good-byes
to your sister, write your father and brother, and leave any
testaments and legacies in order.”

Without changing expression, Arutha
said, “The letters and legacies are written, and Carline and I
dine alone tonight.”

Amos nodded. “We’ll leave
on the morning tide. This ship’s a slab-sided, wattle-bottomed,
water-rotted coaster, Highness, but she’ll make it through if I
have to pick her up and carry her.”

Arutha took his leave, and when he was
out of sight, Amos turned his attention heavenward. “Astalon,”
he invoked the god of justice, “I’m a sinner, it’s
true. But if you had to measure out justice, did it have to be this?”
Now at peace with his fate, Amos returned to the business of seeing
everything in order.

Carline walked in the garden, the
withering blooms reflecting her own sad mood Roland watched her from
a short way off, trying to find words of comfort. Finally he said, “I
will be Baron of Tulan someday. It is over nine years since I’ve
been home I must go down the coast with Arutha.”

Softly she said, “I know.”

He saw the resignation on her face and
crossed to hold her. “You will be Baroness there someday,
also.”

She hugged him tightly, then stepped
away, forcing herself to speak lightly. “Still, you’d
think after all these years your father would have learned to do
without you.”

He smiled. “He was to have
wintered in Jonril with Baron Bellamy, overseeing the enlargement of
the garrison I will go in his stead. My brothers are all too young.
With the Tsurani dug in for the winter, it is our only chance to
expand the fort.”

With forced levity she said, “At
least I won’t have to worry about your breaking the hearts of
the ladies of your father’s court.”

He laughed “Little chance of that
Supplies and men are already assembling and the barges ready to
travel up the river Wyndermeer. After Amos puts me ashore in Tulan,
I’ll spend one or two days at home, no more, then off I go. It
will be a long winter in Jonril with no one for company but soldiers
and a few farmers in that gods-forsaken fort.”

Carline covered her mouth as she
giggled “I hope your father doesn’t discover you’ve
gambled away his barony to the soldiers come spring.”

Roland smiled at her. “I’ll
miss you.”

Carline took his hands in hers. “And
I you.”

They stood in tableau for a time, then
suddenly Carline’s facade of bravery cracked, and she was in
his arms “Don’t let anything happen. I couldn’t
bear losing you.”

“I know,” he said gently.
“But you must continue to put on a brave face for others.
Fannon will need your help in conducting court, and you will have the
responsibility for the entire household. You are mistress of Crydee,
and many people will depend upon your guidance.”

They watched the banners on the walls
snapping in the late-afternoon wind. The air was harsh, and he drew
his cloak about them. Trembling, she said, “Come back to me,
Roland.”

Softly he said, “I’ll come
back, Carline.” He tried to shake a cold, icy feeling that had
risen within, but could not.

They stood on the dock, in the darkness
of morning before the sunrise. Arutha and Roland waited by the
gangway. Arutha said, “Take care of everything, Swordmaster.”

Fannon stood with his hand upon his
sword, still proud and erect despite advancing years. “I will,
Highness.”